#Measurable Results and Transparency

[performancemarketingpickmyurl]

Performance Marketing

PICKMYURL Performance Marketing: Empowering Your Business Growth

Discuss for Pricing. Would like to chat with PICKMYURL on Skype.

In today's highly competitive business landscape, standing out and achieving success requires a strategic approach to marketing. Enter PICKMYURL Performance Marketing—a dynamic and innovative solution that empowers businesses to optimize their online presence, drive targeted traffic, and achieve remarkable results.

This comprehensive platform combines cutting-edge technology, data-driven strategies, and expert guidance to maximize performance and unlock new opportunities for businesses across industries. In this article, we will delve into the key aspects of PICKMYURL Performance Marketing, exploring its benefits, features, and how it can help your business thrive in the digital realm.

Performance Marketing

Understanding Performance Marketing: Performance marketing is a results-oriented marketing strategy that focuses on measurable actions and outcomes, such as conversions and sales. Unlike traditional marketing methods, which rely on broad messaging and brand awareness, performance marketing centers on delivering tangible results based on key performance indicators (KPIs). PICKMYURL Performance Marketing takes this concept to the next level by leveraging advanced analytics, targeting capabilities, and optimization techniques to drive maximum ROI for businesses.

The Power of PICKMYURL Performance Marketing: PICKMYURL Performance Marketing offers a plethora of powerful features designed to enhance your marketing efforts and boost your business growth. Let's explore some of its key components:

2.1 Data-driven Insights: With PICKMYURL, data lies at the core of every decision and strategy. The platform provides robust analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to gain deep insights into their marketing campaigns. By analyzing key metrics, user behavior, and conversion patterns, you can make informed decisions and optimize your marketing efforts for maximum impact.

2.2 Targeted Advertising: PICKMYURL Performance Marketing enables businesses to precisely target their desired audience through various channels, including search engines, social media platforms, and display networks. By leveraging advanced targeting options such as demographics, interests, and browsing behavior, you can ensure that your marketing messages reach the right people at the right time, enhancing the chances of conversions and sales.

2.3 Conversion Optimization: Converting website visitors into paying customers is a crucial aspect of any marketing strategy. PICKMYURL Performance Marketing provides a range of tools and techniques to optimize your conversion rates. From A/B testing and landing page optimization to personalized messaging and remarketing campaigns, the platform equips you with the necessary resources to turn prospects into loyal customers.

2.4 Performance Tracking: To measure the success of your marketing efforts, it's essential to have a comprehensive tracking system in place. PICKMYURL Performance Marketing offers robust tracking capabilities, allowing you to monitor key metrics, track conversions, and evaluate the performance of your campaigns. This data-driven approach enables you to identify areas of improvement, refine your strategies, and make data-backed decisions to achieve better results.

3. Benefits of PICKMYURL Performance Marketing: Implementing PICKMYURL Performance Marketing into your business strategy can yield a wide array of benefits:

3.1 Increased ROI: By focusing on measurable results, PICKMYURL Performance Marketing helps businesses optimize their marketing spend and generate a higher return on investment. With advanced targeting and conversion optimization techniques, you can ensure that your marketing budget is allocated to the most effective channels and campaigns, resulting in increased revenue and profitability.

3.2 Enhanced Customer Engagement: PICKMYURL Performance Marketing enables businesses to create personalized and engaging experiences for their target audience. By tailoring your marketing messages based on user preferences, behavior, and demographics, you can establish stronger connections with your customers, leading to higher engagement, brand loyalty, and repeat business.

3.3 Scalability and Flexibility: Whether you're a small startup or a large enterprise, PICKMYURL Performance Marketing provides a scalable solution that can adapt to your business needs. As your business grows, the platform can accommodate increased traffic, expand your campaigns, and handle larger datasets. This scalability ensures that your marketing efforts can keep up with your business's growth trajectory, allowing you to reach new markets and expand your customer base.

3.4 Real-Time Optimization: PICKMYURL Performance Marketing operates in real-time, providing you with up-to-the-minute insights and the ability to make immediate adjustments to your campaigns. With access to real-time data, you can identify underperforming ads, adjust targeting parameters, or tweak messaging to ensure optimal results. This agility and responsiveness empower you to stay ahead of the competition and seize opportunities as they arise.

3.5 Measurable Results and Transparency: One of the standout features of PICKMYURL Performance Marketing is its emphasis on transparency and accountability. Through detailed analytics and reporting, you can track the performance of your marketing campaigns, measure key metrics, and assess the effectiveness of your strategies. This transparency allows you to make data-driven decisions, allocate resources effectively, and demonstrate the impact of your marketing efforts to stakeholders.

4. Industries and Applications: PICKMYURL Performance Marketing is a versatile solution that can benefit businesses across various industries. Here are a few examples of how different sectors can leverage this powerful platform:

4.1 E-commerce: For online retailers, PICKMYURL Performance Marketing offers a comprehensive set of tools to drive traffic, increase conversions, and boost sales. From optimizing product listings and implementing targeted advertising campaigns to leveraging remarketing strategies and personalized recommendations, e-commerce businesses can create a seamless shopping experience and maximize revenue.

4.2 SaaS and Tech Startups: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies and tech startups can leverage PICKMYURL Performance Marketing to generate leads, nurture customer relationships, and drive user acquisition. By utilizing advanced targeting options and conversion optimization techniques, these businesses can reach their target audience, showcase the unique value of their solutions, and foster long-term customer loyalty.

4.3 Local Businesses: PICKMYURL Performance Marketing is equally beneficial for local businesses aiming to increase foot traffic and boost their online visibility. Through localized targeting, geofencing, and proximity-based advertising, businesses such as restaurants, salons, and retail stores can effectively reach potential customers in their vicinity, driving footfall and increasing local brand awareness.

4.4 B2B Marketing: Business-to-Business (B2B) companies can leverage PICKMYURL Performance Marketing to drive lead generation, nurture relationships, and improve customer acquisition. By implementing account-based marketing strategies, targeting key decision-makers, and utilizing data-driven insights, B2B businesses can enhance their sales funnel, streamline their marketing efforts, and achieve higher conversion rates.

5. Implementation and Support: Implementing PICKMYURL Performance Marketing into your business strategy is seamless and hassle-free. The platform provides comprehensive onboarding support, including guidance on campaign setup, tracking implementation, and performance optimization. Additionally, PICKMYURL offers dedicated customer support to address any queries or issues promptly, ensuring that you have a smooth experience throughout your marketing journey.

PICKMYURL Performance Marketing offers a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to maximize their marketing efforts, drive targeted traffic, and achieve remarkable results. By leveraging data-driven insights, advanced targeting capabilities, and conversion optimization techniques, businesses can unlock new growth opportunities, increase their ROI, and establish stronger connections with their target audience.

Whether you're a small startup or a large enterprise, PICKMYURL Performance Marketing empowers you to thrive in the digital realm, adapt to changing market dynamics, and propel your business towards success. Embrace the power of PICKMYURL Performance Marketing and take your business to new heights in the competitive world of digital marketing.

#performancemarketing #digitalmarketing #marketing #onlinemarketing #affiliatemarketing #socialmediamarketing #socialmedia #marketingagency #seo #branding #business #advertising #digitalmarketingagency #ecommerce #b #marketingdigital #googleads #contentmarketing #design #marketingtips #digitalagency #agency #affiliate #digital #agencylife #facebookads #graphicdesign #marketingstrategy #google #leadgeneration

[michaelespositostatenisland]

Michael Esposito Staten Island - 10 Essential Strategies for Effective Influencer Marketing

In the bustling world of digital marketing, influencer marketing has carved out a niche that combines the power of social proof with the reach of digital platforms. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or a business venturing into the influencer realm for the first time, mastering the art of influencer marketing can significantly amplify your brand's visibility and engagement. Here are ten essential strategies to harness the power of influencer marketing effectively, inspired by the expertise of Michael Esposito Staten Island, an influencer marketer extraordinaire known for his impactful presence in the digital age.

1. Define Your Goals Clearly

Having clear objectives is the cornerstone of any successful marketing campaign. Whether it's boosting brand awareness, increasing sales, or driving website traffic, setting specific goals helps in tailoring your strategy and measuring success effectively.

2. Understand Your Audience

Knowing your target audience inside out is crucial. Understanding their interests, behaviors, and preferences helps in selecting the right influencers who resonate with your audience.

3. Choose the Right Influencers

Choosing influencers who align with your brand's values and ethos is vital. It's not just about the numbers; engagement rates, audience trust, and content quality matter too. Michael Esposito from Staten Island exemplifies an influencer whose authenticity and digital savviness have made him a significant figure in the influencer marketing world.

4. Foster Authentic Relationships

Building genuine relationships with influencers can lead to more authentic and engaging content. Authenticity is key in influencer marketing, as it enhances trust and relatability.

5. Leverage Multiple Platforms

Don't limit your influencer marketing efforts to a single platform. Explore opportunities across various platforms where your target audience is most active, be it Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or others.

6. Focus on Quality Content

Quality content is what sets great campaigns apart. Collaborate with influencers to create content that is engaging, informative, and aligns with your brand messaging.

7. Utilize SEO Strategies

Incorporating SEO strategies, such as keyword optimization in content and leveraging influencer-generated content, can significantly improve your campaign's visibility online. Remember, good writing and SEO go hand in hand to create content that is not only engaging but also ranks well on search engines.

8. Track and Measure Results

To gauge the effectiveness of your influencer marketing campaigns, it's essential to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and ROI. This data will help refine your strategy over time.

9. Stay Updated on Trends

The digital landscape is constantly evolving. Staying abreast of the latest trends and platform updates can help you adapt your strategy to maintain its effectiveness.

10. Emphasize Transparency

Transparency and disclosure are critical in maintaining trust with your audience. Ensure influencers clearly disclose sponsored content to comply with FTC guidelines and maintain audience trust.

Influencer marketing, when executed properly, can be a game-changer for brands looking to expand their reach and connect with audiences in a meaningful way. Michael Esposito Staten Island — Influence in the Digital Age serves as a prime example of how influencers can wield significant influence in driving engagement and brand loyalty through authenticity and strategic collaboration. By following these ten essential strategies, you can create effective influencer marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience and deliver tangible results.

[gothhabiba]

Some hints about evaluating scientific studies

Firstly, understand that something being published in a scientific journal (or an academic journal for the social sciences) does not automatically make it true. Publishers profit from publishing novel, eye-catching, surprising research, which means they are more likely to publish positive results than ones that didn't find a connection between given variables. This means that scientists' careers benefit when they get positive results. Certain institutions also benefit from certain findings above others (a committee for research on "obesity" that is funded by a government organisation tasked with ending it, for example, is likely to try to stretch the evidence to find a link between body weight and poor health outcomes). So how do people evaluate scientific studies, especially without being scientists themselves?

Literature reviews

Literature reviews, which aim to assemble and summarise most of the available or influential papers on a given issue, can be a good place to start when trying to research that issue. Typically, scientific studies shouldn't only be evaluated on a case-by-case basis (since even well-designed studies can be contradicted by other, equally well-designed studies), but a full survey of the different results people have gotten should be taken.

Background information and conflicts of interest

Try to find out who funded a given study. Who published the study? What do these people stand to gain from the results of the study being accepted? (For example: you might pay special attention to the experimental design on a study on whether a certain essential oil helps to reverse hair loss that was carried out by a company that sells that oil.)

In theory, many journals call for study authors to declare any conflicts of interest they may have in a special section of the paper. This section should also list funding sources. You might also look up the authors on linkedin or something to find where they're employed; also look into whether another conglomerate owns that company, &c.

Experimental design

If the study involves a survey, have the authors of the paper provided the questions that people were asked, so that you can evaluate them for potential ambiguity or confusing wording? Not being transparent about the exact wording of questions is a sign that a study isn't trustworthy.

What's the sample size? Is it large enough for the claim the study is making to be reasonable? (More on this in the next section.)

Does the experimental design make sense with what the researchers wanted to study? Are the claims that they make in the conclusion section something that could reasonably be proven or suggested by the experiment that they performed?

Does the experimental design "bake in" an assumption of the truth of its hypothesis? (For example, measuring skeletons to argue that they fall into statistically significant size groupings by sex, using skeletons that you sorted into "male" and "female" groups based on their size, is clearly circular).

How was data collected? People might change their answers to a survey, for example, if they have to speak to a person to give them, rather than writing them down anonymously. Self-reported information (such as a survey aiming to figure out average height or average penis size) is also subject to bias. A good study should be transparent about how the authors collected their data, and be clear about how this could have affected their results.

Also regarding surveys: do the categories that the authors have divided respondents into make sense? Are these categories really mutually exclusive? If respondents were asked to sort themselves into categories (e.g., to select their own race or ethnicity), is there any guarantee that they all interpreted the question / the boundaries of these categories the same way? How would this affect the results?

Interpretation of results

Could anything other than the conclusion that the authors came to explain the results of their experiment? For example, a study finding a correlation between two variables and assuming that this means one variable causes the other ("being in a lot of stress causes short stature" or vise versa) could be missing a secret third thing which is in fact causing both of those things (e.g., poverty). Check to make sure that the authors considered other explanations for their findings and ruled them out (for example, by controlling for other variables such as socioeconomic status).

Are the results of the study generalisable to the population that the authors claim they're generalisable to? For example, the results may not be true for the entire population if only cisgender men between the ages of 30 and 40 were tested. Sampling biases can also affect generalisability—if I surveyed my college to try to find out the percentage of women in the total population, you might ask "but is your college sure to have the same percentage of women as the Earth does?"

Statistics

Are the results statistically significant, or are they within expected margins of error?

Many studies provide a p-value (a number between 0 and 1) for their results. In theory, a p-value represents the chance that the study's results could have been achieved by random chance. If you flip a coin ten times (so, your sample size is 10), it's not very odd to get heads six times and tails four times, and you wouldn't accept that as proof that the coin lands on heads more often than tails. The p-value for that result would be high (that is, there's a high chance that the coin appears unfair only because of random chance). On the other hand, if you flip a coin 100,000 times and it lands on heads 60,000 of those times, that's much better evidence that the coin is not a fair one. The p-value would be much lower. Typically, a p-value lower than 0.05 is considered statistically significant.

In practice, there's more than one way to calculate p-values, and so studies sometimes claim p-values that seem absurdly low. A low p-value is not proof of a claim in and of itself. Check to make sure that the authors of the paper also provide the raw data, and not just the p-values; this indicates a concern with other people being able to independently evaluate their results, rather than just trying to get The Best Numbers.

Citations

If the study cites something that seems foundational to their claims or interpretation, try tracing it back to the paper that was cited. Does the source actually claim what the authors of the first study said it did? Does the source provide proof or support for the claim, or does it seem flimsy, like a "common-sense" assumption?

Replication

Check the studies that cite the one you're currently looking at. Has anyone else tried to replicate the study? What were their results?

What if I really, really don't want to read scientific studies?

That's fine. Not everyone is concerned enough with specific scientific questions for regularly reading scientific papers to be reasonable for them. Just keep in mind that not everything in a scientific journal is necessarily true; that profit motives and personal and institutional bias impact results (e.g. when some studies revealed a lack of poor health outcomes for "obesity," and many scientists responded by calling it a "paradox" that needed to be "solved"); and that pop science and journalistic reporting on science are subject to distortions from the same sources.

Try finding commentators on scientific matters whose output you like, and evaluate their writing the same way you would evaluate any other critical writing.

[killerpancakeburger]

One man's penalty is another man's prize

SUMMARY: When agreeing to lend a hand with the organisation of some military tests, you thought it would be limited to marking times and keeping scores. Statistically, there was no way that the... "creative" penalty you came up with would be selected, right?

And the chances for your boyfriend to be the one subjected to it had to be close to zero, right?

PAIRING: Soap x f!Reader (Soaps calls Reader Ma'am twice, that's it)

TAGS: Civilian!Reader, Fat!Reader, Smug!Soap x1000, a bit Possessive!Soap, Established Relationship, flirting, banter, teasing, partial nudity. Making Shit Up for the Plot/military inaccuracies. Suggestive content but nothing graphic.

WORDS COUNT: 2k

A/N: crackfic...? Soap does push-ups fic. Soap wears booty shorts fic. That actually no one One (1) person asked for.

If you need "visual on the target", this piece by @rusticfurnace and this one by @wombywoo have been on my mind. (Hoping its ok to tag, if not, tell me)

For @glitterypirateduck Cod Vacation Mode Challenge, prompt 27.

A drop of sweat falls from your temple and lands onto the stack of papers you were scribbling on. You wipe off your dripping wet forehead with the back of your arm.

The torrid sun is beating down hard on the ground and bodies alike.

This unforgiving heat left you no respite all day long, despite the fact that all you did was sit and take notes. Drenched in sweat, you fan yourself with your notepad. Perspiration keeps accumulating between the rolls of your stomach no matter how many times you dry it off. Today's the base annual testing day, an unofficial gathering meant to measure soldiers’ performance and entertain some friendly competition.

You would almost regret committing to helping today by playing scribes, but the sadistic satisfaction of seeing others toiling away while you twiddle your thumbs is enough to thwart that feeling. That, and Soap's little… display.

Your eyes almost bulged out of your head when you arrived this morning and stumbled upon him stretching his legs, bent over, fingers aiming for his feet, wearing the shortest, thighest shorts you've ever seen. Then he greeted you as if nothing was out of the ordinary. You glanced in interrogation at Gaz and Ghost, who were respectively wearing Bermudas and tracksuits, and were met with a shrug and an eye roll.

To make matters worse, he traded his blue shirt for a sleeveless top that did wonders for his arms and shoulders - as if his tanned biceps weren't already a work of art and a weapon of mass destruction all at once.

You don’t know which incubus possessed him to wear booty shorts, but you definitely aren't complaining.

You spend the day ogling him shamelessly, knowing he was putting on a show for you. He'd sponge down his glistening face with the bottom of his shirt, offering you a tantalizing view of his toned stomach. He'd throw dazzling smiles, teasing winks and blow kisses your way. At some point, he even emptied his water bottle on his head, resulting in his shirt turning transparent and sticking to his skin in an almost obscene way.

His myriad of attentions made you dizzy, in the best of ways. You may have made yourself look like a lovesick fool, with your blissfully happy smiles and your stupid giggles, but except for the people you were close with, no one would dare to nag you about it - lest a certain Scottish sergeant with a big mouth and no fear of confrontation gets all up in their face.

Strong, bronzed hands heavily lean on your desk. Palms are turned towards you, fingers gripping the table's edge.

“M ‘ere fer my penalty.”

The voice is raspy, accent thick, tone charming and teasing at the same time.

You slowly look up from your paper to meet Soap's cerulean eyes; along the way you can’t help but peek at his tanned arms, his bulging biceps, the beads of sweat rolling down his neck, the familiar chin scar in the middle of his dark stubble. His shirt is soaked with sweat.

He's wearing the grin he has every time he lays eyes on you; a blinding, earnest thing. However, even that beguiling smile cannot hide the spark of triumph and playfulness in his gaze.

Johnny's terribly competitive, that's an open secret. It's no surprise that today's tests would fire him up. The perpetual FNG has a title to defend, after all, and with you watching, the stakes are high despite the tests’ results bearing no influence on their file.

But that excitement wasn’t supposed to target you.

“A penalty?” you repeat, unconvinced, twirling your pen between your fingers. “You?”

Doubt infused with sarcasm seeps in your tone, very much on purpose. You raise a skeptical eyebrow, on your guard. 

Your first instinct was to withdraw, prop yourself against the backrest, the distance between the two of you reduced to something too trivial to be proper, but you can’t back off from his implicit challenge. It's a well-crafted game with the two of you as its exclusive players. A dance of provocation and endearment, a mischievous yet comfortable back and forth.

The lack of privacy of it would usually discourage your bashful nature, who avoids confrontation at all costs. But the sergeant has figured out how to appeal to the competitive, driven part of you. So you stand your ground, brazenly, like you're the only two people in the world.

There is no way that Soap earned a penalty, no way that he lost. He's one of the best there is, if not the best - not that his ego needs the boost.

The SAS's youngest prodigue who beat all previous records, his name forever carved into the archives and his legend whispered among impressionable new recruits.

Not to mention that the way he said “my penalty” sounded more like “my prize” than anything else.

“‘ere. Proof.”

He hands out a piece of paper to you, a smug smirk not leaving his lips, one that is not without evoking the satisfied expression of the cat who got the cream. Your fingers brush his as you retrieve the “penalty receipt”, the contact feeling like flames licking your skin.

You take a break from defiantly holding his gaze to glance at the note. Its contents sends an ominous shiver down your spine, your eyes slightly widening in understanding.. and horror.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The odds were, what, one in hundreds? Amplified by the fact that Soap was the one to get ahold of it, out of all competitors.

You vainly stare at your own scrawl, as if that could make the ink vanish, but reality simply gazes back. 

When asked to participate in making up a penalty, you wrote the silliest thing that came to mind, as a sort of inside joke only yourself would be privy to. Eight innocuous little words that would sign your downfall.

“Do fifty push-ups with me on their back”.

The fifty was an arbitrary pick between twenty that you judged too lenient, and a hundred that would take too long; however, you've thought a bit more about the “me on their back” part. You were heavier than the average soldier's rucksack - significantly so. It had to be a challenge, so you've made it this way.

Yet you never expected to actually end up on someone's back.

How Johnny managed to get his hands on your penalty out of all of them, you'd probably never find out, but you couldn’t deny that the “me” mentioned was you. Indeed, on top of your… recognizable handwriting, the note was adorned with little scribbles you had mindlessly doodled while bored. They were simple but easily identifiable: a foamy bar of soap, a deadpan skull, a jerrycan wearing a cap, and a stack of cash with a hat, or, put differently, the Task Force 141 stylized.

A version of the team that Soap was well-versed with, having witnessed you drawing it countless times.

There was no way out of the corner you were backed into - Soap put you on the spot, the brightest one possible, and that little shit knew it perfectly - did it on purpose.

You sigh exaggeratedly as you get up. You bypass your desk to stand in front of Johnny, not missing the way he looks you up and down. This is the first time he's seeing you in shorts, and despite how self-conscious you are about the girth of your chafing thighs, he makes it obvious how much he's enjoying the view. You cross your arms with an amused smile on your lips.

“You know you’re not supposed to enjoy your penalty, right? Kinda defeats the purpose.”

His smile mirrors yours as he bends over to whisper in your ear, close enough for you to feel his body heat, but not making a move to touch you.

“And ye do know I’d never let any of those eejits sweat and grunt under ye? That's my prerogative.”

Despite the shiver his gravelly voice sent down your spine,you throw your head back in laughter.

“Ooh so that's what this is! You're jealous.”

He remains unfazed by the accusation.

“Call it what ye want.”

“You do know I'm heavier than your rucksack, right? Much heavier? You’re going to hurt yourself.”

His eyes glint with hunger for challenge.

“Don't knock it til you've tried it.”

“Fine. Drop and give me twenty, pretty boy.”

His grin becomes blinding. He reaches behind to grab the back of his shirt and rips it off like it burned him. 

You gape despite yourself in front of his glistening chest, all tanned skin, white scars, hard stomach and soft pecs, and he gently lifts your chin up with his index finger to close your mouth, an extremely smug smirk adorning his lips.

“Yes, Ma'am. Right away, Ma'am.”

From a stranger's perspective, his reply drips with an insolence that matches the cockiness he exhibited all day. But you know better; you can hear the underlying docility in his tone, the one he expresses when you two are intimate.

He keeps his eyes on yours as he kneels, the display way too lascivious for how public it is. You bite your lips, frowning your eyebrows in warning, but say nothing as he obeys and performs the twenty push-ups asked - on one arm. It is good that the position prevents him from staring at you, because you reckon otherwise he'd be giving you the slyest grin.

More than the impressive show of strength; more than the way his skin glows with sweat; more than the flaunting of his imposing muscles; the knowledge that he's undertaking it all for you is what tightens the band of arousal in your stomach, along with multiplying the bubbles of happiness and affection in your chest.

“Gonna take a seat, bonnie?”

He's forced to heckle you since you were so caught up in your staring that you forgot that the next part of the penalty required your participation.

And of course, he chose the cheekiest way to do so. The question, innocent at first glance, sent you back into the bedroom. The last time he asked you that was right before you sat on his face. And the time before that was when you rid him.

You oblige yourself to focus on the here and now, and carefully straddle Soap's back.

“Are you sure you can- Woh.”

He interrupts you by suddenly lowering and rising his body, obliging you to grab his shoulders to keep your balance, but easily demonstrating that the added weight has very little impact on his performance. 

“Alright, alright, you convinced me,” you yield. “That's only one out of fifty, though.”

“And yet ye dare doubt me again,” he grumbles under his breath, initiating a steadfast pace.

It is a shame that your current position prevents you from watching his face, but you concentrate on other things instead. Never before did you have the opportunity to revel in the glorious vision that was his powerful back.

You tease him by periodically clenching your thighs without warning, squeezing the meat of his shoulders or ruffling the back of his drenched mohawk.

You let out an impressed whistle when he reaches fifty, before scrambling to liberate him. He pretends needing your help to stand up, and you give him your hands without hesitation. Once he's up, you affectionately shove his shirt into his naked torso, an implicit command to make himself proper.

Following his dressing, you two stare into each others' eyes, hands in hands, like lovebirds until his stomach roars like thunder. 

You giggle; he sighs exaggeratedly, suddenly bowed down by an invisible weight, like he wasn’t overflowing with energy a minute ago.

“M starvin’. Tae death.”

“Wouldn’t have guessed.”

He starts walking towards the canteen's building, after a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows and his eyes motionning between you and the coveted reserve of food in a silent but strong proposition. You purposely let him take the lead so you can sneak behind him and grab a generous handful of his ass.

He turns his head towards you with mock outrage on his face, a hand pressed on chest, quickly replaced by appreciation.

“Been itching to do that all day,” you confess with an impish smile.

Walking side by side, you start happily humming, and just as you let your hand drop, he seizes it and puts it back on his buttock.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: parrotfish

Which fish hangs out on a mermaid pirate's shoulder and repeats what she says in a high-pitched voice? The parrotfish, of course. Or at least in fiction they should (certainly will in my D&D world). But even in real life, parrotfish are still pretty interesting.

(Image: a common parrotfish (Scarus psittacus) seen from the side in front of rocks and corals. It is a brightly-colored fish, mainly light blue but with patches and stripes of yellow and pink on the fins. Its mouth is open, revealing what appears to be a beak. End ID)

Parrotfish are fish famous for their mouths and eating habits. There are about 90 species known. While they were historically considered their own taxonomic family, they have since been reclassified a subset of the wrasse family and there is still some debate on how to classify them. Most species are on the smaller size, but a few can get very large. The largest species is the green humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) at 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) and 75 kg (165 lbs) while the smallest species is the bluelip parrotfish (Cryptotomus roseus) reaching 13 cm (5 in). I could not find an average weight for the bluelips. What makes parrotfish really stand out visually is their colors and their mouths. Most species are very brightly colored, with distinct markings and males are usually more brightly colored than females. Their mouths are dominated by what appear to be beaks, which gave them their common name. These beaks are actually made of approximately 1,000 teeth arranged in 15 rows. As the teeth wear out, they drop off and are replaced by the row behind them. The teeth are made of fluorapatite, the second hardest biomineral int the world. To support their hardness, the fluorapatite crystals that make up the teeth are woven together in a structure very similar to chainmail, resulting in very hard teeth that measure in at a 5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. For reference, iron is a 4 and higher numbers are harder. The teeth can also handle 530 tons of pressure. You could put the weight of 200 black rhinos on a tooth and it would be fine. The beaks are powerful enough to bite through rock. Which is what they use it for, but more on that below. Another unusual feature of parrotfish is how they sleep. Some species make their own sleeping bags, which would be adorable if they weren't made of mucus. The mucus is produced using glands in the gills and looks like a transparent bubble. The fish sleeps in the mucus cocoon and when it wakes up, it eats the cocoon. There have been several proposed benefits of the cocoon. It contains chemicals that harm skin parasites while also providing a barrier that keeps new parasites from reaching the fish. It also likely blocks the fish's scent, helping it hide from predators.

(Image: a green humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) swimming over yellow coral. It is large and mostly a uniform green color, except for the front of its head, which is pink. It has a large, fleshy lump on the top of its head. End ID)

(Image: a close-up of a parrotfish's beak. The top and bottom beaks are divided into two halves, left and right. The beak is bade of small, circular teeth that overlap each other. End ID)

(Image: another common parrotfish seen from the front. It is inside of a mucus cocoon, which appears as a transparent bubble around the fish. Bits of sand dot the cocoon's surface. End ID)

Parrotfish live worldwide, though the majority of species are found in the Indo-Pacific. They live in warm, shallow waters with lots of rocky reefs, especially coral reefs. They use those powerful teeth to eat and what they eat most is algae. There are three main types of feeding behavior: excavating, scraping, and browsing. Excavators bite into rocks to get their food, scrapers crape food off of the surface of the rocks, and browsers go after larger food sources like seagrass and sponges. Some of the larger parrotfish species also make coral a large part of their diet. When they eat, they naturally get rock in their mouths, moreso in excavators. Because their food clings to the rock, spitting the rocks out would deny them food. Instead, parrotfish use pharyngeal teeth set in their throats to grind the rock into sand, which then passes through the digestive tract. When it exists the digestive tract, it is in the form of fine grains of rock. Or to put it another way, parrotfish eat rock and poop sand. A single parrotfish can produce up to 40 kg (88lbs) of sand yearly, and bigger species can produce even more than that. The process of rock being broken down by living things is called bioerosion and parrotfish are one of the most famous sources of bioerosion. The sand they produce can serve as the basis for new growth of coral or other species and helps reinforce nearby islands. In places like Hawai'i, the Caribbean, and the Maldives, it's estimated that up to 80% of the famous white sand is produced by parrotfish and they serve as a major source of incoming earth to support the islands. This makes parrotfish ecosystem engineers. Their eating of algae is also majorly important to their ecosystems. Algae can overgrow and smother delicate ecosystems like coral reefs and seagrass beds and decaying algae draws oxygen out of the water. Parrotfish help the health of their environments by keeping the algae population at healthy levels. Parrotfish also eat seaweeds and sponges that grow much faster than coral and can smother coral reefs. Parrotfish are considered keystone species in many reefs, including the great barrier reef and their population dropping correlates with reduced health of reefs. Damaged reefs tent to have larger parrotfish populations and those populations drop as the reef recovers.

(Image: a group of many parrotfish feeding on coral. They are all the same species and are mostly blue, with yellow heads and stripes on the face. They appear to be biting the the coral. End ID)

Parrotfish are protogynous sequential hermaprodites. This means that all parrotfish are born female and can become male later in life. The transition is usually triggered when there are too many females or not enough males in a location, though in some species any fish that reaches a certain size will become male. Some parrotfish are solitary while others are social. In social species, the social groups consist of a large male and a harem of females that he protects and claims mating rights with. Other males will attempt to fight the male for dominance via headbutting and threat displays and occasionally one of his harem members will become male to challenge him. Males are usually more colorful than females, which they use to woo females, but also puts them at greater risk of predation. If the harem leader dies and is not replaces, one member of the harem will transition to male and replace him. Many species perform courtship dances during nights of the full moon. In non-social species, males will perform displays and fight with each other to attract females. In social species, the dominant male will mate with his harem while smaller males without harems will try to sneakily woo claimed females or sneak in and mate without being noticed. Parrotfish are broadcast spawners. The female releases her eggs into the water and the males releases sperm to fertilize them. The eggs will drift on the current until settling, after which the larvae will hatch. As with most fish species, only a very few of the larvae will reach adulthood.

(Image: a Mediterranean parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense). It is mostly bright red, but with a yellow patch above the tail and a yellow stripe around the eye that runs down to the belly. A large patch behind the eye is blue. End ID)

Thankfully, most parrotfish species are not particularly endangered. The largest threat to them comes from habitat loss as pollution and climate change harms coral reefs. Reintroducing parrotfish to damaged reefs helps them recover. All species are edible, though there is no commercial fishery for them. While parrotfish are capable of delivering powerful bites, there are few reports of humans getting bit. That being said, I found one case where someone had skin on his penis bitten off by a parrotfish. And yes, that link has pictures. Enjoy.

(Image: a blue parrotfish (Scarus coeruleus) looking at the camera. It is a blue fish with darker patches around the eye. Its snout is bulbous and the beak points downward. End ID).

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The moral injury of having your work enshittified

This Monday (November 27), I'm appearing at the Toronto Metro Reference Library with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

On November 29, I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

This week, I wrote about how the Great Enshittening – in which all the digital services we rely on become unusable, extractive piles of shit – did not result from the decay of the morals of tech company leadership, but rather, from the collapse of the forces that discipline corporate wrongdoing:

https://locusmag.com/2023/11/commentary-by-cory-doctorow-dont-be-evil/

The failure to enforce competition law allowed a few companies to buy out their rivals, or sell goods below cost until their rivals collapsed, or bribe key parts of their supply chain not to allow rivals to participate:

https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-pays-apple-36-percent-of-ad-search-revenues-from-safari-191730783.html

The resulting concentration of the tech sector meant that the surviving firms were stupendously wealthy, and cozy enough that they could agree on a common legislative agenda. That regulatory capture has allowed tech companies to violate labor, privacy and consumer protection laws by arguing that the law doesn't apply when you use an app to violate it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But the regulatory capture isn't just about preventing regulation: it's also about creating regulation – laws that make it illegal to reverse-engineer, scrape, and otherwise mod, hack or reconfigure existing services to claw back value that has been taken away from users and business customers. This gives rise to Jay Freeman's perfectly named doctrine of "felony contempt of business-model," in which it is illegal to use your own property in ways that anger the shareholders of the company that sold it to you:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

Undisciplined by the threat of competition, regulation, or unilateral modification by users, companies are free to enshittify their products. But what does that actually look like? I say that enshittification is always precipitated by a lost argument.

It starts when someone around a board-room table proposes doing something that's bad for users but good for the company. If the company faces the discipline of competition, regulation or self-help measures, then the workers who are disgusted by this course of action can say, "I think doing this would be gross, and what's more, it's going to make the company poorer," and so they win the argument.

But when you take away that discipline, the argument gets reduced to, "Don't do this because it would make me ashamed to work here, even though it will make the company richer." Money talks, bullshit walks. Let the enshittification begin!

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/22/who-wins-the-argument/#corporations-are-people-my-friend

But why do workers care at all? That's where phrases like "don't be evil" come into the picture. Until very recently, tech workers participated in one of history's tightest labor markets, in which multiple companies with gigantic war-chests bid on their labor. Even low-level employees routinely fielded calls from recruiters who dangled offers of higher salaries and larger stock grants if they would jump ship for a company's rival.

Employers built "campuses" filled with lavish perks: massages, sports facilities, daycare, gourmet cafeterias. They offered workers generous benefit packages, including exotic health benefits like having your eggs frozen so you could delay fertility while offsetting the risks normally associated with conceiving at a later age.

But all of this was a transparent ruse: the business-case for free meals, gyms, dry-cleaning, catering and massages was to keep workers at their laptops for 10, 12, or even 16 hours per day. That egg-freezing perk wasn't about helping workers plan their families: it was about thumbing the scales in favor of working through your entire twenties and thirties without taking any parental leave.

In other words, tech employers valued their employees as a means to an end: they wanted to get the best geeks on the payroll and then work them like government mules. The perks and pay weren't the result of comradeship between management and labor: they were the result of the discipline of competition for labor.

This wasn't really a secret, of course. Big Tech workers are split into two camps: blue badges (salaried employees) and green badges (contractors). Whenever there is a slack labor market for a specific job or skill, it is converted from a blue badge job to a green badge job. Green badges don't get the food or the massages or the kombucha. They don't get stock or daycare. They don't get to freeze their eggs. They also work long hours, but they are incentivized by the fear of poverty.

Tech giants went to great lengths to shield blue badges from green badges – at some Google campuses, these workforces actually used different entrances and worked in different facilities or on different floors. Sometimes, green badge working hours would be staggered so that the armies of ragged clickworkers would not be lined up to badge in when their social betters swanned off the luxury bus and into their airy adult kindergartens.

But Big Tech worked hard to convince those blue badges that they were truly valued. Companies hosted regular town halls where employees could ask impertinent questions of their CEOs. They maintained freewheeling internal social media sites where techies could rail against corporate foolishness and make Dilbert references.

And they came up with mottoes.

Apple told its employees it was a sound environmental steward that cared about privacy. Apple also deliberately turned old devices into e-waste by shredding them to ensure that they wouldn't be repaired and compete with new devices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

And even as they were blocking Facebook's surveillance tools, they quietly built their own nonconsensual mass surveillance program and lied to customers about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Facebook told employees they were on a "mission to connect every person in the world," but instead deliberately sowed discontent among its users and trapped them in silos that meant that anyone who left Facebook lost all their friends:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

And Google promised its employees that they would not "be evil" if they worked at Google. For many googlers, that mattered. They wanted to do something good with their lives, and they had a choice about who they would work for. What's more, they did make things that were good. At their high points, Google Maps, Google Mail, and of course, Google Search were incredible.

My own life was totally transformed by Maps: I have very poor spatial sense, need to actually stop and think to tell my right from my left, and I spent more of my life at least a little lost and often very lost. Google Maps is the cognitive prosthesis I needed to become someone who can go anywhere. I'm profoundly grateful to the people who built that service.

There's a name for phenomenon in which you care so much about your job that you endure poor conditions and abuse: it's called "vocational awe," as coined by Fobazi Ettarh:

https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/

Ettarh uses the term to apply to traditionally low-waged workers like librarians, teachers and nurses. In our book Chokepoint Capitalism, Rebecca Giblin and I talked about how it applies to artists and other creative workers, too:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

But vocational awe is also omnipresent in tech. The grandiose claims to be on a mission to make the world a better place are not just puffery – they're a vital means of motivating workers who can easily quit their jobs and find a new one to put in 16-hour days. The massages and kombucha and egg-freezing are not framed as perks, but as logistical supports, provided so that techies on an important mission can pursue a shared social goal without being distracted by their balky, inconvenient meatsuits.

Steve Jobs was a master of instilling vocational awe. He was full of aphorisms like "we're here to make a dent in the universe, otherwise why even be here?" Or his infamous line to John Sculley, whom he lured away from Pepsi: "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?"

Vocational awe cuts both ways. If your workforce actually believes in all that high-minded stuff, if they actually sacrifice their health, family lives and self-care to further the mission, they will defend it. That brings me back to enshittification, and the argument: "If we do this bad thing to the product I work on, it will make me hate myself."

The decline in market discipline for large tech companies has been accompanied by a decline in labor discipline, as the market for technical work grew less and less competitive. Since the dotcom collapse, the ability of tech giants to starve new entrants of market oxygen has shrunk techies' dreams.

Tech workers once dreamed of working for a big, unwieldy firm for a few years before setting out on their own to topple it with a startup. Then, the dream shrank: work for that big, clumsy firm for a few years, then do a fake startup that makes a fake product that is acquihired by your old employer, as an incredibly inefficient and roundabout way to get a raise and a bonus.

Then the dream shrank again: work for a big, ugly firm for life, but get those perks, the massages and the kombucha and the stock options and the gourmet cafeteria and the egg-freezing. Then it shrank again: work for Google for a while, but then get laid off along with 12,000 co-workers, just months after the company does a stock buyback that would cover all those salaries for the next 27 years:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/10/the-proletarianization-of-tech-workers/

Tech workers' power was fundamentally individual. In a tight labor market, tech workers could personally stand up to their bosses. They got "workplace democracy" by mouthing off at town hall meetings. They didn't have a union, and they thought they didn't need one. Of course, they did need one, because there were limits to individual power, even for the most in-demand workers, especially when it came to ghastly, long-running sexual abuse from high-ranking executives:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/technology/google-sexual-harassment-andy-rubin.html

Today, atomized tech workers who are ordered to enshittify the products they take pride in are losing the argument. Workers who put in long hours, missed funerals and school plays and little league games and anniversaries and family vacations are being ordered to flush that sacrifice down the toilet to grind out a few basis points towards a KPI.

It's a form of moral injury, and it's palpable in the first-person accounts of former workers who've exited these large firms or the entire field. The viral "Reflecting on 18 years at Google," written by Ian Hixie, vibrates with it:

https://ln.hixie.ch/?start=1700627373

Hixie describes the sense of mission he brought to his job, the workplace democracy he experienced as employees' views were both solicited and heeded. He describes the positive contributions he was able to make to a commons of technical standards that rippled out beyond Google – and then, he says, "Google's culture eroded":

Decisions went from being made for the benefit of users, to the benefit of Google, to the benefit of whoever was making the decision.

In other words, techies started losing the argument. Layoffs weakened worker power – not just to defend their own interest, but to defend the users interests. Worker power is always about more than workers – think of how the 2019 LA teachers' strike won greenspace for every school, a ban on immigration sweeps of students' parents at the school gates and other community benefits:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/

Hixie attributes the changes to a change in leadership, but I respectfully disagree. Hixie points to the original shareholder letter from the Google founders, in which they informed investors contemplating their IPO that they were retaining a controlling interest in the company's governance so that they could ignore their shareholders' priorities in favor of a vision of Google as a positive force in the world:

https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/

Hixie says that the leadership that succeeded the founders lost sight of this vision – but the whole point of that letter is that the founders never fully ceded control to subsequent executive teams. Yes, those executive teams were accountable to the shareholders, but the largest block of voting shares were retained by the founders.

I don't think the enshittification of Google was due to a change in leadership – I think it was due to a change in discipline, the discipline imposed by competition, regulation and the threat of self-help measures. Take ads: when Google had to contend with one-click adblocker installation, it had to constantly balance the risk of making users so fed up that they googled "how do I block ads?" and then never saw another ad ever again.

But once Google seized the majority of the mobile market, it was able to funnel users into apps, and reverse-engineering an app is a felony (felony contempt of business-model) under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a crime to install an ad-blocker.

And as Google acquired control over the browser market, it was likewise able to reduce the self-help measures available to browser users who found ads sufficiently obnoxious to trigger googling "how do I block ads?" The apotheosis of this is the yearslong campaign to block adblockers in Chrome, which the company has sworn it will finally do this coming June:

https://www.tumblr.com/tevruden/734352367416410112/you-have-until-june-to-dump-chrome

My contention here is not that Google's enshittification was precipitated by a change in personnel via the promotion of managers who have shitty ideas. Google's enshittification was precipitated by a change in discipline, as the negative consequences of heeding those shitty ideas were abolished thanks to monopoly.

This is bad news for people like me, who rely on services like Google Maps as cognitive prostheses. Elizabeth Laraki, one of the original Google Maps designers, has published a scorching critique of the latest GMaps design:

https://twitter.com/elizlaraki/status/1727351922254852182

Laraki calls out numerous enshittificatory design-choices that have left Maps screens covered in "crud" – multiple revenue-maximizing elements that come at the expense of usability, shifting value from users to Google.

What Laraki doesn't say is that these UI elements are auctioned off to merchants, which means that the business that gives Google the most money gets the greatest prominence in Maps, even if it's not the best merchant. That's a recurring motif in enshittified tech platforms, most notoriously Amazon, which makes $31b/year auctioning off top search placement to companies whose products aren't relevant enough to your query to command that position on their own:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Enshittification begets enshittification. To succeed on Amazon, you must divert funds from product quality to auction placement, which means that the top results are the worst products:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

The exception is searches for Apple products: Apple and Amazon have a cozy arrangement that means that searches for Apple products are a timewarp back to the pre-enshittification Amazon, when the company worried enough about losing your business to heed the employees who objected to sacrificing search quality as part of a merchant extortion racket:

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-gives-apple-special-treatment-while-others-suffer-junk-ads-2023-11

Not every tech worker is a tech bro, in other words. Many workers care deeply about making your life better. But the microeconomics of the boardroom in a monopolized tech sector rewards the worst people and continuously promotes them. Forget the Peter Principle: tech is ruled by the Sam Principle.

As OpenAI went through four CEOs in a single week, lots of commentators remarked on Sam Altman's rise and fall and rise, but I only found one commentator who really had Altman's number. Writing in Today in Tabs, Rusty Foster nailed Altman to the wall:

https://www.todayintabs.com/p/defective-accelerationism

Altman's history goes like this: first, he founded a useless startup that raised $30m, only to be acquired and shuttered. Then Altman got a job running Y Combinator, where he somehow failed at taking huge tranches of equity from "every Stanford dropout with an idea for software to replace something Mommy used to do." After that, he founded OpenAI, a company that he claims to believe presents an existential risk to the entire human risk – which he structured so incompetently that he was then forced out of it.

His reward for this string of farcical, mounting failures? He was put back in charge of the company he mis-structured despite his claimed belief that it will destroy the human race if not properly managed.

Altman's been around for a long time. He founded his startup in 2005. There've always been Sams – of both the Bankman-Fried varietal and the Altman genus – in tech. But they didn't get to run amok. They were disciplined by their competitors, regulators, users and workers. The collapse of competition led to an across-the-board collapse in all of those forms of discipline, revealing the executives for the mediocre sociopaths they always were, and exposing tech workers' vocational awe for the shabby trick it was from the start.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

[ripplestitchskein]

Obliviousness as a protective measure being used in two separate and distinct ways to drive a relationship conflict is so fun tho?

Blitz is oblivious to himself. He does things instinctually and then has to either backtrack and play it off when he’s called out on it or he doesn’t recognize it at all. “I spent the entire morning listening to love ballads�� doesn’t EVEN REGISTER. He just does things and doesn’t connect them to his emotional state at all and when people force him to actually look at it he forces the willful ignorance into being, he reacts in anger, in vitriol, in making excuses or flirting to keep that facade of “I don’t know about this. I don’t feel this way.” This is driven by being raised in an environment where he repeatedly went with his emotions and acted like himself and was shut down every time, by his dad, by audiences, by horrible tragedies.

Meanwhile Stolas is really self aware about his own feelings when he understands them, and expresses them very blatantly. He communicates them so well. He is withholding in neither affection or emotion and he’s extremely transparent. But he’s oblivious to everyone else. He doesn’t pick up on their issues in relation to his behavior. He doesn’t see how he affects people. And that’s really the result of being raised in isolation. He never had to consider his actions affecting others, there were never any others around and when they were they very much did not want to be there either because they were employees or hated him and all attempts to connect are either rebuffed or obligatory.

And now Stolas is the catalyst for Blitz becoming a bit more self aware and Blitz is the catalyst for Stolas to be a bit less self involved and it’s just really awesome, okay?

[probablyasocialecologist]

Kenya can have democracy or neocolonial extraction, but not both – because democracy means addressing the demands of the Kenyan people for jobs, healthcare, education, housing, transportation and basic social protections under a fair and equitable fiscal regime, while colonial extraction means the destruction of economic and monetary sovereignty, austerity for the poor, extravagant lifestyles for the elites, corruption, injustice and socioeconomic exclusion under a fiscal regime that accelerates the engines of economic entrapment. One cannot democratize a system that hasn’t been structurally and economically decolonized yet. Despite Kenya’s democratic institutions, transparent elections, independent judiciary, freedom of speech and vibrant civil society spaces, its elected governments systematically undermine the social and economic demands of Kenya’s population – less because those governments wish to ignore the mandate given to them by the electorate, but because they face financial pressures from abroad that force them to prioritize external debt service and the financial needs of creditors and foreign investors. In 2019, Kenya used 19% of its export revenues to service external debt; today that number has jumped up to nearly 50%. When a country uses half of its export revenues to pay interest on its external debt instead of investing in the basic pillars of development and prosperity, it is not surprising to see the kind of revolt that we have seen in Nairobi against the 2024 finance bill. This makes Kenya a classic case of an economy steered from abroad, by colonial design rather than by accident. The fact that Kenya is in a debt trap after decades of following IMF policy prescriptions means that either the IMF is incompetent or it is engaging in intentional economic entrapment. I believe it’s the latter. It is time to end the entrapment and to decolonize the Kenyan economy.

10 July 2024

[ltash]

The Bodyguard pt-1

Part 2 & 3 link in the end.

SimonGhostRileyxfemalereader

The boardroom was sleek, modern, and imposing, with dark wood panelling and a sprawling glass table. Sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting sharp shadows across the faces of the people who had slowly filed in, each flashing rehearsed smiles in your direction. You leaned back in your chair, absentmindedly chewing on the end of a sleek silver pen, your eyes sharp, taking in every movement, every fake expression.

Five guards stood silently behind you, their presence a subtle but unmistakable reminder of your authority. You were untouchable here, or at least, that's what you needed them to believe. As the CEO and heiress of Aventis Pharmaceuticals, a company built on generational influence, you knew there were black sheep lurking within your empire. You could feel it in the way certain board members avoided your gaze, shifting uncomfortably under your silent scrutiny.

"Let's get started," you said, your voice calm but unyielding as you set the pen down, giving each person a measured look. "I need the details on the latest antinarcotic project we're working on."

There was a pause before the head of R&D, Dr. Marcus Lewin cleared his throat. He looked pale, though you couldn't tell if it was the lighting or nerves. "Ah... of course, Miss Aventis," he began, shuffling some papers before him. "We're in the third phase of clinical trials now. The formula has shown promising results, minimal side effects, with a faster recovery rate compared to the last version."

You raised an eyebrow, watching him squirm slightly. "Minimal side effects?" you repeated. "We're aiming for a groundbreaking product, Dr. Lewin. I expect 'minimal' to be an understatement."

"Yes, of course," he stammered, nodding vigorously. "I, uh, apologize. We're working on further improvements. There's also some data regarding efficacy rates in the latest testing group. I can forward the specifics to you."

You leaned forward slightly, your gaze hardening. "Forward them to me? Dr. Lewin, I'd prefer a comprehensive update now from you. Or are there... issues you'd rather not discuss here?"

A few other board members shifted uncomfortably, casting sidelong glances at one another. But Dr. Lewin managed a stiff smile. "No issues, Miss Aventis. We've been gathering the results carefully. We're confident we can meet the expected deadline and provide a full report for you to review."

You nodded slowly, letting the silence stretch. "Good. I expect nothing less. And, just to be clear," you said, glancing around the table at the assembled members, "I don't tolerate surprises. If there are any... discrepancies, now is the time to disclose them. Otherwise, I expect total transparency."

A hush fell over the room.

Your gaze shifted to Martin Hayes, the company's CFO, a man known for his sharp financial acumen and, at times, slippery ethics. He sat across the table, his fingers tapping nervously against his folder. He offered a tight, polite smile as he looked up to meet your eyes.

"And about our deal with that company?" you asked, your voice cool, with just a hint of impatience.

Martin cleared his throat, adjusting his tie. "Yes, of course, Miss Aventis. The partnership with Arcadia Biotech is progressing as planned. We've secured favourable terms for both manufacturing and distribution, ensuring a significant reduction in costs while increasing production capabilities."

You tilted your head, studying him. "And Arcadia is still unaware of our... competitive projects?"

He hesitated, just for a fraction of a second, but you didn't miss it. "They're completely in the dark," he assured quickly. "We've kept all sensitive projects under strict confidentiality clauses. As far as Arcadia is concerned, they're our exclusive partners in the development and distribution of the existing narcotic treatments."

You tapped your fingers against the table. "Good. I'd like a written assurance from you that our proprietary research won't leak. If Arcadia or any other competitor even hints at knowing about our new product, I'll know who to turn to, won't I, Martin?"

The colour drained slightly from his face. "Absolutely, Miss Aventis. You have my word; I'll have our legal team draft an ironclad document."

"See that you do." You leaned back, giving him a faint smile as if to relieve the tension just slightly. "And remember, gentlemen and ladies," you added, letting your gaze roam around the table, "we're here to lead the industry-not to compete in petty games. I expect only the highest standards of loyalty and discretion."

A murmur of agreement filled the room, the board members nodding.

You leaned forward, placing both hands on the table, and fixed each board member with a piercing stare. The boardroom fell silent, the tension thick in the air.

"Also, remember this," you said, your voice low but unwavering. "I am more than capable of running my father's company. Each of you is here because you're shareholders, yes, but let's not mistake that for immunity."

A flicker of uncertainty crossed a few faces, and you didn't miss a beat.

"If I find out that anyone here has tampered with our formulas, compromised our products, or made any attempt to sabotage the reputation of Aventis Pharma..." You let the threat hang in the air for a moment, letting them feel the weight of your words. "Then you'll all be sinking with me. I won't hesitate to bring down every last one of you along with this company if it comes to that."

Martin Hayes shifted uncomfortably, his collar suddenly seeming a little too tight. Dr. Lewin was looking down at his notes, his jaw clenched, while a few others exchanged uneasy glances.

"Now," you continued, sitting back but keeping your gaze sharp, "let's ensure that it never comes to that. We are all on the same side, or we should be. Our success is your success. I expect complete loyalty to the vision my father built and entrusted me to lead."

You let the silence settle, watching them absorb your message. Finally, you smiled, but it was a smile of steel. "Any questions?"

No one spoke up, and you nodded in satisfaction. The boardroom felt smaller, suddenly less crowded with ambition and more attuned to your authority.

The boardroom cleared, and with a curt nod, you dismissed the meeting. Rising from your seat, you walked out with purposeful strides, your five bodyguards falling in line behind you, each scanning the area, their presence, an unspoken wall of security. You exited the building and moved toward the parking lot, where the air was still and quiet, almost eerily so.

Your eyes drifted to a Hummer parked discreetly in the far corner. It felt out of place, like a shadow that didn't belong. You slipped into your sleek sports car, the engine purring to life, but an uneasy feeling gnawed at you. Suddenly, figures emerged from the darkness, men with sharp eyes and cold expressions, each one wielding M14 rifles. Diego Garcia's assassins. The Hummer door stayed shut, but you caught a glimpse of Garcia himself watching from within, his gaze locked on you.

Before you could react, a hail of bullets erupted. Your heart thundered as your bodyguards sprang into action, returning fire, but the assassins moved with ruthless precision. In moments, one by one, your guards went down, each man fighting until his last breath but hopelessly outnumbered. You watched in horror, paralyzed as they fell, each life extinguished in seconds. You barely registered your own scream, choked by terror and fury, as the sounds of gunfire faded, leaving only silence and blood.

Your hands fumbled, trying to unlock the doors, but they were stuck, trapping you in the vehicle like a helpless bystander in a nightmare. You felt your pulse race as the shadows closed in, and then Diego was there, standing right outside your window, his face illuminated in the dim parking lot light. He smiled, a dark, twisted smile that sent chills through you.

"Mine," he whispered through the glass, his voice laced with malice and satisfaction.

A wave of dizziness overtook you, and everything spun. His words echoed in your mind as your vision blurred. Helpless and horrified, you slipped into unconsciousness, the last image seared into your memory: Diego's face, and that sinister smile that promised nothing but darkness.

A week had passed since the attack, but the memory of it still haunted you, flickering at the edge of your thoughts as you sat on the plush velvet sofa in your expansive drawing room. Sunlight poured through the towering windows, casting a warm glow over the gleaming marble floors and the breathtaking view of the Los Angeles skyline stretched beyond, grounding you in the opulence of your mansion. The faint hum of a helicopter faded as it settled on the rooftop, carrying with it your new bodyguard: Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, a man whose reputation preceded him.

The sound of heavy boots echoed through the hallways, each step precise and deliberate, growing closer until the double doors swung open. You rose from the sofa, instinctively straightening your posture as the figure of Ghost entered the room, his presence consuming it instantly. He was massive, towering over you at 6'4", his muscular frame stretching the fabric of his black t-shirt, every inch of him exuding strength and danger. His broad chest and shoulders were carved with the kind of power that comes only from a life on the battlefield, and his thick, muscular thighs tested the seams of his black cargo pants. A holstered firearm rested against his leg, a stark reminder of the deadly world you were stepping into.

But it was his eyes that struck you the hardest. Deep brown and unwavering, they locked onto yours with an intensity that felt almost physical, as if they could see straight through every secret you held. A skull-patterned bandana covered most of his face, concealing his expression, but his gaze was enough, it was fierce, calculating, and unyielding. His buzz-cut hair, a dirty blonde, caught a hint of sunlight, and a jagged scar traced down his left temple, the brutal souvenir of battles fought and survived.

The contrast between the two of you felt almost surreal, his raw, masculine power against your delicate, fragile beauty. At just five feet tall, your frame seemed almost dainty by comparison, a striking contrast of elegance and strength. The soft material of your dress hugged your figure, emphasizing the curve of your waist and your petite, curvy form, while your brown, doe-like eyes met his with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

"This is Ghost, ma'am," he nodded, his voice low, gravelly, resonant. The sound of it sent a shiver down your spine, filling the room as thoroughly as his presence did.

You hesitated, caught off guard by his intensity, before extending your hand. "Lieutenant Riley," you greeted, your voice steady even as you took in every detail of the man before you. "I've heard a lot about you."

He accepted your hand, his grip firm and respectful, but his eyes stayed sharp and assessing, as if already calculating every risk, every angle of protection.

"Welcome to my mansion. How was your journey?" you asked, settling yourself elegantly on the velvet couch, your posture flawless.

"The journey was fine, ma'am," he replied, his deep voice rumbling through the room. He took a step closer, crossing his arms, his gaze intense and assessing. "The view from the landing pad is quite something, too."

You felt his eyes linger, moving over you, taking in the details of your petite frame and the way your bodycon dress clung to your curves. He tried to keep his focus professional, but it was hard not to notice the finer details.

"Tea, coffee, or whiskey?" you offered.

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Whiskey," he replied without hesitation, his gaze still fixed on you.

With a small nod, you rose from the sofa and moved to the bar across the room, reaching for the bottle of Kentucky bourbon. His eyes tracked your every movement, lingering on the bare skin between the thin straps of your dress. The dress hugged your form perfectly, and though he kept his face stoic, his attention remained unwavering as you poured the amber liquid into a glass.

You turned, holding the glass in your hand, and extended it to him. He stepped forward, his calloused fingers wrapping around the glass, brushing lightly against yours. The brief contact sent a jolt up your arm, but his face revealed nothing, not a hint of reaction. He lifted the glass to his lips, taking a slow, measured sip, all the while keeping his gaze steady on you.

You leaned back onto the plush sofa, crossing your legs elegantly, watching as he brought the glass of bourbon to his lips, taking a slow sip without breaking eye contact. The slight tension in the room was palpable, each of you sizing up the other, feeling out the boundaries of this unfamiliar relationship.

"So," you murmured, a faint hint of curiosity in your tone, "you wear the skull mask, Ghost..."

His eyes narrowed slightly above the edge of his mask, a flicker of irritation passing through them. He lowered the glass, studying you in silence for a moment before he replied, his tone even. "It's part of the job," he said. "Helps me keep things... impersonal. No one gets to see my face."

You tilted your head, not breaking his gaze. "Not even me?" you asked softly, a subtle challenge in your voice. "Not even the person you're here to protect?"

There was a beat of silence, his eyes dark and unreadable behind the mask. For a moment, you thought he might look away or ignore the question altogether. But then he spoke, his tone a shade more guarded. "Protection is about distance, ma'am. Masks help with that. It's not personal, just how I keep a clear line between my duty and... everything else."

You took a slow breath, absorbing his words. "Clear lines, huh?" You leaned forward, resting your chin on your hand as you studied him, his formidable frame, his stoic face, the shadows that clung to him. "Is that what works best for you, Lieutenant? No attachments, no faces, just the mission?"

He held your gaze, unflinching. "It's what's kept me alive." His answer was calm, unwavering, as though he'd thought it through many times before.

You nodded, acknowledging the harsh reality he lived by. "Well, I suppose I can respect that," you replied, your voice soft but thoughtful. "But you should know, Ghost, this won't be a typical mission. There are things at play here that... don't fit within clear lines."

He didn't respond, but his intense gaze on you seemed to deepen, like he was silently bracing himself for the unknown. Finally, he gave a slight nod, the barest hint of understanding in his eyes.

"Understood," he said, his tone low and resolute. And in that moment, you realized that, for all the distance he wanted to maintain, his presence, steady and unyielding, was exactly what you needed.

"Diego Garcia," you said, your voice quiet but resolute. "The Santiago Cartel."

Ghost's expression darkened. The name carried weight, a reputation steeped in violence. "Diego Garcia," he repeated, his tone grim. "Powerful, ruthless, no ordinary drug lord."

"He's bigger than Valeria Garza. More dangerous than El Sin Nombre."

Ghost's gaze was sharp, intense. "I know. Santiago Cartel is one of the deadliest in Mexico, and Garcia's the head of the snake."

"He's after me," you admitted, feeling the weight of the words as they left your lips.

Ghost's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"My company produces anti-narcotics," you explained. "We sell the cure. He sells the poison."

Recognition flickered in his eyes. "You're cutting into his profits," he said, understanding dawning. "You make him look weak."

"We're about to launch a new antidote," you continued. "One that blocks the effects of drugs like cocaine, fentanyl. It's still in testing, but it'll be on the market soon."

He nodded slowly, processing it. "The cartel won't let that happen. They'll do whatever it takes to stop you."

You felt a shiver at his words but pushed on. "He's already killed for it. My bodyguards... I watched them die, right in front of me."

A muscle tightened in Ghost's jaw. "He killed them in front of you," he said, his voice low, edged with anger. "Bastard doesn't play by any rules."

"He sent his men. They were armed with M14 rifles. My men didn't stand a chance."

His expression grew grim. "M14s. No wonder your guards didn't make it."

"Laswell suggested you," you continued, watching him closely. "She said if anyone could handle Garcia, it'd be you."

He met your gaze, a flicker of confidence in his eyes. "She's not wrong. I've dealt with men like him before." His voice was calm, unshaken. "And I'll take him down.

"Let me show you around," you said, motioning for him to follow.

Ghost nodded. "Lead the way."

The mansion was sleek and modern, blending luxury with privacy. As you walked through the marble driveway, you passed the tall, solid wooden door into the living room, its polished granite floors gleaming in the light. To the left, a door opened to the swimming pool area, surrounded by greenery. Above, a glass skywalk connected the house, offering a view of the water below.

A spiral staircase led to the second floor where your master bedroom and its luxurious bathroom were located, complete with a Jacuzzi and a high-tech shower. The back lawn opened up to the underground parking area.

As you walked, Ghost took in everything with a sharp, calculating gaze. The mansion wasn't just a home, it was a fortress. Every detail, from the barbed wire to the strategic location, was a reminder of the protection it offered.

"Like what you see?" you asked, watching his reaction.

Ghost's expression was unreadable, but his voice was steady. "It's secure," he said, eyes flicking over the property. "More than most would need."

"It's still smaller than other mansions here," you countered.

"Smaller, yes. But more secure," he said. "Most billionaires settle for an alarm system. You went further."

"The reason I don't go bigger is security," you replied. "I know Diego could breach it, but it's L.A. He'd think twice."

Ghost nodded. "Smart. L.A.'s dangerous, but Garcia would hesitate."

"Good. Let him be intimidated. Makes my job easier."

He shifted his attention back to you. "What about inside? Armed guards?"

"Outside," you said. "The perimeter's covered."

He raised an eyebrow. "Inside?"

"You..." you trailed off, letting him fill in the rest.

Part 2

Part 3

Pic credit: VhenanVirabelasan

https://www.instagram.com/vhenan_virabelasan?igsh=MWpmdnVzaXN5czYyZg==

[fossette-promenade]

How I added a bustle to make a skirt larger:

My friend bought this Abilletage skirt, but it was a bit too small for them. They asked if I could alter it for them. I have very minimal sewing skills, but I accepted the project (because im a pushover). So here's how I did it.

First I had them put the skirt on and measured the gap. The skirt had a zipper and they couldn't zip it all the way. There was a 7 inch gap.

I bought 2 yards of this very light bamboo cotton fabric that reminded me of chiffon. I wanted the fabric to flow because I wasn't confident I could make something structured.

I cut out an 8 inch "box" of fabric to act as the base (i stacked 2 bc the fabric was a little transparent) Then with the rest of my fabric, I cut 5 rectangles out to be each bustle layer. I used the gathering foot on my sewing machine to ruffle them up (i had to learn how to change the foot and tension, there are multiple youtube videos that were helpful)

I also made sure to finish my hems with a double fold hem. This made it look very professional!

I made sure everything lined up before I altered the skirt. Then, the scary part! I seam ripped the skirt. I did not want to mess with the zipper, so I used the front seam. Then I added the plain 8 inch "box" on without the ruffles sewn on. I attached the ruffles by handsewing.

(before and after) it isn't very clean looking, but it's on the inside plus there's no raw edges showing!

I didn't make a new waistband, I just folded over the top ruffle and stiched the sides closed.

And here's the final result! I think it makes the skirt more classy, plus it fits bigger now! I know it doesn't look absolutely perfect, but I thought this might inspire some of you to try it yourself and gain some experience like I did!

Thank you for reading!

[mariacallous]

Drones, snipers, razor wire, sniffer dogs, body armor, bulletproof glass, and 24-hour armed security.

This is not a list of protections in place for a visit by the president of the United States nor the contents of a shipment to frontline troops fighting in Ukraine. This is a list of the security measures election officials in counties across the US have had to implement ahead of Tuesday’s vote as a result of the unprecedented threats they have faced in recent years.

Officials are putting in place the typical final measures to ensure the smooth operation of an election, but beyond checking that they have enough ballots and that machines are working properly, officials are now faced with having to monitor for threats and make sure they have done everything they can to protect themselves and their staff.

“Given the current political environment, the possibility that an event may occur has increased, and our election professionals have responded in kind,” says Tammy Patrick, a former election official in Arizona’s Maricopa County who is now a senior adviser at the nonprofit Bolstering Elections Initiative. “Efforts focusing on the physical security of the voters, election workers, and staff by putting in bulletproof glass, panic buttons, razor wire, and fencing are fairly common, as is the installation of surveillance cameras and systems, cyber protections, and training on de-escalation techniques and response drills.”

Nowhere in the US is the militarization of the election process more evident than in Maricopa County.

The fourth largest county in the nation, Maricopa became ground zero for election denial conspiracists in recent years, after GOP lawmakers sanctioned a bogus recount in 2021, run by the Florida company Cyber Ninjas.

As a result, the county has for years been putting increased security measures in place. “We're a fortress now,” Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County Recorder, told WIRED back in February, outlining how he had to navigate security fencing, metal detectors, and security checks in order to get into his office.

As the 2024 election approaches, the measures Maricopa officials are putting in place have been ratcheted up significantly.

Officials have added a second layer of security fencing to protect election offices, as well as concrete k-rails, which means election workers will be bused in from offsite locations due to reduced parking spaces. At the country’s tabulation center, every door will be fitted with metal detectors, floodlights will be installed, and on election day the center will be protected by a ring of snipers deployed on roofs around the building, election officials told NBC.

There will also be mounted police on standby outside the building, round-the-clock armed security, and drones in flight over the building, monitoring for approaching threats. The entire election office building is also covered in security cameras that livestream everything online for anyone to watch, a security measure that doubles as a way of offering transparency into its election process.

“The security and safety of our elections and those that help conduct them are paramount in ensuring a smooth election process,” Taylor Kinnerup, communications director for the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, tells WIRED. “Since January of 2021, our office has increased badge security access, installed permanent barriers, and added additional cybersecurity measures based on the recommendations of law enforcement and other experts.”

The threats against election workers spiked in the wake of the 2020 election, spurred on by Donald Trump’s baseless allegations that the election was stolen. While the threats receded somewhat in between election cycles, they have picked up again in recent months.

WIRED revealed earlier this month that the Department of Homeland Security has issued a series of reports to government agencies warning about the “heightened risk” of right-wing extremists carrying out attacks around the election.

Just last week, the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force announced charges against four men for threats they made against election officials. “The fact that election workers need to be worried about their security is incomprehensible and unacceptable,” FBI director Chris Wray said in a statement about the threats.

Some of the charges relate to threats made back in 2022; as a result, election officials have been preparing for years for next week’s vote. Since the beginning of last year, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has conducted over 1,000 voluntary physical security assessments at election offices.

One of these assessments was conducted in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County in late August, with officials from CISA and Homeland Security recommending that barriers be installed to prevent cars from ramming into the ground floor of the building housing the county’s election offices in Wilkes Barre.

“This is a measure taken to safeguard staff, the public, and the ballots,” Luzerne County manager Romilda Crocamo told local TV station WVIA earlier this month as workers installed boulders along the front of the building.

Crocamo also said the county had decided against using drop boxes because they could not adequately protect them. This week, multiple drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, were set on fire in incidents police say were linked.

In addition to protecting the buildings where election staff work, some high-profile election officials have had to protect themselves.

Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes, the top election official in his state, revealed on Monday that he regularly wears a bulletproof vest after a series of threats were posted online and included his home address. In Adams County, Colorado, the county clerk and recorder Josh Zygielbaum has also been advised by local police to wear body armor after someone followed him home after a recent local election.

Zygielbaum recently told USA Today that he has taken the advice and now wears one every day. He has previously used militaristic phrases like “harden the office as a target” to describe his efforts to beef up security, which has included the installation of panic buttons under every desk

Tate Fall, Cobb County, Georgia’s election director, has also installed panic buttons that link directly to emergency services after a poll worker reported an agitated voter during this year’s presidential primary who was carrying a gun.

In some cases, new election offices have been built since the last election, including ones in California’s Los Angeles County and Durham County, North Carolina. These have been built with security in mind and feature bulletproof glass, security cameras, and doors that will open only with the right credentials.

In Los Angeles County, they are also deploying trained sniffer dogs to screen all the mail coming into election offices after a surge in letters sent to officials containing white powder, several of which have tested positive for fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that can be deadly even in small doses.

As a result, most election offices across the country have Narcan kits on hand, and officials have been trained on how to administer the drug in the case of an accidental opioid overdose. Taking things a step further, in Durham County’s new election office, they have constructed a dedicated mail-sorting room that features a separate exhaust system to prevent potentially hazardous substances contaminating the rest of the office.

“Election workers now need to be experts in security, cybersecurity, public health, and public relations, while handling drastically more information requests and recounts,�� Adam Hinds, former Massachusetts state senator and current CEO of the nonprofit Edward M. Kennedy Institute, tells WIRED. “One problem is they are already stretched in terms of funding and resources. As election administration receives more attention, our election workers deserve the resources necessary.”

[elismor]

I see a lot of posts going by about comments and kudos and hits and...well... I've been thinking about the three quite a lot lately--as both a fic author and someone who spends a lot of my professional life looking at web metrics and determining which are actually important/accurate measures of user engagement.

Mileage varies, of course. And this is all just MY opinion, so do feel free to ignore it wholesale.

What I think when I see someone say that sorting by a hits to to kudos ratio is a good way to find "good" fic:

Hits are a measure of quantity (how many times your story or art has been viewed), but without knowing how AO3 defines a hit, it's actually kind of a meaningless number.  We know that our own views of our work do not count toward hits, but...if my BFF looks at my story 7 times in one day because she keeps trying to read it but getting interrupted...is that one hit, or seven? And if it's seven, then the numbers are artificially inflated because it's really just Bestie trying to get her Codex fix. And...if Bestie looks at it three times today and four tomorrow...is that 7 hits total, or two? 

Some transparency on the part of AO3 could clear this up handily, but until we get that...shrug. All it is is a number that may or may not be an accurate reflection of how many actual people looked at the page your fic is on.  Did they READ it? Or did they nope out?  No way to know.

Kudos are intended to be slightly more qualitative, but there is no way of knowing why the reader gave them. (Similar to likes here on tumblr.) It might be that they loved the piece. It might be a simple acknowledgement that the reader was there. It might even be a pity kudo. We have no way of knowing. It's, again, just a number.

Obviously, everyone is free to interpret both hits and kudos as positive reaction/interaction. I might do that myself if I didn't spend my workdays explaining to people that 50,000 "hits" to the website could be 50K people who came to learn about us or...simply the result of the computer labs on campus having the university homepage set to default.

Bigger numbers are just that....bigger numbers.

Comments are the only objective way to judge how someone is reacting to your fic or art.

So, what then? Sort by number of comments?

You can do that, sure. (I think. I confess I have never once gotten the AO3 search to work as well as people rave about.) But do keep in mind that many authors answer their comments. So, something with, say, 20 comments may be 20 people telling the author they loved it. Or it might be ten people and ten author-replies. OR, it might be three people having a conversation in the comments. You have to look and see.  

Bigger numbers are just bigger numbers.

Okay, fine Elis. What am I supposed to do then?

Look, I'm not your mother or your therapist and you are free to assign whatever meanings you like to these things. I, personally, find "good" fic through a combination of things including: recs, the fandom grapevine, dumb luck, events, and just...reading some of it and not feeling guilty if I nope out for some reason.

This all sounds a little depressing when laid out like this, huh? Especially when you take into account the downward trends in interacting and the rise of folks treating fic and art as content to be consumed. 

Here's what I have learned from writing fic for 30 years (well, 28 and counting):

As an author (and an artist, I would presume), you have absolutely no way of predicting which of your work will land and take hold and which will not. It's alchemy and luck and the weird (and not actual) algorithm of fandom. Sometimes, the piece you whipped out in 30 minutes and posted on the fly will land in the right person's inbox and they will share it and their friends will share it and it will get big.  Sometimes, the piece you slaved over for weeks and weeks will do that...sometimes it won't.  Sometimes your genius manifests and resonates, sometimes it does not.

My personal favorite fic of my own--the one I think is probably the best thing I have done in SW fandom-- has like 8 kudos and 4 comments (2 of which are my responses). Is it disappointing? Yes. Is it an indication that the fic is objectively "bad"? No.

The mercenary in me suggests that if you want to get lots of comments and kudos, you should pick the pairing that is THE pairing in the fandom and write for that--because that's where the eyeballs are, because that's where the connections are.  But that is not why I write, so it's just that--a very mercenary way of looking at things. Not that there is anything WRONG with doing it that way. Supply and demand run the world. If the people want Codywan and you want the people....give them Codywan. No shame in that.

And there is no shame in wanting or seeking validation for your work, either.

But it breaks my heart to see authors (and artists) give up on themselves when they do not receive piles of kudos and comments. It's not you. It's...the luck of the draw. It's...fandom. It's...an artificial and murky set of measurements that have almost no basis in anything meaningful.

Keep writing. Keep drawing. Keep sharing. You are what you make, not how people respond to it.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

By the 1980s, some women had had enough. After decades of struggling with prams and shopping trolleys, navigating dark underpasses, blind alleyways and labyrinthine subways in the urban obstacle course mostly made by men, it was time for a different approach. “Through lived experience,” wrote the Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative, when they launched their manifesto in 1981, “women have a different perspective of their environment from the men who created it. Because there is no ‘women’s tradition’ in building design, we want to explore the new possibilities that the recent change in women’s lives and expectations have opened up.”

A case in point is the Essex Women’s Refuge. The complex, designed by a male architect, had got basic things wrong, from the shared kitchen, which was far too small, to the location of the children’s play areas, which were completely separate from the main communal areas, with no visual or aural connection for passive supervision. Matrix worked on the centre in 1992. Using what became a regular tactic, they presented the women with big cardboard models of different spaces, which they could rearrange to test out different configurations, along with using ribbon marked like a ruler to measure their existing spaces, which were added to the plans as a comparison.

“These were all simple techniques,” says Jos Boys, a founder member of Matrix, “But they made the women feel part of creating the project. A key part of everything we did was to make the language and practice of architecture more transparent and accessible to non-experts.”

Boys describes what now sounds like an unimaginable heyday of community action, participatory planning, squatting, workers’ co-operatives and technical aid centres, with public money readily available. Much of what Matrix worked on was funded by the Greater London Council under Ken Livingstone, before it was abolished in 1986 by the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Their projects included the groundbreaking Jagonari women’s educational resource centre in Whitechapel, east London. Working for – and with – a group of South Asian women, Matrix ran workshops with demountable models, asked the women to bring pictures of buildings from their home countries that they liked, and took them on a “brick picnic” walk to discuss what building materials and colours they preferred.

The result, completed in 1987 and now home to a childcare centre, incorporated a variety of Asian influences, deliberately not linked to any Hindu or Islamic imagery. It included decorative metal latticework over the windows, to provide both visual interest and security, mosaic patterns around the doors, squat toilets and sit-down sinks for washing large saucepans from communal meals. Every part of the building was fully wheelchair accessible too, a rarity in those days.

“They understood exactly what our requirements were without being patronising or judgmental,” wrote their client, Solma Ahmed, in a glowing tribute written three decades later, in support of an unsuccessful bid for Matrix to be retrospectively awarded the RIBA gold medal. “We said what we needed in that building: safety, security, childcare, sensitive to women’s cultural and religious needs while breaking some myths about Muslim women in particular. They were [the] perfect fit.”

When people have encountered Matrix in the past, they have sometimes asked what exactly feminist design looks like. How would a city designed and built by women be different? But, in Boys’ mind, that misses the point. They weren’t promoting a feminist aesthetic, but a way of looking, listening and designing that takes account of people’s very different needs and desires, one that embodies “the richness of our multiple ways of being in the world”. It’s about who gets to build it, too: a large part of Matrix’s work was devoted to publications, manuals and events, explaining routes into the building trades and running training courses.

As Matrix write: “Consciously or otherwise, designers work in accordance with a set of ideas about how society operates, who or what is valued, who does what and who goes where.” The question is who gets included, whose values we prioritise, and what kind of world we want to create.

[xxinkyshadowxx]

to anyone making a kieran playlist PLSPLSPLSPLS INCULDE ABNORMALITY DANCIN GIRL JUST LOOK AT THE LYRICS

No matter how hard I try or how much effort I put in The results are always average I can't go on like this Constantly being manipulated by useless measures of worth I've already come to hate this life So, I think I'll restart my life

My chest is completely filled with “abnormality” I'm becoming a me that isn't normal I ask myself over and over, "did I get it? A brand new me."

Look at me now, touch me right now I’ll throw away my ordinary clothes Now, from my chrysalis, I’ll become a butterfly I’ll show off everything as it is Therе are no performers on this coolеd-off stage So I'll beat out the steps, 1, 2, 3 I'm not being manipulated I'm dancing! Yeah, I'm going crazy!

"Normality" cast a curse on me And I yearned for "abnormality" I don't have any interest in your differing opinions or pet theories; I’ve already locked the door I went beyond “love” and “hate” And fell deeply in love with “abnormality” a long time ago And from the ruins of that warped love, it was created— A brand new me

Look at me now, touch me right now I’ll throw away my ordinary clothes Now, from my chrysalis, I’ll become a butterfly I’ll show off everything as it is There are no performers on this cooled-off[1] stage So I'll beat out the steps, 1, 2, 3 I'm not being manipulated I'm dancing! Yeah, I'm going crazy![2] In a dark room by myself Before the mirror at midnight "Who are you?" "Who am I?" I asked, but received no reply

Go crazy, go crazy, go crazy, go crazy, go crazy, go crazy, go crazy, dance Oh, brand new me...

Look at me now, touch me right now Dressed up in transparent clothes Now, from my chrysalis, I’ll become a butterfly I’ll show off everything as it is

There are no performers on this impassioned stage So I'll beat out the steps, 1, 2, 3 I'm not being manipulated I'm dancing! Yeah, I'm going crazy!

My chest is completely filled with “abnormality” I'm becoming a me that isn't normal And from the ruins of that warped love, it was created—an unfulfillable love My chest is completely filled with “abnormality” I'm becoming a me that isn't normal I ask myself over and over, "did I get it?

A brand new me."

HMMMMMM

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[loredwy]

Havent seen it around here, so here are some politician's reactions to the official announcement of Maduro winning the Venezuelan elections.

[Logo] Presidency of the Republic, Costa Rica Government.

The Government of Costa Rica categorically repudiates the proclamation of Nicolás Maduro as president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which we consider fraudulent. We will work with the democratic governments of the continent and international organizations to ensure that the sacred will of the Venezuelan people is respected.

— Rodrigo Chaves Robles, President of the Republic of Costa Rica

Not this way! It was an open secret. They were going to “win” regardless of the actual results. The process up to election day and counting was clearly flawed. You cannot recognize a triumph if you do not trust the form and mechanisms used to achieve it.

— Luis Lacalle Pou, President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay

The Maduro regime must understand that the results it publishes are difficult to believe. The international community, and especially the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand total transparency of the records and the process, and for international observers not committed to the government to attest to the veracity of the results.

From Chile we will not recognize any result that is not verifiable.

— Gabriel Boric Font, President of the Republic of Chile

As the Government of Chile, we make a firm call for the will of the Venezuelan people to be respected and for the results of the presidential election to be guaranteed. These are decisive hours in Venezuela and democracy must prevail above all.

— Alberto van Klaveren, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile

I condemn in all its extremes the sum of irregularities with the intention of fraud on the part of the government of Venezuela.

Peru will not accept the violation of the popular will of the Venezuelan people.

Given the very serious official announcements of the Venezuelan electoral authorities, the immediate call for consultations of the Peruvian ambassador accredited to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been arranged.

Several countries in the region are coordinating joint actions so that the will of the Venezuelan people expressed yesterday is undoubtedly respected. There is no going back, take as long as it takes. Our ambassador in Venezuela, called in for consultations, leaves Caracas today.

— Javier González-Olaechea, Chancellor of Peru

Panama joins to the generalized rejection regarding the electoral result in Vzla. We aspired for the popular will to be respected and such a situation was not expected. We will act individually and collectively in favor of Venezuelan democracy. We will announce measures that we will adopt in accordance with inter-American rules in the coming hours.

— José Raúl Mulino, President of the Republic of Panama

DICTATOR MADURO, OUT!!!

Venezuelans chose to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The data announce a crushing victory for the opposition and the world is waiting for him to recognize defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence and death.

Argentina is not going to recognize another fraud, and hopes that the Armed Forces this time will defend democracy and the popular will.

Freedom Advances in Latin America.

— Javier Milei, President of the Argentine Republic

Throughout the region, there are politicians who try to cling to power and seek to rob our citizens of peace. That is what we are facing; that is the danger of dictatorship, and today we are witnessing how one more of them tries to take hope away from millions of Venezuelans.

Ecuador had the opportunity to prevent the interests of a few from prevailing over the will of millions. Venezuela deserves that opportunity; therefore, I have requested our foreign minister to take the necessary steps to convene the Permanent Council of the OAS to address the delicate situation in Venezuela.

— Daniel Noboa Azin, President of the Republic of Ecuador

Venezuela deserves transparent, accurate results that adhere to the will of its people.

We receive the results announced by the CNE with many doubts. For this reason, the reports of the electoral observation missions are essential, which today, more than ever, must defend the vote of Venezuelans.

— Bernardo Arévalo, President of the Republic of Guatemala

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes of the massive devastation wrought on Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, following months of Israeli bombardment, in addition to an invasion by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), and their eventual withdrawal from the city. 📈 The death toll continues to rise in the Gaza genocide, now with an official count of over 34'262 Palestinians killed, while another 77'229 have been wounded over the previous six months.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

MASSIVE BOMBING IN GAZA CAUSES MASS DISPLACEMENT, SOUTH AFRICA DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO MASS GRAVES ON 201ST DAY OF GENOCIDE

On the 201st day of "Israel's" ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of six new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 79 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while another 86 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

Gaza's Ministry of Health added that ambulance and paramedic crews are still unable to reach many of the victims of the Israeli occupation's bombing and shelling, with many bodies remaining trapped under the rubble or strewn across Gaza's streets.

Following the discovery of hundreds of decomposing corpses of Palestinian civilians at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis over the last several days, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (SADIRC) called for "comprehensive investigations to ensure justice and accountability."

“Israel continues to disregard the rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and UN resolutions unabated amid the unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, particularly the ICJ’s ruling which granted South Africa’s urgent request of March 6 for further provisional measures to prevent Israel from causing irreparable harm to the rights invoked by South Africa under the 1948 Genocide Convention in respect of the ongoing siege of Gaza,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday.

The department lombasted the Israeli occupation's failure to comply with orders given by the International Court of Justice at The Hague (ICJ), in the Netherlands, where South Africa accused the Zionist entity of "acts of genocide," leading the ICJ to order provisional measures to ensure Palestinian's right to life, basic healthcare services, and basic needs like food and potable water.

South Africa said the lack of accountability for the Israeli occupation has become increasingly clear, pointing to comments made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur that "Israel's" war on the "right to health" of Palestinians has resulted in the obliteration of Gaza's healthcare system.

“We further concur with the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, when she recently highlighted the continuation of Israel's impunity and exceptionalism is no longer viable, especially in light of the binding UN Security Council resolution 2728 which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza."

“In this respect, we call on the international community to act to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure accountability for the victims and their families," the department added.

On top of South Africa's demands for an International investigation into the Nasser hospital massacre, the United Nations Human Rights High-Commissioner, Volker Türk, also called for an independent investigation into reports mass graves found at Nasser and Al-Shifa Hospitals, saying there needs to be "independent, effective and transparent investigations into the deaths."

"Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators," Türk said, adding that "hospitals are entitled to very special protection under International humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are hors de combat is a war crime."

In other news, the German Foreign and Development ministries issued a joint statement on Wednesday in which they stated that Germany intended to resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, more commonly known as UNRWA.

Previously, authorities with the Israeli occupation accused the aid organization of employing Palestinians with connections to Hamas and the Resistance's deadly attacks on illegal Israeli settlements and military bases lining the Gaza Strip on October 7th, 2023.

"The German government has dealt intensively with the allegations made by Israel against UNRWA and has been in close contact with the Israeli government, the United Nations and other international donors," the two departments said in their statement.

The German government said their concern stems from the fact that other International aid organizations were dependent on "UNRWA's operational structures" in Gaza, adding that ensuring humanitarian aid reached the enclave was "more important than ever" given the current situation.

The German government also urged UNRWA to implement recommendations made in a report following a German investigation into the claims which identified "neutrality issues" at the aid organization.

"In support of these reforms, the German government will soon continue its cooperation with UNRWA in Gaza, as Australia, Canada, Sweden and Japan, among others, have already done so," the joint statement added.

While the international community called for investigations into mass graves and renewed funding for UNRWA, the Hebrew media published reports stating that authorities with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have conducted all the necessary preparations for an invasion of Rafah, claiming they were ready to launch the operation at a moment's notice upon the occupation government's approval.

The occupation army added that it would begin ground operations in Rafah "very soon," starting with the evacuation of over 1.4 million Palestinians packed into the city, having been displaced by the occupation's genocide from various sectors of the Gaza Strip.

A report in the Hebrew media said the plan would begin by forcing over a million Palestinians to evacuate over the next four to five weeks, herded into tent complexes that they claim have been erected by "International aid organizations," a plan the Israeli occupation says it presented to its allies and other agencies in the region.

Subsequently, the plan will move forward in several stages, based on a "regional division" into defined areas, where at each stage, the Israeli occupation army will "inform the local population" before making advances, giving the Palestinian population a chance to evacuate.

The IOF also announced on Wednesday the recruitment of two reserve brigades to "continue the defense and attack mission in the Gaza Strip under the command of Division 99."

According to a report on the occupation's plans, the 2nd Reserve Brigade of the 146th Division, along with the 679th Reserve Brigade belonging to the 210th Division, will be transferred from the north of the occupied Palestinian territories, near the border with Lebanon, to the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the slaughter in the Gaza Strip continues to escalate, with a deadly renewal of the occupation army's bombardment on the northern Gaza Strip, in addition to various sectors of the enclave.

Occupation Forces demanded that residents of Beit Lahiya, a town in the northern Gaza Strip, leave their homes and migrate towards Gaza City and the Jabalia Refugee Camp, where six months of intense bombardment has left both the ancient city and refugee camp in ruins, beginning a whole new exodus of displaced Palestinian families.

Around 50'000 Palestinians had just returned to their damaged homes, hoping to rebuild, only to be told a short time later that they would have to evacuate once again, under threat of Israeli slaughter and bombardment.

At the same time, Zionist warplanes launched a series of firebelts on Beit Lahiya, demolishing large numbers of civilian homes, as well as a mosque, killing at least three civilians and wounding many others, while occupation artillery shelling concentrated on the town of Beit Hanoun, also in Gaza's far north.

Additionally, occupation fighter jets bombed a residential home belonging to the Dardouna family in the Al-Salam area, east of Jabalia, while yet another bombing of the Shteiwi family home in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, resulted in the deaths of two Palestinians and also wounded a large number of civilians.

Several civilians were also wounded following a strike on the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, when an IOF reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile which fragmented upon its explosion, hitting a number of Palestinians who were on the ground at the time.

Occupation warplanes also demolished the Al-Raed Tower in a firebelt on Al-Jalaa Street on Tuesday night.

The Zionist bombardment also hammered the central Gaza Strip overnight, with an occupation airstrike targeting a gathering of civilians near the Hyper Mall in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, resulting in the deaths of four Palestinians, while yet another strike targeted agricultural land in the Trans Al-Baba area of Al-Zawaida.

Occupation artillery forces also shelled the eastern neighborhoods of the Al-Bureij Refugee Camp, while another air raid targeted the vicinity of the Al-Salhi Towers in the New Camp, north of Al-Nuseirat. Similarly, two more additional raids targeted the Wadi Gaza area.

In Khan Yunis, Civil Defense crews continued to recover the bodies of those killed and dumped into mass graves by the IOF at the Nasser Medical Complex, announcing on Wednesday morning the discovery of 51 additional bodies of various ages and categories, 30 of whom had been identified, while the rest remain unknown.

This brings the total number of bodies discovered at the Nasser complex to 324, while 9 more bodies were recovered from various areas of Khan Yunis.

In the meantime, occupation forces bombed a residential building belonging to the Al-Bahasba family east of Rafah City, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least three civilians, including a father and his two sons.

As a result of "Israel's" ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the death toll among the population of Gaza has now risen to exceed 34'262 Palestinians killed, including over 14'690 children and 9'680 women, while another 77'229 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

April 24th, 2024

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@WorkerSolidarityNews