#This transformative work has been created purely for entertainment purposes. No profit is made or sought.

[bluewritinghood]

I absolutely love Icemav so I made a fan edit of them, this song fits them so well!

Disclaimer:

I do NOT own Top Gun, or Top Gun Maverick, nor do I claim to. I do not own any characters in this fan fic or from Top Gun. This transformative
work has been created purely for
entertainment purposes. No profit is
made or sought. No copyright
infringement is intended. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I don’t own Anything to do with the Top Gun franchise.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Hozier or any of his music nor do I claim to. I do not own anything from Hozier in this fan edit or from Hozier. This transformative
work has been created purely for
entertainment purposes. No profit is
made or sought. No copyright
infringement is intended. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I don’t own

I am purely a fan and this is purely a fan edit shared for the enjoyment of others and no profit is sought in any way or form.

[smokeybrand]

I Still Function

So i’ll be 34 this year. I was born in those weird tweeny years between Gen X and the accepted Millennial realization. Technically, i am a Millennial but since i caught the tail end of the 80s, we have our own sub category. I’ve heard the term Xennial or Proto-Millenial thrown around but i always prefers The Oregon Trail Generation, mostly because we all played Oregon Trail in grade school. Motherf*cker stayed dying of dysentery! Essentially, i had my formative years in the 90s but grew up i the 80s. As such, i got to be semi-privy to all of that Reagan nonsense; trickle down decay, bullsh*t Nuclear family ideal, outright war on the minority community, and the rampant corporate greed that he left unchecked. Aside from a stock market crash and wild inflation, we got a deregulation on corporate advertising. In direct response, these morally bankrupt companies flooded the market with commercials masquerading as cartoon series targeting, kids just like me. And boy did that sh*t work!

G.I. Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Jem, Dinosaucers, My Little Pony, Care Bears, ThunderCats, SilverHawks, Go-Bots; i can go on for years, man! The vast majority of 80s cartoons, the entertainment i had as a child, were specifically designed to sell toys. They were cynically created for the sole purpose of profit but transformed into something more. Pun intended. A handful of these cash-grabs became so much more than just toy plugs. He-Man and G.I. Joe are stalwarts in American Pop Culture, just like Barbie, but the biggest star of the 80s toy entertainment revolution, Transformers, has become a goddamn powerhouse!

Transformers, to me, was like the first time older 20-somethings watched Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. It was a goddamn revelation. My pops was a fan od Speed Racer so i had a rudimentary understanding of what anime was. I jumped from there, headfirst into Gundam and Dunbine bootlegs. I eventually found my way to a pure love for the giant robot genre thanks to Macross and Go-Lion (Robotech and Voltron, respectively, for the Americans in the audience). At 4 years old, i remember finding a VHS for the first two episodes on the Transformers show in my local Blockbuster. Suffice it to say, i was immediately hooked. Imagine my surprise when i got older and realized that, everyone of my beloved Transformers, were based on the Japanese Takara toy line, Diaclone. Mostly. There were a few exception; Jetfire was actually that transforming robot jet from Macross, but they were still Japanese properties. My burgeoning weeabooness, thanks to Godzilla and Voltron, ate that sh*t up.

Those first two seasons of Transformers were iconic. They set forth a real, cultural, phenomenon behind dope ass characters, deep lore, and a crazy ass gimmick. Objectively, robots that turned into other things, seems like a no-brainer but no one was doing it. Hasboro had the wherewithal to bring in actual writers, actual creators, to create a world and universe a la Star Wars. Jim Shooter, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief at the time, roughed an overall concept and Bob Budiansky put the final touches on Shooter’s work. Hasboro loved what they presented and Marvel set off with a four issue mini series comic adaption while Sunbow dropped a three part television pilot. Transformers became an overnight success. Much like all of it’s other cookie-cutter commercial cartoons of it’s day, there was a distinct lack or substance to the original series but no one cared. Most kids were just regaled by the dope ass toys and the wildly unique characters presented.

The War between the Autobots and Decepticons set the tiny imagination of little Ryan ablaze. As an adult, looking back, i can honestly say G1 was trash. It was mad transparent with it’s agenda. But i din’t care because Starscream is dope as sh*t. Screamer was just the best thing for me.He was my Vegeta before Vegeta. I Adored his smarmy cockiness and zealous ambition. It helped tremendously that his particular voice actor, Chris Latta, was one of the best o work. His distinct voice gave a real personality, a true uniqueness, to the Seeker commander. Latta actually voiced a ton of characters i enjoyed as a a kid. Fun fact, he was also the voice of Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe and the original voice to Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. The more you know.

Aside from the legendary Chris Latta, Transformers also employed true legends of the industry in Peter Cullen and Frank Welker in the leader roles of their opposing factions. Optimus Prime IS Peter Cullen. Frank Welker IS Megatron. It doesn’t work when other people voice them in other media. One of the reasons i dislike the Bayformers franchise (more on that later) is because Michael Bay made Frank Welker audition for the role of Megatron. He made Megatron audition for Megatron, and then PASSED on him! He told Megatron he was wasn’t Megatron enough to play Megatron. The f*cking audacity! Hugo Weaving did a decent job, he has a very unique tenor to his voice, but after seeing the test footage of Welker over Gay’s version of Megatron on the special feature to the first Transformers flick, i could never get into the series. It helps tremendously that they’re all terrible, too.

Characters like Bumblebee, Soundwave, Prowl, Jazz, Shockwave, Ultra Magnus, Rodimus Prime (for better or worse), Grimlock, Devastator, Laserbeak, Arcee, and many others have become icons. These are legacy monikers that mean so much to a fandom that has stood the testament of time. Over the last 34 years, Transformers has exploded into a force. We were given cutting edge classics like Beast Wars, light-hearted takes on the the mythos like Animated, and a more adult incarnation that, i think, is the best of the franchise without nostalgia armor, Transformers Prime. These shows elevated the mythos and carried that torch of love from my generation, to my little brothers pee group, all the way through the Gen Y kids and whoever is after them. You don’t get o be around for 34 years and not find a way to evolve with the times, to grow with your demo. In that regard, i have to give credit to Bayformers. Though, i hate those films with a passion and it’s obvious Micheal Bay has no respect for the source material, his films are the most visible of the entire franchise. They act as an easy entry point for people to dip their toe into, often leading to a tumble down that Cybertron rabbit hole into some of the richest, most convoluted, lore you can imagine.

I mean, there are excellent comics dating all the way back to the 80s from Marvel. Dreamwave had a decent run before their bankruptcy but IDW is out here doing gods work in the print. There is a plethora of brilliant stories being told set in the many realities of the Transformers Multiverse. And it’s a goddamn pleasure to sort all of that out. There are a ton of Japan only continuations of the G1 cartoon like Headmaster and Super God Masterforce as well as outright anime versions (complete with all of the anime tropes that accompany mecha shows out there) that are relatively popular. We’ve come full circle, man! I mean, there are also  not so... okay versions of stuff out there like KISS players. Stay away from Kiss players. That sh*t is whack, son. Still, Japan did give us Guiltar. That motherf*cker is too dope!

I adore Transformers. I love them like i love my wife or pancakes. A ton of my pleasant childhood memories are tied up in them Robots in Disguise. More than that, though, i love how far they’ve come. Seeing this franchise blow up into a full-on movement does my heart good. Even though there inception was one of dubious greed, the franchise has outgrown those sordid beginnings to be come a breeding ground of creativity and fun. Their popularity has created a five movie, six if you count this Bumblebee spin-off, cinematic universe that rivals the success of the MCU. Well, more the Fast franchise but you get my point. No one is taking out the 300 lbs. gorilla in the Disney backed MCU. Those motherf*ckers are printing money right now. But the fact that Transformers is probably the second most popular universe out there, speaks volumes to it’s popularity. I’e been firmly on this bandwagon for 30 years and have no intention of jumping off. I’m in it for another 30 and looking forward to the future.

[aliciabuncle]

Rethinking your business with IoT: your product “as a Service”

In the world of IT “as-a-Service” has been a major trend over the last 15 years. Once the availability, speed and reliability of the Internet reached the point where applications could be accessed in someone elses data center, it’s made sense to look for opportunities to reduce costs. Why not you pay for what you use (Software as a Service) rather than invest in the infrastructure, software, support staff, etc., required to run an application yourself?

Similarly, software platforms and hardware infrastructures sold “as a Service” have taken off. It’s much faster and usually more cost effective to buy what you need rather than invest up-front. With increased volatility in the world due to politics, innovation and economics, many companies value flexibility over predictable asset amortization. You’ll see this is reflected in a growing preference for Opex over Capex investment.

A third trend is the growing investment in the Internet of Things (IoT). The more you embed sensors and actuators into physical assets, the more potential you have to change the business models for those physical things. This article will explore the implications of these changes and what they mean in our new “as a Service” world as we progress from purely physical assets to a purely digital ones.

Service for product: the case for smarter maintenance

Traditionally buying a physical asset meant an up-front acquisition or a lease, plus ongoing maintenance, for which you would be responsible. The simplest example is buying a car. You have sole use of the vehicle, and every so often, you take it to a garage for an oil change or new tires.

Thanks to IoT, that’s changing. Now, our physical assets (like a car) are able to report usage and status. For example, my car can tell me via an app that it’s due for a service in the next month. The most forward-looking manufacturers take the owner out of the equation and send software updates directly to the vehicle.

In additional to connected cars, more and more products across a variety of industries are able to report back to their manufacturers. This helps the manufacturer understand usage trends and identify problems that lead to increased warranty costs.

One example is Electra[1], the largest manufacturer of air-conditioning units in Israel. The company recently launched a connected aircon unit that is able to report faults back to the company. That means that when a unit needs repair, an engineer knows what part is needed to fix a problem on first visit. Customers are happier (and cooler) and Electra can lower its costs.

Services with product: extending value for business and its customers

Moving on from services that improve a product, we start to look at services that augment it. Back to my car example; when I bought my first car, I considered its aesthetics, performance and price. When I choose my most recent car, I was more interested in the services that came with it, like the navigation system with real-time traffic insights and the entertainment system’s ability to stream music from my Spotify account.

In the same way, we are seeing manufacturers offer IOT-based services around the physical product. One example is Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology, which makes drilling and earth moving equipment for mines. Their objective is to help their customers get more value from their equipment. To accomplish that, they provide dashboards that help their customers assess the performance of their equipment and operators against industry benchmarks. That helps boost productivity and output.

According to the company: Never before has it been possible to measure so much on equipment. Combined with other process information, this onboard fleet data can help inform actionable insights to improve your business.

Digitalization means leveraging digital technologies to drive efficiency and profitability. From autonomous and connected equipment to data analysis and process optimization, we’re launching new digital solutions to help you improve safety, reduce environmental impact and optimize efficiency and profitability.[2]

Product as a service: creating new solutions

Things start to get especially interesting when a traditional physical product is consumed in a new way. A good example is an innovative solution to a rather mundane but important problem.

With recent changes to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) regulations covering public buildings and facilities there are now higher costs to remain compliant. Failure to comply brings significant penalties, including fines, additional audit scrutiny, reputational damage and even facility closure in extreme cases.

  In an average sized public building, there will be around 1000 exit signs. Each sign requires a monthly inspection and an annual 90-minute battery test. The estimated annual costs of manual inspection are $25 per sign per month, which adds up to $300,000 every year. Even if the building owner does not outsource the effort, the time that their own maintenance staff spends (roughly 100 hours per month) is time that could be more productively spent on maintenance and improvement tasks.

Using IoT to create a smarter solution

A new solution developed by Willard IoT, in conjunction with IBM, offers a smart way to increase the integrity of the compliance process while drastically reducing the costs of recording and reporting status. Best of all, this new solution is delivered as a service, which means clients don’t have to worry about ongoing maintenance and updates.

This exit sign solution uses sensors in the sign to measure light status and battery health. The results of this data is presented in a dashboard that summarises the status across multiple signs, grouped for convenience (i.e. by floor/area, building, etc.). This solution provides a highly accurate and reliable summary of the current status and testing regime. It also ensures compliance and greatly reduces the risk of an audit failure.

Less obvious are the benefits of delivering the solution as a service. For a fixed price per sign per month, the solution is installed and configured. The maintenance of the exit signs is included, too. So any failures detected by the automatic testing can be quickly remediated. Since support and updates for the solution are included, any problems can be quickly resolved.

A look at the cost savings

The savings that can be achieved through this solution are typically over $6 per sign per month. So for a typical building with 1000 signs, that would result in over $100,000 per year. And that is before any additional costs for maintenance and replacement are taken into account. Over the normal five-year amortization period for a capital investment in a standard sign, that would be over half a million dollars in savings.

  The next frontier: when data becomes the product

With all of these connected offerings comes a wealth of data about how products are being used and services consumed. The fact is, data is the new natural resource. And more product manufacturers and operators are looking at ways to monetize it.

Forrester says[3]:

Firms Should Look Beyond Just Cost Savings To Capture The Full Value Of IoT

Business execs often fixate on cost savings as the primary IoT value contribution, but the potential business value of IoT reaches much further. Successful companies will leverage their IoT investments to optimize their existing operations, differentiate their products and services, and transform entire markets through new offerings.

Ovum describes[4]how the adoption of increasing digitalisation leads to…

… a coherent enterprise that can sense, anticipate, respond, and adapt at the right pace to remain persistently relevant to its customers. Ovum’s term for such an enterprise is “customer-adaptive.” The fundamental trigger point for adaptation is the customer.

Access to data from new sources – generated within and acquired from without – can be a powerful force to shape the offerings – and even the purpose – of the organization.

Getting started

At IBM, we’re ready to help you explore your own data initiatives and your “as a Service” opportunities. I invite you to visit our website and talk to one of our experts.

References:

https://newsroom.ibm.com/2018-07-19-IBM-Watson-IoT-Accelerates-Business-Transformation-in-Europe

https://www.rocktechnology.sandvik/en/about-us/digitalization/

https://www.forrester.com/report/Untangle+Your+IoT+Strategies/-/E-RES121373?objectid=RES121373#– Untangle Your IoT Strategies: The Three IoT Scenarios And How They Drive Business Value, September 21, 2017

Ovum – A Customer-Adaptive Architectural Approach for Digital Business Transformation, 17 April 2018 (INT001-000040)

About the author:Mark Swinson is the Worldwide Go-To-Market Leader for the Watson IoT Platform. He joined IBM in 1995 and has worked many different areas of IBM’s software portfolio. The locus of his career has been in integration – starting with application-to-application integration and evolving through high-performance, low-latency messaging into the realm of IoT.  He has been a part of the Watson IoT Business Unit since 2016, and worked on helping our clients realize value from IoT through cloud-based platforms and industry-aligned solutions.

The post Rethinking your business with IoT: your product “as a Service” appeared first on Internet of Things blog.

Rethinking your business with IoT: your product “as a Service” published first on https://decalsgraphicstore.tumblr.com/

[smokeybrandreviews]

I Still Function

So i’ll be 34 this year. I was born in those weird tweeny years between Gen X and the accepted Millennial realization. Technically, i am a Millennial but since i caught the tail end of the 80s, we have our own sub category. I’ve heard the term Xennial or Proto-Millenial thrown around but i always prefers The Oregon Trail Generation, mostly because we all played Oregon Trail in grade school. Motherf*cker stayed dying of dysentery! Essentially, i had my formative years in the 90s but grew up i the 80s. As such, i got to be semi-privy to all of that Reagan nonsense; trickle down decay, bullsh*t Nuclear family ideal, outright war on the minority community, and the rampant corporate greed that he left unchecked. Aside from a stock market crash and wild inflation, we got a deregulation on corporate advertising. In direct response, these morally bankrupt companies flooded the market with commercials masquerading as cartoon series targeting, kids just like me. And boy did that sh*t work!

G.I. Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Jem, Dinosaucers, My Little Pony, Care Bears, ThunderCats, SilverHawks, Go-Bots; i can go on for years, man! The vast majority of 80s cartoons, the entertainment i had as a child, were specifically designed to sell toys. They were cynically created for the sole purpose of profit but transformed into something more. Pun intended. A handful of these cash-grabs became so much more than just toy plugs. He-Man and G.I. Joe are stalwarts in American Pop Culture, just like Barbie, but the biggest star of the 80s toy entertainment revolution, Transformers, has become a goddamn powerhouse!

Transformers, to me, was like the first time older 20-somethings watched Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. It was a goddamn revelation. My pops was a fan od Speed Racer so i had a rudimentary understanding of what anime was. I jumped from there, headfirst into Gundam and Dunbine bootlegs. I eventually found my way to a pure love for the giant robot genre thanks to Macross and Go-Lion (Robotech and Voltron, respectively, for the Americans in the audience). At 4 years old, i remember finding a VHS for the first two episodes on the Transformers show in my local Blockbuster. Suffice it to say, i was immediately hooked. Imagine my surprise when i got older and realized that, everyone of my beloved Transformers, were based on the Japanese Takara toy line, Diaclone. Mostly. There were a few exception; Jetfire was actually that transforming robot jet from Macross, but they were still Japanese properties. My burgeoning weeabooness, thanks to Godzilla and Voltron, ate that sh*t up.

Those first two seasons of Transformers were iconic. They set forth a real, cultural, phenomenon behind dope ass characters, deep lore, and a crazy ass gimmick. Objectively, robots that turned into other things, seems like a no-brainer but no one was doing it. Hasboro had the wherewithal to bring in actual writers, actual creators, to create a world and universe a la Star Wars. Jim Shooter, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief at the time, roughed an overall concept and Bob Budiansky put the final touches on Shooter’s work. Hasboro loved what they presented and Marvel set off with a four issue mini series comic adaption while Sunbow dropped a three part television pilot. Transformers became an overnight success. Much like all of it’s other cookie-cutter commercial cartoons of it’s day, there was a distinct lack or substance to the original series but no one cared. Most kids were just regaled by the dope ass toys and the wildly unique characters presented.

The War between the Autobots and Decepticons set the tiny imagination of little Ryan ablaze. As an adult, looking back, i can honestly say G1 was trash. It was mad transparent with it’s agenda. But i din’t care because Starscream is dope as sh*t. Screamer was just the best thing for me.He was my Vegeta before Vegeta. I Adored his smarmy cockiness and zealous ambition. It helped tremendously that his particular voice actor, Chris Latta, was one of the best o work. His distinct voice gave a real personality, a true uniqueness, to the Seeker commander. Latta actually voiced a ton of characters i enjoyed as a a kid. Fun fact, he was also the voice of Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe and the original voice to Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. The more you know.

Aside from the legendary Chris Latta, Transformers also employed true legends of the industry in Peter Cullen and Frank Welker in the leader roles of their opposing factions. Optimus Prime IS Peter Cullen. Frank Welker IS Megatron. It doesn’t work when other people voice them in other media. One of the reasons i dislike the Bayformers franchise (more on that later) is because Michael Bay made Frank Welker audition for the role of Megatron. He made Megatron audition for Megatron, and then PASSED on him! He told Megatron he was wasn’t Megatron enough to play Megatron. The f*cking audacity! Hugo Weaving did a decent job, he has a very unique tenor to his voice, but after seeing the test footage of Welker over Gay’s version of Megatron on the special feature to the first Transformers flick, i could never get into the series. It helps tremendously that they’re all terrible, too.

Characters like Bumblebee, Soundwave, Prowl, Jazz, Shockwave, Ultra Magnus, Rodimus Prime (for better or worse), Grimlock, Devastator, Laserbeak, Arcee, and many others have become icons. These are legacy monikers that mean so much to a fandom that has stood the testament of time. Over the last 34 years, Transformers has exploded into a force. We were given cutting edge classics like Beast Wars, light-hearted takes on the the mythos like Animated, and a more adult incarnation that, i think, is the best of the franchise without nostalgia armor, Transformers Prime. These shows elevated the mythos and carried that torch of love from my generation, to my little brothers pee group, all the way through the Gen Y kids and whoever is after them. You don’t get o be around for 34 years and not find a way to evolve with the times, to grow with your demo. In that regard, i have to give credit to Bayformers. Though, i hate those films with a passion and it’s obvious Micheal Bay has no respect for the source material, his films are the most visible of the entire franchise. They act as an easy entry point for people to dip their toe into, often leading to a tumble down that Cybertron rabbit hole into some of the richest, most convoluted, lore you can imagine.

I mean, there are excellent comics dating all the way back to the 80s from Marvel. Dreamwave had a decent run before their bankruptcy but IDW is out here doing gods work in the print. There is a plethora of brilliant stories being told set in the many realities of the Transformers Multiverse. And it’s a goddamn pleasure to sort all of that out. There are a ton of Japan only continuations of the G1 cartoon like Headmaster and Super God Masterforce as well as outright anime versions (complete with all of the anime tropes that accompany mecha shows out there) that are relatively popular. We’ve come full circle, man! I mean, there are also  not so... okay versions of stuff out there like KISS players. Stay away from Kiss players. That sh*t is whack, son. Still, Japan did give us Guiltar. That motherf*cker is too dope!

I adore Transformers. I love them like i love my wife or pancakes. A ton of my pleasant childhood memories are tied up in them Robots in Disguise. More than that, though, i love how far they’ve come. Seeing this franchise blow up into a full-on movement does my heart good. Even though there inception was one of dubious greed, the franchise has outgrown those sordid beginnings to be come a breeding ground of creativity and fun. Their popularity has created a five movie, six if you count this Bumblebee spin-off, cinematic universe that rivals the success of the MCU. Well, more the Fast franchise but you get my point. No one is taking out the 300 lbs. gorilla in the Disney backed MCU. Those motherf*ckers are printing money right now. But the fact that Transformers is probably the second most popular universe out there, speaks volumes to it’s popularity. I’e been firmly on this bandwagon for 30 years and have no intention of jumping off. I’m in it for another 30 and looking forward to the future.

[loyolafilmcircle]

Why are Michael Bay Movies Popular?

by Renzo Guevara

edited by Benjie Bernal

Everyone loves to hate on Michael Bay as a director. And as a director he loves to pander audiences with his films filled with racist jokes, homophobic statements, offensive stereotypes, and female objectification; and that’s just in the dialogue. But somehow all his films still manage to do really well, being one of the highest-grossing directors of all time as along with Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan. But unlike them, most of his films are practically universally frowned upon by critics in their reviews. Yet most of his films’ returns are in the hundreds of millions, while two of his recent iterations of the Transformers franchise hit billion-dollar milestones

Michael Bay once openly said that he “makes films for teenage boys.” But unfortunately for him, there isn’t any specific genre in film that’s specifically made for teenage boys. So regardless of what audience he makes his films for, it’ll still be part the action-adventure genre. But I guess that’s something we, the general audience, just have to bear. That said, one could then see it as a “popcorn flick”, which is the kind of movie where you just sit down and enjoy a few hours of mindless violence and nothing else. Good luck entering the cinema looking for a good dialogue or a seamless plot in a Michael Bay film. Sorry but you’re going to be disappointed. Better just watch the Academy Award Nominated Film in the other cinema.

But one thing Bay is reliable in, is making his movie eye-candy for his viewers through good use of effects. According to Bay, he makes sure that every shot he creates has some sort of ‘over-the-top imagery’ or a sense of scale to it. The camera work, the backgrounds, and the saturation of colors all contribute and are orchestrated by him to make the film as impactful as possible for the viewer. He makes shots “awesome” (how probably a teenage boy would describe it) by cramming in as many details as possible. This is something he got from making music videos early on before making his first feature film, Bad Boys (1995).

His frantic style of shooting is so unique; his crew famously describes it as “bayos” or “bayhem.” He is one of the few directors in Hollywood known for not utilizing storyboards to plan out his shots. Everything is done on the fly and in the spur of the moment. If done right, this technique can save money and time for the production but it’s risky because of the fact that it’s being directed then and there in the moment with less thought of that with a storyboard. Every angle, camera movement and visual element within the frame would have to be perfectly shot otherwise they would waste numerous resources that include pyrotechnics and explosives. Post-production is another challenge given the seemingly countless CGI effects that have to be inserted in the shots in accordance with the practical effects and actors. The amalgamation of the work involved creates a viewing experience unique only in his movies. The angles he tries to get isn’t what an average viewer perceives as “usual.” As Bay describes: “I’m always trying to put my camera in very unique places to give the audience a much more unique view.” His technique does give a greater depth, and possibly a more interesting perspective of the epic battles that transpire. 

Along with his distinct eye for angles, another of his trademarks is his editing style that’s faster than the average Hollywood action flick. His use of  minute details, which he shows only for a moment in an action sequence, in combination with consistent cuts in editing gives the audience little time to process the scene. These quick transitions between shots in combination with the stunning CGI add another layer of suspense that is felt by the audience. Bay’s combination of all these cinematic techniques works together to pull the attention of the audience, providing one immersive sweep of adrenaline that makes for a visually entertaining action sequence.

The original Transformers movie might have just been entitled “Transformers,” but it’s rather misleading. Instead of the war between Autobots and Decepticons from which the original cartoon was centered on and as suggested by the trailer, the first half of the movie is centered on Sam Witwicky and the war with his puberty. But the bad storytelling didn’t seem to matter to the audience as it was still a massive success. People packed theaters to watch cars and trucks that transform into giant alien robots fight that each other—in the end, that kind of awesome is what people really went to the movies for. The effects were nothing short of amazing, because of Bay’s combination of techniques that made scenes certainly eye-catching. The plots of the succeeding films might have periodically deteriorated (as if it was even good to begin with), however the visuals kept improving; blowing the public’s mind more and more after each iteration. It just goes to show how good Bay is in using a combination of practical effects and CGI.

Marketing is indeed important in making anything popular, and the bulk of the revenue his films rack is from foreign box office returns (outside the US). The 4th film in the franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction, heavily capitalized because it shot the entire 3rd act in China, even casting a prominent star from the region. This, in combination with the massive launching event, proved to be massively successful, earning $858 million from foreign ticket sales, a big chunk of it coming from China. That said, people do perceive things as popular because of plenty sales and publicity; however, are all the things made popular worth being so? 

Michael Bay isn’t that bad of a filmmaker and his revenues can attest to that, that is, if we measure one’s skill in filmmaking purely by profits. Bay is unique in that he and his films can embrace themselves in what they are: mindless eye-candy action films. With all the hindrances a film like that has like horrible writing, numerous plot holes, immature humor, annoying product placement, and hateful comments. Perhaps people purposely label his films as dumb “popcorn flicks” then proceed to watch them convinced that they’re just that because of an intrinsic need to just sit back and watch robots battle it out, with it ending with the planet almost getting destroyed and with a philosophically inspirational message from Optimus Prime. But I refuse to believe that the cinema audience’s wants have hit that kind of low. Is it really so bad, that it’s good? Or is it just bad?

Photo sources: 1 2 3

[centrulstring]

18 Wars, weapons and law people from TROM

[Weapons, Wars and Law people ]

What is a weapon? In the dictionary there are many definitions, but we all know that a weapon is a tool used to harm (while defending yourself, hunting or as a deliberate attack).

Weapons were a great help for the survival of the human species because they were used for hunting so it made primitive man's living easier. Unfortunately humans started to use these objects (weapons), not as an utility necessary to survival, but as some objects through which they could express their hatred and selfishness, behaviors created by the environment. 1. Humanized weapons: are objects that have a different utility but may become, or have become, weapons.

We're talking about knives, blades, hands, absolutely anything that can be used as a weapon; They’re called humanized because only humans can transform them into weapons.

Those objects wouldn’t become weapons if society was based on intelligence and focused on education. Which is not the case in the current system. 2. Weapons: objects / machinery specifically designed to hurt.

Weapons are mainly focused on hurting human beings and not enough on hunting. Hunting is now an activity done for pleasure, a hobby, a form of entertainment. Hunting isn’t even necessary anymore because the need for hunting is long gone.

Some are used strictly to hurt other human beings. Guns, swords, bombs, rocket launchers, fighter planes, tanks, cannons and other sophisticated weapons are focused on attacking other humans.

People in charge of weapons business have invented a new term:  self-defense weapons, but they forgot that for self-defense weapons to exist they need the other ones, pure weapons. In fact, they are all weapons, the only difference is how they are used.

Instead of eliminating those weapons they invented others for self-defense.

People have had the nerve to create national arms (weapons of mass destruction). These are weapons designed for countries to be used during potential conflicts, and they continue to invest massively in the development of these objects / machines.

How can you create such weapons when we share the same planet?

{ CLIP }

{ CLIP }

Now, as a normal person, you'll wonder what they are thinking and where could this lead?

It's easy to solve the mystery of continued weapons development. We live in a monetary system that relies on consumers to function and on profit to evolve. How is the weapon business the most profitable business? It's normal for this industry to prosper, even though it represents a disgrace to the human species and also a danger (possibly the greatest), because of the conflicting vested interests of countries and companies causing conflict.

An intelligent system would take back any weapon and would invent some strictly to protect the human race in case of alien invasion, although if such a war would occur, we would have no chance because the attacking alien species should have a much more advanced technology, since they've succeed in traveling to our planet. It was just an idea to keep the weapon concept.

When man is educated and has access to abundance (food, comfort, technology) without the need for obedience, which is possible, then he would not need weapons, and the humanized weapons would not have reasons to be animated because there is no reason to attack anyone.

Instead of producing these weapons that have filled the planet, in massive quantity causing  extensive damage, it would be better to produce technology, machines, that can save man from any work, from the desire to steal, to commit murders. Instead of creating weapons of mass destruction you can create weapons of mass creation. Wars represents people playing with guns on a massive scale.

Ask yourself, when two or more countries are at war: who took this decision to kill each other? Did you vote for that? And after all the countries are some imaginary delimitation's, if I'm in one of these countries and I'm in danger, who's to blame? Who decided to declare war on a country? Do they understand what a country is? Who are those individuals that take action on behalf of everyone?

And more importantly, what are they solving through this brutal act? There have been many wars over time; what was the result of these wars, besides suffering and dead people?

Ask yourself what is the purpose of war and why do we struggle to prevent them?

{ CLIP }

Again, think how different life would be if soldiers were taught to resolve social differences instead of how to kill. Personally I would prefer to work so that soldiers can have all the comfort they need for free, in order for them to help solve problems, to become problems solvers instead of creators. Who wouldn't wish that? Instead of a brutal intervention, beastly and with many deaths that ultimately doesn't solve anything, to have some extremely knowledgeable people part of an intervention that can alleviate and solve problems.

Wars represent the ultimate failure of humans, where they cannot deal with the problems at hand or they don't want to.

{ CLIP }

Police: they are the ones that keep society under control.

These human beings are following some laws and they make you follow those laws too, without giving any explanation or asking themselves why they are doing this.

Because: 1. cops are directly in touch with the monetary system citizens

2. the language used is old and interpretable

3. a policeman’s status makes him behave violently, even if he doesn't want to. We have shown in the prison experiment what such a job can make you do.

4. laws are fixed for an unequal society

5. citizens are obedient in front of authority

6. The policeman represents a trade and we saw that the job is just a form of slavery dressed in bright colors

Practically this job negatively affects everyone in a chaotic rhythm.

The policeman may behave violently, he may misinterpret what you say (today if you are over 30 years and talk to a 12 year old girl, you must be careful with what you say because you may be misinterpreted and be accused of pedophilia); and people tend to be obedient to the authorities. With such an interpretable language this system can’t be beneficial, even if the laws would be useful and accurate, which is not the case.

Not to mention the corruption that is a direct result of the monetary system because money is made more important than anything else.

If it is accepted that justice makes things right through punishment, why do situations like this still occur?

{ CLIP }

And do not forget that increasingly more private companies employ people as personal police or private security to protect personal rights / laws of that company.

{ CLIP }

It’s sad to think that these people, policeman, really want to do justice, to help people, but unfortunately they never think about what laws actually are, why should police enforce them or who gives them orders.

People wants to do things right, but they are misdirected.

Weapons, army and policeman maintain an established society. So how can they work for people? [ Alternative Solutions ]

Weapons, army and policeman maintain an established society. So, this is against progress and evolution.

As there are no bad people with bad intentions, but only a harmful environment that pushes people towards such behavior, these organizations no longer have any purpose in an environment that caters for everyone.

Some people, and organizations, that want to make so-called justice should promote a system that advocates equality between people, a system based on planetary resources, a system  where goods and services are abundant, a system based on proper education and free access to any information, because in such a system justice is it’s foundation. In order to achieve these goals such an organization must be armed with the ability to solve problems. So, there would be no need for weapons.

A society based on planetary resources, where goods and services are abundant, leads directly to a more free and equal society. There would be no need for police, army or weapons in such a society.

In a society of educated people with no reason to commit any crime, for what would we need the police? Who would join an army? Who would animate the weapons?

[ 1) Education / 2) Abundance of goods and services ]

So, the solutions would be proper education and abundance, leading to weapons(army or police) being unnecessary, but such a society is not compatible with the monetary system. { CLIP }

With so many scientific discoveries it’s amazing that people still do not realize that they are all from the same species and that they all live on the same planet.

Remembering the vast universe and what is a human being, it's sad that it takes a conflict within this species, the only one capable(from what we know so far), to understand the universe. This conflict can be understood today through environmental influence, the way people learn(through imitation), obedience to authority etc...  Study after study showing this should help in resolving these conflicts, but they don’t.

[bluewritinghood]

Petals

Rusty never gets sick, like ever, so he’s surprised to say the least when he feels a burning tickling sensation building in his lungs. He sighs pops a coff drop in his mouth and chalks it up to the cold whether. Then it builds into a slight but nagging cough, that cough quickly enough becomes persistent.

“Hey Rus?” Danny says stopping him in the hallway on their way to play poker he doesn’t have to actually ask the question on his mind Rusty knows it’s about his coughing.

“Don’t know it just won’t go away.” He tells him.

“You don’t.” Danny says confused.

“Get sick?” Rusty finishes. “Yeah I know.”

“You think it’s the…” Danny says.

“Probably, it hasn’t gotten above thirty two degrees in over a week.” Rusty dismisses Danny’s concerns.

“But we’ve pulled jobs in whether colder than this and you never…” Danny points out.

“Yeah, I know.” Rusty sighs earning himself a few short coughs.

“Not to mention we’re not even working right now.” Danny continues.

“Maybe I’m allergic to downtime?” Rusty jokes.

“Hmm?” Danny says skeptically.

Rusty dissolves into a coughing fit one of the worst he’s had yet and has to hold onto Danny’s shoulder for support. When he can breathe again there’s three tiny petals in his palm.

Danny furrows his brow. “Are those…?”

“Marigold petals.” Rusty confirms.

“Your… in love?” Danny asks astonished.

“Apparently.” Rusty says grimly.

“And it’s unrequited?” Danny’s eyebrows very nearly meet his hairline.

“It would seem that way.” Rusty agrees.

“But you…” Danny trails off

Rusty looks hard at the petals in his hand “Don’t do love.”

“Exactly.” Danny looks thoughtful for a minute. “So who?”

“Marigolds are October.” Rusty says mentality going through everyone he knows with birthdays in October.

Danny gets there first. “Linus was born in the beginning of October.”

“Damn, it’s Linus isn’t it?” Rusty asks and it sounds more like a statement than a question.

“You have always been fond of him.” Danny says. “And you both are here for the month over the holidays.”

“You can’t tell him.” Rusty looks from the petals to Danny. “He won’t understand.”

“Give the kid some credit Rus.” Danny persuades.

“No. Even if he understands he doesn’t feel the same I watch him enough to know that.” Rusty says firmly. “I won’t put that pressure, that guilt on him.”

“You watch everyone and think you know what’s going on in their heads.” Danny says but Rusty cuts him off.

“That’s because I do people are open books. Worse than that actually their audiobooks at full volume.” Rusty says as though he’s stating a core fact of the universe.

“But Linus isn’t so simple, he’s not as easy to read as everyone else, you don’t always know what’s going on in his head Rusty. So maybe…” Danny suggests.

“He’s not.” Rusty cuts off Danny’s line of reasoning.

“Alright if you don’t want me to tell him I won’t.” Danny promises.

“Thank you.” Rusty says.

“You gonna be okay for poker?” Danny asks worriedly.

“Danny it’s literally a game centered around bluffing I’ll be fine.” Rusty dismisses him heading to where Linus is setting up the poker table forcing him to drop the subject.

“Hey.” Linus says sitting down in his chair. “Who’s dealing?”

“I’ll do it.” Danny offers motioning for Linus to hand him the deck.

Linus places the cards in his palm his attention drawn to Rusty who is persistently clearing his throat. “You okay Rusty?”

“Yeah, just a persistent tickle.” Rusty says pointing to his throat.

Linus stands up and disappears into the kitchen. “Where do you think he’s going?” Rusty asks as Danny shuffles the deck.

“I don’t know.” Danny shrugs as they hear the sounds of dishes being moved around in the kitchen.

“Awfully trusting with his cards though.” Rusty comments.

“He knows we won’t cheat him.” Danny pokes Rusty’s chest. “It’s one of the reasons you’re coughing up salad.”

Linus returns a few minutes later with a mug of something warm in his hands little wisps of steam rising from it, he hands the mug to Rusty. “Here, this’ll help with the tickle.”

Rusty takes a sip of the drink. “Lemon tea?”

“Good for your throat.” He says sitting down.

Linus worry continues to grow as Rusty’s coughing doesn’t subside instead worsening as they continue their poker game.

“Okay.” Linus says laying down his cards in the middle of the third hand. “This isn’t just some tickle in the throat is it?”

“I’m fine it’s just this cold weather.” Rusty protests.

Linus gives him a look that says he doesn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth. “Try again you’ve visited me In Chicago when it was minus four degrees outside and didn’t so much as clear your throat.”

“It’s probably just a cold.” Rusty dismisses.

Linus crosses his arms over his chest. “If it was that the tea would have helped not made it worse.”

Rusty sighs screwing his eyes shut and whispers. “It’s Hanahaki disease.”

“Hardly anyone gets that these days.” Linus says surprised. “Is it Isabel? I know you really loved her.”

Rusty shakes his head. “The breakup was mutual.”

Linus furrows his brow. “So they tuned you down?”

“Didn’t have to it’s obvious they don’t have feelings for me.” Rusty tells him.

“You haven’t even tried?” Linus asks astonished.

“No point.” Rusty says simply.

“Your just going to give up just like that?” He turns to Danny. “He’s kidding right?”

Danny shakes his head. “Afraid not.”

Looking at Danny he asks. “We’ve pulled off some of the craziest con’s I’ve ever seen surely between the three of us we can get some one to fall in love with Rusty.”

“It’s not happening Linus.” Rusty says firmly getting up and leaving the room.

“He’s got to be kidding.” Linus says throwing his hands up in the air.

“Linus I know it bothers you to see him like this but you’re going to have a tough time pulling a name out of him.” Danny tells him gently.

“He’s my friend Danny, you and him are my family. I can’t stand to see him suffer.” Linus whispers.

“He’s like family to you?” Danny asks with a crease between his eyebrows.

“Yes.” Linus says emphatically. “So help me help him.”

“I’m sorry Linus he’s my best friend and I have to respect his wishes and feelings on the matter.” Danny say standing up.

“His wishes are going to kill him.” Linus pleads.

Danny shakes his head and goes to find Rusty.

“Hey.” Danny says finding Rusty sitting in his room on the edge of the bed.

“What are you doing here?” Rusty asks.

“I’m sorry.” Danny says sitting down next to him.

“What did he say?” Rusty asks.

“He said your his family.” Danny tells him.

“So you see how pointless telling him would be?” Rusty asks.

“Yes.” Danny admits. “I do.”

Rusty dissolves into a coughing fit leaving him holding a handful of blood speckled marigold petals. “I love him so much it’s going to kill me.” Rusty whispers.

———

Linus didn’t give up he spent the next two weeks coming up with plans and begging Danny to do something, anything about what was happening to Rusty.

Most of his appeals had been to Danny trying to leave Rusty in peace with his worsening condition, he had gone from coughing up a few petals to coughing up whole marigolds which wasn’t doing anything to help Linus’s anxiety. So now Linus was taking his appeal to Rusty because he honestly wasn’t sure how long he had left.

“Rusty?” Linus asks knocking on the door to his room.

“Come in Linus.” Rusty’s voice sounds from the other side of the door.

“I need to talk to you.” Linus says sitting down on edge of the bed next to Rusty.

“There’s nothing you can do.” Rusty tells him.

“There has to be.” Linus chokes hot tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “I can’t watch you die Rusty, I can’t loose you.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” Rusty repeats.

“Your really just going to lay down and die?.” Linus asks angrily.

“It’s my life.” Rusty counters.

“Your un fucking believable!” Linus finally breaks. “Your Rusty Ryan damn it! You always have a plan and you never just give up. I would sell my soul to Terry Benedict or the Devil himself if it would save you but you’re just going to do nothing when something as simple as words could save your life!?”

“Linus you don’t understand…” Rusty begins.

“No Rusty you listen I understand more than you could ever possibly know I’ve been in love with someone for so long and it’s been cutting away at my heart for a long time now so don’t you dare say I don’t understand.” Linus growls.

“You should tell them your a great person Linus they would be lucky to have you.” Rusty tells him leaning back on his pillows.

“Yeah well it’s you Rusty it always has been and you’re making me watch you die. I would rather see you with someone else than see you die but yet here you sit slowly dying because you refuse to tell someone you love them.” Linus half yells half sobs at him.

Rusty just stares at him for so long Linus asks him. “Are you okay?”

Rusty opens his mouth to say something but promptly shuts it again.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Linus lowers his voice back to his usual gentle tone. “I just can’t stand to see you hurting like this.”

“Your in love with me?” Rusty asks in an astonished voice.

“Yes, I don’t know how you couldn’t have seen it.” Linus whispers.

“You told Danny we’re your family.”

“And you are but family can mean a lot of things.” Linus explains.

“Linus..” Rusty is interrupted by Danny coming into the room.

“Hey Rus?” Danny starts but stops upon seeing Linus.

“Just try and think about what I said?” Linus pleads walking past Danny out of the room.

Rusty moves to go after him but Danny walks fully into the room shutting the door behind him. “How are you feeling?”

“Cured.” Rusty tells him.

Danny raises his eyebrows. “Mind saying that again?”

“Linus is in love with me.” Rusty tells him.

“Is that what?” Danny asks pointing over his shoulder with his thumb in the direction Linus had left.

“Yes.” Rusty answers.

“And does he know you are…?” Danny begins.

“No, you kinda walked in just as I was about to.” Rusty tells him.

“God the kid is going to give himself a panic attack. Go, go tell him.” Danny shoos Rusty towards the door of his room.

Rusty finds Linus just sitting in the kitchen staring at the wall.

“Can I talk to you?” Rusty asks pulling a seat over near Linus’s.

“Uh, yeah.” Linus sniffs wiping the back of his hand over his red rimmed eyes.

“You still want to know who this is all about?” Rusty asks.

“Yes.” Linus sits up straight.

Rusty takes one of Linus’s hands in his own and kisses the back of it. “You Linus, I’m in love with you.”

“I’m the reason you’ve been in all this pain?” Linus asks a tear slipping down his cheek.

Rusty wipes the tear away. “No, your the reason I’m healed. The reason I was in pain is because I was stubborn unwilling to say how I felt.” He cups Linus’s chin with the hand that’s not holding Linus’s. “And blind apparently.”

Linus laughs sniffing as he does so. “I wish you would have told me so much sooner.”

Rusty smiles. “Me too.”

Rusty leans forward gently kissing Linus lips and pulling him onto his lap, Linus straddles Rusty’s hips sitting on his lap kissing him back deeper.

They stay like that kissing in the kitchen until Danny walks in and yells into his cupped hands. “Get a room you two!”

The break apart laughing and Rusty drags Linus upstairs.

They were happy in each other’s company even if Rusty could never quite look at a marigold without clearing his throat, Which turned out to be especially fun when they got roped into a con involving an industrial sized greenhouse filled with marigolds, but that’s irrelevant the point is they lived as happily ever after as they could for a pair that thieves.

Ao3 link

[bluewritinghood]

Flowers

He sighed and picked it up from where in lay in the bathroom sink of course the person he fell in love with had to be a December baby and now he was coughing up freaking poinsettia flowers. He had a sneaking suspicion he already knew who the unrequited feelings were for, after all he had been lying to himself that he only admired Rusty professionally for a long time now.

He shook his head and cleaned up the rest of the blood from the sink burying them as deep as he could in the bathroom wastebasket. He really hoped it wasn’t Rusty because he couldn’t hold down a relationship for more than a week if it wasn’t related to a con. So in short if it was Rusty he was screwed.

He turned exiting the bathroom to seek out Danny knowing he would be able to resolve this once and for all. Danny was in the kitchen getting snacks for the poker game they had all been playing before he had to excuse himself.

“Hey Danny,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. “I remember the rest of the crew mentioned that someone had a birthday coming up in December who is it?”

Danny turned to look at him. “Well the only person I know who has a birthday in December is Rusty.”

“Fuck.” Linus hadn’t meant to let the expletive slip out

Danny gave him a surprised look that quickly turned to concern. “What’s wrong Linus? This isn’t really about the crew talking about birthdays is it?”

This was of course when his traitorous body decided to send him into a coughing fit leaving him holding two more poinsettia petals in his now blood streaked hands leaving Danny to give him a very confused look. “Linus what’s going on?”

“Ever heard of Hanahaki disease?” Linus asked giving him a grim smile.

“Yeah but hardly anyone gets it nowadays.” Danny says his voice indicating he is beginning to slowly understand.

“Yeah well.” He grimaced.

“Rusty?” Danny guessed.

Linus nods not trusting himself to speak. Danny sighs heavily looking from Linus to the petals in his hands. “Poinsettias huh?”

“He’s a December baby so yeah. Please you can’t tell him Danny.” Linus pleaded.

Danny sighs heavily. “You’ll die Linus.”

“I know.” Linus says his voice breaking. “But you know he can’t love me back he’s incapable of it and he’ll only hold himself responsible for what he can’t control.”

“Fine, your right but you can’t keep this sort of thing from him he’s to observant for that and the petals are kinda obvious so if he asks I’ll tell him what’s wrong but I wouldn’t tell him who it’s about.” Danny compromises.

Linus gives Danny a grateful look. “Thanks, let’s get back to the game I just wanna take my mind off this and enjoy the time I have left.”

Of course actually avoiding the subject doesn’t last long because halfway through the card game the three of them were playing Linus dissolves into another coughing fit knocking himself and his chair over backwards.

Rusty comes over to help him up only noticing the petals he’s coughing up after he’s got Linus on his feet again. “What the hell are those?”

Linus looks down at the mouthful of petals he just coughed up leaning over to pick them up pulling one more out of his mouth and adding it to the pile in his hands. “Petals.” He says simply.

“Why the hell and how the hell did you just cough up petals?” Rusty looks from him to the pile in his hands and back again.

“I’ll explain everything why don’t you just go get some water Linus.” Danny says gently.

Linus has barely sat down at the kitchen table and taken a sip of water when he hears an angry shout and a crash of something that sounds like a beer bottle hitting the wall in the other room it’s not ten seconds later that Rusty joins him in the kitchen looking more pissed off then Linus has ever seen him.

“Who is it kid.” His hands are clenched into fists his fingernails digging white crescents into his skin.

Linus laughs hoarsely. “And you’ll what force them to love me?”

“If I have to, yes” Rusty practically growls the words.

Linus shakes his head. “No Rusty you won’t, you can’t”

Rusty opens his mouth to protest but Linus leaves before he can say anything else.

It goes on like this for a week Linus doing his best to avoid Rusty and Danny playing go between. But after a week Rusty has had enough breaking into Linus’s room while Danny’s out barging In with a simple statement. “Who ever they are their a fool.”

Linus laughs leaning back into his pillows on his bed. “No their not.”

“Well if they don’t love you than they absolutely are.” Rusty insists.

“No,” Linus repeats “their not.”

“Prove it,” Rusty is on the verge of screaming. “tell me who they are.”

“No.” Linus shakes his head.

“Why not if they rejected you they don’t deserve your protection Linus.” Rusty perches on the edge of Linus’s bed.

“They didn’t reject me I just know they can’t love me back I haven’t told them.” Linus doesn’t meet Rusty’s eyes.

Rusty inhales sharply. “Linus your dying you have to at least try.”

“No,” Linus sets his jaw stubbornly. “I won’t put that on them they’ll only blame themselves for what they can’t control.”

“I will never forgive myself if I can’t at least try to save you Linus.” Rusty’s voice is little more than a broken whisper.

Linus laughs almost hysterically. “Fuck me, there really is no winning.”

“I won’t let you die Linus.” Rusty says softly.

Linus dissolves into another coughing fit leaning over the wastebasket he kept on hand almost constantly now. Once he’s able to breathe again he wipes the blood from his lips and stares down at the petals covered in blood that fill the basket.

“It’s you.” Linus croaks out hoarsely.

Linus barely dares to look at Rusty following his confession purposely avoiding his gaze but Rusty persistently pulls Linus chin to meet his gaze.

“I wish you would have told me sooner Linus you could have avoided so much pain.” Rusty says giving him a small smile.

A tear slips down Linus’s cheek. “Love isn’t your thing I didn’t want you to feel responsible for my death.”

Rusty sighs. “Do you know why things didn’t work with Isabel? Because I’ve been in love with you since the moment I met you.”

Linus inhales sharply and for the first time in a week he didn’t feel petals rattling around in his chest. “Rusty..”

Rusty cuts him off by kissing him and Linus sure isn’t complaining.

———

Danny comes home an hour later to find Linus asleep and Rusty perched on the edge of his bed.

“Please tell me he’s just sleeping.” Danny says feeling the fear fill his heart.

Rusty nods standing and pulling Danny out of Linus’s room gently shutting the door behind him, he doesn’t speak until he’s pulled him down stairs into the kitchen.

“Did you know?” Rusty demands

Danny blanches. “Know what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me Danny.” Rusty growls.

“Yes I knew.” Danny admits.

Rusty swears profusely. “Why didn’t you tell me Danny.”

“What good would it have done Rusty?” Danny placates

“The world of good!” Rusty only keeps himself from screaming so as not to wake Linus it was the first real sleep he’d gotten in a week.

“He doesn’t want you to blame yourself Rusty.” Danny needs him to understand.

“I love him and I had to watch him spend a week in agony!” Rusty hisses viciously.

Danny balks at him. “You.. Really?”

Rusty nods. “Since the moment I laid eyes on him but I told myself that I’m no good for him I tried to stay away and make things work with Isabel but it’s always been him.”

Danny laughs. “Well I’ll be damned.”

———

Linus looked in the mirror one more time before heading down stairs where Rusty was waiting to take him on their first date.

“Hey,” Rusty gives him a loving smile and hands him a box of chocolates. “I didn’t think that you would ever want to see another flower as long as you live.”

Linus laughs. “As grateful as I am for the end result no I definitely do not.”

Rusty grins and grabs his hand. “Common I can’t wait to get you out of here.”

“How come?” Linus questions.

“Because I wanna get you home.” Rusty says with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes

“Oh now I can’t wait.” Linus smiles.

Linus may never look at a poinsettia the same way again and the holiday session might make him a little uneasy but he would forever be grateful for the happiness it had brought him with rusty.

[bluewritinghood]

I love top gun and this song just fits honestly.

Disclaimer:

I do NOT own Top Gun, or Top Gun Maverick, nor do I claim to. I do not own any characters in this fan fic or from Top Gun. This transformative

work has been created purely for entertainment purposes. No profit is made or sought. No copyright infringement is intended. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I don't own Anything to do with the Top Gun franchise.

DISCLAIMER:

I do NOT own Jefferson Airplane or any of his music nor do I claim to. I do not own anything from Jefferson Airplane in this fan edit or from Jefferson Airplane in any manner. This transformative work has been created purely for entertainment purposes. No profit is made or sought. No copyright infringement is intended. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

I am purely a fan and this is purely a fan edit shared for the enjoyment of others and no profit is sought in any way or form.

[bluewritinghood]

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Oceans Eleven nor do I claim to. I do not own any characters in this fan fic or from Oceans Eleven or Deadpool This transformative work has been created purely for entertainment purposes. No profit is made or sought.

No copyright infringement is intended. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

[bluewritinghood]

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Oceans Eleven nor do I claim to. I do not own any characters in this fan fic or from Oceans Eleven. This transformative work has been created purely for entertainment purposes. No profit is made or sought. No copyright infringement is intended. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

[aliciabuncle]

Rethinking your business with IoT: your product “as a Service”

In the world of IT “as-a-Service” has been a major trend over the last 15 years. Once the availability, speed and reliability of the Internet reached the point where applications could be accessed in someone elses data center, it’s made sense to look for opportunities to reduce costs. Why not you pay for what you use (Software as a Service) rather than invest in the infrastructure, software, support staff, etc., required to run an application yourself?

Similarly, software platforms and hardware infrastructures sold “as a Service” have taken off. It’s much faster and usually more cost effective to buy what you need rather than invest up-front. With increased volatility in the world due to politics, innovation and economics, many companies value flexibility over predictable asset amortization. You’ll see this is reflected in a growing preference for Opex over Capex investment.

A third trend is the growing investment in the Internet of Things (IoT). The more you embed sensors and actuators into physical assets, the more potential you have to change the business models for those physical things. This article will explore the implications of these changes and what they mean in our new “as a Service” world as we progress from purely physical assets to a purely digital ones.

Service for product: the case for smarter maintenance

Traditionally buying a physical asset meant an up-front acquisition or a lease, plus ongoing maintenance, for which you would be responsible. The simplest example is buying a car. You have sole use of the vehicle, and every so often, you take it to a garage for an oil change or new tires.

Thanks to IoT, that’s changing. Now, our physical assets (like a car) are able to report usage and status. For example, my car can tell me via an app that it’s due for a service in the next month. The most forward-looking manufacturers take the owner out of the equation and send software updates directly to the vehicle.

In additional to connected cars, more and more products across a variety of industries are able to report back to their manufacturers. This helps the manufacturer understand usage trends and identify problems that lead to increased warranty costs.

One example is Electra[1], the largest manufacturer of air-conditioning units in Israel. The company recently launched a connected aircon unit that is able to report faults back to the company. That means that when a unit needs repair, an engineer knows what part is needed to fix a problem on first visit. Customers are happier (and cooler) and Electra can lower its costs.

Services with product: extending value for business and its customers

Moving on from services that improve a product, we start to look at services that augment it. Back to my car example; when I bought my first car, I considered its aesthetics, performance and price. When I choose my most recent car, I was more interested in the services that came with it, like the navigation system with real-time traffic insights and the entertainment system’s ability to stream music from my Spotify account.

In the same way, we are seeing manufacturers offer IOT-based services around the physical product. One example is Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology, which makes drilling and earth moving equipment for mines. Their objective is to help their customers get more value from their equipment. To accomplish that, they provide dashboards that help their customers assess the performance of their equipment and operators against industry benchmarks. That helps boost productivity and output.

According to the company: Never before has it been possible to measure so much on equipment. Combined with other process information, this onboard fleet data can help inform actionable insights to improve your business.

Digitalization means leveraging digital technologies to drive efficiency and profitability. From autonomous and connected equipment to data analysis and process optimization, we’re launching new digital solutions to help you improve safety, reduce environmental impact and optimize efficiency and profitability.[2]

Product as a service: creating new solutions

Things start to get especially interesting when a traditional physical product is consumed in a new way. A good example is an innovative solution to a rather mundane but important problem.

With recent changes to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) regulations covering public buildings and facilities there are now higher costs to remain compliant. Failure to comply brings significant penalties, including fines, additional audit scrutiny, reputational damage and even facility closure in extreme cases.

  In an average sized public building, there will be around 1000 exit signs. Each sign requires a monthly inspection and an annual 90-minute battery test. The estimated annual costs of manual inspection are $25 per sign per month, which adds up to $300,000 every year. Even if the building owner does not outsource the effort, the time that their own maintenance staff spends (roughly 100 hours per month) is time that could be more productively spent on maintenance and improvement tasks.

Using IoT to create a smarter solution

A new solution developed by Willard IoT, in conjunction with IBM, offers a smart way to increase the integrity of the compliance process while drastically reducing the costs of recording and reporting status. Best of all, this new solution is delivered as a service, which means clients don’t have to worry about ongoing maintenance and updates.

This exit sign solution uses sensors in the sign to measure light status and battery health. The results of this data is presented in a dashboard that summarises the status across multiple signs, grouped for convenience (i.e. by floor/area, building, etc.). This solution provides a highly accurate and reliable summary of the current status and testing regime. It also ensures compliance and greatly reduces the risk of an audit failure.

Less obvious are the benefits of delivering the solution as a service. For a fixed price per sign per month, the solution is installed and configured. The maintenance of the exit signs is included, too. So any failures detected by the automatic testing can be quickly remediated. Since support and updates for the solution are included, any problems can be quickly resolved.

A look at the cost savings

The savings that can be achieved through this solution are typically over $6 per sign per month. So for a typical building with 1000 signs, that would result in over $100,000 per year. And that is before any additional costs for maintenance and replacement are taken into account. Over the normal five-year amortization period for a capital investment in a standard sign, that would be over half a million dollars in savings.

  The next frontier: when data becomes the product

With all of these connected offerings comes a wealth of data about how products are being used and services consumed. The fact is, data is the new natural resource. And more product manufacturers and operators are looking at ways to monetize it.

Forrester says[3]:

Firms Should Look Beyond Just Cost Savings To Capture The Full Value Of IoT

Business execs often fixate on cost savings as the primary IoT value contribution, but the potential business value of IoT reaches much further. Successful companies will leverage their IoT investments to optimize their existing operations, differentiate their products and services, and transform entire markets through new offerings.

Ovum describes[4] how the adoption of increasing digitalisation leads to…

… a coherent enterprise that can sense, anticipate, respond, and adapt at the right pace to remain persistently relevant to its customers. Ovum’s term for such an enterprise is “customer-adaptive.” The fundamental trigger point for adaptation is the customer.

Access to data from new sources – generated within and acquired from without – can be a powerful force to shape the offerings – and even the purpose – of the organization.

Getting started

At IBM, we’re ready to help you explore your own data initiatives and your “as a Service” opportunities. I invite you to visit our website and talk to one of our experts.

  About the author: Mark Swinson is the Worldwide Go-To-Market Leader for the Watson IoT Platform. He joined IBM in 1995 and has worked many different areas of IBM’s software portfolio. The locus of his career has been in integration – starting with application-to-application integration and evolving through high-performance, low-latency messaging into the realm of IoT.  He has been a part of the Watson IoT Business Unit since 2016, and worked on helping our clients realize value from IoT through cloud-based platforms and industry-aligned solutions.

References:

[1] https://ibm.co/2SdFsrE

[2] http://bit.ly/2UDtB2Q

[3] https://www.forrester.com/report/Untangle+Your+IoT+Strategies/-/E-RES121373?objectid=RES121373# – Untangle Your IoT Strategies: The Three IoT Scenarios And How They Drive Business Value, September 21, 2017

[4] Ovum – A Customer-Adaptive Architectural Approach for Digital Business Transformation, 17 April 2018 (INT001-000040)

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