#and ends the entire system third choices included

[tsuzukerukoto]

chat I'm asking this seriously genuinely for realsies what did Junko mean by this

[fatehbaz]

Today, as you read this [...], there are almost 2 million people locked away in one of the more than 5,000 prisons or jails that dot the American landscape. While they are behind bars, these incarcerated people can be found standing in line at their prison’s commissary waiting to buy some extra food or cleaning supplies that are often marked up to prices higher than what one would pay outside of those prison walls. [...] If they want to call a friend or family member, they need to pay for that as well. And almost everyone who works at a job while incarcerated, often for less than a dollar an hour, will find that the prison has taken a portion of their salary to pay for their cost of incarceration. [...] These policymakers and government officials also know that this captive population has no choice but to foot the bill [...] and that if they can’t be made to pay, their families can. In fact, a 2015 report led by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Forward Together, and Research Action Design found that in 63 percent of cases, family members on the outside were primarily responsible for court-related costs [...].

Rutgers sociology professor Brittany Friedman has written extensively on what is called “pay-to-stay” fees in American correctional institutions. In her 2020 article titled, “Unveiling the Necrocapitalist Dimensions of the Shadow Carceral State: On Pay-to-Stay to Recoup the Cost of Incarceration,” Friedman divides these fees into two categories: (1) room and board and (2) service-specific costs. Fees for room and board -- yes, literally for a thin mattress or even a plastic “boat” bed in a hallway, a toilet that may not flush, and scant, awful tasting food -- are typically charged at a “per diem rate for the length of incarceration.” It is not uncommon for these fees to reach $20 to $80 a day for the entire period of incarceration. The second category, what Friedman refers to as “service-specific costs,” includes fees for basic charges such as copays or other costs for seeing a doctor or nurse, programming fees, email and telephone calls, and commissary items. 

In 2014, the Brennan Center for Justice documented that at least 43 states authorize charging incarcerated people for the cost of their own imprisonment, and at least 35 states authorize charging them for some medical expenses. More recent research from the Prison Policy Institute found that 40 states and the federal prison system charge incarcerated people medical copays. 

It’s also critical to understand how little incarcerated people are paid for their labor in addition to the significant cut of their paltry hourly wages that corrections agencies take from their earnings. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of incarcerated people work behind bars. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, those who work regular jobs in prisons such as maintaining the grounds, working in the kitchen, and painting the walls of the facilities earn on average between $0.14 and $0.63 an hour. [...] Arkansas and Texas don’t pay incarcerated workers at all, while Alabama only pays incarcerated workers employed by the state’s correctional industry. [...]

For example, if someone sends an incarcerated person in Florida $20 online, they will end up paying $24.95. [...]

Dallas County charges incarcerated people a $10 medical care fee for each medical request they submit. In Texas prisons, those behind bars pay $13.55 per medical visit, despite the fact that Texas doesn’t pay incarcerated workers anything. Texas is one of a handful of states that doesn’t pay incarcerated people for their labor. 

In Kentucky’s McCracken County Jail in Paducah, it costs $0.40 a minute for a video call; this translates into $8.00 for each 20-minute video call. [...] For those who need to use email, JPay charges $2.35 for five emails for people in the Texas prison system ($0.47 an email). [...]

People in Florida prisons pay $1.70 for a packet of four extra-strength Tylenol and $4.02 for four tampons. And with inflation, commissary items are priced higher than ever. For example, according to the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, incarcerated people in Kentucky experienced a 7.2 percent rise in already-high commissary prices in July 2022. Researchers noted that a 4.6-ounce tube of Crest toothpaste, which costs $1.38 at the local Walmart, is $3.77 at the prison commissary. [...]

In Gaston County, North Carolina, incarcerated individuals who participate in state work release may make more than the state’s $0.38 an hour maximum pay, but they pay the jail a daily rate based on their yearly income of at least $18 per day and up to $36 per day. In fact, Brennan Center research indicates that almost every state takes a portion of the salary that incarcerated workers earn to compensate the corrections agency [...].

These room and board fees are found throughout the nation’s jails and prisons. Michigan laws allow any county to seek reimbursement for expenses incurred in relation to a charge for which a person was sentenced to county jail time -- up to $60 a day. Winnebago County, Wisconsin, charges $26 a day to those staying in its county jail.

---

Text by: Lauren-Brooke Eisen. “America’s Dystopian Incarceration System of Pay to Stay Behind Bars.” Brennan Center for Justice. 19 April 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[canary-curse-57]

Hellooooo everybody, it’s CC back again with my favorite pastime:

ANALYZING JIMMY SOLIDARTIYGAMING’S (WILD LIFE) DEATHS

In this post, I talked about why I thought he could win the life series, and I analyzed his deaths from every series (excluding Real Life and Wild Life) (THIS HAS SOMEHOW MANAGED TO BE ALMOST AS LONG AS THAT ONE). Now that Wild Life has been over for a while, however, I’ve decided to analyze his deaths from Wild Life, as there’s one in particular that completely doesn’t fit in any previous categorization I had. 

As a quick recap, my previous categorization system consisted of Bad Luck, Silly Decision, and Accident. One death could be more than one category at the same time. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment/ask!! I love yapping about the life series :D

Anyways, let’s get into it!!!

First death - Creeper - Bad Luck/Silly Decision:

This is one of a handful of deaths that he’s had over the course of the series that I genuinely think could potentially fit in all 3 categories, but I ultimately feel like leaving off Accident because it doesn’t fit quite well enough. Either way, this is one of many incredible examples of Jimmy Solidarity’s Unbelievably Bad Luck. I mean, to have not just one, but TWO creepers sneak up on you from completely opposite directions while you’re trying to fight a zombie is just INSANELY Bad Luck!!!! 

So while Bad Luck is easily the primary category here, I’m also including Silly Decision because I am of the firm belief that going ANYWHERE on your own at night is not the best choice, and doing so has gotten Jimmy killed/knocked out of previous series before (For example: his death to the enderman at the end of Double Life) so he really should’ve started avoiding this type of situation a while ago. 

Second death - Creeper - Accident/Silly Decision/Bad Luck:

What’s this? Our first triple category death? A shocker, I know, and I’m honestly not entirely confident in it. Here are my reasonings anyways:

Accident is quite simple, really: Jimmy accidentally misses his second hit on the creeper that kills him. If you slow down the video, you can see that the second time he engages with the creeper, he swings his sword at the creeper three times, landing the first hit, missing the second, and seemingly hitting the third. However, the fact that he misses his second hit means that the creeper doesn’t die, and still has enough HP to explode and kill Jimmy. There is also an element of Bad Luck at play in this specific moment too. 

Silly Decision honestly comes from what he was doing before this death: messing around and letting three whole creepers explode in front of him, blocking the explosions with his shield. Doing so is a little bit of a Silly Decision, one that Lizzie even reprimands him for, although I feel like transferring from that method of killing creepers to actually hitting them to kill them may have caused him to somehow let his guard down. (This, too, feels a little like Bad Luck, but in the specific way of the universe not taking kindly to him messing around)

Again, this is one I'm a little shaky on, so I might edit/change this up in the future. 

Third death - Snail - Accident/Silly Decision:

For the most part, this is an accident, pure and simple. Jimmy didn’t know the snail would kill him, he got a bit too close to it, and whoops, there he goes! However, I’m still adding a small amount of Silly Decision to this, because I personally feel like getting close to what is clearly the wildcard is a biiiit of a risky move, especially when you don’t know what it is/what it does yet. 

Fourth death - Snail - Silly Decision:

Jimmy knew the snail kills you the moment you touch it/it touches you, and yet he still decided to try and get incredibly close to it and get it to lunge at him. Silly Decision to the max /pos

Fifth death - Creeper - Bad Luck/Accident:

Damn, I always forget about just how rough of an episode this was for him!!! He dies four whole times in the span of ~7 minutes of video time. That’s almost one death every two minutes what on EARTH. I also very fondly remember this session being released the week after I posted my original analysis post about why I think he could win the life series someday. Absolutely hilarious timing to me lfhwejkfhwjkefhwjkhf

ANYWAYS, analysis time!! 

This is a lovely lovely example of Jimmy’s Bad Luck creating absolutely hilarious moments/the universe deciding it hates him! Oh, you want to talk to the only other yellow on the server about how it stinks to be yellow? Creeper from behind!!

I’m only adding an Accident classification in here because I watched this moment from Skizz’s POV, and he had enough time to warn Jimmy had he noticed the creeper, so I feel it gets a slight Accident rating. 

Sixth death - Dripstone - Accident:

Aaaaand here we have it folks: the death that could’ve taken Jimmy out of the series if not for Ren sacrificing himself in episode 3!! The craziest thing about this death is that it’s an accident, plain and simple. Martyn didn’t think there was really a trap, mined the block for funzies, and caused Jimmy to plummet to his death. Could you imagine if that was somehow the way Jimmy went out??? One could make an argument for Bad Luck, but I don’t really feel like it fits. 

I also strongly considered adding a Silly Decision to this one. I mean really, who stands on top of their own trap?? There’s always a chance someone might break it, and in this scenario that chance occurred!! However, in the end I feel like it classifies as more of an accident, because really, this one’s entirely on Martyn. 

Seventh death - Falling/Ravager - Bad Luck:

Ah, yet another death that I briefly considered adding Silly Decision to. I ultimately decided that it didn’t fit at all; after all, no one had any clue what could happen if you got the answer wrong at this point, so really you weren’t sure how careful you needed to be around Trivia Bots. That being said, going up into the tower miiiiight’ve not been the best choice, but ah well.

This death really felt like it was mostly Bad Luck to me because Jimmy really should’ve survived the fall!! Had it not been for his ender pearl hitting Martyn & the tree being right beneath him, I firmly believe he would’ve either teleported away safely or managed to hit a water bucket clutch (he got the water down right before he landed, it just didn’t save him because leaves (leafs?) waterlog)

Eight death - Snail - Accident/Bad Luck/I don’t even know dude this death made me lose it:

This death was quite possibly the most PAINFUL DEATH I HAVE EVER HAD TO REWATCH EVER. EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! The fact that he just WALKED into the SNAIL has me LOSING IT like DUDEEEEEE AUGHHHHHHH

Anyways creepers and snails are now tied for Things That Caused The Most Amount of Deaths for Jimmy, with 3 each!!

But yeah. Accident all around, with maybe a smidgen of Bad Luck thrown in there because how.

Ninth death - Bloop (Iron Golem) - Accident/Silly Decision:

Sigh. It wouldn’t be a Jimmy SolidarityGaming Life Series without multiple deaths that hurt your soul /lh

Anyways, yet another Accident. Obviously he didn’t mean to hit Bloop. But ALSO this is VERY MUCH A SILLY DECISION!!! Jimmy. Jimmy why would you try to kidnap an iron golem. Jimmy. Please. You know the universe likes to take the mick out of you dude (no i’m not british idk how else to put it tho 😭). You laughed at Mumbo’s grave and Grian basically made Bloop to be Mumbo cause he was lonely, of course it would go wrong /lh. 

Sigh. C’est la vie ig. Anyways, it’s this next death that’s the whole reason why I’m doing this,,,,,,

Final death - Grian/Explosion - ?????????????????:

There is only one other death in the entirety of the life series that I consider to be uncategorizable for Jimmy, and that one was when Tango died while they were soulmates.

So this death? This death is special.

It wasn’t an Accident. Grian had sworn for a long time that he would take Jimmy out of the series. Grian always holds tight to the promise of death. This was intentional. Planned.

It wasn’t Bad Luck. Jimmy wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t randomly have tnt spawn around him. This was intentional. Planned.

It wasn’t a Silly Decision. One could argue that it wasn’t one singular Silly Decision that got him to this point, but multiple small ones, stacked up high enough that Grian decided to act. And I could almost bring myself to agree with that, were it not for the fact that people have done worse to each other in this series and been spared. This death was completely out of Jimmy’s hands. It was unexpected. Intentional. Planned.

For the first time, Jimmy was the main target. For the first time, he wasn’t just caught in the crossfire. For the first time, he didn’t instigate right before his death. 

For the first time, he was viewed as someone who should be taken down.

Admittedly, it’s quite a stretch to say that Grian viewed him as a threat. I honestly don’t think Jimmy will be viewed as a threat anytime soon. The legacy of the canary curse lingers far too close for now. 

But think with me, for just a moment, about what may have been. He was surviving. Others had died to the combinations of wildcards thrown at them, yet Jimmy was surviving. How far could he have made it? How long could he have lasted, had Grian not taken matters into his own hands?

I’m in no way saying that I think this was Jimmy’s best season, or that I think he could’ve won if not for Grian. This was one of the most unluckiest seasons he’s had in a while, and the silly decisions and accidents added on top of that were a recipe for disaster.

But this was the first season where he really truly showed fight. Getting kills, celebrating, gloating; for a moment, he didn’t just survive. He thrived. 

If you combined his survivability from the first 5 sessions of Last Life with the killing power he had in Wild Life, I truly think you would have a winner. 

So despite the 10 deaths, despite the silly decisions and the laughably bad luck, despite the highest highs and lowest lows, I am not left with a lack of hope for Jimmy. 

If anything, this season has just made me believe in him more. 

[sophieinwonderland]

i have a question, if youre willing to answer.

i dont want resources, i’ve likely already read them.

we’re a traumagenic programmed system. typically the thought of someone without trauma having this disorder upsets us, because what we went through was so severe that it seems unfair to people without trauma to have to live the same hell as us.

it seems like the only reason someone would be a system without trauma would be by choice.

i would like to hear your explanation for endogenic systems. as i already said, ive read plenty of journals on non trauma based plurality. i dont include spiritual plurality as to me that is an entirely different field.

all i would like to know is your version or perspective of why endogenic systems exist without any trauma whatsoever. when i say this, i mean the type of formative years that would leave a singlet with fondest memories of childhood, nothing bad or stressful, a peaceful parents and environment, etc.

this is not for syscourse, i dont engage with negativity like that.

im open to learning, and i will always peacefully coexist with opposing views to my own, but again, i do my research and have already read many of both the popular and obscure journals on non trauma based plurality that i have found.

-

i dont know if you’ll answer this, though i do hope so, and im not sure how often you get anonymous asks like this, but just in case, you can consider me as anon M.

much respect to you, and i hope you have a good day/night.

-M

Sure!

I'm curious if, in your research, you've also looked into studies into "imagined companions."

These are what I actually find most interesting. Now, "imagined companion" is a loaded term from a singlet-normative perspective that ASSUMES a single consciousness per body. But recent research into ICs have shown a reality that is far more complicated than that, with a majority of ICs seemingly possessing will of their own.

Current research shows about a third of ICs appear to be fully controlled by the host child. These are pretty much what you imagine they would be when you hear terms like "imaginary friend" thrown around. These aren't what I'm interested in.

At the other end of the spectrum are researchers call "noncompliant" imaginary friends. These do have will of their own but exhibit harmful and often bullying behavior. I think many of these would be traumagenic in nature, or at least trauma-affected. If a child's IC is bullying them, that hints that something has likely gone wrong in their homelife, and they're emulating toxic behaviors.

What I find most interesting then is this middle third. Those who demonstrate autonomy while being generally supportive, positive relationships in the lives of their hosts.

It's in this group that we find the strongest evidence of natural multiplicity in children. And it's a pretty massive percentage of the population.

Some studies have shown more than 60% of children have had imagined companions in childhood before the age of 7.

Extrapolating, this means as many as 40% of children, 2 in every 5, would experience childhood plurality, with other people in their heads with their own will.

About 1-in-5 would fall into the category of having these sorts of positive childhood headmates.

To me, the issue isn't a question of why natural multiplicity exists. It seems to me that it just does. Some people are just naturally multiple in childhood.

To me, the issue is what happens to it afterwards. Where do these headmates go? Why do some people keep them?

For the first question, this seems a result of forced conformity. Tell children that their ICs aren't real and that they need to outgrow them, and the ICs will either be forced into dormancy or fuse with the host child.

Their singlethood is sociogenic.

But a fraction will remain. The ICs will be stronger than normal or the host child won't let go of them. And they'll stick around to adulthood. Since they "know" a simple imaginary friend can't be real or think for themselves, they may turn to spiritual explanations for what they experience.

Most will feel alone in their experiences, feel crazy, and never tell others about these headmates.

I'll also add that these systems are usually unable to switch. Switching appears to usually need a dissociative capacity from either intentional dissociative practices such as those in tulpamancy and many spiritual practices, or from trauma.

These systems can learn to switch but it's not inherent to their plurality.

Those are my thoughts anyway! Good day to you too, and thanks for the question! 😁💖

[watermelonsloth]

Itachi and the Uchiha Massacre

This might be one of the most controversial posts I’ll ever make.

I find myself very undecided about how I feel about Itachi’s role in the Uchiha massacre. It fills me with the same moral indecision and disgust of the trauma olympics (aka the comparing of “who had it worse”). Every time I try to come to a consensus, I immediately doubt my conclusion and question whether I’m giving Itachi too much of the benefit of the doubt or I’m not taking his circumstances into account enough. It’s like asking if him being a child outweighs him killing children. And that makes me uncomfortable.

On the one hand, he did something very very very bad. He killed an entire clan of people, including who knows how many innocent civilians and children. He then proceeded to psychologically torture his seven year old brother with the memories of him doing so. Prior to being met with this specific conundrum, I would’ve said without hesitation that this is a black-and-white situation with Itachi being solidly in the wrong. Even if he wasn’t the only perpetrator, he still would deserve much of the blame for being one of the executors of such an abhorrent act.

I cannot stress enough how terrible the massacre would’ve been in practice.

However, and this is where I might lose a few of you, as more information is revealed, one question nags at my entire fucking central nervous system. How much of a choice did Itachi really have?

To understand the full circumstances, first you have to understand that the context falls under two categories: who Itachi is (and his perspective) and what position he was in when he made the decision he did. First, who he is:

Itachi grew up in a militaristic village that normalizes violence, especially violence being used to solve problems.

This village has also normalized putting the village’s survival over oneself and one’s friends/family.

He was alive to see the very end of the third shinobi war and the nine tails attack, two events that have solidified his belief that war is the worst thing ever and should be prevented at all costs.

Hiruzen, Danzo, Kakashi, and Shisui encourage his belief that war should be avoided at any and all costs. Three of them are authority figures (see the Milgram experiment for why that’s relevant) and one of them is his first and only best friend.

He is a very introverted and closed off person. He’s so closed off that not even his immediate family can read him. Because of this, his inner circle is very small (meaning he has a very small support network).

He grew up with a strict, authoritarian father and entered the anbu at a young age, meaning he grew up being expected/pressured to obey those in positions of power without asking questions.

He’s an introvert who’s scared of conflict and keeps his head down.

Second, his actual position when he was told to kill his clan (I might be missing some, so feel free to add any others you remember.):

He was thirteen. That is a child in grade 8. That is the age of most genin.

Tensions between his family and village are implied to have been rising for a while and are now at the point that, for whatever reason, negotiation is deemed impossible.

Tensions are so high that if the village doesn’t act soon, the Uchiha’s coup will spark an all out civil war.

The Uchiha clan has little to no chance of winning the conflict and will likely have most (if not all) of its members killed in it. Plus, the conflict would’ve also resulted in many casualties on Konoha’s side as well, including civilians, children, and shinobi who had nothing to do with what was happening.

Tensions between him and his father are extremely high as well with the two of them being implied to regularly argue.

His best friend, possibly only friend, died by jumping off of a cliff in front of him after giving him one of his eyes and left the responsibility of handling the entire situation to him.

He’s being suspected for the murder of said best friend (and was flat out accused of it in front of his younger brother by three adult police officers) and is suspected as being more loyal to the village than to his clan, making him even more of an outcast to his clan.

He's aware that his best friend was attacked and mutilated by Danzo, one of the village leaders and his superior. If he wants any action taken against Danzo, he’ll have to fight a solo, uphill battle against all of the village leaders and risk losing all sway over the Uchiha situation (which would still be a ticking time bomb) in the process.

If he doesn’t want to fight a two sided war or lose what little power he has in the situation, his safest option is to follow orders while pushing for a plan where casualties are minimized.

Did Itachi have other options? Yes, I’m not gonna pretend that genocide was Itachi’s only choice. But a lot of people seem to forget how difficult or flawed a lot of his alternatives would have actually been in practice.

For example, I’ve seen a lot of people throw around the idea of Itachi just grabbing Sasuke and leaving the village. First of all, the massacre still would’ve happened, Itachi and Sasuke just wouldn’t have been there for it. Second, Itachi would’ve had to remove Sasuke from the village without being caught by the village or the Uchiha clan when he was under the scrutiny of both. Itachi is a good shinobi, but I don’t know if he’s that good. Third, how would he even get Sasuke to go along with him? Itachi may not have been close to his clan, but Sasuke loved his clan. Yes, Sasuke also loved Itachi, but it’s a pretty big stretch to say that seven-year-old Sasuke would’ve just gone along with it, especially when he wouldn’t have been able to understand the true scale of the situation. (Itachi would pretty much have to kidnap Sasuke for this plan to work.) Fourth (and similarly), people don’t tend to like uprooting their entire lives to leave the home they grew up in, even in emergency situations or when it’s the objectively better/safer option. Itachi and Sasuke, who were both raised to be “lay down their lives” loyal to their home, would’ve been especially averse to this idea. Fifth, even if they got over all of that and got out of the village, Itachi would have to raise his younger brother alone at thirteen years old while being on the run from a world power with no protection in a world where they’re at risk of being killed or getting the attention of creeps like Orochimaru simply for having kekkei genkai. It’s not like Itachi had outside contacts (beside Obito but Obito would not have helped them even if Itachi trusted him enough to trust Sasuke’s life to him) or there was a benevolent nation to take them in. Even if they managed to one day settle into a peaceful life, it would’ve taken years of fighting to survive before they’d have gotten there. Cool fanfic idea, but making Itachi slightly more innocent isn’t a solution.

The idea that Itachi should’ve just told the Uchiha clan what was going on and got help from them is similarly short sighted. The Uchiha clan were the victims in this situation, but they weren’t perfect angels either. Itachi was not close to, or particularly well liked by, his clan. Save for Shisui (who is theoretically dead in this scenario) and Sasuke, he had no emotional connection to the clan, only vague respect and a waning sense of responsibility towards it. And even if he did go to them, Itachi telling them what was happening would’ve just sparked a civil war, the one thing Itachi was desperate to avoid and the thing that would’ve gotten them all killed.

So…

What was the point of all this?

I’ll admit that I hoped typing out my thoughts would somehow end in me settling on an opinion, but right now I’m still just as undecided and significantly more depressed. Because, like, it’s just a depressing, shitty situation where there were victims and perpetrators and Itachi who just so happened to be both. Maybe trying to ask if Itachi is either “good” or “evil” is asking the wrong question. Maybe the entire discussion about how moral Itachi is as a person or all of the other choices he could’ve made is missing the point.

[bakafox]

Having to unsubscribe from more and more 'leftist' Youtubers who are committing to the bit that it's more important to bash the Democratic party and Joe Biden as if they're just as bad as Trump than it is to just focus on the fact that Trump and the GOP are the absolute fucking worst.

Especially since they keep pulling the 'Biden is senile and a drooling zombie' card since the fucking debate. Biden's fucking speech impediment has always been known about. He's always had pauses and problems finding words sometimes because of it, like friends of mine who struggle with that sort of shit do. 'Debating' someone like Trump on live TV isn't something a president needs to be able to do, but they'll focus on that gleefully and still never bring up all the left-leaning policies the Biden Administration has successfully pushed over the last 4 years or that were blocked by the fact Dems don't control congress, senate, or the supreme courts and

I am just begging people who haven't recently refreshed themselves on how the US system even is supposed to work to watch some stuff and refresh themselves.

Like, is the system pretty busted and rooted in shitty racist and classist shit? Yes, but it's not going to be fixed before this election, just like it isn't fixed before other elections because not enough people are willing to work for things like ranked choice voting in between election cycles.

But the system also isn't completely dead yet, and right now there's game plans and blueprints on how to at least survive within it- and how to push for changes in between big election cycles by voting the right people in during even smaller election cycles.

Those are the times you beef up third party ideals or whatever, because yes, right now, when the presidential election happens the only two choices that mean anything numerically for the electoral vote system are Republican and Democrat.

If you want to call that 'not a real election' or whatever, fine, but even if there's only two choices, one choice is still actively less harmful than the other, and if the only applicable choices in a shitty election have differences, and electoral results actually have a chance of being honored even if the less awful side wins it's still actually an election that matters. Is it a shitty choice? Is it not much of a choice? It's still a choice, and it's still a difference that can be made.

Of course with Project 2025, the Republicans plan to finish gutting and rearranging the US government to suit their desire for a theocratic dictatorship, which means they are actively working to make elections completely irrelevant or end them entirely. There will no longer be even a map or blueprint for anyone who isn't a white heterosexual Christian (of the kinds of Christians they approve of, I will bet five dollars that once in office the evangelical protestant type Christians are going to start throwing other denominations under the bus, because five dollars is all I even have right now,) to follow.

All of the between-election activism and community support and service that needs to be done is already hard, too, yes, but it will be much harder if Trump, a guy who has literally talked about having protestors on college campuses shot or deported as Hamas sympathizers, and people who think like him and will unequivocally back him takes over.

There's no real choice, but if the Democrats control senate, house, and presidency, there's actually room for a choice to grow if people don't just give up the minute the election is over and actually seek and work towards the reforms that are desired.

If the GOP gets any more seats and the presidency, I cannot stress enough that we are probably going to be living in an actual, literal, dictatorship, which by all definitions, the US is currently not, despite what I see people trying to twist definitions around to say it is because a 2 party system isn't great.

I am just so tired right now, the lives of so many people, including those of people I know personally, are on the line with this vote. I've only just gotten to celebrate things the Biden administration has done for disabled Americans and yet I know that if Trump is elected, we're going to go immediately at least back to shit like 'people buying you food can reduce or stop your SSI' if not worse since the GOP are pretty open about wanting to axe Medicaid and disability with social security.

Biden's administration has put protections for LGBT people in at the federal level, and it is remaining state's rights shit that's keeping it bad in red states, which is complicated as fuck, but if the GOP get their way, their stripping out the idea of state's rights will go after the states that are sheltering trans people or providing abortion care and asylum.

Project 2025 and Trump have made a VERY big deal out of wanting to deport millions of people and have ICE raiding churches and schools. (Oh hey remember what I said about even other Christians are gonna get shat on if maybe they're inclusive or whatnot?)

And for that single issue: Yes, Trump will be worse for Palestine. Also worse for Ukraine, Sudan, and pretty much everywhere else there is a genocide happening.

There isn't a 'real' choice, is the argument, but there still is a choice, and it's one that has to be made to try and reduce harm and keep the boot from being so firmly on everyone's neck that no one can breathe well enough to fight it.

There also is not going to be a glorious revolution formed if Trump wins, there's going to be concentration camps, deportations, increased incarceration for profit, no social safety net at all, and more and more deaths including state-sponsored violence and murders. Facists like Putin, Bibi, etc will be emboldened and given more actual weaponry and support.

On paper maybe it sounds like something that makes a revolution happen in the US, but in reality it is far more likely that it further divides and crushes people into inaction.

Also in reality the US has a fucking huge military with drone strike capabilities and the Republicans will not hesitate to make the poor neighborhoods of any US city into craters, and groups of actual revolutionaries will be very scattered and isolated and much more poorly armed because the US is a big space- and there can be no counting on Canada, Mexico, or any other nations in the world for help. That'll be the start of WW3.

If there is a revolution against a GOP dictatorship it is not going to be glorious, it is not going to go well. It should not even be being considered as a preferred option by anyone who claims to be 'for the people' compared to harm reductive voting and then community activism and pushes for voting and government reform in a setting where there is still some freedom to do that.

[crabigod-dot-txt]

Magic system time

Chaos manipulation

Allows user to manipulate the typically passive chaos energy currents (CECs)

Can never be truly 100% controlled because "chaos is a sovereign force" aka it can't be put under total control. Due to this, there can and will always be random fluctuations in the end product of a chaos manipulation.

CECs are typically colorless and don't interact with any physical plane, however upon being put under control, it takes up a color, viscosity (although most constructs are solid), and volume; changing to the controller's will

(The color is one of the most important aspects, as it entirely determines the nature of the construct) (from this point, when referring to subtractive colors, Sc, and when additive colors, Ac)

Chaos constructs (Sc)

- physical manifestations of CECs, usable in a wide variety of ways

- can take up the form of any physical object

- hand sign needed (closed fist) to manifest

-a "subclass" of CCs: Chaos Summons

- have no real rules, except that there can only be one major construct summoned at a time by a controller (Major Constructs: chaos summons, also large constructs )

- these are constructs that take up the form of living animals, that can aid the controller

- there are five chaos summons:

- magenta, cyan, gold, the serpent*, and the clone**

-* the serpent is the only summon that is able to change it's own color dynamically and adaptively

-** the clone can be summoned with any color, chosen by the controller (this cannot be changed for as long as the clone is active) (iconc: the clone is that of the controller, not of a selected target)

- each CS requires its own unique hand sign in order to be summoned.

- magenta, cyan and gold can take the form of different animals, and this requires the user to make new hand signs for them

Chaotic Speech (powerwords, PWs) (Ac)

- singular words imbued with chaos energy.

- can have different effects based on the word spoken (ex.: "stop"/"immobilise" makes the target unable to move for a duration)

- (color also depends on the word)

- the color of these all depend on the function of the word

- these include actions influenced and fused with CECs

Chaos actions (spells) (CAs) (Ac)

-ex. teleportation, energy slashes, and energy beams

- these also require unique hand signs, which in this case can be dynamic (can be moved) instead of having to be held still

COLOR SYSTEM:

Sc:

- magenta, cyan, gold (ik it's yellow stfu), red, green, Nblue, Rblue, purple, pink, orange, lime are the most often used, although these can be mixed further to mix certain qualities

Magenta: easiest to use offensively, as it is the lightest and third most durable one. Due to it's lightness, it's easy to move around fast. Counter to this is green.

Cyan: much denser, thus harder to move than magenta, however this is the single toughest one of all colors. Typically used defensively or as a way to trap a target. Counter to this is red.

Gold: the only metastable color. Cannot physically interact with objects or other constructs, however this color posesses something of a force field that gets more powerful the closer it gets to the centre of the construct (like a reverse black hole but not really). Due to it not being able to interact with them in a tangible way, it cannot be countered by any color, but its force field is severely weakened by cyan and Nblue

Red: being the mix of magenta and gold, it inherits the lightness of magenta and an inverted version of gold's repelling force, instead pulling in anything around it. This makes for a fast way to reposition yourself or a target of choice. Counter to this is cyan.

Green: mix of blue and gold, this color is an adaptive one. Best for creating illusions and clones. Countered by magenta.

Nblue: being the mix of cyan and magenta, this colour is the second toughest one. Moderately fast, pretty generic choice for defense or offense. Gold's force field can easily bend and break this however

Rblue: takes more of the density from cyan, thus creating a hyper-dense, near unbreakable construct. This comes at the cost of having almost none of the flexibility or speed from magenta. Best counter is orange.

Purple: unique in the fact that this is one of the only colors that can have it's desity actively changed. This allows for both offensive but also defensive use. This, however requires utmost focus and physical strength. Countered by lime.

Pink: also has a field, but unlike yellow, repelling objects, this one simply slows, numbs or completely stops targets from moving within its range depending on amplification (which, like with purple, takes physical strain on the user). Countered by turquoise.

Orange: despite being closely related to gold, orange shares almost no aspect of itself with it. Instead, this takes on the form of an acidic adhesive, which is great for grappling or immobilising targets. Countered by R and Nblue

Lime: this color is unique as it can change its opacity. This, along with the sturdiness from cyan, this makes it good for forming invisible barriers (just like before, changing the opacity takes force). Countered by purple.

Turquoise: this color most often takes the form of a fluid that is able to have its volume changed by the user. (Can drown people). Countered by pink.

When referring to "countering" another color, the process is as such: the two colors make contact, then, from that point of contact both constructs fizzle into nothing.

Highest quality: white: can have any and all attributes controlled by user. Uncounterable, but can be slowed, also requires a trade of self force* in order to achieve.

(* self force: the very essence of one's physical form. Mortal creatures cannot afford to lose even a fraction of this as it most often results in death.)

Ac:

Red, blue, yellow base along with purple, green and orange are most often used

Additive colors are used for actions and PWs.

In Ac, there are no counters like in Sc.

- red: manipulates a target's physical attributes via external force. Examples of this are PW "accelerate" or "halt".

- blue: manipulates the physical attributes of a target via forceful command. Example of this PW "liquefy".

- yellow: only works well on conscious targets, greatly hindered effect on non-conscious life. Manipulates the psychological attributes of the target. Example: emotion-related PWs ("sorrow", "anger", "apathy", etc)

- purple: mix of red and blue, thus controls the physical attributes completely.

- green: mix of yellow and blue, controlling psychological attributes via forceful command (pretty much mind control)

- orange: mix of red and yellow, controlling psychological attributes via external force. Examples: memory creation and erasure.

Highest quality: black: total control of the target. This, once again requires a trade of self to achieve. Ex.: PW "death"

[Feel free to ask questions because i feel like there's a lot i didn't explain but idk]

[gr1an]

Okay I think it's time we all start manifesting the gemtho team up in the next life series. Etho is the brain and Gem is the muscle. It'll happen I promise. not even a question in my mind they're gonna be unstoppable and we will get fanfictions from it for months just you wait. honestly you're crazy if you don't think it's gonna happen because them not teaming up is literally impossible (manifest with me)

Or we get a team of Etho and his fanclub (Joel, Bdubs and Gem)

PLS gem was so good in secret life i’d love for her to be in the next series and YES i’d love for her next group to have etho in it especially if the next season’s gimmick is related to how the last winner (scar) won. or the lesson he learned from it. bc i really like the theory that the winners of the previous series influence the next one.

(warning: hyperfixation infodump that is barely tangentially connected)

grian won third life, and saw that the lives you have or lose aren’t your choice. some are born lucky, some are lucky to be born. then last life had randomly assigned lives.

then scott won last life. he won it in the series where he had someone he could trust with his life the entire time. then double life had soulmates.

pearl won double life. she absolutely won it by her own means, but the final death was her soulmate sacrificing himself. then last life has a system that gives +30 min no matter how much time the person you kill is on. teammate sacrifices rule supreme.

martyn wins last life. he does it by suddenly being overwhelmed by the watcher’s attention and losing his mind to turn on his teammates. then secret life includes a statue of a watcher giving out secret tasks that have everyone acting out of character.

then scar wins secret life. 1) he didn’t even know he’d won at first. 2) he was forced into doing something time after time that almost never actually ended up working in his favor. 3) he was alone the whole time.

those three things could lead to some INTERESTING gimmicks

not knowing really messed him up. as well as all the other stuff ppl kept hidden this series. nobody has any more secrets to hide. panopticon you are not able to hide ANYTHING. meaning that the teams are absolutely going to be less. adventurous than they previously have been. if they can’t trust you with everything they will trust you with nothing.

roles like in the game mafia are a thing. you don’t get to choose whether you’re the healer or the sheriff or the mafia. but you have to act your part to win.

something about the gimmick makes long term alliances actually result in worse outcomes. those that team together become that much more obvious.

sorry this was supposed to be about gemtho but i had thoughts that i couldn’t stop lol

[timeclonemike]

Meet The Villains

Right Hand Versus Left Hand: The plotline of the main quest has been summarized as "two supervillains try to conquer the world at the same time and trip over each other's schemes and also there's a third guy" which dispenses with a lot of nuance (and character development, lore, and side quest hooks) but is otherwise accurate. The "Main" Villain is called Silas Van Der Horne, an Occultech researcher and Rationalist; he is the first character the player sees in the game, as he is responsible for the ritual that summons outside forces to the universe in the form of a player to begin with. The "Classic" Villain is Ben Waters, leader of a conspiracy within the government of Veck with the intention of taking over the country and then immediately engaging in a war of expansionist conquest over the rest of the region. The "Surprise" Villain is determined through the consequences of player choices when dealing with the first two villains.

Silas Van Der Horne: Silas gets very little screen time beyond the opening cutscene until Act 3, when he becomes aware of the Hero and the party trying to stop him and takes a more active role in events; for most of Act 1 and 2 he is obliquely mentioned as consolidating his power base and doing obscure magic research. As a scientifically minded magic user, his plans are based around the harnessing and exploitation of otherwise neutral systems - natural resources, civil infrastructure, magical energy cycles - and he is directly responsible for the most iconic threats in the series such as dino cavalry, power armor, and automatons. His master plan involves building a portal to another universe (revealed in the opening cutscene to the observant) but his motive for doing so is only hinted at until his climactic battle with Ben Waters at the end of Act 6.

Ben Waters: Waters' political and paramilitary influence is an open secret throughout the first two acts and his influence on events makes him the most obvious and pervasive danger to the Hero and the Party until Act 3. Waters is alternately characterized as either a sociopathic manipulator or a necessary evil, even by his own allies and minions, and discovering his motivations is an entire side quest that is not even necessary to progress in the main quest. Waters' strengths and efforts focus on people and the social structures they belong to, so his influence is most often seen in the form of bribery, extortion, confidence games, propaganda, and brainwashing that gives him leverage over existing organizations - including the minions of Silas Van Der Horne.

Mayor Etheridge: The Honorable Mayor of Arcadia, Johan Etheridge, is introduced as a comic relief character that lampoons the concept of elected officials who are selected for their personality rather than their competence in problem solving and administration. If the player has either weakened both Silas and Waters' organizations equally, or failed to do so, by the time of their confrontation in Act 6, the end result is a power vacuum that Mayor Etheridge fills almost immediately; it is implied that his alleged incompetence was just a smokescreen to make his own staff underestimate him while he worked behind the scenes to take over more of the city than the parts he was elected to run.

General Caine: If more damage is done to Waters leading up to Act 6, General Caine of the Republic of Veck enacts martial law and attempts to purge the nation of Waters' conspiracy at any cost. This is ostensibly out of paranoia; it is eventually revealed that when Waters served under Caine in the military, Caine's strategic incompetence got his unit almost completely wiped out save for himself and Waters, and Waters was drummed out of the service to protect Caine's reputation. Caine's general incompetence and jumping at shadows means that Veck is too busy looking for the enemy within to mount an effective defense against Silas Van Der Horne's dinosaur army; whether or not Caine survives the attack depends entirely on if the Hero goes after Silas when given the prompt to chase one villain or the other, and attacking Silas then means that Caine's scorched earth tactics frame the final act.

Doctor Ashton: If more damage is done to Silas Van Der Horne's organization before Act 6, his second in command rallies the survivors around a new banner and upsets the existing balance of power by using several magically augmented "doomsday" weapons. Notably, Doctor Ashton does this even if recruited by the Hero; if relationship flags are negative, Ashton shrugs off any conflict by claiming the Hero is just as bad as his former employer, while good relationship flags show the Doctor being much more conflicted about the choice while his dialog hints at some greater danger that had been uncovered by Silas during his research.

Insecure Party Members: Other recruitable party members may turn on the Hero during the events of Act 6, but this is dependent on a combination of two factors. First, specific choices must be made in previous acts when trying to stop or slow down either Silas or Waters. Second, the party member in question must be in the active party with the Hero leading up to the climax of Act 6. This party member ends up taking over the leftover resources of the villain that loses the fight at the end of Act 6, and takes the place of antagonist and final boss for the entire final act.

Kyle: For Kyle to betray the Hero, his relationship flags need to be mostly negative, and the Hero had to both agree to destroy the Forest Temple and follow through with it. Backing out after agreeing at first shows Kyle that the hero can be reasoned with if they are about to make a short sighted mistake, while resorting to blowing the temple up when the undead threat is too obvious to ignore is a completely different situation than deliberately wiping out cultural artifacts that pose no threat to anyone. Kyle's assault on the world involves armies of undead, sentient killer plants, and plagues that threaten global famine as he tries to wipe out all civilization to start over.

Astrolethe: For Astrolethe to betray the Hero, they must have ALL their lost memories restored, and the Hero must shout them down during the argument at the Astral Planetarium by using a disparaging, objectifying insult. Shouting an insult that is NOT dehumanizing, winning the argument via rational debate, or even losing the argument completely do not undermine their trust. Astrolethe threatens the world by attempting to launch satellites to bombard the surface with various weapons and occultech devices.

Claudia: For Claudia to betray the Hero, she has to be one step away from completing the Great Work. If she is two steps or more away, the temptation is not as strong, and if she has finished the Great Work, there is nothing to tempt her with. Claudia's threat to the world involves massive environmental damage as her Great Work goes wrong and the balance of nature is corrupted.

Erin: For Erin to betray the Hero, the Subliminal Transceiver project must still be operational and the Party must either not have discovered it or ignored it during mission planning. If the Hero treats it as a serious danger, jokes about using their own depraved thoughts as a weapon against the Transceiver, or jokes about the rest of the Party not reading their thoughts at certain times of day, Erin will not panic when the Transceiver starts working on the Party and will not lash out at the Hero. Erin's threat to the world involves armies of automatons modeled after the Hero and other members of the Party, and culminates in a fleet of airships bombing every major population center.

[everygame]

Guardians of the Galaxy (PS4)

Developed/Published by: Eidos Montreal / Eidos Released: 26/10/2021 Completed: 23/04/2023 Completion: Beat it. Trophies / Achievements: n/a

It sounds like a weird thing to say about a video game that is more correctly described as IP exploitation rather than a genuine creative work, but I was hoping for more from this.

I mean, I’m not sure why? I mean, I do know why, I’d heard the classic siren song of “it’s not as bad as people say” and for some reason that always makes me interested to play something. But Marvel’s video game output is inconsistent like the MCU never happened (well, because as far as the video games are concerned, it hasn’t) with different studios doing different things, like Square Enix bafflingly deciding the Avengers should have a games-as-a-service loot shooter, and because despite what the video games want to have you believe the MCU did happen, so an Avengers games-as-a-service loot shooter features a cast that look like they should be be standing outside Mann’s Chinese Theatre having their picture taken with tourists because all the actors were clever enough to not sign away their likeness rights.

Surprisingly–or perhaps, luckily–this doesn’t affect Guardians of the Galaxy too much, because most of the cast are aliens and everyone is sick of fucking Chris Pratt, so having another jerky looking white guy in the role barely matters. And I do think the design team made a genuinely good decision to just try and make a straight forward third-person shooter with a linear narrative and levels rather than giving in to the temptation to make some sort of open-world thing, even if the Guardians of the Galaxy’s wacky adventures might have suited more of a Mass Effect metagame, though that the game does try and include meaningful dialogue choices and Mass Effect-y squad combat mechanics.

It’s just that… It’s boring.

The team dynamic works–there’s constant chatter, and it’s honestly not that annoying. The needle drops are often funny (or at least, I was easily amused by them). But the pacing is all off, with long segments of what feels like just walking slowly from cut-scene to cut-scene, and then when you actually get to the combat it’s never, ever satisfying. I eventually gave up and bumped it down to the absolute easiest it could be and every enemy was still an insane bullet sponge, and the fact that you need to be constantly directing the other guardians to do things to make them cause any damage at all means there’s absolutely no flow. It’s entirely possible that the game’s stagger and elemental damage mechanics make killing enemies easier, but they’re poorly explained and as much as I thought I was using them correctly, maybe I wasn’t?

The game’s economy/upgrade system also doesn’t work; your upgrades for Star Lord are underwhelming and you will have them all by three quarters of the way through the game, meaning you can ignore the rest of the currency you find lying around the levels, and though there’s a limited number of guardian upgrades, you don’t really want more considering you can only use one at a time with cooldowns; you end up spamming a few favourites through the whole game anyway.

It’s all a bit of a bummer, because you can sort of feel that the team are trying to do something, it just doesn’t work. Maybe it was scheduling, pressure from the top or demands of the IP, but every little spark of fun in the writing or twists in the design are hammered down by the lengthy tedium of just grinding through the game, especially as the story is extremely underwhelming, suffering not just from some pretty picked over cliches but also really baffling character motivations at points.

Ironically, it’s only really that I have residual fondness for the characters/”IP” that carried me through this, which is a sorry state of affairs. Still, I’ve learned my lesson, even if it is being delisted I’m not touching The Avengers with a ten-foot barge pole.

Will I ever play it again? Why does a game like this have a New Game Plus, really? You unlock everything before you’ve even finished it! I’ll never look at this again, I doubt I’ll even think about it. Final Thought: The question is of course, is sitting through this worse than sitting through things like Ms. Marvel or She-Hulk? Trick question, you can look at your phone while those are on.

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi! You can pick up a digital copy of exp. 2600, a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.

[crazy-pages]

So here's the rules of economic participation on capitalism and political participation in imperialism: 1) The house always wins. 2) The system cannot be changed. 3) Power concentrations exist with or without your permission.

Now, two of those laws are lies. The house does not always win and the system can sometimes be changed, sometimes even broken. But the one law that is absolutely inviolable is that concentrations of power exist with or without your permission. Even in a perfect democracy with voluntarily chosen representatives, or an anarchy with only social recognition of informally elevated project leaders and people with trusted judgement, there will be people who can exert power regardless of your personal opinion on the matter.

There is no such thing as revoking consent to an economic or political system through inaction. It is going to act, unless you (or more practically a well organized group of you and like-minded others) do some specific action to stop it.

And if you don't have that ready to go, right now, no form of inaction revokes that permission. Billionaires and the state simply do not require your permission to act in the first place, it was never yours to give. You are not giving permission to the system by participating in what little choice it gives you, because you can't deny it that permission in the first place.

This is what we mean when we say "no ethical consumption under capitalism". There are individual purchasing choices which support less evil shit, sure, but ultimately it's all part of the same system. Even if your money goes to a perfectly morally pure co-op with equal distribution of profits, they're paying rent, they're buying from suppliers, your money is going to end up in the pockets of billionaires who are going to use it to continue enforcing the current system and horrifcally abuse people. You can choose your flavor of economic support for capitalism (and some people have greater privilege and flexibility in that than others), but the permission to reject it entirely through your purchases is denied to you.

The same applies to voting. You cannot deny permission for the system to exist because that's not yours to retract. Not voting is still permission, just a different flavor, because you cannot retract that permission by anything you do with your vote (including not using it). Even if you want to foment revolution and are actively working on that right now, not voting is still permission for the existing political structure to keep operating, as surely as voting is.

The third law is unalterable. You can act to change systems, but inaction is no less permission giving them action taken within thy context of the system. And, obviously, action taken outside a political system to dismantle it can coexist with one's minimal choices about how to steer the ship from within it. They aren't mutually exclusive.

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. But that doesn't mean you should invest in British Petroleum, and it also doesn't mean you should skip the city council meeting about whether to allow a Walmart into your small city. Because you what? Having a Walmart in town is going to make it a lot harder to organize local unions and get diehard socalist free housing lovers elected to city council.

[valueweaver]

Replacement Solutions for SAP Ariba: Unlocking Value with Value Weaver Consulting

In the ever-evolving landscape of procurement and supply chain management, businesses are increasingly looking for flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions to optimize their operations. While SAP Ariba has long been a popular choice for procurement management, its limitations in cost, customization, and ease of use have led many organizations to explore alternative solutions. At Value Weaver Consulting, we specialize in delivering tailored replacement solutions for SAP Ariba that not only align with your unique business needs but also unlock greater efficiency and value.

Why Consider Replacing SAP Ariba?

SAP Ariba is a robust procurement platform, but it’s not without its challenges. Businesses often encounter the following limitations:

High Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): SAP Ariba’s subscription costs and implementation fees can be prohibitive for small to mid-sized businesses.

Limited Customization: The platform’s rigid structure often hampers organizations from tailoring features to their specific workflows.

Complex Implementation: Implementing SAP Ariba can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, often requiring extensive training.

Integration Challenges: Businesses may struggle to seamlessly integrate SAP Ariba with existing enterprise systems and third-party applications.

Usability Concerns: Some users find the interface less intuitive compared to emerging alternatives, leading to lower adoption rates among employees.

These challenges make it imperative for businesses to explore innovative replacement solutions that address their specific pain points while enhancing operational efficiency.

Value Weaver Consulting: Your Partner for Smarter Procurement Solutions

At Value Weaver Consulting, we pride ourselves on being a trusted partner for businesses seeking to modernize their procurement processes. We offer end-to-end consulting and implementation services to identify, design, and deploy replacement solutions tailored to your organization’s needs. Here’s how we make the transition seamless:

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Every organization is unique, and so are its procurement requirements. We begin by conducting a thorough assessment of your current systems, workflows, and business goals. This analysis helps us identify areas for improvement and recommend solutions that align with your objectives.

Identifying the Right Replacement Solution

We work with a wide array of cutting-edge procurement platforms, including Coupa, Oracle Procurement Cloud, and Jaggaer. Our expertise allows us to evaluate and recommend the best alternative to SAP Ariba based on your budget, scalability requirements, and desired features.

Streamlined Implementation

Transitioning to a new platform can be daunting, but our proven implementation methodologies ensure a smooth migration. From data migration to user training, we manage the entire process to minimize disruptions and maximize ROI.

Customization and Integration

We understand that off-the-shelf solutions rarely meet all business needs. That’s why we focus on customizing your chosen platform to suit your workflows. Additionally, we ensure seamless integration with your existing ERP systems, CRM tools, and other enterprise applications.

Ongoing Support and Optimization

Our relationship doesn’t end after implementation. We provide continuous support to address any challenges you may encounter. Furthermore, we help you optimize your procurement processes through regular system updates, performance reviews, and feature enhancements.

Key Benefits of Our Replacement Solutions

Partnering with Value Weaver Consulting delivers tangible benefits, including:

Cost Savings: Our solutions are designed to lower your procurement platform’s total cost of ownership.

Improved Efficiency: Streamlined processes and intuitive interfaces lead to higher productivity and user adoption.

Enhanced Flexibility: Tailored features ensure that your procurement system adapts to your business, not the other way around.

Better Visibility: Advanced analytics and reporting tools provide actionable insights into your procurement performance.

Scalability: Our solutions grow with your business, ensuring long-term value.

For more details, you can visit us:

Professional Procurement Cost Savings Services

Procurement Cost Control Services in UK

Procurement Consulting Services

[jranimator]

Breaking Into the Music Industry: Essential Steps for Aspiring Artists

Breaking into the music industry can seem daunting, but with the right tools and strategies, it’s entirely achievable. Whether you’re an aspiring artist, producer, or someone who simply loves music, understanding the journey from creation to distribution is critical. This guide will provide you with the knowledge needed to navigate the music-making process, optimize your sound, and share your work with the world.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Music Making Studio

A solid foundation is key to any successful venture, and in music production, that means setting up the right music making studio. A professional studio doesn’t just give you access to high-quality equipment; it also provides an environment designed for creativity and focus.

When choosing or designing your studio, consider these factors:

Acoustic Treatment: Proper acoustics ensure accurate sound reproduction, which is vital for mixing and mastering.

Essential Equipment: Invest in a powerful computer, a digital audio workstation (DAW), high-quality microphones, and monitors.

Ergonomic Design: Your workspace should be comfortable and organized to keep creativity flowing.

Many artists today start with home studios, but as you advance, transitioning to a professional setup can make a huge difference in the quality of your output.

Step 2: Mastering Your Tracks – How Long Does It Take?

Once you’ve recorded your track, the next step is mastering. But how long does it take to master a song? This process involves fine-tuning the final mix to ensure consistency and clarity across all playback systems.

On average, mastering a song can take a few hours to a couple of days, depending on factors like:

Complexity of the Mix: Tracks with multiple layers and intricate arrangements require more time.

Experience of the Engineer: A seasoned mastering engineer may complete the process faster without compromising quality.

Revisions: Artists often request adjustments to achieve their desired sound, adding to the timeline.

Mastering ensures your music sounds professional, no matter where it’s played—from car stereos to high-end sound systems.

Step 3: Accessing Your Music on iPhones

For artists who want their music accessible anywhere, the question often arises: how do I get my music on my iPhone? Thankfully, transferring your tracks to an iPhone is straightforward.

Here are some of the most efficient methods:

iTunes Syncing: Use iTunes to transfer tracks from your computer to your device. This method is ideal for organizing large libraries.

Cloud Services: Platforms like iCloud or Google Drive allow you to upload and download your music files seamlessly.

Third-Party Apps: Apps like Dropbox or VLC Media Player enable file transfers without needing cables or syncing.

Having your music on your iPhone ensures you can share your work during impromptu opportunities or simply enjoy it on the go.

Step 4: Releasing Music on Apple Music

One of the best ways to reach a global audience is by learning how to get your music on Apple Music. Apple Music is a leading platform with millions of subscribers, making it an excellent choice for artists to showcase their work.

Steps to upload your music to Apple Music include:

Choose a Distributor: Platforms like TuneCore, DistroKid, or CD Baby act as intermediaries between you and Apple Music.

Prepare Your Files: Ensure your audio files meet Apple’s requirements (lossless formats like WAV are preferred).

Add Metadata: Proper metadata, including song titles, artist name, and genre, helps listeners find your music.

Release Strategy: Schedule your release strategically to maximize visibility, such as timing it with significant events or holidays.

Being on Apple Music not only gives your music credibility but also exposes it to a wide, diverse audience.

Step 5: Understanding EPs in Music

For emerging artists, releasing an EP is an excellent way to introduce your sound without committing to a full-length album. But what exactly does define EP in music mean?

An EP, or Extended Play, typically consists of 4-6 tracks. It’s longer than a single but shorter than an album, offering a middle ground for artists to showcase their versatility and creativity.

Here’s why an EP is valuable:

Cost-Effective: Producing an EP requires fewer resources than a full album, making it ideal for indie artists.

Focused Vision: With fewer tracks, artists can create a cohesive theme or concept.

Market Testing: EPs allow musicians to test the waters and gauge audience reactions before committing to a larger project.

Some of the most iconic records in music history began as EPs, proving their potential to launch successful careers.

Conclusion

Breaking into the music industry requires dedication, strategy, and a willingness to learn. From setting up a professional music making studio to mastering tracks and sharing your music on platforms like Apple Music, every step is an opportunity to grow and connect with your audience.

Remember, success doesn’t happen overnight. By consistently improving your craft and leveraging the tools at your disposal, you can carve out a space for yourself in the music world. What challenges have you faced on your music journey? Share your experiences in the comments!

[powershellblog]

Enhance Your PowerShell Automation with These 3 Third-Party Tools

PowerShell is an incredibly powerful tool that can help system administrators automate tedious tasks, manage servers, and streamline processes. However, as your automation tasks grow in complexity, PowerShell alone may not be enough to handle advanced features like error handling, logging, scheduling, and cross-platform automation. That’s where third-party tools come into play.

In this article, we’ll explore three popular third-party tools that can supercharge your PowerShell automation by adding powerful features, simplifying complex tasks, and enhancing overall efficiency. Whether you’re looking for better error management, cross-platform automation, or a more streamlined way to run and monitor your scripts, these tools will provide the extra power you need.

1. ScriptRunner: Take Control of Your PowerShell Automation

One of the biggest challenges in automating with PowerShell is ensuring that your scripts are error-proof, auditable, and easily accessible. ScriptRunner is a dedicated PowerShell automation platform that helps you manage, delegate, and monitor PowerShell scripts across your environment.

Key Features of ScriptRunner:

Script Library: Organize your PowerShell scripts into a centralized library. You can easily search, categorize, and manage your scripts in one place.

Delegation & Role-Based Access: Delegate script execution to other team members or even end-users without giving them full access to your systems. ScriptRunner allows you to set up role-based access control (RBAC), which ensures security while giving the right people the right level of access.

Error Handling and Logging: ScriptRunner automatically logs every action taken during script execution, providing you with detailed records. It also offers error handling features to ensure that your scripts run smoothly and with minimal interruptions.

Cross-Platform Support: Whether you're automating tasks on Windows, Linux, or macOS, ScriptRunner can run your PowerShell scripts across multiple platforms, making it easier to manage your entire environment.

By incorporating ScriptRunner into your workflow, you can automate with more security, better management, and peace of mind.

Why Choose ScriptRunner? ScriptRunner helps streamline script management, error handling, and automation in a way that enhances collaboration and makes scaling automation efforts much easier. If you're looking for a comprehensive platform that simplifies PowerShell automation, ScriptRunner is a fantastic choice.

2. Attune: Automate Across Multiple Nodes with Ease

If you're looking to automate PowerShell scripts across multiple servers or remote nodes, Attune is a great solution. This advanced orchestration and automation tool allows you to manage your scripts across different environments, making automation faster and more efficient.

Key Features of Attune:

Multi-Node Orchestration: With Attune, you can execute PowerShell scripts on multiple nodes simultaneously, whether those nodes are local or remote. This reduces the time spent on manual intervention and ensures consistency across your environment.

Real-Time Iteration: Attune allows you to debug and modify scripts on the fly while they’re running. This is incredibly helpful for rapid iteration, especially in complex environments.

Cross-Platform Support: Automate tasks across different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS, without rewriting your scripts.

Automatic Error Handling: Attune has built-in safeguards to handle errors automatically, so you don’t have to worry about interrupted tasks or incomplete automation.

By leveraging Attune for PowerShell automation, you can scale and automate tasks across multiple servers or nodes more quickly, with greater precision and fewer errors.

Why Choose Attune? Attune excels in environments where multi-node orchestration and real-time debugging are crucial. If you need to manage automation across various systems with seamless integration, Attune is a great tool to help accelerate your PowerShell automation.

3. Fortra Automate: No-Code Automation for PowerShell Scripts

Fortra Automate is an RPA (Robotic Process Automation) tool that complements PowerShell by offering no-code automation for tasks that would otherwise require complex scripting. It’s particularly useful for IT professionals who want to extend their automation capabilities without having to write every line of code manually.

Key Features of Fortra Automate:

Drag-and-Drop Interface: If you’re not a scripting expert or want to simplify your workflows, Fortra Automate’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to create automation workflows without writing complex scripts.

Cross-Platform Support: Fortra Automate supports both Windows and Linux systems, enabling you to run PowerShell scripts across multiple environments without issues.

Enhanced Security: PowerShell scripts often deal with sensitive data or perform critical tasks. Fortra Automate ensures that your scripts run securely with features like role-based security and audit logging.

Event-Based Triggers: Instead of manually running your PowerShell scripts, Fortra Automate allows you to set up event-based triggers, so your scripts run automatically based on specific conditions or events.

By integrating Fortra Automate with your PowerShell workflows, you can create robust automation with less manual effort, freeing up time for other important tasks.

Why Choose Fortra Automate? Fortra Automate is a great tool for IT professionals who want to simplify automation processes. Its no-code interface, combined with powerful PowerShell integration, makes it a versatile choice for automating everything from routine tasks to complex workflows.

Conclusion

While PowerShell is a powerful tool for automating IT tasks, using third-party tools can greatly enhance your automation capabilities. Whether you're looking for better error handling and logging, cross-platform support, or a no-code interface, there are several great tools available that can make your PowerShell scripts more efficient and easier to manage.

Here’s a quick summary of the tools mentioned:

ScriptRunner: Best for script management, delegation, and enhanced security features.

Attune: Ideal for multi-node orchestration and real-time iteration, especially in complex environments.

Fortra Automate: Perfect for IT professionals looking for no-code automation with PowerShell integration.

These tools can help you get the most out of your PowerShell scripts, enabling you to automate faster, more reliably, and with less hassle.

If you haven’t already, consider giving these tools a try to take your PowerShell automation to the next level!

By integrating these third-party tools, you’re not only enhancing your PowerShell automation but also enabling your team to work more efficiently and securely across a wide variety of environments.

Happy automating! 🚀

[goopgirlie813]

First, I want to say I appreciate the way you responded. I'm used to people just being snarky and rude, so I honestly didn't expect something as genuine as this.

So your first suggestion, "reevaluate what you think is hopeful or not." What exactly does that entail? How am I supposed to reevaluate when this is the most sensible approach I know? I think other parts of your answer may point to this already, but I am curious what exactly you had in mind with this comment.

To me, I have seen how little support third parties get in the means of actual votes, especially on a presidential level. My best understanding of why that is is our voting sytem: plurality voting. The spoiler effect means that voting for your true preference when there is a notably terrible option could contribute to a worse outcome than just settling for the meh choice.

https://youtu.be/yhO6jfHPFQU?si=zjeDyDlUpcEJjCDa

In my mind, as long as plurality voting exists, voting for a third party is to risky. Especially for someone like me who is nonbinary, married to a trans woman, has a trans sister, and has a friend group of 10+ with only 1 person who isn't queer and/or disabled. The republican option has the potential to cost me and my entire circle of loved ones our lives. Fighting to keep republicans out is fighting for our survival. Do you suggest that we sit silently, not advocating for the thing that may keep us safe? And if not, what tone should we be adopting? What is wrong with the way I speak now, presenting sources on relevant actions that influence my stance? I don't understand what you expect of us in this circumstance.

In my mind, the way to break the cycle you describe is not to just vote third party. My dad has voted third party his whole life and openly supports and encourages that. Yet nothing has come of lifetimes of actions like his.

The way out, if you ask me, is to replace plurality voting with a different voting system. I personally donate to and try to support the Equal Vote Coalition in favor of STAR voting. Becuase I think that is the path to breaking the cycle and giving the green party the opportunity to win elections. But we don't have that yet. So I'm going to advocate fiercely for what I think is best for my life and loved ones in this instance.

I fully agree with you that no lasting change will come without breaking the cycle. I do not, however, think that means there is anything wrong with participating as I do when things have not yet been changed to make my preferred path reasonable. That is something to do outside of the election context and not a necessary part of this particular conversation about the election specificaly, which is why I did not include it.

You have made may untrue assumptions about my beliefs and behavior in this response, which I do not appreciate. Such as that I only care during election time or that I am not trying to break the cycle. But I do understand where you are coming from.

And finally, thank you so much for the books suggestions. I've been listening to tons of audiobooks lately because my job lets me use headphones while I work, so this is literally the best possible time for book reccomendations 🙂. I'll certainly look into the Socialist Rifle Association, though I admit that I am still quite skeptical that a revolution is possible here (and, on some level, that I want one. I don't want to lose the people I love to war and I fear they would end up some of the first targets due to the nature of their marginalized identities).

You motherfuckers yes I hate Kamala too but when she is announced to be the Democratic candidate we are all going to shoot fireworks and go to the goddamn polls

[1projects12]

CodeIgniter Web Development Services For Businesses

In today's fast-paced digital world, businesses need reliable, scalable, and efficient web applications to stay ahead of the competition. When it comes to building web applications, CodeIgniter stands out as one of the best PHP frameworks available. For businesses looking to create high-performance websites and applications, hiring the right CodeIgniter development company can make all the difference. This is where Three G Logic, a trusted name in web development, comes into play. Let’s explore why Three G Logic is considered the best CodeIgniter development company for your next project.

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Why Partner with Three G Logic for CodeIgniter Web Development?

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Quality and security are our top priorities. Three G Logic ensures that every website or application we build using CodeIgniter is thoroughly tested for functionality, performance, and security. Our developers follow best practices to ensure that your web solution is not only high-quality but also secure from potential vulnerabilities.

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How Three G Logic Can Help Your Business Grow

By partnering with Three G Logic, you are not just hiring a CodeIgniter development company – you are choosing a reliable, long-term partner who is dedicated to your business's success. We believe in building strong relationships with our clients and helping them grow through the power of web technology. Whether you are a startup looking to build your first website or an established business aiming to upgrade your online presence, we are here to help you every step of the way.

Conclusion: Make the Right Choice with Three G Logic

When it comes to CodeIgniter development services, there’s no better choice than Three G Logic. Our experience, expertise, and commitment to quality make us the best CodeIgniter development company for businesses looking to build powerful, scalable, and secure web applications. From custom solutions to ongoing support, we offer everything you need to succeed online.