#be put in charge of any large scale creative project

[heyclickadee]

I still think the funniest way—the funniest way, mind you, not the right one—to adapt The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck to television would be to make some of the exact same necessary tweaks to the plot, pacing, and (maybe) characterization that you’d need to do with an animated adaptation but otherwise keep most things more or less the same, change the title of the show and change the names of the characters to be less ducky, make everyone human and cast David Tennant in the lead role, and turn it into an old HBO style prestige series. Same story (sans those small and maybe one big plot changes), same characters, but don’t market it as an adaptation. See what everyone (besides the duck comic fans watching, who will have figured it out by then) does when a guy named Donald shows up with triplets in the second-to-last episode.

[devsgames]

Hey! Was just wondering, what are (in your opinion) the reasons for making games as a solo dev or small indie team in today's game industry / climate?

I read so much about how difficult it is and why you shouldn't (which is fair, to set expectations) -- but rarely hear the other side.

Hi! Thanks for the ask! 🙂

Prefacing with the obvious: the reason you hear so much about how difficult it is is usually because it's very difficult, and the redeeming parts don't often outweigh the hard parts. You'll usually have all the work on your plate that a regular dev would and then some. It also depends a lot on what exactly your team, context and personal work preferences are.

To your question: Maybe this is a hot take, but on the whole I'd argue there's not a huge difference between working with a smaller team and a big one because most of the problems in the game industry aren't a factor of team/studio/project size but rather the way the game industry works itself (and obligatory mention: capitalism). Those systems don't change much no matter how small the studio/team gets, so generally all the same pros and cons will exist independent of team size because they're all trying to work in the same patterns of constraints. Plus, small studios typically emulate industry-standard practices established by larger studios (tight turnaround times, hierarchical team structures, publisher deals etc), and that means they're usually subject to all the same issues even if they're a smaller team.

A tiny indie studio team can be a toxic cishet, white male dominated studio as easily a AAA studio (I'd argue this is often more likely to be the case), mismanagement is just as likely at a small scale, a worker can have to put in as much crunch work as a massive studio pushing for deadlines does, teams might be chronically undervalued and underpaid in both environments, small studios might operate off of exploiting the labour of outsourcing studio in the Global South, etc.

I think team/studio size most directly effects a person's relative workload to a project's scope, and isn't much of an indicator for stuff like team health, working practices, and the like - this makes a question of 'how are small teams better' hard to answer because...they're not better or worse. At least not implicitly.

I think also lots of little indies conflate "my team is like [x]" as "every indie team is like [x]", which is never true because it changes a lot depending on a lot of factors surrounding the team, studio, project and so on. You can have a AAA studio that meets many people's needs and is generally a healthy place to work, just as you can have a tiny studio rampantly full of horrible people who constantly want to kill each other. Point being, I think it's less dependent on size as it is patterns of operation. While small size might helps identify issues more readily, it doesn't guarantee improvement.

Anyway, just so I'm not saying "it depends", here is what I perceive as some pros you might encounter at smaller teams (others might not see all these as pros):

The reasons for making games is always the same - we like games/art and wanna make them. I think that's a good reason for creating any art at any scale!

Smaller team size often means less people to work on specific tasks, so your day to day will involve doing a wider array of things than it would while working in a huge studio where your role is hyper-specialized. As an LD on a small team I might be scripting, doing layouts, coding level systems, lighting passes, etc, where as on a large team I'd be working on the same level layout for 8 hours every day. Smaller teams give more opportunity to build cross-disciplinary skills like this.

You'll likely have more opportunities for creative input or for your voice to be heard as an individual in a small team as you'll be working more directly with directors and people in charge. Whether or not they are open to that input is a different story.

You'll get to know more people outside your own discipline, as opposed to just people you directly work with. You'll also know the people around you much more intimately than you would with a larger team.

Your lead (providing your team is large enough to have one) will (usually) have less people under them, which means more time to dedicate to your needs.

From my experience that's all the bigger stuff I can think of!

To speak to 'today's industry and climate' - I'm not sure of many advantages small teams hold there honestly. Unless you're entirely self-funded (most studios aren't) you're just as likely to get laid off or suddenly shut down by funding cuts on a small team as you would on a large team, so there's not much exceptionalism there. I think small teams struggle with marketing and fighting oversaturation even more, so they don't hold much ground on that front either.

For myself working solo, I hated feeling like a cog in a machine and just doing the same thing day after day. I like variety and being challenged, but hate work processes that are inefficient. I also have developed a lot of trauma from the industry (can you tell 😅) and over time have often found myself growing absolutely miserable working at every studio I've worked at in the past. I've found working alone has given me a happy medium that allows me to prioritize what I want to prioritize as well as make the things that I want to put out into the world, without being mismanaged or exploited into oblivion. That being said I still don't make rent, so I wouldn't say it's preferable to working at a studio for most people without a safety net or Plan B.

I do however think there are tangible and notable advantages to stability in structures which fundamentally challenge how the industry works, such as worker-owned structures (like co-ops) and the like. However, that's less a question of team size and more about how a studio operates foundationally in opposition to the way the industry pressures expect things to work.

Anyway, sorry this is a bit of a rant! I think small studios are good for more interpersonal relations between folks, but unfortunately I wouldn't say there's much that team size implicitly impacts outside of that.

[altur24]

Making concrete steps towards solving the climate crisis right now!

Dear readers, I continue to familiarize you with the positive activities of the International Public Movement “ALLATRA”. I will tell you how communication, joint work among the participants of different countries take place.  

Modern technologies allow people to communicate online at any time. What is remarkable about communication in chats of collective work of ALLATRA volunteers on projects, that practically the work continues 24\7. Why? Because in one project people from different parts of the world are involved, time zones are different and where it is morning in the other end it is already evening. That's why everyone can join ALLATRA creative projects at any time.

Also participants of the International social movement ALLATRA meet at events. An integral part of communication remains friendly meetings of volunteers, as they say live to discuss the most important social projects. Dialogue between people takes place in a very friendly and constructive atmosphere. And this is noted by everyone who has been to such meetings in person or has been able to join master classes and conferences online. “First of all, I would like to explain my inner state. Perhaps it's love and gratitude for being here with these people. Because everyone is so open, so friendly!” - notes a participant of the event who came to the meeting from Canada. 

Everyone wants to live in a happy, peaceful society where there is confidence in the future. No one wants to suffer or die, including from climate disasters. That is why not indifferent people from all over the world are taking the initiative and making concrete steps towards solving the climate crisis right now! The ALLATRA MOU provides the necessary platform for uniting joint efforts and open dialog between people all over the planet. 

Large-scale events of both global and local significance show the magnitude and practical benefits that ALLATRA brings to the world. Such events, activities that volunteers create are a reflection of the determination of a huge number of people from different countries, speaking different languages, but united by a single noble goal - to solve the climate crisis and create peace for future generations. And as we can see, there are no barriers for people who dare to make a decision and take the responsibility to bring positive changes in our world.

In order for each person who joins to feel confident, important and necessary in a huge team of like-minded people there are a lot of volunteer master classes to share experience from professionals in absolutely different areas: editing video and audio materials, conducting interviews, working with voice, writing articles and many, many other useful lessons, which people are free of charge and gladly conduct for everyone who wants! And everyone can put this knowledge into practice right away by participating in filming, translating into foreign languages, conducting interviews and live broadcasts. 

 We, ALLATRA volunteers, understand perfectly well how much depends on us now, so we should act accordingly - regardless of anything right here and now! After all, the life of all Mankind depends on it! 

You can familiarize yourself with the activities of ALLATRA on the official website 

allatra.org

JOIN US!

allatra.org

#AllatraTV #tv #media #ALLATRA #master=class #people #climate #democracy #news #project #future #world #united #informing #person #action #positive #union #initiative #global #social

[agencyxs747]

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[advanceagility]

Prepare for the Future With These 7 Must-Have Scrum Master Certifications

Introduction

You're thinking about getting a Scrum master certification. Good choice! The Scrum Alliance reports that scrum master is the fastest-growing role in IT today. And with scrum master certification growing in popularity, there are more and more options to choose from.

So which one should you pick? We've put together a list of 7 of the most in-demand Scrum master certifications for 2023. Keep reading to learn more about each one and find the perfect fit for you.

What Is a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master is someone who leads and oversees the Scrum process—a project management framework that helps teams deliver products in a more efficient and effective way. They're responsible for ensuring that the team is productive and stays on track, while also ensuring that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities.

If you're thinking of pursuing a Scrum Master certification, it's important to know which ones are in demand. That's why we've put together this list of the seven most sought-after certifications for 2023. Keep reading to learn more!

What Are the Benefits of Becoming a Scrum Master?

The benefits of becoming a Scrum Master are vast. You can expect to make more money, have more job security, and be in high demand. But there are other benefits as well.

For starters, Scrum Masters are in charge of making sure that teams are productive and efficient. They do this by implementing scrum, which is a framework for managing projects. This allows teams to be more flexible, adaptive, and creative.

In addition, scrum masters are responsible for ensuring that teams meet deadlines and deliver on expectations. They also help teams manage change, handle conflicts, and resolve issues. This makes them invaluable members of any team.

What Are the Different Types of Scrum Master Certifications?

There are three types of Scrum Master Certifications: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), and Certified Agile Coach (CAC).

The most common certification is the CSM, which is offered by the Scrum Alliance and is the certification that Scrum.org offers. The CST is a certification offered by Scrum.org that designates a holder as a trainer of Scrum. The CAC designation is offered by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is for coaches who work with agile teams.

SAFe® Scrum Master

The fourth Scrum Master certification that you should consider for 2023 is the SAFe® Scrum Master certification, also known as SSM. This is an advanced certification from the Scaled Agile Framework, which focuses on providing guidance and support to organizations in large-scale Agile software development projects.

The SSM certification offers insights into how to successfully implement Scrum-based approaches across a large team or organization. The framework emphasizes leading with an Agile mindset, applying Lean-Agile principles, applying the servant leadership model, and facilitating interactions between stakeholders.

The certificates also cover topics such as scrum accumulation, scaling scrum in complex environments, using effective program management techniques, and understanding enterprise systems engineering principles. To earn this certification you must pass both an online assessment and a virtual or in-person exam.

Professional Scrum Master™ I & II (PSM I & PSM II)

If you are looking for an advanced Scrum certification, then you should consider the Professional Scrum Master™ I & II (PSM I & PSM II). This is a two-part certification that gives you the knowledge and skills to manage multiple scrum teams in an agile environment.

The first part is called Professional Scrum Master I and covers the basics of Scrum, including roles and processes. The second part, Professional Scrum Master II, focuses on more advanced topics like Sprints, Release Planning, and Continuous Improvement. Once you've completed these two courses, you can apply to become a certified professional scrum master.

This certification is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to help managers coordinate multiple teams in an agile environment. It's also highly valued by many employers and provides a good career foundation for those interested in pursuing a career as a Scrum master or Project Manager.

Scrum@Scale Practitioner

Are you looking for a certification that stands out from the crowd? Then look no further than the Scrum@Scale Practitioner certification. This advanced credential is designed to teach you the framework and principles of scaling Scrum across multiple teams and organizations.

This certification requires that you have two years of experience with Scrum, as well as experience with implementations, product ownership, team coaching, and agile leadership. During the course, you’ll learn about planning complex delivery cycles, applying agile practices in larger organizations, and mastering techniques for scaling effectively.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to apply Scrum@Scale to various projects and organizations with confidence. If you’re looking to take your Scrum knowledge to the next level this year, then this is definitely a great option to consider!

Certified Agile Leadership Program (CALP)

Ending this list is the Certified Agile Leadership Program (CALP). This program is designed to help leaders develop the skills and knowledge to coach and mentor their teams, and create an environment of collaboration and trust. This certification is becoming increasingly popular due to the rise in remote working, as leaders need to build trust with their team members without the benefit of face-to-face contact.

The CALP certification consists of four parts: an online course, an e-book, a virtual training seminar, and an online leadership assessment. This certification offers some great benefits for those looking to become a Scrum Master, such as the ability to understand organizational culture and dynamics, improve communication skills, effectively manage stakeholders and build relationships with team members. The CALP certification also teaches you how to handle conflict resolution, provide feedback in a timely manner, and promote effective team collaboration.

FAQ’s

·      Q- What Is Scrum?

It's a framework for managing projects. But it's also so much more than that. When done correctly, it can help optimise workflow, improve communication between team members, and even increase productivity.

·      Q- What is a Scrum Master?

The Scrum Master is the facilitator of the scrum team. Their main responsibility is to remove any impediments that may prevent the team from achieving its objectives. This includes removing roadblocks and helping the team maintain its focus.

·      Q- What is the fundamental role of Scrum Master?

The Scrum Master ensures that the team adheres to the Scrum framework and follows the principles of agile software development. They are responsible for the overall productivity and efficiency of the team.

Summary

If you are looking to get a scrum master certification in the next few years, then be sure to check out some of these highly sought after credentials. They will give you the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in this field. And who knows, maybe by 2023 you will be one of the most sought-after scrum masters in the industry!

About Advance Agility

We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium and large organization across the globe. Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients, move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting human centric approach to business agility. Embracing the change is in our DNA. Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End-to-end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitor.

Connect with us at advanceagility.com to learn about SAFe and SAFe Implementation. We provide various SAFe certification courses along with DevOps, Scrum, Agile Coaching and more trainings. Write to us at contact@advanceagilty.com for any agile training or consulting needs. We are always looking for competent agile trainers as well. So if you are a good trainer or want to become one, do get in touch with us to that we can learn, grow and achieve together.

[ct-multifandom]

MLB ideas/hopes/predictions/prompts

Bunnix using her umbrella to fly like Mary Poppins

Ladybug coming up with an overly convoluted Rube Goldberg machine type plan with her lucky charm, but not having some of the components, so she just sends Pegasus to the store in the middle of a battle

Characters who are close slowly finding out about each other’s superhero identities in funny ways

Pigella picking up something massive and like 10x heavier than her and chucking it

I really want one of these heroes’ tools to be a comically large anime-style weapon, but alas I don’t think they’d do it

Season finale boss fight featuring all the new heroes, which is totally gonna happen at some point, but it would look really busy on screen to have them all running around at once, so I’d split them into smaller teams based on their skills to carry out specific parts of Ladybug’s Epic 36-Step Plan™️. It would make for a satisfying “oh yeah, it’s all coming together” montage and also give us some unique character interactions.

Ladybug picking unique combo teams of new heroes based on their skills to fight specific strong villains

Alya starting a school paper and getting the whole team in on it. I love the episodes where the class does one big project together, they’re so cute.

Someone/a group getting akumatized on purpose to disobey Hawkmoth and take advantage of their akuma’s power for a noble goal

Episode from the POV of a boring background character detailing how the life of the average Parisian is affected by LB and CN. Unreliable scheduling, monster traffic jams, the sheer embarrassment of getting got by an akuma...

I want an animal to get akumatized. Someone’s dog who feels lonely when their favorite human gets a new, demanding job and turns into a terrifying Cerberus beast or something.

Mayor Bourgeois allocates some taxpayer dollars into a LB bank account to support her, and she has to make the very important decision on whether to save it for a real emergency or buy 17 hamburgers.

Okay part of me doesn’t want to make kwami/future hero predictions in case I accidentally come up with something way cooler than what will really happen and then be disappointed, but the other part of me is like hee hoo predikshun. So don’t expect these to actually happen lol.

I won’t talk about Multimouse because we kinda know everything about her, but she looks cute and it’s nice to see two heroes who aren’t super skinny.

The silhouette of Minotaurox in the intro doesn’t offer a lot of insight other than his epic horns. I have no idea what his tool might be. His costume looks to be pretty simple/practical, though, which is in line with Ivan’s character. I heard a theory that his power will be increasing in size, and it makes sense looking at Stoneheart and the pattern of flipping the characters’ flaws on their head, but that sounds kind of boring to me, especially compared to all the other creative abilities.

Tigresse’s silhouette makes me think her design will be awesome. Her tail looks like it might be her tool. It kind of resembles Amethyst’s whip from SU so maybe she can use it to grab things like Ladybug does with her yo-yo. I heard a theory that her power will be invisibility which I support because it takes the flaw that turned Juleka into Reflekta (wanting to be invisible out of insecurity) and makes it powerful like the stealth of a tiger.

From the silhouette, Caprikid looks a bit like a beginner’s Trollhunters cosplay, but I’m sure he’ll be cool. I’ve seen people argue whether he’s Nate or Marc and I’m positive he’s Marc (making Nate CC) so if anyone asks for an explanation I’ll make the comprehensive post on why. He’s holding his tool, and I’ve seen debate over which direction it’s in. If he’s holding it pointed up it looks like a giant calligraphy brush, but I think he’s holding it pointed down and the “brush” is just a decoration on the end. I’ve heard a theory that it’s a shepherd’s cane which is my favorite one. Personal idea here: I’d make his power telekinesis. Pretty basic, but I can imagine it being very useful for the type of scenarios we see in the show without it being OP. I like the idea of using a cane to “shepherd” something through the air. This could reflect Reverser’s desire for control, but flip it to be more collected and useful.

I fully support Coq Courage’s ninja pants, they are simply Correct. It’d be cool if his tool was a bow and arrow, and that seems like a pretty popular theory. The shape to the left of his torso looks like it might be a quiver but it’s probably just his other arm. Thumb rings are used in archery, but what little we’ve seen of the miraculous (disguised on Marinette and Chloe) shows a different type of ring. Still tho. Also get ready for my crazy never-gonna-happen idea: the bow can turn into a hang glider. Roosters can fly, but not super well/freely, which could translate to gliding. It’d add some versatility to the way the heroes move around since a lot of the temporary ones can only run, and it would let him reach places LB might not be able to. I’ve heard a theory that his power will be supersonic voice which could contrast how Nathaniel is bad at communicating and quiet until he gets mad and blows up.

Orikko might be the kwami of illumination. Roosters are associated with the sun and Evillustrator’s power was sourced from light. At first I thought his transformation words might be “sunrise” and “sunset” but someone said the activation code could be “rise and shine” which sounds awesome.

Traquemoiselle, believe it or not, is actually in the intro, she’s just hidden at the very top and only a snippet of the head is showing. All we know is that she has round dog ears. Barrk is surprisingly one of the more fleshed-out kwamis as of now, having a few solid lines of characterization in Furious Fu. Kwamis are usually yin-yang to their holder, so Barrk fits Sabrina perfectly, being loyal yet independent while Sabrina is loyal and an absolute doormat. No clue about her tool. Her power is kinda in the name: tracking. Maybe she can track down some one specific thing of her choice, but maybe she can sniff out akumas. As seen in Dark Owl and Gang of Secrets, Hawkmoth can be creative with akuma placement, so she can probably save the team from some close calls.

I have no theories for the transformation words of the other kwamis. Ziggy or Stompp could include “horns” or “charge” and Roaar “stripes” but I can’t think of any phrase including those words that isn’t too similar to an existing one. There are some phrases based on powers, though, not the animal. Or maybe they’ll just give up and give us another iteration of “Sass, scales slither”.

I think the theme for one of these remaining new heroes might be “assertion”. A lot of them struggle with that as their civilian selves, and the animals that are left can all be associated with independence/dominance, not that the animal traits always play into what the heroes are.

Ok last one, long one: in season 3, Luka’s main traits were “cool and nice” which doesn’t make for an interesting, complex major character, and at first he seemed like the perfect love interest, but from an outside perspective the extent of his kindness is kind of disturbing. I’m hoping they can flip this around and turn it into a character flaw where he has practically no boundaries, and it turns into a problem. Maybe he could agree to run random errands for the background characters for nothing in return, and at first it’s just him being nice, but later people start seeing his help as an obligation. They get peeved when he’s unavailable one day and get akumatized into a “boss rush” of classic akumas, effectively trapping and forcing him to help them. Then Tigresse Pourpe comes and helps save the day, expanding on Juleka and Luka’s relationship. The resolution can teach kids that putting yourself first isn’t necessarily selfish, and that sitting back and letting people take advantage of your kindness isn’t heroic.

There’s probably some stuff I forgot which I can put in a different post later, but lmk if you want a separate post about any of these things in more detail! This was just me rambling out all my new hyperfixation thoughts. Also if anyone uses any of the hypotheticals/scenarios as a prompt I’d love to see it.

[writinginstardust]

An Unexpected Christmas

Pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz x reader

Prompt(s):  my family invites you to join our holiday meal as an obvious setup and i’m so sorry

Warnings: pretty sure there’s some swearing

A/N: Thanks to @writingbychelle for requesting this prompt! As you can tell by the word count, I had a lot of fun with this one and got very carried away.

Word Count: 3484

*

The White House Christmas party could either be the most entertaining or dullest event of the year and it was in full swing right now. Fortunately this year it was erring on the side of entertaining, mostly due to the increased presence of people my own age. The White House trio in particular. They were respectable - you had to be - but by god were they good at livening up a bunch of boring politicians. The ones that needed a little livening anyway. Some, I knew, could do it on their own.

Alex, June, and Nora. I envied them sometimes. They always had each other and they positively shone in the spotlight, unlike me. I tended to slide into the background alone and for the most part I didn’t mind. I’d been dragged to these things for half my life, one or both of my parents having held high offices since Obama was first elected, and for most of those years there’d been no one my own age I’d really managed to make friends with. I’d always been alone at parties and desperately tried to hide from anyone who wanted to engage in any sort of political discussion or ask about my future. Which was just about everyone. 

I knew my parents ambitions for me, everyone did. And they all would have assumed whether my parents had said a thing or not. But that was never what I wanted. It came as quite a shock when word got out that I was going to Georgetown to study art with a minor in creative writing. It’s funny. Maybe if I’d followed in my parents’ footsteps I’d actually be friends with Alex and not alone at this party.

It’s not as though I never spoke to any of them, we saw each other constantly at state functions where there generally weren’t many other young people to talk to since we were usually the only ones living in DC, but I knew I wasn’t exactly their first port of call for entertainment. They had each other and I had a 10 year old coping mechanism. And that was fine. It was all very fine. I was used to it. I just kind of wished things were different.

“(Y/N)!” June’s voice drew my attention and she beckoned me over to where she was talking to Nora and Alex. 

“Hey,” I offered them all a smile when I reached them, noticing that June and Nora both looked way too pleased and Alex ever so slightly uncomfortable. Huh, that was odd.

“Enjoying the party?”

“It’s one of the better ones I’ve been to. Half the interns are already drunk as are the Attorney General and Defence Secretary and I heard someone mention karaoke so hopefully it will be spectacular.”

“Karaoke?” Nora asked in surprise.

“Yep. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I have a lot of questions.”

“And I have a lot I could tell you.”

“Not right now though.” June interrupted. Alex, surprisingly, hadn’t said anything yet. That was weird. 

“You’re right. Ask her then,” Nora prompted. I looked back at June expectantly.

“Mom heard that you’re not going away with your parents for Christmas?”

“Unfortunately not. They get to enjoy the Bahamas and I’m stuck slaving over an assignment.” Normally I wouldn’t mind but my art professor had been in a rather cruel mood and set the class a 10,000 word paper and a large scale practical project right before Christmas break. All because someone laughed when he tripped on the way into class.

“Well, she wants to invite you to spend Christmas with us instead so you’re not all on your own. Unless you already made other plans, that is.”

“No...I, uh, had nothing planned.” Surprised at the invitation, the words were out of my mouth before I could really consider their consequences.

“So you’ll come? Mom is pretty insistent so if you’re saying no, I’m making you tell her yourself.” Well, looked like I was spending Christmas at the White House then. It’s difficult to say no to a president, especially when that president is Ellen Claremont.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Brilliant!” June was positively gleeful. “I’ll go tell mom.” She spun on her heel and took off to the other side of the room, Nora trailing behind her. That left me alone with Alex who was still uncharacteristically quiet.

“Are you alright?” I asked when the silence started getting awkward. “You haven’t said a word.”

“I am so so sorry.”

“Why?”

“Why on Earth did you say yes?” He asked rather than answering my question. “You must have realised what that was.” 

And I had. It was a very obvious and deliberate attempt at a set-up. Just about everyone apparently thought that we’d be great for each other and I knew everyone badgered Alex about it all the time. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we’d never really managed to become proper friends. I didn’t have it so bad. I was an only child and most of the people I really cared to talk to knew very little about this part of my life. There was the odd comment from my parents but they knew by now that I wouldn’t just go along with what they planned or thought best for me. I’d overheard enough to know Alex wasn’t so lucky.

“They caught me off-guard. It’s not ideal, I know, but it’s better than the Christmas I was in for otherwise.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think about that. It’s going to be unbelievably awkward you know?”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“How can it not be?”

“Just try to ignore it all.” I sighed. “Look, I know it will still be a bit awkward no matter what we do-”

“A bit? Do you realise how relentless my family are?”

“I know. But maybe we should just actually talk. Get to know each other a bit. It might make it more bearable.”

“Or less.”

“Alex, like it or not, we’re stuck in this situation now, we might as well make the best of it. Maybe this will give us a chance to actually become friends.”

“Friends, huh?”

“Yeah. I mean, if everyone thinks we should get together then there must be something compatible about us. We could try and be friends rather than having whatever this is.”

He knew what ‘this’ I was referring to. Whatever was between us. Neither of us really knew what it was or what to call it. We weren’t friends. It wasn’t some weird sexual tension. We were more than mere acquaintances too. A couple of young people in the same position who talked and occasionally got drunk together but had no significant attachment to each other (well…) was about the closest description. Whatever ‘this’ was, I didn’t want it.

“Okay. Let’s see how this goes.”

*

It went pretty well in the end. 

I woke early on Christmas morning, hours before I needed to think about leaving for the White House, I always did. Trying to sleep again would be futile so I rolled out of bed and went to make myself pancakes, shooting off a quick message to Alex to check the time and what I should wear on the way. It was a valid question. Some people dressed up, some didn’t leave their pyjamas, I didn’t want to be over or underdressed. I put the kettle on and felt my phone buzz in my pocket. It was Alex. I had a text from him timestamped at 3am and it was 7am now. Did he sleep at all?

It was still weird - getting texts from Alex. He’d taken my suggestion of friends to heart and had been texting me about all sorts at all hours of the day and night for the past week. It was odd, but nice. And I - and by extension, everyone - was right. We had a lot in common. 

I checked his text.

Alexander the not-so-great: I’m already up so come by whenever. Dinner at 1 though so before then.

Me: Okay. Making pancakes now, see you in a couple of hours?

Alexander the not-so-great: ...If I come over, can I have pancakes?

Me: Sure.

I froze. Had I seriously just invited him over for breakfast? I read the text again. Yes. Yes, I had. Okay. This wasn’t weird at all. Too late to do anything about it now though. 

10 minutes later I heard a car pulling up outside. That would be him.

“Merry Christmas!” I smiled as I opened the door for him, trying to look as if I wasn’t freaking out a bit at this turn of events.

“Hey,” he smiled back and I swear that smile didn’t used to do the things it was doing to me now.

“Come in, food is nearly ready.” I stepped back so he and one of his security team could come inside. I couldn’t help feeling bad for the woman that was stuck coming out here with him so early in the morning.

Breakfast turned out not to be as awkward as I’d anticipated, in fact it was quite nice. I hadn’t actually seen Alex since the Christmas party last week but thankfully we were getting on as well in person as we had been over text. Better, even.

“Okay, I need to go take a shower,” I said when we’d finished washing up our plates. “Wi-Fi password is on the router in the living room through there if you want it. Just make yourself at home while I get ready.” We wandered out into the hall and I started up the stairs before pausing and adding. “Guest bathroom is at the end of the hall upstairs and the door next to it is the guest room, you can use anything you need in there. There’s towels and stuff if you need a shower or anything.”

“Is this your way of telling me I stink?” He asked with a teasing smile.

“No worse than usual.” I grinned back and finished climbing the stairs, Alex’s laughter following me until my bedroom door shut between us.

I tried to get ready quickly, feeling as though I was keeping him waiting somehow even though he’d said there was no rush. I managed to shower in record time but that was all I got done quickly. Everything seemed to have gone missing, my hairbrush, moisturiser, toothbrush - which I could have sworn I left charging on my desk, and half my clothes. Maybe I should have tidied my room a bit over the past few weeks, but to be fair, I had a lot of work to do and keeping my things tidy wasn’t much of a priority.

Kicking a pile of clothes to the side, I freed my underwear draw and managed to find a clean set to wear. That was something at least. I looked in my wardrobe, at what was the only selection of clothes I knew for sure were clean, and tried to find an outfit in there somewhere. There was a cute dress or two, but I still wasn’t sure if that was too formal, and a few paint covered t-shirts, some jeans, all my party clothes, and a few shirts. I could probably find something that would work but I needed to check with Alex first. I tried texting him but he didn’t answer. Of course the one time I needed a reply, he was ignoring his phone.

With a huff, I threw on my bathrobe and went downstairs to find him. He wasn’t in the living room or the kitchen and his security was still here so he hadn’t left. I asked her if she knew where he was and she told me he’d gone to the bathroom. Thanking her, I padded back upstairs to intercept him on his way out. That turned out to be a mistake. 

The bathroom door opened and Alex stepped out. Apparently he’d taken me up on my offer of the shower and I was having a hard time deciding if I was happy about that or not. On the one hand, the sight of him still slightly damp with water dripping from his hair and a towel slung low on his hips was fucking glorious. On the other, the sight of him like that was probably going to kill me.

I could feel my cheeks burning as I tried and failed to keep my eyes on his face and not his annoyingly toned abs but I could tell he noticed as he smirked at me. Asshole.

“Can I do something for you?” Yeah. He could take the fucking towel off. I swallowed those words that got alarmingly close to spilling out of my mouth.

“Yeah. I wanted to ask what I should wear. I’m a bit low on options but I don’t want to be overdressed or anything.”

“What have you got?” And I definitely shouldn’t have, especially not now, but I gestured for him to come into my room and take a look.

“Sorry about the mess. It’s not usually like this,” I apologised when I saw how taken aback he looked. I pointed at my open wardrobe. “That’s the only stuff I know for sure is clean.” He considered for a moment before pulling out one of the slightly more casual party dresses along with a cardigan.

“This should be fine. Don’t bother with heels or anything though, just put some sneakers with it.”

“Thanks.” I took the clothes from him and shooed him away. “Go away now. I can’t get dressed with you in here.”

“You sure?” He winked and I smacked his arm, rolling my eyes.

“If I’d have known this was what being your friend entailed, I never would have suggested it.”

“That hurts.”

“You’ll live. Now go get dressed.”

“Sure you want me to?” He winked at me again and in all honesty, I wasn’t sure but I needed him to if I was going to stay sane.

“Oh my god, just go.” He grinned at me one last time before I shut the door on him and let out a deep breath. Alex Claremont-Diaz was going to be the absolute death of me.

*

We got to the White House just before nine and the rest of the family were up and waiting in the living room. And that was something interesting to walk into. Never in my life did I think I’d see President Ellen Claremont half asleep on the floor in her pyjamas. There were some very meaningful looks aimed our way when we walked in together and I could tell we were both regretting turning up at the same time. It was too late to do anything about it though.

“So that’s where you disappeared off to this morning,” June said with a smirk.

“Well I had to do something while I waited for you all to wake up.” There were raised eyebrows at that and Alex froze for a moment as he realised how that might have sounded. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

No one bothered to respond to that and just shifted to make space on the floor by the tree for us, failing to repress their smirks when they basically forced us to sit together. Alex really hadn’t been exaggerating about how bad his family was with this.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone had got me gifts to, and good ones. They apparently knew me better than I’d thought. Thankfully I’d managed to find something for everyone too, though I doubted my gifts were quite as good. But it’s the thought that counts after all.

Soon after the presents were done everyone headed back to their rooms to get dressed, once again leaving Alex and I alone. I didn’t miss the wink June threw our way as she left and pointedly shut the door behind her. I kind of wanted to die.

“I am definitely starting to understand why you seemed so horrified by this idea,” I groaned when the door clicked shut.

“I did warn you.”

“Yeah, after I’d already agreed.”

“You could have just said there was a change of plan.”

“You try telling your mother that.”

“...Okay, you have a point.” I sighed and laid down on the rug. 

“It could be worse. At least they’re not saying anything embarrassing yet.”

“Give them time.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“With good reason. I hope you’re ready for this.” And, like a fool, I thought I was.

Christmas lunch passed agonisingly slowly with meaningful glances thrown both my way and Alex’s from Zahra and every member of the family. The food was great though and it was still enjoyable when I was able to ignore the looks and immerse myself in the conversation but even that didn’t last long. Leo just had to ask about both our love lives. Alex managed to field most of the questions and more than once I saw him shoot his family murderous looks which made them drop it for a few minutes. I appreciated the attempts.

Drinking and ridiculous games followed for the rest of the day and I lost track of time, enjoying everyone’s company even if they were still giving us looks and comments. I found myself minding less and less the longer I was there though. It sure wouldn’t be the worst thing to get together with Alex and honestly the idea was becoming very appealing. 

11pm rolled around. Eyes started drooping, conversations died down, and murmurs about heading to bed started up. I was half asleep myself, leaning on Alex’s shoulder and not really caring anymore what anyone might think, and dreading the prospect of getting up and making my way home. I’d gotten a lift with Alex from my house and I was regretting it now. Either I’d have to trouble someone for a lift home or walk. Neither option seemed great but I’d have to pick soon. The longer I stayed there, the harder it was getting to move.

Ellen and Leo stood and announced they were heading to bed and I decided that probably meant I should leave too, no matter how much I didn’t want to. I shifted and started to get up but Ellen stopped me.

“(Y/N), honey, it’s late, you can stay here tonight.” There was only the faintest smirk on her face now so I knew the offer was more out of care than the family’s attempt to set Alex and I up.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” She smiled and left, Leo following with Zahra close behind. I hesitated for another few moments. I probably shouldn’t stay but the option was incredibly tempting.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Alex said quietly. I looked over at him and he was smiling slightly, the look on his face softer than any I’d ever seen before. “But I’d like you to.” There was something strangely vulnerable in his voice and I found myself agreeing to stay without thinking.

“Okay.” He grinned and stood up, much more himself now.

“I’ll show you to a guest room.” We both pretended not to notice the smirks on both Oscar and June’s faces as we left. I didn’t have the energy left for conversation so we walked through the residence in comfortable silence until we finally arrived at a door that looked just like every other. 

“Well, goodnight I guess.” Alex finally spoke again. “I hope today wasn’t too awful.”

“It was actually really nice.” I smiled sleepily at him.

“Even with all...that?” He gestured vaguely to indicate his family.

“It wasn’t so bad.” I mean, it totally was but being with Alex had been worth it.

“I’m glad. It was nice having you here.” I tried to ignore the way my heart swooped at that but it was difficult in my tired state. “I’m just along the hall in the east bedroom if you need anything and I basically never sleep so don’t worry about disturbing me.”

“Thanks Alex. And thanks for today.”

“You’re welcome. Goodnight.” And then, quite unexpectedly - though maybe if I’d been paying more attention it would have been less of a surprise, he leaned in and kissed me. Just lightly, his lips soft and warm against my own for a few brief moments before he pulled away with a soft smile. “Sleep well, (Y/N).”

He turned and headed to bed himself, leaving me standing dumbly in the hall, surprise rooting me to the spot. After a few seconds spent staring after him I finally shook myself out of it, turning the doorknob and slipping inside the guest room. My whole body felt warm and molten and I collapsed on the bed, mind swirling with thoughts of Alex. Today hadn’t been what I expected but it was better than I dreamed. Maybe being set up wasn’t so bad after all.

*

Tag Lists: (send an ask if you want to be added!)

Everything: @wonderfilledness @writingbychelle @ad-astraaaa @moderngenius94

[warsofasoiaf]

Geopolitics for Writers and Worldbuilders - Part 1: The Players

The essence of worldbuilding always boils down to an essential question: “Will my reader immerse himself or herself in this world?” There are plenty of schools of thought as to how and why this immersion occurs, but a core component is a certain threshold of believability. Entities within the fictional world do not necessarily have to correspond to the rules of the physical world, but they should follow internal rules that are clear, coherent for the reader to understand, and consistent from one moment to the next. 

A world is complex, vast thing, and plenty of writers pale at the thought of crafting a large, believable world. This apprehension is perfectly rational: the real world is terrifyingly complex, to the point where entire historical and analytical careers can be built on exploring the facets of one small region in one small part of history, and even the well-documented, recent past can seem distant. This response leads many to not bother trying, convinced of their own failure, or to exert minimal effort, acting under the assumption that they could not hope to possibly generate a believable world and so focusing instead upon crafting the story itself, hoping the  characters, action, or prose sell the story over the worldbuilding itself. 

This doesn’t have to be the case; a writer can (and demonstrably have) been able to develop a believable geopolitical world for his or her stories to take place in, from fiction novels to comic books, from tabletop roleplaying to video games, where fans write essays and entire literature groups debate components of the fictional world with all the enthusiasm of real-world historians. Whatever the medium, all it requires is the time, the will, and a bit of knowledge to anchor the writer’s ideas. I cannot give anyone time, and I cannot force the will, but I might be able to provide an anchor. 

Who Are You? Heads of State and the Nation as a Character

Before any question of geopolitical relationship between nations can come up, the nations themselves have to be built, which is no small task. Even the name “nation” can be considered a misnomer, depending on the time period of the novel. The technological limitations of the world could mean that a political entity could be a Stone Age tribe, a kingdom administered by a feudal warlord and held in dynastic succession, or a remote mining colony on a distant asteroid containing some rare mineral. Even more radically, a group of people bound by a common focal point such as a non-governmental organization or medieval mercenary company could be considered to act as a group. None of these would be considered nations in the modern sense of the world, but as a unit they take actions and have actions taking place upon them, so for the sake of this essay, they qualify, and will be referred to as “nations” throughout.

While there are always exceptions that prove rules, in general, the less technologically advanced a nation is, the more the nation is bound in individuals, and thus the personal becomes political. In more modern societies, particularly after the birth of modern nations, institutions take the place of the personal. While still having its leaders and notable figures, institutions tend to be more static, in the way that a single man is more capable of changing direction than a formation of men. These institutions can still be thought of as characters for the purpose of worldbuilding, but their efforts are geared less towards individuals than they are toward other institutions. As an example, revolutionary movements attempt to overthrow and replace governments; personalization of a hated government figure is a useful tool for these movements, but the ultimate goal often transcends one individual and focuses upon an institution or idea, at least in theory.

It’s worth mentioning specifically that what goes into determining a foreign policy depends greatly on the people who are in charge of making decisions, and this state of affairs changed significantly over the course of history. While researching the mechanisms of a specific time period can help with the particulars of worldbuiding, for a general gist, the head of state and his or her advisors are the primary decision makers. This does not mean that only a small number of people make decisions. In a modern liberal democracy, a head of state is answerable in some way to the electors with their own opinions; stray too far and a politician doesn’t get voted back in. A politician is also answerable their political party and their donors, and any foreign ministry or state department will have a small army of analysts for every department and dimension, all who have their own ideas which will range to all points on the map and in every method from foreign aid to trade policy to tools of political intimidation. Domestic non-political bodies of interest and foreign governments will employ their own analysts and lobbyists, donate to sympathetic politicians, and stage political stunts in an attempt to fulfill their objectives. Any or all of these individuals could be interesting characters, or create interesting drama in any world waiting to be built.

These individuals, then, must be built and built well for them to be able to influence the world in a way that’s both believable and interesting. Their characters, once built, can translate who they are into how they act on the world stage. Aggressive and bellicose personalities might posture aggressively toward their neighbors and rivals. A timid leader might be afraid to take chances, and might pass on an opportunity that a more cavalier leader would pounce upon, perhaps without even thinking. Idealists may attempt high-minded policy, whereas pragmatists might scoff at pursuing impossible abstracts. Combined with aspects of the nation itself - such as the availability of resources, economic and military conditions, and any lingering disasters, these options can give a writer a cornucopia of writing material to work with. Since the end-state of the worldbuilding procedure is the jumping-off point for a novel or other creative work, an author works both backwards from the beginning point of his or her writing project and forwards from the bare bones of the setting and genre.

Similarly, the shape of a government often determines the techniques used by that government. In pre-modern times, dynastic monarchy was the norm, and so the continuity of government was dependent on the monarch having children to inherit the reins of government. Thus, marriage and adoption became techniques of foreign policy, as these actions did actually have serious influence on the actions and succession of the government. So the techniques of government continuity, whether they be succession, elections, or petty warlordism, matter for the purposes of creating believable geopolitics, and must be considered.

In sum, a good way to help simplify the process of creating believable geopolitics is to treat the nation itself as a character, with important characters within it being treated as personality traits or competing desires and goals. The interactivity between personalized nations helps whittle down the scale and make the task seem less herculean. An idealistic nation becomes an idealistic person, whose actions are performed through charitable foregin aid instead of personal donations, who commits to funding wildlife preserve efforts instead of volunteering one weekend a month at a local animal shelter. A cynical nation practicing realpolitik becomes a cynical character, suspicious of others. A paranoid nation produces domestic propaganda and engages in far-reaching espionage the same way a paranoid individual is suspicious of motives and develops rationalizations for interactions in his or her own personal life.

What Do We Want? Determining the Strategic Objectives of a Nation

If shifting alliances, espionage, and other geopolitical intrigue forms the meat of geopolitical thriller, then determining strategic objectives are the bones of any good geopolitical world. A strategic objective is a long-term goal, and in terms of a nation it is often an ongoing process,  the pursuit and maintenance in the face of ever-changing circumstances and operational constraints. It is a vital aspect of your worldbuilding; if a reader constantly says “this makes no sense,” the story suffers from poor communication of strategic objectives, even despite quality prose and spectacular character building. If a story loses coherence, it can pull readers out of the story, even making them put down the work for something else. 

In order to avoid this outcome, it’s important to remember these questions: what is the expected gain, and how critical is achieving this objective. Once these are figured out, then comes what is the nation doing, and why is it doing this course of action and not something else. This seems counterintuitive, it seems logical to determine what a nation is doing before outlining what it seeks to gain, but decision-making doesn’t work that way. Determining national policy first and foremost means identifying the desired end state, and then working toward it, not establishing policy and looking to reach a goal.

The first objective that the nation needs to take into account is its own survival. A nation wants to persist and wants to take rational action to continue to persist and to maintain itself. Actions taken to this effect include securing borders, pacifying internal unrest, and securing critical resources to sustain an economy. Take into account the strengths of relative neighbors and their ability to project their own power, as much of the main strategic thinking of a nation consists in factoring how its neighbors might act. A small nation might be frightened at a powerful rival pursuing an expansionary policy, while a powerful nation might weigh the benefits and weaknesses of taking over a smaller neighbor, either by establishing it as a protectorate, a vassal, or outright conquest. More complicated scenarios might involve two nations of relatively equal power looking to project themselves as stronger than they really are to deter a suspected invasion, or a nation holding a critical pass playing two rival nations off each other in order to maintain some semblance of independence. A nation with a rare, critical commodity might use trade exclusivity as a means of establishing strength, or threaten to destroy it as a nuclear option to stave off invasion. Nations might secure a system of border forts at critical passes, even incorporating them into toll collection and anti-smuggling efforts to preserve their borders from low-level threats and provide early warning for large-scale efforts. It’s rare, however, that security is exclusively defensive. Nations would employ both diplomats gather information in neighboring countries and to advance their own interests, and employ spies and informants to ensure that they have access to as accurate information as possible to make the most informed decision possible for their nation.

Culture factors into these developments, as it often determine what actions would be considered acceptable or unacceptable. The right of conquest in the modern era is considered an unacceptable justification, an act of unprovoked, naked aggression inviting international condemnation and retribution, but in another time it was considered acceptable. A nation that lacked the military capacity to defend its own borders or its people was once considered not worth the authority it held because it did not enforce peace and stability. The goal is to make the logic clear and consistent, a world lives and dies by the rules the author sets for it. 

After securing its survival, a nation will often focus on expanding power to become a regional hegemon. At its most simple, this development is a logical progression and extrapolation from the notion of survival; it is easier to maintain survival when the nation possesses the most power, has much more operational flexibility to pursue its interest, and can react to unexpected circumstances. This idea should not descend to mere militarism: the most successful nations throughout history blended diplomatic power, alliance-building, economic aptitude, trade policy, and military force to create a multi-faceted apparatus of power, a hydra capable of maintaining regional security in the interest of the nation. Military matters will always remain an aspect of concern, if for no other reason than there will inevitably be situations where the nation will have to resort to its military, such as fending off a foreign invasion or handling domestic unrest.  

Under the balance of power theory, threatened states band together to form an entity capable of resisting the strength of a regional hegemon. This scenario might be a natural place for an author to start, for a variety of reasons. Primarily Western readers with a smattering of half-remembered history might remember something about the Great Power colonial struggles of England, France, and Spain, the various coalitions of European powers that fought Napoleon Bonaparte, or the feuding city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes in Classical-Era Greece, forming a connection from literature to reader that stirs interest. Similarly, an alliance offers an easy in to portray different nations represented across the author’s world without the need to invest large portions of time on the political wranglings and intricacies that might drag down the prose, and comes pre-loaded with its own conflict to drive story beats within the novel itself. There is a large Big Bad, there is a coalition of smaller nations who are often more naturally sympathetic, and one character can be introduced as a means to personalize the worldbuilding, each hand-built as a representative from each of the nations to emphasize the culture, outlook, and quirks as they interplay off one another. This is a veteran trope, developed everywhere from the Last Alliance of Elves and Men or the Alliance of the Free Peoples in the Lord of the Rings to the Alliance of Lordaeron in Warcraft II. The real history of this is muddled, Rome and Qin China became regional superpowers, but the Congress of Vienna represents a real effort to establish a European balance of powers, so aspiring worldbuilders should neither feel obligated to use this idea nor should they reject it as unrealistic and fanciful.

When the nation becomes secure, it does not mean that the nation can rest easy. Indeed, history demonstrates that maintaining a pre-eminent status is difficult and tedious; however, the alternative is a slip into obscurity in the best case, or left open to a critical vulnerability in more pessimistic circumstances. So a regional hegemon still has plenty of things to do when considering how to secure and maintain its hegemony. Espionage on rivals, securing technological funding to ensure dominance, preventing a coalition of smaller powers, these are all activities a superpower can participate in that can secure its future, and offer rich writing fodder for an aspiring writer within its borders.

I’ll be writing part 2 soon, which will either be alliances and enemies, unless it gets too long in which case I’ll split it into part 2 and 3.

-SLAL

[ravenwritesstuff]

Best Laid Plans (6/?)

Fandom: Frozen (modern AU, no magic) Pairings: Helsa, established Kristanna, Rapunzel/Eugene, lotsa frohana Rating: T for now, M later almost for sure A/N: Stop looking at me.

The multi-function table is loaded with pastries, fruit, and more bagels than Elsa remembers being in existence. Kristoff, Eugene, and Rapunzel all have their plates in front of them - Rapunzel's somehow the most full - and are conversing amicably with him.

The space is not large but it was designed to give an open, inviting feel. She had created it to make everyone feel welcome the second they entered the room and it seems her design has done just exactly that. She never once considered that could be a detriment until now.

“Elsa!” Rapunzel jumps up like she hadn't talked to her just moments before in the atrium. The rest of the eyes in the room track to her immediately. She does her best to ignore him. 

“I don't recall having a meeting scheduled this morning.” She feels that she is dripping on the stone-tile floor. “You will have to excuse my tardiness.” 

She doesn’t flinch meeting his gaze even as mascara stings her eyes. She bets it is running down her cheeks, too. To his credit he keeps his composure despite her rain-soaked appearance. Except not to his credit, because shouldn’t even be here. Of all the entitled bullshit she has ever encountered… 

She crosses her arms and looks at her employees.

“Thank you all for entertaining our guest at the expense of your other tasks, but you may go now. I will take it from here.” 

They get the point.

The trio are all gracious as they take their plates and leave (all of them grabbing a bit more from the generous spread before ducking out sheepishly). Elsa gives them her best facsimile of a smile as they exit. She shuts the door behind them with a definitive thud (though she knows that will do little to keep them from eavesdropping) before turning back to the root of this entire problem. The idea of her staff listening in makes her even more irritable. She hates being the center of attention. 

Still, she turns and meets his gaze. “Mister Westergaard.” 

He smiles. “Hans.”

He is seated on a cushioned bench that was custom built for the space. She half expects him to rest his elbows on the table and cradle his chin in his hands with his patronizing tone. She stiffens a bit, but tries not to acknowledge it.

She is a professional. She will at least see what he wants.

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

“You wouldn't let me take you to dinner so I brought you breakfast.”

She remembers their conversation after the dance, the granola bar she grabbed on the run, but also remembers her most ultimate truth and speaks the lie that must come from it: “I don't eat breakfast.”

“Everyone eats breakfast.”

“Well I don't.”

He scoffs, smile tugging at his wide mouth. 

“Doesn't take bubble baths. Doesn’t dance. Doesn't date. Doesn't eat breakfast.” He rattles off the list and she feels her ears turning pink. Had he really listened that closely? “I know for a fact that at least twenty five percent of those statements is patently untrue. It makes me wonder about the other seventy-five percent." He dangles the bait but she doesn't take it. He shifts. "So if you don't do all of those things, what do you do?”

“I run this company.”

He nods his head slowly, keeping his clever eyes trained on hers. “And you are in charge of planning all of the events put together by this company?”

It is a leading question. She knows it. Doesn't want to feed into it, but is uncertain how exactly to skate around it. 

“Anna and I are partners. Which of us take the lead on projects depends on what best fit our client's needs.” 

He leans forward then, just enough that she can smell ulterior intent even as he assumes a professional posture. 

“So your clients pick their point of contact. Interesting.”

She can feel him circling, and realization snaps his intent into place. She knows where this is leading, and a chill runs down her spine. If she had known he would be this persistent…

She presses forward, trying to correct her misstep. 

“In part. The team at E & A Events all have a say as well. It is a team operation. We all have different, but equally important, roles.” She doesn’t like where this conversation is going, but she won’t surrender even as she drips on the floor. Even if she wants to shove him out the door and force him out of her mind and life.

“Equal but different roles, fascinating. I’d love to know more.”

She had practically gift wrapped that segue for him. Instead of getting him out the door she was helping him dig trenches. She could kick herself for it.

“The inner workings really aren’t that important or interesting to most.”

“Try me. Let's start with the big blonde guy. Christopher.”

“Kristoff,” she is just a little too quick, enjoying correcting him just a bit too much, and his eyebrow flicks in amusement. “Just Kristoff.”

“My sincerest apologies. Kristoff. What does he do?”

“He supervises and creates special builds for our events. Stages, tables, altars, set pieces… he also coordinates event set-up and tear down logistics and coordinates all parties involved in that.”

“Fascinating,” he says and she believes him. He seems to hang off of her every word and that makes her nervous. “What else? What about that Rapunzel girl?”

“IT, admin, and graphic design. She can build you an event website with sign up funnels all customized around a graphics suite she creates from your concepts as well as facilitate any paper needs you may have from invitations to menus.”

He hardly lets her breathe: “And Eugene?” 

“Vendor liaison and customer service. He is excellent at negotiating with vendors to get you exactly what you want at a price that is fair for everyone as well as day-of coordinating.” 

He had already gotten a front row seat of Eugene’s flair for customer service two days ago at Eric and Ariel’s wedding. She is certain he will pick up how far she is underselling each team member and the extent of what they do just because of that, but he doesn’t mention it. He keeps right on with his line of questioning.

“Anna?” He keeps it short, like not letting her pause for even a moment, like he is quizzing her.

Two can play that game. “As Creative Director she does whatever I don't do.”

He smiles then like he knows something she doesn't, “and you. What is it that you do?”

She has given these answers ten thousand times, has recited them all from rote already, knows exactly how to answer his questions but the words catch in her throat. She cannot help but feel she is walking into some sort of trap and she does not want to be caught. She cannot afford to, for either of their sakes. 

She takes a breath. “I am Director of Operations and work closely with the designated point of contact to an event that is both seamless and completely authentic to the person or organization putting it on as well as manage several day-to-day operations.”

He leans back and rubs a hand across his chin. He smiles: “I like listening to you talk.”

Her brain scrambles. She does not understand what any of that has to do with anything. She stays professional.

“Thank you.”

“Tell me something else. Anything. Anything at all...”

The sensation of just being a specimen, like a bug under a microscope, makes her anxious. His eyes skate the length of her body and she is suddenly hyper aware of how her once shapeless dress now clings to each curve, how her eyes sting with the mascara leaking into them, how each inch of her body is still dripping on the floor. He seems to notice her discomfort with a sardonic glee, the fight she is waging to not tighten her arms over her chest and hide, to seem relaxed.

“I have told you all I can possibly think to tell you, Mister Westergaard. Why don’t you enlighten me about the specifics of what brought you here this morning?” She turns the table, done beating around the bush. She won’t be made to stand trial, barefoot, with clammy skin, in her own office. "Because if conversation is why you are here I can guarantee you there are much easier and better places you can find it."

His smile falls a bit, but he catches himself. That all too human crack bleeds through and she thinks she has hurt him. She steels her insides against remorse as his cool and controlled exterior snaps back in place.

His smile now wolfish.

“I am launching an initiative," he makes a broad sweeping gesture with his arms. "And I wasn't going to make too much of a fuss, but you all changed my mind.” 

She expects him to continue but he doesn't. Instead he just watches her. She frowns.

"Mister Westergaard I don't know if I quite understand. We plan events - not initiatives. Perhaps you would be better served with a Public Relations firm or -"

"Those pieces are already in place." He smiles, just a bit crooked as if he has anticipated this rejection and has a counter prepared. “What I need is a party, and a good one, to draw the proper attention.” 

She cannot help but wonder just what a man like this considered to be proper attention, but pushing against him isn’t getting her what she wants. So she leans in. 

“Do you have a prospective date for this event?” 

Normally these questions would be answered before she ever saw the client in person. Normally there would be boards and sketches and swatches of color and timelines and menus all laid out in coordinating binders for the initial presentation - drawn up from the initial phone consult. Her clients didn’t like wasting time. Neither does she, but here she is.

He tells her and it is all she can do not to choke on her own disbelief. 

“That is only five weeks from now!” 

“Thirty nine days to be exact.” 

“Mister Westergaard - we have other clients, other events, that is hardly enough time to properly plan something of any size or scale. 

“Please. It’s Hans,” he stands, smoothing the front of his tailored slacks as he goes and her mouth goes dry. "And you're starting to make me think you aren't interested in taking this on." 

There is something a little too casual about how he stands, too relaxed, the drift of his eyes too lazy to be anything but sharply calculated. She can see it. She may not know him well, but she knows he isn’t one to leave something to chance. She didn’t bow to his charm so now he will prod her pride. It irks her to admit that it is working. 

“It isn’t that at all.”

“Then what is it?” 

She meets his gaze. The crisp lavender button down he wears brings out the green of his eyes and she knows if she was closer she would see the gold ring around his iris. Even with several feet between them she knows just how warm he would feel if she touched him, probably even warmer than she remembers with her rain chilled skin. She knows how he smells. The memory alone is enough to make her heart pound so hard that she is sure he can see her pulse in her throat.

He steps around the decadence-covered table and her calf cramps as she steels herself to not retreat. 

“This is my job, Mister Westergaard.” 

He comes closer, hands tucked into pockets. She stays, chin lifting.

“I’m aware.”

He stops a few feet in front of her, close enough now that all he would have to do is reach out and suddenly 

Her words come out on a gust of breath. “I am not a challenge. This is not some sort of game.”

He cocks his head. “I’m not playing any game.”

She searches his face, warning bells screaming that there must be a lie, but all she finds is that blindingly sincere humanity that scrambles her thoughts.

“I have other events, other clients -”

“So is it a ‘no’”? 

She swears he doesn’t move but he feels closer. The light in his eyes shifts and she cannot think. She cannot breathe. 

She remembers what Anna said.

This is bigger than what she wants.

A client like Hans Westergaard could establish their company for life - and even if she has disconnected from the length of that concept she knows what it means for others. She knows the firm needs this as impossible and inconceivable as it seems. 

“There will be some ground rules.” The fact she keeps the shake out of her voice is a moral victory. 

His brow quirks. “You want to set rules for something that isn’t a game? Interesting.”

She feels his humor like a contagious warmth spreading through her chest and nearly chokes at the weight. This was not what she wanted, what she expected from today...

“Any relationship we have will be business only. I cannot take you on as a client if you do not agree to that.”

His wide mouth pulls to the side enough to be just shy of a smile: “Are you implying that I would engage your services for anything other than professional reasons?”

His words sends heat flooding up her neck despite her soggy state. 

The same heat she sees in his cunning eyes, the same she knows she will feel if she touches him.

He is trying to fluster her and she knows it.

He is succeeding and he knows it. 

She forces her calm: a skill she has mastered over the years. 

"I am not implying anything. If we are to work together it is important we both handle ourselves in the appropriate manner." 

“Of course. Absolutely.” He smiles, shifting his weight into a casual posture. 

She knows she should ask about budget, about the theme, about the twenty five thousand things she clarifies with clients before even thinking about accepting them for their services - but she knows that this point none of that matters. At this point - all that matters is getting him out of her offices so she can think, work, breathe. 

So she agrees, “absolutely.” 

She takes the lead and extends a hand and he glances at it with a dark twinkle in his eye. He takes it is his and just as she expects his touch burns. 

It is all she can do to not catch her breath as they shake on an agreement she can hardly understand. 

She releases his hand as soon as she can, letting it sink back to her side as naturally as possible when all she wants is to yank it back and rub her palm on the cool damp fabric of her thigh. 

But they need this.

This is something bigger than herself and her own comfort. 

She has said ‘no’ to men before, has built those walls she has contrived to protect them from herself, but still those warning bells ring. Anna knows. She knows. This one is different.

But it is only thirty-nine days. What could happen?

The way he smiles at her across the space between them answers that question even if she chooses to ignore it.

[ previous ] [ next ]

[thecomicsnexus]

Peace on Earth

SUPERMAN: PEACE ON EARTH JANUARY 1999 BY PAUL DINI AND ALEX ROSS

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC FANDOM)

The story opens with Clark remembering back to his days on the farm in Smallville with his father. He remembers when he was young how he and Jonathan Kent walked the acres of fields sowing seed, and the instruction his father would give him about how to do it. His father told him that in some respects, people are like seeds. Some blossom right away, while others need a little extra care.

Superman's thoughts return to the present as he lands in Metropolis Square holding a giant fir tree that lights up to become the city's Christmas tree. The crowd cheered and people wanted to talk with him, but he had other matters to attend to. He then hears a cry for help and races to find a girl in the crowd who has fainted. First he thought it was shock, then he noticed how light and weak she was and realized that this girl was starving. He flies her to a rescue mission, where the doctor in charge assure Superman that she would be fed and well cared for. Upon arriving back at the Daily Planet, Clark suggested to the editor that they consider a story on the homeless for the holidays. The suggestion was made in part as an excuse for Clark to check in on the girl. Checking back at the mission, Clark was informed that the girl is a southern runaway, with no friends or family in the city. Reduced to begging for food, she might have died if it had not been for Superman's timely intervention. The doctor noted that it was too bad Superman can't be there for every needy person. Clark agreed.

After further consideration, including remembering some things Pa Kent told him about putting other people's needs ahead of your own, and consistent with his view that his powers were not strictly his alone, but there for anyone who needs them, Superman requested to address the U.S. Congress. With all the Congressional members assembled, he announced he would like permission to be able to take American surplus food and distribute it to hungry people around the world, as many countries as he could deliver it to in one day. There are some skepticism among some of the Congressional membership, but ultimately they gave their approval. Superman spent several days gathering the food together. He found it encouraging that some people who became aware of his plan are showing up to volunteer to help package the food. The media went wall-to-wall with the story, calling Superman everything from "Selfless Hero" to "Misguided Outsider". The Daily Planet ran the front page headline "Superman's Stand Against Hunger." A few other countries joined in and offered their surplus food, and finally it is all collected and ready for Superman to distribute it to other countries.

Superman began delivering the food to each location, either in a tanker, or on large platform. He drops off grain in the American Southwest, for Native Americans that will be helped by it. He delivers massive amounts of food and grains to countries around the world where hunger on a large scale exists. In many of these countries, crowds gathered to meet him and express their appreciation. Smiling children reach out their hands to him. He noticed in one war-torn European country, from the faces of the people, it was hard to know if there was still any hope left. A little boy asks "Will you be back tomorrow?" Superman continued to cross the globe looking for venues where the food is needed, but knowing that this was only providing one day's relief, and that even he would not be able to continue doing this on a daily basis. He knew the leaders of the world would need to give consideration to a more permanent solution.

Along the way, Superman put out a large brush fire in Africa, while he also stopped a stampede of wild animals from causing damage or injury to a crowd at a drop off point nearby. Not a huge problem, but it took precious time away from the continuance of his mission. Unfortunately, not all of the deliveries are going well. In one country, a military despot in control of his country was there at the drop point "requesting" that Superman leave the food with his soldiers. The Man of Steel knew that his intention was to give some of the food to his men and sell the rest on the black market. Superman wanted to give the food directly to the starving people that were there waiting, but the dictator prevents it with threats against his own people, so Superman left the food where he dropped it. In one country, when Superman leaves the food, no one leaves their home out of fear, and rats get to the food first. In another place, the food drop causes the people waiting for it to turn into a raving mob to get at it. Superman had to burrow underground to pull himself away from all the grasping hands trying to get to him. In yet another country, as Superman arrives the government warns against his help. In response to his persistence, they fire a chemical-weapon missile at where he is, with civilians below. He attempts to save the people by sending the cloud of poison into space, but the tanker is damaged and the food is poisoned. It was at that point, a disheartened Superman kneeling on the ground, amid the rubble of the destroyed food declared "My mission ends here, incomplete and in failure."

Back in Metropolis, a discouraged Clark sits in his apartment and ponders the failure of his mission. He knows that most people respected what he was trying to accomplish, but he also feels the disappointment of millions across the globe who were still waiting, but somehow knew that he wouldn't be coming. Worldwide media demanded a statement from Superman, and it came in the form of an interview with Clark Kent that was the page one story in the Daily Planet. He admits that despite his best efforts, he now sees that the project was too big for one man, even if he is a Superman. The solution to the problem of world hunger rests on the compassion of each person for another. He says, "There's an old saying - give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime." He goes on to say, "I ask everyone to share what they have with those who need it. Their knowledge, their time, their generosity. Especially with the young, for on them rests our future, and all hope of a true Peace on Earth."

In the end, Clark Kent does his part by teaching local school children about what he learned from his father in a Kansas field. He and the children, each one equipped with an over the shoulder bag of seeds, walk out over the fields spreading seeds. As they walk, he tells them, "...not every seed will make it, but all of them deserve the chance to grow."

REVIEW

This book was the first of a series of books by the same creative team. And it is easy to dismiss. Reason being that the book looks gorgeous, but it’s oversized, something that I personally dislike in comics, as they need to be in a different place as other comic books. The other reason is because it feels like you are most likely going to be looking at the pictures, like that is the entire gimmick of it.

Well, turns out, the story is actually very good. This book nails the “world hunger” issue, whereas “Heroes against Hunger” failed to do so. Sales of the original art, just like “Heroes against Hunger”, helped donate money to two charitable causes, UNICEF and Harper House in Chicago (which benefited the homeless).

Money, however, was never the point, though. As the story in this book tells us, it’s not money that we should be sending everywhere, but education. Of course, in cases of ecological and/or humanitarian emergencies, money would be welcome.

I cannot really say a thing about Alex Ross art... he is pretty much a god that decided to do comic-books.

I give the book a score of 9

[bryonysimcox]

Life in Lockdown: Week 8, Spain

It’s been seven of the weirdest days of our life: where the freedom of vanlife turned into quarantine in a 4m2 space. I look back on our documentary progress and life in València under lockdown.

The week started with the announcement that the biggest event in the Valèncian calendar, Las Fallas, was cancelled. This came as a real shock to us (just as I was wrapping up last week’s blog post) and at the time, almost felt like a bit of an over-reaction. Of course, those closely following the development of Coronavirus around the world, and particularly in nearby Italy, would understand the motivation behind such a big decision.

On Tuesday morning I attended a free event about Innovation and Design in cities, hosted by a group called ‘Designscapes’ who are conducting research on the topic in the hope of developing public policy. I’d been invited by Ramon Marrades who we’ve been working with at La Marina, and I quite enjoyed attending an academic event after being outside of the urban design industry for a while. I wrote an overview of some of the key takeaways from the event here, which included speakers from the International Centre for Design and Research, Aalborg University and The Tavistock Institute. Unfortunately, the event was considerably impacted by Coronavirus, and not only was attendance greatly reduced but many of the speakers were also unavailable to be present.

Attending the Designscapes Policy Forum was certainly a wake-up call about how seriously Covid-19 might begin to affect public gatherings, but I would still not believe the situation we’d be in just one week later!

While the cancellation of Las Fallas had affected some of our commercial work, the next few days felt as though most other things were unaffected. Plans for the documentary that our channel Broaden are making about La Marina charged ahead.

On Tuesday afternoon, we met up with Ramon to discuss people we’d like to interview about La Marina, València’s seriously impressive waterfront precinct. He took us inside ‘La Base’, the old headquarters for the Swiss Alinghi sailing team, a relic from when València hosted the America’s Cup back in 2007. La Marina now uses the building for events and offices, and while it’s not yet used as often as it could, it has so much potential and is one of many cool assets in the marina.

(images, left to right) Attending the Designscapes forum on innovation in cities, enjoying the sunset on the marina blissfully unaware of the lockdown that would soon be in place, and moody scenes from inside ‘La Base’, a building full of potential.

Filming for the documentary began on Wednesday morning, when we interviewed Manoel, a charming guy who has worked at La Marina for over a decade. Starting out as a deck hand, Manoel is now a senior staff member managing the nautical side of the marina, with its hundreds of moorings and associated facilities. It was fascinating to learn more about the operational side of running a place like this, and we were even treated to a guided boat ride around the marina which offered such a different perspective on this place we’ve both been documenting and staying in for over a week.

The following afternoon, we filmed our second interview, this time with with Julia Pineda, a socially-oriented architect from the co-operative practice ‘Crearqcio’ who has worked closely with La Marina. I was especially interested in the community engagement she had done, and the participatory processes with local residents and other stakeholders to explore names for new streets and decide on future uses for buildings there.

As George and I continue to work together as a videography duo, we’re refining the process of interviewing people, arranging shoots, preparing equipment and getting the perfect footage.

(images, left to right) Taking a boat ride around La Marina, speaking to Julia in Crearqcio’s office, and interviewing Manoel on a gloriously sunny day for the documentary.

Friday the 13th did indeed turn out to be pretty unlucky, as that’s when the situation in Spain relating to Coronavirus really escalated. We managed to squeeze in another interview with a member of La Marina’s team, the third of five interviews we had planned. Barbara was really accommodating and positive on camera, but even just the general vibe in the office while we were filming communicated that things were about to dramatically change.

By early evening, we were informed that some of our other commercial work would have to be completely cancelled, as all operations in Spain were starting to completely shut down. 

It was Friday evening when warning came of the state of alarm which Spain was about to enter.

The declaration was made on Saturday: to ameliorate the spread of coronavirus, everyone in Spain is to stay at home, leaving the house only to buy groceries or medicine. All bars, restaurants, museums, cafes, and any other establishments that carry out public activity are to be closed and no one is to use public spaces. As the week continued, further measures have been put in place, such as the closure of the country’s land borders.

And that is pretty much when the predictability of my and George’s lives ended. Just like that: an extreme measure is brought into place which affects every aspect of your life - your income, your freedom to move, your travel plans, your activities and your family. Of course, that extreme measure has been brought into place because of an extreme situation, but if only I could warn Bryony from a week ago, perhaps I would have told her to prepare in some way. What might I have said? To stock up on food essentials, to buy a couple more books, to have more money saved up and most critically, to brace herself for the physical and emotional challenge of being confined to living exclusively inside Suzi the Van.

(images, left to right) Powering through confinement in a van by writing letters and eating icecream, George going a teeny tiny bit crazy in our mini house, and sitting just outside the van on my virtual ‘balcony’.

We have left the van once since Friday, to go out and buy some food. I’m someone who likes to get out and about, so this level of confinement is pretty intense.

Aside from the supermarket run (to Lidl, which was surprisingly well-stocked), George and I have ‘stayed at home’, here in Suzi at La Marina. I’ve been really keen to go and find a camping spot out in the countryside, where there might be more possibility of getting some fresh air and a walk, but we’re conscious that where we are right now has all the amenities we could need: flushing toilets, hot showers, a laundry, rubbish bins, water, drain, and even electricity (which we’ve resorted to using today amid stormy overcast weather). Plus, if the last week has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t be sure of how the next week may play out. The safest option is likely to stay put.

As people have reiterated online, a period of isolation is a pretty unique opportunity for many of us to indulge in activities we don’t get around to. Whilst I’m privileged to have already incorporated diary and blog writing as well as a lot of book-reading into my routine in the van, these last few days have seen me do that more than ever. I also made another collage, and even got around to editing together a collection of images I took back when I was working in Sydney. This short stop-motion animation (below) had me thinking about seeing something inspirational in the same repetitive scene.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bryony Simcox (@bryonysimcox) on Mar 16, 2020 at 9:42am PDT

Might isolation do wonders for society’s increasingly short attention span and need for variety?

The current situation is a bizarre mix of feeling very isolated and very connected all at the same time. George and I use our phones a lot, and get constant updates both from formal news outlets and from friends and family. Anecdotes from Sydney and the UK, where measures aren’t quite as extreme yet, contrast with the sobering sentiments of scientists on podcasts or videos of Italians and Chinese who have been dealing with a total lockdown far longer than we have.

At times, I’ve even turned my phone off to try and tune out of the noise. Now that George and I are in lockdown, we aren’t able to contract Covid-19 nor spread it. So to a certain extent I feel as though keeping up-to-date as the crisis unfolds only makes me feel increasingly miserable and helpless.

(images, left to right) The deserted walkway next to our van, empty offices at La Marina, and the beach as viewed from the closed gate which confines the part of the marina that we’re parked in.

If you let your mind project the implications of this virus in the future, it’s not too hard to find yourself in a dark place. Already, I see the failings of an economic system addicted to growth, the selfish panic-buying and disregard of facts by large swathes of people and the unfair advantage of exploitative multinational corporations. Take for example the fact that the aviation industry (led by millionaires, might I add) have banded together to ask for government payouts while young people, creatives, self-employed and zero-hour contract employees face a future of complete financial uncertainty.

I’m left asking questions like “how will people pay their rent?”, “where will this leave already vulnerable members of our society?” and “how will we even begin to rebuild life if and when this virus is tackled?”.

Of course, there are so many positive sides to be seen during this time too, and some of which offer answers to that last question. Already, we are seeing signs of generosity and kindness from health workers, neighbours, friends and strangers. We are seeing the emergence of an informal economy built on reciprocity and trust, where not just economic capital has value. We are seeing innovation on a massive scale, as people seek new ways of keeping their businesses alive, of cooking food with what’s left in their cupboards, of keeping the virus at bay and managing its spread, of boosting morale and of pooling resources.

(images) I’m trying to see beauty in things and keep positive-minded, even if that means snapping these colourful scenes from the desolate streets on our walk to the supermarket.

In some ways, perhaps we needed an event of this magnitude to shake up the entire way in which we exist, and to rethink our systems of living.

The irony is that we already have another event which threatens humanity in this way, but which we have been largely ignoring. This is, of course, climate change and the terrifying rate at which the earth is warming up. Mother Nature has been shouting about the catastrophe we are charging towards for some time now, and yet it has taken direct deaths on home soil and a tangible ‘thing’ like Covid-19 for us to react in a collective and decisive way. It also goes without saying, that my heart breaks for all of the victims of this terrible virus to date, and I would never wish that it would take fatalities to call us to action.

This blog is usually a very personal reflection on a very personal journey: where my partner George and I attempt to cross the world in an old Japanese campervan, making videos along the way. But the arrival of this virus and its direct impact on our journey has triggered a different type of reflection. Perhaps in the coming weeks, during which I presume we will remain in lockdown, I will continue to write and reflect on what I think it is to be human in a difficult time, and to assess the situation which we are now all in, together as humanity.

I hope that my writing brings us together in some way, across oceans, balconies and phone screens. Whilst I’m pretty sure that George and I will still be parked up in a marina on the Spanish coast this time next week, who knows where we’ll be, collectively? 

[ginseiker-a-blog]

7 Tips to Choose the Mobile App Development Company

A unique mobile app idea can literally change the world. Apps like Facebook, Pinterest or Uber are immensely popular today, not due to the fact that those were started by famous business personas. It is rather the innovative approach of these mobile apps that has taken the technological world by storm.

With increasing number of tech-savvy users across the globe, mobile application development has created disruptions across all major industries for offering business-friendliness, great ease of use, and on-the-go data accessibility to employees and customers alike. As the need for mobile application development keeps surmounting, a lot of mobile app development companies have come up to deliver right and specific app solutions to their clients.

These companies can help you get started with the mobile app development process, especially if you have a creative app development idea in your mind. But, what if you don't have any idea and yet require a mobile app for your business? Or, you have the perfect concept of how you want your business app to be, but want that within the very tight deadline or budget? Here's where a careful selection plays a role.

To put it in simply, you need to pick out a company that understands your business requirements and can provide innovative solutions as per your specifications and guidelines. Just making a search on Google for a mobile app development company will not do; there are thousands of such companies that offer just this, and thus, leads to a whole lot of confusion. You need to analyze, sort and put modified requirements on the search engine to get the right results.

Wondering how to go about it? Here are some tips from the App development team that will help you choose the best mobile app development company for your business.

7 Effective Tips to Choose the Mobile App Development Company

If you have a mid-to-large scale business, the mobile app can be a very crucial part of your business growth strategy. Therefore, you have to choose a mobile app development company that has an innovative approach along with futuristic thinking. But before you judge the strengths and weaknesses of any company, you need to begin by assessing your organizational needs and check whether the chosen company can fulfill those. Here are 7 proven tips for finding the mobile app company of your choice:

1. Know What Your App Requirements Are

It might sound like a no-brainer but having a thorough understanding of your app development requirements can certainly help you in filtering the mobile app development companies. This process should start with the close analysis of the specific business demands and objectives, which you need to convert into meaningful app features and functionalities. We have seen that a lot of our clients struggle while determining what they want from their business app. To help them progress, we provide a questionnaire that helps drive them toward their goal:

What types of products/services are you trying to sell?

Where do you want your app to be: on Android, iOS, Windows-based Mobile Application Development Platforms?

Who will build your user base?

What kind of mobile app do you want- native, hybrid or web-based apps?

Once you are convinced about what you want from the app, you are ready to move to the next step.

2. Inquire About their App Delivery Time-to-Market

Faster 'time-to-market' is the new demand in today's' age of digital disruption. If your chosen mobile app development company is slow at rolling out apps to the market, there is an increasing possibility that you will fall behind your competition. The quicker your business app hits the market, higher would be your ROI. Therefore, concentrate on choosing mobile app development companies that deliver high-quality apps quickly, while keeping in mind the changing trends in the app development market.

3. Take a Close Look at their Portfolios

Once you open the website of any mobile app development company, start by checking their portfolios. Portfolios provide a good overview of the business domains and project themes the company has been involved in, and the kind of technical expertise they hold. You can also get in touch with the company to understand whether they have worked on the kind of app you want before or have the potential to deliver it.

4. Check How Affordable They Are

When it comes to choosing the right mobile app development company, you will always find the development cost and app quality to be in conflict. A lot of organizations opt for start-ups to keep the development cost low and receive a finished product which has little market relevancy. On the other hand, it is wrong to assume that best mobile app development companies offering quality app solutions will be always high-priced. What you need to keep in mind here is that only strong market players can afford to provide quality apps at efficient costs. If you choose to go for long-established companies with good market visibility, you will notice that their charges are comparatively lesser than the start-ups and others.

5. See How Transparent Their Process Is

The product development cycle and transparency policy followed by the mobile app development company also play a very important role in the selection process. Low code methods of mobile application development have gained immense popularity for faster app delivery, but few leading mobile app development companies in US follow it nowadays. In addition, look for companies that provide transparent communication and feedback loops in the development process for holding better mutual understanding, and promptly respond to errors and iteration requests.

6. Check Their Experience and Reputation Online

Market reputation and experience speak volumes about the credibility of a mobile app development company. Apart from checking the portfolios, keep an eye on the number of positive reviews posted about a particular company, years of experience in the app development domain, and the different kinds of mobile application development services that they provide. Just remember that you can achieve good Return on Investment (ROI) from your app only when the company chosen by you can deliver solutions with innovative, out-of-the-box ideation. Also, if a company projects in-depth knowledge of multiple mobile device requirements and all popular Mobile Application Development Platforms including Android and iOS, rest assured that they are capable of delivering what you want from them.

7. Mark Their Customer Approach

If you end up choosing app development companies offering poor customer service, you are likely to face troublesome issues right from the development stage. A lot of organizations fall prey to mobile app development companies that are just trying to sell their app and will disappear from the scene once the deal is done. Only companies with good market reputation and a loyal client base understand their customer worth.

Check out more information on mobile app development from here.

[decadentgentlemenzombie-blog]

50 cool welding project ideas

For experts and beginners alike, welding can be a great way of making money. A lot of people dream about turning their hobby into a thing that pays extra money; therefore, welding may be your way of making that dream to see the light.

There are various difficulties when you want to make money from welding. For beginners, you need to have money for your initial outlay because you need to purchase materials you require to weld. This may be expensive especially when selling wares cheaply.

That is where the other challenge comes in. Do you opt for selling and making inexpensive, small items you can sell easily and quickly, or is it your choice to make large products for a particular market that will be hard to sell but bring in money? Which one is better; high profits or a quick turnover? That is a decision that you can make by yourself.

Whichever road you choose to follow, there are great ideas for things that can be made simply. Some are cheerful and cheap, while others are slightly complex and should be tackled after you have the required skills.

Whether you are a seasoned pro or a novice; whether you use TIG or MIG, there is a project for you. Select projects, snap on the welding helmet and begin welding. Below are cool welding project ideas you need for your practice.

Table of contents [show]

1.    Car Ramps

Car businesses, individual vehicles, and garages enthusiasts are perfect customers to purchase a set of strong car ramps. Occasions will be there when either the back or front end of the vehicle needs slight uplifting; therefore, when you weld a custom-made set of cramps for each client, you will end up tapping into the market of individuals that love working on cars.

Small cars require a minute set of ramps; large off-road vehicles will require large ramps, and the biggest vehicles will need more substantial ramps than the other ones. This is to mean that you will have to price them accordingly. Bigger ramps mean more charges to be incurred by the customer.

Car ramps are slightly expensive to manufacture – not to mention they are quite heavy – however when you customize them to the needs of the customers and sell them to businesses; you will make a great profit out of them.

2.    Tables and stools

Chairs, stools, and tables can be huge spinners of money if you desire to invest effort and time in them. These are not projects that have to be attempted by beginners because they are complex, but the truth is that an experienced welder can make stools and tables easily.

Luckily, this is an area that has an open, wide market, especially as welded chairs and tables can look good both outdoors and indoors. Flex all your creative muscles to come up with different designs and styles or create something that is unique for an individual customer.

This business works great when you use the commission basis method. Finding people to buy the items will be a great task, but when you make the pieces for individuals that want them, who instruct you to make them, you have a guarantee of selling everything. The pieces may take some time to finish and probably will not be cheap for you, but in case you are good at what you are doing, you will start seeing the bucks coming in.

3.    Interior decorations

Everybody would like his home to look pretty in different ways, which makes interior decoration a great idea for many welders starting and wanting to make money on the side.

Things like light fixtures, coat racks, fireplace guards, frames, and other metal accessories will remain highly sought after. Being minute, it will not cost a lot to source materials to make them, but you will see them at a lower price.

If you have skills on the front of interior welding decorations, you will get the opportunity to scale your business up. Creating customized, specialized, bespoke pieces according to the requirements of the customers will boost your skill level and reputation.

4.    Falling targets

Anyone that enjoys shooting in the sports sense knows that moving or falling targets can present a challenge that is greater than other regular targets. Just as the name suggests, the targets flip down when they get hit; the moving targets keep moving, making it difficult to hit them.

These things are always very expensive to buy from the shelf. If it is possible to weld your versions and sell them cheaply, they will give you a chance to undercut big suppliers and become more appealing to customers. This is a great way of making money because when you sell falling targets for a reasonable price, you will work hard towards keeping up with the demand.

Moving and falling targets are quite small; therefore, you need to be quick in making them with minimal outlay costs. Nonetheless, you will have to hone your skills to get everything ever right because they are not easy things to put together in the world.

5.    Horseshoe items

There exists a huge market for items to sell to lovers of horses. Items that are horse related can be sold easily to both country enthusiasts and animal lovers; therefore, it will be possible to price them higher than non-themed items. You will find people who are willing to pay for the items especially when you have good skills.

One way of reducing the costs of starting up is to utilize items that are horse-related which exist and then transform them into new ones. The perfect item for this is the horseshoes because they are easy to hold and the connotations bring good luck to make them common with buyers.

What will you do with horseshoes that are old? Link them together to horseshoe-shaped wine racks and then sell them as a gift for lovers of horses. This will not only tap into the market of equestrian but also appeal to connoisseurs of wine.

6.    BBQs

If you are on the lookout for something you can sell at a price that is higher, then the BBQ is the recommended item as a project for welding. They may be difficult to shift, but they can fetch higher prices so that you make a tidy profit, however, an irregular, slow one.

In the sales and production of BBQs, you may come against a hurdle of being bought quite cheap from many groceries, outdoors, and department stores. Why would customers buy an expensive BBQ when they can buy it cheaper elsewhere.

In this situation, you will have to push the idea that the BBQs you are making are of high quality, are handmade, and all items are locally manufactured. All of those found on the shelves must be cheaper brands that come from foreign countries like China. Make sure your clients know that they are getting high-quality items for their money. Do everything possible to make sure that the BBQs stay for long in the place of being disposable, cheap types that individuals throw away after use.

7.    Yard art

The yard art is a profitable way of making money for your welding project; therefore, it is a good starting point for anyone or beginners that want to have more fun in the place of choosing anything very serious. If you are not sure of the meaning of the yard art, the explanation is found below.

Welded yard art takes small pieces of metal because they can be leftovers and scraps and puts them into small decorative objects that come in a sort of animal. The animals get placed inside the garden for some bits of decoration and fun.

More often, yard art is not accurate anatomically; the designs are stylized or caricatures versions of animals in question. For this reason, you will have fun with this project by coming up with creative designs. Conversely, in case you are not keen on ideas of something with minimal purpose, weathervanes are a great option.

The costs will be low because you will find scrap, small pieces of metal to utilize, but you will sell yard art quickly because it is popular. The turnaround for this idea will be high but fun; therefore, get creative and see the things you can come up with.

8.    Small metal brackets

Small metallic brackets fall into this category for purposes of being simple, cheap, and easy to sell, with a low profit and fast turnaround. This idea is great for new beginners when it comes to welding or anybody that would like to make quick bucks.

These things consist of little pieces of metal joined together. Visiting any hardware store will tell you that they possess various uses; therefore, there are a lot of markets for them. Also, push selling points from high-quality artistry, and not as items that are cheaply made or can get broken or require quick replacement.

Brackets are not the only types of things you can make and sell, even though they are probably among the easiest. Visiting the hardware store will give you a host of items you can make and sell cheaply and quickly but at a small profit.

9.    Model vehicles

The market for model vehicles is huge among war collectors and vehicle enthusiasts. The vehicles include all things from airplanes to cars and other specialized military vehicles like tanks. A great project of welding from which you can make bucks is to make model vehicles very cheaply.

They are always small; therefore, even though they may be cheap to make, the accuracy or detail level you will require will necessitate some attention and thoughts. If you want to reach keen buyers that are willing to pay for this item, your work will have to be of the best quality. If you make an airplane or vehicle, you will still get a market for them, but you will not charge anywhere near the initial amount!

One method of increasing the charged amount is to employ a metal that is easy to paint. The sale of these items as one kit which your buyer can decorate will make them extremely appealing.

10.    Fences and gates

Large gates and fences are probably among the things on the list that you can sell at a very high price, but they are among the most complex items for you to make. If you want to make a fence or gate that is effective, you will have to make your measurements perfectly for there to be no room for errors. Additionally, your skills of welding will have to be top notch if you have the hopes of creating things that are vaguely creative or pretty.

When you begin, you will realize that the items you require to make the gates and fences are quite expensive, but if you end up doing a great job, you will reap the rewards within your profit margin. They also take a long time to make as compared to small objects that you could opt for. The profit will be slow in coming, but you will end up with a lump sum in return.

11.    Weld a Shop Stool

Probably, this is among the most crucial items for your welding shop. The good thing about welding stools is that you do not have intricate or complicated parts to weld. It is a modest high-rise stool you have seen in many welding workshops.

Before you begin the project of welding the stool, you will have to draw it to make sure that you know all you need. There are several things that you will require to get started apart from the machine of welding. They are the square pieces of steel that will be utilized as the seat and the angle iron brackets that will be utilized as the legs.

You need to make sure that the brackets height is the same. You do not desire to end up with a stool that is wobbly. The angle brackets are crucial for building the frame and provide support for the seat. It is quite easy because you will have to weld the square seat frame that is the size of the metallic seat and the four legs for it to stand. To make your stool strong and stable, you have to ensure that you are running the angle door brackets in the seat and through the bottom of the stool. The other choices for seats you can make in your welding project include the padded or plywood seats.

12.    Weld together the Workbench

This might be among the most crucial projects for you. In case you have plans of starting to weld; whether as a professional or as a hobby, the workbench will be a very crucial item you will require. It is surprising to note that the welding workbench is not very hard. The trick is welding it together with the help of the right technique. If that is manageable, it can hold up to five hundred kilograms of weight for your future projects. You need to see it as your welding skills test. The items you require to make this bench include paint, angle file or grinder, angle iron brackets, and a welding machine.

Being similar to the shop stool, the workbench also possesses four legs and a top. Employ a steel top for you to utilize it for all your futuristic projects easily. Wood is neither safe nor good as an idea for the top. The table size is upon you and is dependent on the space which is available in your workshop or garage. You need to make sure that the height of the bench is nice and comfortable to work on. You might add another platform near the bottom half to make the bench strong and create additional space for your tools. Make sure you paint on it to hand it a finished look.

13.    The Tool Rack

This will help to organize all things. The greatest aspect of making it by yourself is that it is possible to customize it in all the ways you want. You can decide to make the wall-hanging rack to clear space of the floor in case it is limited or you can decide to create a standing rack. The required tools are similar to the ones used in making the workbench.

Use the angle brackets to come up with a frame of the rack. You can start creating one partition from the middle. The rack or storage space has to be very big to store all the equipment of your own. For this project, you need to measure your equipment and make the right partitions. You can employ hooks or pipes if you desire to hang your tools or sheets of steel in the rack. You can paint it off to give it a polished look or leave it if you desire to show off neat marks of welding.

14.    Garden Fence

Build a fence in the garden to protect your garden from pets that are straying. You require steel rods and an aluminum-magnesium wire mesh. Space your steel rods at distances of not more than two meters. Depending on the fence area that needs placement; calculate the number of rods that you will require. The fence height is your choice to make. With a width of two meters and height of your choice, cut a section of the wire mesh. Utilize the welding machine to do the welding for it to be between the steel rods. Continue doing it until the whole gate area is covered fully. This project is simple to make and is also quick to finish after getting all things ready.

15.    Grill

You can make your grill as a cool welding project. All you require is one clean metal barrel and a few metal strips.

Employ the TIG torch for purposes of cutting the metal barrel in two halves horizontally. You will have to make sure that you are cleaning it properly from inside. You can now weld the strips together for it to look like a mesh that is spaced out equally. Fill your metal barrel with charcoal and then light them. Place your metal grill on the top, and the grill will be ready for use.

16.    Metal Carts

Metal carts are not only useful but also easy to manufacture. You can employ them to move objects that are heavy around the garage. One of the greatest reasons for building the metal cart is to move the TIG welder around using the wheels. You will no longer have to be worried about lifting heavy things, and you can take it everywhere with you. All you require is cold-rolled steel rods for handles, four cartwheels, four casters and their support, metal strips for the base, and angle iron brackets for its sides.

Draw the design before you embark on welding it. To begin with, you need to make sure that you measure it accurately so that the metal is not very small. Utilize the angle-iron brackets in the construction of the outer sides. Make sure you join them into the rectangular form. You can now weld strips of metal across its base. They should not be placed very close to offer support. Weld the cartwheels and casters. You can then use steel rods to make a handle that will help you pull it all over. The metal cart is ready for carrying the TIG welding machine.

17.    Pet Gate

There are also some fun welding projects to do when you are working on improving your home. In case you have a pet cat or dog, you need to realize that it is very crucial own a pet gate. It is crucial to have one of them if you have the intention of potty-training them. Therefore, to make one for your home, you need metal hinges and metal tubing.

Weld the metal lattice together by the use of the metal tubing for coming up with half-inch squares. You need to make it big enough for the pet to be able to get through it. You can now employ more metal tubing in welding the borders in the rectangular shape. You need to make sure that its edges are smooth since you do not want the pet to get hurt. Utilize hinges to attach it onto the bottom half of the door. You will then cut an opening on the door of a similar size. The pet can now punch the gate and then pass through it.

18.    Fire Pit

Fire pits made of cinder blocks are hard to make and are also not durable. Why not embark on a welding project of making a metallic fire pit? You need eight cold-rolled steel rods and four sheets of gauge steel.

Tuck-weld your four sheets together at ninety degrees angles to each other, holding sides of twenty inches together. You can then weld four rods at four corners and four inches between every panel. The rods will get sunk in the ground and hold the big metal square in position. After doing this, utilize the piece of wood and sledgehammer to help in digging holes to sink your fire pit to the ground. This one will be a lifetime investment.

19.    Bookends

Do you hate it when books that are on the shelf fall when you are taking out one? It is a hassle to stack books on your shelf again. Why not build your bookends? They are quite easy to make, and they require paint and a heavy gauged piece of metal.

The bookend that is L-shaped is the best choice for you because it slides below the books and makes sure that they are in place. Take two pieces of metals which are between four to six inches wide and long. Make sure you weld them together with the help of two-stack welds. Use paint to make it interesting and colorful. They are great ideas when you want to give them out as gifts.

20.    Trailer Dolly

These dollies are crucial for carrying a lot of heavy things around. It can also carry the boat to the beach. To make it, you need a hitch kit, wheel kit, and metal stripping.

You need to start by arranging your metal stripping in the form of a rectangular frame. Ensure that whatever your trailer has to carry, you measure that thing at the beginning. You would not wish to go through the problem of making the dolly then it becomes very small for utility. Weld your frame together. It is crucial for the frame to be sturdy enough to support what the items are weighing. Utilize the hitch kit when welding. You need to make sure that are adding the wheels well. Utilize the board on the frame for carrying your things around.

21.    Support Stand

The support stand looks like the goal post in football. It can hold rods of long lengths you are using in your cool welding project. To make a stand you need a threaded rod, one nut, metal pieces, one pipe, and one channel of six inches.

Weld the channel of six inches to your pipe. You can then weld your pipe to the metal piece and weld it in the nut. You can then insert the rod via the nut and thread the other nut on the other side. Weld the three-inch channel on the nut and then add the u-shaped pieces of metal, which will act as support.

22.    Garden Wagon

Have you noticed the hard task of carrying supplies when you are gardening? In case you have a loved one that has a hobby of gardening, you can make the wagon for him and hand it to him as a gift. To make the garden wagon, you require two sheets of metals that are six inches on the sides,  two sheets of metal of four feet by six inches on the sides, one metal sheet for the base, four metal brackets, two axles that are four and half feet wide, and one metal wagon handle. You will also need four solid wheels of two feet and paint that rust proof.

Utilize four sheets of metal that you purchased for the sides and then weld them in the shape of a rectangle. You can then place the sheet of metal of its base on the top and then weld its edges. Set its axles four inches from all ends of the wagon. You can weld brackets over the axles. The axles of the wheel should have the ability to spin. Attach its wheels and then flip the body to weld the handles of the wagon in place. Use the rust proof paint to pint it and the garden wagon will be ready to utilize.

23.    Firewood Rack

The firewood rack is a cool welding project idea and one which does not take very long to weld. You require square metal tubing to make it.

The rack is constructed in a U-edged square. The height needs to be approximately four feet and five feet long. The overall width needs to be at least one and a half feet. Cut your metal tubing to the right size and begin welding its ends. Add support halfway in length to make it strong.

24.    Go Kart Frame

You can construct the go-cart frame within no time with the help of plans in the market. The plans are good for your project. Additionally, this project is worthwhile, fun, and if you have to involve other individuals in your project, they will also enjoy. Everybody likes the go Kart.

25.    Shelves

Construct some shelves of steel for purposes of storage in the garage. Your partner will increasingly love you for it as a gift, but she will hate the clutter that is created there.

26.    Welding Table.

You need to possess a sturdy welding table in the working location. After all, what surface are you going to use during welding? Will you use the kitchen table? That is not the case. This may be your most worthwhile welding project in the new shop.

27.    Steel and Metal Storage.

You need to store all your metal bits for purposes of welding. Why not create a storage container that is organized rather than throwing them in an old space in the garage or shed?

28.    Plant Stands.

Everybody likes and loves plants. Many people love having nice plant stands to hang little plants on them. This is especially good on the level of the eyes because many freaks of plants like talking to their plants also.

29.    Stool.

You require a sitting stool when you are feeling tired being on your feet at all times. You will also be cleaning and grinding in the house; therefore, why not do it while seated on the stool that you welded by yourself.

30.    Barbecue

You can weld the barbeque or grill within a short period. All you need to put in place is a full set of plans. To make your things simple and easy, you can go for the fifty-five-gallon barrel. You can build one from that barrel. It does not look pretty, but it completes the trick.

31.    Compost Unit.

Everybody would like to have great soil for his plans. Construct a composting barrel unit that will help solve this task.

32.    Toy

Building a toy is an advanced but cool welding project idea you can try out. This project will be challenging, but it is worth a try. Just have a plan in place, and you will come up with a great toy for your functionality.

33.    Outdoor Fireplace

One of the greatest projects that beginners find useful and interesting is the outdoor fireplace. This project needs minimal skill, good working knowledge of ARC, MIG, and TIG welding basics, and excellent attention to detail. The materials required include the plasma cutter, steel rods, and steel sheets. It may take several days to complete.

34.    Barbecue pit

Who could not utilize the homemade barbecue pit? Save time and money by making your barbecue pit with the welding skills you have. This welding project is simple in which you can weld a few metal bars and sheets together, and place the completed project in the patio area or backyard. Since this task will assist you to adorn the patio and the home, techniques of TIG welding and supplies are needed.

35.    Storage Rack

Curating the storage rack is a great welding idea for all welders that like using the MIG welder. This project needs some bits of space, creativity, and skill. After completing it, you can put it anywhere in the garage or home where you require additional space for storage.

36.    Screen Or Security Door

Employ your welding project hobby to enhance the security of the home by welding the security door or screen. You can employ various metals depending on how sturdy or how strong you want the new door screen to be. You need to keep the appearance of the door in mind also. To give the door screen a look of high quality and finish, employ TIG tools of welding.

37.    Entry Gates

This cool welding project is for welders with little time on their hands and would like to come up with something that enhances the value of the home and curb the appeal while showing their skills of welding off. Weld the wrought aluminum or iron bars together to come up with great entry gates. For this task, you will require MIG welding tools and ornamental wrought iron or aluminum bars.

38.    Wine Bottle Holder

Welders that love wine will love the idea of making their bottle holders. All they need is a thick chain, welding equipment, and an empty wine bottle. Of course, the welding technique and materials depend on the design of the bottle holder. Beginners can get by this welding project by use of TIG and ARC welding skills and supplies to come up with a useful and stunning wine bottle holder.

39.    Barbecue Smoker

This cool welding project is for beginners that are advanced and would like to test their skills of welding. Creating a smoker needs a good time investment, enough space, and steel materials, but the finalized project and rewards are worth the investment.

40.    Coat Rack

In case you are seeking extra space for your jackets and coats, you can weld your coat rack with ease. All you require is steel components and other supplies of welding. Use the MIG welder to give your rack a look that is professional and for smoothing out rough edges to keep clothes and coats from sagging.

41.    Truck Bumper Kit

This is a great welding project idea for beginners, truck enthusiasts, and teens. It is extremely easy, simple, and can be put to utility immediately. Weld the truck bumper to give your vehicle extra protection and an appearance that is rugged. A TIG and a MIG welder are required for this task.

42.    Garden Trellis

Make your garden trellis for your climbing plants and vines with the help of your skills in welding. The size and design of the project will determine if you have to use ARC, TIG, or MIG welding tools.

43.    Children’s play sets

Your kids will love it when you choose to build them a playground. Find free playground plans and use them for this cool project

44.    Truck and trailer jack stands

If you want to construct a custom truck, the extra tall jack stand is a thing that will help you work below the vehicle. The project of the jack stand is good for advanced welders that know ways of making a weld seam that will not break.

45.    Small utility trailer

There is no need of purchasing a new trailer for four thousand dollars. Construct a small trailer after gaining intermediate welding skills. You can do it when you have MIG welding skills.

46.    Modern desk (business design)

The modern desk is yet another welding project idea that can give you money. This desk is as cute as a modest dining table. When you make this table, you can sell it for one thousand dollars.

47.    Steel vase

Making a steel vase is a great welding project idea. Since you are working on flat steel, you have to select a design you can break down in flat planes you can start with.

48.    Fitness and gym equipment

Welding gym and fitness tools is a cool welding project idea for people that want to sell stuff or for welding experts. Design your shoulder press bench, climbing bar, and the flat bench and then sell it to the local gyms.

49.    Steel and glass partition wall

A modern and nice looking partition wall that is made of glass and steel frames is a great welding project. The project of the partition wall is for advanced welders. If done well, this project can be lucrative.

50.    Contracting services

One cool welding idea is having contacts with all local and building contractors. You need to consider workshops, industrial companies, marine industries, and car repairs to name a few. If you handle the projects well, it is likely that you will get a recommendation from customers and contractors in the future.

With the required tools of welding, the right design, and little creativity, anybody can come up with beautiful projects in their backyards.

[maxbenson11-blog]

Tips to Select the Mobile App Development Organization

A unique cellular app concept can actually change the globe. Apps such as Facebook, Pinterest or Above all are greatly popular these days, not because those had been started through famous company personas. It is extremely the revolutionary approach of those mobile applications that has used the technical world simply by storm.

Along with increasing amount of tech-savvy customers across the globe, portable application advancement has created interruptions across key industries with regard to offering business-friendliness, great simplicity of use, and on-the-go data option of employees as well as customers as well. As the requirement for mobile software development maintains surmounting, lots of mobile application development businesses have come as much as deliver correct and particular app methods to their customers.

These companies will help you get started with the actual mobile software development procedure, especially if you possess a creative iphone app development thought in your mind. However what if to be able to any plan and yet need a mobile software package for your enterprise? Or, you might have the perfect idea of how you would like your business request to be, however want which within the really tight timeline or spending budget? Here's in which a careful choice plays a role.

To place it within simply, you have to pick out an organization that knows your business specifications and can offer innovative options as per your own specifications and also guidelines. Simply making a look on Google for any mobile practical application development organization will not perform; there are a large number of such organizations that offer simply this, and therefore, leads to a considerable amount of00 confusion. You have to analyze, type and put altered requirements within the search engine to obtain the right outcomes.

Wondering how you can go about this? Here are some tips through the App improvement team that may help you choose the best mobile phone app growth company for the business.

Effective Ideas to Choose the Mobile App Development Company

For those who have a mid-to-large scale organization, the cell phone app could be a very important part of your company growth technique. Therefore , you need to choose a cell app progress company which has an innovative strategy along with highly advanced thinking. To start with you determine the strengths and weaknesses associated with any company, you should begin by evaluating your group needs along with check if the chosen business can satisfy those. Listed below are 7 verified tips for locating the mobile instance company which you have chosen:

1 . Understand what Your Application Requirements Tend to be

It might seem like a no-brainer yet having a comprehensive understanding of your current app progression requirements can help you inside filtering the particular mobile application development firms. This process ought to start with end of trading analysis from the specific small business demands in addition to objectives, that you need to transform into significant app functions and benefits. We have observed that a lot of companies struggle whilst determining the actual want off their business software. To help them improvement, we provide the questionnaire in order to drive all of them toward their own goal:

What kinds of products/services are you currently trying to sell? Wherever do you want your own personal app to become: on Google android, iOS, Windows-based Mobile Software Development Systems? Who will create  your user base? What type of mobile iphone app do you want- native, mixed or online apps?

When you are convinced as to what you want from your app, you need to to move to another step.

second . Inquire Of their App Shipping Time-to-Market

Quicker 'time-to-market' may be the new need in today's' age of electronic disruption. In case your chosen mobile or portable app production company is actually slow in rolling away apps towards the market, it has an increasing chance that you will standard your competition. The actual quicker your organization app strikes the market, greater would be your RETURN ON INVESTMENT. Therefore , focus on choosing phone app enhancement companies that will deliver top quality apps rapidly, while bearing in mind the altering trends within the app advancement market.

three. Take a Near Look at their particular Portfolios

When you open the web site of any kind of mobile software package development firm, start by examining their casinos. Portfolios give a good summary of the business domain names and task themes the organization has been associated with, and the type of technical experience they keep. You can also make contact with the company to comprehend whether they been employed by on the sort of app you would like before and still have the potential to provide it.

four. Check Exactly how Affordable They may be

When it comes to deciding on the best mobile request development corporation, you will usually find the improvement cost plus app high quality to be in discord. A lot of businesses opt for start-ups to keep the expansion cost lower and get a finished item which has small market relevance. On the other hand, it really is wrong in order to assume that greatest mobile practical application development corporations offering top quality app remedies will be constantly high-priced. What you should keep in mind the following is that only powerful market gamers can afford to supply quality programs at effective costs. If you opt to go for long-established companies along with good marketplace visibility, you will see that their very own charges tend to be comparatively lower than the start-ups and others.

five. See How Clear Their Procedure Is

The item development period and openness policy accompanied by the cellular app growth company additionally play an essential role inside the selection process. Lower code ways of mobile program development possess gained tremendous popularity regarding faster instance delivery, nevertheless few top mobile application development providers in ALL OF US follow it these days. In addition , search for companies that offer transparent conversation and suggestions loops from the development method for keeping better common understanding, and even promptly react to errors together with iteration demands.

6. Examine Their Encounter and Popularity Online

Marketplace reputation as well as experience talk volumes concerning the credibility of the mobile software development provider. Apart from checking portfolios, keep close track of the number of reviews that are positive posted in regards to a particular enterprise, years of encounter in the iphone app development domain name, and the different types of mobile app development solutions that they supply. Just remember that you are able to achieve great Return on Investment (ROI) from your software package only when the business chosen by simply you can provide solutions together with innovative, out-of-the-box ideation. Additionally, if a supplier projects complex knowledge of several mobile gadget requirements and popular Cellular Application Advancement Platforms such as Android and also iOS, be assured that they are effective at delivering what you need from them.

[katemcgarry]

Test Shoot:

Aim: Our aim with the test shoot wasn't to have a polished finished product. But to allow the crew to make mistakes in a non-intensive environment whilst also getting the opportunity to mess around with what we wanted stylistically. I wanted the test shoot to be an experience that could be learned from; we make mistakes, so we don't do the same when it really counts.

What went well - Teamwork, communication and adaptability: One of the strengths of the shoot was the way we worked as a team. We decided to work with a very paired-down crew. As a team, we didn't want to bring in a full scale. a) Because the location we were using was small and b) this was an opportunity to see what worked and by not being so formal with on-set workflow allowed the crew to feel less under pressure to perform at their best—this on-set ethos allowed for unrestricted creativity. Therefore, as well as producing, I stepped in as the first assistant director, Brontë stepped in as sound recordist, and brought in a second year as the assistant camera. The test shoot was two days long, and we had 20 shots. This is a lot to cover in two days, and I knew we would ultimately cut some of these shots out. But we worked well as a team to communicate what we thought would need to be cut to save time whilst also bearing in mind the edit. This was a collective conversation which was massively helpful. Despite all working on the same project and having similar creative intentions through personal perspectives, we each have a different take on any given situation; therefore, keeping the conversation collaborative is essential in spotting errors in our thinking. Furthermore, issues with equipment cause issues with the schedule. Firstly, the batteries that came with the monitor were neither charged nor came with a charger. Therefore, we could not use the monitor for the start of the shoot. Additionally, halfway through the first shoot day, the on-and-off switch for the Tascam broke. Therefore, we suddenly didn't have any sound equipment. And so we adapted. I emailed ben throughout the shoot enquiring about batteries, and when the sound equipment broke, I decided to go to Craiglockhart and get our equipment sorted. However, we got together as a group and planned how to use our time effectively whilst the production was shut down. Brontë and I went and sorted the kit, and Robyn and Lilith sorted out future shots in the schedule so we could move more quickly when we resumed. It's hard to describe how it felt working so cohesively, but it felt excellent, and I am excited to do the same on the final shoot.

What could be improved: Preproduction - The preproduction for the shoot was rushed a) because we wanted to get the shoot done early to give all more time for the dissertation, and b) this had a knock-on effect on the script, which wasn't completed until a week before the shoot. Therefore, a lot of the preproduction was done in isolation. For example, Robyn did the storyboard and shot list under her own steam and shared them on our group chat which got the director's approval. However, with more time, I would have liked to have the director and cinematographer sit down together several times and put these documents together. But we will have a few months to have these conversations for the final film.

Location Scouting - During early conversations about production when of the major stylistic choices we wanted for Sophia's bedroom was for it to have purple walls. Lilith mentioned that her flatmate had a large bedroom with purple walls, which we had permission to use for the test shoot. However, the extent of the scouting process was just images Lilith could grab real quick. Lilith's description and the photos made the room look bigger than it was, which had a knock-on effect on the equipment. Robyn booked out several different wattage Fresnels; however, due to the size of the room, they were too strong, and we had to rely on practical lights for the scene. Which we made do with but not ideal. A large part of the issue was time constraints and not finding the time to see the location in person; this will not be an issue for the final film, but something which would have benefitted the test shoot.

Overall the test shoot went well, it may not be the most incredible thing we make at Napier, but that was not our intention. The test has just made me more excited to get to the final thing because I love the team we have for this film and think we can make something great!

[thunderheadfred]

@thenerdcommander replied to your post “(None of this has a point and really it belongs in a private journal...”

This likely isn't the time or place, but can I make a suggestion? Have you considered getting a small group of friends or other artists to critique your work before posting it? Like beta readers, except for art. Ones you trust and know will tell you if they see areas they can help you improve in. It might not make everything okay but if you think it might help even a little bit it could be worth an attempt. Don't give up entirely just yet.

I know my tumblr posts sound pretty grim and doom and gloomy (I mean, I straight up turned into a severe tropical storm at about 10pm last night) but I don’t want to give up on drawing either, like, at all. I just needed to tie my bad thoughts to the railroad tracks for a minute...

this is actually a great idea - a small critique group is a thing I’ve thought about hosting - I know other folks have done writer’s circles like that and whatnot, but I’ve never felt comfortable enough to join (or start my own) because I didn’t want to overstep or... I don’t know?

I guess my biggest concern is getting overwhelmed. I already contribute so little and have such a Dumb Guilt Complex that I would be paranoid about having too many people/projects to adequately spread out the attention, or people feeling left out or dog-piled, especially if I’m moderating. I wouldn’t want any kind of critique space to be just for my work, (unless I’ve got a friendly beta reader helping me out) but a reciprocal circle where people can come for honest, helpful, constructive feedback on their own stuff too. I think I’m a pretty decent constructive-comment giver, but it’s exhausting, especially when depression is running rampant. So I’d worry about burnout and feeling guilty a lot, because I don’t have as much to give as I’d like. blah blah blah I’m making it about me again. Point is, lots of creatives feel that way, and I wouldn’t want anybody’s feelings getting hurt. Artist egos are perilously fragile things, but I honestly believe that given the right circumstances some careful, well-intentioned critique can be infinitely more helpful than enabling praise, if that makes sense?

I dunno gughaogna;olgn. this all sounds exhausting right now so I need to focus on my own garbage first obviously, bleh. but I genuinely think it’s a great idea and I’m going to consider logistics some more. I think a discord server would suit this well - real-time talk (with voice options for those REALLY intense discussions haha) and the ability to share text/images etc. Limited to a small group of people or else divided into rooms by interest/skill/whatever (not meant to be exclusive, it’s just hard to critique on a large scale or with wildly differing skill sets and ability levels) and I have no idea how that would pan out. I know @autodiscothings runs a similar thing to this for writing - I should probably pick her brain some

tl;dr I’d probably call my friendly critique server The Circle Jerks so that’s your first sign that I should never be put in charge of anything, ever, hahaha