#code practice oscillator

[imabug]

Etherkit Goodies

[loveemagicpeace]

Sun & Moon Combinations Part 2

📚Cancer Sun & Aquarius Moon-generous, nurturing, and devoted to family. Emotionally more rebellious person who doesn't want to do things like others or you want to create a reputation of your own. This combination can be eccentric and live by an unconventional moral code that is usually right for all concerned. Many times you can do something that goes against your feelings but in the end you feel the best.

🔥Libra Sun & Sagittarius Moon-This person may be very flirtatious and may have multiple crushes. You think it's fun to go on dates and meet new people all the time. You are not emotionally attached to the people around you and you are not a dependent person. Many times you feel that you can do things by yourself without the help of others. Optimistic and cheerful, I think they will quickly put you in a good mood and make you smile.

🦋Scorpio Sun & Taurus Moon-a fixed person who has stable emotions. Many times you like people who are serious and have serious intentions. You can be calm from within and patiently accept the emotions of others even if they are dramatic. I think that these people are very serious emotionally and that they don't give their energy to just anyone, but to the person they really love. You can also be very protective. Their emotions may not be so obvious on the outside, but they are still emotional & deep.

♟️Capricorn Sun & Cancer Moon-These people oscillate between stability and instability. Many times they want to appear as adults, responsible and serious. On the other hand, they can be moody and emotional. Many times their personality and emotions don't match. Many times their moods can change and many times they can come off as if they always want to fit in with society. Often it is typical for them to put too much of themselves into other people and get hurt deep inside when others distance themselves.

🎡Aries Sun & Libra Moon-Many times they have a fiery approach to things, but at the same time they have a side where they also want to understand others (another perspective). Many times their response can be impulsive or too bold. But they have feelings inside, they care about other people. They want to emotionally understand people and their actions. Many times these people want to forgive others.

🎆Sagittarius Sun & Gemini Moon-these people are very philosophical and also have a very intelligent mind. With them, I often feel that I can go to them for advice and they always give you an honest opinion and see the perspective of others and the bigger picture very well. They know how to use words and always feel better emotionally when they talk to someone. I noticed with them that they often have their own approach to people and things and that they rarely ever flirt with someone or they can quickly be just friends with someone.

🌶️Leo Sun & Aries Moon-Fiery people who often have an impulsive reaction to things and sometimes find it difficult to see the other person's perspective. I noticed with them that they quickly take offense when they are not noticed or when the person does not pay enough attention to them. And they always want things to happen immediately. They are very independent of people, they can do many things by themselves and nothing is a problem for them. They don't like to appear weak - in fact they hate it.

🍃Virgo Sun & Aquarius Moon- these people can be very critical and at times even cold. Many times they look at things from a logical perspective and give practical advice. However, they still know how to help people emotionally. Their nature is often rebellious and they do not emotionally want to do things that others do. They can produce a personality that is unconventional, original, broad-minded and cultured. They are able to develop harmonious relationships with both their friends and acquaintances.

🫧Taurus Sun & Pisces moon- I like this combination because it gives a person stability and emotionality at the same time. The person will appreciate you and your things very much. You will do a lot for this person and you are willing to sacrifice a lot. You care about the person and always want the person to feel comfortable around you. You have a big heart. You support the person in everything. These are the people who spoil you and give you a lot of warmth and compassion.

⛰️Gemini Sun & Capricorn Moon- These people are many times more stable than they seem. They have stable emotions, but at the same time they feel that they want to express their emotions through words. They have great inner strength, character, and the ability to overcome obstacles through perseverance and fortitude. But maybe many times people can see them as too unemotional. Because they want everything they do to be practical and at the same time logical.

-Rebekah🦋🫧🧚🏼‍♀️

[vizreef]

MFJ Enterprises, Inc // MFJ-557 // Deluxe Morse Code Practice Oscillator (US, 2013)

[positivelybeastly]

So, a very dear friend of mine asked me why I think that Hank is such a performer - why he's so good at it, why he enjoys it so much - and it's one of those things that I think is so integral to Hank's character that really determines if you 'get' Beast or not.

I think the brass tacks of it is - he enjoys the attention, he enjoys the affirmation, the praise. There's some lines of dialogue from his parents that state that he was basically the best case scenario they could've hoped for, considering his father's radiation accident - sure, he was weirdly strong, sure, his limbs were oversized, but he was otherwise extremely healthy and intelligent and not deformed like they feared he would be.

So there's a degree of a miracle baby thing going on, where they showered him with love and attention and found it hard to be genuinely angry with him, and especially as he went on, as he got more and more plaudits for being brilliant, I think he chased that high a little bit.

He throttles back a bit when he's older, to try and hide because mutant and he does like being normal even if he loves being praised and affirmed as well, but everyone is telling him to keep going, to be as brilliant as he can be - which, to him, means be VISIBLY brilliant, be VISIBLY great at what you do.

And even when he joins the Avengers, even after he achieves that status symbol, he's STILL chasing that affirmation, he's starting to create impossible standards for himself. He feels notably down when he isn't contributing in fights or with his scientific acumen, he takes it hard when people criticise him, and he starts to feel the need now to be a public face for mutantkind.

It's not really something he mentions as being a thing in Avengers because 70s Avengers wasn't all that interested in addressing the mutant angle, but it does become a plot point in New Defenders, where a college student calls him out for being one of the most public mutant faces there is (remember, this is before Xavier outed himself, so, like, the public mutant faces are probably Hank, Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver . . . PROBABLY A LOT OF VILLAINS, and the X-Men, but they're secretive and known only as a weird paramilitary group) but not DOING anything with that status. And then he takes that hard, and forms a mutant advocacy group, because he wants to be good and be seen to be doing good.

There's also the aspect of needing to aggressively perform both masculinity and humanity - especially in Avengers, he's so hypersexual and so casually intelligent (he spends an entire issue just alternating between the dozen languages he knows for fun) because he wants you to consider him a man, and a human, before he's a Beast.

That's an element of his character that you see really obviously in his human form, where he's a fucking walking thesaurus, but there, it's to stand out, to seem smart, there's a degree of smugness and 'look at meeeee,' but the instant he turns blue and furry, it's more about 'look at me not being a freak.'

That only intensifies when he becomes feline, where you see a sort of melding of the two - he's a lot less casual with his speech, he almost slides back into his Big Words mode, but he also wants you to consider him friendly and approachable, so how much he drops a million dollar quote or word starts to oscillate depending on his audience. He changes depending on who he's talking to.

He also almost never shows his teeth when he smiles.

As for why he's so good at it - practice, a lot of reading, and I think a degree of underrated emotional sensitivity. In his way, he's more empathetic and kind and gentle than Jean can be - granted, Jean was fucking MEGA PISSED over the affair with Scott, but if you look at the way he treats Emma, it's very soft and teasing and nurturing, and he stands up for her even against his best friend Jean, who had psychically brutalised Emma.

She has the cheat code of telepathy, but Hank is just - naturally warm and tender. He's a very sensitive soul, not just in terms of being vulnerable but just knowing what people need to hear and being there for them. He's even capable of empathy for Mr. Sinister of all people.

If Percy had even an ounce of this insight into Hank's character, X-Force Beast would just be a performance. "This is what Krakoa needs, so I'll become it," but he just. Doesn't. Get. That. There are glimmers of it! HE'S SO CLOSE. SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT.

This SHOULD be why X-Force Beast is so overtly evil, why he's so despicable, why he's so stupidly villainous - because it's a performance, because that's the only kind of evil Hank can do, and it's KILLING him to do it. One last great performance, to save everyone he loves.

THAT. THAT. WHERE DID IT GO, BEN?

And, like . . . he's getting . . . a reaction. It isn't the reaction he wants, it isn't a reaction he enjoys, but it's a reaction, people . . . ARE paying attention to him, so in a way, that's telling him to keep going. Like, that'd be such an interesting, fucked up dynamic to lean into, that this is just a bit that went too far, that Hank can't stop himself, that his emotions are all fucked up and no-one can tell it's a performance anymore and no-one can pull him out, that he became the performance, but no.

Just evil.

It just sucks because I bet we're not even going to get a resolution on X-Force Beast's feelings about Krakoa and the Hellfire Gala. About the idea that he was the necessary bastard but it didn't keep them all safe, that all of his plans and gambits failed, that he sacrificed everything for nothing. Judging by X-Force #48, he's probably just going to do some Bond villain shit and get taken down. In his own villain turn, he's just - stripped, of all emotional complexity. There isn't a character there. It sucks, man.

It isn't even subtextual. It's just. It's there.

Like, Hank's fatal character flaws are: a complete insecurity in his own self-worth, a worrying fear that he's failed at everything he's ever tried to do, an anxiety that he's not truly human, never will be, never can be, and will in fact only get worse.

THOSE ARE ENOUGH TO BE GETTING ON WITH.

And he ameliorates those things by being charming and funny and playing to type so people like him.

Like, if these writers understood Hank, they would USE that by emphasising the fact that Hank's insecurities and fears and anxieties are growing to such a scale that it's affecting his ability to make emotional reads on people, and thus he's playing the WRONG role that he thinks they want from him, because that's tragic, and that's understandable, but instead they make it that he's just got an ego, or that he's just plain evil.

LIKE.

YOU COULD LITERALLY HAVE HANK BE PAGLIACCI.

"Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain.

Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up."

Man bursts into tears.

Says, "But doctor...I am Pagliacci.”

Hank is always playing the clown, because it makes people happy and that makes him happy, but when they aren't happy, when the jokes don't work, there's no clown to make him feel better. That's when the bottom falls out. That's when you start getting the troubles. And that is tragic.

THAT is how you justify Hank doing horrible things, by making him chase ever greater jokes to tell, ever greater acts of devotion and amusement and entertainment for his audience, desperately hoping it'll bring the soothing balm of someone telling him he did good, because that is horrible, and that is real, and that is so sad.

But nah, evil.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 42, 2023

The contribution of the basal ganglia and cerebellum to motor learning: A neuro-computational approach. Baladron, J., Vitay, J., Fietzek, T., & Hamker, F. H. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(4), e1011024.

Beta Oscillations in Monkey Striatum Encode Reward Prediction Error Signals. Basanisi, R., Marche, K., Combrisson, E., Apicella, P., & Brovelli, A. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(18), 3339–3352.

Inhibitory neurons control the consolidation of neural assemblies via adaptation to selective stimuli. Bergoin, R., Torcini, A., Deco, G., Quoy, M., & Zamora-López, G. (2023). Scientific Reports, 13, 6949.

Measuring memory is harder than you think: How to avoid problematic measurement practices in memory research. Brady, T. F., Robinson, M. M., Williams, J. R., & Wixted, J. T. (2023). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 30(2), 421–449.

How synaptic strength, short-term plasticity, and input synchrony contribute to neuronal spike output. Buchholz, M. O., Gastone Guilabert, A., Ehret, B., & Schuhknecht, G. F. P. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(4), e1011046.

A double dissociation between savings and long-term memory in motor learning. Hadjiosif, A. M., Morehead, J. R., & Smith, M. A. (2023). PLOS Biology, 21(4), e3001799.

Dynamic synchronization between hippocampal representations and stepping. Joshi, A., Denovellis, E. L., Mankili, A., Meneksedag, Y., Davidson, T. J., Gillespie, A. K., … Frank, L. M. (2023). Nature, 617(7959), 125–131.

The features underlying the memorability of objects. Kramer, M. A., Hebart, M. N., Baker, C. I., & Bainbridge, W. A. (2023). Science Advances, 9(17).

Neural spiking for causal inference and learning. Lansdell, B. J., & Kording, K. P. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(4), e1011005.

Purely STDP-based assembly dynamics: Stability, learning, overlaps, drift and aging. Manz, P., & Memmesheimer, R.-M. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(4), e1011006.

A key role of orientation in the coding of visual motion direction. Moon, J., Tadin, D., & Kwon, O.-S. (2023). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 30(2), 564–574.

Oligodendrocyte-mediated myelin plasticity and its role in neural synchronization. Pajevic, S., Plenz, D., Basser, P. J., & Fields, R. D. (2023). eLife, 12, e81982.

Metabolic activity organizes olfactory representations. Qian, W. W., Wei, J. N., Sanchez-Lengeling, B., Lee, B. K., Luo, Y., Vlot, M., … Wiltschko, A. B. (2023). eLife, 12, e82502.

Efficient coding of natural scenes improves neural system identification. Qiu, Y., Klindt, D. A., Szatko, K. P., Gonschorek, D., Hoefling, L., Schubert, T., … Euler, T. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(4), e1011037.

A shift in the mechanisms controlling hippocampal engram formation during brain maturation. Ramsaran, A. I., Wang, Y., Golbabaei, A., Aleshin, S., de Snoo, M. L., Yeung, B. A., … Frankland, P. W. (2023). Science, 380(6644), 543–551.

Perceptual Difficulty Regulates Attentional Gain Modulations in Human Visual Cortex. Sawetsuttipan, P., Phunchongharn, P., Ounjai, K., Salazar, A., Pongsuwan, S., Intrachooto, S., … Itthipuripat, S. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(18), 3312–3330.

Goal Choices Modify Frontotemporal Memory Representations. Srinivasan, A., Riceberg, J. S., Goodman, M. R., Srinivasan, A., Guise, K. G., & Shapiro, M. L. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(18), 3353–3364.

Diverse role of NMDA receptors for dendritic integration of neural dynamics. Tang, Y., Zhang, X., An, L., Yu, Z., & Liu, J. K. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(4), e1011019.

With Bayesian estimation one can get all that Bayes factors offer, and more. Tendeiro, J. N., & Kiers, H. A. L. (2023). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 30(2), 534–552.

Early-Life Stress Impairs Perception and Neural Encoding of Rapid Signals in the Auditory Pathway. Ye, Y., Mattingly, M. M., Sunthimer, M. J., Gay, J. D., & Rosen, M. J. (2023). Journal of Neuroscience, 43(18), 3232–3244.

[thenightdayblogger]

3, 4, 22, 34 from the Sidestep ask game for Esmé? (Is this just in part me fishing for a couple things I already know? Perhaps. Perhaps.)

Ask game here!

3. what is their villain name? why did they choose it?

Catalyst! In lieu of explaining one (1) thing about what she's doing or any actionable goals she has with this whole "randomly accosting heroes on the street" thing going on she points at her name and expects you to get it. she is indeed the catalyst—the spark of change. oh boy is she Inciting Incidents.

4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?

Imposing. Slate grey, black and hints of dark, burnt orange. A stylized, modern and very historically unfaithful twist on a centurion's armor, you wouldn't know if you weren't looking. In her civilian gear, the only thing that ever changes is her shirt LMAO. a well-worn jacket, practical pants and boots. every single thing she buys gets put through the wringer to test how well it holds up.

22. how do they feel about their telepathy? is it a gift? a curse?

very ars coded question i love it. ANYWAY uh i think that esme is not ashamed of her telepathy! it's part of the person she is even if she forgets sometimes. she doesn't think of it as "gift" or "curse" in the same way one doesn't generally consider their hands a gift or a curse—she was born with it. it's something she's always had and will always have. the outside scar is a bit of a clusterfuck—escaping, her feelings of alienation were not helped by the very keen awareness of her own isolation. But there are good things too—how individual people are, the vibrancy of their existences, it's quite startling how earnest she is about it considering her whole 'aloof asshole' deal haha.

34. are they nostalgic for their sidestep days or eager to move on?

Oh man. I think that esme oscillates wildly on that front. she can admit to herself, if not to ortega LMAO, that she missed a lot of things about being a hero. Or at least, she prefers that to what she's doing now (hello, self rivalry). on the other hand, she is very critical of herself for having propped up abusive systems, even if it was unintentionally, and for not having done enough. she also constantly reminds herself it was all a lie. that she was playacting at being a person and never told them because she knew it was all on shaky ground. So it's a toss-up, really. I'd say she misses them overall—at least for the better person she thinks she was then.

Thank you for the ask bookish!!

[vagueandominousvibes]

1, 4, 7! Sending good vibes your way!! 💖

Thanks!! <3

What was the first book you remember reading/being read?

Technically I feel like it should've been The Hobbit, but I don't actually remember dad reading it to me, so it'll have to be The Lord of the Rings! I must've been, oh, 9 or 10? Maybe 11? It was the last book dad read to me, and I vaguely remember him saying as we were finishing it that I was old enough to read my own books now.

(Joke's on him, now my fiancé reads Terry Pratchett to me XD)

4. Which book have you read most frequently?

The Lord of the Rings, without doubt. I wrote an academic article on it during my BA, so my dad's copy is getting pretty worn. Before that, I wrote one of my major Y13 essays on it (using the same book). There's layers of notes in there, and it's full of little post-it-notes – all of which are colour coded.

I don't tend to re-read books, unless I'm particularly taken with it or it's for an academic purpose. I suppose that doesn't make me much of a student of literature, but it at least means I've covered a reasonable amount of ground within my preferred genres.

7. What type of books do you like reading most?

It oscillates between children's books and academic books. I love the pure joy and wonder you often find in children's books, especially if they've got an element of fantasy, and I think it's really fascinating to observe what the author emphasises and how the book is formulated.

Which leads me to academic books, specifically about children's and fantasy literature. Perhaps fittingly, I'm currently doing a one-year course on engaging with and communicating children's literature to their intended audience, and part of that is both appreciating the literature in and of itself, and examining the cultural and psychological moments of the text.

I've actually been thinking about doing some sort of small YouTube thing where I read one children's book a month and talk about it, just to put some of what I'm learning into practice, so we'll see when I get around to doing that.

[burlveneer-music]

Burnt Friedman - Hexenschuss - new album of electronic polyrhythms, also available as extended versions

Hexenschuss (Extended Versions) by Burnt Friedman

The vocabulary of modern ‘Western’ music or of the so–called Global North has finally been spelled out. The ever more hasty striving to move forward led to a music that is ‘starving among this embarrassment of riches’. In those days, the music that was oscillating in a state of “permanent obsolescence” — often in short cycles of a few months — and preserved as a sign of the times in musical codes, has gone in the completely opposite direction, into a state of obsolete permanence.

In this drive forward towards refining and expanding a catalogue of superlatives, a never changing, underlying, but underdeveloped isometric schema has irreversibly and imperceptibly cemented in the body. The corresponding theory – the persisting phantom terms of academia – seek to break free of its phenomena. In contrast to this, in the music beyond the 'Global North', a nature of 'polyrhythms’ is detected, or, in other words, every beat that can not be grasped easily must therefor be a polyrhythm and African in essence. Now, shift the focus away from the contrafactual cultural connotations of the record sleeve towards the animating principle of the music, the phenomenological vectors of rhythm and view ‘groove‘ as the intrinsic attribute of regular harmonic motion patterns. This formulaic, animating principle is solely based on the law of the octave (doubling and halving). It appears repetitive, or circular in nature as opposed to linear and progressive. Such a formula is derived from a recurrent, balanced body movement from which every impulse originates as something sensed, as opposed to being subject to will or notation. What sounds merely technical or sophisticated in theory turns out to be basal in practice. It can also be grasped as an energy structure. In other words, a controlled regular movement yields stable interrelated time intervals with the least expenditure of energy.

In 'grooving', or 'composing a guiding path' all those involved (sequencer, drummer, dancer, etc.) become attuned to one another in a resistance against arbitrary dictates such as cultural appropriation, man–made aesthetic framework or notions of folklore. Such a 'guiding path' seeks to dispense with taste as much as possible, ultimately in favour of an experience of harmonic accordance, strangeness, displacement and not least, freedom. (Burnt Friedman) In regard to the people depicted on the cover: The Andamanese are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia. They have lived in substantial isolation on the islands for thousands of years. Although the existence of the islands and their inhabitants was long known to maritime powers and traders of the South– and Southeast–Asia region, contact with these peoples was highly sporadic and very often hostile; as a result, almost nothing is recorded of them or their languages until the mid-18th century. Until this period, the Andamanese were preserved from outside influences by their fierce reaction to visitors, which included killing any shipwrecked foreigners, and by the remoteness of the islands. The various tribes and their mutually unintelligible languages thus are believed to have evolved on their own over millennia. Some of the tribe members were credited to having supernatural powers. They were called oko-pai-ad, which meant dreamer. They were thought to have an influence on the members of the tribe and would bring misfortune to those who did not believe in their abilities. When the British first established a colonial presence on the Andaman islands, there were an estimated 5,000 Great Andamanese living on Great Andaman and surrounding islands, comprising 10 distinct tribes with distinct but closely related languages. From the 1860s onwards, the British established a penal colony on the islands, which led to the subsequent arrival of mainland settlers and indentured labourers, mainly from the Indian subcontinent. This coincided with the massive population reduction of the Andamanese due to outside diseases, to a low of 19 individuals in 1961.

Music composed and produced by Burnt Friedman 2019 – 2022 Published by Freibank Cover photography – 1875, photographer unknown, group of Andamanese people, person in tropical suit presumably German ethnologist and explorer Fedor Jagor

[pagebypagereviews]

# Unlock Ultimate Productivity: 12 Essential Tools for Remote Work In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the shift to remote work has transformed the way we approach daily tasks, team projects, and long-term goals. As professionals worldwide adapt to this new norm, the key to thriving in a work-from-home environment lies in leveraging the right set of tools. "12 Essential Tools for Remote Work" is an indispensable guide that delves into the realm of productivity software, virtual collaboration platforms, and efficiency tools meticulously curated to enhance your workflow and streamline your business operations. Remote work, while offering unparalleled flexibility, presents unique challenges such as maintaining productivity, fostering team communication, and managing time effectively. This book identifies and reviews critical tools specifically designed to tackle these issues, enabling you to stay on top of your game regardless of your location. Whether you're an individual freelancer seeking to optimize your time or a manager orchestrating a seamless virtual collaboration among distributed teams, the tools discussed in this comprehensive review promise to bridge the gaps and facilitate a more efficient work environment. Dive into this resourceful guide and unlock practical solutions to the common hurdles of remote work, ensuring you stay productive, connected, and organized. The central focus revolves around the journey of a remote team navigating the digital landscape using the 12 Essential Tools for Remote Work. Each tool serves a unique purpose, forming a cohesive network that transforms their workflow. The storyline fast-forwards through various scenarios: brainstorming sessions, project management hurdles, and virtual social gatherings, illustrating how these tools play pivotal roles in overcoming challenges. Initially, chaos reins but as each tool is slowly integrated, systems fall into place, culminating in a synchronized, efficient team dynamic. The characters are diverse, each with unique roles and dependencies on different tools. Sarah, the project manager, relies heavily on project management software to track progress and allocate resources efficiently. John, a software developer, uses version control systems to maintain code integrity and collaborate with teammates. Lily, a graphic designer, depends on design collaboration tools for seamless feedback and iteration. Then there’s Mark, the HR manager, who utilizes communication platforms to stay in touch and address any employee concerns. Each character’s interaction with these tools highlights their importance and versatility. The writing style is methodical and informative, aimed at educating readers on leveraging remote work tools effectively. Technical jargon is minimized, and explanations are clear-cut, offering practical advice alongside real-world examples. Step-by-step guides, bullet points, and infographics supplement the textual content, making it highly engaging. The tone is supportive and encouraging, reflecting the collaborative essence of remote work. Occasional anecdotes are woven in to provide relatable touch points and to keep the narrative relatable and engaging. The setting oscillates between virtual environments and home offices. Visual descriptions of cluttered desks transitioning into organized workstations exemplify the impact of efficiency tools. Screen-sharing sessions and virtual whiteboards create a vivid representation of digital collaboration. Zoom meetings, Slack channels, and Trello boards come to life as integral parts of the set. This setting reinforces the theme of adaptation and highlights the inclusive, flexible nature of remote work environments, bringing a sense of realism and tangibility to the narrative. The uniqueness lies in the comprehensive exploration of each tool and its impact on different facets of remote work. Unlike conventional guides, this narrative delves into emotional and psychological aspects of remote work, illustrating how tools can alleviate stress and foster team spirit.

The interconnectedness of the tools, creating an ecosystem rather than isolated solutions, is another standout aspect. Case studies from top organizations provide a concrete foundation for the tools' effectiveness. There's also a focus on future trends, preparing the reader for continuous evolution in remote work strategies. Remote work tools encompass a wide range of software and applications designed to facilitate various aspects of working from home. These include productivity software such as Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace, which provide a suite of tools for document creation, collaboration, and cloud storage. Project management tools like Asana and Jira are essential for tracking tasks, milestones, and deliverables, helping teams maintain clarity and focus. Communication platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams ensure that team members can stay connected through instant messaging, video calls, and file sharing. Each tool serves a specific role, but collectively, they create an integrated workflow that enhances overall productivity and efficiency. Productivity software is indispensable for remote teams, offering features that streamline daily work processes. Google Workspace, for instance, allows for real-time collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, making it easier to work together regardless of physical location. Tools like Notion or Evernote serve as digital notebooks, organizing thoughts, ideas, and project details in a coherent manner. While individual productivity software can significantly enhance personal efficiency, their true power is revealed when used in conjunction with team-centric applications. For example, integrating project management software with a productivity app can automate task updates, reducing the need for manual input and freeing up time for more critical tasks. Virtual collaboration tools have become the backbone of remote work operations. Platforms like Miro offer digital whiteboards where teams can brainstorm and strategize as though they were in the same room. Remote pair programming tools, such as Visual Studio Live Share, enable developers to write and debug code simultaneously. Design teams use Figma for real-time design collaboration, allowing stakeholders to provide instant feedback. These tools not only mimic traditional in-person collaborations but often provide enhanced features like version tracking and integration with other software, making them even more powerful in a remote setting. The ability to collaborate effectively while remote is a game-changer, fostering a sense of teamwork and cohesion that transcends physical boundaries. Working from home introduces unique challenges and opportunities that require thoughtful approaches and effective tools. Home office setups, complete with ergonomic furniture and high-speed internet, lay the foundation for a productive work environment. Noise-canceling headphones and dedicated workspaces help minimize distractions. Monitoring software such as RescueTime can track productivity levels, providing insights into how time is spent and identifying areas for improvement. Balancing work-life dynamics is critical, and tools like calendar apps facilitate effective time management, ensuring that work doesn't encroach on personal time. By leveraging the right combination of tools and strategies, remote workers can create an environment that is both conducive to productivity and personal well-being. Efficiency tools are designed to optimize various work processes, making daily tasks more manageable and reducing the time spent on mundane activities. Automation tools like Zapier can integrate different apps and automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry and file transfers. Time-tracking software, such as Toggl, helps monitor hours spent on projects, ensuring accurate billing and better time management. Task management applications like Todoist allow individuals to prioritize tasks, set deadlines, and create reminders, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

These tools, when used effectively, can dramatically enhance productivity, allowing remote workers to focus on more strategic and value-adding activities. In-depth understanding of these tools comes from exploring their applications in real-world scenarios. For instance, a marketing team using Asana can better manage their campaigns by setting clear goals, assigning tasks, and tracking progress in a centralized platform. A software development team using GitHub can improve code quality through version control and collaborative features. By examining case studies where these tools have been successfully implemented, one can gain a clearer picture of their potential impact and best practices for their usage. Furthermore, staying abreast of new developments and features ensures that teams continue to harness the full potential of these evolving tools. Remote Work Tools Pros Remote work tools often create a flexible working environment, allowing employees to access work-related resources anytime and anywhere, significantly enhancing convenience. They support a diverse range of communication methods such as instant messaging, video conferencing, and project management software, which help maintain connectivity and collaboration. These tools can aid in achieving a healthy work-life balance by eliminating the need for commuting, leading to higher job satisfaction. Cons Dependency on remote work tools means that technical issues or outages can severely disrupt work, leading to potential delays and losses in productivity. They may also lead to difficulties in distinguishing between personal and professional life, contributing to burnout. Security risks are another concern; sensitive company data accessible from various locations can increase vulnerability to cyber threats, necessitating robust security protocols. Productivity Software Pros Productivity software helps streamline workflows by automating repetitive tasks, reducing errors, and freeing up time for more critical activities. Tools like task managers, time trackers, and collaborative platforms improve efficiency by enhancing organizational capabilities and making it easier to manage projects and deadlines. The ability to integrate with other applications further optimizes work by centralizing data and resources. Cons Over-reliance on productivity software can lead to inefficiencies if employees spend excessive time managing these tools instead of focusing on tasks. The learning curve associated with new software can also temporarily lower productivity levels. Moreover, constant notifications and updates can become distractions, disrupting the workflow and reducing overall focus and efficiency. Virtual Collaboration Pros Virtual collaboration tools enable real-time communication and collaboration across different geographical locations, breaking down location barriers and fostering inclusive workplaces. Features like screen sharing, file sharing, and collaborative document editing enhance teamwork and efficiency. They make it easier to organize and attend meetings, share ideas, and provide feedback, contributing to a more connected and productive work environment. Cons The lack of face-to-face interaction in virtual collaboration can lead to communication misunderstandings and reduced relationship-building opportunities, which are often resolved more easily in person. Technical issues like poor internet connectivity or software incompatibilities can disrupt meetings and collaboration efforts. Adjusting to virtual collaboration norms can be challenging for some employees, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and disengagement. Work From Home Pros Working from home offers flexibility, allowing employees to create personalized workspaces that can lead to increased comfort and productivity. It eliminates commuting time, which provides more time for personal or professional activities, improving work-life balance. Remote working also allows companies to tap into a broader talent pool, unrestricted by geographical limitations, fostering diversity and inclusivity.

Cons Work from home can introduce distractions such as household chores, family members, or pets, which might impede productivity. It can also cause feelings of isolation due to reduced social interaction with colleagues, impacting morale and mental health. Maintaining discipline and sticking to a structured work schedule can be challenging without the traditional office environment, potentially leading to reduced work quality. Efficiency Tools Pros Efficiency tools like automation platforms, data analytics, and CRM systems enhance productivity by streamlining complex processes and providing valuable insights. They help in eliminating redundant tasks, allowing employees to focus on more strategic and creative aspects of their jobs. These tools often integrate with existing systems, providing seamless workflows and improved resource allocation, ultimately driving better business outcomes. Cons Implementing efficiency tools can result in high upfront costs and require significant investment in training for employees, which may temporarily disrupt workflows. There is a risk of becoming too dependent on these tools, potentially limiting the ability to adapt to process changes or new challenges. Privacy concerns also arise as these tools often involve extensive data collection and analysis, necessitating robust data protection measures. FAQ What are some recommended remote work tools? Some of the most popular remote work tools include Slack for communication, Zoom for video conferencing, Asana for project management, and Trello for task tracking. How can I improve my productivity while working from home? To improve productivity, establish a designated workspace, set specific work hours, take regular breaks, and use productivity software like Todoist or RescueTime to manage tasks and time effectively. What software can help with virtual collaboration? Software such as Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), and Miro offer robust tools for real-time collaboration, file sharing, and communication among team members. Are there tools to help track and manage tasks efficiently? Yes, tools like Trello, Asana, and Monday.com are excellent for task management, allowing you to create boards, set deadlines, and track progress seamlessly. What are the best practices for ensuring data security while using remote work tools? Best practices include using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, regularly updating software, and using a VPN to secure your internet connection. How can I maintain a work-life balance while working remotely? Maintain a work-life balance by setting clear boundaries between work and personal time, taking breaks throughout the day, and intentionally scheduling time for non-work activities. What are some tools to help with time management? Tools like Toggl and Clockify can help you track the time spent on different tasks, allowing you to manage your time more effectively and identify areas where you can improve efficiency. Can virtual meeting software handle large teams and multiple participants? Yes, virtual meeting software such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet can handle large teams, offering features like breakout rooms, screen sharing, and recording to accommodate multiple participants effectively. What should I consider when choosing remote work tools for my team? Consider factors like ease of use, integration with existing tools, cost, and specific features that meet your team's needs, such as project management, communication, and collaboration capabilities. Are there any free remote work tools available? Yes, several remote work tools offer free versions, including Slack, Trello, and Google Workspace. These free versions provide basic features that can be sufficient for small teams or individual use. In conclusion, "12 Essential Tools for Remote Work" stands out as an invaluable resource for anyone navigating the complexities of the modern work-from-home landscape. As

remote work continues to shape the professional world, understanding the right tools to optimize productivity, enhance virtual collaboration, and streamline daily tasks becomes increasingly important. This book serves as both a guide and a reference, offering well-researched and practical insights into the best productivity software, efficiency tools, and virtual collaboration platforms available today. The book meticulously categorizes and reviews each tool, providing a comprehensive overview that is easy for readers to digest. Whether you are a seasoned remote worker or new to the work-from-home setup, you'll find valuable advice on choosing the right software to meet your specific needs. From communication platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams to project management tools such as Trello and Asana, "12 Essential Tools for Remote Work" ensures that you have access to the most efficient and effective resources for maintaining productivity in any remote environment. One of the standout features of this book is the detailed case studies that illustrate the real-world applications and benefits of these tools. Through these examples, readers can see firsthand how different tools have positively impacted productivity and collaboration for various remote teams. Additionally, the book provides actionable tips and strategies for integrating these tools into your daily routines, helping you overcome common challenges and maximize efficiency. Another significant benefit of the book is its focus on the evolving nature of remote work. It doesn't just present these tools in a static manner; it also discusses ongoing trends and potential future developments in remote work technology. This forward-thinking approach equips readers with the knowledge to stay ahead of the curve, making it a valuable resource not just for the present but also for the future of remote work. Ultimately, "12 Essential Tools for Remote Work" is more than just a book; it’s a toolkit for success in the virtual workspace. By investing time in understanding and implementing the recommendations provided, readers can significantly enhance their productivity, improve team collaboration, and achieve a more efficient and fulfilling work-from-home experience. If you're determined to thrive in a remote work setting, this book is undoubtedly a must-read.

[creativeera]

Understanding Embedded Computing Systems and their Role in the Modern World

Embedded systems are specialized computer systems designed to perform dedicated functions within larger mechanical or electrical systems. Unlike general-purpose computers like laptops and desktop PCs, embedded systems are designed to operate on specific tasks and are not easily reprogrammable for other uses. Embedded System Hardware At the core of any embedded system is a microcontroller or microprocessor chip that acts as the processing brain. This chip contains the CPU along with RAM, ROM, I/O ports and other components integrated onto a single chip. Peripherals like sensors, displays, network ports etc. are connected to the microcontroller through its input/output ports. Embedded systems also contain supporting hardware like power supply circuits, timing crystal oscillators etc. Operating Systems for Embedded Devices While general purpose computers run full featured operating systems like Windows, Linux or MacOS, embedded systems commonly use specialized Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS). RTOS are lean and efficient kernels optimized for real-time processing with minimal overhead. Popular RTOS include FreeRTOS, QNX, VxWorks etc. Some simple devices run without an OS, accessing hardware directly via initialization code. Programming Embedded Systems Embedded Computing System are programmed using low level languages like C and C++ for maximum efficiency and control over hardware. Assembler language is also used in some applications. Programmers need expertise in Microcontroller architecture, peripherals, memory management etc. Tools include compilers, linkers, simulators and debuggers tailored for embedded development. Applications of Embedded Computing Embedded systems have revolutionized various industries by bringing intelligence and connectivity to everyday devices. Some key application areas include: Get more insights on Embedded Computing

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Alice Mutum is a seasoned senior content editor at Coherent Market Insights, leveraging extensive expertise gained from her previous role as a content writer. With seven years in content development, Alice masterfully employs SEO best practices and cutting-edge digital marketing strategies to craft high-ranking, impactful content. As an editor, she meticulously ensures flawless grammar and punctuation, precise data accuracy, and perfect alignment with audience needs in every research report. Alice's dedication to excellence and her strategic approach to content make her an invaluable asset in the world of market insights.

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[spacenutspod]

4 min read NASA Awards 15 Grants to Support Open-Source Science One of the 15 winning proposals for NASA High Priority Open-Source Science (HPOSS) funding will help simulate galaxies. Pictured here is barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300, as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)Acknowledgment: P. Knezek (WIYN) NASA awarded $1.4 million to 15 teams developing new technologies that advance and streamline the open sharing of scientific information. High Priority Open-Source Science (HPOSS) awards fund projects that aim to increase the accessibility, inclusivity, or reproducibility of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) research. Projects include open-source tools, software, frameworks, data formats, or libraries that will have a significant impact to the SMD science community. HPOSS awards are for one year and approximately $100,000. The HPOSS solicitation is one of several cross-divisional funding opportunities funded by NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO) with a focus on advancing open science practices. These solicitations are unique among NASA’s annual omnibus solicitation for basic and applied research, Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES), providing cross-divisional support for new work with strong potential to advance the adoption of open science practices across SMD. “We are excited to be able to fund these opportunities to enable modern research through NASA’s support of open science,” said Chelle Gentemann, program officer for HPOSS and open science program scientist for OCSDO at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on an Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignment from the International Computer Science Institute. “Open science is crucial in improving the transparency, security, and reproducibility of scientific research.” The HPOSS solicitation for ROSES-2024 is currently available as F.14 on NSPIRES. Under ROSES-2024, HPOSS has expanded to include the development of capacity-building materials, like curricula, tutorials, and other training materials, reflecting the program’s commitment to fostering open science practices. The HPOSS solicitation has no fixed due date. Proposers are encouraged to submit their proposals via NSPIRES at any time. Proposals are evaluated by peer review panels and selections are made throughout the year. “The proposals selected thus far illustrate the breadth of this solicitation, ranging from projects that will increase the accessibility of data relevant to specific research communities to open-source tools that will be relevant across multiple SMD divisions,” said Gentemann. The selected awardees for the ROSES-22 and ROSES-23 calls are: Roses-2022 Awardees Erin Buchanan, Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaSTAPLE: Science Tracking Across the Project Lifespan James Colliander / Code For Science And Society, INC., Portland, OregonEphemeral Interactive Computing for NASA Communities Gretchen Daily, Stanford University, Stanford, CaliforniaMetadata Tools for More Transparent, Reproducible, and Accessible Geospatial Analysis Douglas Moore, 39 Alpha Research, Tempe, ArizonaDorothy: Making Scientific Data Transparent, Accessible, and Reproducible Matthew Turk, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IllinoisSynergistic Software Tooling for Geophysical and Astrophysical Analysis: Linking yt and Xarray Richard Townsend, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WisconsinCatalyzing an Open-Source Ecosystem for the GYRE Stellar Oscillation Code Andrew Jiranek, Sciencecast Inc., Towson, MarylandAdvancing Equitable Scientific Publishing through Open-Science Digital Innovations Jami Montgomery, Georgetown University, Washington, District of ColumbiaWeb-based Planetary Topography Toolkit Roses-2023 Awardees Russell Turner, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OregonCreation of an Open Access 3-Dimensional Image and Data Library for Rat Bones from Space Shuttle Experiments Hans-Peter Marshall / Boise State University, Boise, IdahoThe SnowEx DB Open-Source Project — Standardized Data Access to Maximize Mission Data Use and Accelerate Research​ Leila DeFloriani / University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland An Open-Source Library for Processing Forest Point Clouds Based on Topological Data Analysis Michael Phillips / University of Arizona, Tucson, ArizonaSpectral Cube Analysis Tool: A Python Graphical User Interface for Analyzing Spectral Image Data Julie Barnum / University of Colorado, Boulder, ColoradoA Heliophysics Software Search Interface Portal Benjamin Keller / University of Memphis, Memphis, TennesseePortable and Reproducible Initial Conditions for Galaxy Simulations Ryan Curtin / NumFocus, Austin, TexasEnhance Usability and Discoverability of mlpack for Low-Resource Spaceflight Machine Learning Summaries of previously selected proposals can be found under the “Selections” section on the HPOSS NSPIRES pages for ROSES-2022 and ROSES-2023.  To learn more about the HPOSS program element, a recording of a recent informational webinar is available, along with the presentation slides.  To learn more about NASA open science funding opportunities, visit: science.nasa.gov/open-science/nasa-open-science-funding-opportunities/ Share Details Last Updated Aug 20, 2024 Related Terms Open Science Explore More 2 min read Geospatial AI Foundation Model Team Receives NASA Marshall Group Achievement Award  Article 5 days ago 5 min read How NASA Citizen Science Fuels Future Exoplanet Research Article 2 weeks ago 3 min read Meet NASA Interns Shaping Future of Open Science Article 4 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System

[atoquarks]

[digilogic-system]

ADS-B Receiver from Digilogic Systems

Introduction:

The aviation industry relies heavily on accurate and timely information about aircraft positions and movements for safe and efficient operations. One of the key technologies enabling this is the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. The ADS-B receiver developed by Digilogic Systems stands out as a robust, reliable solution designed to meet extreme environmental standards. This article goes through the features, benefits, and applications of Digilogic Systems' ADS-B receiver, highlighting its unique capabilities and the technology that underpins its performance.

What is an ADS-B Receiver?

The ADS-B receiver is very selective to the desired signals is rugged and can be used in adverse environments and was certified to JSS5555. This receiver still plays an important role in the contemporary practical use of aviation technology since the receiver acts as an instrument that can accept signals from ADS-B aircraft transponders and demodulate the relevant data.

The ADS-B receiver kit consists of antennas, an RF front end, an ADS-B receiver, and licensed application software. It receives ADS-B transponder signals and demodulates them to include aircraft state information.

The ADS-B code signals, aircraft identification, ICAO address, geographical location, height, and type of aircraft are crucial for air traffic control, aviation management, and security applications.

How does Digilogic's ADS-B Receiver Work? 

The Digilogic Systems ADS-B receiver is equipped for ruggedness with the ability to achieve a very high degree of accuracy in terms of environmental standards set out in JSS5555. Here's a detailed look at how Digilogic's ADS-B receiver works: Here's a detailed look at how Digilogic's ADS-B receiver works:

Signal Reception: Digilogic's ADS B receiver detects ADS-B aircraft transponder signals, including identification, localization, altitude, and model, capturing crucial information about each airplane.

Decoding Algorithm: Digilogic's ADS-B receiver uses a complex decoding algorithm to extract basic aircraft data from ADS-B signals, adhering to aviation standards and ICAO Annexure 10, Volume 4.

Built-in GPS-Disciplined Oscillator: Real-time data processing and multi-target tracking are both improved by a GPS-disciplined oscillator in the Digilogic’s ADS-B receiver.

Data Streaming: Digilogic’s ADS-B receiver application can stream the actual track information over an Ethernet connection, which is useful in aviation management, safety monitoring, and air traffic control.

Kit Components: Digilogic System offers an ADS-B receiver kit with licensed software, covering the entire process of obtaining, decoding, and using ADS-B data.

What sets Digilogic's ADS-B receiver apart from other receivers on the market?

Digilogic's ADS-B receiver stands out due to its rugged design. It combines NI Hardware with Digilogic’s expertise in ruggedization and algorithm implementation, resulting in a unique and robust product. Additionally, its built-in GPS disciplined oscillator simplifies installation and ensures precise synchronization, while its data streaming capability through Ethernet facilitates dynamic data analysis and visualization.

Is Digilogic's ADS-B receiver compliant with international aviation standards?

Yes, Digilogic's ADS-B receiver adheres to international aviation standards, particularly ICAO Annexure 10, Vol. 4, for message format and data interpretation. This ensures compatibility and interoperability with global aviation systems and protocols.

Key Components

Antenna: Usually, in aircraft transponders, the antenna serves as a vital part since it has to deliver efficiency under conditions that may prevail out there.

RF Frontend: The RF front of Digilogic’s Systems’ ADS-B receiver critically features high sensitivity and selectivity due to its enhanced filtering and amplification of the received signals.

ADS-B Receiver: Concerning the unit that decodes captured signals to extract pressure information relevant to the aircraft, we apply algorithms compliant with aviation standards to enhance the extraction of accurate and reliable information.

Built-in GPS Disciplined Oscillator: The ADS-B receiver for added functionality has a GPS-disciplined oscillator for both improved accuracy and synchronization which makes installation easy and data processing synchronization simple.

Licensed Application: The ADS-B receiver kit is equipped with licensed software wherein the user can control the ADS-B data, customize settings and parameters, and be able to visually track aircraft as well as monitor live track info of the flight.

Applications of ADS-B Receiver

The ADS-B receiver is a versatile tool with applications across various facets of the aviation industry. Some key applications include:

Air Traffic Control (ATC): To increase the precision of tracking the movement of aircraft to raise the efficiency of aircraft flow and safety of flights.

Aircraft Fleet Management: Offering accurate information on the location and status of aircraft to fleet operators thus helping in decision-making on resources to apply.

Aviation Safety and Security: Improving position awareness for security agencies and managerial decision-makers in the aviation industry, making it easier to prevent dangerous situations.

GUI

The graphical user interface (GUI) of Digilogic's ADS-B Receiver is designed with a user-friendly and intuitive layout. It offers comprehensive control and monitoring capabilities for the data received from the receivers.

Digilogic’s Features:

Dual Redundant Receiver

Real-time data from Nearby Flights

Built-in GPS connectivity

Remote configuration of Receiver 0/1 as Primary

Connect via LAN to get live track information

The stand-alone unit enables customers to install and get data through the network

Future Trends and Innovations:

Moreover, it is significant to view the further development of ADS-B technology as finding further improvement possibilities with innovations on the way. Better data handling capabilities, high signal reception, and compatibility with advanced technologies. It becomes possible to state that Digilogic’s ADS-B receivers in the course of aviation become evolving tools which are the key to its evolution and further development of the airspace management system.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the ADS-B receiver designed and manufactured by Digilogic Systems is a fine example of highly integrated and reliable engineering in aviation technology. when utilized under demanding conditions make it suitable while engineering excellence from NI hardware and Digilogic Systems assures efficiency. 

From the above data, one can see that this ADS-B Receiver meets the standards of the aviation industry through decoding algorithms and comes with added features such as a built-in GPS disciplined oscillator and data streaming which makes it not only compliant but also goes a step further providing exceptional accuracy and efficiency in managing airspace as well as tracking the movement of the aircrafts.

Contact us today to discuss your ADS-B Receiver  requirements:

Website: https://www.digilogicsystems.com/

Phone:

Hyderabad: (+91) 40 4547 4601 / 02 / 03

Bengaluru: (+91) 80 4975 6034

Email: info@digilogicsystems.com

Locations:

HEAD OFFICE          

#102, 1st Floor, DSL Abacus Tech Park Beside DSL Virtue Mall, Uppal, Hyderabad, Telangana-500 039, India

BRANCH OFFICE

#216, 3rd floor, Zareen Heights, Varthur Road, Nagavarapalya, C. V. Raman Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka — 560093

[stockmarketanalysis]

Cracking the Code of the Rising Wedge Pattern in Trading

In the realm of financial markets, traders are constantly on the lookout for patterns that offer insights into future price movements. Among the plethora of technical analysis tools available, the rising wedge pattern emerges as a compelling indicator for identifying potential trend reversals or continuations. With its distinctive formation resembling a narrowing triangle pointing upwards, the rising wedge pattern holds significant implications for traders seeking to decipher market dynamics. In this article, we delve into the intricacies of the rising wedge pattern, unraveling its characteristics, significance, and practical applications in trading strategies.

Understanding the Rising Wedge Pattern

The rising wedge pattern is a bearish reversal pattern that typically materializes during uptrends. Its structure comprises two converging trendlines slanting upwards, with the lower trendline displaying a steeper slope than the upper one. As the pattern unfolds, the price oscillates between these trendlines, creating a contracting range. This gradual narrowing of price movements signals a decrease in buying pressure and waning bullish momentum.

One hallmark feature of the rising wedge pattern is its declining volume throughout its formation. As the price approaches the apex of the wedge, trading volume tends to diminish, reflecting a decrease in market participation. This decline in volume suggests that buyers are losing conviction, paving the way for a potential reversal in the prevailing uptrend.

Significance of the Rising Wedge Pattern

The rising wedge pattern holds considerable significance for traders due to its implications for future price action. While it typically emerges within an uptrend, its appearance signifies that buyers are gradually losing control, and sellers are gaining strength. The narrowing price range indicates a compression of volatility, often preceding a breakdown to the downside.

One crucial aspect of the rising wedge pattern is its ability to provide early signals of trend reversals. As the price approaches the apex of the wedge, traders anticipate a breakdown below the lower trendline, signaling a potential shift from an uptrend to a downtrend. This breakdown is often accompanied by a surge in trading volume, confirming the validity of the pattern and attracting further selling interest.

Trading Strategies Utilizing the Rising Wedge Pattern

Traders employ various strategies to capitalize on the rising wedge pattern and its potential implications. One common approach is to enter short positions once the price breaks down below the lower trendline of the wedge. This breakdown serves as a confirmation of bearish momentum, signaling a shift in market sentiment from bullish to bearish.

To enhance the reliability of trading signals, traders often wait for confirmation through candlestick patterns or other technical indicators. Bearish reversal patterns such as shooting star or bearish engulfing patterns near the upper trendline can provide additional validation of the impending bearish reversal.

Risk management is paramount when trading the rising wedge pattern. Traders typically place stop-loss orders above the upper trendline to limit potential losses in case the breakdown fails to materialize. Additionally, setting price targets based on the width of the wedge or key support levels can help traders maximize their profit potential while managing risk effectively.

Conclusion

The rising wedge pattern exemplifies the essence of technical analysis, providing traders with a framework for interpreting price action and making informed trading decisions. With its ability to anticipate trend reversals and capitalize on emerging opportunities, the rising wedge pattern remains a cornerstone of successful trading strategies in today's dynamic markets.

By understanding the nuances of the rising wedge pattern and incorporating it into their trading strategies, traders can gain a competitive edge in navigating the complexities of financial markets. However, like any technical analysis tool, the rising wedge pattern is not without its limitations, and traders should exercise caution and employ proper risk management techniques.

In conclusion, the rising wedge pattern serves as a powerful tool in the arsenal of technical traders, offering valuable insights into potential trend reversals and continuations. With its distinctive formation and characteristics, the rising wedge pattern enables traders to navigate market dynamics with precision and confidence, unlocking new avenues for profitable trading opportunities.

[new-happiness-code-review]

THE NEW HAPPINESS CODE [[AUDIO + PDF DOWNLOAD]]

Welcome to The New Happiness Code, a revolutionary program designed to unlock the secrets to lasting happiness and fulfillment. Join us on a journey to discover the key to a more joyful and satisfying life. The New Happiness Code is a revolutionary program designed to help individuals transform their lives and achieve lasting happiness. Through a combination of mindset shifts, actionable strategies, and practical exercises, this program empowers you to overcome obstacles, cultivate positive habits, and unlock your true potential. Discover the key to living a joyful and meaningful life. Experience a significant boost in overall life satisfaction as you learn to prioritize your well-being and align your actions with your core values. Develop stronger and more meaningful connections with loved ones as you enhance your emotional intelligence and cultivate empathy and compassion. Develop resilience and the ability to bounce back from life's challenges, enabling you to navigate setbacks with grace and perseverance.

The New Happiness code is a 3-week manifestation program. To get the best out of the program, you must strictly follow the program as stipulated. The key to the mysteries of manifestation is the power of reverse polarity. It comes with meditative audio materials which will help the conditioning of the switch needed for your limiting beliefs. The sound waves send the soothing message directly to the subconscious mind and help the manifest positive thinking. The program requires the user to spend 18 minutes daily to achieve great results. It helps eliminate negative thoughts and beliefs and installs positive thinking and manifestation spirit in the user's brain. The author illustrates the manifestation process and effectively uses our mind’s subconscious power to attract our dreams by using two magnet bars. It essentially sources empowerment from your limiting beliefs by reprogramming your subconscious mind correctly. Just have hope, this will allow you to get the better result and retune your brainwaves and thought pattern to think positive, and you can start experiencing your transformation as soon as possible in fewer days.

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[thewestern]

Chapter 18

The terrible twosome of Wellington Terriers had the complete run of the office at Wolffenbeir Company HQ, and their incontinence was getting worse by the workday. Both suffered from oscillating bouts of constipation and diarrhea, brought on by what the vet diagnosed to be chronic non-bacterial prostate inflammation, itself brought on by dietary irregularities. (The boys were fond of eating furniture, among other inanimate, nonfood items.) The nutritionist concurred. Their private trainer, however, speculated it was aggravated by acute onset separation anxiety. Because, you see, they doted on Hildy day and night, and while she professed to love them as if they were human sons, and perhaps moreso at that, at times she felt suffocated by their clinginess. As such they were periodically eighty-sixed from her corner office, left unattended to lethargically maraud among the rows of cubicles, pissing and shitting wherever they well pleased. Rummaging through trash cans for leftover sandwich crusts was another favorite passtime. (One of the few remaining legacies of Wilhelm I’s tyrannical managerial reign was that all office workers [read: non-union] were contractually mandated to take lunch at their desks.) Then there was barking at the still drastically underrepresented employees of color, of course. (Holdover hiring practices also courtesy of Big Willie.) Sniffing folks’ butts from beneath their ergonomic chairs. 

No one broached the subject to Hildy directly, but word got back to her through the semi-anonymous complaints to human resources — she personally audited these every Friday afternoon as a treat for making it through another week, like it were her own personal tabloid gossip column — that the dogs waddling amok had affected company morale for the worse. It was likewise brought to her attention how they were routinely cited in exit interviews as an overwhelming detriment to productivity and a primary reason to settle for career alternatives, even if they were lateral moves. Tell of their escapoops had even trickled onto an online employer review portal, where they were attributed to tanking the company’s Happiness Rating. This, or any other embarrassment by association, Hildy would not abide, as Billy could well attest. Rather than take appropriate measures to correct her most beloved companions’ poor behavior, she called on him, Billy, to see that all such libel be scrubbed from the digital record. These were the kind of condescending tasks she relished in delegating to her biological son. He in turn passed it off to his guy, Yayo-L. 

Presently, they were both sentried outside her office, whimpering to pretty please be allowed back inside to see mummy. Hildy had company, so this would not do. Irritated by the sounds of their manicured paws scratching at her door, she pressed the summoning button under her desk connected to a flashing red lamp on the receptionist’s desk outside. (Wilhelm I had it installed after once accidentally seeing a hockey game. To his mind, Sport, like most all music that wasn’t Wagner, was a childish distraction. However he couldn’t help but admire this Ice Hockey for its moral code of self-governance as adjudicated via vigilante justice. To that end, he strongly considered implementing a policy of settling internal company disputes through some form of hand-to-hand combat, but settled for the flashing red light.) Regrettably she recently had to let go of her receptionist of five years, Aaron, due to payroll cutbacks which hit administrative personnel the second hardest of any division behind maintenance. Also, although she would never be so rude as to say, Aaron had begun aging out of his aesthetic utility.  

Therefore, her private security agent, Ari, was reluctantly manning the secretary’s desk on what was supposed to have been an Interim basis. So far as Hildy was concerned, he had the handsom presence she needed to spare and then some. More than enough to make up for his answering the phone in a bordering-on-hostile-sounding Yiddish accent. Worse still, whereas Hildy took high tea, he only knew how to brew that ghastly instant coffee. Come to think of it he made for a crap fucking assistant indeed. Ask him to scan a few documents, and he was plenty liable to shoot the photocopier. 

Per longstanding company policy, he knocked three times firmly, but never obnoxiously so, before entering. 

I’m coming—come in, I mean. 

Reunited with their mumsy at last, the dogs breached contain, bum rushing around Ari through the cracked open door. 

You two — out. Ari, sweetheart, how would you feel about taking the dogs down to Five for some exercise? 

The fifth floor was the territory of Accounting and Legal. Under Wilhelm I, the accountants and lawyers were the nerve center. Which is to say they practically ran the place, held in higher esteem internally than anyone, save perhaps the brewing engineers. The old man revered working with ones’ hands, just so long as it was done without collective bargaining. One of the many reasons he kept the JDs and the CPAs so close at hand, stationed at the ready to quell any unrest, or absent that, to financially steward the company through a labor stoppage, respectively, on the sixth of six floors, adjacent to the executive suites. However, when Hildy took over she bumped them down a level, symbolically as well as literally, to Five. (She would have stowed them away in the basement if her presence weren’t so frequently required to oversee various corporate crisises.) With the bean counters out of the way, she had carte blanche to reconstitute the coveted Sixth Floor toward chartering her own bespoke in-house advertising agency. A View of Madison Avenue from the West. Cubicles were gutted and replaced with contemporary(-of-the-time) Scandinavian furnishings. Grays and taupes were swatched out for neons and pastels. Her Memphis Design inspirations were the places kids would hang out on popular television shows of the period — The Peach Pit on 90210, the Max on Saved by the Bell, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, etc. Because Hildy wanted a space that would attract the top creative talent away from the Coasts. Back then, when the cartoon wolf was still a cash cow, the board rubber-stamped her every indulgence. Over the years though, as returns diminished from that maturing brand, interior decoration budgets waned. Today the office was a mosh pit of clashing motifs, caught in the aesthetic netherworld between modern and retro. 

At Hildy’s command, the dogs tucked tails on out of there. Most dogs don’t respond to passive aggressiveness. Their ears aren’t tuned to that pitch. But that’s what made this noble English breed so special. True, they didn’t heed to a damn word anybody else said, but when the Mistress ordered you can bet your sweet-smelling ass they obeyed. Ari was beginning to take after them in this regard, learning an important lesson that Billy never had. In the Family Wolff, affection was a zero-sum game.  

When the door closed behind them, Mayor Mockingbird emerged from beneath her desk, folding his tie from back over his shoulder, wiping his mouth and picking a short hair from between his new veneers, paid for semi-legally out of his campaign coffers. It was a grey area, like his teeth used to be.

You know, I really wish you wouldn’t hold office hours when I’m down there. For Pete’s sake Hildy, I’m running for governor. Not to mention all you’ve got on your plate. The last thing either of us needs right now is a sex scandal.

Oh Larry, dear, don’t be daft. He couldn’t see you. Even if he could he’s not one of your constituents.  

Hildegard, darling, I mean that he saw me come in the office. 

Well he didn’t see me come anywhere, I assure you. And so what if he did? Isn’t yours the party of sexual liberation and female empowerment? 

I don’t know where you get off condescending me like I’m some bleeding heart. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m a pragmatic moderate? 

I haven’t gotten off anywhere, as has been established. And I hope you don’t truly believe all that rubbish about the spirit of bipartisanship. It’s quite boring. Besides, what even was the last compelling political sex scandal? Just the thought of it … it’s so … so nineties.  

We could bring it back in style though, couldn’t we? You know, Matilda is away with Carter at a soccer tournament this weekend in Tuscon. What say you swing by City Manor? Come on … it’ll be like one of your British miniseries … a tawdry affair between a noblewoman and her humble parliamentarian. If you really want a thrill, I can even have my Sheriff's detail sneak you in through the old bootlegger tunnels. 

What, like I’m your whore? I know what those tunnels are for. Don’t be crass. No, I don’t believe I’ll be snuck anyplace, thank you. Leastwheres City Manor. I can’t believe in this day and age of money in politics, one would suffer the humiliation of running for public office, only to wind up consigned to some dilapidated old shack. In point of fact, only the Governor’s Mansion is in more dire need of a remodel. Outright demolition, would be preferable still. Particularly if the current occupant happened to be home. So, anyway, you have that to look forward to. 

Well, then what about the Wolffenhaus? You know how I’ve been dying to see the famous lair. 

Is that so? Then I’m afraid you’ll have to sign up on our website for the official tour. They’ll take you as far as the driveway. Further than you’ll ever get with me. Certainly not on some tryst, to quite possibly the least romantic residence on the planet earth. And for what? A finger blasting in my teenage bedroom? Please, be serious.

To the mayor, that sounded divine.

Okay, fine. Your townhouse then. 

Oh, I don’t know, Larry. I feel a fatigue settling in. Don’t ring me. I’ll have Ari phone you after I’m rested.

Lovescorned, Larry slipped on his tassel loafers to leave. Hildy made him remove them before crawling under the desk.  

Now hold on for just a minute. You don’t think I summoned you all the way out here for That, do you? If you wouldn’t mind, I would very much like to know where we stand. As your distinguished campaign finance chairwoman I think I’m entitled to an occasional status update.

Oh, Hildy, I would never hold out on you. Truthfully, there are no updates on my end. Everything has been confirmed and re-confirmed with my Office of Economic Development. 

Oh, but do humor me. I’d like to hear you say it — exposition and all, please. Rest assured I’m not recording you. I had all the bugs stripped when the old gaffer had Gone for a Burton, as they say.

Here she was referring to her grandfather’s death by suicide. Gone for a Burton is a British English expression that was popularised by the RAF around the time of World War II. It was considered bad luck to say a pilot had gone missing or worse died in action, so this was a polite euphemism, although the exact etymology is disputed. Back to Larry with the details.  

As you wish. Buying the New Frontier will entitle Wolffenbeir and any future acquisition partners to our full suite of corporate relocation and foreign investment incentives. For all intents and purposes — tax purposes notwithstanding, of course — the Wolffenbeir Company, Inc. will have unadulterated access to all the advantages afforded to companies that operate within the city limits.  

Fabulous. That’s a good boy. Off you go then.

Larry lingered on that. Maybe she would say something else, like I love you, for example. But alas she didn’t. He took a beat before exiting through the large wooden double doors. Putting back on his politician’s face. The one that says to all passersby, I Know You. Ironically, depending if you concurred with his medical diagnosis of prosopagnosia (face blindness), the odds were he had no earthly idea who you were. 

His bodyman from the sheriff’s department had returned from the men’s room. (One perk of this otherwise shit detail was wherever he chauffeured the Mayor, there was usually a much nicer bathroom than they had down at the station. Certainly nicer than the one at county lockup, which he would only stoop to use for removing illicit drugs and other contraband from his rectum, to be resold at a markup to inmates. Truthfully, he did a lot of business in restrooms. His fiber-rich, iron-deficient diet necessitated that he pass bowels four-to-six times per day.) Waiting dutifully in Hildy’s foyer, he made a quick ocular assessment of the office before following his subject, codename Traveller, down the hall to the elevator bank. 

The Deputy Sheriff would have seen into a sanctum that had changed only slightly since its previous occupant, Wilhelm I, had vacated. Hildy’s complicated-if-you-could-call-it-that relationship with her Grossvater was such that she keenly felt a push and pull between contradicting desires: to at once preserve and wipe away all remnants of his legacy. His portrait still hung there on the north wall, facing the opposite direction from where he would have been seated at his desk so that he could quote, see what the bastards had hidden behind their backs. Like the banquet hall at the Wolffenhaus, he had portraits in all rooms where he desired that his essence be felt in his absence, and by extension, doubly so in his presence. (Boy, you’d think they’re were two of him, was something a labor representative once reflected upon departing the old man’s office, following a rather terse labor negotiation-if-you-could-call-it-that.) Conference rooms, guest rooms, break rooms, bathrooms. (That was the one thing the deputy sheriff could have done without — the scary old man staring at him from the stall door.) Just one of his little authoritarian quirks. Despots, dictators and tyrants … they’ve all got ‘em. Historically, they were wont to express their individuality via their garish military wardrobes. Fatigues, aiguillettes. Service medals, combat boots. Berets, fezes or some other funny hat. Stolen valor chic. You may have noticed how contemporary oppressors (of both the public and private sector persuasions) make a point of dressing less conspicuously, so that they may blend in amongst us. The emperors still have clothes, but they’re more minimalist. Blue jeans, gray sneakers, black turtleneck … anyone? In this and only this regard Wilhelm I could be considered a fashion trendsetter. In a kind of anti-fashion, albeit. For a fact, he wore the same suit — a charcoal gabardine purchased off the department store rack — in every one of his portraits. However, not because he had only the one suit. (He also had it in brown.) Rather, it was he refused to waste time sitting more than once for multiple portraits. So, he had commissioned several artists to work in concert over a single grueling session. As they were all given strict guidelines to paint within, each painting was eerily similar to its other. Perhaps then, what became more unsettling, were the barely perceptible differences between the interpretations. Subtle variations in expressionlessness. Displayed together, in mosaic maybe, they would have made for a provocative fucking exhibit indeed.

Even if she’d wanted to, Hildy couldn’t have removed his face from the office, or for that matter any other surface, short of tearing down the wall itself to its very studs. He’d had all his oil-on-canvas likenesses drilled into the foundation and encased in bulletproof glass. So she settled for commissioning her own portrait to be positioned on the wall opposite of Wilhelm. No, not of herself. That would be gauche. It was her terrier, of course. Neither of the current brood though. Her firstborn of five. Old Chauncey. He had been the best of them. 

(All five were males — growing up her Aunt Sarah had a bitch Weimaraner, and her big personality clashed head-on with Hildy’s. She always had two at a time, thinking wouldn’t it be nice for them to have a brother? In theory, maybe. In practice, however, they related more along the lines of an old gay couple, trapped in a loveless domestic partnership. Nonetheless they were codependent, quite desperately so, if only for to share the burden of one another’s myriad maladies and neurocies. Also to keep the lease on their rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side. 

Billy always wanted a brother, for his part.) 

There Chauncey was immortalized, his mouth agape, a tongue waging a losing war against gravity. Brown eyes starry and every-so-slightly crossed. One ear was floppy, t’other pointy, standing at attention like one of Wilhelm I’s starched collars. (The uneven ears were an aesthetic signature of the Wellington Terrier. Perhaps it’s what allowed them to pick up on sarcasm in human voices. They were the most British of dogs.) Locked in an eternal staring contest with him, the Great Man, who said of all domesticated animals: a waste of perfectly good food. 

Whereas Wilhelm I and Hildegard had both marked their territories, there was nary a trace of the men that linked them in the inbetween generations. The late Wilhelm II and his wayward grandson, Wilhelm III, Billy. This was intentional. Long-term losses, past and future, were irrelevant to the short-term returns of the present moment, to which they each enslaved themselves, embarking on an indentured servitude of indefinite term, escaping some deeply-owed emotional debt or other.

All of a sudden, Ari burst through the door (without knocking thrice, per protocol). Pointed at the hardwood floor, in his right hand he held his Desert Eagle .50. (Rather than being issued a standardized service weapon, Perlmutter agents were granted a sidearm stipend [deducted from their paycheck]. Most went with a  Glock 19. Nothing fancy, but modded out with enough flair so as to express oneself. His colleagues in arms made fun of Ari for packing such a high-caliber, nickel-plated, fucking hand cannon of a pistol. Dirty H-Ari, they called him, behind his back. Fucking cowards.) In his left hand, he held a torn-out piece of graph paper with pasted-on letters cut out from a magazine. (Ari would have no way of knowing this without conducting a more thorough forensic analysis, but these letters were actually cut out from various flyers for local bands and food truck menus. The alleged kidnapper[s], in this case, had no idea where to even find a magazine. None of them had ever subscribed to one.) 

w E   H A v E  t h E   w o L F f   

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So far as Class One Felonies go, kidnapping is just about as funny as it gets. But hold on now, buddy. To be clear, not the kidnapping of Children. That is incorrigible. Not funny, at all. But the kidnapping of Adults … for ransom. Played for laughs, it has the potential to be outright hysterical. Certainly more so than say first-degree murder, or child abuse resulting in death. Treason could be funny, depending on the circumstances. Maybe a bit high brow. Kidnapping though is broadly funny, almost every time. (Almost.)

Think about it though. Let’s just for a second consider killing somebody, like conceptually, for comparison’s sake. The act of murder is one of horrific violence. Take gun deaths, by far the most common form. For a fact, according to data collected by the FBI from a crosssection of fourteen thousand homicides in a single American year (out of sixteen thousand total), more than ten thousand were committed using a firearm as the primary murder weapon. (The dataset is broken down state-by-state and includes instances of homicide committed without a weapon. Can you guess in which U.S. state someone is most likely to kill you with their bare hands, proportionally speaking as compared to other kinds of murder? Vermont! Eighteen percent of cases. Close second place is Alaska, which makes marginally more sense.) More than half of those gun deaths are wrought at close range, by pistols. A 9x19mm parabellum round — the most ubiquitous of handgun cartridges —  will travel at a velocity of let’s say eleven hundred feet per second, obviously dependent on muzzle length, bullet weight, the Coriolis effect and a whole range of ballistic variables. But ballpark average, that converts to 750 mph. That’s a short and curly hair’s shy of the Speed of Sound — surely fast enough to shred through any human tissue in its path like a hot load through Kleenex. If the hemorrhaging isn’t stopped with some type of tourniquet, and that’s provided none of your vital organs or main arterial passageways have been compromised, you got maybe five minutes before you bleed out, kemosabe. Any of that sound funny to you? Didn’t think so. 

What about hiding the body though? Suppose that could be funny in a slapstick kind of way. A corpse is much heavier than you think, insofar as it is quite literally dead weight. Awkward, too. Like moving a couch up a flight of stairs. That’s why so many murderers are keen to chop up their victims’ bodies. Taking a bone saw to the extremities. Right there’s a pain in the rear in and of itself, because you better believe that removing somebody’s arm requires some serious elbow grease. And decapitation … dude … now that’s a separate matter entirely. Your head is screwed on there mighty tight. Sawing alone won’t do the trick. Takes some serious hacking away, like you’re felling a tree.   

And now we’re right back to this not being very funny. 

Kidnapping, on the other hand … the moment you commit the crime, well, the fun has only just begun. Now you’ve got a live person to mind after. You’ve got the dual responsibilities of both a captor and a caregiver, and that raises all manner of tough questions. Where do you keep your hostage? What does the hostage like to eat? Does he or she have any food allergies? Has the hostage ascertained the identity of his abductors? Is there anything we can use as a blindfold? Should we the co-conspirators come up with code names for one another, so as to not accidentally let our real names slip in the flow of casual conversations? There’s all these things to consider and more. It’s sort of a comedy of manners. 

But that’s not even the best part. Negotiating a ransom, now that is funny. There’s the aforementioned note, which is like an arts and crafts project for career criminals. Probably you’ve got to run down to the drugstore for a glue stick and some construction paper. Nobody just has those laying around. Then once you make contact, you have to somehow maintain a dialogue. Which means phone calls, which means you get to use the little voice modulator thingy that makes you sound like a monster. Sounds awful scary in the movies, but those scripted conversations are played for suspense, and therefore don’t have any of the awkward pauses or exchanging of pleasantries that talking on the telephone. Oh, sorry, were you about to say something? No you go.  

Here’s something else silly, and also somewhat of a pro tip. They always begin by requesting some absurd sum. (Who you think you kidnap, Chelsea Clinton? Chris Tucker, Rush Hour II. Billy’s favorite movie.) That’s called anchoring — a tried and true negotiation tactic. It’s also important to insist that it be sorted by some nonsensical denomination. (No big bills. We want X amount in Tens, Y amount in Twenties and Z amount in traveler’s checks.) Sort of like how rock stars demand on their backstage riders that the bowl of chocolates be color-coded by their candy-coated shells. (It was Van Halen who was most infamous for this. To hear them tell it, though, the reason behind the request was more nuanced than their simply being petulant celebrity assholes, but likely that had something to do with it too. VH were among the first of the outfits of their oeuvre to tour with an intricate stage show, you see, a production that was centerpieced by a lighting design that at the time, would have made little kindergarten Chris Kuroda cream his underoos. For a fact, their rig was so dern heavy, that before one gig, the stage sunk a full eight inches into the gymnasium floor below. No rock stars were harmed, but it was a mighty close call. Thus, henceforth, to prevent any further potential disaster from fucking befalling them, thereby ensuring that the yahoos at the venue read the full goddamn contract, — which in addition to the stupid dressing room grocery shopping shit, dictated all safety requirements — the band’s manager buried that throwaway clause about picking out the chocolates. If he walked into the green room and saw even one single brown shell [seems redundant anyway], then he knew somebody had gone and fucked it up, and they were going to have to pour through that contract line-by-line, all fifty-two fucking pages, to see what else they skimmed over.)  

What kind of luggage is best? Nothing looks sweeter than popping open up one of them metal briefcases of neatly arranged USDs. Probably a duffle bag would be preferable for convenience sake, or in case you have to toss it off a bridge. But like a nice high grade leather, or like a wax canvas weekender. Not a sweaty old gym bag. Show some class. 

(Meanwhile, back to murder for a moment. Good luck finding a suitcase big enough you can stuff a dismembered body into it. Sure, you could use a big contractor bag, but all those liters of coagulating blood are gonna start seeping through the plastic, getting on all the upholstery in your trunk. Not to mention the smell of rotting flesh. Pee-ew! That’s why the professionals — narcos, mobsters etc. — use oil drums or some other type barrel. But, let’s be honest — where the hell are you going to find one of those? Unless you work at a place that has them just laying around. As in, per say, a craft brewery …)

As for the exchange itself, it's pure Marx Brothers. Give us the money, then you get the girl. No, give us the girl, then you get the money. Okay, fine, we’ll do it at exactly the same time. On the count of three. One … two … three … Aha! You weren’t going to do it! No, you weren’t!  (Or would that be more like Abbott and Costello? The Three Stooges? Hey … who gives a shit!)

But let’s get real, shall we; well before any cash trades hands, everything is going to fall apart in some tragicomic fashion. Say, there’s a breakdown in negotiations. Maybe the hostage’s rich prick of a father is a cheap old bastard who refuses to pony up the dough. We don’t negotiate with common criminals, he’ll say. Sure, guy. Whatever. Or maybe it’s that the hostage who’s a miserable piece of shit in his or her own right. So then daddy’s like, uh, what’s that? You’re holding Schuyler for ransom? And for how much was it you said you wanted again? Oh. Yeah. Actually, I’m sorry, but I think have the wrong number. No, no, it’s no problem at all. Yes, you have a pleasant evening as well. Bye bye now. 

And what about Stockholm Syndrome? We haven’t even talked about Stockholm Syndrome! Sympathising with, perhaps falling in love even, with the person who is bartering with your very life. Could anything possibly be funnier? A dark romantic comedy. A Meyers x Coens collab. (Ft. DJ Roger Deakins.)

To write a compelling screenplay, Joel, Ethan and Nancy will all tell you, it comes down to character motivation. Why’d they do it? Reconsider murder. They say that more often than not, it starts with domestic violence. (Hilarious.) A crime of passion then. Who did it? Nine times out of ten it was the Husband, the Boyfriend or the Ex. Case closed. Not much of a whodunnit, is it? 

Okay, how about theft, then? Everybody loves a good heist movie. Thomas Crown Affair, Ocean’s Eleven, The Italian Job. (All sixties flicks that have pretty solid remakes in the late nineties, early two-thousands, for what it’s worth. One could make the case that they actually surpass the original texts, which is kind of unheard of. Maybe that speaks to the timeless nature of the genre. Billy in particular was fond of TIJ, which starred three of his five favorite screen actors: Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham and Seth Green. The Mick also quite liked all three of these films, although his favorite heist movie was probably The Usual Suspects, which was immortalized in poster form on the wall of his college dorm room, where he and Kitty slept together for the first time. Her favorite was Bottle Rocket, if that counts.) As for the act of stealing itself, we can all agree that larceny is a crime of necessity. Desperation. Whether you’re Jean Valjean stealing his daily bread, or your Billy Wolff compulsively jacking graphing calculators. They got something You need, man. You Gotta Have It. You’ll take that shit without batting an eye. It might as well already be yours. Was it ever even theirs to begin with? Property is theft, Kitty once heard in passing. 

Therefore, stealing is socialism. (Maggie Thatcher famously said the problem of socialism is eventually you run out of other people’s money. The IRA, for their part, once said about their failed assasination attempt on Maggie Thatcher, today we were unlucky, but remember, we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always … They talked that shit in a press release. Sick!) Or, rather, a more direct form of wealth redistribution. 

Kidnapping, then, for the sake of this exercise, would be capitalism. And you can’t steal from a free market. Now, there are exceptions. Perhaps you’ve been taken political prisoner by radical ideologues. Okay, but that style of political violence went out of fashion when the Berlin Wall fell and the world’s beauty died. Besides, those bleeding heart pussies probably weren’t actually going to kill you anyway. These days that type of thing really only happens if you’re an aid worker or some embedded journalist in the Mid East, and you get scooped up by some fringe jihadist sect, in which case you can bend over and kiss your ass-salamu alaykum. 

More likely though, it’s all about the money, like everything else today. Kidnapping has sold out. Gone corporate. For real though, in many Developing Nations, it is a Legitimate Business. A primary driver of GDP. The Perlmutter Agency has an entire global division dedicated to executive protection and travel security. 

(Although it doesn’t drive revenue compared to the more profitable verticals, such as active shooter response and corporate intelligence. Corporate intelligence, by the way, is a fancy management consultant way of saying, spying on your employees, which is how Perlmutter Detective Agency made its bones back around the turn of the previous century. Infiltrating union organizers, strike-breaking and the like. Nowadays, though, since most of that work can be done electronically, the Perlmutters have been somewhat put out; software is not a core competency. [Make no mistake, employers are monitoring your every keystroke. From the email you fired off to the rep from Local 69, to the keyword search terms you’re entering on Cum Depot dot Com. {Billy browsed a selection of almost exclusively acronym-based pornos. Of recent there had been PAWG, occasionally BBW or BBC, but never both and, of course, his all-time favorite, old reliable, which should come as no surprise to anybody that’s been paying attention — uh, paging Doctor Oedipus — mother f’ing MILF.}])

And if for some reason they fail to foil the plot to kidnap your company’s CEO, then they’ll just upsell you on their Human Asset Recovery package. The way it works is that Perlmutter — or one if its many competitors — will sub-contract the negotiation or if necessary exfil (exfil = exfiltration = extraction) with a K&R insurance brokerage (K&R = kidnapping and rescue … keep up). Here is where the real money is — we’re talking billion-dollar industry with a capital B. (Bradt.) For a fact, assuming they’re not fucking amateurs, the kidnappers will specifically target executives from publicly traded companies, with the explicit pre-knowledge that they are almost assuredly insured, thus increasing the probable likelihood by some multiple that they ever receive payment, and making for an altogether more frictionless customer experience. Or, think of it this way: wouldn’t you rather work with fellow professionals than your hostage’s rich Aunt Julie, or even worse, the pencil-pushing/dick diplomats down at the embassy?

So, if you’re the EVP of Emerging Markets for MegaCorp., flying to the Republican Democracy of Timbuktu, for to oversee the groundbreaking of a new dick-sucking mine, you’d be wise to double-check that your company has a robust K&R policy before you touch down in country. Otherwise, when some ex-guerillas mercenaries come repelling off the face of a cliff, shoot your driver in the face, throw a burlap sack over your head and haul you off to a yurt somewhere at a paramilitary camp in the jungle highlands, with a bunch of trained killers doing jumping jacks and the fucking monkey bars … well then you, my friend, are SOL. 

However, if you do a lot of business in the Horn of Africa, and you just so happen to be hijacked on the high seas by a jolly band of Somali pirates, you should actually consider yourself very lucky indeed. Because, statistically speaking, they are the safest of all the world’s most prolific kidnappers to be taken captive by, insofar as they aren’t likely to kill you. Their hostage return rates considerably exceed the industry standard. The Mick heard that on public radio once in Kitty’s station wagon and for some reason he would never forget it as long as he lived. Maybe in case the whole brewing thing didn’t work out after all, and he ended up crewing a container ship in the Gulf of Aden. Or, perhaps more probably, a pirate skiff. 

Furthermore, if your business travel is of the domestic variety, you don’t need to worry about any of this whatsoever. Nobody gets kidnapped anymore in America. Only a certified whack job would hazard to try such a thing. (Rest assured anybody that crazy is probably already an FBI informant.) And if you’re wondering, but what about all those times an Amber Alert so rudely interrupts your scheduled programming? Almost always it’s a parent, locked in a bitter custody dispute, absconding with their own child. That’s some sad-ass shit, homes. Now, there is an off chance it’s your classic Pervert in a Panel Van, but that’s not anywhere near as commonplace as popular media would suggest. 

All the same, his whole childhood, Billy had been terrified of just such a scenario. With good reason, mind you, given how his own grandpa, Wilhelm II, was killed in an attempted abduction that was thoroughly botched. (Kidnapping ceases to be so funny when it crosses over into cold-blooded murder, it should go without saying.) Perp was some petty conman, lowlife drifter-type. Hatched this half-baked plan to nab him on his way to work. After a misspent lifetime of knocking over soda fountains and defrauding grandmas out of their social security checks, this was going to be his Big Score. He pulled the broken-down-car routine, — one of the oldest tricks in the kidnapping book — setting his trap on a covered bridge, the part of Wilhelm II’s route to the brewery from the ranch that was pretty as a postcard. That morning was picturesque in particular, since winter’s first snow just so happened to be gently falling, The big wet flakes accumulating on the tree limbs. A crystal brook babbling below. Junior pulled over to aid his fellow traveler, partly because his car was obstructing the throughway, but also because that’s just the standup sort of guy he was. His father — Senior, The First — would’ve … well you could speculate he’d have rammed him off the road, but truthfully he wouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with. Most nights he slept fifty feet from his office at the brewery. Commuting back home to his children would have constituted a waste of time.  

The assailant emerged from beyond the popped hood and produced a Luger P08 that he purchased from a sporting goods catalog. (Those were the days.) A struggle ensued. Wilhelm II, perhaps too proud to comply, was gutshot in the fracas. He bled out in the trunk en route to his final resting place, a drainage ditch way down valley, just above the treeline. It wasn’t until the following spring, after the snow melt, that his personal effects and skeletal remains were happened upon by a local goat herder. Of course his body had been torn assunder and scattered every which way but loose by some or other opportunistic critters. They could only recover about the half of him. 

Hildegard was all but ten years old at the time. It was her who answered the phone when the kidnapper first Established Contact, before anyone knew her father was missing from the first. They hadn’t come out with those special kidnapping gadgets that make you talk like a monster, but this guy got by fine without one. His voice had a nasally hiss which haunted Hildy the rest of her days. 

Hello, young lady. Um, this is a friend of your Poppa speaking. Do you know happen to know where he is presently?  

Obviously, with his hostage dead in a ditch by his doing, this kidnapper had forfeited his leverage. Nonetheless he managed to string everybody along a fair bit. No, he never got that big payday he was after. Surprise, surprise … Wilhelm I refused to negotiate with who he presumed to be a communist pervert. (Only the latter was true, although that was incidental.) He did however evade the G-Men and their hellhounds on a trans-continental goose chase. As a personal favor to his dear friend Willy, as only he dared to call him, Hoover had set his boys on the largest manhunt in the history of law enforcement. Hard target searches of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, hypehouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse for a hundred miles in every de-rection.

Lot of fucking good it did too. Only by pure happenstance was the suspect apprehended at the Aéroport international Montréal-Dorval, subdued by Mounted Police following a heated argument with a French-speaking gate agent that escalated to just short of physical violence. He had specifically requested a window seat on his flight to Heathrow. See, this last thing hadn’t gone like he planned, but this next job was foolproof. He was on his way to London where he would infiltrate the Palace Guard, and somehow rip off the Royal Family. Maybe learn from his mistakes (lesson number one: kidnapping an adult may be funnier, but it ain’t easier) and snag that little creep Prince Andrew. Or something. He had the whole flight over to work out the details. But how was he supposed to think in the middle seat, you stupid French bitch!

When all the dust settled, Wilhelm I forbade any form of tearful rembermance, processed grieving or mere mention of Wilhelm II in his presence. (Recall, that he was everywhere.) Hildy’s mom took his directive for her cue to crawl into a bottle, from whence she was never to resurface. Her son, Hildy’s brother, was meanwhile beckoned to the Wolffenhaus to live with his Grossvater, thus commencing his beer baron apprenticeship and home scholarship under Fräulein Loebl. (Wilhelm II would have never allowed for his father and the Fräulein to have unfettered influence over his own offspring. That was partway why he spurned his own father, naming his grandson Werner instead of Wilhelm. [Take that, Dad. Adding insult to injury, whereas all the other men in the family bore the same middle name, Josef, Werner’s was Stetson.] Ernie was going to have a normal childhood, growing up on his father’s fifty-thousand-some acre ranch, The Double W. Over his dead body would the Old Man turn him into another of his human capital investments. But damn if it didn’t happen just like that. And boy was he long on Werner.) Hildy was sent off to live with her Aunt Sarah and continued on attending Canaan School for Girls. (So it was called before it merged with the nearby boys’ school, City Country Day.) 

Hildy never did explain to her son what had happened to his maternal grandfather. (Genuinely, she thought this to be in his best interest. She didn’t want for him, or anyone, to hear that wretched voice which echoed inside her head.) So Billy read about it on the Internet. Browsing an encyclopedic blotter of popular crimes, compiled from online submissions that were rather unscrupulously crowdsourced. (It is exceedingly difficult to crowdsource online submissions scrupulously.) Like a trail of delicious candies, the hyperlinks led one to the next — Lizzie Borden > Leopold and Loeb > Lindbergh baby > Crime of the Century (disambiguation) > May refer to: The Wolffenbeir Plot. If only he could have skipped straight to online porn. At that point in his sexual self-discovery he had still been plenty smitten by the television simulcasts of the Howard Stern show and the scrupulously blurred out infomercials for Hot Babes Get Butt Naked For Money. 

Henceforth, between heavenly wet dreams about Carmen Electra being coerced to mount a vibrating masturbation saddle, Billy had a recurring nightmare about being kidnapped. He was in an all-white space. No walls. No shadows. But he wasn’t weightless. He was sitting, cross-legged, in the middle of all that nothing. Hildy was there too, standing off to the side, arms crossed, impatient-like. Then someone drives up in a teal four-by-four with a soft top, identical to the one his granddad had drove to the bridge that day. It was Baba Booey, alias Gary Dell’Abate, beloved producer of the Howard Stern show. Without even stopping he scooped up Billy. Hildy didn’t make any attempt to resist. She just watched him go.

###

Turns out that dream was something of a premonition. Billy would be kidnapped. Twice, actually. First time was those assholes from the Wilderness Academy, on Hildy’s behalf. Now he would get her back by kidnapping himself. Man, are some families messed up or what? Eat your heart out, Hawthorne.