#Sustainable driving options

[studynewsindia]

Top 5 Honda Hybrid Cars: Eco-Friendly Excellence

At Honda, we are  in the leading position of sustainable driving in India with our advance stage of  hybrid vehicles. Our achievement  is to  design for top-notch fuel efficiency and lower emissions. These eco-friendly models combine performance, technology, and environmental care. They offer drivers the best of both worlds. From the compact Insight to the versatile CR-V Hybrid and the pioneering…

[vmantras]

Volvo EX40 Review: Luxury Compact Electric SUV

₹56.1 Lakh Design and Build Exterior: The Volvo EX40 boasts a minimalist, modern Scandinavian design with clean lines, a BEV-specific grille, and elegant body-colored bumpers. The five distinctive colors (Crystal White, Fusion Red, Onyx Black, Fjord Blue, Sage Green) and charcoal roof accents highlight its premium aesthetic. The panoramic sunroof, LED pixel headlamps, and high-gloss black…

[techtoio]

The Best Eco-Tech Products for an Energy-Efficient Home

Introduction

The newly developed innovations regarding eco-tech products have become necessary when building an energy-efficient house. Yet such innovation does not only lead to energy consumption reduction but also pulls efforts towards a sustainable future. Well, TechtoIO is forever committed to bringing the latest eco-tech products that make your home smarter, greener, and more performant. Here are the top products to make your house a comfortable and efficient sanctuary.

Now, with the Smart thermostats are one of the game-changers in energy-efficient homes. They learn your habits and optimize the temperature based on your habits and preferences so energy isn’t wasted when you’re not around. Among other smart devices, energy usage reporting with remote control in some popular monitored models include Nest Learning Thermostats and Ecobee SmartThermostat with voice control.

Optimized with significant energy savings, courtesy of smart thermostats, the efficiency of heating and cooling systems can increase. Read to continue link

[thespectralcottage]

Money Bowl Tips ✨💸

I absolutely adore doing money bowls. They serve as an amazing way to build up abundant energy and help with layering your workings. They’re a fairly straightforward working that you tend to by continually feeding it energy or “working” the spell. Let’s jump into some tips.

1.) Have a schedule with it. I recommend feeding your bowl energy fairly often, ideally weekly on Thursdays, but at least once a month. Thursdays are connected to Jupiter which is the planet connected to wealth and abundance. 🪐

2.) Add a candle. A fairly low energy way to keep up with tending to your bowl is to spell a candle for it. After it’s prepped and ready, place it in the bowl. Lighting the candle will feed the bowl energy. 🕯️

3.) The base is just as important as the rest of the bowl. Commonly you use salt or rice for the base. I recommend going a little extra with it. Recently I’ve been into making spell crafted cinnamon salt and using that as my bowl base. Put energy and intention behind making your bowl’s base. It’s literally the foundation of this spell!

3.) *some* herbs you can use in money workings: Alfalfa, dill, basil, chamomile, bay leaves, catnip, oranges, cloves, lemongrass, jasmine, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, mints, star anise, cats claw, and oregano. There are a bunch of options. These ones just have direct correspondence to money drawing.

4.) Set goals for your bowl. Whenever you feed your bowl, focus on this goal you’re driving towards. With money magic you ideally want to be as specific as you can be. These can be long term or short term goals. I usually focus on long term and building stability and sustainable energy flowing to that goal.

I hope these tips bring some ideas for making your own money bowls. 🖤🌱

[monster-disaster]

You are offered choices : you can choose either to be the subject of this ordeal or choose any subject you desire to be the participant in this fantasy experiment. The experiment consists of a series of savage and brutal multiple penetrations with a warning that each successive one will increase in length and girth for an indeterminate length of time. Two options are offered in this experiment to make it possible. The first A) allows the subject unlimited elasticity and copious self lubrication to accommodate the ordeal with the drawbacks that while incredibly pleasurable orgasm itself takes longer and the body itself will take at least a day to recover to its original state leaving the subject in an open stretched and gaping state during that interim.The second option B) allows for almost instantaneous healing and regeneration for any damage sustained during the experiment with quick endless successive orgasm one after the other due to pain and pleasure nerves being intertwined by the second option. The drawback to this option being a complete loss of any physical sensations for 48 hours afterwards as the body is reset to its original state.

lizardman!Rask x human!Reader

Good to know: nothing but smut

A/N: My answer is A) and Part 1 is here.

_

"Waitwaitwait!" Your voice is breathless and barely coherent as it tangles with the guttural noises coming from Rask's clone. "Wait!" You try again but you know your pleas are lost on him. He is like a predator on a mission, whether for pleasure, conquest, or something more primal, you are no longer sure.

You are trapped in the middle of the bed, your fingers clawing at the tangled sheets beneath you for dear life. Your legs, stretched and trembling, are thrown over his shoulders, leaving you folded tightly into a mating press. Every inch of your body feels exposed, laid bare under his mercy. Or under the lack of his mercy. The position he has you locked in feels like a cage made of his body. You tremble under his heat, sticky and slick with sweat. Each brush of his scales against your skin is electrifying. His breath washes over the crook of your neck. The sharp edge of his teeth graze over your pulse as if he is considering tasting you in more ways than one.

"Rask," you try again, but you are not sure if you are begging for him to slow down or to push you even further over the edge. Every inch of him overwhelms you. The drag of his scaled torso against you makes your back arch, punching a moan from your lips that’s halfway between protest and surrender. Your body feels like it’s running on pure adrenaline now, hypersensitive and wrung out.

You’ve lost track of time. It could’ve been minutes or hours since Rask first pushed you down onto the bed, pressing you into the mattress and the sheets. A slight turn of your head brings the faint glow of the city into view, framed by the window. The dark sky is illuminated by the neon lights of the streets below.

Your chest rises and falls in uneven gasps, exhaustion pulling at your every muscle. Tears streak your flushed cheeks, their salty tang lingering faintly on your tongue. Each snap of Rask's lean hips drives a jolt through your body, the sharp mix of pleasure and pain keeping you frozen and arched.

"Jus' one more time," the clone growls. The rumble of his voice vibrates through your very bones. He braces himself on his arms, his muscles shifting, giving himself more freedom to move. The bed creaks under his relentless thrusts, increasing the wet, lewd sound of his cock in your drenched heat.

But you know better. It’s never “just one more time” with him. Cloning is a gamble where the outcome is unpredictable, bringing something new, a difference in personality or temperament that makes him a creature all his own. And for reasons you can’t fully understand, Rask's clone knows about your attraction to the lizardman, about the unspoken fantasies you've kept hidden deep within yourself. He exploits it mercilessly, fulfilling every thought and suppressed yearning you've ever had. And then there’s the other thing; for some other unknown reason, he has a stamina you've never imagined. Hours stretch on like a fever dream, your body wrung out and oversensitive to the point of tears, yet he doesn’t falter, doesn’t waver. He chases pleasure until it turns to pain, and even then he doesn't stop.

The burning coil in your lower belly tightens in a way that makes your muscles seize, and your breath catch. Your legs twitch uselessly, where they rest on his broad shoulders, you try to push him away, palms pressing weakly against his chest, but the attempt only fuels him. Your efforts only make things worse, or better, depending on how you look at it. All you accomplish is a frantic sway of your hips, meeting him halfway in a rhythm you can’t seem to control. He slides in and out of you with ease, the mess between your thighs making every movement slick and sinful.

"Look at you," he snarls. "All this fuss, all this fight, and you are still pulling me in." He punctuates his words with a sharp thrust, forcing a choked gasp from your lips.

His claws dig into the sheets on either side of your head, shredding fabric as he cages you in completely. The slits of his pupils are wide and wild with unrestrained hunger, and his sharp teeth are bared in a wicked grin. "Messy little thing."

"I-I can't-" you groan. Your voice is nothing more but a whine and it reaches something in the clone because his demeanor changes within a second. "Rask-"

His pace falters, his hips stuttering before snapping back into their relentless rhythm. His claws flex against the shredded sheets, his scaled arms trembling as he braces himself above you.

His breath hitches, and you hear a low, almost pleading whimper escape his throat, a sound so unexpected it sends a shiver racing through you. "So fucking close-" His words trail off into a growl of frustration. His amber eyes are wild and glowing with a mix of lust and anguish as his thrusts grow erratic as if sheer determination will push him over the edge he’s been chasing for hours.

"Please… just let me keep going. I need it. Don’t make me stop. Can’t stop." His hips grind against you, rolling and pushing in an agonizing rhythm.

You can feel the tremor in his muscles, the exhaustion radiating off him, but he refuses to give in. He is lost in the chase, and the only thing you can do is wheeze and cry in his tight embrace. Your pussy clenches and gushes around him without your control. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, his teeth grazing your skin as his hips buck against yours. Every movement is frantic now, each thrust driven by the maddening edge of pleasure that refuses to tip him over. His body trembles violently, muscles straining as he chases a release that feels just out of reach.

"Come on," he growls like a broken whisper against your skin. "Come on, just this once. Let me have it." His words are a tangle of desperation and adoration, spilling from his lips in a stream of incoherent pleas. "So tight, so fucking wet- I can’t- I can’t stop. You feel too good. Too fucking good."

His hips stutter, his rhythm faltering for a heartbeat before redoubling in a frantic, almost punishing pace. Each thrust feels more unhinged than the last, his body trembling with exhaustion and need, and the sheer intensity of his movements has your mind spinning.

"Come on," you manage to gasp. You know he’s reaching his limit, but if he keeps going like this, you’ll both lose yourselves to the madness of it. Summoning what little strength you have left, your hands snap up to his shoulders, your nails digging into his scales. "Cum for me," you beg. "Let go."

The sound that leaves his lips is almost a whimper. His long face buries deeper into the crook of your neck, his breath hot and erratic against your skin. You shiver as his tongue darts out, lapping over the salty dampness of your neck before lingering over the thrumming pulse under your skin.

His legs dig into the bed with renewed determination. The motion drives your body into the mattress, folding you even tighter into the mating press. The angle shifts abruptly, and a sharp cry rips from your throat as he thrusts deeper than before, his movements fueled by pure desperation. His hips snap into you with reckless abandon, the wet, obscene sounds of your bodies filling the air alongside your cries and his ragged groans.

"Fuck," he growls.

Each thrust pushes you closer to the brink, and yet all you can do is cling to him, your hands fisting against his shoulders as his pace grows impossibly faster. He’s entirely lost to the chase now, his movements wild and chaotic, his breath coming in broken gasps as he continues to push himself far beyond his limits.

You are certain he doesn’t even notice when you fall apart beneath him, your body trembling violently as waves of pleasure crash over you. The overwhelming sensation pulls a broken cry from your lips, but it’s swallowed by the sheer force of him. At the same moment, a guttural, feral growl tears from his throat, vibrating through your entire body as he finally swells inside you. His release floods you in hot, unrelenting waves. The heat of it spreads through you, overwhelming and consuming, until your vision blurs and your eyes roll back into your skull. Your voice falters, fading into incoherent whimpers and soft, shuddering gasps. The only sound left is the slick, clenching noises of your joined bodies as his hips jerk against yours in erratic, desperate thrusts.

He stays buried inside you, trembling with the aftershocks of his long-denied release, his breath coming in ragged, uneven pants. His claws, which had shredded the sheets, now grip the bed as though anchoring himself, his chest heaving with each shallow gasp. His long face remains tucked against your neck, his hot breath brushing over your damp skin.

“Finally,” he murmurs.

You almost laugh, you would surely laugh if you could do anything besides laying beneath him, breathless and boneless.

[terrible-eel]

I may be too stressed to articulate this clearly but I am going to try.

While Hawai'i and Maui are trending I'm going to share this link. Its a FAQ about Hawai'i's statehood and the situation Hawai'i is in at the moment. There are people who want to be part of the U.S in Hawai'i and there are people who don't, but the people of Hawai'i were never, at any point, given an option to choose.

If you want to help Hawai'i and it's people but can't donate, spread this word. Help educate people. Make Hawai'i as the tropical paradise be replaced with the sovereign nation stolen by the u.s.

It is subtropical, meaning it is much more vulnerable to arid climates caused by climate change.

It has been systematically stripped of its native food harvesting practices and any ability to farm and self sustain. It has been systematically stripped of its previous industries. Maui used to export milk and cattle. That's all been taken away.

The islands since the 1800s were exploited as plantations, burning sugar cane and growing pineapples which are not native, diverting the water and depleting the water table.

Lahaina burned because of these practices. Because the native people were no longer allowed to govern their lands.

We as local people know that tourism is bad because this systematic destruction has happened in living memory. Within my grandparent's lifetimes, within my lifetime. I have watched this island crumble at the hands of mainland startups, hoping to take people on whale watching tours that cut the whales with their boats while people aren't allowed to have a ferry between islands. People create ziplines and tours through lands that used to belong to local people for farming and cattle. Now they're bought out for photos and hikes the local people can never afford. Hundreds of jobs have been lost in the past thirty years. Mass migrations to the mainland have been made by local people, myself included because we can no longer afford to stay on the island where we were born. Working three jobs is not enough to cover the rent because the houses are bought up by mainland people who then turn these houses into vacation rentals and charge hundreds a night. Right now these very homes are being paid for by the government so that Lahaina people have somewhere to stay and it's costing the state millions that people in the mainland are reeping.

People ask why tourism is bad. Because there are people alive today on Maui that have watched the foreign industries destroy everything. Because people alive today know what used to be and knew how to take care of the ecosystem so that this kind of calamity didn't happen. Lahaina was not just fertile. They had canals and waterways. Rivers that they would drive boats through to go from one part of town to another. It was more like Venice than this desert you see in pictures.

And do your own research. The information is out there. There are two Hawai'i's. The one you see as a tourist, and the REAL one. The one we need to protect.

Let Hawaiians have their land back. Let them restore the water to the land so we can prevent further catastrophe. Tell people about REAL Hawaii.

[aceyanaheim]

So I've been trying really hard not to make this post but I've found myself in a really bad situation.

As you all know I recently moved out of my mom's for what I'm hoping is permanent. The original plan was to move to MIami with my qpp and platonic polycule and use the time I had with them to find a job in my field in Miami or at least one that would make living here sustainably. 

This ended up not working out. I’m not gonna go into details but the bare bones of it is this: I had to safety plan my way around my ( now ex) qpp’s fiancee and at one point got on an uber and left the apartment because things escalated to a point where I no longer felt emotionally safe around her. She then talked to the leasing office and I was moved without any warning and against my will. 

I’m now in a new apartment with a new roommate who doesn’t drive me to tears for forgetting things but needless to say my relationships and plans for the future are more or less in free fall right now. 

Moving with my mom or dad’s isn’t an option as the last time I stayed at my mom’s I was constantly on a hotline so I’m trying to crowdfund for a car. Miami is incredibly high in rent and it’s taken two jobs to barely make ends meet. It’s come to the point where a car isn’t just for transportation but for survival. 

If I manage to stay here, which is unlikely, a car will mean more job opportunities as I’m really limited in finding jobs right now. It’ll help me not sink too much money on Ubers which will make it easier to pay rent and also doctors appointment ( as I'm epileptic)

If the worst happens and I have nowhere to go a car will mean shelter for me and Indi ( she has to come with me wherever I go and a lot of places I could bunk at might not be dog friendly) even if I find somewhere to go if I can’t renew my lease a car would be the only way to get me and Indi there since she isn't allowed on public transit and Ubers Have turned me away because of her.

Even if I end up bunking at my mom’s ( tho I refuse to go there for longer than a week) having a car would greatly reduce me relapsing into unhealthy coping since I’ll have a way to leave the house when my brain gets bad. 

All options lead to the fact that I need a car for survival. I talked to some friends and we figured out for a used car that I would at least want to have 10 thousand. There’s also driving lessons which at the cheapest will still run me over 200 and the license will be 50 but I could swing that. The car is the main thing I need help with.

My parents are both…only sometimes supportive ( the last time I talked to my dad about living with him he said “We’d both hate each other and it’d be your fault” not only that but they’re both disabled and in their 60s so they aren’t an option even when they want to be. My siblings are also striking out on their own and don’t have anything to spare and that’s all the family I have in the states so it’s gotten to the point where I’ve had to make this post even tho I’ve really tried not to.  

If you’re in strife yourself please don’t donate but reblogs help. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-trans-person-in-miami-secure-a-car-for-safety/cl/s?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp8_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&attribution_id=sl%3A2d64a1db-d26d-4d9c-a305-44f9042d5945

[astermacguffin]

Help me finish my degree

Almost a year has passed and still no justice for my dad and his coworkers who got unjustly fired under the guise of "restructuring" the organization. For those curious, the company's name is Duty Free Philippines, and they're doing everything right now to delay the case that the union filed against them and avoid paying their employees what they're owed.

Although my work is enough to sustain me for everyday living, the big cut in the family budget means that my education is getting compromised. Thankfully due to help from your donations (I cannot stress enough how THANKFUL I am for y'all) I was able to continue my studies the previous year.

I dislike begging for help as much as anyone, but I'm literally in my graduating year and I just need one last help to push through this final stretch for my degree. The breakdown for the expenses is in the cut below, but in total I would need 37,130.50 pesos, or 664.07 US dollars (as of Feb. 2, 2024).

I don't have any means of repaying y'all for your help, but if you're interested, I'm putting in the replies a google drive link of all my major works in philosophy (multiple of which have garnered me invites to various conferences). My main specialization is logic and philosophy of language, but you will also find my works in other branches like art studies, ethics, philosophy of law, Filipino philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Again, thank you so much!

Donation options:

paypal.me/RVAster

2. Remitly:

Send money to: Philippines

Delivery method: Mobile money

GCash/Maya account: 09291580204

Tuition breakdown:

Tuition: 24,630.50

Monthly rent: 2,500 pesos x 5 months = 12,500 pesos

Tuition + Rent = 37,130.50 pesos

[goddessxdivine]

The Pitt - Episode 8

•the show does a good job of showing humanity both at its worst, and through it efforts of being better. it does a really good job of showing the shortcomings of the US healthcare system as well

•i literally cried so bad when that little girl died from drowning. then her little sister saying that she was only in the pool to save her and drawing her that get well card … yeah i lost it. this show focusing on things that happen in everyday life (not just shocking discoveries of medical anomalies) really makes the impact feel even more real. it’s not uncommon to hear the story of a child accidentally drowning even if the pool was fenced and that news is always devastating

•so glad Ginger’s daughter didn’t abandon her. that would’ve been so sad. but her accidentally falling asleep being why she didn’t pick up further proves the point that primary caregivers need support and that needs to be more easily accessible. if they hadn’t gone to the hospital and interacted with Dr. King they might’ve never known of other options

•Dr. Santos … girl! after last week’s episode where we’re given a bit more of her background, i can understand her “sharp around the edges. trust my gut”nature. however, the thing with the vial and bringing it up it to Dr. Garcia just isn’t smart. there’s a hierarchy and seniority in almost every field so being basically at the bottom of the totem pole and accusing someone above you of using hospital drugs is something to do with much caution. yet you’re telling me this girl who is headstrong and self-assured in her smartness thought the smart thing to do, as an intern, was accuse her superior of drug abuse to her other superior? it’d be different if she’d been observing him long enough to have substantial evidence. but it’s been one shift and the issue with the vial could be attributed to her having an off day before people suspect Langdon (who doesn’t seem like it) to be functional addict

•Dr. Collins miscarrying then having a case where a 6 year old died from accidental drowning and doing the honor walk for the 18 year old accidental overdose omg she’s had such a day! she was miscarrying in real time and still had to do her job, women go through so much. I’m curious to see how that affects the rest of her shift. Nurse Dana is the only one at work who knew about her pregnancy and now Dr. Robby suspects too so it’ll be interesting to see those interactions. plus it seems like basically a confirmation that Robby wasn’t the father of Collins’ baby. however, he obviously cares about her more personally because of their history so it’d be nice to see a comforting moment between them.

•SEASON 2 CONFIRMED!!! I’m so happy to see where they’ll go from here. personally I don’t think the current format of each episode being one hour of one shift is sustainable, at least not for (main) character growth. but idk what that would look like if they shift the format. watching the show feels like im spending the day shadowing doctors and i appreciate the show not overdramatizing the lives of the doctors like greys anatomy would. but id like to see ~some~ more of their personal lives. no shade to grey’s, i watched it for a long time but this show feels like it’s meant to be different from the rest of the medical dramas that have been airing in the last 20 years

•can’t believe we’re more than halfway through s1 already. hopefully it airs yearly cause a two year wait might drive me insane

[pressplay-if]

Loving the game so far!! I do have a question tho: Will cheating be something explored in the story? Talking specifically about Zima's route since they canonically love sex and things with mc are complicated (and will be for a long time). Like will they have sex with npcs even if there's pining and truce with a Zimamancer!mc? How would their route go with an ace sex-neutral Mc?

Heyo! First off, thanks 🩷 this got long, so the answer is under the cut.

I... get a little bit triggered over all things cheating, so no. Zima wouldn't cheat. However, they will continue to hook up with people if there's pining and a truce. They're not going to wait around for MC, especially since they don't wholeheartedly believe something is going to grow between them again. They don't expect anything from the MC. Besides, Zima sometimes hooks up with people just to feel better, so depending on the situation, there could even be an increase in that.

But if it ever does come to an actual defined relationship, that's a full stop to all of that.

Here's where it gets complicated with ace MCs: sex and physicality is very important to Zima, so they would know a relationship without it isn't sustainable for them. The idea of their partner not enjoying it as much as they do would trigger a slew of conflicting thoughts and insecurities (which is sth for Zima to work on, but even if they did, their high drive would remain).

So honestly, I think it would be a point of incompatibility. Zima wouldn't cheat, ever, and similarly, they couldn't bring themselves to enter a relationship where their partner isn't on the same wavelength as them when it comes to physical intimacy.

Confession time: I'm allosexual, and I haven't yet thought out how best to implement routes for ace MCs, particularly when it comes to Zima. Don't worry, that doesn't mean the game will assume an allosexual MC! Sex will be entirely optional and MC can definitely be effectively ace. [Except I do worry that my way of writing crushes (especially if it's MC simping for Zima) would read as "inherently" allosexual?? If that makes sense?]

Anyways. As for how an ace MC/Zima romance could work, I'm still thinking about it.

Having a purely romantic relationship with Zima might be an option, where it's out in the open that Zima and MC love each other but aren't sexually monogamous. But again, no cheating is going to take place and Zima would only be down for that if MC suggested it first. They're terrified of hurting MC/making them feel "less than". Also, fun fact; Zima has never been in a "real" long-term relationship and is terrified overall. MC and them will have a lot to cover.

[vidding]

The Best Vidding Safe Haven?

Forgive the "read bait" meme above but if you are reading these words right now that means it worked. If you are a vidding fan then it was worth it. Vidders.net was born July 19, 2010. It is a Vidder-friendly AO3 Embed Certified Vid hosting & streaming site with over 18K vids. Its growth benefited from You Tube's increased use of content ID and the closing of Imeem. It was mentioned in the "Vidding: A History" book by Francesca Coppa. Its members (most who host some great vids there) include:

Luminosity

Lim

Laura Shapiro

Lithiumdoll

Obsessive24

Clucking Bells

Charmax

Bradcpu

thedothatgirl

kiki miserychic

Milly

Hollywoodgrrl

bop radar

Loki (secretlytodream)

Condsdmlk

newkidfan

NCISMelanie

Shoopdancer

Absolute Destiny

SD Wolfpup

Arefadedaway

camelia1986

adfproductions

Astarte

Such Heights

Mithoborien

mresundance

Just to name a few. You may not recognize these names but if you do you know these vidders literally made a name for themselves with the quality of their work during that time. At least in my opinion. The site is a time capsule of awesome vids even if some of the vidders listed are no longer active. Additionally, it hosts vids no longer available on You Tube like "Boom Boom Ba" by Charmax (a classic Xena vid). And yet it can still host new content without the issues faced on some other vid hosting options.

How much does it cost to host and stream all those vids? Well, that is one of the reasons for this post. The assumption I'm making is that if there is a Vidding "community" it's more likely than not that members of it would see a post like this and/or share it with fellow members of the community. Is it worth it to keep a site like this around? It's mostly been a solo operation for these past 13 years but now I am starting to wonder after such a long time.

I'll spare you the obligation of filling out a poll or survey. I'll make it simple. We have a Patreon account at patreon.com/vidding. If you don't feel it's worth keeping up. Nothing to do. Thank you for reading this far. If you feel there is some value based on what was mentioned earlier, then a minimum level of support at the Patreon is $1 a month. You'll not only be supporting the Vidders.net but other projects like the recent purchase of the Vidding.com domain name and more. The OTW October fundraiser drive begins in October and is on track to raise about 250k. Rasing even 1 percent of that amount would be more than adequate. After all Vids on AO3 make up less than 1 percent of the content on there anyway. I've been told by a fellow fan that I should keep it running but if it's not even supported by a community, it's a personal expense at my expense I am on the hook for. Again, there is no survey or poll to take but if you have questions that may help you determine your willingness to support just contact me. If you find value in preserving the site just visit Patreon.com/vidding or get your questions answered. This form of funding is more sustainable than occasional stop and start donation efforts we've done in the past. If you prefer another form of funding let us know.

I will check in by the end of October to see where things are. I am not going to do anything drastic. It's just that it's been 13 years and I started to wonder especially with my current financial situation but didn't want to do anything without communicating the situation. The site costs about $720 a year to run. At about $60 a month to run so it should be doable.

Boom Boom Ba by Charmax

If you liked this post you might like this:

The YouTube Vid Purge of 2021

[mariacallous]

MYKOLAIV, UKRAINE—Kateryna Nahorna is getting ready to find trouble.

Part of an all-female team of dog handlers, the 22-year-old is training Ukraine’s technical survey dogs—Belgian Malinois that have learned to sniff out explosives.

The job is huge. Ukraine is now estimated to be the most heavily mined country on Earth. Deminers must survey every area that saw sustained fighting for unexploded mines, missiles, artillery shells, bombs, and a host of other ordnance—almost 25 percent of the country, according to government estimates.

The dogs can cover 1,500 square meters a day. In contrast, human deminers cover 10 square meters a day on average—by quickly narrowing down the areas that manual deminers will need to tackle, the dogs save valuable time.

“This job allows me to be a warrior for my country … but without having to kill anyone,” said Nahorna. ��Our men protect us at war, and we do this to protect them at home.”

A highly practical reason drove the women’s recruitment. The specialized dog training was done in Cambodia, by the nonprofit Apopo, and military-aged men are currently not allowed to leave Ukraine.

War has shaken up gender dynamics in the Ukrainian economy, with women taking up jobs traditionally held by men, such as driving trucks or welding. Now, as mobilization ramps up once more, women are becoming increasingly important in roles that are critical for national security.

In Mykolaiv, in the industrial east, Nahorna and her dogs will soon take on one of the biggest targets of Russia’s military strategy when they start to demine the country’s energy infrastructure. Here, women have been stepping in to work in large numbers in steel mills, factories, and railways serving the front line.

It’s a big shift for Ukraine. Before the war, only 48 percent of women over age 15 took part in the workforce — one of the lowest rates in Europe. War has made collecting data on the gender composition of the workforce impossible, but today, 50,000 women serve in the Ukrainian army, compared to 30,000 before the war.

The catalyst came in 2017, years before the current war began. As conflict escalated with Russia in Crimea, the Ukrainian government overturned a Soviet-era law that had previously banned women from 450 occupations.

But obstacles still remain; for example, women are not allowed jobs the government deems too physically demanding. These barriers continue to be chipped away—most recently, women have been cleared to work in underground mines, something they were prevented from doing before.

Viktoriia Avramchuk never thought she would follow her father and husband into the coal mines for DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company.

Her lifelong fear of elevators was a big factor—but there was also the fact that it was illegal for women to work underground.

Her previous job working as a nanny in a local kindergarten disappeared overnight when schools were forced to close at the beginning of the war. After a year of being unemployed, she found that she had few other options.

“I would never have taken the job if I could have afforded not to,” Avramchuk said from her home in Pokrovsk. “But I also wanted to do something to help secure victory, and this was needed.”

The demining work that Nahorna does is urgent in part because more than 55 percent of the country is farmed.

Often called “the breadbasket of Europe,” Ukraine is one of the world’s top exporters of grain. The U.K.-based Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which has been advising the Ukrainian government on demining technology, estimates that landmines have resulted in annual GDP losses of $11 billion.

“Farmers feel the pressure to plow, which is dangerous,” said Jon Cunliffe, the Ukraine country director of Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a British nonprofit. “So we need to do as much surveying as possible to reduce the size of the possible contamination.”

The dogs can quickly clear an area of heavy vegetation, which greatly speeds up the process of releasing noncontaminated lands back to farmers. If the area is found to be unsafe, human deminers step in to clear the field manually.

“I’m not brave enough to be on the front line,” 29-year-old Iryna Manzevyta said as she slowly and diligently hovered a metal detector over a patch of farmland. “But I had to do something to help, and this seemed like a good alternative to make a difference.”

Groups like MAG are increasingly targeting women. With skilled male deminers regularly being picked up by military recruiters, recruiting women reduces the chances that expensive and time-consuming training will be invested in people who could be drafted to the front line at a moment’s notice. The demining work is expected to take decades, and women, unlike men, cannot be conscripted in Ukraine.

This urgency to recruit women is accelerating a gender shift already underway in the demining sector. Organizations like MAG have looked to recruit women as a way to empower them in local communities. Demining was once a heavily male-dominated sector, but women now make up 30 percent of workers in Vietnam and Colombia, around 40 percent in Cambodia, and more than 50 percent in Myanmar.

In Ukraine, the idea is to make demining an enterprise with “very little expat footprint,” and Cunliffe said that will only be possible by recruiting more women.

“We should not be here in 10 years. Not like in Iraq or South Sudan, where we have been for 30 years, or Vietnam, or Laos,” Cunliffe said. “It’s common sense that we bring in as many women as we can to do that. In five to 10 years, a lot of these women are going to end up being technical field managers, the jobs that are currently being done by old former British military guys, and it will change the face of demining worldwide because they can take those skills across the world.”

Manzevyta is one of the many women whose new job has turned her family dynamics on their head. She has handed over her previous life, running a small online beauty retail site, to her husband, who—though he gripes—stays at home while she is out demining.

“Life is completely different now,” she said, giggling. “I had to teach him how to use the washing machine, which settings to use, everything around the house because I’m mostly absent now.”

More seriously, Manzevyta said that the war has likely changed many women’s career trajectories.

“I can’t imagine people who have done work like this going back and working as florists once the war is over,” she laughed.

[seat-safety-switch]

Relying on a network of package delivery folks to sustain ourselves is an interesting new way to live. My grandparents probably got one or two parcels each a year, and it was a whole-ass event when it happened. Crowd the whole family around. This box came from another town. Let's open it together.

Now, I get thirty or forty packages a week. That's only a slight exaggeration, but you can understand the scale of the problem we're dealing with. As with everyone else in this era, we are constantly ordering things from faceless automatons and expecting them to get here on time. So it's extra mysterious when you see a message like this in the parcel-smashing-company's online parcel tracking:

"Due to an emergency situation, the package has been delayed."

That's okay. The roads were pretty bad. I can't judge another worker for preserving their own safety, especially not when they're just delivering me some old car parts. They are, of course, car parts that I desperately need this weekend so that I can put them on a shelf while I wait for more car parts to arrive in order to complete the job. The next day, though, I got a whole different message:

"Uncontrollable events have delayed delivery."

Okay, that's enough. I decided to call in to the faceless parcel-smashing corporation's customer-support line, figure out what was wrong, really get to the bottom of all this. How dare you hold onto my garbage? How dare you not deliver it?

Turns out that the driver, my fellow working comrade, had taken a look at his options. He could drive through the blowing snow to deliver me a bunch of junk. Or, he could look at his gas gauge and realize he had just enough fuel to make it all the way to Mexico. Start a new life. Make different choices. Be a better person this time. Stay warm. I can't begrudge him a vacation, but I hope when his conscience is back in control that he ships back my parts using a different courier than I did.

[intheupside]

What's the secret to Sidney Crosby's success?

Always eat a strawberry PB&J on game day… and have unwavering dedication, unparalleled work ethic, and exceptional talent.

With Sidney Crosby appearing in his 1,200th NHL contest on Saturday in San Jose, I wanted to ask how his game-day routine has evolved in the years since that first one to help keep him playing at such an elite level.

Because as Mike Sullivan said, that’s not an easy thing to do – and it's a testament to Crosby’s drive, his will to win, his desire to be the best, and his willingness to put the time in and make the sacrifices so that he can continue to sustain that type of play.

At first, Crosby laughed good-naturedly – because we all know how superstitious and routine-based the captain is – and half-joked that there might not be much there. Most of it has stayed the same, particularly his on-ice warmup routine heading into puck drop. "Whether it’s preparing for a game or just a typical game day, (my routines) just allow me to feel good about going out there and doing what I need to do," he said.

But there has been a tweak here and there to the captain’s preparations now that he’s 36, particularly when it comes to what he does in the mornings. Unless the Penguins have the day off before a game, the morning skate is always optional – and in recent years, Crosby has chosen to stay off the ice.

“You look to conserve that energy a little bit more,” he said. “As much as I like getting on the ice in the morning, it’s good if you can just take that opportunity to do other things and still get a little bit of sweat – get ready for the night, but still conserve some energy at the same time. It's always a balancing act.”

Instead of skating, Crosby will take his stick and gloves and find a quiet area of the rink to do some solo stickhandling, which helps him loosen up a bit. He’ll also take part in the first soccer game of the day with Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson, and Rickard Rakell. Sometimes, Noel Acciari will join them, depending on if they do 3-on-3 or 2-on-2.

“We’re just kicking it around, but it can get pretty intense,” Crosby said before adding with a grin, “Sometimes, I wonder if I expend more energy in soccer than I would in morning skate. It just depends on the day, maybe.”

After grabbing lunch to go, when he gets home in the afternoons, Crosby’s nap has gotten shorter as he’s gotten older. “I used to sleep like, two and a half hours when I was younger. But a little harder to do that now,” he smiled. But Crosby still isn’t a big coffee drinker, since natural adrenaline gets the job done when it comes to waking up. “I feel like I get pretty amped up, so I don't need that. I’ve had some caffeine before, and I don’t think it’s good for me,” Crosby laughed.

When it comes to the food Crosby fuels himself with, on a game day the players have the same menu available to them both at home and on the road for their breakfast, lunch, and pregame meal/snack, so he sticks to his routine for those … down to the strawberry PB&J that HBO filmed him making during their 24/7 Penguins/Capitals Road to the Winter Classic series.

But Crosby doesn’t eat as much steak the night before games compared to his early years in the league, especially on the road. “That changed a little bit. Other than that, as long as it's somewhat healthy, I just try to make sure I get a good meal,” Crosby said.

There’s obviously a lot more that goes on behind the scenes, both inside and outside of a game day, that Crosby does to set himself up for success.

“All the subtle things he does – for me, that's the most impressive aspect of his overall body of work. A lot of it goes unseen,” Sulivan said. “That's why I've always said on so many occasions that it's not by accident this guy's as good as he is. Yeah, he's talented, he's gifted, and all of those things, but he maximizes every opportunity that he has to be at his best. I think that commitment, in my experience of being around the game, has been unmatched by any other player I've seen.”

And that’s because Crosby’s passion for the sport is something else that’s remained the same.

“I love it just as much as I did Game 1,” he said. “It’s a lot of hockey, and just grateful I’ve been able to play this long.”

[rideboomindia]

Based on the search results, here are some innovative technologies that RideBoom could implement to enhance the user experience and stay ahead of ONDC:

Enhanced Safety Measures: RideBoom has already implemented additional safety measures, including enhanced driver background checks, real-time trip monitoring, and improved emergency response protocols. [1] To stay ahead, they could further enhance safety by integrating advanced telematics and AI-powered driver monitoring systems to ensure safe driving behavior.

Personalized and Customizable Services: RideBoom could introduce a more personalized user experience by leveraging data analytics and machine learning to understand individual preferences and offer tailored services. This could include features like customizable ride preferences, personalized recommendations, and the ability to save preferred routes or driver profiles. [1]

Seamless Multimodal Integration: To provide a more comprehensive transportation solution, RideBoom could integrate with other modes of transportation, such as public transit, bike-sharing, or micro-mobility options. This would allow users to plan and book their entire journey seamlessly through the RideBoom app, enhancing the overall user experience. [1]

Sustainable and Eco-friendly Initiatives: RideBoom has already started introducing electric and hybrid vehicles to its fleet, but they could further expand their green initiatives. This could include offering incentives for eco-friendly ride choices, partnering with renewable energy providers, and implementing carbon offset programs to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. [1]

Innovative Payment and Loyalty Solutions: To stay competitive with ONDC's zero-commission model, RideBoom could explore innovative payment options, such as integrated digital wallets, subscription-based services, or loyalty programs that offer rewards and discounts to frequent users. This could help attract and retain customers by providing more value-added services. [2]

Robust Data Analytics and Predictive Capabilities: RideBoom could leverage advanced data analytics and predictive modeling to optimize their operations, anticipate demand patterns, and proactively address user needs. This could include features like dynamic pricing, intelligent routing, and personalized recommendations to enhance the overall user experience. [1]

By implementing these innovative technologies, RideBoom can differentiate itself from ONDC, provide a more seamless and personalized user experience, and stay ahead of the competition in the on-demand transportation market.

[hero-israel]

So I've seen a lot of talk from people who allow that Israel was justified to attack Gaza after October 7th, but they feel that Israel still attacked too indiscriminately, killed too many Palestinians, and destroyed too much of Gaza. Two particular hangups I've seen most commonly are the idea that Israel should have done a "tactical counter-terrorism" action rather than a ground invasion, and a specific objection to Israel dropping 2000 pound bombs on Gaza specifically. I don't feel that I know enough about military tactics, so I don't know how legitimate it would have been for Israel to go into Gaza "tactically" or to drop smaller bombs, but I suspect Hamas would be a lot stronger than it is currently, and the same people would still be tut-tutting Israel's actions (if not calling them out with equal outrage). It's very frustrating

Everyone wants a better alternative but nobody describes what it is. Reminds me of the recent post about the Houthis - "don't bomb them, you need to find a way to get rid of the Red Sea embargo that only kills the badguys and nobody else." Okay, I'll just ask the genie of the lamp to magic them away. There are no options for going into Gaza that aren't utterly horrible. Hamas knows this, it was the whole point of their trap, and it is working.

Here's a fair-minded, moving essay by a Gazan Palestinian saying Israel needs "targeted, low-intensity, long-term operation[s] that could sustainably reduce Hamas’ military capabilities and create conditions to introduce a new administration in Gaza," and also admitting "tunnel warfare is dirty, complicated, costly and requires lengthy efforts and campaigns, not the short and swift operations upon which Israel’s military doctrine is built."

IOW, "go in and kill Hamas and destroy everything they have - but don't kill anybody else. Find a way to do it slower and smaller and neater, but still make sure you win."

It doesn't work that way. The tunnels are obviously boobytrapped, how are you supposed to order men in? The problem isn't expense, the problem is failure. Also a slow, prolonged ground campaign would require a lasting re-occupation, another lose-lose. Israel has purportedly been using the 2,000 pound bombs as bunker-busters to collapse the tunnels - maybe that's working, but it also kills the hell out of people on the surface, again part of the trap. I am disappointed that the IDF hadn't spent every waking hour the last decade building some technical gizmo that could make the tunnels uninhabitable, some kind of seismic or ultrasonic whatzit. I said a while back that I was in favor of flooding the tunnels and fixing the environmental consequences later. I've got messages in my inbox now urging me not to take that stance, that Israel should not be seen as "salting the earth," but it doesn't matter since it seems Israel isn't actually doing it, for whatever reason, so there's no point in a Tumblr blog taking a stance either way.

Tom Friedman is another useless Boomer leftover from the '90s and his "philosophy-of-cab-drivers" shtick is laughable, but he actually raised a good point here:

Netanyahu, I would argue, doesn’t want to win. He wants to be winning, OK, that is, he wants to be able to say, we’re winning. We’re winning. We’re winning. It’s just around the corner. But he doesn’t want to actually win because, if the war actually ends, two things are going to happen. Then he can no longer avoid what is the new political end state. And I believe there will be an eruption, a massive eruption, of Israeli anger at him that I hope and pray will drive him from power because I believe he is not only the worst leader in Israel’s history. I believe he’s the worst leader in Jewish history.

And that’s a long history. And what is Netanyahu’s calculation? It’s very simple. If he is not in power and has to face the conclusion of his trial and three corruption charges without the protection and influence that comes over the judiciary from being in power, he has a very good chance of going to jail. People forget. Israel jailed a president and a former prime minister. They’re not afraid to do that. And he does not want to go to jail. And he does not want to give up power.

And so this is a terrible situation where Israel is in a existential war, and its prime minister has basically dual loyalties, one to the state and one to himself. And at every turn, he is prioritizing himself.

I wish I could totally rule out the possibility that Netanyahu is going to try to drag this out until Trump's inauguration next year. I can't.