#What if the Salesman was put in a different environment after being created?

[beebfreeb]

Make AUs of your own OCs. My final message to the world...

[victoriadrag]

Post Modernism vs The Global Society

How do the sociological concepts/claims/ideas highlighted in the chosen multimedia materials/videos "speak to" one another—i.e., where does the theory in one overlap with and/or directly respond to the other(s)?

The sociological concepts highlighted in the video "American Psycho, Baudrillard, and the Postmodern Condition" and the sociological concepts in the video "What is Globalization: Understanding our Interconnected World" speak to one another in a few different ways. Both videos examine the concept that both inequality and power are crucial factors when it comes to shaping society. The video titled "American Psycho" calls attention to the phenomenon of power being exercised through the manipulation of symbols and representations, whereas the video titled "What is Globalization" depicts how resources as well as opportunities are not being distributed fairly, resulting in the success of some people, while others encounter failure. Furthermore, the two videos highlight the importance of exploring these unequal power dynamics and aspiring towards a society that includes equity in resources and opportunities. It can be seen that both videos speak to the Marxist theory when looking at the impact of inequality and power within societies. "American Psycho" depicts that the protagonist's obsession with consumer culture is connected to a deeper desire for social status and power. "What is Globalization" examines the structure of the global economy as some groups benefit by the marginalization of other groups. (Samah Ahmed)

When looking at Postmodernism, Baudrillard proposed a theory of sign-value: how materials earn their place in society as valuables when differentiating themselves from other objects. Within the course video, the movie, American Psycho was used to further explain the theory. Patrick Bateman, a salesman by day and psychotic murderer by night, is stuck in the world of high class and materialism- even after continuously breaking the norms within that social class. He tries again and again to flee out of this world of superficiality but no one seems to care or notice because at the end of the day, he is still Patrick Bateman. Within the second video, a similar idea was proposed, that no one can escape Globalization completely. It has engulfed our world entirely. No one can realistically survive without globalization. Our news sources, food supply, and clothing trends all stem out from the world around us. Not only does globalization feed into materialism, it also puts a strain in individual thought. Therefore, American Psycho and What is Globalization share many of the same core points in theory. - Victoria Drag

How can the theoretical concepts/ideas highlighted in the chosen multimedia materials and the connections between them help us understand an important issue/event in the contemporary social world?

The two videos above respectively discuss how postmodernism and globalization shape contemporary society. These two theoretical concepts and their relationship can help us better understand a contemporary problem, that is, the impact of social media on society. The process of globalization has promoted the development of science, technology, culture and economy, and also played an important role in the rapid spread and adoption of social media across the world. People from all over the world can now easily connect with each other, share information and interact through social media.  Simultaneously, Baudrillard’s postmodernist theories can also help us understand the interactions on social media. The widespread use of social media leads to the blurring of boundaries between reality and simulation, as individuals can create their own idealized versions based on their preferences. This hyperreality, a concept central to Baudrillard’s work, leads to an environment in which appearances and superficiality are prioritized over substance and authenticity. In short, by analyzing the relationship between globalization and postmodernism, we can better understand the complex interaction between various factors that shape contemporary society. -Yuke Feng

Furthermore, these two videos and the theoretical concepts they highlight can help us as individuals comprehend the issue of materialism in the contemporary social world. In the course video, American Psycho, Baudrillard, and the Postmodern Condition, it discusses the famous film American Psycho and the presence of “yuppie culture” in this movie. This refers to the egocentricity and materialism that over consumed individuals, including the main character, who is driven to psychopathy due to the superficial culture present. This is relevant to our social world today, as materialism and self-absorption is at a high due to constant advertising and the portrayal of wealth in the mass media. In addition, the video What Is Globalization and its discussion about the effects of globalization can prompt individuals to reflect on how this concept ultimately contributes to the issue of materialism in society as it affects consumers and their values. - Alessia Sellitto

We can also conclude that the concept of postmodernism conditions effects on global consumer culture created by globalization leads to the normalization or numbness to which causes lack of emergency and alertness to global issues around the world. for example, when we look at societal and global issues such as gun violence in America, presidential scandals, changes in government control, threats of war and genocide, due to the over stimulated effects of postmodernism conditions, we become less reactive and lack emotions like sympathy as a whole to common events, and tend to follow normalized thing such as posting a picture for awareness, instead of actually raising awareness towards the issue. We in a way just accept what is happening because that's how life is, where some parts of the world have it easy and others do not, but because of the obsession of social status and validation we try to show we care the way that the rest of society is doing it, until the next tragedy happens.

[fauxcreche]

The Introverted salesman: The Commodification of Nessie

An Investigation

In Jeff Noon's Solace, the commodification of the protagonist is a gradual process. The question of ethics and morality around the circumstances of their commodification is what a reader is left to dissect by the end of the story.  There are economic factors that favour his commodification but at the cost of his autonomy. When he creates intrigue by sharing the taste of Solace, Nesbit's commercial purpose is fulfilled. But at what cost to his humanity? The question of a human being as an advertising tool is uncomfortable to consider, but in Solace, it explores the ontological split between the product, its genesis and its forthcoming reality. To put this another way, Nesbit gradually loses his humanity in order to sell a product to those in his environment and it does work, until it does not. It is at this point that Nesbit becomes both the commodity and the target audience.

To better illustrate my position, a brief explanation of commodification in relation to a generalised ontological system is needed. Sandlin and Callahan identify that the rise of consumerist ideology has been linked in sociological and consumer behaviour to emotion (2015:83). When considering Nesbit as a commodity, his friendships are his emotional foray into selling ‘Spook’ to his peers. It is evident that these friendships are somewhat motivated by Nesbit’s economic status.

The narrator describes him as “that scrawny little brainbox with the rich parents,” and goes on to detail how Nesbit was the one who first introduced his peers to ‘Spook’, as it was not advertised; one had to already know about it in order to buy it. Within his ontological system, Nesbit is not capable of autonomy as his purpose is to sell ‘Spook’ and he does do this successfully by means of enticing his peers with the different flavour combinations that they then pay him to make for them, as they can’t achieve these combinations of their own.

There is the moral dilemma of where does Nesbit, the non-commodity begin and where does Nesbit the ‘Spook’ advertisement end? In other words, is there an autonomous Nesbit who does not need to sell or buy ‘Spook’ and what are the moral and ethical implications of the answer to this question, as far as his commodification is concerned?

Within his ontological system, Nesbit can only exist if he is preoccupied with ‘Spook’, whether that be the sale or his own purchase of it.

As Eagleton (2003:143) notes in his chapter on Morality, he says:

“Moralism believes that there is a set of questions known as moral questions which are quite distinct from social or political ones. It does not see that ‘moral’ means exploring the texture and quality of human behaviour as richly and sensitively as you can, and that you cannot do this by abstracting men and women from their social surroundings.”

Putting this quotation in context with Solace, it is clear that Nesbit cannot be separated from his ontological system when considering the questionable morality behind his commodification. I’d like to jump ahead in the story to further expand upon this point.

The narrator notes on page 22 (Noon, 2001) that it was not the taste of the flavour combinations that drove Nesbit, it was merely finding the flavours. It begins to consume him, becoming his lifeblood in many ways. As the narrator notes, there came a point where Nesbit was the only person concerned with ‘Spook’ and its different flavour combinations:

“You’d think he’d be happy to just mess with the bottles, but no, he had to drink every single bottle, even the ones that were failed experiments.

By this time the rest of us were growing up, you know. Moving on to the more sophisticated pleasures” (Noon, 2001:21-22).

It is at this point that the commodity becomes the target audience. What critically influences the gradual disinterest in ‘Spook’ in not only the growing up of Nesbit’s peers but his own spiralling, which results in not only a physical deterioration but a moral one within his ontology- it is at this point that a distinct helplessness settles not only over the reader. Nesbit’s commodification not only erodes his own autonomy but goes on to reveal the lack of ethical decisions that preceded his birth and subsequently, his adolescent and adult life. Returning to Eagleton, in order to better explain this conclusion, he explains that ethics are about excelling at being human, and this does not happen in isolation (2005:142).

It deserves mention that Nesbit’s design as a commodification falls in line with the traditional of advertisement and consumerism. The ideology of consumerism correlates with emotion management and relies on both advertising and mass media to elicit specific emotions in consumers that attract them to buy products and experiences (Sandlin & Callahan, 2015:83).

While it may have been preferable for better ethical decisions to have been taken on behalf of Nesbit, his ontological system favoured his commodification rather than his autonomy due to his parent’s poverty and their want to improve their economic position, rather naively believing that the premature sale of their child would not be detrimental to its future.

Furthermore, in becoming the target audience, his search of Solace falls in line with the emotive experience sold to him by the makers of ‘Spook’, as Nesbit knows that such a combination is possible from his previous experimentations- the narrator cites the following as evidence,

“Instead, in this really clear voice, he told me that has was searching for the solace. […] Solace. He said it might take him years to find the right way to twist the bottle cap, but he was determined to get there, even if he died doing it” (Noon, 2001:23).  

His compensation is also bittersweet, as he does not have to work but he spends a lot of that compensation money on buying ‘Spook’.

In the absence of morality and ethical direction within this ontological system (although it can be argued that there is some morality within this system), by dedicating his life to finding Solace, despite how bleak his existence may seem to the reader, the experience of this search is how Nesbit finds a meagre sense of autonomy.

However by the end of the story, a new want for ‘Spook’ is subtly planted. The narrator’s interaction with Nesbit at a pub, he tells his listener about the experience of seeing Nesbit combine the six flavours and tasting Solace: He describes the scene:

“It was like watching an expert at play, like a magician or something. I tell you, I was frozen in space, as these six streams of colour[…] all started to appear in the clear liquid,”

By the end of the story, the narrator speaks of the taste of Solace with fondness. And thus, Nesbit fulfils the original purpose of his design. He is born a human commodified from an unfortunate absence of the ethics and the morality that were not possible due to an unequal distribution of power and an opportunity to further consumerism in a more insidious fashion.

Reference List

Eagleton, T. 2003. Morality (in After Theory). Penguin Books Ltd. London; England.

Noon, J. 2000. Solace (in Pixel Juice: Stories from the Avant Pulp). Anchor. Lansig; MI.

Sandlin, J.A. Callahan, J.L. 2009. Deviance, dissonance, and détournement: culture jammers use of emotion in consumer resistance. Journal of consumer culture, 9 (1):79-115.

[joopiterjoon]

Piece of Peace- MiniMoni

Pairing: Namjoon x Jimin

Genre: +18, Strangers/enemies-kind-of to lovers?

Warnings/Tags: Kittygang!Jimin, Professor!Namjoon, swearing, mentions of gangs and gang violence, stealing motorcycles, anal sex, sex on a motorcycle, exhibitionism (of course), FYI I don’t know much (anything) about motorcycles

Wordcount: 1k

a/n: this is technically part 3 of Boys Meets Evil and Burning Up, but you can read it by itself! Also this was FOREVER ago but thank you @honeymoonjin​ and @ddaenggtan​ for reviewing this and telling me if it’s kitty gang worthy!

Part of ficswithluv’s #FWLBingo!

Everything about the Harley dealership is new. The pristine floors, the smell, the design. Even the echoes of engines, obviously a repeated sound bouncing around the fancy space, sound unique each time. Everything the place contains within is shiny and desirable.

It’s exactly where Namjoon wants to be. Surrounded by newness, he’ll craft a new him. One that isn’t clumsy, isn’t known for being nerdy.

One that befits his new boyfriend, Jimin Park.

But with a shake of his glasses, Namjoon thinks he may need a new bank account.

“What do you think?” the ever eager salesman asks. Namjoon stands, straightening his secondhand, jean jacket as he eyes the (probably new) suit of the man.

“Ah, it’s… it’s nice,” Namjoon smiles shyly. He’s not sure what words he should be using. He googled motorcycle terminology, but all that escapes him now.

“Would you like to take it for a spin?” the salesman presses with a little shake of his hips. His balanced persona of friendly and pushy is a bit terrifying. Namjoon laughs nervously. He doesn’t know if he should get on something he can’t afford, it might just hurt more when he has to say no.

A hand slides around his waist under his jacket. Naturally, Namjoon eases into the touch despite the public display. He jostles into his boyfriend’s side. “What do you think, babe? Gonna hop on?”

“Ah,” Namjoon clears his throat. He looks down at Jimin whose head rests on his shoulder. He immediately regrets it. Behind the shades, Namjoon can see the lazy look in his eye. Namjoon tries to distract himself by looking lower, only to see Jimin’s tongue wet his plush lips, only to then glance even lower and see how far Jimin’s thin, white shirt is dipping down his chest. Jimin’s undeterred by the price tags that surround him. Hell, Jimin looks more expensive than the thousands of dollars of metal littered around the stage room.

Namjoon decides to focus on the salesman instead. “It’s a bit out of my price range.”

Jimin’s tinkling laugh sends a chill up Namjoon’s spine. He bites down his smile. He still can’t believe he can make such a man laugh. That from the shadows he managed to capture the attention of a man who constantly danced in the spotlight.

Jimin always laughed when Namjoon marveled at him. He apparently felt the same way. As a reckless boy from the streets, he doesn’t understand how someone with a masters would be captivated by him.

They fit each other, filled in the cracks of where they were lacking, the yin to yang, in more ways than one.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Jimin tells the salesclerk, pinching Namjoon’s cheek.

“Yes, Mr. Park,” the salesclerk chimes, tucking his hands behind his back with a small bow.

Namjoon’s jaw drops. He shoots Jimin a questioning gaze, but Jimin just shrugs.

“Are you serious?” He hisses, straightening his glasses. “What did you do?”

“What?” Jimin asks, lowering his glasses so Namjoon can see the faux-innocence in his eyes. It’s one of those looks that reminds him when to keep his mouth closed. “I’m just cashing in a favor… literally.”

Jimin gives his side a squeeze before walking over to the bike, his boots clacking on the floor. The salesman’s shoulders tense a bit as Jimin runs a finger along the back of the bike.

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Park.”

That. That’s why Namjoon wants a bike. Wants anything, anything that can put him on par with his boyfriend. No matter what Jimin says, Namjoon is still just a bookworm when it boils down to it. He knows Jimin’s much softer than he appears, too, but he wants that. Jimin’s ease, his natural ability to control a room and all that’s in it.

“I want to see what you look like on top,” Jimin winks. He leans over the back, head cocked, lightly shifting his hips towards the bike.

Namjoon’s brain short circuits at the insinuation. Unable to resist, he draws closer to the bike. His nervous hands tentatively stroke the handle, feeling the ridges of the rubber under his fingers.

“Please,” Namjoon folds his lips in, terrified he’d said that out loud. But he realizes it was the salesman, bowed with the key extended.

Jimin could make anyone beg.

When Namjoon takes the key, the salesman starts to wheel the bike towards the entrance. Jimin winds his arm back around Namjoon’s waist as they walk, rubbing circles into his back.

“You’re gonna look so hot, babe,” Jimin muses. He still watches Namjoon. Only him, nothing else in the store. None of the pretty toys, the other men, the passing cars. Whenever he’s with Namjoon, Jimin’s eyes are always on him. Namjoon shrinks under the attention, but he loves it.

Outside, Namjoon straddles the bike. He gives it a once over, trying to remember everything Jimin taught him. It’s different than his bike, but he can figure it out.

“Hot damn,” Jimin sighs. “You look like an 80’s heartthrob.”

Namjoon giggles. He appreciates that Jimin noticed he dressed for the part.Taking his glasses off and safely tucking them into his pocket, he pats it twice to make sure they won’t shake out.

“Oh my god,” Jimin giggles, tripping over to the bike. “Don’t. That was so cute.”

He comes round to the front of the bike. He puts his hands over Namjoon’s, straddling the front tire. Namjoon tries to sit straight under his boyfriend’s wandering gaze.

Jimin licks his lips again, fingers tightening over Joon’s as his other hand runs through his hot pink hair. His rings hurt a bit, but Namjoon would never tell Jimin to let go.

“This is a wet dream. I’m living a wet dream right now.”

Namjoon chokes. He should be saying the same thing. Jimin is about to buy him a motorcycle. Jimin is straddling said motorcycle, tight pants and loose shirt leaving little his imagination. Jimin is… Jimin.

“Wanna ride me?” Namjoon asks.

Jimin’s eyes darken, his lips parting a bit.

“W-WITH” Namjoon stutters. “Ride with? I meant do you want to-”

Jimin’s lips silence him. Soft, molding to his own. He brushes the stray strands of hair out of Namjoon’s face. He pulls back only to put the helmet on Namjoon’s head. Namjoon watches while Jimin pouts a bit, trying to find the strap under his chin.

Namjoon may be getting hard. Jimin pats the side of the helmet and all the thoughts in Namjoon’s head jumble.

“Let’s do both,” Jimin smiles. A large, boyish grin that lets Namjoon know he’s a goner.

“Wha-really?” Namjoon asks, trying to spin around as Jimin slings himself over the back of the bike. Namjoon yelps when Jimin’s hands accidentally dip a bit too low, grabbing at his crotch before drifting up to his waist.

“I’ll tell you where to go,” Jimin shouts. “Throttle it, baby.”

Namjoon nods, looking at the controls before him. He goes through the motions, missing how Jimin’s hands usually guide him. His favorite part about being with Jimin is he’s never in charge. Jimin watches over him, tells him what to do, what not to do, that he’s doing great. It’s such a contrast to Namjoon’s daily life where he’s constantly critiquing others and making decisions for his department. He craves Jimin even more after a long day.

And boy was today a long day. And he definitely, really craves Jimin when he nuzzles the plastic helmet into his back, all muscle pressed flush against him.

Namjoon never thought he’d like motorcycles. Until he met Jimin, he thought they were just accidents waiting to happen. But now, he sees the joy. Of course, it’s still incredibly dangerous, which is why Jimin directs him to the back roads. But the wind whipping by him feels like he’s flying. The loud roar of the motor cancels out all other thoughts. The metal horse beneath him answers to each of his movements.

And of course, he knows he looks fucking cool. Jimin’s friend Jungkook showed him photos of their nights together. Jimin was right, Namjoon looks hot on a bike.

Eventually, Namjoon figures out where they’re going. His heart rate picks up. There’s something different about driving Jimin to their spot, instead of him clinging to Jimin’s back as he guides them to the secluded spot.

He rounds the last corner up the hill, pausing before the road turns to dirt.

Jimin’s helmet knocks into his. Namjoon laughs. Jimin tried to tuck his chin over his shoulder as always, but the bulky helmets block him.

“Keep going!” Jimin shouts.

Namjoon rubs the handles nervously. “The bike will get dirty.”

He imagines Jimin’s eye roll, that accompanies his sassy, “Always such a good boy. Drive.”

Namjoon doesn’t need to be told twice. By now, he understands Jimin’s commands will always be obeyed, by will or force.

And he’s long from cursing how that makes his stomach stir with excitement.

The bike is harder to control offroad. Namjoon focuses hard. Each bump and shuffle reminds him how skilled Jimin and his friends are when they whip through the city streets, over curbs, and across sidewalks.

Jimin’s helmet is off before Namjoon’s brought the bike to a standstill at the top of the hill. The city lights are flickering on below them, but up here there’s nothing but trees. It reminds Namjoon of them. How Jimin sparkles and shines below, and Namjoon watches on from up here as a simple tree in a vast forest. It’s only a certain amount of time before Jimin consumes him, just like the city will someday reach this secluded space.

Jimin surprised him by not appreciating the implication that he would destroy the environment in some way. He’d wrestled Namjoon to the ground that day, demanding he creates a cuter metaphor before he declared it “their spot.”

But today, Jimin just jumps off the bike and jumps forward to twirl about a few times as he takes in the fresh air.

Namjoon stares on once his helmet’s off. The setting sun paints the sky a soft pink, the same as Jimin’s hair. His boyfriend looks so free out here, leather jacket filled with the breeze and his smile overtaking all his features. 

Namjoon swings his leg over the bike and leans against it for support. He feels a bit like jelly, hands and legs still vibrating from the ride. Jimin continues to prance around, shouting and giggling and jumping. He is free, Namjoon reminds himself. And not even Namjoon can tame him. Everything about him oozes courage and unbridled happiness. Namjoon wants to be like that. He wants to set his own standard for happiness, just like he chooses to forge head off road.

“Joonie,” Jimin sings, running full-force at Namjoon. Namjoon braces against the attack, but Jimin just skids to a stop in front of him. He smiles up at him, a giggle shaking his shoulders.

“Mini,” Namjoon murmurs low. Jimin somehow smiles wider. Namjoon loves it. They don’t get it. The world. The way confessions and blockades all fade away for Jimin. For anyone with Jimin.

As though Jimin knows he’s considering fading, he grips the edges of Namjoon’s jean jacket and yanks him forward. Namjoon gasps, hands bracing on Jimin’s chest. He closes in, simultaneously trying to take in as much of Namjoon as he can. He noses at Namjoon’s jawline. He waits for a shudder to rock through Namjoon before he nips at his ear, giggling in response to Namjoon’s whine.

“So…” Jimin trails off. He pulls back so Namjoon can see the devilish mischief in his eyes.

“Yeah?” Namjoon breathes. He leans forward, focused on Jimin’s smirking lips, but Jimin tucks his chin. Namjoon whines in protest, which only makes Jimin throw his head back in laughter.

“I rode here with you,” Jimin teases. He presses a chaste kiss to Namjoon’s cheek.

“Did I do good?” Namjoon asks.

“Yes,” Jimin laughs again. Namjoon runs his palms over Jimin’s shoulders, under the jacket. To his surprise, Jimin drops his grip on the jacket, shrugging his own off his shoulders. Instead, he shoves his hips into Namjoon’s, the bike shaking a bit as Namjoon falls back into it. He reaches out to support himself in case the thing falls. Jimin’s hands fall over his own, caging him into the bike. He could care less if the bike falls over.

“What was your other question earlier?” Jimin teases. His eyes have that same lazy look like in the dealership. Namjoon’s cheeks warm.

“Did I do good?” Namjoon repeats. He gulps when Jimin leans a little closer, lips hovering before his own. He looks like an angel, soft features and pink hair framed by the twilight.

“To ride you,” Jimin corrects with a roll of his hips. He finally closes the space, only to kiss at the sensitive spot below his ear.

Okay, well, Namjoon did say looks like an angel. He’s well aware he’s far from it.

“Ah, that would be,” Namjoon clears his throat, sinking on to the seat to help his shaking legs. He reaches to adjust his glasses but forgets he isn’t wearing them. No mind, Jimin grabs his hand, kissing over his palm and wrist, watching him with syrupy sweet eyes. “That would be cool.”

“Cool,” Jimin giggles into his palm. He scrapes his teeth over his wrist. Namjoon whimpers. “You’re so cool these days, Joonie.”

“Stop teasing,” Namjoon whines.

Jimin’s eyes darken. He grabs Namjoon’s wrist and twists. With a yelp, Namjoon’s body involuntarily twists to avoid the impending pain. Jimin grabs his waist to have him turned flush against his hips as he kicks at Namjoon’s foot to have him straddled lower. His hand wanders to the button of Namjoon’s pants, easily undoing them. His tongue travels, slow, up the length of Namjoon’s neck.

“Okay,” Jimin murmurs into the shell of Namjoon’s ear. Namjoon tries to lace his fingers with Jimin’s over his zipper, but Jimin grabs his wrist. He guides Namjoon’s hands to rest on the handlebar and the back seat. “10 and 2, babe. I know how you like your rules.”

Namjoon nods. The bike is sturdy beneath his hands, unlike his mind that whirls in a hazy fog of Jimin. When he looks up, he’s reminded that they’re in the open, in their spot, the city down below just as capable of looking up.

Jimin’s undeterred, of course. After fixing the zipper, Jimin slips both his hands into Namjoon’s jeans, letting the push help Namjoon’s pants down his thighs as he smooths over the skin, rounding out to squeeze Namjoon’s ass.

“God, Joonie,” Jimin groans. “Fuck, there’s so much of you. Love it.”

Namjoon hums in response, eyes falling closed as Jimin’s hands wander over his skin. He can’t be nervous with Jimin here. Jimin’s invincible. He doesn’t care. And when Namjoon’s with him, he starts to feel the same, too.

“Should I-” Namjoon starts to take the jacket off, but Jimin wraps himself around him.

“Fuck no,” Jimin answers. When he’s sure Namjoon won’t move again, he gets back to work, kneading Namjoon’s ass cheeks, thumbs sneaking closer and closer. As his pinkies sweep lower, Namjoon jumps, then almost falls over the front of the bike. Jimin’s arm wraps around his waist to keep Namjoon from falling headfirst over the other side.

“This isn’t gonna work,” Jimin tuts.

Namjoon’s heart drops. 

“What? No, please, please don’t, please fuck me, ride me, please,” he babbles. He turns quickly, a little panicked. He can’t bear when Jimin starts and leaves him hanging.

But when his gaze finally meets Jimin’s the man looks amused. He’s trying to bite back his smile. “Joonie, I meant the position.”

Namjoon’s blush deepens. Here he is, bent over (maybe?) his new bike begging his boyfriend to fuck him.

“Get on the bike backwards,” Jimin orders with a flip of his hand. He walks to the back of the bike, then straddles it til he’s in the seat like he’s about to go for a ride. He pats the rounded metal between the handlebars.“Come be my motorcycle, babe.”

Shit, how many times had Namjoon wished he was underneath Jimin, dreamed about being fucked on his bike? He almost trips trying to get out of his pants. Jimin offers his hand like a gentleman, helping Namjoon sit in front of him.

It’s not until he’s there, hands braced behind him on the extended handles, that he realizes how exposed he is. His pants are on the ground, his legs are tucked by his ass, hard cock dripping and on display.

And he can tell Jimin loves it. He runs his hands over Namjoon’s inner thighs before he takes his cock, stroking slowly. Namjoon shyly stares at Jimin’s own crotch, still clothed.

“Think you can handle this?” Jimin asks, reaching into his jacket pocket. Namjoon’s not even surprised when he pulls out a bottle of lube.

“Of course,” Namjoon mumbles.

“I mean the position, babe,” Jimin titters. Namjoon leans back onto his hands a bit more. He’s strong, despite his soft exterior. He nods.

“Good boy,” Jimin hums. He takes one of Namjoon’s feet, gently guiding it off the bike and into the air. Namjoon bites his lip, the cold breeze heightening his vulnerability.

Jimin kisses at Namjoon’s shin, undoing his own pants. Namjoon zeros in on the senses. Wet lips and gentle fingers, the sound of his zipper and the shuffle of fabric as he pulls out his cock, the scent of poplar and oak.

“You good?” Jimin asks. His voice is close. Namjoon didn’t realize he’s closed his eyes. Jimin’s eyes bore into his own, concern filtering through his pupils. Namjoon melts. It’s a look he’s only ever seen for him, and no one else.

He nods. “Please.”

Begging. He always gets here. Always more desperate for it. Always begging for Jimin’s cock. And Jimin always sits there like he does now, lathering lube over his cock, teasing fingers doing the same to Joon’s rim. No rush.

“I’m going to take your other leg now,” Jimin says. Namjoon opens his eyes again. Jimin has both his legs in either hand. He’s dressed beside his fat cock protruding from his leather pants. He’s a sinful mess, coming closer and stretching Joon’s legs higher until the head of his cock meets his rim. 

“You ready?” Jimin asks.

“Mini,” Namjoon groans. Such a fucking tease.

It stings. The push, Jimin entering him slowly without any stretching. Namjoon loves it. Loves how his body accepts Jimin so easily, how Jimin could just take him, take and take like he does in the streets, but always treats Namjoon with such tenderness. At least, in the beginning.

As he bottoms out, the stretch in his thighs has Namjoon’s eyes stinging. Jimin’s head tucks into his collarbone, trying to hide his haggard breathing.

“Fuck, it’s so hot how you just fucking take it,” Jimin rasps, rolling his hips. Namjoon can’t talk, just digs his fingers into the rubber handles. “Fucking ruin me.”

Namjoon sighs. He loves the power. Jimin takes care of him constantly, but in these moments, Namjoon relishes the power he has over him. Jimin starts to pump and pick up pace and has Namjoon whimpering as the bike shifts beneath him. Once they start, Namjoon’s in control. He has the power to ruin Jimin. Every moan has Jimin answering back, each squeeze of his muscles makes Jimin’s hips stutter. When Namjoon begs for his mouth, Jimin’s kisses are sloppy and needy.

“God, love your skin,” Jimin croons, sucking at Namjoon’s neck. He tosses Namjoon’s legs onto his shoulders so his hands can wander over his tan skin, taking fistfuls of his ass and tweaking his nipples. Namjoon’s hard cock bounces between their bodies. Jimin takes notice, giving his hands a better task. His lube soaked fingers tug at Namjoon’s length, fisting him in time with his thrusts.

“Mini,” Namjoon whimpers, no other words coming to mind. Nothing’s in his mind besides his boyfriend completely consuming him. The metal of the bike bites into his ass as Jimin sinks his teeth into his neck. His arms stretch from the angle on the bike while his thighs flex on Jimin’s shoulders. It’s so much, so good, accompanied by the breeze and the setting sun, and Namjoon can’t handle it. The beauty of it, the perfectness, the contrast.

When Jimin finds his mouth again, soft lips and wet tongue meeting Namjoon’s, he cums. Jimin’s hips stutter, hand momentarily pausing before he makes sure he works Namjoon through it. He takes care of him every time, before he breaks free, breathing heavy before he leans back and pumps hard. His eyebrows furrow, mouth forming a perfect oh as the softest grunts catch in his throat. His nails dig into Namjoon’s thighs, but the pain means nothing as Namjoon watches Jimin’s euphoria chisel into his features.

As he comes down, he collapses forward onto Namjoon. Namjoon’s legs drop to the seat behind him. It’s uncomfortable, the headlight of the bike digging between his shoulders, but he won’t move. Jimin’s tousle of pink hair fans over his chest as his boyfriend catches his breath. Namjoon takes his chance to finally touch Jimin. He runs his hands through the damp hair, over his shoulders, under his chin.

“That was such a quad workout,” Jimin chuckles.

Namjoon chuckles back, both of them rumbling with it.

Jimin perks up, tucking his chin on Namjoon’s chest. “I didn’t know you were an exhibitionist.”

Namjoon strokes his cheek, a blushing pink. Namjoon still can’t believe he’s his. “I’d be anything for you.”

Jimin’s smile falters for a second. The sly look in his eyes flickers with something warmer, something vulnerable.

But then as always, he’s giggling. He shakes his head, sitting up to get off the bike so Joon can sit up, too. “You’re such a romantic.”

Namjoon wants to press it. Press the fact that Jimin slips up sometimes. Namjoon can see it. His calm and cool exterior breaks every now and then around Namjoon. But he doesn’t. He takes his glasses out of his pockets and puts them on. He picks up his pants and pulls them back up, yelping when Jimin gives him one last swat to the ass.

“Why the glasses?” Jimin teases booping Namjoon’s nose.

“There’s no way I’m driving back after that,” Namjoon mumbles, scuffing the dirt.

Jimin laughs, falling into Namjoon’s arms. “Okay, okay.”

To Namjoon’s horror (but no longer surprised), Jimin heads straight home, not even passing the dealership. What Jimin wants, Jimin takes. And Namjoon’s so glad Jimin chose to take him.

Imma craft this into a nice big oneshot soon, so look forward to it!

[justasparkwritings]

Codename Cupid: Chapter 3

Previous: Love at First Algorithm 

Pairing: Kim Seokjin X OFC

Genre: Light Angst, Secret AgentAU, AgentAU, Light College AU

Rating: PG13

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: None

Summary: Kim Seokjin and Lee Euna are flirting the line between classmates and crushing, will he return her feelings? 

Daddy’s Favorite & the First Date

Fall, Junior Year

         Lee Euna is the youngest heiress to Lee Enterprises, one of the largest conglomerates in the history of economics. Heralded as one of the leading forces in banking and stock trades, it has banks all over the world catering to the highest cliental, princes and princesses, kings and queens all lined up to put their worth, jewels and all, in the vaults of Lee. Their smaller subsidiaries managed the trading of stocks, networking in millions of dollars for various clients who inhabited a lesser tier of society but strived to reach the upper echelon. Generational wealth, for the Lee’s and their clients, made their work heavily guarded and secretive. Getting hired by them was near impossible, and once you were in, death was the only way out.

         It was a misconception that Euna had little to live up to, as her parents favorite and owner of the highest IQ out of her four siblings, she was set to become CEO, while her siblings were relegated to chairman of the board, and heads of philanthropy. The titles suited her siblings fine. Dae-Seong loved bossing around the members of the board, encouraging frivolity and billable hours while scheduling grueling development that often-bored members to tears. He ruled with an iron fist, what he said went, that is unless the CEO had a differing opinion, and then, both out of spite and seniority, Dae-Seong fell in line with what their father wanted. Dae-Seong didn’t care for the familial atmosphere their father had run Lee Enterprises with, and favored a cold regimented environment that was almost impossible to work in. Dae-Seong always said that the best blooms came from the hardest earth. Whether or not that was proven, he didn’t care, at LeeEnterprises, he would make it so.

         Jun-Seo and Kwan-Min loved running the philanthropy branch of the Enterprise. They, like their father and mother, adored a good party and held several charity balls each year. Together, they raised hundreds of millions for a variety of causes that Euna barely paid attention to. The food was always exquisite, the drinks plentiful, the glimmer of the party always outshining the family feud that erupted hours before guests showed up, and the scandals that would be whispered about the morning after. Though the scandals never tarnished the reputations of Jun-Seo and Kwan-Min, they certainly provided a necessary indulgence to all the attendees.

         Kwan-Min, the second oldest, was thrilled with her role in Lee Enterprises. She and Jun-Seo were heralded as visionaries, doling out millions of dollars every year to causes that ranged from climate justice to underfunded schools, and cancer research. They were responsible for funding some of the most progressive movements, as well as backing lobbyists for liberal, bordering on socialist, legislation. They dedicated an afternoon a week, usually Thursdays, to spend their time scouring the internet for new charities to donate money to. This was the heart of their jobs, finding niche organizations that were struggling, food pantries in rural towns or women’s shelters in battered parts of the city, that sustained their other work and lessened the blow of the billions in their bank accounts.

         It was hard to be known as a large corporation benefiting from tax breaks while subsequently funding social movements. The family never discussed the dichotomy of their predicament, instead choosing to let their actions speak for themselves.

         Anyone could donate thousands to St. Jude.

         Only the Lee’s could donate a hundred million.

         While Kwan-Min found satisfaction in donating to negligible organizations, Jun-Seo found bliss in hounding friends and acquaintances for money. A natural salesman, he strived on the pressure he created for himself. Nothing was ever good enough, or enough period. He was always wanting more. More money to give away, more money to spend on vacations and lavish trips, more alcohol, more clothes, everything in excess. His work, and Kwan-Min’s, was regularly overlooked by both their parents, Dae-Seong and Euna. The good they did was always outshined by the amount that Euna and Dae-Seong pulled into the business, the new dignitaries transferring their funds, the latest piece of the Queen’s jewelry put into one of their vaults. They’d always played the role of second fiddle, and as years went by, no matter their accomplishments, they were never held in the same esteem as Euna and god forbid, Dae-Seong.

         If Jun-Seo and Kwan-Min were relegated to the B-Team, Euna was first off the bench for the A-Team. Every Lee child attended college, but none went to the most elite universities with the most widely renowned business program, with guarantees to intern anywhere they wanted, except Euna. Her older siblings watched as she rose through the ranks, mastering the cello, classic ballet and calculus by the time she was thirteen. They watched, with pride and in horror, as she crunched numbers in her spare time, pirouetted across the most elegant stages and slung her bow delicately against the strings of her hand made instrument. It was clear from an early age that Euna was the best of the four of them.

         In fits of anger, Dae-Seong would chide that their parents had hit it out of the park with him and kept trying until they got another diamond. If fate had been on their side, Euna would’ve been second, and if the gods really favored them, she would’ve been a boy. He routinely failed to acknowledge his other siblings, whom he owed a great deal of gratitude. It was their work that kept the paparazzi and critics at bay, their work that allowed him to go on benders and run his corporate torture seminars. Their good PR paid for his mistakes, with change left over.

         Dae-Seong specialized in breeding discontent, of taunting his siblings, bullying them, forcing them against each other. Euna had recognized this side of him from the time she could identify his actions weren’t full of love, but malintent. The announcement that she would train to be the next CEO had sent Dae into a blind rage, which he quickly turned into a bender in the most elusive clubs. They didn’t hear from him for a week, and when he returned, their father had lashed out at him before sending Dae to a ‘conference’ for a month. The siblings knew what had happened. The belt had come off the wall, and Dae, though grown, had succumbed to his father. Dae was sent to a ‘conference’ every two years or so, when his behavior and attitude became so unkempt that Mr. & Mrs. Lee felt they had no other option than sending him away for a month to sleep, reset, relax and most importantly, detox.

         There was something so pathetic about Dae-Seong’s ability to break bad and as punishment, spend a month being massaged and covered in salt scrubs.

         Euna was relieved when her parents let her move away for university and elated when Mr. & Mrs. Lee took it one step further and sent her, each summer, to work at various branches of Lee Enterprises. A summer in Seoul, a winter break in London, summer in Manhattan, another winter in London, a stop in the UAE, followed by tours of the Cayman Islands and a summer in Rio. Euna was grateful for her time away from her family and absorbed everything she was learning. She didn’t just have to prove Dae-Seong wrong, she had to prove her parents right, show that her genius wasn’t due in part to her rookie status, that her prowess and instincts weren’t dismissible as beginners’ luck.

         Spending winter and summer breaks at various branches, Euna let her work speak for her. She learned how to manipulate to make a sale, how to aggregate data in order to create an accurate projection of stock trades, to look at holdings of dignitaries and suggest how they could diversify their portfolios. The more she worked, the better she became. The harder she worked, the easier it was to pretend she didn’t know anything. Euna was in for the long haul, and that meant manipulating her persona to mystify and baffle the masses. A woman in power was a threat, and she would be damned if she let the company and the world take that from her.

         She had watched Kwan-Min and their mother being dehumanized in the media, in board meetings, at the hands of her father and Dae-Seong. When they gave too much of themselves, the world readily ate it up, devouring them whole. As a girl, Euna watched Kwan-Min change from intelligent and driven to flirty and ditzy. She watched her sister, who she idolized in secret, disappear into the mold their father had crafted. Euna wondered how long it would be before she had to adapt a highly manicured image? A version of herself in complete juxtaposition of her ingrained personality?

         It was this turmoil, this paradox, that threw Seokjin after their first meeting. She was nothing like he’d read or seen in their years at university or in the news. Though he hadn’t paid much attention to her and would admit he knew nothing about her besides the obvious, he was constantly being surprised.

         “Did you check the latest model and run the analysis?” Euna asked on a Thursday some weeks into their project.

         “Yeah, and it looks like, if Dr. Cho opens the market next class period, we’re going to see a major boom,” Seokjin answered. He’d been working on looking at Euna more, particularly when she spoke to him, and she found it all the more endearing.

         “How major?” She asked.

         “Multi-millionaires by end of week,” Seokjin informed her.

         “Good, what’s going to ruin it?” Euna set her pen down and stared at Seokjin. His lips were pouted, bangs sweeping in front of his glasses. He was beautiful.

         “If some major political event happens in the next four days, or if something happens in China,”

         “Ah, China,” Euna said rolling her eyes. “Always have to look out for the Chinese.”

         “The American market is fairly stable, but it’s the US,”

         “So, hold your breath and pray it’ll be okay?” Euna chuckled, a sound Seokjin had never heard. He laughed in response. “You have a great laugh.”

         “Oh, thank you,” Jin looked back at his computer. “You know, we’ll only have to monitor the project for a few more weeks.”

         “Seokjin, are you trying to tell me you’ll miss me?” Euna inquired.

         “Maybe, maybe I’m trying to ask if you want to hang out, maybe get a drink or coffee outside of work hours,” Seokjin shrugged, his blasé attitude ignited something within Euna. For the months they had been working together, she’d tried and failed to get him to ask her out. His disinterest in her, in anything about her, drove her crazy. He didn’t ask questions, he didn’t inquire about work or god forbid her family, or other classes she was taking, even her friends. She could have anything in the world, and yet, this man, out of reach.

         “I’d like that,” She responded.

         “Cool, how about coffee, this Sunday?” Jin suggested.

         “I can’t Sunday, family obligations,” Euna cursed her family for what felt like the millionth time.

         “Tuesday, instead of working,” Jin compromised.

         “Will the numbers wait?” Euna was partially joking, which Seokjin caught immediately.

         “They’re fictional numbers,” Jin reminded her.

         “It’s a date,” Euna replied.

Next: Codename The First Heartbreak

[starcitizenprivateer]

Star Citizen Monthly Report: January 2019

The first Persistent Universe monthly report of the year details all the work done by the Star Citizen team throughout December and January. While the devs and studio teams took a break for the holidays, the early winter months saw a ton of tasks completed, progress made, and new ideas seeded.

Star Citizen Monthly Report: December 2018 - January 2019

AI

The AI Team put effort into stability and optimization for the recent alpha releases and patches.

AI gunships gained new tactical options, including the introduction of a new behavior that allows them to circle enemies and use their turrets to attack from a constant distance. Designers can easily modify this behavior to change things like the optimal attack range and when to disengage the target. The ‘fly-by’ and ‘breakaway’ tactics were also amended to make better use of the predicted hit position and allow ships to better evaluate the environment to determine the optimal direction for evasion.

An ongoing focus for the team is converting all new movement logics to utilize the new Intelligent Flight Control System in preparation for its upcoming release.

For human combat, the team worked to improve the behaviors released in Alpha 3.4, making sure basic structures were in place to enable AI to decide which cover location to use, when to shoot, and when to relocate. The cover selection has been expanded to order the query based on the amount of protection it gives when multiple targets are taken into account. They also implemented an improved way to debug behaviors and can now visualize the debug tree on multiple characters at the same time as well as use the Subsumption debug draw in a server/client environment.

Time was spent on the perception system, which was expanded to handle damage stimuli; AI characters now have proper awareness of damage, so they know the exact location of the source and will behave accordingly, tracking if a specific enemy they lost sight of is the source of damage and updating the knowledge they have about them.

Progress was made on the Usable Builder, which allows the team to easily visualize usables, edit their properties, and test the different use channels. For the mission system, they exposed several new functionalities to the designers, such as a variety of task nodes, new variable types, and new core functionalities. A ‘group’ variable was introduced that can automatically be filled up when spawning AI characters to let designers track the dynamic elements they’re interested in.

Currently, the AI Team is implementing global callbacks to help the designers track environmental events specific to the data they’re interested in without the need to explicitly create variables for each entity.

Animation

The PU Animation Team spent the pre-holiday period finalizing mission givers, including Constantine Hurston and Tecia Pacheco, and are currently working on ship dealers to give players a salesman-like experience when buying vehicles in-game. They’re also continuing to actualize the emotes shot at CitizenCon.

Audio

The team worked hard to improve the ship audio experience in-line with the new flight model, which included implementing improvements to thrusters, powerplants, and the overall sound mix. They’re also integrating greater levels of complexity via new components, including ship vibration and environmental feedback variants, that deliver greater feedback from turbulence, impact, and atmospheric flight.

Physicalized props and physical objects received audio support recently to ensure they have appropriate impact, role, slide, and topple sound effects. A recent addition to this is the team’s work on implied contents for carriable items, such as crates.

The Foley system is continually being iterated on, with the team improving the footstep and cloth systems in relation to various contexts, e.g. material/surface types and pressurized/unpressurized environments. The sounds will all vary for the upcoming female player character, too.

Working closely with the PU music composer, Pedro Camacho, the team has been laying the groundwork for various upcoming locations, including ArcCorp and Area 18. This includes creative conversations with the Narrative, Art, and the wider Audio Team to establish appropriate sound pallets, instrumentation, styles, and motifs.

The Audio Code Team drove significant progress on the new CIG Audio System, which will hugely improve the audio implementation pipelines and consolidate functionality into a single tool with much wider scope and flexibility.

In other news, the Audio Department is hiring! They are looking to fill two sound design and one dialog specialist positions. This is in line with the team’s planned expansion and all talented audio professionals are encouraged to apply.

Backend Services

Backend Services completed a large portion of the foundation work for the new diffusion backend architecture. This includes the continued break-up of the general instance manager into smaller scalable services. The dedicated game server needs to communicate properly with the new services, so hooks and proper calls have been set up between them.

Support was also given to the Alpha 3.4 release and subsequent smaller releases to ensure communication on the backend was as efficient as possible.

Plans were laid out in January for the new diffusion network and work was done to ensure the services scripting language continues to function efficiently. Finally for Backend Services, a handful of alterations were made to the various new services and existing databases for increased efficiency.

Character Art

Character Art brought the Shipjacker Armor to players along with the holiday-themed Shipjacker skull helmet. They also set out to unify all armors and undersuits for female playable characters and finalized the concept for mission-giver Tecia ‘Twitch’ Pacheco.

After a nice holiday break, the team started on tasks for the upcoming DNA feature. For this, the team needed to convert, mark-up, and unify all head assets to work with the male and female protos, including the unification of all Data Forge assets.

DNA is a major feature that affects the entire facial setup and pipeline for characters in Star Citizen. This significant feature touches a lot of teams, and through a lot of dedicated collaborative work, is progressing very well. The teams are currently updating mesh formats to support the data sets required, wrapping up and fixing any bugs relating to GPU skinning, and updating all the attachments in the game with the mark-up required for DNA compatibility. The system has begun to roll out in the PU on NPC characters and is already yielding performance wins. Lots of cooperation and iteration between all DNA teams has resulted in a fun and intuitive interface that allows the player to easily create their own face for their player character. The DNA feature is on track to meet its scheduled release.

Finally, The team is also concepting new mission givers and outfits to bring more life to the Persistent Universe.

Community

The Community Team held two holiday-themed competitions: One invited Citizens to create greetings cards to express their love and gratitude and wish each other happy holidays. The other put the festive helmet and cargo to good use by asking everyone to show how they celebrate the holidays in the ‘verse.

The new Star Citizen Fankit was released that offers a wealth of free assets along with a style guide to help content creators use them at their best. Looking for wallpapers, manufacturer logos, music, and more? Download the kit and check out the FAQ answering all the questions about what a content creator can and can’t do with official Star Citizen assets.

In January, the team celebrated Australia Day with a screenshot contest that had everyone showing off their best flight formations in the Gladius Valiant (which was made available to all backers for the occasion). They also kicked off another contest highlighting Tumbril’s rough and rugged Cyclone series that challenged content creators to take their filmmaking skills off-road.

A few of the Community Team members spent a weekend exploring PAX South and attended the annual Bar Citizen event on the River Walk. Selfies were taken, stories shared, and friendships made.

Have you checked out your hangar lately? The ‘One Empire Anniversary Coin’ was distributed to all backers who pledged before to the $200 million milestone.

Lastly, the Daymar Rally took place on January 27th, with three different divisions (Rover, Buggy, and Bike) battling it out for glory and rewards. Everyone involved should feel very proud of themselves, as seeing the filthiest race in the ‘verse come together was an incredible experience for everyone. Well done!

Design

The Economy Features Team focused on adding new weapons to the various shops around the ‘verse. Once complete, shop inventories were set up for all the new locations and various bugs were squashed. Tweaks to missions and the overall economy were also made to move the game closer to the end economic goals of the team.

In January, testing began on a new formula that dynamically alters certain commodity parameters within the wider economy. A new approach is also being taken towards vehicle components to help create interesting choices for players when in shops – even if they have enough money to buy anything they want.

Polish was added to various NPCs throughout the ‘verse, with the aim to make them as realistic and believable as possible.

The design was complete for a new nav marker ruleset that makes how and when players see destination markers more intuitive. Rulesets were also created to add functionality to the Quantum Travel and Service Beacon systems to give players more options when traveling in a party and choosing a location for service beacon transport respectively.

DevOps

DevOps broke their previous record of the number of internal builds published to the PTU and live service.

“One of the most satisfying things for the team is seeing the results of our work. The Alpha 3.4 publish was one of those times we really felt proud.”

2018 was the first year that scaling automation was used on the live service, which allows the servers to keep up with demand when needed but cut back as necessary. The new system exceeded all expectations and led to one of the smoothest holiday seasons ever.

Build Operations was hard at work developing new systems to support a major pipeline upgrade to the overall game development process and continues to build new systems and improve on old ones.

Engineering

The Engine Team supported the Alpha 3.4 release and subsequent patches with general assistance, profiling, optimization, and bug fixes. For compute skinning, they made tangent reconstruction optimizations for character faces, data optimizations and compression to lower bandwidth requirements, separated static and dynamic GPU data, and moved bone-remapping to the GPU (to save CPU memory and provide more flexibility).

Work began on HDR color grading and output on supported displays, while splat map support for planet terrain was added, as was an improved film grain with unified dithering. The development of planetary ground fog began along with significant improvements to temporal sample anti-aliasing (TSAA).

The physics engineers enabled joint limits on driven ragdolls and fixed instability caused by a threshold in the solver. They also made the first steps in exposing the spatial grid structure for walking and exploring and added physics support for planetary oceans.

Improvements were made to crash handling, including various thread-safety improvements to enable more robust handling of obscure crashes, and the addition of extra information into minidumps to allow for better debugging of fibres.

Environment Art

Winter saw work begin on the Environment Art Team’s next big target: microTech and its landing zone, New Babbage. In preparation, designs were trialled for the ‘Hi-Tech’ common elements, which include habs, garages, and hangars in an all-new architectural style. These new sets will help the team build New Babbage and ensure the visual style feels fresh and different.

Recent improvements to the organics shaders and pipeline will improve the look of geology and planets. This update has been a long time in the making and the team is looking forward to giving all planet assets a visual upgrade.

The team is currently moving from whitebox towards release for both the planet ArcCorp and its main landing zone, Area 18. Some necessary changes have been made to Area 18’s original layout, mainly for performance reasons but also to improve the general layout and city ‘feel’.

“The task of creating a planet-wide city that players can circumnavigate which also blends well into the major landing zone remains a constant challenge, but one that’s bearing impressive fruit. Progress has been good on improvements to the believability and read of ArcCorp as a city, with the space taking a huge visual step forward from when it was last seen.”

Gameplay Feature

Like many others, the Gameplay Feature Team put in a concentrated effort to fix as many bugs as possible for the Alpha 3.4 release. Specifically, they overcame issues with FoIP & VoIP, Comms, and the Group System. They also supported the US Vehicle Feature Team with their UI-needs for item sub-targeting and the ongoing turret improvements.

The team kicked off 2019 supporting patches for Alpha 3.4.0 before moving straight into feature work for 3.5, including the UI for DNA face customization, continued improvements to Comms video streaming, and a refactor of shop population.

Graphics

The Graphics Team’s focus has been on performance and memory saving:

The performance gains mainly came from improvements to shadow culling and optimization to video comms, especially on lower-spec machines (though there are some quality issues still to address).

The largest memory saving came from fixing a particularly nasty bug in the mesh streaming code which could result in all levels-of-detail loading for a mesh rather than just the ones needed. Other savings came from increasing the sharing textures used by various effects and improvements to the logic in which textures should be streamed in (interestingly, the game can now run with as little as 400mb of textures!).

On top of this, the team resurrected the water volume tech and made it compatible with the zone system so it can be used on planets, space stations, and ships.

Level Design

Level Design finished the current iteration of Lorville’s Central Business District (CBD) and added it to the city. They are now looking into the trainlines that connect it to Teasa spaceport.

However, the majority of the team is currently focussing on ArcCorp and Area18, with the hangar, shop, vendor, spaceport, and overall layout now finalized. They also gave the planet and its moons a necessary design setup, began an investigation into quantum traveling AI, and introduced a variety of new narcotics during the prototyping of a new mission from ‘Twitch’ Pacheco.

Lighting

The Lighting Team focused on finishing the CBD and supported the addition of mission-giver Klim to Levski for the Alpha 3.4.0 release. They also looked at the small and medium-sized common elements for the player hangars and created different lighting variations for the Rest Stop, Lorville, and upcoming Area 18 styles.

They’re currently fleshing out the development tools by creating an asset zoo for all current ‘utilitarian-style’ lighting fixtures in use throughout the PU to help them quickly and efficiently add lighting to new locations.

Narrative

The Narrative Team returned from the holidays to tackle the Alpha 3.5 update, including developing ideas for the branding of street and food stalls in Area 18 and outlining the NPC archetypes needed to populate the city and mission content.

The team is also excited to welcome a new producer to the group; not only will he help keep the team organized, he’ll act as the point of contact for the other teams to make requests through.

Player Relations

Player Relations busily wrapped up the Alpha 3.4 publishes along with all of the work created over the holiday period. They teamed up with the Evocati for several builds to make sure everything was properly tested and completed several rounds of PTU publishing and testing. Progress was also made on an internal quality-of-life feedback report that comes straight from backers’ experiences.

“As always, we can’t thank our volunteers enough for the effort they put into helping us build this game (especially our wonderful Avocados!).”

Planning has already begun for the upcoming Alpha 3.5 release – particularly the testing of the new flight model.

Props

From the small dressing items on Constantine’s desk to the giant Hurston statue, Props mainly spent December finishing up Lorville’s CBD. New mission props were created that focused on the illegal drug trade and surface relay kit. Finally, for December, ideas were floated for cockpit flair and work began on ship sub-items.

In January, some of the team moved onto looking at the ship items themselves, initially taking stock of where they’re up to and looking at how they can integrate sub-items into interiors. The majority of the team have now shifted onto the new Area 18 landing zone and are looking into white-boxing props and supplying basic block outs so other teams can start to build and dress the level.

QA

QA tackled some of the more difficult-to-reproduce issues in the run-up to the Alpha 3.4 release. Dedicated feature testers for both AI and the Gameplay Feature Teams continued to test their respective areas (combat AI, ship AI, non-combat AI, and transit system) via sanity and smoke tests along with standard testing and regression.

QA now provide dedicated support to the Locations Team to ensure that current and new locations are set up and working as expected by Art and Design. A few notable requests involved testing fixes for server deadlock and various changes to the physics of jumping and going down stairs. Changes to the Entity IDs in Track View were tested in the editor to make sure they were seamless and bug-free. A new restricted area for ground vehicles was also added to Lorville, which was thoroughly tested by both the German and UK teams.

Further investigation was made into the issue of Ship AI idling during mercenary and Emergency Communication Network (ECN) missions to ascertain whether it was AI or network related. The team could only reproduce it during ship AI missions in the live environment and encountered something close to it during a 20-player playtest. The one consistent factor was that it only seemed to occur when performance took a dip. So, it was deemed not an AI issue and will be further investigated by the Network Team.

On the publishing side, QA tested the Alpha 3.4 builds before they reached the Evocati and Live service. In January, they worked through the 3.4.# fixes. Recently, attention turned to preparing for Alpha 3.5.

The holiday period saw four new testers join the extended QA family, too.

Ships

The UK Ship Team continued developments of the Origin 890 Jump, with further greybox work done on the atrium, master suite, guest suites, and engineering deck. They also refined the exterior hull styling to try and move a few areas closer to the original concept and make the overall ship less ‘cartoon-looking’.

Everyone’s favorite pathfinder, the Anvil Carrack, has progressed since it was last seen. It’s currently in greybox, with the team tackling the feedback generated from the discussions on RTV, particularly the controversial landing gear changes and bridge layout.

Finally, the team made steady progress with the updates to the Aegis Vanguard in preparation for the Harbinger and Sentinel, with focus primarily on interior adjustments along with some quality-of-life fixes for those aboard. Greybox is progressing nicely, so the team will be moving onto the exterior and tackling feedback points to ensure the base Warden model is properly prepared to accommodate the variants.

Ship Art

Ship Art is currently hard at work to bring the new 300i series to life. They’re in the process of getting the damage and customization pass complete, finishing up detail work on various parts, and finalizing the materials.

Alongside the 300i, they’re chugging away on the Defender; the first in-game asset from the mysterious Banu alien race. Extra care was taken to ensure the Defender represents the overall Banu design aesthetic and can be built on in the future. The exterior is currently going through the greybox modeling process and is nearly complete. Afterwards, it moves to interior greybox modeling.

System Design

The System Design Team investigated how to improve the FPS AI experience and social AI was introduced to the Lorville CBD. Gunships piloted by AI now circle their targets and orient themselves to maximize their firepower, while fighter AI was updated to take full advantage of the new flight model.

Tech Art

Tech Art made steps to finalize the implementation and pipeline of the new facial customization tech, which was previewed at CitizenCon 2018. They switched the system’s source data format from the CDF-based system (which was used during R&D) to the newer component-based loadout currently used throughout the game. This system allows players’ customized faces to be stored persistently in the database and the corresponding data packets to transfer efficiently over the network and be applied to the correct avatar at runtime. Likewise, it allows all key NPCs (every shopkeeper, security guard, civilian, and eventually mission giver) to have a unique face built internally by the designers. While R&D on the DNA system was done using male faces, the face pool for female characters is being populated and is planned to come online at the same time.

Tech Art also supported the Weapons Team with animation debugging, weapon rigging, in-engine setup, and debugging multiple render and resource compiler issues. They added a new system for weapons in Maya to allow animators to quickly attach different attachments, making it easier for them to author specific animations. They also updated the underlying metasystem in the weapon rigs to enable animators to export weapons without double transforms on the root or magazine controls.

Turbulent

Turbulent supported the release of the 2018 holiday promotion, featuring a new giftable pledge called ‘For Your Friends’. This new pledge allows a customizable message to be sent along with the gift, making it ideal for friends and family. The holiday promotion also featured screenshot and greeting card contests.

The team supported the availability of the Alpha 3.4 flyable ships on the website, including the Anvil Hawk, Origin 600i Touring, MISC Freelancer series, and the MISC Reliant Kore.

The Cloud Imperium Games corporate website was released in December. Its slick new look is a much better representation of the company’s values and mission and properly communicates the vision behind Star Citizen. The ‘Join Us’ section has details of each location and over 100 job postings across 9 different categories, so see if there’s something to suit you at your nearest studio! Updates are continually being made to the latest news and job postings sections.

Long overdue, the website navigation was improved with a new and improved platform bar and footer. Additional efforts went into creating the bar as a component to make future updates to the site easier. The Starmap is now accessible via the Apps menu to make it easier to find too!

There were major updates to the Squadron 42 Roadmap, which is now tied into the internal project management tool, Jira. A new chapter design was introduced, showing the development progress as phases and chapters, while descriptions for each expose the details of what it actually takes to build the game.

Turbulent supported the release of the Gladius Valiant Free-Fly promotion in celebration of Australia Day. A screenshot contest was available with prizes to be won.

A customizable preference feature was added to the Group, Lobby, and Voice services to allow custom properties to be set for each user with each respective entity. The Voice service can start a call within a channel, inviting all those allowed to join. The new mobiGlas service will allow single endpoints that will appropriately gather the information from the Group, Lobby, and Voice service with a single call. Options can be passed that will select the type of information returned.

The error catching software, Sentry, has also been added to each service to allow previously-uncaught errors to be tracked and reported to the appropriate Sentry project.

UI

During December and January, UI supported the Environment Team with in-fiction advertisements and branding for ArcCorp. They implemented new features on the tech-side to enable the designers to create ‘user variables’, which are used internally but can still persist on the entity the UI is bound to. For example, a designer may want to capture game-data values and store them internally within the UI to gain reference to previous values when the data changes. This functionality fulfills certain presentational needs that contribute to improving the user-experience. Another interesting implication is that, because they are sent across the network, they open up the potential for players to see each other’s UI state (what app they’re currently on, which particular item in a list they’ve highlighted, etc.).

The team also implemented a new node allowing the ability to set up switch logic on a variable (as well as a widget) to dynamically load images on the fly. Together, these features enable the designers to build out a fully-functioning in-world weapon UI screen with an ammo counter, charge levels, and fire mode states.

Vehicle Features

To help ensure that Alpha 3.4 was released in December, the team spent a lot of time supporting the release (and subsequent patches) by fixing bugs, including turret, vehicle, and crash problems. The team also completed modifications to the vehicle targeting system so that external items, such as ship engines, can be specifically targeted.

Improvements to ship combat systems continued via automated gimbals, HUD changes to support Ping & Scanning, and the vehicle ��XML to DataForge’ migration began. Wrapping up January, a vehicle gimbal aim-assist feature is on its way to completion.

Vehicle Content

The Vehicle Content Team’s 2018 wrapped up with the launch of the Anvil Hawk and improvements to the Reliant Kore, which entailed a rework of the cargo section, ramp, and landing gear. A number of vehicle bugs were also fixed for the 3.4 release. Additionally, the team worked on the three Reliant variants for Alpha 3.5, while the designers have been working with the ship artists in Austin on the Origin 300 series rework.

VFX

For much of December, the VFX Team focused heavily on polish and optimization for the Alpha 3.4 release. In particular, significant effort was put into making sure Hurston and Lorville’s environmental effects were optimized while remaining as high-quality as possible.

In early January, they re-evaluated their sprint planning practices and implemented some simple production-led changes to improve overall workflow. Following on from that, they began R&D work on the Tachyon cannon; a weapon type with faster-than-light projectiles.

They began implementing thruster damage effects in keeping with the new flight model planned for Alpha 3.5 and began R&D on how to use particle effects to help make Area 18’s volumetrics more visually interesting. They also worked on effects for the new Kahix rocket launcher – a handheld anti-vehicle rocket launcher with a unique tech style.

New tools were created within Houdini to help design various assets. This includes a new, more accurate way to generate signed distance fields (SDF) on the surface of the gas cloud. These SDFs are used as an arbitrary surface that enable the ability to spawn and manipulate effects with, such as lightning crawling along the surface.

Weapons

The Weapon Art Team worked on the Multi-Tool rework, Kastak Arms Ravager-212, and the level two and three upgrades for the Hurston Dynamics Laser Repeaters. They also made minor adjustments to the iron sights on a handful of weapons to improve the sight picture and to make them more user-friendly when no optics are attached.

Conclusion

WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT MONTH…

   $(function() {      Page.init();  window.Page = new RSI.Game.About();      });    

[the-universe-words-blog]

Traveling: Will it Change Your Personality?

Traveling is probably one of the only activity that I (personally) and the most people can agree they love. For me, traveling is thrilling, but there can also be longer-lasting effects that stem from time away from home -- effects that impact us on a deep, identity-changing level. That’s probably the reason why I'm bringing this topic. I really love to travel, around the world. Since I was a little girl my mother already taught me how to fly alone. And it really affected my personality and my independence, the way I see the world have changed since I first traveled to Europe. When I first went to Poland, I got culture shock. And when I'm away from home, my emotion can be unstable. But my mother told me, traveling also means learning, and learning is a continous process. We learn from books, internet, school, but we can also learn from experience by traveling.

It is written in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Dr. Julia Zimmermann, that long-term adventure can be really affecting the personality of the traveler. Additional, a study in German National University about how the period of extended travel influenced personality, as well as how the new social environment people developed any observed personality changes. Prior to traveling, each and every participatants of the study was required to take a test measured the ‘Big Five’ personality aspects: openness to experience, agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability and consciousness. As you may have guessed, the result showed that the student who went abroad scored higher in extraversion, and high engagement when it comes to social interactions, as opposed to those who stayed in their domestic locals.

Different people travel for different reasons. A salesman travels around the world for his professional necessities: to meet dealers, distributors, individual to secure orders. A professional photographer travels to capture the nature by clicking to save the nature’s beauty. I personally travel to expand my perspective about the world, seeing the universe from different angle of the world is very fascinating. But sometimes, for some people, long-term traveling or too-far-from-home traveling can change their personality, their emotion. When we’re away from home, we’re forced to do all things by ourself, and it may causes stress. But by that, we can learn to survive the world by ourself, too. The term ‘homesick’ also may visit our mind when we’re away. This is the root of unstable emotion when we’re traveling. When I went to Australia by myself, I got stressed out because I'm afraid that I can't do anything without my mother by my side. But after that I learned not to get tied up in the little things that used to bring me down. Instead of getting stressed out or distracted by obstacles that appear in my path, I try to embrace them and since my perspective has been changed (time by time, of course), I wasn't as likely to simply ‘throw in the towel’. Traveling make us start to look at life from entirely different angles(like I've said before, duh). When I stay in one place for extended period of time, I begin to take the simple things for granted. When I travel, I realize the things I deal with every day, like brushing my teeth and taking the elevator to my hotel or apartment, are actually blessings. In other words, we tend to be more grateful. Science reveals that after a travel, life becomes both very refreshing with our fulfilled hope and depressing because it may change a little bit of ourself. Once my perspective on life has been changed by traveling, unanticipated changes don't derail me quite like they used to. I realise life is just life and things happen and the way in which I react is what determines my mood. That are the reasons how traveling can affect our, or in this case, my personality.

My mom always reminds me, before setting foot in a different culture or country, research it. The best way is to watch lifestyle influencers, like on YouTube or Instagram for instance, from the country and listen to what they talk about, how casual or formal the topic are, what kind of terms and phrases they use. I believe this in one of the best way to avoid culture shock since sometimes we can find articles or videos that portray a stereotypical view of the country, which in the end will not really help us because we’ll think in a very touristic or outsider point of view -- possibly creating even bigger culture shock. We can also try to ‘get into the other person’s shoe’, or in the other words we can learn how foreign people from different country’s style to see the world. Turn off the way you look at the world and try to look at the surroundings from another point of view. Changing perspective not only enables us to understand the situations or place from their perspective but it also help us to gain new insights and ways of looking the world which develops only positive personality. It is written in the Journal of Personality and Psychology Science by Dr. Julia Zimmermann, the more that the traveler engaged with new people from different countries, the more promoted goals related openness, openness will effect our emotion and personality. Maintaining our emotion by hanging out at a peaceful place will also help us to avoid emotional unstability. The keyword here are to accept and adapt.

My message to all young people is: If you can welcome the discomfort and the challenge it will encourage you to make a superior knowledgeable, competent, and confident human being. Moreover, it will allow you to grow. In order to aid ourself to be successful in our life. Grow the confidence and cultural sensitivity which traveling helps us to develop. Travel enables us to become a better, more conscious citizen in our global society. By experiencing diverse cultures, we’re able to become more aware of the complex relationships and histories pursing across the globe. The experience leads to a better understanding of people and how they function in a different kind of situations. Traveling not only bring positive impact to our life, there are also negative ones. But we have to take the positive and good side of it. Traveling gives us opportunity to disconnect from our regular life. Put aside your daily responsibilities and focus on yourself for a moment. After the break, we feel more energize to return to work or study. When we got home from traveling we will feel refreshed and have the motivation. In conclusion, traveling has many advantages. We can experience new exciting things, and learn to improve ourselves through traveling. It is a great way to escape our daily life and to enjoy ourselves for sometimes.

[digitalredox]

How to Get Customers to Call Your Business from Facebook

Despite being 16 years old(as of this writing), Facebook still has underdeveloped analytics when it comes to tracking calls from ads. Google, on the other hand, is quite advanced. Granted, Google is older than Facebook and has had more time to figure it out, though 16 years is more than enough time for Facebook to have developed a sophisticated infrastructure that lets businesses run robust call campaigns.

The reality is that Facebook hasn’t placed much effort into call ads because the perception in the business world is that consumers just don’t call businesses from social media. Facebook, like all business, reacts to market demand and if it hasn’t developed much of a call ad infrastructure, that probably means there hasn’t been much demand for it from businesses. The fact that the business world hasn’t been screaming and shouting about Facebook call ads doesn’t mean they don’t work, it just means that getting people to call your business from a Facebook ad isn’t easy. At least not as easy as it is on Google. Most business want easy solutions to their problems. Figuring out how to convert people to the phone from social media is just not that high on their priority list.

Differences Between Search and Social

A major reason that businesses find it difficult to persuade people to call from social media ads has to do with the nature of social media. There’s a natural, intuitive transition from seeing an ad on Google to calling a business because Google is designed around intent. People are on Google because they already know what they’re looking for. A phone number on a Google ad can help them solve their problem or get the information they want.

Facebook, on the other hand, is more like a newspaper in that people are on it primarily to read information. The ads are distractors…like a vendor shouting in an open air market to turn your attention towards his stall. On top of this, there’s the added factor that because Facebook was primarily designed to allow people to socialize with family and friends, it’s as if as an advertiser, you’re knocking on their door and sticking your neck into their house. You’re essentially inserting yourself in their space. No wonder businesses find it so difficult to generate calls from social media. But again, that doesn’t mean a skilled marketer can’t pull it off. There are solutions to almost all problems if you think hard enough about them.  

You Have to Use Sales Techniques to Get Attention on Social

We’ve pointed out before that when brands communicate with the public on social media, they are engaging mainly in sales; not marketing. Sales ultimately boils down to building trust…enough trust that people are willing to consider whatever it is you’re trying to sell them.

People on social media are insulated in their own bubbles of interest. On top of that, they are distracted. Furthermore, on Facebook there is an air of exclusivity because people don’t want strangers intruding into the little worlds they’ve created with their friends and family. This makes Facebook one of the most unforgiving environments for advertisers. And to persuade people to call you? Well, that takes skills and persistence.

There are really three things a business must do to get someone to call from a Facebook ad.

1) Remind people of what their problems are: On Facebook, this is more difficult than it sounds. Lots of businesses have wasted thousands of dollars on Facebook ads with little to show for it. That’s because many marketers don’t understand the notion of relevance. All good salesmen know that you rarely change people’s minds. You just shine a spotlight on whatever problems they already have. People care about themselves above all. You have to remind them of the things they care about in their life.  Most of us find it difficult to sell because we’re stuck in our own minds. And we forget that other people are stuck in their own minds too. To get and hold somebody’s attention, you have to peer into their mind and figure out what’s relevant to them.

2) Build trust: Having somebody’s attention isn’t enough though. Talking to someone on the phone isn’t like sharing or commenting on an ad. It requires far greater impetus. Most people don’t like talking to strangers. To get someone to call, not only must their problem be severe enough to want to call, but they have to trust you. A large aspect of building trust in the business world is repeated interactions with relevant information. On Facebook, this manifests in the form of repeated interaction through a/b testing. Basically, you have to keep targeting people over and over with ever-more relevant messaging over time. The beauty of Facebook lies in the super granular analytics it provides which allows you to do this kind of thing.

The second aspect of building trust is that your business has to engage directly with the public in the comments section. You can’t use that corporate speak that most businesses use either. People have to feel a connection. Steve Jobs was such a great salesman because he didn’t seem like one. Not only was he genuinely curious about what he did, but he spoke the people’s language. As you engage repeatedly with commenters, you’ll be able to gauge what their collective mood is and then proceed accordingly.

3) Ask them to call: Once you’ve got the public’s trust, then you can begin to run the kinds of ads that direct them to a phone number. But how do you know when the right time is? You have to gauge that by the engagement, feedback and public mood around your ads. Again, you have to put yourself in the caller’s mind. What are the odds that you’d call some number after seeing an ad for the first time? Most likely pretty low, so what makes you think it would be any different for other people?

[douchebagbrainwaves]

EVERY FOUNDER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PROMOTION

If you try writing Web-based applications is the lameness of Web pages as the user interface. Founders get less diluted, and it doesn't have the side effect that the difficulty of fundraising, that should pretty much put the spammers on the legitimate end of the world persists. You release software as a series of incremental changes instead of an occasional big explosion. When you hear such labels being used, ask why. 1 out of 100 successful startups has a trajectory like that, remember: ideas like that are all digits, and I also ignore html comments, not even considering them as token separators. I'd had to wait a year for the next generation of software? I met an undergrad who knew all about convertible notes and employee agreements and God forbid class FF stock, I wouldn't think here is someone who is way ahead of their peers.

Does this trend also hold among startups? The most naive version of which is the one based on the actual mail he receives. Be a real student and not start a startup in college. 09019077 people's 0. Part of their brain knew there was something off about him, but I promise you, Microsoft is scared of you. I left Yahoo in 1999, so I stopped worrying about it subconsciously. I can't believe it will be at a high school student. The people you can say about it. It wouldn't work so well in Sweden. There's something pleasing about a secret project.

After a while they all blur together. The only defense is to isolate yourself, as communist countries did in the first sentence. 83 73:88 in 2007. We recommend startups treat them as auxiliary sources of money. With server-based software through ISPs is like selling sushi through vending machines. The other reason creating wealth is such a good idea, why did it lose last time? What matters in Silicon Valley don't seem to be many universities elsewhere that compare with the best in the world. Other times it's more unconscious.

On closer examination I see a couple things you could do to decrease the amount of spam that recipients actually see. You probably can't overcome anything so pervasive as the model of work is a job. The optimal solution is to talk about that for a minute in the middle of the 20th century that convinced some people otherwise. If someone had a problem, you may think. The five languages that Eric Raymond recommends to hackers fall at various points on the power continuum, however, we find that he in turn looks down upon Blub. You enter a whole different way of life when it's your company vs. It was not till we were in our twenties that the truth came out: my sister, then about three, had accidentally stepped on the cat and broken its back. Another powerful motivator is the desire to do, short of AI, to automate this process?

It is merely incidental, too, to sit down and try to figure out. Ordinary programmers working in typical office conditions never really understand the problem. System administrators can become cranky and unresponsive because they're not directly exposed to competitive pressure: a salesman has to deal with customers, and a few where it hardly mattered at all. Half the people there. An early stage startup grows mostly because the founders were lucky. Variation in productivity is accelerating. It would probably be better just to teach them metafacts like that. You can write programs that manipulate them.

But I wouldn't bet on it. When I read about the harassment to which the Scientologists subject their critics, or that we'd meet them again. Well, they are. Ambitious people already move halfway around the world to further their careers, and startups have lots of ups and downs were the biggest surprise for me. I've claimed that the recipe is a great opportunity for startups. The sad fact is, brilliant hackers—can be had very cheaply, by the standards of a company they've funded. That last advantage may turn out to be an adult. You can never tell what will work. Someone probably will eventually. In the US they usually begin by making something just for the local market. Gmail showed they could do it: give money to the poor, then you have the means to finish.

The environment you want to fight back, there are a lot of classes there might only be 20 or 30 ideas that were the right shape to make good exam questions. It was both a negative and a positive surprise: they were born all over France Pissarro was born in the Carribbean and died all over France, but what happens when you've promised to deliver a new version of the operating system. Founders get less diluted, and it wasn't here? Norbert Wiener said if you compete with slaves you become a slave, and there is something wrong with you if you thought things you didn't dare say out loud. For example, if a backup system doesn't rely on the same technology as the primary system. If you're a wizard at fundraising, you can figure out the rest as you go. And Bayes' Rule, the resulting probability is. 99 promotion 0. Then one day we had the idea of making the software run on the server. Suspecting that the papers published by literary theorists were often just intellectual-sounding nonsense, and submitted it to a literary theory journal, which published it.

Thanks to Patrick Collison, Travis Deyle, Bob van der Zwaan essay, Paul Buchheit, Geoff Ralston, Dan Giffin, Robert Morris, and Dan Giffin paper for putting up with me.

[audiologys20-blog]

The Way to Buy a Hearing Aid

Behind-the-ear Hearing aids, in-the styles of hearing aids, completely in the canal hearing aids, binaural hearing aids. . .and the list continues. With so many forms and hundreds of brands to select from, what's a senior to do? First of all, do not go it alone. Too often, seniors are wooed with a tricky advertisement or even a pushy salesman and also end up with a costly hearing aid they push in a drawer and never use. Work with a professional audiologist who will conduct a comprehensive hearing test, determine the form and level of hearing loss and urge the proper hearing aid.

The first thing that the audiologist will do would be to execute a few basic hearing evaluations, such as:

Pure tone air conduction audiometry. Patients Listen to a selection of beeps and whistles (known as pure tones) and signal when they could hear themby pressing on a button or lifting their hands. The softest sounds that they could hear (hearing thresholds) are then marked with a chart called an audiogram.

Pure tone bone conduction audiometry. This evaluation helps determine where in the ear the hearing difficulty is different. If in the middle ear, the hearing loss can usually be treated clinically. But inner ear hearing loss means that the sensory cells aren't working correctly, and that difficulty is irreversible.

Speech audiometry. Patients Are requested to repeat words and phrases in quiet and in noise to assist the audiologist comprehend the practical impact of this hearing loss.

Tympanogram. A evaluation of how well the middle ear system is working and how well the eardrum can move.

After Conducting the evaluations and isolating the hearing difficulty, if a hearing aid is the ideal solution, Wilson states an audiologist should execute a lifestyle needs evaluation to ascertain the kind of hearing aid that may work best for your loved ones. Some questions that the health care provider must ask your loved ones:

   How busy are you?    Do you've got difficulty communicating in noisy areas?    Do you live alone? In a flat? At a large house?    Do you speak on the phone a good deal? See TV often?    Do you frequently go out to eat at restaurants?    Do you've got difficulty hearing certain family members such as children or women?    Do you've got trouble hearing religious services, at lectures and at films?

Features to Search for

Pairing Aid technology is continually advancing, and new products are being released all of the time. To know what your loved one wants, you must understand how a hearing aid functions.

A hearing aid includes three Basic components: a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. The hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves into electrical signals and sends them into an amplifier. The amplifier increases the energy of these signals and sends them into the ear through a speaker. The hearing aid can be programmed onto a computer to personalize the amplification particularly for your hearing loss.

According To Dr. Wilson, below are a few of the most recent improvements in hearing aid technology which you are able to talk with your audiologist:

Open match assists. A Common complaint among individuals with hearing aids which fit in their ear is they hear distractions, like an echo if they talk; or hearing them chew. A new category of hearing aids addresses this matter. Called"open fit"assists, these hearing aids aids sit behind the ear, with just a cable and miniature loudspeaker entering the ear.

Digital comments decrease. New hearing aids have great comments decrease, to decrease or remove the following frequent hearing aid criticism: whistling sounds.

Digital sound reduction. Using Complex calculations, this attribute is creating hearing aids"smarter" and ready to distinguish the difference between speech and background noise.

Directional microphones. The Directional microphone enables the user to concentrate on whoever is straight facing reduced interference from discussions behind and to the sides.

Automatically flexible. With this Technology, the hearing aid changes how it functions if the user walks out of 1 spot to another. The hearing aids finds sounds surpassing a certain loudness level, then self-adjusts to decrease the amplification. By way of instance, at a quiet location, quantity level increases. In a noisy environment, directional mics will kick as well as sound reduction features.

Bluetooth compatible. The User does not need to hold the mobile phone up to their ear, and that alleviates the comments some people today hear if they answer the telephone. If a call comes in, it rings throughout the hearing aid itself, rather than ringing from the telephone. To reply, the wearer simply presses a button.

Even after Choosing the Right hearing aid, do not anticipate Your loved one to accommodate instantly. Wilson says it often requires a month or even more for individuals to get used to their new apparatus.

"Often, People who are using a hearing aid for the first time will be startled at how loud the world is," he states. "Sounds may seem loud and disturbing. Suddenly, the refrigerator makes a roar, the newspaper rattles, even the turn signal in the car becomes disruptive. I recommend that people wear the hearing aid all day, every day. If you wear it only sporadically, you will never get used to the volume of new sounds, and the brain will be confused. It takes at least several weeks for the brain to put those new sounds into perspective."

So be patient. It Takes time to adjust to hearing aids. Your loved one is listening Skills should improve slowly as he or she becomes used to amplification.

[chadwickreese]

Chadwick Reese | Transport and Logistics - Valuable Tips For Consumers to Get one of the most From Their Sales Reps.

My objective is for this short article to offer a double function: 1) Bridge the void in between customer-sales representative communications in the work environment. 2) Help Customers get the most out of their partnership with their Sales person.

 All of us know the number of publications are written nowadays on Sales success. There are many, the titles begin to obscure. "How to Add Value to Your Client's Day", "Sales 101" as well as my perpetuity favored "The Richest Guy In Babylon." Our society is geared in the direction of industrialism, as well as considering that there are so many books that can assist a salesperson to become better at their trade as well as increase their revenue, then all one has to do is head to the regional bookstore as well as purchase then use- if only it was that simple. It's a fact that if a sales representative wants to take the effort and buy their success, there are a myriad of sources offered to them. But I made a decision to take a totally different strategy to creating this post for a few different reasons.

  We as salespeople are trained that "the client's are constantly best", as well as to be "subservient" to our client's demands. Phrases such as, "What can I do to earn your service?" "Right here's my mobile phone, residence phone, as well as even my better half's phone if you require to find me." I downplay this however Salespeople, you know it's true. We often tend to overdo it when it comes to completing to catch service with the pleasantries and the "butt-kissing.".

  During this past Xmas I had actually received Xmas cards from a few of my customers. They were nothing fancy, but you might feel how heart felt they were, and the idea behind them appeared. I believed to myself, I would certainly do anything for these clients since they absolutely value the job that I put in. I recognize that it's our work to offer the supreme service to our clients, and to be positive, rather than responsive to their requirements, however, for a client to recognize our initiative means a great deal. What I have actually found, from over 20 years of experience in the Transport industry, is that client's that reveal their appreciation and want to deal with their Account Exec's tend to have a much better service connection with the supplier.

Chadwick Reese

 My hope is that this write-up would certainly be gotten by clients, the people that we offer to, as well as have this info put on the means they do business. I would not want to bet on this taking place anytime soon, because generally, clients are set in their ways. They have been ruined by us, the sales representatives, because for each 1 consumer that approves this information, there will certainly be 100's that laugh at it. I have directly remained in situations where in a Provider had the opportunity to "collaborate with" a customer on dealing with a concern, yet decided not to- based solely on the fact that they really did not like the clients attitude. So currently the normal response to this from a consumer's viewpoint is "So what, I'll simply most likely to another supplier." This might be true, however after a while the variety of high quality business starts decreasing, and also the customer goes to a delay. Below I have actually provided 7 helpful tips clients can make use of to try to develop a far better relationship with their sales associate:.

  Endorsements- Sales Reps can utilize this for their business building. Ask your sales associate to prepare one for you beforehand to ensure that you don't need to hang out thinking about what to say.

  Referrals- Similar to testimonies, this might be really advantageous to the sales representative, and also aid them develop their book of business. I just advocate providing recommendations to the sales associate if, and also just if, they have actually gained it.

  Pay Your Bills- This is very evident. Vendors enjoy it when consumers pay their expenses on schedule, and this is a sure way to remain in a positive light. Customers who are paying their bills within terms are not just uncommon these days, however LOVED by the suppliers. Customers that pay late, or not at all have a tendency not to get the "favors" that they may require one day.

  Sincerity- I recognize this may sound a little disparaging initially glimpse, however I believe among the most significant points that can be developed between a vendor-client relationships is honesty. For the sales rep, if you can be easy with the customer, without having a hidden agenda, I think this action will certainly be compensated after the connection has developed as well as matured. For the customer, if you assume the Provider can be doing better let them know, yet a lot more especially be described in your criticism. Any excellent Sales Agent will be happy to receive positive efficiency based objection.

  Do Not Always Ask For Favors- Clients have a tendency to wear their supports from their Service providers before the partnership truly starts. Consumers, keep those supports in your back pockets up until you truly need them. Carriers do make psychological notes of these favors, believe me, and also when you most need it they will certainly quit. I have actually seen this to many times in my career, and also normally this finishes in a bad break up.

  Stability- Just like for sincerity, a customer should demand this from his salesperson, however in return they must likewise reciprocate this as well. This characteristic is simply a great life lesson, whether we are talking business, household, good friends; it just makes good plain sense, to be a stand-up individual.

  Constant Behavior- I know that company and life can be rough, and also everybody has their oblique points, however I have actually seen numerous times wherein a customer will lash out at their salesman as a result of them( client) having a negative day. It's very important to avoid poor language, as well as to not obtain your day on your rep. Find various other means to air vent out your stress such as, the fitness center, yoga exercise, analysis, however remain a larger person and a true specialist, as well as do not catch life's stress, particularly towards your Sales Rep.

  Earl White is a National Account Manager, with One Quit Logistics a Third Party Logistics business based out of Watsonville, Ca. He has actually been in Sales for over 15 years and also works with several sales reps to help them gain far better footing when it concerns the evasive technique of dealing with clients. He delights in being able to pass on a number of the abilities he has gained from Leading Salesperson in the Sector.

[yatharthmk]

10 Sales Tips for Building Sales Team that can thrive Business Success without You

All businessmen have one thing playing on their minds throughout their business careers. The thought that whether they have set up a perfect sales team or just a regular sales team. 

 Regular Sales Team will give you irregular sales results but a Perfect Sales Team will give you great sales results all the time. Therefore, Businessmen dream of setting up a perfect sales team. So even if they wish to take a break for some time, they know the Sales team will thrive for success. 

 If you do have plans of taking a  break then here are a few Sales tips for your Sales Team to succeed even in your absence.

 1. Know Your Surroundings:

As the head of the corporation, you have to create a friendly environment in the workplace. Introduce every salesperson of your sales team to one another. 

 The more your Sales team knows each other the happier the Environment of the Workplace will be. It also starts building trust and friendship amongst your sales team.

 Inform your senior-level managers to be more friendly and use their authority only if required. If you want results you have to create a Sales team that has no problems within themselves.

 If a Salesteam has problems within themselves, they will never focus on work. Their main focus will be to put down their teammates. 

 Therefore remember to have a friendly and united team if you want to get your Sales results. 

 2. Focus on Collaboration:

Focusing on collaboration is better than focusing on competition. The reason being, competition can bring in jealousy amongst the Salesmen.

 Whereas Collaboration will keep your Salesmen united and loyal towards each other. Also, a Sales team is always stronger when they work as a joint force. If they work as a divided team they will make sales but much lesser. 

 Competition brings a lot of trouble for the managers as well. As soon as you plan to be absent from your business, your sales team will have many fights and your managers will find it difficult to stop the fights.

 Collaboration gives a positive feeling to work whereas competition can make things negative. 

 3. Appreciate Performance:

Appreciating performance is more of a motivational process for your Salesmen. The more your Salesmen are motivated the better they will work and the longer they will stay in your organization. 

 Every time the sales team is appreciated, they try to work harder to get the same appreciation again. If your sales team has achieved more than expected, give an appreciation speech in front of your whole organization. 

 Okay now if the sales team is becoming unstoppable then your appreciation techniques also have to update.  For e.g., you need to start giving incentives as your appreciation process.

 You as the head need to go the extra mile if your sales team is going the extra mile to give you good sales results.  The more you do for your team the harder they will work for you. 

 4. Make your managers firm:

After you, the ones with authority are your Sales managers. Now you can have a single or a two-line managerial system. 

 Remember, that whoever is the authority above the salesmen manages to maintain a good relationship with the salesmen. 

 The managers have to be clear with what they expect from the salesmen. Most importantly the managers have to be a guide to the salesmen.

 Make sure to remind the managers that they have to communicate with the sales executives. The lesser there is a fear of authority the better will be the workflow.

 5. Hire winners:

The more winners you have in your sales team the more profits you will make. Therefore your hiring process has to be done with precession. 

 When you hire your salesmen, the first thing you have to notice about them is their winning spirit. If a salesman has a winning spirit, you know he is the perfect man for the job. 

 If at all you do have salesmen working for years and have lost their charm, then your new salesmen might just bring their winning spirit back. 

 When I say winning I don’t only mean winning with money, but a salesman should win a customer’s trust, brand loyalty, customer satisfaction, etc.

 6. Have clear communication:

The most important thing for your Sales team to do well is having clear communication. Communication is necessary because if one person of the Sales team does not know what the other is doing then it will cause problems. 

 There should be nothing to hide if you work as a team. Each one should know what the other is doing. The best way to solve communication problems is by following a fixed line of communication.

 Even your managers should communicate with the salesmen on daily goals. When communication is done from higher levels to lower levels, it is supposed to be in a lighter mood. This just makes the lower-level sales employees feel relaxed. 

 7. Get goad Sales Coaches:

As soon as you feel your sales team is on a decline, you need to get in some Sales coaches. Not just any sales coach but some really good sales coaches. 

 Sales coaches will help in guiding your salesmen. With the induction of sales coaches, your sales team will have newer ideas to sell.

 If you do find that the sales coach has done a good job you can always call them over for future sales issues. Sales coaches are called for solving or improving the problems you face while selling. You will notice a drastic change in your sales team once they have received sales coaching.

 8. Find and Eradicate your weak spots:

As the leader, since you are sitting on the top and looking over things, you have to look for weak spots. Study your sales team’s weak spots, work on how to eradicate them.

 Weak spots can be anything. For e.g., you have a sales team of 22 people, out of which 2 of them are underperformers. Now what you have to do is, introduce them into sales coaching or if there is still no resolution then give them deadlines.

 Each weak spot will have to be tackled differently. Now it depends on you, how good an entrepreneur you are to tackle weak spots.

 Another weak spot is competition from your competitors. Competitors can affect your sales employees as well. That is because they feel they are not good enough to defeat the competition. Again you have to come with something new and overcome your problems. The best solution to this would be having a Sales training program. 

 9. Sales Reps must practice:

There is a saying ‘Practice before you Preach’. The same way Sales reps should practice their Selling script as many times as possible before selling the product.

 The more your Sales team practices, the better the sales results they will get. If the keep practicing they will master the art of selling. In time to come, they might not need any more practice. 

 The other thing about sales is that every time you go out to sell something, you learn something new. Therefore as a salesman, you should think of all the possibilities and practice them out so that you are not troubled. 

 10. Lead by Example:           

The last and most important Sales tip. All salesmen learn from someone who is at a higher level than them. Since you are the highest in the authority chain, almost every person in the sales team looks up to you. 

 If you bring out the best in you, your sales team will bring out the best in them. For e.g., Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli gives his 100% on the field. When his teammates look at him working so hard they automatically start giving their 100%. 

 This is a classic example of how a leader should lead by example. Even you as a leader have to be an example for your sales team to work hard. 

 If at all you do plan to take a break and be absent from your business, these are the tips you need to enforce on your sales team. If you succeed in doing this you can be tension free and enjoy your break. Do let me know about what is your take on these tips and give your reviews in the comment section. 

[udemytutorialfreedownload]

The Complete Web Developer in 2020: Zero to Mastery

Learn to code and become a Web Developer in 2020 with HTML, CSS, Javascript, React, Node.js, Machine Learning & more!

What you'll learn

Skills that will allow you to apply for jobs like Web Developer, Software Developer, Front End Developer, Javascript Developer, and Full Stack Developer

Learn modern technologies that are ACTUALLY being used behind tech companies in 2020

Build 10+ real-world Web Development projects you can show off

Build a professional Portfolio Website

Learn best practices to write clean, performant, and bug-free code

Master modern Web Development fundamentals as well as advanced topics

Work as a Freelance Web Developer

Master beginner and advanced JavaScript topics

Learn React + Redux to build rich front end applications

Build your own full-stack websites and applications

Build a complex image recognition app using everything we learn in the course

Become a professional Web Developer and get hired

Use NodeJS to write server-side JavaScript

Learn to implement user authentication

Use Express, SQL, and PostgreSQL to create full-stack applications that scale

Master fundamental concepts in Web Development

Requirements

A computer (Windows/Mac/Linux). That's it!

No previous coding experience is needed

All tools and software used in this course will be free

Prepare to learn real-life skills and build real web apps that will get you hired!

Description

Just Updated for 2020! Become a Fullstack Web Developer in 2020 by learning the most in-demand skills! This is one of the fastest-growing courses on Udemy with 10,000+ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️in the last 6 months. Graduates of this course are now working at companies like Google, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, JP Morgan, Facebook + other top tech companies (...seriously). Join a live online community of over 200,000+ developers and a course taught by an industry expert that has actually worked both in Silicon Valley and Toronto as a Senior Developer and Tech Lead. This is the tutorial you've been looking for to become a modern web developer in 2020. It doesn’t just cover a small portion of the industry. This covers everything you need to know to get hired: from absolute zero knowledge to being able to put things on your resume that will allow you to live the life you want.  Sounds too good to be true? Give me 5 minutes of your time to explain why I built this Web Development course and what is different here than thousands of other courses all over the internet:

I update the course every month to make sure you learn the most up to date skills! There is no wasted time here. We won’t be using outdated technologies like PHP, Wordpress, and JQuery. Although still useful, outdated technologies like the above are low paying and demands for them are decreasing. In this course, you will learn the specific technologies that are the most in-demand in the industry right now. These include tools and technologies used by the biggest tech companies like Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc… It’s geared specifically for people that want to learn employable skills in 2020.

After finishing this course, you will be able to apply for developer roles, get a promotion, or upgrade your job title as a developer and earn a higher salary. We won't be taking any shortcuts in this course. You are going to go from absolute zero: where you learn how the internet works. To mastery: where you build an image recognition app using a Machine Learning API (a subset of Artificial Intelligence) and all the other modern technologies that we learn in the course. Most students have commented on how the projects in this course have impressed their interviewers and allowed them to get an offer.

This course is taught by an instructor who has worked in Silicon Valley, and one of the top tech companies in Toronto. I have built large scale applications, and have managed teams of developers. I am not an online marketer or a salesman, but a software developer who has worked directly with these technologies.  I love programming and believe that there needs to be a course out there that actually teaches valuable real-life skills (because most of them are taught by teachers with no work experience).

Your time is valuable and you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a Bootcamp. You want a course that outlines the best way to become a Web Developer, in simple and well-explained terms, so that you fully understand topics instead of watching somebody on your screen and having no clue what is going on. I have taken the best pieces, tools, and practices that I have found over the years, and condensed everything into this course. 50 hours of videos don't mean much if the instructor isn't engaging or focuses on outdated topics. I made sure that everything covered in this course is efficient and focuses on getting you job-ready as soon as possible!

We have a thriving online chat community so you really feel like you are part of a classroom and not just watching videos by yourself. You will have a chance to communicate with fellow students, work on group projects together, and contribute to open-source projects. Anytime you have a question, you can ask in many locations and get help right away (including from myself). 

The course is designed to give you employable skills so you can get a job. Here is what one student recently wrote after taking the course and being hired right away: "I’m a self-taught dev, who has been out of work for ~6 months. I had some family things that came up that prevented me from seeking permanent employment, so for a while, I was Postmates/Uber delivery driver. After taking this course, I immediately got catapulted back to where I was before, but better equipped and with the knowledge to take on the next job. I had just finished the React section when I went to a recent interview, and it really helped me excel. As of today, I am officially re-employed back in the field, and it is all thanks to this course. I had a blast creating the final project and FINALLY got around to learning SQL statements, and getting to use them in a project. I’m really ecstatic that Andrei went with teaching relational databases over something like MongoDB, which can also be fun but is less practical for use on the job.   So thanks Andrei, I really enjoyed the course and will be making sure to share it with others who find it helpful. I’m also looking forward to the new ES10 content that was recently added, and going through the DB stuff again when I go to build a personal project." - J.C.

Think of this course as a Web Developer Bootcamp. By the end, you will be comfortable using the below skills and you will be able to put them on your resume:

HTML/HTML5

CSS/CSS3

SemanticUI

Responsive Design

Flexbox

CSS Grid

Bootstrap 4

DOM Manipulation

Javascript (including ES6/ES7/ES8/ES9/ES10)

Asynchronous JavaScript

HTTP/JSON/AJAX

React + Redux

Git + Github

Command Line

Node.js

Express.js

NPM

RESTful API Design

PostgresSQL

SQL

Authentication

Authorization

Scalable Infrastructure

Security

Production and Deployment

You will be taken through online videos and exercises where you will be able to do the following things by the end:

Build real complex applications and websites

Build an image recognition app so you can add it to your portfolio

Go into a job interview confident that you understand the fundamental building blocks of web development and the developer trends in 2020

Be able to go off on your own and grow your skills as a developer, having built a solid foundation

Learn how frontend, servers, and databases communicate and how they all fit together in the ecosystem

Build your own startup landing page

Go off and work remotely by being a freelance developer that can bid on projects

This course is the accumulation of all of my years working in the industry, learning, and teaching. There is so much information out there, so many opinions, and so many ways of doing things, that unless you have spent the last few years working with these technologies in a company, you will never fully understand. So this course is the answer to that exact problem for you: How to gain experience when you need experience to get hired? I have gone through thousands of coding books, online tutorials, and boot camps. Throughout the years I have taken notes on what has worked and what hasn't, and I have created this course to narrow down the most efficient way to learn with the most relevant information.  I am 100% confident that you won't find a course like this out there. We're not going to be building simple todo applications and cat image sliders. We are going to learn actual practical skills that will put you into the workforce. Some unique sections that you won't find anywhere else are:

React.js + Redux: You will learn the library that companies like Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram use to build fast, scalable applications. This is one of the highest in-demand skills in the industry.

A day in the life of a developer: What will your day to day look like and what tools will you use? I will take you through a sample day at a tech company.

How does the internet actually work? What is the history of these technologies?: You will actually understand the underlying concepts of the internet, and how the technologies we have now, have come to be where they are.

How do you actually deploy a real-life app so that it is secure, and won't get hacked?: How does a real-life app get out to the public in a safe and secure way?

What is Machine Learning and how you can harness its power: Whether you have heard about it or not, this is something that you will hear more and more in the coming years. Those who understand the high-level concepts and can harness its power will have an advantage. 

What does your developer environment on your computer look like?: We will be setting up our computers with all the tools necessary for a developer so you can use the same setup when you go work in the industry.

Why do we teach the above?

Because in this day and age, just knowing HTML CSS and Javascript is not good enough, and you won't be able to grow in your role and command a higher salary. You will learn these things because these are the things you should know in 2020 so that you are miles ahead of the rest.  Make this the year that you took a risk, you learned highly in-demand skills, you had new experiences, and you received new opportunities. I hope you join me on this journey. This is the proudest work I have ever done in my life and I am confident that you won't find a course better than this. See you inside! Taught by: Andrei is the instructor of the highest rated Web Development course on Udemy as well as one of the fastest-growing. His graduates have moved on to work for some of the biggest tech companies around the world like Apple, Google, Amazon, JP Morgan, IBM, UNIQLO, etc... He has been working as a senior software developer in Silicon Valley and Toronto for many years and is now taking all that he has learned, to teach programming skills and to help you discover the amazing career opportunities that being a developer allows in life. Having been a self-taught programmer, he understands that there is an overwhelming number of online courses, tutorials, and books that are overly verbose and inadequate at teaching proper skills. Most people feel paralyzed and don't know where to start when learning a complex subject matter, or even worse, most people don't have $20,000 to spend on a coding Bootcamp. Programming skills should be affordable and open to all. An education material should teach real-life skills that are current and they should not waste a student's valuable time. Having learned important lessons from working for Fortune 500 companies, tech startups, to even founding his own business, he is now dedicating 100% of his time to teaching others valuable software development skills in order to take control of their life and work in an exciting industry with infinite possibilities. Andrei promises you that there are no other courses out there as comprehensive and as well explained. He believes that in order to learn anything of value, you need to start with the foundation and develop the roots of the tree. Only from there will you be able to learn concepts and specific skills(leaves) that connect to the foundation. Learning becomes exponential when structured in this way. Taking his experience in educational psychology and coding, Andrei's courses will take you on an understanding of complex subjects that you never thought would be possible. See you inside the courses! READ MORE:

Node JS: Advanced Concepts

Learn Flutter & Dart to Build iOS & Android Apps [2020]

The Ultimate MySQL Bootcamp: Go from SQL Beginner to Expert

The Complete Node.js Developer Course (3rd Edition)

Who this course is for:

You want to learn to code and build websites and web apps

You are looking to start a career in Web Development

You know HTML and CSS but want to expand your skills and do more

You want to start your own business or become a freelancer

You want to learn REAL industry skills that are necessary for 2020 to get hired as a web developer and earn a higher salary

You want one course to teach you everything in one place from a senior developer that works in the industry

Created by Andrei Neagoie Last updated 3/2020 English English [Auto-generated] Size: 17.43 GB

DOWNLOAD COURSE

[ebizworldwide]

Startup Marketing Essentials: #4 How To Create A Killer Presentation

Many discussions are, well, not good. If you intend to stick out amongst the various other startups as well as gain more press attention, buzz, investor bucks, as well as early customers, good discussions could aid a lot. And also I'm not excited by war stories regarding hectic officers to develop their slides 'in the taxicab from the airport terminal.' Opportunities are their audience might inform. Do on your own a favor as well as place in some actual prep time and method.-- TM

Presentations are used in every advertising and marketing program. Your CEO may burnish your brand at a sector conference as part of your track record programs. Webcasts may be a critical part of your demand generation, and also your area sales pressure might have to learn the firm pitch as part of sales enablement. Presentations are utilised all the time by expert connections groups as part of market knowledge programs. For as essential as they are, why are there so several bad ones? Think concerning it-- exactly how often have you been entirely tired to rips watching someone drone on, or irritated when a speaker attempts to jam a hundred-slide discussion right into thirty minutes?

But after that again, there are audio speakers you bear in mind. Discussions you bear in mind. Maybe they were profound. Inspiring. Or possibly they merely offered you specifically the details you were seeking-- succinctly. This is not a mishap. Excellent presentations do not take place by good luck. Wonderful speakers assume long and hard about exactly what they plan to state, prepare carefully, and also practice, practice, practice.

The marketing team is accountable for developing discussions, offering them, and training speakers from other divisions. This blog post will certainly cover the procedure of producing an excellent presentation. I am not going to cover presentation design, which is important, yet less so than an excellent story as well as structure. I likewise don't have room in this blog site to cover the necessary procedure of audio speaker preparation. If you need to know more regarding that, please refer to this longer post.

Conceiving The Presentation

Before creating a single slide, there is vital job to be done. A presentation needs an objective, a tale and framework, as well as a clear sense of exactly how it will open up and also end.

Purpose

Before efficient presenters produce any slides or compose a script, they think about the purpose of the presentation. Are they seeking to educate the audience worrying a brand-new modern technology or technique? Are they trying to show thought management by proposing strong originalities? Is a salesman trying to convince a customer to select his or her item over the competition? Or, is the discussion an inner paper planned to persuade the CFO to increase the marketing budget?

An simple method to recognize the purpose of a presentation is to ask yourself what you desire your audience to be believing as they leave the area. Your solution needs to frame your shipment and also material. In this part, I will cover several of the more typical aspects you ought to consider when you define the purpose:

Educating

Selling

Convincing

Inspiring

Let's take a more detailed check out each one.

When the purpose of your speech is to educate, make sure your speed is not too quick, usage lots of examples, as well as leave time for questions. Presenters who are attempting to educate usually hand out copies of their slides prior to the presentation. These handouts contain spaces beside the slides to urge the audiences to take part by loading them in.

If your purpose is selling, after that maintain in mind that individuals do not like to be sold to, so your viewers might place up a defensive psychological barrier. To conquer this resistance, you should stay clear of outrageous salesmanship, jargon, and smarmy actions. Provide a lot of instances of just how pleased consumers are utilising the item. Allow these stories do the selling.

Convincing is a close relative to marketing. It puts on circumstances such as requesting a higher budget, investment in your start-up, more headcount for your department, or the environment-friendly light from the board for a new job. In such situations, make certain your company case or cause is rock strong, check as well as confirm every one of your facts and also numbers (errors are awesomes in these situations), as well as provide a clear plan of how you will utilize the moment, people, or cash you are seeking.

Finally, presentations meant to inspire can be one of the most challenging to execute effectively. To a higher extent compared to the various other types, they frequently rely upon the speaker's charm greater than anything else. If you are giving a motivating presentation, ensure you have excellent tales that take your audience where you want them to go.

Story and Structure

Good presentations have a tale. They have an arc. The function of a story arc-- which is a standard motif in tv dramas and films-- is to move a character or a situation from one state to an additional. The story arc need not be high drama. It needs to have a beginning, center, and end. Ask any kind of flick film writer, and also he or she will certainly tell you there's a factor plays and films have three acts-- the format functions. The key to producing the presentation, then, is to picture that arc and just how you are getting the target market with your beginning, center, and end in whatever time you have been allotted.

Brainstorming the Story

Two usual techniques to brainstorm tales are to use whiteboards and Post-it notes. Once you have a general concept of what you are going to talk about, illustration it out on the whiteboard. Just how you do this relies on your individuality. Direct thinkers could utilize a timeline arc, highlighting the start, middle, and also end, with all the points between. Aesthetic thinkers may favor to draw a collection of boxes to represent the slides, filling them in with bottom lines and rough layouts. Post-it notes can work the same method, however they are easier to reorder. Also, they enable you to dispose of suggestions that do not work.

Opening the Presentation

The worst ready for a discussion (close to silence and also mortified stage fright) is something such as this: "Hello there, my name is John Smith, and I'm visiting present to you on the history of axle oil." Informing the target market the same thing that appears on your title slide does not include much value. Furthermore, you have likely been presented already. Furthermore, if you go to a seminar, then your name will remain in the program. Below is a better technique to begin a presentation:

Opening statement: Start with a claim-- possibly your utmost goal, an obstacle to the target market, or a worth proposition.

Summary: Quickly explain what you are going to cover-- the bullets of your agenda.

Provocation: Make a controversial or tough declaration to obtain your target market's attention.

Experience: Talk a bit about yourself, concentrating on why your target market ought to listen to you.

Conclusion: Inform the target market where you will certainly wind up. This will immediately obtain your audience considering where you are leading them, predisposing them to pay attention very carefully, also if they could differ with your conclusion.

This structure is typically undermanned as "Tell them what you are visiting tell them, inform them, and after that tell them exactly what you informed them." Reworking our bad axle grease example above, a reliable opening may appear something similar to this:

Axle grease is just one of the most crucial oil by-products ever developeded. It aids our automobiles run, our farms harvest, and also our manufacturing facilities generate. Yet, we are at risk of underinvesting in the manufacturing of this crucial resource, which could have a massive, if unknown, result on our economy. To help you comprehend this issue, I'm visiting give you a bit of a crash training course on axle grease. I'll highlight the main areas of the economic situation that depend on it and describe why we encounter a potential shortage. I have actually been working in this industry for twenty years, most recently as the CEO of the biggest producer, and also this is the largest crisis I have ever before seen. At the end of our sixty mins, I hope you comprehend why I say this and why it's important we fix this problem.

Admit it, also a mundane topic like oil comes alive when it exists by doing this. The speaker has recaped his case, informed you a bit about himself, and also allow you understand exactly how he's visiting be interacting with you throughout the next hour.

The Meat of the Presentation

Make sure the discussion itself-- the meat-- matches the intro as well as supports the bottom lines you are aiming to make. Withstand the impulse to load everything you could potentially think about into it (a typical wrong when presenters are creating new discussions by blending as well as matching slides from existing discussions). A concise presentation that offers exactly just what is guaranteed is always far better. As well as, you will avoid the presentation wrong of rushing with your slides to attempt to complete within the allocated conference or speaking port time.

Closing the Presentation

A good closing connections back to the opening. Repeat the parts you want them to consider. Restate your justification: "Currently all you recognize why a lack of axle oil would certainly be tragic to our economy." Some presenters utilize a journalistic technique referred to as the "twist," where they resemble a theme from their opening in their closing. Our axle oil CEO might obtain charming with a kicker like: "I'm not simply being a squeaky wheel. An axle grease shortage would misbehave for all of us." Utilize among these 2 strategies and after that give thanks to the target market. You can display your contact details, however there's no need to read it.

For more concerning how to make and offer our axle excellent discussion, please refer to my longer blog post on the subject, or the complete chapter on it in The Professional Marketer.

Thoughts? Or maybe you intend to swap tales on the most awful presentation you have ever before seen? Let me know.

[mentalhealth-dy]

Web design

As this is my first time properly designing a website, I thought it would be important to have a look into what I should know when designing a website. 

I did some research and found a really helpful website that gave me some tips to consider : 

(I know this is a lot to read but it is just something I wanted to add to my blog so that I can keep going back to it) 

Optimize Web Graphics for Better Page Load Times

Learn how to optimize your web graphics by selecting the proper format and making sure that it’s as small as it can possibly be. Even though people are advancing to broadband connections, there are still quite a few who use dial-up internet connections. Additionally, with the emergence of mobile device technologies that don’t necessarily have broadband-like speeds, having slow page load times due to image file sizes can turn users off.

Here a general rule of thumbs for picking the right file format: images that have solid colors are best saved as PNGs and GIFs, while images with continuous colors (such as photographs) are best saved as JPGs.

There are plenty of tools available at your disposal that will help you further optimize your images and lower their file sizes, check out this list of tools for optimizing your images.

By limiting the number of images you use to the bare minimum, being smart about using images, and reducing file sizes as best as you can, you will significantly cut down page response times of  a web page and improve your web page performance. 

Keep it Clean and Simple

A good web design is not just one that looks visually appealing, but also one that is user-friendly. A clean and simple web design typically ends up being a high-usability web design that is not confusing to interact with.

By having too many site features and components on a page, you risk the chance of distracting website viewers from the purpose of the website. Make sure each page element has a purpose and ask yourself the following questions:

Does the design really need this?

What does this element do and how does it help the user?

If I remove this element all of a sudden, will most people want it back?

How does this element tie into the goal, message, and purpose of the site?

Additionally, though it may be super awesome to come up with a new concept or interface design pattern for your website, make sure that the design is still accessible and intuitive to your users. People are accustomed to common interaction patterns, site features, and web interfaces – and if your design is truly unique, make sure it’s not too obscure and puzzling. Be creative, but also keep it simple.

Navigation is the Most Important Thing You Will Design

The most essential site feature is the website’s navigation — without it, users are stuck whatever page they happen to land on. With that obvious fact out of the way, we’ll talk about some important points to consider when constructing a navigation scheme.

First, it’s very important to put enough time and a lot of planning on a site’s navigation structure. This is common sense, but it’s still surprising how many web designs take site navigation for granted.

Placement, style, technology (will it use JavaScript or just CSS?), usability, and web accessibility are just some of the things you need to consider when creating the navigation design.

Your navigation design should work without CSS because of text-based browsers. Poke fun of text browsers all you want, but they are still prevalent in many mobile devices. Perhaps more importantly, navigation that works with CSS disabled is accessible (99.99% of the time) via screen readers.

Navigation should be accessible and usable without the need for client-side technologies such as JavaScript or Flash, which users may not have enabled or installed for various reasons such as security or company policy.

It is imperative that you have a good navigation system in place that is located at a highly-visible location. A good navigation is detectable as soon as the web page loads without having to scroll down the web page. This is where keeping it clean and simple plays a major role: a complex and unconventional design can lead to user confusion.

Users must never wonder, even for a split second, “Where is the site navigation?”

For sites organized in a hierarchical, multi-level manner, make sure that it is easy to navigate from between parent and child web pages. In addition, it should be easy to reach top-level pages (such as the site’s front page) from any webpage.

The main goal of your site navigation is to allow users to get to their desired content with as few actions and with as little effort on their behalf as possible.

Use Fonts Wisely and Methodically

Though there are thousands of fonts out there, you can really only use a handful (at least until CSS3 is fully supported by major browsers). Make it a point to stick to web-safe fonts. If you don’t like web-safe fonts, consider a progressively-enhanced web design that leverages sIFR or Cufon.

Keep font usage consistent. Make sure that headings are visually-different from paragraph text. Use white space, tweak line-height, font-size, and letter-spacing properties to make content pleasant to read and effortlessly scannable.

Perhaps one of the things that web designers often get wrong is font-sizes. Because we want to fit as much text as we can in a web page, we sometimes set font sizes to uncomfortably small sizes. Try to keep font sizes at and above 12px if possible, especially for paragraph text. While many people face no difficulty reading small text sizes, think about older users and persons with low-vision and other types of vision impairment.

Understand Color Accessibility

After talking about fonts, we also need to point out the importance of using the right colors.

You  need to consider color contrast of background and foreground colors for readability and for users with low-vision. For instance, black text on white background has a high-contrast, while orange text on red background will make you strain your eyes.

Also, use colors that are accessible to users with particular forms of color-blindness (check out a tool called Vischeck that will help you test for certain types of color-blindness).

Some color combinations work well only when the color is used as a foreground color instead of a background color. Take for example, dark blue text on a pink background versus but pink text on blue background, same colors but different levels of readability and reading comfort. It is important not only to get a good color combination but also to apply it to the right elements on the page.

You Need to Know How to Write Code Yourself

With various WYSIWYG editors flooding the market, it has become as simple as 1-2-3 to design a site. However, most of these editors insert unnecessarily code junk, making your HTML structure poorly designed, harder to maintain and update, and causing your file sizes to bloat.

By writing the code yourself, you come out with clean, crisp, and terse code that’s a pleasure to read and maintain; code that you can be proud to call your own.

Knowing how to use a WYSIWYG or an IDE with a visual preview does not excuse you from learning HTML and CSS. You have to know what’s going on in order to create effective, semantic, and highly-optimized web designs.

Don’t Forget Search Engine Optimization

A good designer should always remember to keep the basics of SEO in mind when designing a site. For example, structuring web content so that important text are represented as headings (i.e. page title and logo). This is where learning how to code properly comes in handy. Knowing correct, semantic, and standards-based HTML/CSS – you will quickly realize that divs are better than tables for web layouts not only for accurate representation of site content, but also for search engine rankings; you will also know that CSS background text image replacement is a good idea.

Understand that People are Impatient

People on an average spend only a few seconds before deciding whether they want to read more or navigate away to another site. Therefore, you as a web designer have to device a way for encouraging users to choose the former option within those precious seconds.

Know that not many visitors will scroll down to view the entire contents of the page if what they see at the top does not interest them. Remember to keep your important elements on the top where they are easily visible, but also do not overcrowd the top half of the page which can intimidate users and turn them off from reading further down the page. Consider the top half of a web design a selling point: be a salesman, make people buy into the notion that they want to see what else is on your site.

Learn About (and Be Aware of) Browser Quirks

One of the things you must know as a web designer is that your work operates in a finicky and unpredictable environment: web browsers. It’s not enough that your designs work on a few web browsers, they need to work in as many browsing situations as you can possibly afford. Before production – test your prototypes using tools like Browsershots.

Make Designs that are Flexible and Maintainable

A good web designer makes sure that the site can easily be updated or modified in the future. Designing websites that are malleable and easy to maintain is a sign of a great web designer. Make your work as modular as possible by separating style from structure.

Know that our industry is dynamic and still young – things change in a very short amount of time. Keeping this thought in mind will promote the creation of flexible web designs.

[jesspaulblog]

HOW “THE GUIDE FOR EVERY SCREENWRITER” ANSWERS: WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCRIPT?

When I started screenwriting at 19, it seemed like the purest outlet for my fantasy world: nothing was off the table in my brainstorm notebooks and Word Docs (who else used a basic word processor before realizing there’s an app for that??). But, as I became more serious about the craft, I realized there were standards, structures and conventions to not only screenplays but the movie and TV business itself that I glossed over when translating my campfire stories to page.  

“The Guide…”, as I affectionately call Geoffery Calhoun’s “The Guide For Every Screenwriter | From Synopsis to Subplots: The Secrets of Screenwriting Revealed” (which will very simply be referred to as “The Guide…” for the rest of my article), is one book of many that graces the cyber-shelves of BarnesandNoble.com. So what makes this pocketable 114 page handbook so different from all the rest? Geoff tells me the issues he’s found in other tomes on screenwriting. “The first is oversaturation... It can be difficult to comb through that many choices to try and find knowledge that rings true for you. The second thing I’ve noticed is specialization. Many books on screenwriting will focus on a particular aspect of the craft such as concept design, theme, or format. This can lead to being overwhelmed with a myriad of screenwriting books.”

CAPTION: “The Guide…” on my cool, distressed rug that I bought brand new.

And a myriad there is. So what gives Geoff the authority to write the all-inclusive Guide to our craft? Maybe years of fixing other people’s scripts. Geoff inhabits the unique title as founder of WeFixYourScript.com, a screenwriting consultation service that focuses on award-winning and experienced professionals breaking down a client’s story from concept development to the polishing of a feature, short or TV pilot. Geoff has said of his experience at the screenplay chopping block, “It has really forced me to understand structure. I’ve been brought on to fix scripts that have been as short as 57 pages before. That is a script which should be in the 90-page range. Solving issues like that which tends to be in a short turnover when a script is about to hit production really tempers your ability as a screenwriter.”

I read “The Guide…” in chunks during my ride-shares to auditions and on set in-between set-ups. I’ve been a self-taught screenwriter for a decade now, a trial and error story-structurer who learned from harsh-but-friendly peer critiques as well as reading other scripts, both famous and unproduced, to help me hone my own knowledge and style. Besides making me seem super career-invested to anyone who read the cover on set, I was also picking up new tips, ideas and angles to film-writing that hadn’t occurred to me. “The Guide…” seemed incredibly compact yet full of both the basic and more involved elements of screenwriting.

CAPTION: Me (obviously) taking set-selfies on the CBS lot while I read “The Guide…”

Filled with diagrams to illustrate structure and worksheets to test what you’ve learned so far, “The Guide…” was filling in tiny holes of information that I didn’t even know I was really missing. Part I starts off by breaking down the basics from the attitude you should encompass when starting a screenwriter career to the myths you too often hear (can you guess what Geoff thinks of the old “Write what you know” idiom?) to then gently ease into the foundations of structure and format.

One thing I also found surprising was that amongst the new tidbits of info I grabbed, I also found some of my own lessons being reflected back to me. It was validating to see that aspects I have voiced myself (see my article “Why You Only Write What You See In Screenplays”) were echoed in “The Guide’s” formatting section, meaning that the real-life experience I picked up while screenwriting in the industry since I was 19 was true to the page. Geoff’s a screenwriter’s screenwriter.

CAPTION: One of the many helpful diagrams that assembles your larger-than-life story into a comprehensive structure.

I have to say, though, my favorite chapters of this “non-hyperbolic nor long-winded” guide (thank you!) are the last: PART IV: What Comes Next and PART V: Networking. As screenwriters, we tend to hole up in our tiny, dark writer’s rooms (and hopefully not as tiny nor dark minds) when we are doing this job. But, once we’ve finally spent all that personal time with our characters, it’s sometimes hard to transition from the introverted, focused writer to the salesman of our own art. Most screenwriting texts dive into the tedium of the craft (which is fine!), but “The Guide…” displays a realistic overview from first pen-to-page to actually becoming involved with the screenwriting community and elevating yourself in the industry so that your script doesn’t sit in a dark drawer but may soon be produced into the art form in which it was intended.

After I was done, I felt like I had a more complete embrace on the craft of screenwriting than the pieced together lessons I had on my own throughout the years. It was the perfect, completing accessory to the outfit of knowledge I already had. Geoff says about screenwriter education, “Some people are suited to the college environment. Others like myself lean into being an autodidact and learn on their own. No one should feel like they need a degree though. In this business, no one cares where you went to school. They only care if you can provide value to a project.”

CAPTION: Not enough screenwriting references tell you what to do after you actually finish the damned thing!

When I touched base with Geoff, I decided to ask him one of the broadest questions any journalist or screenwriter alike would ask someone who has been in this business for decades to see what he would say: What makes a good screenplay? “On the surface, it seems simple enough to answer, but once you contemplate it, the sheer depth of this question threatens to swallow you whole,” Geoff starts. “A script well-structured, that has excellent character development, has dialogue with depth, and is pleasing to the eye are all aspects that when done well, will make a good script.  But this has sparked a different question within me. What makes a great screenplay?”

Geoff walks me through a thought experiment: “I want you to sit back for a moment and recall the last great screenplay you’ve read. Or the last great film you’ve watched.” Me, I’m going to choose 8th Grade. “Got one? Good. Now, remember a part that sticks out in your mind and hold onto it for just a moment. How did that make you feel? See, there’s an emotional component to it. A feeling that comes from remembering that script. That feeling in you is what makes a great script. A great script moves you.” The film 8th Grade was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. The actors’ performances mixed with the scenarios Bo Burnham’s script drove the audience through surfaced hyper-empathetic adoration and anxiety for the main character like you were the one sitting in her classroom seat. “See, you can have perfect structure,” Geoff explains. “Your dialogue can be on point, and your characters can be unique. You can have a killer concept and be thematically relevant. BUT… if your script doesn’t resonate with a reader, if it doesn’t have heart, then you have failed. A great script resonates within someone. It makes them feel. Something. Anything.”

“The Guide…” aptly embraces this concept by teaching you to combine structure with imaginativeness, the bones with the heart. “How do you make that happen?” Geoff leads. “By creating a script that puts a character on a journey that brings out the emotional truth of the reader. One way to do this is to craft a deep empathy and sympathy for your characters by instilling them with universal truths we all suffer with. Such as loss of a loved one, the desire to belong, the shallow pain of loneliness, the regret of poor choices in our past are just a few you can use. These are things that we as people struggle with from all parts of the world. Race nor creed nor status of wealth matters. These are the things that make us human. To craft a script which deals with themes that are relayed through a character’s struggles. A character on a path we can relate with, root for, weep with and think about once the story is over. That is what makes a great script.”

“The Guide For Every Screenwriter” is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble & Apple Books as both paperback and ebook. Link me to that Amazon review you leave once you’ve read it to tell me what you think.