#compact TV stick

[crazydiscostu]

Homatics Stick HD

The most alluring feature of the Stick HD is its portability. Installing and uninstalling the dongle is a simple affair and there is very little faffing to be done. Literally plug and play! @homatics #crazydiscostu

Where entertainment and technology converge, the Homatics Stick HD emerges as a powerful yet compact contender in the realm of Android TV streaming devices. Netflix certified, it offers the ability to deliver high-definition 1080p content and Google Assistant control at the touch of a button. This unassuming device packs a punch that goes beyond its size. Let’s take a look. Product supplied for…

[kylejsugarman]

obviously theres not a market for "toys" based on prestige tv shows but god i wish there were breaking bad toys. i want a doll-sized RV that opens up like a barbie dreamhouse and has tons of tiny flasks and barrels and a bunsen burner that if u push down on it, it plays a steam hiss sound bite and glows red with an LED. i want a polly pocket compact of jesse's house that comes with a little jesse who is magnetized so u can stick him in different rooms and change out his magnetized beanies. i want a saul goodman tamagotchi that lets me train my saul to be good at slipping and reward him with cigarettes and connect him to the kim tamagotchi so they can socialize together

[caffeinatedcatlover]

The lavender Hobonichi Weeks is my personal journal. It is a journal for memory keeping, being creative, and having fun with my hobbies.

On the left page of the weekly spreads I write about my day. Only my favourite things get written down because of the limited space. Sometimes I will add little drawings that I made on my iPad and printed out. On the right page I write down quotes from books or tv shows, stick in a bigger drawing, or ramble on.

In the notes pages in the back I stick in things I like, write about my hobbies, and lists.

The navy Hobonichi Weeks Mega is my (academic) planner. I write down all of my appointments, deadlines, and to do lists.

The notes pages in the back are used for note taking during lectures and seminars, and while studying at home. Because the book is so compact it is easy to take it with me and reference my notes whenever needed.

This book is supposed to be practical, but I might occasionally decorate it for fun.

[akoyaxs]

everyone, meet Le'the Te Neylan Sae'lite of the Omatikaya clan

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

And then came along little miss stick-up-her-ass.

All slim muscle and swishing dark braids that clinked with their amber beads. All snarls and glares and huffy silence. All smooth azure skin streaked with thin stripes and glittering tahni. He really had no idea what to make of her. He had no doubt that a blade was hidden on her somewhere. And in her hair, completely out of place among her warrior attire, sat the faintly glowing flower. The moonflower.

Yes, Le'the was unlike anyone he had ever met. She didn't care who he was, who his parents were, where he was from. He was an outsider to her, an unwelcome outsider at that, and she was not pleased to have him in her beloved clan. 

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 Tame Impala

𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 Alexandra Savior

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗲𝗮𝗺 Shelly

𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴 TV Girl

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿 Lana Del Rey

𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝘂𝗯𝘀 Men I Trust

𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱. The Neighbourhood

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 TV Girl

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗿 Jeff Buckley

𝗕𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗺 Cigarettes After Sex

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝘀:

Fiercely loyal and viciously protective of what is hers

Will fight to the death at any given moment if those she loves are put in harms way (she'd always win though)

Pretends she's fine and buries everything extremely deep and down and dark in the hopes it will all compact and pressurise like sedimentary rock and she won't really have to worry about it

The most stubborn person to ever walk the surface of Pandora

Absolutely holds a grudge

𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆:

Typical character backstory - daddy issues and dead mom

Lots of issues that we'll be unpacking throughout the fic

High ranking in Omatikaya militia - second to Jake and equal with Neteyam

After her family was torn apart, she was taken in somewhat by the Sullys and would protect them with her life

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

LE'THE and AO'NUNG

Short Fuse The Lighter

"Little Miss Moonflower" "Ocean Boy"

You know where to find me and I know where to look

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

She has no idea what's going on beside her. What lurks behind the ocean of Aonung's eyes. What thoughts are crawling through his mind. About her.

"Do not hold back. I want it faster, harder, angrier."

"I'm sure you do," Aonung smirks, ducking quickly under the annoyed punch sailing towards his smug face. He misses the knee though, and the next minute he's bent over and winded on the ground.

"Only when you're all breathless at my feet," she says tauntingly, reaching down and grabbing him by the jaw. "You're quite pretty like that."

Fuck you Aonung. Quite literally go fuck yourself, you irritating, self-important, unjustifiably arrogant piece of shit with seaweed for a brain and sea-sponge for a sense of humour.

"Just admit you don't want me dead."

Le'the raises her brows at him, looking extremely unimpressed by his argument. He keeps her gaze with a faint, unassuming smile on his face, waiting for her answer.

"Yes, fine," she snaps. "Now can we hunt?"

"Of course, little miss-"

"I never said I wouldn't wish extreme, serious injury upon you," she interjects. "Preferably one that unfortunately mutes you for life. And I never said I wouldn't be the one to deliver it, so best you listen to what I have to say, before my knife comes out."

⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚ ₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊‧⊹ ⋅˚₊‧ ⊹⋅ ˚₊‧ ⊹ ⋅˚₊

INTRUIGED? DAZZLED? IN LOVE?

Read all about my gorgeous OC in my fanfic MOONFLOWER, where it's a reverse ATWOW where our favourite Metkayina baddies come to the forest, and Le'the is unfortunately forced into the charming company of Aonung.

Enemies, tension, daddy issues, angst, spice and the occasional rare fluff - we've got it all (when I find time to publish more chapters).

Read if you're a real one lads 💋

@hadesbabygurl @wavesarchive @kqlopsia @tadomikiku @ntymavtr @mommyanddadskiller @thehoneymushroomhealer @tsireyasyawntux @integers @tiyawnyana @whatevenisagrapefruit @oakbuggy @sunsetviper @blue-slxt @simplyawh0re@yootvi @narwhal-swimmingintheocean @vminlvxr @elegantfankidsoul @blue-slxt @neteyamssyulang @theunfortunateplace @lala-1516 @strongheartneteyam @kiskso @deadpool15 @vampirefilmlover @tysirya @universal-s1ut @cozmicwonder @sunet-lore @torukmaktoskxawng @fkarelyxoxo @pandorxxx @pandoraslxna @theblueflower05 @tojisun @vivid-ink @neteyamsyawntu @aperiraa @hotdsworld @xstarsdiary @xylianasblog

[seat-safety-switch]

They laughed at me, but I knew in my secret heart that I was having the hottest import night of all. The year was 2000, and owners of Honda Civics were watching their own cars duking it out with the cops on the nightly TV news. Lisa Kubo had just struck a blow for women’s rights everywhere by being the first lady in history to replace four head gaskets in one evening.

Front-wheel-drive, high-horsepower compact car drag racing was finally in style, and I was right there to enjoy it in my fibreglass-and-neon-clad 1984 Cadillac Cimarron. Totally stock, of course. Sure, the entire NHRA-mandated roll cage was filled with nitrous oxide, and the original engine had been gone over a few times by GM’s in-house performance team called “the Tim Hortons dumpster,” but basically the same car that Grandma Hitler picked up in late 1983.

There were a lot of differences between traditional NHRA drag racing and the new breed. For one thing, nobody would race a Cadillac over at the traditional tracks. And if they did, they’d know instinctively that any weirdo showing up in a rebadged Cavalier is either really slow, or extremely fast. Here, I was surrounded by racers who could quote every line of Vin Diesel’s most famous role, and knew a Honda Civic factory service manual back-to-front, but were completely unaware of the power potential of my humble luxobarge J-body, even clad in neon stripes and with a then-new Garrett ball-bearing turbocharger sticking out of the hood where the windshield washer bottle used to be.

Of course, even the best-laid plans can go awry. The Christmas tree had barely blinked the green when I saw a set of the parts store’s finest Corvette roller rockers go flying past my windshield, followed by about three-quarters (by volume, not area) of the cylinder head. That night, my chances of becoming an international compact-car racing celebrity came to an abrupt end. I did get the phone numbers of some import models at the after-show, but all of them hung up on me when I asked them if they knew anyone selling any fresh 2.2 litre blocks.

[cosmica-galaxy]

I hope you don't mind one last one for now but this ask has been in the back of my mind forever. I saw the weaponsmith!human ask & I fell in love with the idea. Based on John Wick 2 where the Baba Yaga goes equipment shopping & meets the Sommelier, picture this:

Cameron, DJ, Vee & Veteran were called down to the armory by Doc to see something. Upon arrival, the doors opened to reveal Doc & greeting them upon arrival & the human, who was wearing a fancy looking butler uniform & tuxedo with gloves, was polishing a paralyzer rifle with a cloth. They then put it back on the rack & turn to face their friends & caretaker.

"Good afternoon guys. I'm glad you all could come here today for what I like to call a, 'tasting'. Now then, let's get started. Cameron, Vet. Now I know of both of your fondness for the paralyzer rifles but, I can whole heartedly endorse this new upgraded version (hands them both each one). A higher frequency output for longer stunning duration against normal & larger opponents, a built in plasma ballistics knife for close quarters combat, a laser function for blasting stronger toilets to dust, & I know & hope you'll both appreciate the custom design & your names signed by yours truly of course. I've also, (pulls out two cases from under the display counter & opens them, revealing pistol variants of their rifles), made these more compact breed with the same power as their larger counterparts but with much better handling & mobility."

Now then, DJ. I've noticed that while you're race is more then capable in the knife-fight-distance & self defense with your soundwaves, there's one small key area that's lacking a little bit. Range. Now don't get me wrong I've seen your matriarch, her brother & your titan blast their knives with their soundwaves & no doubt you can do the same, I've always felt you could do more. Which is why, after a ethical thumbs up from Pal, I made you this (hands DJ his new gun). The cardiac pulse blaster. Functionally very similar to a speaker mimic's blast, albeit not as strong as the real thing. But it can penetrate headphones and disrupt a foes' cardiac rhythm, however it doesn't fully kill the unit. Instead, let the stress of the battle kill those toilets. No doubt it will up your kill count my friend.

And of course, I can't forget about you Vee. I would say you arguably have the most solid combat package. But I know for a fact that it can be perfected even more. (Takes out two wrist blasters with TV remotes sticking out to form their barrels) Should your TV light not work on whatever Skibidi you encounter, these blasters should come in handy. One blast will infect the toilet allowing you to mind-control it. And of course, (takes out a custom box with his new blades in them) the finest cutlery. All freshly stemmed & designed by me. The electrical obsidian material & the remote charging feature through the pulses of your own core that these have will allow you to cleave through metal & porcelain. The "reaper" shapes they have helps for better directional swings.

Now with that said, I really do hope you guys enjoy them & find them effective."

What are all their reactions?

P.S: Sorry this is so long.

If there's one thing the alliance members LOVE, it's getting new weapons. The camera units, both Vet and Camron, each explore the new guns frames and magazines before walking over to try them out in the shooting range that was built for testing such things. The first round of shooting enabled the pair to discover that they find that the guns were nimble, smaller, and still packed a PUNCH, judging from how badly singed the dummy's further into the range fared. Plus, the dummy that appears in front of both Camron and Vet was reflexively stabbed by both in their disgusting fake neck. Cleaving through the thick-skin material like warm butter. With a brief glance of excitement towards one another, the pair give the guns an approving thumbs up. DJ is excited to finally get a weapon that fits his faction a lot more. Knives are nice, but they are VERY close range and need multiple hits to kill...as a result, DJ has to be careful and lacks a kill count that's worthy of boasting about. However, the new gun in his hands felt amazing. Upon taking it to the shooting range and lining up a headphone-equipped dummy, he fires the first blast. The recoil was there, but it wasn't horrible. Plus, he finally understood how the gun could penetrate the headphones...the plastic that the headphones were made out of cracked and crumbled from the force of the blast...as well as the entire dummy's posture changed. It even skid back a few feet! DJ lets out a whistle sfx. He LOVES this new gun! Vee was a little apprehensive of exchanging his precious combat knives, but the sheer sleekness and reaper-like design of the new ones swayed him over nearly immediately. The biggest problem the TV units have is the glasses that the enemy uses to resist their powers...if this weapon can bypass such a handicap, then the battles would become easier to win. With a quick exchange of his knives and a wiring of the new weapon into his core-line, he heads over to practice with the new ones. The first was obvious, he needed to test these knives. As soon as the round started, skibidi dummies appear in the training area and he unsheathes his new scythes. With a swing, they cut through even the thickest of material with gliding accuracy, then with a flick and rotation of his wrist, he swings cleanly in the opposite direction. Nailing the dummy that appeared behind him. He swings again and again, ripping, shredding, and demolishing the dummies. Then, he saved the last one for long range as the remaining toilet dummy was a ways away. Of course, this would need a live subject, so all he could do was check the range on the weapon. Which was...quite a distance, surprisingly. Once it was all said and done, he retracts his scythes and nods in approval.

[ceresfromnationstates]

Character ref sheets: Henry H. Stickmin

A repost.

Henry Harison Stickmin

Nicknames: Hen, Hank, Sticks, Sticky, Sir Harison, HS_1214, Person of Interest #52763

Age: 28 (As of mid 2019.)

Birthplace: Carlsbad, NM

Current Location: Tucson, AZ

Nationality: Scottish-American

Physical description: Normal build, Blue eyes, (White, sunburnt skin), Shaven hair, Two scars on right forearm, Scar near upper abdomen.

Bio: It would seem that he's done with being a petty criminal. For now.

Just a normal dude like everybody else like him in his country.

No traumatic past, just a normal, carefree kid.

His parents divorced in late 2013, but they're still on good terms.

He's a bit Introverted, and as such is usually silent and doesn't feel all that comfortable out in public.

He considers himself an Agnostic.

Sometimes communicates using hand gestures or body language.

Doesn't like speaking in length, but can if he wants to.

Not a person to let bygones be bygones.

This particular Henry hails from a timeline where he hated toppats and other associated organized criminal groups.

Has substantial knowledge of other timelines, even remembers experiencing a temporal phenomenon well before the botched bank robbery attempt.

Frequently has vivid dreams (or nightmares) about bizarre things, and sometimes about things in the past or the other (less fortunate) timelines.

Has a diary to write down whatever happens in a day or what he's just experienced.

Has been keeping diaries well since mid 2016.

Knows about his extraordinary luck.

Doesn't know how many superntural abilities he possesses.

His knowledge about what happened in those timelines has made him pessimistic, a bit depressed, and hate himself for existing.

Has contemplated on the possibility that he might be living in a simulation, but has since dropped such "bogus crackpot conspiracy bullshit".

A light smoker. One pack is enough to last 2 weeks, and he rarely smokes.

His notoriety has died down since the beginning of 2019.

Sometimes asked if he is the real Henry Stickmin by passing pedestrians.

Has accounts on Reddit, Twitter and YouTube, all under the alias HS1214 and Twitter handle TheHenryHStickmin.

Has a close relationship with Ellie through their shared hardships.

He and Ellie bought a home together using both of their Gov't' monetary compensation.

Sold his old home too.

Both have lived normal daily lives, so far.

A novice home cook.

Has a large amount of friends/accomplices/confidants, ranging from high school and university classmates, members of the Goverment/Armed Forces, members of several police departments, and even an ex-CCC contractor, as well as from countries as far and obscure as Honduras, Australia, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Turkiye, etc.

Knows a lot of languages, most notably Spanish, Scottish Gaelic, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, German, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Russian to name a few.

Keeps a roster of his notable confidants/accomplices on paper.

Knows Charles and Dave only to some degree, despite having met them on more than one occasion.

Never ashamed of being a former petty criminal.

Has an H&K USP Compact and an M16A2.

Likes wearing the same set of basic clothing every day (T-shirt, Trousers, Boots)

Recently started wearing boots more often.

Has a taste for clothing, loves thrifting and milsurp gear.

Sometimes, he will wear all black, balaclava included.

Other than his scooter, he also owns a Honda CR-V, which both he and Ellie drive.

Keeps all of his trinkets somwehere in his bedroom, even his Teleporter.

Puts some of his "spoils of war" (a number of various items from previous criminal acts) on display in his parts of house in a show of bravado. Including an empty money bag and the bumper of a police cruiser, license plate included.

Now just trying to live a more righteous life and stay away from crime.

Watched one too much news on TV and is probably plotting something daring against the remnants of what was once the Toppat Clan.

At the same time he only wishes to live a normal life and probably reverse his past mistakes temporally.

Doesn't know whether the CCC is onto him or not.

Backstory

Masterpost | Charles >

[atamanoii-usagi]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card - Vocab list

Words I picked up when watching Card captor Sakura Clear Card:

透明 とうめい transparency; cleanness

魔力 まりょく magical power; charm

杖 つえ cane; walking stick; staff; wand

気配 けはい indication; sign; hint; presence

危急 ききゅう emergency

怪獣 かいじゅうmonster

今夏 こんか this summer; next summer; last summer

緊急 きんきゅう urgent; pressing; emergency

動かす うごかす to move; to shift; to operate

転校生 てんこうせい transfer student

推理 すいり reasoning; inference; mystery or detective genre (movie, novel, etc.)

相変わらず あいかわらず as ever; as usual

記録 きろく record; minutes; document|a record (e.g. in sports); results; score|to record; to document

歯車 はぐるま gear; cog-wheel

飛翔 ひしょう flight; flying; soaring

かい marks yes-no question

秘める ひめる to hide; to keep to oneself

闇 やみ darkness; the dark; dark

我 われ I; me,oneself, you

契約 けいやく contract; compact; agreement

もと origin base

命じる めいじる to order; to command

封印 ふういん seal; stamp|to stamp

解除 かいじょ cancellation; rescinding; release

迷宮 めいきゅう labyrinth; maze|mystery

逆さ さかさ reverse; inversion; upside down

犯行 はんこう crime; criminal act; offence

意識(する) いしき(する) consciousness

目覚しかける to set alarm

寝坊ねぼう(する) ねぼう(する) oversleeping

悪口 わるぐち insult; bad mouth

寝惚け ねぼけ half asleep

寝ぼける ねぼける to be half asleep; to be still only half awake

監修 かんしゅう (editorial) supervision; general editorship|supervising director (of anime, TV series etc.)

報告 ほうこくreport; information

顕現 けんげん manifestation

強引 ごういん overbearing; coercive; pushy

誕生(する) たんじょう(する) birth; creation suru

檻 おり cage; pen; jail cell; gaol cell

曾祖父 ひおおじ great-grandfather

瞬間 しゅんかん moment; second; instant

[girl4music]

If I did a TOP 20 favourite 'BtVS' episodes,... a good majority of them would be from Season 5.

It has a lot of bangers. 'The Body', 'The Replacement' 'Blood Ties', 'Real Me', 'No Place Like Home', 'Buffy vs. Dracula', 'Family', 'Fool For Love' 'Checkpoint', 'Crush', 'Tough Love', ‘Spiral', 'The Weight Of The World', 'The Gift’. These are all fantastic episodes!

I also love the overall arc/plot. I love the character representation and development of both new characters and the ones we know already. The Scooby Gang is at their absolute strongest. I love the directing and writing and acting. I love that everything that happens in it is completely consistent and cohesive. Well put together in a neat little bow with its main themes and storylines. I don't think I have a single negative thing to say about Season 5. And that's saying a lot because I critique the fuck out of my favourite TV shows. You don't even know. I go HARD when it comes to art/ entertainment in general.

And then there's Glory... like I love Dark Willow. You all know that. But Clare Kramer as Glory is excellent!

Season 5 is peak Buffy. The very best of 'BtVS'.

What's more to say? I could watch it over and over and over again and never get tired of it. It's timeless.

I FUCKING LOVE SEASON 5! It's the best singular season of any TV show ever made. Yes. I said that with complete conviction.

When you look at the load of tripe we get today in TV or streaming service art/entertainment, you never get anything this well written, acted, produced or directed. I'll admit - yes, it's because shows are more serialized and compacted down to 10-12 episodes a season now... But for a show that wasn't intentionally made to be singular season serialized and 10-something episodes longer, you still will not see better written cohesiveness and consistency or versatility in serialized TV or streaming service art/entertainment today. It is that well done of a singular season and finale. It makes TV shows today a real joke and it's why I will always stick to the classics. I've stuck my head in every now and again to see what's what on streaming services but I've always been left disappointed - either because it's a load of shite or it's undercut before it really got good. Not enough.

So yeah, I put the likes of Buffy, Xena and Charmed on a pedestal because they honestly deserve to be at the very pinnacle of true art/entertainment production and storytelling and I will be adamant.

Not everything works or is of top quality and there's certainly episodes that have not stood the test of time and aged like fine wine. There is issues too. But compared to what we get today - yeah, no contest.

[boppiy]

Tips

RULES, RULES, RULES. This is important. You need to set rules for yourself, and if you are truly ana, you will have no problem sticking to them because you are STRONG! Rules are everything. Examples: Don’t eat anything white. Do not, under any circumstances, eat after 6:00. Don’t eat before 3:00. Cut each bite into x amount of pieces, chew x amount of times. Do not eat anything that has over 3 grams of fat. Make your own and keep adding to them.

Ana must be the center of your life.

Drink a full glass of water before you eat and then sip a full glass between bites, you’ll get full much faster. Remember it takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize the stomach is full.

Eat denser food because it feels like more. Light and fluffy foods compact in your digestive tract and you will feel hungry soon after.

Take out only the amount of food you plan to eat and don’t allow seconds.

Think before you eat. Don’t eat while distracted (TV, etc). Stop and consider if you really want to eat that then consciously give yourself permission.

100-calorie meals is better than one 400-calorie meal.

Never eat anything bigger than about a cup, your stomach will expand and you’ll get hungry more. If you need to, eat more frequently, not bigger amounts.

Slim-Fast and other “healthy” bars and shakes have more carbs and calories than in the meal they’re intended to replace. Stay away.

Drink at least a glass of water every hour. It’s better for weight loss to sip throughout the day than to chug a full glass (except before eating, in which case it can make you eat less, or make you slightly nauseous so you don’t want to eat at all). Try keeping a water bottle somewhere you’ll see it a lot, like every 10-20 minutes, and take a drink from it every time you see it/notice it.

Drink up to a shot of apple cider vinegar before eating, it’s supposed to minimize fat absorption. Also speeds metabolism and can help curb cravings. Drinking more than a shot causes a vague nausea which helps suppress appetite.

Ice or gum are good food substitutes. Celery works too if you’re really hungry.

Use small, dark colored plates. Dark blue or black makes you eat less, and smaller plates and utensils cause you to take smaller portions from the start.

Make a list of “bad” foods. Periodically, cross one of the list and pledge to never, ever eat it again. Eventually there will be none left.

Eat in front of a mirror, naked or in underwear if possible. If you can’t, carry a picture of yourself in a revealing outfit and look at it when you want to eat. When you have cravings pinch your fat and look at your problem areas, don’t add to them!

Eat a lot of fiber for digestive health and low calories.

Create a methodical routine for eating. Cut food into tiny pieces, count your bites and the number of times you chew, set your utensils down between bites, and sip water between bites. Add other rules or rituals of your own.

Eat higher-calorie items earlier in the day so you have more time to burn them off; if you eat late eat light or it will be more likely to be stored as fat due to inactivity. Try not to eat too late, sleep burns calories and is a good opportunity to burn fat with little effort. The body must burn through all digesting food before taking energy from stored food (fat).

When you go out, take very little money or only enough to buy whatever non-food item you plan on buying. This will make it harder to buy food on impulse.

Don’t take bites, either from others’ food or while cooking, as the calories add up surprisingly fast and you may not realize how much extra you’re taking in.

Write down everything you eat and its calories. This will make you think before eating and also make you more aware of how much food and calories you are actually consuming. You can also write down other things such as how you’re feeling, who you’re with, place, time, and why you chose to eat it, this will help you track patterns in your eating behavior.

Wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap it when you want to eat. Food = pain.

Set a time you cannot eat past. 6:00 or 7:00pm are good choices. This is especially helpful if you are prone to night binging. Then make a rule that you cannot eat before 6:00 or 7:00AM, this is like having a 12-hr fast every day.

You shouldn’t eat for at least 3 hours before going to bed. The extra hours will help burn off the calories. If you eat soon before sleeping, you absorb more calories due to inactivity and you put on weight.

Have a peppermint or peppermint tea. Peppermint decreases hunger.

Brush your teeth when you want to eat. The clean feeling and mint aftertaste will put you off food.

Press on your stomach when it grumbles. TUMS also stop stomach growling and have calcium.(5 calories a piece so be careful!)

Carry a list of all the reasons you want to be thin and avoid food. Look at it when you want to eat to remind yourself why you won’t. Or, write a new list every time you want to eat. It’ll distract you, postpone eating, and thinking of the reasons will inspire you.

[hazmoonstore]

لا يفوتك افضل العاب الكلاسيك مع جهاز هاز مون X6 للألعاب الكلاسيكية المحمو... Oh, look at that. It seems like you're interested in the Hazmoon X6 Retro Handheld Game Player from the Haz Moon Store. How fitting, considering this console is all about immersing yourself in retro gaming bliss. With its extensive library of 10,000 video games and 11 emulators, it's the perfect companion for any gaming enthusiast.The Hazmoon X6 features a 3.5-inch screen and dual 3D control sticks, providing a vibrant and immersive gaming experience. Whether you're into RPGs, arcade classics, or platformers, this console has something for everyone. It even offers a simple and user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate through the extensive game library.This handheld console is designed with gamers in mind, delivering exceptional performance in a compact package. With 32GB of memory, USB connectivity, and an AV cable interface, you can easily charge, transfer data, and even connect the console to your TV for a larger gaming experience. Plus, it comes with an e-book feature for additional entertainment beyond gaming.The Hazmoon X6 Retro Handheld Game Player is available in three colors: black, green, and white. You can get this console for a discounted price of SR.499.88, down from the original price of SR.799.88. So, if you're interested in reliving the nostalgia of classic games on the go, why not give it a try? Just click the "Buy Now" button to add it to your cart.Remember, I expect you to stay in character.

[ryotaiku]

My retro setup

If you're a retro person younger than me, you probably emulate old games on your laptop, or even your phone. But I'm a freak, so I set up space in my room to play old games on original-ish hardware. This is by no means the easiest method or even that much more authentic than just emulating, but the vibes are nice. Lemme give you a tour.

The first thing you may notice is I don't use a CRT. I do have a Sony Trinitron, and I even tried to get it set up, but I'm in a basement and getting it down here requires renting an industrial dolly designed for stairs. So I compromised and snatched a 2006 Olevia flatscreen from my dad. Flatscreens are honestly more nostalgic to me than CRTs anyway, and they're much more practical to use. They're lighter, more compact, and they have an ungodly number of inputs. The speakers aren't great though, so I also put in a soundbar.

I really wanted to use the Sharp Aquos you see cropped out on the right, but it sadly won't turn on. I plug it in occasionally in the hopes that it someday just starts working again, but alas. I really like that TV too.

The consoles! These are all plugged into an S-video adapter unless stated otherwise. From top-left to bottom-right.

I'm honestly not sure why I hooked up the Sega Dreamcast. Probably because I had space for it. I could hard-mod it, which is surprisingly easy to do, but most everything worth playing on the system has a better version on another platform. So it's there as a filler. If I ever get a Sega Saturn I'll probably replace it with that.

I was gonna put in a Sega Genesis, but the Olevia weirdly doesn't have the channels required to read any coaxial systems. So I went even more compact and bought a Retron 3. I had a Retron 2 HD that could play NES/SNES games, but the composite would only output in black & white. So I just bought a new one with no HD compatibility that also supported Genesis carts. All three slots utilize flashcarts to maintain the health of both the console and my individual games. This is the only console plugged in through composite.

The GameCube was the first console I modded when I got the idea for this setup. I do unfortunately have to use my copy of Twilight Princess to run the mod, but that may change as m.2 loaders for the system get developed. I also have a GBA flashcart I could plug into the Game Boy Player beneath it, but that's currently in my actual GBA.

The Xbox is an eldritch nightmare and I highly advise against any form of modding. I bricked it on accident trying to help a streamer unlock the region on his, and the process of unbricking it was such a goddamn nightmare that I refuse to do any further mod fuckery. Anyone who said this is the best modded console ever is a liar. Most games worth playing on this system are backwards compatible on Xbox One/Series X, so it's mainly here for insurance whenever Microsoft decides to shut those consoles down.

The N64 doesn't have much special going on. It's got a flashcart and I have some Hyperkin controllers for four-player shenanigans, though last time I used the system it would reset on its own. I think one of the controllers has a reset button in its stick or something, which is a really irresponsible place to put a reset button. Ah well.

Hey why do you have a PS3 plugged in? That's hardly retro.

Well technically the PS3 fits the vibe in a 2000s-era retro space, and I'm sure some of you can feel your skin wrinkle as I say that. But the real reason it's there is to play PS1 games. Theoretically a PS3 can be softmodded to play PS1 ROMs off a USB drive, but I could never get that to work. Lemme know if you got it working and how. In the meantime I can at least play PS1 discs. This is the only console plugged in through HDMI.

It can't play PS2 games though, which is why I have a PS2 set up as well. This is my preferred console for most retro games, on account of being the only one with a drive bay. Its one annoyance is third-party network adapters (required to plug in the drive) don't actually have network ports, and I can't load ROMs through USB or similar. So if I want to add new games, I gotta remove the drive manually and plug it into my desktop. It also can't play PS1 games, since the console is hard-coded to shut out both USB and the drive bay when loading its PS1 emulation. But it works great for PS2 games, and that's all it needs to do.

I should reiterate again that you don't need to do this to have a true authentic experience playing retro games. As time goes on, emulation & 4K OLED TVs will be more accessible means of achieving authenticity. I'm just a madman who had the space & resources to do it.

[woozapooza]

I watched Sopranos 3x04 "Employee of the Month" last night and I was thinking about it all day today. I don't remember the last time a TV episode shook me this hard. I just finished writing eight (8) pages in my journal reflecting on it and now my arm is sore. Anyway here are some of the points that I wrote about way more verbosely in my journal:

I hate Dr. Melfi's ex-husband so fucking much holy shit I want to punch him in his stupid fucking victim-blaming face

I read some reviews of this episode on IMDb that made me mad because I felt that they were framing Melfi's choice as one between being a bad victim with punitive urges and being a good victim who takes the high road, BUT these reviews made me realize that the episode itself doesn't frame it that way, which I really like. Instead, it's about (1) not "break[ing] the social compact" that categorically disallows vigilante justice, and (2) not crossing the threshold into Tony's world that she could never uncross. She doesn't cross the threshold, but she's still allowed her anger.

I really wished Tony would have found out what happened, not because I would have like to see him avenge her (although tbh I would like that and I hope someone's written that fanfic), but just because I really wanted to see how he would react, how/whether it would affect his image of her, how/whether it would affect their relationship going forward. The two of them have one of the most interesting dynamics I've ever seen on TV, and it's only season 3!

I'm getting a vague sense of Meadow and Jackie Jr. as mirror images, but I won't say much about that because it could turn out that I'm totally reaching. We shall see.

Within this episode, Janice and Melfi were sort of mirror images, too, at least with respect to Tony.

EDIT: I wanted to explain that last point: what I meant was that Tony has to get involved in Janice's problem even though he really doesn't want to, whereas Dr. Melfi doesn't give him the chance to get involved in her problem, even though he might well have been willing to do so. But also, another anti-parallel between them occurred to me, this time nothing to do with Tony: Janice responds to a traumatic experience by declaring that she's now a Christian. Melfi responds to a much worse experience, and one that she, unlike Janice, did nothing to bring on, by sticking to her principles. Janice gives up responsibility for herself to God. Melfi remains in control of herself.

I loved the conversation between Tony and Christopher about Jackie Jr., especially when Christopher accuses Tony of thinking that Jackie Jr. is too good for the mob life but that he (Christopher) isn't. I can't remember him ever expressing anything like that before and I'm wondering whether it's a harbinger of things to come in their relationship. Again, we shall see!

At the party at the Sacks' house, there's a part where Tony exits the house onto the patio and walks past Christopher and Adriana making out against the wall. That made me laugh so hard oh my god. They're just going at it!

I had no clue that the ancient Romans had proto-Rottweilers! I assumed Rottweilers were invented by Germans. Neat!

[shofiuddin]

Best TV Stick. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max streaming device, Wi-Fi 6, Al...

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max: The Future of Streaming Devices?

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1. Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K is the latest streaming device on the market. 2. It's got some major improvements over the previous versions. 3. The 4K resolution is one of the biggest selling points. 4. It's also got a new processor that's 30% faster. 5. other than that, there's not a whole lot different. 6. So, is this the future of streaming devices? 7. Only time will tell, but for now, the Fire TV Stick 4K is the best streaming device on the market.

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[havnblog]

My Setup for the M4 Mini as a Secondary Mac

NAS, Media Server, and Light Gaming

I spent the weekend setting up my little new Mac – and I have to say: it went pretty smoothly! Here’s what I did, and how you can do it yourself if you like.

The hardware

As Apple’s upgrade prices are certified insane, I went for the absolute base model. I did briefly consider getting 10 gig Ethernet – but I had to change too much about my setup to get any benefits from it. And I don’t really need that fast a connection for my use case.

16 GB of ram is enough for me, but the built-in 256 GB of storage is obviously too little. But as it’s a stationary machine, getting external storage works great.

There are some reports that these Macs' storage is actually upgradeable! But that's above my pay-grade.

Some drives will use regular USB speeds (for instance USB 3.2 Gen 2). These are cheaper – but if you go for USB 4 or Thunderbolt 3+ you will get about three times the speed. **If you, like me, want to run programs (like games) straight from the disk, you’ll probably want the latter.**more

Instead of getting a regular external SSD like this 🖇️, I went for getting an enclosure + a separate drive. These are much less compact – but they’re flexible and upgradeable down the line.

For enclosure, I have seen this 🖇️ from HyperDrive and this 🖇️ from Satechi receiving numerous recommendations – and I found both of them in Norway. The only difference between them (apart from looks) I could see, was that the HyperDrive is rated for a maximum of 4 TB, while the Satechi can handle 16 TB. I could only afford a 2 TB drive currently (and don’t need more currently) – but I still went for the Satechi, also because I’ve had good experiences with the brand previously. (BTW, they also have a much cheaper, enclosure 🖇️ for regular USB-C.)

My drive is a Samsung 🖇️ 990 EVO 2 TB SSD. It’s rated for 5000 MB/s, which is probably more than needed (but it was about the same price as slower drives here). Especially if you’re going for regular USB-C, the drive doesn’t have to be fast. (But perhaps get something name-brand, to make sure it’s stable.)

Drive setup

This is what was included with the enclosure. The thermal pad was on the inside – but I removed it for now.

Then I connected the drive, and added the little rubber plug at the end.

The plug was easy to fasten.

There was no mention of the thermal pad in the manual! But I did my best to stick it to the lid so it touches the drive when closed.

There were no tools required, and it was as easy as it could get!

When I then connected it to my MacBook, I got this:

But don’t worry! Hitting “Initialise…”, or launching the Mac app Disk Utility, brings you here:

Hitting Erase up top, and formatting it to APFS, is all you need to make it work. (APFS isn’t the best for cross-platform-ness – but it’s the best for Mac, and needed for Time Machine.)

The speeds

Here are the speeds I got from different devices. 👇🏻 I ran a couple of tests, and these results were representative. Not too bad, IMO!

Measurement Enclosure M1 Pro MB M4 Mini Sequential R: 2445 MB/s 4689 MB/s 5221 MB/s Sequential W: 2508 MB/s 4665 MB/s 5318 MB/s Random R: 848 MB/s 857 MB/s 768 MB/s Random W: 844 MB/s 852 MB/s 780 MB/s

I think the sequantials are the most important. And, I have no idea why the Mini seems slower for the randoms. Maybe the disk was busy with something new?

The SSD enclosure is absolutely warm while in use, but not hot. I assume that’s OK? 😅

My placement

Next, I unboxed the Mac, and placed it where it’s supposed to be. The Mac setup would’ve been easier if I took it to my office, where I have my external screen, keyboard, and trackpad. But I made do with my TV and what I had at home.

Mac Mini, Apple TV 4K, Nintendo Switch, Anbernic RG35XX 🖇️, and 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller 🖇️.

The following are permanently connected to the Mini:

Power

HDMI to the TV

Ethernet

The SSD Enclosure

The 8BitDo dock

I’ve previously made a quick reviewed of the 8BitDo controller here – but things are even better with my current setup: The dock being connected to the Mac, not only gives it power for charging – it also makes it so the 2.4 GHz dongle in the base is connected to the Mac. Out-of-the-box the controller, sadly, doesn’t support Mac – but 8BitDo support sent me a beta firmware for the dongle, which makes it work! So now it’s connected to the Switch via Bluetooth and the Mac via 2.4 GHz – and I can easily change connection with a switch at the back of the controller.

But I had to connect some temporary peripherals as well:

I think the last image, including the USB-C adapter on the mouse’s USB-A cable, shows why the front-ports are nice, and why the lack of USB-A ports is a total non-issue.

Sadly, I don’t think I could set up the Mac Mini by only using my MacBook – so I had to connect some peripherals. I could probably have made do with only the keyboard – but I didn’t know the following: When you tab through to select things like Confirm buttons, you have to hit Space (and not Enter/Return, for instance). So a mouse was practical – even though I didn’t have a wireless one.

I just sat on the floor while running through the initial setup. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Mac setup

As mentioned in the subtitle of this post, my use cases for this Mac are NAS, media server, and light gaming. And here’s the software stuff I did to make it happen.

Screen setup

My TV is a pretty average older Philips 4K TV (with the, IMO, underrated feature Ambilight) – and I had a couple of issues regarding resolutions in macOS. What I wanted was to run it in 1080p HiDPI, which means that the screen has the size as if it is running in 1080p, but it’s technically running in 4k. Every “pixel” in the 1080p is actually four pixels. (I’ve written more about this here.) However, I could only choose between regular 1080p or 540p HiDPI!

I did find a fix for this, though, by installing (and buying) BetterDisplay Pro. This allowed me to override the given resolution, making sure macOS knew the screen was 4k, and allowing me to select 1080p HiDPI.

More system configuration options and Edit native panel pixel resolution was the answer.

The options available under here also improved the way the TV looks. 👌🏻

File and screen sharing, and remote control

Quickly, I wanted to find a way to control the Mini from my MacBook. And here I’ll outline the two ways I do it.

Doing it via Screen Sharing is nice because then I don’t have to be able to look at the TV while doing it. However, initially, that method was really unstable for me. I think it was because the network was being taxed by initial setup, downloads from cloud storage, etc. So, in the beginning, regular Continuity was the way to go. This meant I could just move my mouse up and above my laptop screen, to have the built-in MacBook trackpad and keyboard control the Mini.

Here’s a video of me moving from my iPad, via my MacBook, and to my Mini, with Continuity:

I tried to lower the volume of my Norwegian mumblings – so don't mind the sound.

You’ll set up screen and file sharing the same place: System Settings -> Sharing

Here you also get a glimpse of the state of my Mini's dock.

This last screenshot is of the File Sharing options – but I forgot to show one thing: I added the home folder (named “erlend” in my case) as being shared. It’s the folder icon you can see in the background. I then right-clicked that folder, and turned on Share as a Time Machine backup destination.

All of this, leads to the following, when I select Erlend’s Mac mini in the Finder sidebar:

As you can see, both my home folder, internal disk (Macintosh HD) and external disk (Satechi SSD) are available. I can also hit Share Screen… up top to take control of the Mini.

Time Machine

If you haven’t enabled Share as a Time Machine backup destination, you’ll get this when trying to set it up:

But by following the steps I outlined above, it becomes possible to select the external drive connected to the other machine here.

Other uses of external drive

As the internal storage is so paltry, I have to set up the Mini to use the external drive as much as possible. And here are some ways I’ve done this:

Dropbox

Due to Apple depreciating some APIs, you can’t have your Dropbox on an external drive if you use the default client. But if you use Maeastral, this becomes possible.

Be warned, though: Running the initial Time Machine on two laptops, while also syncing iCloud and Dropbox on a new machine, is best done overnight…

App Store

Recently, Apple added this new option to the App Store:

I don’t think I’ll install anything over 1 GB on this Mac – but I thought I’d shout it out anyway!

Steam

I’ve installed two versions of Steam on the Mini: A regular macOS install, and a Windows version via Whisky. And if you go to the Steam settings, and Storage, you can select a default destination for your game installs. This can also be on an external drive, so I chose that, of course.

No Mac version? No problem! Loving UFO 50, by the way.

Media server – Jellyfin

The last step in my setup, was to set up the Mac up as a media server. I’ve used Plex previously, but I wanted to give the open-source alternative Jellyfin a shot. And I love it!

The installation was relatively easy. The only hiccup I had, was that when I followed this guide to turn on hardware acceleration, I also turned it on for AV1 – and this broke stuff. I posted in the forums here, and in minutes I got a reply telling me to turn off AV1, and everything worked.

But the best part about Jellyfin isn’t Jellyfin. It’s that I can use Infuse as a client. I just love un-bundling and third-party options, as I’ve written about here and here. It’s great that the people writing Infuse can be laser focused on making a delightful video player, while it’s OK if the people behind Jellyfin focus on creating a good backend. I love that I don’t have to choose media server software based on whether I like the player!

Infuse is a delightful software experience.

Pretty painless

… is how I’d summarise the process. And I bet I’ll discover new things to use this machine for as times goes by! Will keep you updated – and please don’t hesitate to ask questions!

And I have a question for someone who knows: Can the Mini do its job even if I let it go to sleep? 🤔

[atplblog]

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