#Measurement & Verification

[shadows-and-starlight]

[yuyokunoshishi]

i think a lack of covid safety measures should have the place or event ruled as inaccessible by the ada. if you don't require masks, immunocompromised people cannot enter your space. that is a disability that is being excluded.

[appliedenergyconsulting]

What is HVAC and how it works?

HVAC, or heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, is a system that is designed to maintain indoor air quality and temperature within a particular building or space. The system comprises several components that work together to ensure optimal heating, cooling, and ventilation. This blog will discuss what HVAC is, its various components, and how it works.

What is HVAC?

HVAC is an acronym that stands for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. The primary function of the system is to regulate the temperature and air quality within a building or space. HVAC systems are found in a wide range of settings, including residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.

HVAC Components

An HVAC system is made up of several components that work together to achieve its primary function. The main components of an HVAC system include:

1. Furnace or boiler: This is part of the system that provides heating. Furnaces use natural gas, propane, or electricity to generate heat, while boilers use water or steam.

2. Air Conditioner: This component of the system provides cooling. Air conditioners use refrigerant to absorb heat from the indoor air and transfer it outside.

3. Heat Pump: A heat pump is an all-in-one heating and cooling system that transfers heat from one location to another. In the summer, it removes heat from indoor air to cool the space, and in the winter, it pulls heat from outdoor air to warm the space.

4. Ducts: Ducts are channels that transport air throughout the building. They distribute heated or cooled air from the furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump to different rooms.

5. Thermostat: A thermostat is a device that controls the temperature of the HVAC system. It turns the system on and off and regulates the temperature based on the desired settings.

6. Air Handler: The air handler is a component of the HVAC system that regulates the circulation of air. It contains a blower that pushes air through the ducts and filters that remove contaminants from the air.

What is the HVAC Procedure?

HVAC systems work by using the laws of thermodynamics to regulate the temperature and air quality within a space. The laws of thermodynamics state that heat flows from warmer to cooler areas and that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred. HVAC systems use this principle to transfer heat from one location to another and to maintain a constant temperature within the space.

The process of heating and cooling starts with the furnace or air conditioner. In the case of a furnace, natural gas or propane is burned to produce heat. This heat is then transferred to the air handler, where it is distributed through the ducts to the different rooms in the building. In the case of an air conditioner, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the indoor air and transfers it outside, leaving cool air to be distributed through the ducts.

The thermostat is the device that controls the temperature of the HVAC system. It is set to the desired temperature, and when the temperature falls below or rises above that setting, it sends a signal to the furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump to turn on or off. The thermostat also regulates the fan in the air handler, ensuring that the heated or cooled air is distributed evenly throughout the building.

Ducts are the channels that transport heated or cooled air throughout the building. They are usually made of metal or fibreglass and can be rectangular, round, or oval in shape. The ducts are connected to the air handler and distribute air to the different rooms in the building.

The air handler is the component of the HVAC system that regulates the circulation of air. It contains a blower that pushes air through the ducts and filters that remove contaminants from the air. The air handler also contains a heat exchanger, which helps transfer heat from the furnace to the air handler.

Conclusion: The HVAC system is an essential component of modern buildings and homes. It provides comfortable indoor air quality and thermal comfort.

For more information or services contact https://www.appliedenergy.ca/.

[kefnut-the-gweilologist]

i'd have to consult a medievalist ofc but the fact that i know this at least somewhat accurate is mortifying

[townpostin]

Jamshedpur Police Chief Leads Comprehensive Crime Review Meeting

SSP Kishore Kaushal Issues Key Directives to Enhance Law Enforcement Efficiency The monthly crime review meeting in Jamshedpur focused on upcoming legal changes, warrant execution, and strategies to combat various criminal activities. JAMSHEDPUR – Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kishore Kaushal conducted a crucial monthly crime review meeting with key law enforcement officials to address…

[ao3org]

Due to an influx of abusive spam comments on April 21, 2024, we temporarily disabled all guest comments across the site. We have now re-enabled the ability to leave guest comments, but if you comment while not logged into an account, you may encounter a verification page that checks that you are not a bot. We are also working on other ways to help reduce spam, including a small change to the default comment settings on the work posting form that will be rolled out soon.

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[ameliathornromance]

Your Orc Boyfriend’s snores rang through your flat as you stepped through the front door.

Eyes widening, you realised: This was your chance.

A few weeks ago, you woke up to a very bright, uncomfortable flash in your face. Followed by a gasp and a stifled laugh.

“What s’funny?” You grumbled, rolling over in your bedsheets and opening your eyes.

“Sorry,” Your Orc, stood in his pjs and the corners of his lips upturned softly. “You’re just so cute.”

Narrowing your eyes at your Orc, you murmured. “What’d you mean?” You sat up.

Your Orc pursed his lips, clearly thinking through his next actions. At your expression, he realised that there was no way he was going to get out of this.

Sighing, he showed you his phone. A picture of you, open mouthed and drooling on the pillow. Your arms were wrapped tightly around your quilt, all snuggled up and warm.

“Delete it. Now.”

“Oh come on hun, you look so sweet!” Your Orc instantly defended.

“I look like a fish!” You went to snatch the phone, but he held it out of your reach. “Babe I’m being serious! What if someone sees it?!” When you realised the futility of trying to take back the phone, you fell back onto the bed.

“Do you really think I’d show this to anyone?” He asked. Sitting beside you, he leaned to you. “I just thought you looked really sweet.”

“Well I don’t.”

“I disagree, so I’m keeping it.”

One look at his face and you knew there was no hope in getting your Orc to delete that photo.

And the past few weeks, you had tried to get rid of it behind his back.

Getting into his phone while he was asleep was a no go - there was no passcode and only face recognition.

You tried to access it via the cloud - double verification questions.

And that was when your plan of deletion, turned into revenge. If there was no way of deleting it manually, then you would give him a taste of his own medicine.

Only problem being, you never realised how meticulous your boyfriend was. Every morning you woke up, he had already left and gone to work. He always made sure to leave you breakfast (curse his caring behaviour, it almost made you feel guilty) with a note explaining where he had gone and what time he would be back. All the dishes and cleaned would have been cleaned, and put away.

This morning when you went to work, you began to wonder if there was ever going to be a way for you to take a sleeping picture of him.

You had lost all hope… But then he had to get home early. He hadn’t told you that he was home, normally, he got home later than you did.

Oh, but when you realised your chance, you weren’t going to miss it.

After shutting the door as quietly as possible, you crept toward the front room. The carpet below muffled your footsteps, making your chance to exact your revenge all the more easier.

Sure enough, your Orc was laid back on the sofa, his snores strong and sonorous.

Heart pounding in your chest, you pulled out your phone.

Your hands shook with anticipation, as you opened the camera and made your way over to your boyfriend’s side.

His position was perfect: A hand rested on his stomach, his other hung off the side of the sofa. His jaw hung wide open, drool escaping his mouth and onto the plush pillows on the sofa.

You raised your phone, directing the camera straight at your boyfriends face. For good measure, you zoomed in slightly, really capturing the undignified nature of him.

And with that, you snapped the photo.

The flash went off and your Orc’s eyes shot open.

You lunged away, giggling madly as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Hm, what’re you doing?” He grumbled.

“Sorry,” you said, “you just looked so cute.”

Your Orc stopped mid eye rub, frozen in place. “Hun. Delete it.”

“Aw, but you looked so sweet!” You taunted. “See?”

Showing him the picture, your Orc looked at it like he was seeing his own face for the first time.

It was like a light bulb had gone off in his head. “Ah.” He said, flatly. “I see what you mean.” He narrowed his eyes at the unbecoming picture of himself.

“Uh-huh.”

“It looks really bad.”

“Indeed it does.” You smirked.

Taking his phone, he opened his gallery and showed you your sleeping face, delete button at the bottom of the screen. He tapped it and just like that, the photo was gone.

“I’m sorry hunny. I didn’t think it would make you so uncomfortable.” he sighed. “Would you delete that one of me too?”

“I don’t know,” You clicked your tongue. “I’m not sure if you’ve learned your lesson properly, you held onto that photo for a while… seems only fair I get to do the same thing.”

When your Orc opened his mouth to protest, he sighed and closed it. “Alright, alright.” He let on a weak smile, “but then you delete it after a few weeks.”

You chuckled and sat next to him. “I will, I promise.”

Mission: accomplished.

[luckyladylily]

Right now is not the time to play voter chicken. There are so many things riding on the 2024 US election. If conservatives gain full control we are likely looking at:

Complete loss of any environment protection gains in the past 4 years and potential loss of even more environment protection, like clean air laws.

National transgender obscenity laws effectively banning trans people from existing. There are already prototype laws being pushed in West Virginia. Without any legislative roadblocks going national is entirely in the cards.

A national ban on abortion on the books as law.

A complete stop to all efforts at student loan forgiveness and, perhaps more importantly, efforts to ease the burden of student loans on the poor, which would push millions of Americans into poverty and more into deep poverty by costing them hundreds of dollars a month. (My family, for example, would be out nearly 2400 dollars a year, and I have a relatively low amount.) This will kill people as they can't afford basics like shelter and food any longer.

Restrictive and privacy compromising obscenity laws. Right now multiple red states require photo ID to be collected by every website that distributes adult material. Remember, they are trying to get all queer materials declared obscene as well, this isn't just about porn.

Restrictive and privacy compromising laws in other areas. For example, Utah already has a law on the books that goes into effect on March 1 which requires age verification for all social media users, permission from parents for any social media use for a minor, and automatic curfew functions for social media for minors. This is transparently an attempt to cut off young queer people from their peers or force them to out themselves to potentially queerphobic parents.

Restrictive voting laws will make voter suppression even worse. Again, prototype bills already exist in many red states, going national is a virtual certainty if conservatives get control of the national government.

I restricted myself to just things with prototype bills at the state level or have been key republican talking points that i could remember off the top of my head. It is no exaggeration to say that there is a real difference between even a deadlocked government like we have now and a conservative government that is measured in human suffering and death.

It is a virtual certainty that most of these will happen with a conservative controlled government. Frankly, I doubt we have the ability to stop even one of these things via protest or public outrage. Our best and probably only chance of stopping these and other terrible laws is preventing a government that would pass these laws.

[ao3cassandraic]

Saraqael, Heaven's Only Competent Angel

Season 2 got terrifically lucky with Liz Carr. Fantastic casting choice for a decidedly intriguing angel.

Saraqael strikes me as a Chief Operating Officer type. Judging from the colors of her lapels and Muriel's ascotty thing, Muriel is in her chain of command (near or at the bottom, naturally). Those colors also suggest that Saraqael, archangel or no, is a step down from Michael and Uriel. The big archangels don't wear plaids.

When Muriel goes to Saraqael with the matchbox, she makes a quick (and bureaucratically correct) decision to bring it to Michael and Uriel. She approaches them politely, with the correct form of address even, but fearlessly and without undue fawning. Good for her.

While Michael and Uriel are being completely and utterly useless, Saraqael heads over to the Realtime Big Globe and starts searching, zeroing in on the miracle plume quickly. So she's upper management, but she hasn't lost all ability to do hands-on OSINT. Intriguing.

Saraqael stops the standoff at Aziraphale's bookshop door with a firm but polite "Shall we discuss this inside?" She's also the one with the measurement of miracle strength, which fits a manager who still keeps her hand in. Otherwise, she observes -- and unlike Michael and Uriel, she doesn't give away anything. (Lord, Michael. "Did we [mention we were looking for Gabriel]?" It was the first thing Uriel said! Y'all get your good-cop-bad-cop story straight beforehand next time.)

And it's competent-ops Saraqael who decides on action: sending Muriel down for miracle verification and keeping a close eye on Aziraphale. Aziraphale calls this "very professional of you," and he's not wrong, considering Heaven's twisted, surveillance-laced notions of professionalism. Saraqael does her job.

Somebody definitely needed to coach Muriel better about fitting in on Earth, but I'm willing to forgive Saraqael that one; it's probably not her job to do that, but Muriel's line manager's job. Muriel's 37th-level -- I have to assume there's a line manager or two (or twelve) between them and Saraqael. Plus, of course, all the angels (except Aziraphale, possibly Sandalphon, and the Metatron) are ruinously terrible at Earthing -- s2 continues the s1 throughline of the archangels being seen on Earth only rarely and briefly.

Another moment of Michael's utter uselessness, incidentally -- in the Job minisode, when she archangelsplains the meaning of "Shuhite" our timorous Aziraphale actually rolls his eyes, and Gabriel quiets her with one hand. She's actually right to be suspicious (this happens often in s2), just terrible at actually communicating her suspicions such that anyone else will take action on them.

(I actually have considerable sympathy for Michael here. I have also 'splained a mighty 'splain professionally in my time, and had many eyes rolled at me. Michael's right. So was I. But so it goes. Knowledge without adroit communication isn't worth much.)

Saraqael recognizes Crowley in his bee!demon disguise immediately (unlike Michael and Uriel, again), but notice that she doesn't raise any alarms and she doesn't even bother punishing Muriel. (I am a bit sorry she doesn't get to take a crack at his horrific garb. Missed opportunity there.) With the Metatron's find-Gabriel mandate still in place, she lets the situation run to see if Crowley will get her closer to finding Gabriel -- which, in fact, he does! So she knows when not to act hastily, too.

In the meeting about the Second Coming, and at Gabriel's trial, Saraqael again observes but mostly holds her peace. Her opsness comes to the fore again when they decide to mindwipe Gabriel; she's the one to set it in motion via her glass phone, and she's the one to report that he can't be found. As ops, though, she doesn't unilaterally decide what to do -- she asks.

(And the Metatron, extremely punchable boss that he is, throws the worst and least accurate possible insult at her! Look, I'm not expert at British English or anything, but "wet" seems to mean "whingy halfhearted coward," and that is so not Saraqael! Ugh, if Gabriel learned management from the Metatron, no wonder he's such a horror in s1.)

So we're set up very well for the angels-and-demons bookshop scene. Does Saraqael act swiftly when told to? Yep -- if not for Crowley, Maggie and Nina would be table seasonings.

Does Saraqael observe, and draw correct conclusions? I think so. Because I'm on the side of things that thinks she rumbled the human-guise Metatron well before Crowley gave the game away to Aziraphale, yet said nothing. Very intriguing.

Here's where I'm going with all this. Two points, actually:

Point one: Maybe it wasn't the Metatron who mindwiped Crowley, since that's a thing that sure seems to have happened. (That would leave human-Enoch-becomes-the-Metatron theories intact.) Maybe it was Saraqael. Who worked with Crowley on the Horsehead Nebula, and might well have heard him asking dangerous questions. Whose job mindwiping apparently is. I'm not wedded to this theory, but gosh, it sure is interesting.

Point two: Organizations can shamble along like zombies with consistently crappy ops (a lot of us have probably worked for such; I sure have). An organization that had competent ops but suddenly loses it, however, is boned, humped, screwed, at least temporarily and quite possibly permanently.

If I were Aziraphale, wanting to ruin the Metatron and wreck Heaven's whole deal, the very first angel I'd want to subvert, recruit, or -- and I hope this doesn't happen but I'm not ruling it out, because if I'm right about what Saraqael did to Crowley, Aziraphale's gonna go postal when he finds out -- destroy, would be Saraqael.

[improbablecarny]

so I know I'd be preaching to the choir if I told Tumblr not to verify their twitter accounts by giving their ID to Elon Fucking Musk but please pay attention to these movements too.

from: https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/15/23874854/x-twitter-verification-government-id-paid-account-benefits

[ID: A screenshot of an article that reads: A pop-up window for the feature notes that X is partnering with Israel-based verification company AU10TIX to facilitate the new authorization feature. All verification information — including photographs of user IDs and “extracted biometric data” — may be stored by AU10TIX for up to 30 days. This may explain why X updated its privacy policy at the end of August to include carveouts for “biometric information]

From twitter's own Verification Policy page: https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/verification-policy

[ID: A screenshot from Twitter's verification policy page that reads: (2) Safety and Security Purposes: In certain instances, X may require your government-issued ID when needed to ensure the safety and security of accounts on our platform. We collect this data when investigating and enforcing our policies and may request an ID verification in response to impersonation reports. Currently, X focuses on account authentication to prevent impersonation, and may explore additional measures, such as ensuring users have access to age-appropriate content and protecting against spam and malicious accounts, to maintain the integrity of the platform and safeguard healthy conversations.]

Then TODAY, we get this:

[ID: A tweet from Elon Musk: As I said earlier this week, “decolonization”, “from the river to the sea” and similar euphemisms necessarily imply genocide. Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.]

Keep in mind, he said this A DAY after he said THIS:

[ID: A screenshot of Twitter. The first tweet from @breakingbaht says "Okay. Jewish communties have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them." Elon Musk replies "You have said the actual truth."]

So a white South African, who literally just openly said some Protocols of the Elders of Zion shit was "the truth" is now saying that the word "decolonization" itself is a "call for extreme violence" that will put your account in jeopardy if you speak it. And per its own rules, Twitter can demand you provide ID verification if they have any vaguely defined "safety concerns". So they can send it to the government of the country that you just got suspended for criticizing.

Make sure you have people and a voice off of that platform. ASAP.

[jun-of-love]

kiss cam - lee seokmin

summary: an extra ticket. a pathetic stranger. a kiss cam. what could possibly go wrong?

tw: none

words: 1.7k

genre: fluff

pairing: yn × dokyeom

a/n: dk is the cutest most precious talented man ever- i was overwhelmed with his sunshine and spontaneously came up with this. hope you like it :)

It’s been a month or so.

A month since you saw your ex, who was once the light of your life, soundly sleeping in some other girl’s arms, butt naked at that. You grimace as the scene plays out in your head again, making you feel the same way it did the first time it happened. You had immediately cut off all contact from him to the point that you had moved to a new place, just so that he didn’t have any access to you. You wanted to see him grovel and beg for your forgiveness, or at least take excruciating revenge for wasting two years of your life, but you let it all go for your own peace and self-respect. All of these drastic measures, yet your stupid heart mourned the absence of the heartless man.

You looked the tickets on your table. You had gone through hoops to get a hold of them, the key to the best seats possible for the finals of the Ice Hockey tournament. While you personally had no interest in the game, your ex was super into the niche sport- the tickets were supposed to be his early birthday gift. You shook your head, trying to get out of the sobby mood. So what if he wasn’t here? You went above and beyond for these tickets, and you will have the best possible experience of the game anyone can have!

Easier said than done, you thought, as your loneliness pinched more with every couple or big group of friends passed by you. They didn’t have the best seats like you did, but they were surely going to have the best time with their friends and partners. You were seriously contemplating giving away the tickets and going home when you heard exasperated yelling by the ticket verification stand. It seemed like a man was throwing a tantrum, and the authorities were close to calling the security on him. The man turned away angrily, sniffling and wiping his tears.

You carefully approached the man, partly because you intrigued by his condition, and partly because he was hot. Everyone knows that stranger danger reduces by 30 percent if the stranger is hot. 50 percent if he is smoking hot.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

The man looked at you. Even with his tearful eyes and runny nose, he had a certain charm about him. The kind that made you want to hug him till he felt okay. Pathetic charm, if you will.

“I got scammed. The agent I bought the tickets from sold me fake tickets and I’m obviously not able to reach him now-” He put his head in his hands. “I really wanted to watch this game, it’s the last game my favorite player is going to play before he retires.”

You take a look at his jersey. He supported the same team you were planning to root for- mainly due to the reason because that is the one that played opposite to your ex’s favorite team. You eyed the two tickets in your purse, feeling a flutter in your stomach- you might not have all that a terrible time today.

“You want to accompany me? I have an extra ticket.” You asked him, already knowing his answer.

“Are you joking right now? Are you another scammer? Please, I don’t have any money left, please don’t play with my feelings.” He seems so innocent; you resist the urge to pull his cheeks.

“I don’t know, do scammers give away tickets for free?” You say cockily, clearly enjoying this too much.

“For free?!?!?!!?” His eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “Why would you do that!?”

“Because I bought these tickets to watch the game with my boyfriend, but he decided to cheat on me and now he’s my ex and I’m at this game alone with an extra ticket in my hand.” You offer him the ticket, “do you mind being my date for tonight?”

“Date?” He asks, his eyes round and expressions eerily similar to a cute puppy.

“You know what I mean!” You cleared your throat. “Anyway, yes or no?”

“YES!”

The entire time you took to reach your seats, your date did not stop talking for even a minute. By now, you knew that he came from a family of four, his best friends were called Jeonghan and Mingyu, none of them had any interest in this sport which is why he was alone. He was not shy around people (evidently so) and his favourite colour was green. It did not get boring though, for some reason. It just made you want to know more about him.

Once you were settled in your seats, you decide to disturb your date from his awe of the view, “You never told me your name.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m Seokmin. You can also call me Dokyeom.” Seokmin flashes a smile that could soothe a crying baby.

“Why would I call you Dokyeom if your name is Seokmin?”

“It’s actually because my mom and my dad had differ-”

“Never mind, hello, my name is y/n.” You put your hand forward. “Nice to meet you.”

Seokmin smiles again, shaking your hand. You didn’t know the standard time duration of a handshake, but you were sure yours was taking a bit too long. You shyly remove your hand from his, and ask the most embarrassing question of the night, ”So before the game starts, can you tell me a little about the team we’re supporting right now? I know nothing.” You bite your lip, hoping he wouldn’t take offence at the statement.

Seokmin laughs a little, “I will try to let you know as much as possible, but feel free to ask questions even during the game if you want. I like to share my interests, you know.” And off he went, about the players and their positions, and who played the best and who was the weakest and his favorite player who was retiring- and you had to fight yourself to pay attention because all your damn mind could think of at the moment was how kissable his lips are and how endearing he looked with all his excitement. A month without any action and you were already losing your marbles. You nod along with him until the horn goes off signaling the beginning of the match. Seokmin jumps up at the sight of the players and cheers for them, leaving you to wonder how a person can store so much excitement in them.

Gradually, you started getting into it. The complicated sport seemed so easy now, almost too easy. You knew which players were reliable, and you found one or two that you would root for. Everyone around you felt like your childhood friends, cheering for your favourite team. You look at Seokmin, who shook your arm every time something exciting happened in the game, its been an hour since you both had been acquainted, and his wide smile had not budged even for a second. You feel warmth in your heart as you realize, you were having so much fun.

For the first time in thirty days, you were not moping around or crying, but actually smiling, ear to ear at that. Enthusiasm had to be contagious, because if not, why were you yelling at the top of your voice, clapping till your arms hurt and high fiving everyone around you? Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was his beautiful smile, you felt a special fondness towards Seokmin, the kind that made you blush every time he grabbed your hand.

It was the intermission, and both of you were relatively relaxed since your team had been doing pretty well. You were explaining your exact job description to him, since he seemed so curious about everything in your life. Almost like it was his life’s mission to write a biography on you by the end of those three hours. You just noticed how he still hadn’t let go of your hand, when you were interrupted by loud audience cheers; it was the crowd’s favorite pastime: the Kiss Cam.

Personally, you loved things like these. You loved how couples were caught off-guard with their faces on the screen, and then continued to have their own little moment. Embarrassingly enough, you had pictured yourself getting proposed (by your snake of an ex) on one of such instances, where the kiss cam would focus on you both and then he would pull out a ring and-

A particularly loud cheer from people around you woke you up from your thoughts. A part of your imagination had come to life- you were indeed on the kiss cam screen. With Seokmin at that. You both meet eyes and you feel awkwardness seizing every nerve of yours. While he is busy calming down the crowd with hands, making the ‘X’ gesture and shaking his head politely, you wonder if this was an opportunity to do what you had been wishing to do all this time. As the crowds’ cheers of “Kiss him! Kiss him!” get louder (have people always been so nosy?), you grab him by his shoulder, whispering in his ear, “Can I kiss you?”

He smiles softly, putting his warm hand on your neck, “I was hoping you’d ask.”

He closes the gap between you two by putting his lips on yours, pulling you in by the back of the neck. You could hear the crowd react, but you didn’t care- your senses were overloaded by his expensive perfume and how good his lips felt on yours. You deepened the kiss, your hands around his neck, playing with his hair. He puts an arm around your waist, pulling you closer than possible. His body feels hot and perfect to yours it feels to good to be true. That is until a middle-aged woman coughed loudly behind you, forcing both of you to pull away.

People were now minding their own business, looking put off even, by the overboard of affection portrayed by you. These were the same people that put you in that spot in the first place, you scoffed at the thought. You turned to Seokmin, who was already looking at you with the most doe-eyed gaze possible. You giggle, “What is it? What do you want to say?”

“Would you go out on a date with me? Like officially?” He bites his lips, as if he doesn’t know the obvious answer.

“Sure,” you smile cockily, “but you’re paying.”

“I’ll pay for every date ever if it means I get to kiss you again.”

[thundergrace]

April 19, 2024

It’s been difficult to keep up with the number of Republican efforts in recent years to roll back child labor laws. The Guardian reported in the fall that GOP policymakers at the state level “have led efforts to roll back child labor protections, with bills introduced in at least 16 states.”

To be sure, not all of the measures are identical. In some states, Republicans want to scrap age verification requirements for employers. In other states, they want minors to be able to serve alcohol. A Washington Post report last year noted some state GOP officials also eyed proposals to allow kids as young as 14 to “work certain jobs in meatpacking plants and shield businesses from civil liability if a child laborer is sickened.”

Now, wait a gosh darn minute. I'm starting to think the "pro-life" party doesn't care about the future and well-being of children at all 🤨

[decolonize-the-left]

Pornhub disabled its website in Texas after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the age-verification requirement in a ruling last week that cited a 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision preventing the sale of obscene materials to minors. But the question of regulating minors’ access to online material has already been well established, legal experts say, and it stands in sharp contrast to the most recent decision from the 5th Circuit. The appeals court previously reversed an injunction of a U.S. District Court judge, which had blocked the law from going into effect in August. The 5th Circuit’s temporary stay required pornography websites to impose age-verification measures and display health warnings that said pornography is proven to harm brain development.

In the most recent decision on March 7, the 5th Circuit decided the age-verification component of the law could stand, but ruled that the law’s required health warnings unconstitutionally compelled speech. In response to the 5th Circuit’s decision, Pornhub blocked Texans from their site. “Unfortunately the Texas law for age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Not only will it not actually protect children, it will inevitably reduce content creators’ ability to post and distribute legal adult content and directly impact their ability to share the artistic messages they want to convey with it,” said Alex Kekesi, vice president of brand and community at Aylo, Pornhub’s Canadian-based parent company. Kekesi said content creators would lose out on revenue from the millions of Texas users no longer able to access Pornhub. Kekesi added that Aylo planned to appeal the decision and continue fighting for the adult entertainment industry and the performers who earn a living through it.

[...]In Ginsberg v. New York, the nation’s highest court decided that children could be constitutionally denied access to material that was “harmful to minors.”

KOSA hasn't been passed but it seems Texas doesn't intend to wait.

[rapeculturerealities]

Kansas law will require ID to view acts of 'homosexuality'

The governor of Kansas vetoed n anti-LGBTQ+ bill while simultaneously letting a law pass requiring ID to view "acts of homosexuality."

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly issued vetoes Friday against a ban on gender-affirming care for minors as well as two anti-abortion measures. She also let pass without her signature a law requiring age-verification to view content "harmful to minors."

Under Kansas criminal law, material "harmful to minors" includes nudity and "sexual content," which is defined in part as "acts of masturbation, homosexuality, or sexual intercourse."

The law, which will go into effect on July 1, requires users to share their government-issued identification in order to view adult content. Websites can be fined up to $10,000 for each instance a minor accesses their content, and parents are allowed to sue for damages of at least $50,000.

[beardedmrbean]

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A bill that would ban minors under the age of 16 from using social media passed the Florida House 106-13 on Wednesday.

“We must act to protect Florida’s children from these addictive features, the mental health disorders caused by excessive use, and the risk of exposure to predatory activities,” said Rep. Tyler Sirois (R-Brevard), who sponsored the bill.

House Bill 1 would require social media platforms to terminate social media accounts of minors under the age of 16.

The bill requires that social media companies have an independent, private, third-party age verification service, that the personal data collected on minors under the age of 16 be permanently deleted, and data collected by the third party authentication must also be deleted

Parents are also empowered under the measure to bring a cause of action against social media platforms that fail to terminate a minor’s unlawful account.

Democrats argue the bill goes too far. Some Democratic members suggested less restrictive measures such as allowing parents to opt in or opt out of allowing their children to use social media.

During debate on Wednesday, several representatives spoke against the bill, with some calling it government overreach.

Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said the bill is too broad and worries about children missing out on important digital skills, which some younger people have turned into a living. Rep. Ashley Gantt (D-Miami) said the bill goes against parental rights.

Many who spoke in favor of the bill said sexual predators use social media to prey on minors. Rep. Michele Raynor (D-St. Petersburg) said cyberbullying is leading to an increase in young people taking their own lives, asking how many more had to die by suicide before something was done.

Similar bills have been introduced in the Senate but have not yet been heard.

If passed the measure would go into law July 1.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 4/2/2024

in which i try to clean two different boxes with varying success

new people: hello! the tuesdaypost is a weekly roundup of stuff i've been listening, reading, watching, playing, and making. it is NOT a recommendation series, although i sometimes dabble in critique. when im firing on all cylinders i ask "what is the core concept of this? does it succeed in what i think it's trying to do and what it says it's doing?is it well-made but i dislike it/beautiful but not for me? why? what parts Really Work?"

if you are into purity culture, yelling at other people about the problematic media they consume, or are under 18 i am going to have very little patience for you.

listening

now that i live in houston i am legally obliged to loop the new beyonce album 24/7. there is absolutely truly nobody fucking doing it like her. every song is a multimedia art piece. goddamn do i miss the album as a tool to convey a specific concept/listening order/flow. sometimes (chappell roan most recently comes to mind, although it does feel unfair to compare anyone to beyonce) every individual song is pretty good but the listening experience if you sit down and listen all the way through the album is unpleasant and choppy. not so here. NEVER here.

my favorite like Dance Number is YA YA (it samples nancy sinatra's boots! and the beach boys' good vibrations! wildly different tones despite coming out a year apart!)

the one that goes on four different character/tone playlists is BODYGUARD.

great early roundup of influences, samples, and collaborators. delighted to see five fingers for marseilles listed, a rocky but underrated south african neo-western free on tubi rn for americans

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reading

also very texas-relevant with the recent pornhub lawsuits! pornhub and sex tech (among other things) have been samantha cole's beat for almost ten years. i trust her to report sensitively and not for like. shock clicks

this site has a free paywall (sign up with your email for a link to the full article) so bots have a harder time scraping articles: this is a journalist-founded site with only the four founders running it and writing articles. while annoying i do think this is a reasonable measure

The platform still has problems, but after years of critical reporting and a litany of legal and reputational consequences, Pornhub is now more heavily moderated than any other porn platform, and most major social media platforms, for that matter. A growing list of age verification laws has put Pornhub in a position where it is compelled to block access to its site in seven states and counting. In theory, these laws are designed to prevent children from being able to access pornography online. In reality, what is going to happen is that children are going to end up on pornographic sites that don’t care what the law says, and where some of the most harmful content that exists online is actively promoted to them.

she's also got a new limited series podcast with CBC about the rise and fall of pornhub, which was fascinating and kept me company during an extremely early morning drive

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watching

i'm lukewarm about this one but i spend a lot of time getting there, much like this movie

ive been watching a lot of frankly dogshit thrillers, which has made me wonder: what's the deal with supervillans? where did they come from? and thence arrived at the prototypical film Dr Mabuse the Gambler (1922, dir. Lang). the four and a half hour cut on Kanopy is two normal-length movies superglued together, which makes sense as a streaming product but it is sort of a terrifying runtime and took me three days to get through.

sometimes, as we know, i get a real bee in my bonnet about visiting the early versions of things. dr mabuse is the blueprint for every james bond and mission impossible villain, or really any shadowy supervillain with power over [INDUSTRY] or [THE MARKET]. it is a four and a half hour long cat and mouse game through lavish, eccentric sets between mabuse and prosecutor wenk. it has some trouble sustaining itself bc it is four and a half hours long but does deliver on the cat and mouse aspects. this letterboxed review has interesting things to say about the political climate of 1922 germany and how lang subverts the formula of the pulp serial.

really the film opens with mabuse yelling at his cocaine-addicted assistant, but the film properly gets going with mabuse's henchmen stealing a trade agreement (nothing really carbon dates a movie more than a missing trade agreement. vanishingly few post-early-30s movies have missing trade agreements as plot points) and then he crashes the stock market. for fun and profit.

however. i think every time you see an evil man who is a banker or stockbroker or generally uses money as power you have to interrogate whether it's antisemitic. the answer here is "maybe" but i'm not sure if intent matters when contemporary nazi critics were eager to hold mabuse up as "this is the typical jewish criminal". (sorry about the link directly to wikipedia, it's been touch finding online sources for this section). mabuse is not specifically jewish, but there are certainly elements of stereotype. i am still not good at being presented with "this movie has a shadowy behind the scenes figure manipulating the government and all the money ever" and going "hey wait a minute".

after that tremendous glaring caveat, for which i read more contemporary reviews and reviews in general than i ever read for movies in these posts, is it good? eh. a contemporary VARIETY review remarked (and i largely agree)

The direction of Fritz Lang has moments – but Lang somewhat negates his good technical effects by twenty forty-word captions of a ludicrous unconciseness.

the night scenes are particularly well done, and imo are better than many modern night scenes--other contemporary reviews remarked

In this film the techniques of the film camera (Carl Hoffmann’s brilliant photography) are brought to perfection. The problem of how to film lit-up streets at night has been solved for the first time. It is unbelievably impressive to see the glaring lights of speeding cars flash through the night or the rapid passing of an elevated train of the initially blurred, then gradually focussed glimpse through a pair of opera glasses on to the variety stage, the nuances of light and shade—these things alone prove the value of film documentary.

look at this shit! filmed from within the cars! in 1922!!!

this film asks you to believe hypnotism is real and really effective, so i don't think it's that big of a leap when it asks you to believe in ghosts. i don't understand that quibble from contemporary viewers. there are several on screen suicides with like. specific methods. which is not currently regarded as good filmmaking practice. im curious to know what contemporary audiences thought but couldn't immediately turn anything up, and wading through masters’ theses on cinematic suicide is a little beyond my current mental health.

if i were a more content-minded woman this would turn into a clickbait video essay about the antisemitic origins of every supervillan. however i am unqualified and untalented at video editing and i'm sure there are forty theses on this already. this movie is a hard sell to anyone jewish or employed. it is also a stunning example of cutting-edge film technology and part of the genesis of the modern supervillan. Fritz Lang films tend to fall in the category of “movies i am happy to see once and feel no need to revisit”.

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playing

playing what is effectively the same game three times back to back (breath of the wild, tears of the kingdom, genshin impact) has sort of burned me out on open world games with a focus on battle skill progression and stumbling across little puzzles in the overworld. i have to get itch.io up and running on this pc and find the most linear jankiest possible one-sitting indie thing. or several of them. i might try the solo ttrpg Gentleman Bandit i seem to have acquired in one of the giant charity bundles

brief breath of the wild update bc i don't want to pull screenshots off my switch: i have gotten to the boss fight for the gerudo and goron regions, have not completed them bc my focus in this game is NOT hearts, and am in the middle of the zora temple. despite the quality of life improvements and new regions in totk i think i prefer botw: progression is a bit easier, there are fewer mmo-style hub quests and repeatable quests. things like the stable photos are cute but very repetitive, so are the sign bracing puzzles, and the sky crystal quests for sky shrines feel VERY samey. also dislike how the CLEAR OUT: [REGION] quests with the monster suppression squads reset at the blood moon.

anyway! to genshin! there was an exceptionally fun little event with a surprisingly involved management sim tacked onto the game??? you make and sell potions fulfilling different requirements, and can eventually stock travelling merchants all over the continent. the actual act of making the potions was this block-filling 1010! style thing (screenshot from polygon)

the new region, a port town and tea-growing area called Chenyu Vale, is maybe the prettiest one in the game so far? it's the one that feels the most picturesque and Designed, like this is one huge mansion garden studded with follies. they also added background chatter and noise in the cities and towns, which really startled me and makes them feels much more lived in! this is a fun trick to avoid putting in a thousand NPCs and making everyone's framerate crash. the less stuff in your game, the less shit can go wrong.

also pulled for and got chiyori, a geo-aligned seamstress (and sometime spy???) swordswoman who has what i can only call domme voice

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making

ok now we'll talk about boxes. i was rearranging my kitchen, as unemployed women are known to do, and noticed this recipe box i picked up back in mass was disgusting. the finish is starting to fail but it was genuinely grody and last summer i packed my kitchen in a blind panic inside an hour and did not have time to address it. i have never seen a recipe box at an estate sale before or since and it made me desperately sad.

it was full of a lot of stuff.

i went at it with a somewhat inadvisable combination of things: wood soap didn't budge it, so i dampened a paper towel in vinegar and wiped it down in the vain hope it would do something. the thing that worked, and would be inadvisable for anything veneered or less densely textured, was baking soda paste and the scrubby side of a sponge. it still smells Very musty even after 48h of loose baking soda inside with several changes, but that might be partly the recipe cards' fault. i would like to refinish this at some point but i don't have polyurethane on hand and the fun little project budget is empty until further notice/i get a job.

the hinge did rust a bit despite my best efforts but that has since been lightly steel wooled and oiled. a well loved object! it's possible the lady who died just fucking sucked and that's why literally her entire estate including many other things families usually keep was on sale, but i would like to think perhaps she simply had no other family? a well loved/used object even if all the recipes are for semi-horrifying fifties new england recipes.

the other box, pre-acids but post-washing: this topp trading card box with seven episode one packets of cards was intact with the original seal. i have verified it was not worth much more than the $5 i paid for it with the trading card obsessed man in my best friend's husband's friendgroup. i bought this three months ago but the man was unavailable to open it until uhhh last week. some sort of liquid got inside it at some point and it was super corroded. i was going to store embroidery floss in here but even with all my powers (barkeepers friend. brasso.) i cannot completely remove the corrosion. it's not corroded Through but it looks bad and feels rough. so it goes. it'll probably hold the tiedown straps in my car bc that plastic bucket is rapidly failing