#convertible top replacement shop

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI is a WMD

I'm in TARTU, ESTONIA! AI, copyright and creative workers' labor rights (TOMORROW, May 10, 8AM: Science Fiction Research Association talk, Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures building, Lossi 3, lobby). A talk for hackers on seizing the means of computation (TOMORROW, May 10, 3PM, University of Tartu Delta Centre, Narva 18, room 1037).

Fun fact: "The Tragedy Of the Commons" is a hoax created by the white nationalist Garrett Hardin to justify stealing land from colonized people and moving it from collective ownership, "rescuing" it from the inevitable tragedy by putting it in the hands of a private owner, who will care for it properly, thanks to "rational self-interest":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Get that? If control over a key resource is diffused among the people who rely on it, then (Garrett claims) those people will all behave like selfish assholes, overusing and undermaintaining the commons. It's only when we let someone own that commons and charge rent for its use that (Hardin says) we will get sound management.

By that logic, Google should be the internet's most competent and reliable manager. After all, the company used its access to the capital markets to buy control over the internet, spending billions every year to make sure that you never try a search-engine other than its own, thus guaranteeing it a 90% market share:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Google seems to think it's got the problem of deciding what we see on the internet licked. Otherwise, why would the company flush $80b down the toilet with a giant stock-buyback, and then do multiple waves of mass layoffs, from last year's 12,000 person bloodbath to this year's deep cuts to the company's "core teams"?

https://qz.com/google-is-laying-off-hundreds-as-it-moves-core-jobs-abr-1851449528

And yet, Google is overrun with scams and spam, which find their way to the very top of the first page of its search results:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security

The entire internet is shaped by Google's decisions about what shows up on that first page of listings. When Google decided to prioritize shopping site results over informative discussions and other possible matches, the entire internet shifted its focus to producing affiliate-link-strewn "reviews" that would show up on Google's front door:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

This was catnip to the kind of sociopath who a) owns a hedge-fund and b) hates journalists for being pain-in-the-ass, stick-in-the-mud sticklers for "truth" and "facts" and other impediments to the care and maintenance of a functional reality-distortion field. These dickheads started buying up beloved news sites and converting them to spam-farms, filled with garbage "reviews" and other Google-pleasing, affiliate-fee-generating nonsense.

(These news-sites were vulnerable to acquisition in large part thanks to Google, whose dominance of ad-tech lets it cream 51 cents off every ad dollar and whose mobile OS monopoly lets it steal 30 cents off every in-app subscriber dollar):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

Now, the spam on these sites didn't write itself. Much to the chagrin of the tech/finance bros who bought up Sports Illustrated and other venerable news sites, they still needed to pay actual human writers to produce plausible word-salads. This was a waste of money that could be better spent on reverse-engineering Google's ranking algorithm and getting pride-of-place on search results pages:

https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/

That's where AI comes in. Spicy autocomplete absolutely can't replace journalists. The planet-destroying, next-word-guessing programs from Openai and its competitors are incorrigible liars that require so much "supervision" that they cost more than they save in a newsroom:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/29/what-part-of-no/#dont-you-understand

But while a chatbot can't produce truthful and informative articles, it can produce bullshit – at unimaginable scale. Chatbots are the workers that hedge-fund wreckers dream of: tireless, uncomplaining, compliant and obedient producers of nonsense on demand.

That's why the capital class is so insatiably horny for chatbots. Chatbots aren't going to write Hollywood movies, but studio bosses hyperventilated at the prospect of a "writer" that would accept your brilliant idea and diligently turned it into a movie. You prompt an LLM in exactly the same way a studio exec gives writers notes. The difference is that the LLM won't roll its eyes and make sarcastic remarks about your brainwaves like "ET, but starring a dog, with a love plot in the second act and a big car-chase at the end":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/01/how-the-writers-guild-sunk-ais-ship/

Similarly, chatbots are a dream come true for a hedge fundie who ends up running a beloved news site, only to have to fight with their own writers to get the profitable nonsense produced at a scale and velocity that will guarantee a high Google ranking and millions in "passive income" from affiliate links.

One of the premier profitable nonsense companies is Advon, which helped usher in an era in which sites from Forbes to Money to USA Today create semi-secret "review" sites that are stuffed full of badly researched top-ten lists for products from air purifiers to cat beds:

https://housefresh.com/how-google-decimated-housefresh/

Advon swears that it only uses living humans to produce nonsense, and not AI. This isn't just wildly implausible, it's also belied by easily uncovered evidence, like its own employees' Linkedin profiles, which boast of using AI to create "content":

https://housefresh.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Advon-AI-LinkedIn.jpg

It's not true. Advon uses AI to produce its nonsense, at scale. In an excellent, deeply reported piece for Futurism, Maggie Harrison Dupré brings proof that Advon replaced its miserable human nonsense-writers with tireless chatbots:

https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content

Dupré describes how Advon's ability to create botshit at scale contributed to the enshittification of clients from Yoga Journal to the LA Times, "Us Weekly" to the Miami Herald.

All of this is very timely, because this is the week that Google finally bestirred itself to commence downranking publishers who engage in "site reputation abuse" – creating these SEO-stuffed fake reviews with the help of third parties like Advon:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/03/keyword-swarming/#site-reputation-abuse

(Google's policy only forbids site reputation abuse with the help of third parties; if these publishers take their nonsense production in-house, Google may allow them to continue to dominate its search listings):

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies#site-reputation

There's a reason so many people believed Hardin's racist "Tragedy of the Commons" hoax. We have an intuitive understanding that commons are fragile. All it takes is one monster to start shitting in the well where the rest of us get our drinking water and we're all poisoned.

The financial markets love these monsters. Mark Zuckerberg's key insight was that he could make billions by assembling vast dossiers of compromising, sensitive personal information on half the world's population without their consent, but only if he kept his costs down by failing to safeguard that data and the systems for exploiting it. He's like a guy who figures out that if he accumulates enough oily rags, he can extract so much low-grade oil from them that he can grow rich, but only if he doesn't waste money on fire-suppression:

https://locusmag.com/2018/07/cory-doctorow-zucks-empire-of-oily-rags/

Now Zuckerberg and the wealthy, powerful monsters who seized control over our commons are getting a comeuppance. The weak countermeasures they created to maintain the minimum levels of quality to keep their platforms as viable, going concerns are being overwhelmed by AI. This was a totally foreseeable outcome: the history of the internet is a story of bad actors who upended the assumptions built into our security systems by automating their attacks, transforming an assault that wouldn't be economically viable into a global, high-speed crime wave:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/24/automation-is-magic/

But it is possible for a community to maintain a commons. This is something Hardin could have discovered by studying actual commons, instead of inventing imaginary histories in which commons turned tragic. As it happens, someone else did exactly that: Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom:

https://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/elinor-ostroms-8-principles-managing-commmons/

Ostrom described how commons can be wisely managed, over very long timescales, by communities that self-governed. Part of her work concerns how users of a commons must have the ability to exclude bad actors from their shared resources.

When that breaks down, commons can fail – because there's always someone who thinks it's fine to shit in the well rather than walk 100 yards to the outhouse.

Enshittification is the process by which control over the internet moved from self-governance by members of the commons to acts of wanton destruction committed by despicable, greedy assholes who shit in the well over and over again.

It's not just the spammers who take advantage of Google's lazy incompetence, either. Take "copyleft trolls," who post images using outdated Creative Commons licenses that allow them to terminate the CC license if a user makes minor errors in attributing the images they use:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/24/a-bug-in-early-creative-commons-licenses-has-enabled-a-new-breed-of-superpredator/

The first copyleft trolls were individuals, but these days, the racket is dominated by a company called Pixsy, which pretends to be a "rights protection" agency that helps photographers track down copyright infringers. In reality, the company is committed to helping copyleft trolls entrap innocent Creative Commons users into paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to use images that are licensed for free use. Just as Advon upends the economics of spam and deception through automation, Pixsy has figured out how to send legal threats at scale, robolawyering demand letters that aren't signed by lawyers; the company refuses to say whether any lawyer ever reviews these threats:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/13/an-open-letter-to-pixsy-ceo-kain-jones-who-keeps-sending-me-legal-threats/

This is shitting in the well, at scale. It's an online WMD, designed to wipe out the commons. Creative Commons has allowed millions of creators to produce a commons with billions of works in it, and Pixsy exploits a minor error in the early versions of CC licenses to indiscriminately manufacture legal land-mines, wantonly blowing off innocent commons-users' legs and laughing all the way to the bank:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/02/commafuckers-versus-the-commons/

We can have an online commons, but only if it's run by and for its users. Google has shown us that any "benevolent dictator" who amasses power in the name of defending the open internet will eventually grow too big to care, and will allow our commons to be demolished by well-shitters:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/09/shitting-in-the-well/#advon

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Catherine Poh Huay Tan (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/68166820@N08/49729911222/

Laia Balagueró (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/lbalaguero/6551235503/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[bootleg-nessie]

Things that will happen in the future (based on my own experiences with time travel):

***FAQs at the end***

*All of these observations are copied directly from my notes in roughly the order I took them in

*Don’t ask about the interchanging use of past/present/future tense, you know how that stuff is with time travel

Women just started all growing three boobs instead of two. Scientists baffled

Genetically engineered catboys (no literally)

The great pyramid of Giza has been converted into a Bass Pro Shop

The entire state of Rhode Island was bought by some rich tech CEO who promptly dug a 500 foot wide trench around the entire state so that it could in fact be an island. It was soon converted into the world’s largest parking lot

Pollution has gotten so bad that fresh oxygen is now delivered straight to most homes via a subscription service

Basic necessities such as food, water, and housing are now provided for free by the government, but only for the top 1% of wealth holders

Insulin now costs twice as much as rent. “Get fucked,” say pharma companies

92.6% of new electronic appliances now have smartphone integration and require a monthly subscription to use

Most billionaires have real estate on earth’s moon

As an ongoing film experiment, Taika Waititi successfully convinced a Nebraska man that he’s been raptured and is now in heaven. He actually got Truman Show’d and now millions of viewers tune in every week to watch God (played by John DiMaggio) manipulate Robert into confronting his own views, battle cognitive dissonance, and face the realization that he might not have been as good of a person on Earth as he thought he was

Carrots have gone extinct, as have highland cows

Species of extinct animals and plants now are being posthumously renamed after the billionaires and elites most directly responsible for killing then off

Researchers discovered a sentient colony of fungus off the coast of Chile, it prefers to go by Fleebo and appears to have a incredibly complex intelligence far greater than any other observed organic being

Nobody knows where Ireland went. It literally just disappeared off the face of the earth one day and nobody bothered to question it. The story couldn’t compete in the news cycle with the recent news about a company in China that made the first real life pokemon. An entire civilization of people gone and I’m the only one who seems to remember it or even care

Fleebo and its offspring have annexed Madagascar and are threatening any retaliation with nuclear warfare and “making The Last of Us a reality.” Nobody knows if Fleebo actually has the capabilities to do this, but after the Lovecraft incident we’re all TOO goddam scared to fuck around and find out

Large snails have replaced cats and dogs as the most common household pet. Snail culture has largely taken over the world, especially Japan

The president of the United States is now decided with an oiled up twerking competition. Most people were hesitant at first but this has produced vastly more competent leaders so now everyone just kinda goes along with it

With the cost of living crisis only worsening with time, selling tattoo space on your body to advertisers has become common as people struggle to afford rent and pay their bills

North and South Korea have reunited into “Korea 2.0”

Germany has split up into East and West Germany again

Belgium and France have been annexed by West Germany and renamed “Wester Germany” and “Westest Germany” respectively

The entirety of Florida is now underwater. Most of Kansas is too for some reason that scientists refuse to explain because they’ve “sworn an oath to the eldritch gods” and that “much worse things would happen” if they did

The melting ice caps in Antarctica unveiled a lost civilization of intelligent creatures descended from a species of lungfish, predating human civilization by millions of years. They planned on hibernating for another 10-15 million years to observe the course of evolution on Earth and are very very angry at humans for waking them up prematurely and ruining all of that with global warming

The politically correct term for lungfish people is “Dipnoid” but most people refer to them by a variety of slurs, such as “finwalker” and “kelp muncher” (not that they even eat kelp)

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has now increased to nearly half the size of what was formerly known as Canada and has been colonized entirely by pirates (the flag is actually pretty cool). The pirate nation has the 17th largest economy in the world and is projected to surpass the United States in GDP

Africa is about 2% smaller. Nobody knows why. Most people point to Fleebo, who denies having any involvement

All human-Dipnoid interaction was promptly banned by most world governments, except for the GPGPRP (Great Pacific Garbage Patch Republic of Pirates), whom the Dipnoids rely upon extensively for trade

Scientists have used DNA from fossils to recreate other species of humans. We now live alongside them like we did for thousands of years before everyone besides Homo sapiens went extinct. Racism is at an all time high

Class C and above robots are now legally recognized by most progressive countries as people

The United States government has been exposed for secretly funneling billions of dollars into the GPGPRP and using it to fund terrorist operations all over the world.

A new major religion revolving around Dave Grohl has skyrocketed in popularity. Grohilsm is now the world’s largest religion, second only to Fleeboism

Scientists discovered a new continent in the Pacific Ocean, and then promptly lost it again. Most people are convinced this was just an elaborate practical joke, but scientists “swear it definitely happened”

For a brief period of about 30 years, everything in George Orwell’s 1984 happened almost exactly as written in the book. Literally 1984

It was revealed that Jeff Epstein didn’t kill himself. He actually faked his death and spent the next few years in a drug-fueled episode of psychosis making sock puppets in a cave in Italy and then molesting said sock puppets until he died from a sock puppet related illness

Bigfoot was discovered off the coast of Georgia doing cocaine with a congregation of alligators. When questioned, he said he normally lives in Montana and was only there on vacation. He is now a celebrity, and has been featured in a number of tv shows and films, two of which he won an Oscar for. Last I checked, he was a washed up actor living in Hollywood with a reanimated Neanderthal woman

The GPGPRP raided most of England’s museums with the object of “doing exactly what they did for the last few centuries” England was understandably furious, but the rest of the world found it rather amusing

England declared war on the GPGPRP, which it promptly lost after hackers brought down the entire country’s military overnight. Much like in the 21st century, England is the world’s laughing stock

The entirety of Luxembourg relocated itself to the moon

Russia attempted to take over most of Eurasia. In retaliation to the full global effort to stop them, they launched nukes at the world’s 600 most populous cities outside of its current territory. Most of the warheads were stopped in time, but a few major metropolitan areas got hit pretty badly, including Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Mexico City, and Istanbul. Japan was understandably super pissed that Hiroshima and Nagasaki got nuked for a second time

In the wake of the nuclear holocaust, Canada assumed control over what was formerly Russia and assimilated many of its citizens and leaders into its own society and government. Under the new rule of formerly Russian leaders, Canada became a puppet state for the second coming of Russia. It annexed much of the United States, Mongolia, China, and a handful of other countries, becoming “the world’s first megacountry.” Crungolaska now controls a majority of the northern hemisphere

As part of a practical joke by Adam Sandler, Tom Hanks was actually marooned on a desert island like in Castaway. He lasted less than a week before he died. When I left this era of the future, Adam Sandler was serving a lifetime sentence in prison for murder

Fringe groups of crows with above-average intelligence have started popping up around the world. So far they have been observed forming small communities, crafting relatively complex tools, using rudimentary speech, performing rituals, and creating music

Aliens visited earth and had a formal meeting with many of our world leaders, but decided to leave us alone for a few thousand more years because humanity is “not yet mature enough to handle the responsibilities of interstellar travel.” They have incentivized us with a the blueprints for an Alcubierre Drive and a means to produce the exotic matter to fuel it once they deem us as being ready

The original colony of settlers on Mars has declared independence, officially becoming the first country not on Earth

We sent Tom Cruise back to space but this time we just left him there

The tether for the space elevator broke. The town known as Vatorville, famous for being the location of the takeoff point of the elevator shuttle on Earth, was completely decimated as tens of thousands of miles of steel cable came crashing back down. There were no survivors

Most people in first and second world countries have mandatory microchip implants that serve as a personal ID

Last Thursdayism has been largely denounced by quantum physicists. Current theories now revolve around “Next Thursdayism,” the belief that the entire universe was created in the future and that we all exist as a memory in the past

Synthetic organ farms for transplants and research have become a massive industry worth billions of dollars. However, there is still a huge black market for organically grown human organs, as they’re much cheaper to acquire and aren’t taxed at the exorbitant rates that lab-grown organs are

China dug a hole all the way to the center of the Earth. Turns out it’s hollow and there are people living inside. Who knew?

A university reconstructed the entire city of Rome as it was in its early days during the Roman Empire. It’s actually pretty historically accurate, except for the fact that there’s a lot less sex because it’s run by a bunch of sweaty history nerds

After Rome 2 resulted in the creation of a cult revolving around the Roman god of the dead that gained traction as a minor religion, Pluto was officially reinstated as a planet by NASA when cultists picketed their headquarters every day for nearly 3 years straight. “Fine, we’ll give these fucking virgins what they want so they’ll finally shut the hell up,” said NASA’s administrator in chief

In a display of the biotechnical prowess of Disney’s Imagineers, all the animatronics in Disney’s Hall of Presidents were replaced with clones of the originals, which went about exactly as well as you’d expect. After reports of the presidents hurling a series of racial slurs and other obscenities at the first black family to enter surfaced, the project was shut down almost immediately after it had opened. Minority admission to Magic Kingdom plummeted to 2.3% of its numbers from the previous year, making it the second whitest place on earth after a taylor swift concert

Plastic now makes up about 3% of every organism on earth by weight

Public officials are now required by law to take shrooms before running for office

Trees are considered a rare and highly sought after commodity, and are usually only owned by public institutions and the rich (the vast majority of oxygen farms use algae to produce oxygen)

FAQs:

FAQ: What time period(s) did you go to?

A: I have no fucking clue. The world stopped using the Gregorian calendar in 2063 after a gamma ray burst hit the sun. The GRB led to stellar ablation, which changed the length of a year on Earth. The sun would continue to lose mass at an accelerated rate for several more years, with the length of the year changing slightly from year to year. The world adopted a variety of different calendars which kept being updated frequently and were often super confusing and contradictory. I traveled to about a dozen different points in time, which based on my best estimates spanned within a few millennia of the current date.

FAQ: How did you obtain a time machine?

A: I think it was the 17th or 18th of June, 2055? That night, a large sci-fi looking box thingy roughly the size of a VW Bus appeared a few hundred yards away in the open field in front of my house. I tried to take a picture of the box, but for some reason the closer I got, the more the image on my camera started to become fuzzy, and by the time I got close enough to take a decent picture, the camera had stopped working altogether. I pulled open a door to reveal a corpse inside that was charred beyond recognition, who appeared to have suffocated and/or burned to death during a fire that damaged most of the interior. I also noticed a number of strange tumors and growths on the body. I pressed a random button on the remains of what I believed to be a control panel, expecting nothing to happen, but the door closed automatically and I suddenly lost consciousness. When I came to, I exited the box, expecting to still be in the field in front of my house, but instead found myself a ways outside of a small snowy village that based on my best estimates, was somewhere in northern Asia around 2-3 thousand years ago. The villagers started coming after me with spears, so I quickly ran back to the box and pressed another button, hoping it would return me to from whence I came. This time, the people I found (who were thankfully much nicer and spoke a dialect of English that I could mostly understand) told me that it was the year 506 of the PGRB-Δ4 calendar (the calendar that the United Territories was using at the time). I repeated this maybe a dozen more times trying to get home until I landed in 2023, which as far as I could tell, was the closest I had gotten back to my original time so far. It was at this point that I decided to stay and seek medical attention, as I was rather concerned about some nasty new growths on my arms and legs similar to that which I had seen on the corpse.

FAQ: Where is the time machine now?

A: No idea. It disappeared a few days after I landed in 2023. My best guess is that some poor sap found it and ended up sometime else.

(I never ask for likes/reblogs but I literally spent fucking WEEKS on this one so if you liked it pls show me some love <3)

[paresims]

Daisy & Ballet Set

Hey everyone, here is our first release back from our hiatus featuring tons of cute pieces you can dress your sims from head to toe! Daisy & Ballet Set comes with a sweater, thong, heels in 2 versions with BGC Elevation, a decor plushie and headphones that become functional with Fitness Stuff Pack. All pieces are available in-game and come with Blender Versions with HQ Textures & particle hair system for a realistic fuzzy look. We hope you will enjoy these pieces as much as we do 💞

You will get:

Daisy Sweater

20 Swatches

Top Category

Daisy Fuzzy Thong

15 Swatches

Bottom Category

Ballet Heels

13 Swatches

Shoes Category

BGC Elevation

Decor Version

Ballet Heels with Socks

13 Swatches

Shoes Category

BGC Elevation

Ballet Heels with Socks ( Add On )

13 Swatches

Socks Category

Use it to change the socks color

Daisy Plushie

8 Swatches

Decor Item

Daisy Headphones 

20 Swatches

Hats Category

Daisy Headphones ( Functional )

9 Swatches

Compatible with Both Gender Frames 

Default Replacement for Fitness Stuff Earbuds 

Purchasable through your sims’ computers 

Requires “The Sims™ 4 Fitness Stuff” for it to work

Daisy & Ballet Set for Blender

All Materials Separated for More Mix & Match

Rigged for Sims 4 Female Body

Original HQ textures included

Realistic Fur with Hair Particles

Please use this for renders

HQ Mod Compatible // All LODs // Custom Thumbnail // Disallowed for Random

Conversion // Do not recolor or convert // Do not re-upload

SHOP THE LOOK

SUBSCRIBE TO DOWNLOAD

Follow us on instagram to stay updated: @varcyrie

Check out our Pinterest Board to see Sims 4 releases: HERE

RC: @mxaya_g

[praxcrown5]

Carstober Prompt 21: Crash

Trigger warning: harassment, attempted suicide

Excerpt from my fanfic. Year is 1937, and Doc's mom, Annette, isn't dealing with life very well.

Annette left home quietly, not even bothering to close the garage door. 

Sam was still asleep after their most recent siring attempt; the act taking a lot more out of him than usual…which was surprising since she was, once again, leaving his side with an empty plasma condenser. 

Ahhh yes, her husband: the largest, strongest truck this side of the Mississippi.  He could carry loads all across the country, but he could never seem to drive one home.

She snarled at her own, bitter wit and coasted to the end of the driveway. 

It was late in the evening, and the moon was just starting to crest the pines.  Despite it being fall, there was a wintery chill in the air.

She took a deep breath, letting the cool air cycle through her TR system.

What now…?  She thought, sadly.  She had already tried talking Sam around to visiting the clinic and, when that didn’t work, bringing up the topic to her in-laws.

After that…the harassment got worse.  Most of the Longhauler women wouldn’t talk to her.  The men were more sympathetic…mostly on account of her being a damn-good mechanic—you didn’t want to offend the person changing out your piston belts, after all.  But, even so, they only made small talk. Her mother-in-law had become especially cruel, gossiping about Annette to anyone who’d listen, slapping Annette with snide, degrading comments when they were alone, introducing Annette at parties and social gatherings as her “barren” daughter-in-law. 

Despite all of this, Annette had tried her best to remain positive.  She forced herself to get up every morning…with no partner to snuggle against, sang to herself at dinner to beat back the oppressive silence of their empty home, cleaned and tended the garden to keep herself busy when she wasn’t working and did her best to smile and give her clients the best automotive care possible…despite hearing them call her things like “gold-digger” behind her boot. 

She’d been maintaining, thanks mostly to her father and brothers.  Her father, especially, did everything that he could to make her feel loved and appreciated…but, ultimately, he couldn’t solve her problems.  He couldn’t make Sam get his siring cable repaired.  He couldn’t stop Claire from spreading gossip to the rest of the townsfolk.  At the end of the day, the best he could do was lean against her and tell her that it would get better. 

Somehow.

Someday.

Tears started pooling in the corner of her eyes.  She had been clinging to this notion, whispering it to herself like a personal mantra whenever doubt began to rear its ugly head. 

It’ll get better.  It’ll get better.  Someday, It’ll get better...

Will it, though?

Annette gritted her teeth and started her engine to try to banish the thought from her mind…but it clung to her like cheap grease.  Will things actually get better? 

Her fuel pump squeezed painfully, fearfully and she gunned her engine, kicking up gravel and dust as she turned out onto the road, heading south, flicking on her headlights only as an afterthought.

Annette and Sam lived in a large, converted barn about fifteen minutes from town.  As she sped down the old logging road, the terrain grew more rugged, with tall black pine and oak replacing the smaller saplings from the reclaimed Dawson Woods.  The road began to switchback, ducking around steep exposures of sedimentary rock, but always gaining in elevation.

She was driving more recklessly than she probably should have been…but she couldn’t help it.

For years she had successfully managed use the “it’ll get better” mantra as a wall to block out any thoughts that might argue otherwise.  Working long hours at the shop and taking on extra work from the clinic helped to reinforce it. 

And up until tonight, the integrity of said wall had never been undermined.

Annette reached the top of a prominent, east-west trending hill that the locals called Oracle ridge and paused to catch her breath.

You’re not sure…are you?

Annette closed her eyes, fighting back tears.

Sam was only home for a week this time, so Annette wasn’t expecting much, surely not another siring attempt.  But…he offered…because he knew that having a child meant the world to his wife, and he was willing to keep trying in the hopes that they’d somehow be successful.  It was the first time in their two years of marriage that he’d done something like that, made an effort to show her that he cared, a rare expression of vulnerability when he had always been forced to be “strong” and “fearless.” She eagerly accepted his offer, and as they made love, the hope that she saw in his eyes and the compassion that she felt in his touch rejuvenated her, made her think that there was still a chance.  That the planets and the stars would align just for them and they could have their happy ending. 

And then she waited. Hours and hours of waiting with giddy anticipation, faithfully hoping for a factory notification.

She was going to be a mother! It was going to happen this time!

But…it didn’t. 

And, for the first time in her life, the voices on the other side of the wall began to make themselves known, hissing and spitting at her through a spiderweb of newly formed cracks.

Wiper fluid was leaking freely down her fenders and her breath came in ragged sobs. 

It’s not going to get better.

Annette shook her front end, trying to dislodge the thought.

It’s NOT going to get better.

Her eyes shot open and she revved her engine.  It will!  It HAS to! 

Sam won’t go to the doctor.  His parents won’t force him to go because they believe that you and your father are lying to them.  So, logically, every future siring attempt will fail…and your life will always be just miserable as it is at present.  It’s an exercise in futility if there ever was one.

No… No it’s not… Annette’s throat constricted

It’s hopeless.

Annette froze. 

Hopeless.

The wall shattered.  All the rogue thoughts that she’d tried to keep bottled up broke free and surged through her brain with the force of a tidal wave. 

If nothing is going to change, what’s the point in trying?  In caring?  You care so much about other people…but they don’t seem to care much for you, do they?

Panicking, Annette gunned her engine and tore down the ridge.  Her model wasn’t particularly fast on account of its weight, but the steep slope combined with her Cadillac standard V8 made sure that when she hit the first switchback, her tires had to really scrabble for traction.  She cleared the curve, but just barely. 

You’re pathetic.  A waste of metal desperately clinging to false hopes and yearning for a life that you’ll never have.

The ghostly outlines of trees blurred in her peripheral vision.  Another switchback ahead, not as sharp as the first one, but even so she could feel the literal edge of the road under her rear tires, the loose scree falling away to tumble down into the river below.  

Really, is running all you can do? 

Her eyes narrowed.  Another switchback.  Another close call, though this one came with a jolt of pain and a loud snap as she clipped a rock with her left back tire.  The snap must have been her coil spring, because from that moment onward, her body seemed to list to that side and she’d bottom out on every dip and rise in the road. 

A Sudden dip.  Something large and sharp caught her undercarriage and tore the metal; the pain made her eyes water, but rather than slow down, she gunned it harder.  Red line.  Her engine was straining under the stress, and she was starting to feel nauseous as the hot metal began to effect nearby systems.

Annette, you’re a coward.  You always have been.  You could have stood up to your in-laws, but instead you kept your chassis low.  You’re pathetic.  So pathetic, that your family just stood by in silence while you suffered.

No!  My father stood up for me!

Your father stood up for the Glenrunner name.  Not you.

Annette counter steered the last curve, almost skidding into the river, but her flattening left rear tire helped keep her on the road.  There was another sharp pain, this time further up into the axle; she could feel hydraulic fluid running down the inside of the tire.

She was on a straightaway, now, heading for Timing-Belt Bridge. There was a sharp turn on the other side, the sort of turn you had to make at less than twenty miles per hour, otherwise you’d end up hitting a wall of limestone.

Time seemed to slow as a deadly realization sunk its claws into her brain.

By the time her tires tore into the concrete of the bridge, she had reached sixty miles per hour.  Even with her left rear tire about to give out, she would still be doing sixty as she hit the curve on the other side. 

No. More. Pain.

Her engine screamed.  Her vision was blacking out and she was starting to taste oil and other vital fluids in her mouth… 

And then…the lights.  Right in front of her.  Head-on.

Instinct kicked in.  She slammed on her brakes, but her momentum kept her going forward.

[tgrailwar-zero]

It's been a while since you had to do this, but since you're in a new area...

(Should you choose to go to the Gardens, this decision will be cancelled out and replaced with another poll, as that can only be attended with one specific Servant.)

Party Splitting, Reminder:

When put into a combat scenario, only three Servants can participate at a time, with the recent being forced to exist in their Spirit Forms. Each Servant has different skills, abilities, and parameters! Your 'Main Party' Servants will also consistently stick with you, unlike your 'reserve' Servants that can split off for various reasons. You can see your Servant's stats in their Matrices on the pinned post!

To set up your party, the Top 3 choices will be made your 'main', while the others will be on 'reserve'. There will be opportunities given to change your lineup, typically during periods of downtime. There may also be scenarios where you're narratively forced to change your lineup.

Additionally, outside of combat scenarios, your 'reserve' Servants can perform a number of tasks upon request when you open up the map to explore, such as information gathering and item shopping- and will share their findings when you all reconvene. While this does spend money, you may find items that aren't commonly found in shops- or it might save you the time of shopping on your own. Due to their dispositions, they'll each have different results- even if asked to do similar tasks.

Servant details under the cut.

KUKULKAN: Mixed-ranged combatant, can engage from a distance with high mana output, or convert her mana to empower her close-ranged combat. High mana, and fair endurance.

When sent to perform tasks like shopping, there's a fair chance that her curiosity will get the better of her, for better or worse. When asked to gather information, her approach is 'friendly'.

CONSTANTINE XI: Close-ranged, defensive combatant. Can provide supportive buffs to allies, and engage in intensive swordplay. Low mana, but very high endurance.

When sent to perform tasks like shopping, he'll spend conservatively and bring back reasonably useful items. When asked to gather information, his approach is 'diplomatic'.

SALIERI: Long-ranged combatant, casting spells and summoning familiars. Fair endurance and mana, and mana passively regenerates over time.

When asked to perform tasks on his own, he'll tend to only gather what he believes is essential if asked to shop. When asked to gather information, his approach is 'menacing'.

NERO CLAUDIUS: Long-ranged combatant, able to cast supportive spells and employ unique magecraft to even the battlefield. Low endurance, but fair mana.

When sent to perform tasks on her own, there's a fair chance that she'll spend extravagantly if asked to shop, but find something impressive in turn. When asked to gather information, her approach is 'privileged'. As a Caster, if outside of the Main Party, she can use her talents to create items.

MUSASHI: Short-ranged combatant, able to engage in a variety of situations with adaptable swordplay. Very low mana, but good endurance.

When sent to perform tasks like shopping, there's a fair chance that she'll barter/trade 'non-essential' items, and find items out of luck. When asked to gather information, her approach is 'daring'.

GIUSEPPE: Mixed-Ranged Combatant, can provide support with illusions and pinpoint enemy weaknesses. Low physical stats, but fair mana.

When sent to perform tasks like shopping, he'll most likely be able to receive items at a reduced price, or even for free. When asked to gather information, his approach is 'charming'. With his unique skillset, if outside the Main Party, he can use his talents to copy items.

[vawilcox]

*Authors note* As requested, Shoto Angst!

Now with a happy ending!

Married life with shoto was a dream. Until it was only a dream.

Your hot hubby was so cute when he shyly accepted your feelings. Adorable when he blushed and handed you your favorite flowers with a ring wrapped around the stem of the largest one in the middle... dreamy and steamy in the bedroom for the first week of married life... but then you came back to the real world. One of the top heroes, he barely had time to eat a meal once or twice a day, he almost never came home, his sleep was always in a vehicle while on the way to another crime scene. He never answered your calls and replied to your texts only once every few days. You thought he was just busy, until one day when you were out shopping you saw him fly by in an emergency hover craft overhead.

At first it made you happy to see the love of your life. And he was smiling, that smile that was only yours. Then the smile died on your face. He wasnt smiling at you, but at a female hero that was riding with him in the hover craft. It was designed to get heroes to and fro quickly, She must have been working with him this whole time! What else was she doing with him while he ignored your calls and only gave you perfunctory replies to your texts!?

Immediately calling him up, he didn't answer. Your heart broke, realizing you were replaced.

With a heart full of anxiety and pain, you finished your shopping early. Mascara streaming down your tear streaked face. You couldn't think. Numbly walking out into the road from a crosswalk with a mind full of the image of your super shy and reserved husband smiling at a woman you never saw before. A truck screeches to a halt, narrowly missing you. Dead inside, you numbly curse inside that it didn't hit you. Then it strikes you. Why should YOU be the one in pain!? HE'S the cheater. HE SHOULD HURT.

When you get home, you take all the special things you've made for him, the first picture you took together, he had framed and put on his nightstand. The nightstand that he's not used in over a month.

You smashed it to pieces and tossed it into the pile of broken sentiment. A mug he bought you on your first date, the shirt you wore on your third night out with him he said he loved seeing you wear. Everything smashed, ripped or shredded.

It was cathartic. After nearly an hour of fury, you finally started to recover. Slowly converting the immense love you had for him into hate.

You were brought out of your little vengeful world by the sound of the door opening followed quickly by the sound of shattering glass.

Shoto stood in the doorway with a frozen look on his face. His quirk clearly starting to go out of control as he cried.

Steam on one side from evaporating tears and frozen teardrops falling to the floor on the other.

His gaze fixed on the horrorific sight of the destroyed heap of his most precious things destroyed and the woman he loved most in this world looking at him with hate filled eyes.

At shotos feet lay a shattered crystal vase with your favorite flowers tumbled out in disarray. His hands still clutching a movie case in one hand and a box of your favorite chocolates in the other.

"Placating me with flowers, chocolates, and a movie!? YOU CHEATING SCUM BAG!" You roar. Grabbing up the shattered picture frame and hurling it at him.

You're normal really bad at throwing so you didn't think much about it as you spun away to run to your room, slamming the door behind you and locking it.

You didn't notice that the frame spun like a throwing star straight for his face. Nor did you see him stunned too much to even dodge it.

The frame cutting deep into the scar next to his eye. He didn't even react for several more minutes. Too dazed and hurt to even move. A steady stream of blood leaking down his face as he stood in shock in the doorway.

The next morning, when you woke, you looked down at your pillow, noticing the tears and makeup staining it. You had buried your face in as you cried yourself to sleep the previous night.

You thought back on how shoto was the one who bought this pillow for you. It was a very expensive pillow but it was perfect for you. You had hurt your neck sleeping on the previous one you had.

The thought instantly made you angry again. You lifted it to throw it against the wall but hesitated. The pillow didn't do anything wrong.

Clutching it to your chest, you start to cry again. Pretending the scent of shoto's cologne that you had spritzed onto it a few days prior didn't give you comfort.

When you finally left the bedroom, you noticed shoto asleep on the living room floor. He didn't even have a pillow or blanket.

*serves him right* you thought.

He had something clutched in his arms, but you just didn't care about the cheating scum bag.

Too depressed to do anything, but the minimum, you quickly used the bathroom and realized you hadn't eaten since the previous morning, you were just too miserable to eat since you caught him cheating.

You quietly made your way to the kitchen to make some toast and noticed shotos home phone had a missed call. He had placed this so he could keep track of things when he came home since he never had the time to keep track of phone calls and voice mails while working. Plus he said he kept breaking the phones in his fights.

Suspicion rose in your chest. Hoping by some chance you'd be able to catch some proof of his cheating you listen to the recorded message.

Your heart froze. The recording was from a womans voice you'd never heard before. The hussy actually had the gall to call him at his home the day after their last adulterous encounter!

*Hey hero! It's me! Black Adder! I hope I didn't interrupt anything. I waited until morning to call since I know how much you were looking forward to 'spending time' with your wife. I know you said something about wanting to watch a movie with her she was wanting to see but I'm not dumb. I know what you REALLY wanted to do with her. Did you get ANY sleep? I hope you don't miss the cruise because of your late night activities! Anyways, I just wanted to call really quick before you take your month long vacation and tell you one last time that you can leave everything to me! I'll keep the area safe! Promise! Thanks again for showing me the ropes yesterday! It really helped! Considering you couldn't wipe that stupid grin off your face and couldn't stop talking about your wife, I know that it was hard to work that last day, thanks again for your sacrifice.

Enjoy your wife for the next month and don't even think about work. I have things covered.

Cya round you wife obsessed hero!*

With that, the click of the recording ended and your heart stopped. It was all a misunderstanding!

A pain even deeper than what you felt earlier gripped your heart as you looked over your shoulder at the man you loved sleeping on the floor all night after every terrible thing you did to him yesterday.

Your eyes widened as you noticed a dark bloodstain on the carpet beneath his head. You rushed over to him, fearing the worst.

Both relief and further agony tear into you as you realize he's still breathing. You noticed the deep cut on his forehead and can see from its shape its obvious how he got it.

In his arms he clutched the picture frame, blood still on the corner of it. His face streaked with old tears as he slept miserably on the floor.

You cursed yourself for jumping to conclusions. You hated yourself for your own jealousy. With a fanatical determination, you went about making it right.

First, you rushed to get the first aide kit, quickly bringing it to his side. Using your quirk you put him in a deep sleep and gently start to clean the injury. Your heart aching every second you look at the wound you inflicted on your deepest love. 

After a few minutes, his wound was cleaned, disinfected and bandaged. You had previous medical experience before retiring to be a house wife to one of the top heroes. 

Feeling miserable, you find your hubby's phone and call Black Adder. Heart aching from guilt. You never even met this woman. But she could tell from the tone of your voice something was wrong, and you ended up crying your eyes out to her as if she was your big sister. 

Just like a sister, Black Adder listened with understanding and patience. "Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry I put you through that." Black Adder gently apologized. "Look here, honey, gimme your address and I'll come over and help you. I have an idea that will make things right. Your man is totally in love with you. There's no way he won't understand."

With that, you quickly gave her your address and within a few minutes you hear a familiar sound outside. Black Adder was outside of your balcony window, once again inside of that emergency hover craft from the other day! 

She got out along with two sidekicks and ran up to you. Giving you a huge hug and telling you she was the cause of the misunderstanding and that she would make it right! 

You had already told her that you used your quirk to help him sleep while you cleaned up the cut on his head, and she told you with a mischievous tone to keep him sleeping. 

The side kicks put him on a gurney and strapped him in like they would any unconscious patient. Black Adder grabbed your hand and pulled you up to the vehicle, hovering right outside of your balcony. The side kicks brought your hubby on board. With that, they closed the sliding door to the craft and Adder sat you down next to her and revealed her plan. Inside your chest a glimmer of hope started to burn. 

The next few hours were chaotic. Black Adder was very resourceful. She was also very stubborn and determined. But you could tell towards the people she liked, she was the sweetest and most loving person in the whole world. 

It was nighttime. Yet she managed to make a stylist, a tailor and a spa open up their doors for you. They doted on you, giving you the treatment of a Goddess, all while Black Adder was sitting by your side, telling you of all the stories of her working with your husband, the people he had saved,  and all the things he said about you, which you found out was almost all the time. It made you blush.

You realized he was still madly in love, just over worked.  And she said more than once that she felt she already knew you because of how much she had heard about you. She loved you like a sister and didn't want to mess anything up. 

Several hours later you were back on the craft. Adder had her sidekicks pack your bags along with Shoto's. She had a hero with a healing quirk come over and see to Shoto's head, a repairman with a repairing quirk repaired the vase, and she also had one sidekick replace the frame for the picture.

Everything was prepared. Adder flew you to a cruise ship Shoto had planned on surprising you with. You were already going to be in one of the best rooms on their. But Adder managed to get you guys upgraded to the presidential suite. 

After getting you both settled in, Shoto still sleeping from your quirk, Adder gave you a giant hug and told you she'd be just a phone call away if there was anything else you needed. She and her sidekicks left. 

Taking a deep breath, you arranged the vase, the frame, new chocolates and the movie at the foot of the bed. And deactivated your quirk. He woke almost instantly. Sitting up suddenly due to the unfamiliar bed under him. He saw you standing there, at the foot of the bed, as soon as your eyes meet, you started crying. And he started crying too. 

"I'm so sorry, Sho..." You start. But you can't continue as you break down, huge wracking sobs of grief overwhelm you. He takes in the repaired vase and picture frame and realizes you were trying to apologize. He quickly rushes over to you and takes you into his arms. 

He drags you to the bed and holds you silently until you're ready to talk. You fall asleep in his arms. Shoto notices a text he got from Adder while you sleep. She explains everything. What you thought, how she figured out the truth and how desperate you were to make it right. 

After he tells her you're in his arms asleep, Adder grins on the other end of the phone, and begins to suggest to Shoto her next part of her plan to fix things, so you wouldn't hurt anymore either. 

[trashpandacraft]

so you may recall that we have a number of spinning wheels, because of who we are as people and also because i love them. and we decided after buying those that we were done, unless the perfect castle-style wheel appealed.

you may also recall that my most beloved wheel is the pipy, made by philip poore in 1972:

the pipy was far and away the most common wheel that poore made, but there was...another wheel. a castle wheel. called the wendy.

when i was gift-shopping for upcoming birthdays the other day, i was on ebay, and one of my previous searches popped up. and i opened it, obviously, just to see, and because i like looking at spinning wheels and seeing what people are selling.

well, there were nine items on ebay that matched that search, one of which was a wendy wheel, made in 1975, not terribly expensive, and less than 50k from my house.

so you can probably guess what happened next.

...ok, actually what happened is that i waffled about it and made sad noises for a bit, and my wife spent an hour or so whispering do it, do it, and then the obvious happened.

so now for real we have our (probably) last wheel (for now)! and buddies, lemme tell you, she's absolutely majestic. she's so small that if you take her apart, i'm pretty sure she'd fit into a carry-on-sized suitcase. she's so small that if i, a normal-to-tall-sized human person stand next to her, the top of the drive wheel is under my knee.

she also has a delightfully unusual tension system! frame flyers were apparently (relatively) briefly popular in new zealand, and honestly, i kinda dig it?

the rod is actually in two pieces, and they're connected by the threaded ball. turn the ball in one direction, and the upper part of the rod moves slightly further out of the ball; turn it in the other direction, and the rod moves deeper into the ball. this changes the tilt of the flyer, moving it slightly closer to or further from the drive wheel, and thus adjusting the tension. [update: you can see a video of it in action in this post!]

the flyer's slightly cracked, so right now i'm using the single flyer across both wheels, but i'm talking to more experienced people to figure out how best to repair/replace it. other than that, though, she's in amazing condition—it's clear she was treasured, but equally clear that she wasn't used. (there was a giant clump of spiderweb in the orifice, and don't think that wasn't an unpleasant surprise.) but i think we're more than happy to use her enough to make up for the years of disuse.

oh, and in the picture looking down, see that little hole in the frame, just at the bottom of the image? it's so you can screw a block of wood onto the frame and convert her to scotch tension, if you'd like.

she came with her original paperwork, featuring information about how to prepare wool, spin, and knit it, which is also rather charming.

this concludes the most recent (and probably final) episode of 'slightly odd spinning wheels that are older than i am that i have bought for a song'. i know i've said it before, but if you have the chance to play with vintage wheels, please do give it a go. sometimes they're just so-so, but sometimes you find absolute treasures that were made by masters of the craft, and then—hypothetically—you own four of them that collectively have still cost you less than the price of buying one (1) ashford traditional.

[shamelessrabbithole]

If you've been following me for a while, you know how much I enjoy a good screen-match moment. I've been interested in the Foxbody production from the start and have found it really frustrating not to be able to identify the autobody shop where they filmed the dance scene. I can tell that it's propped with old-fashioned signage and even these red cabinets are uncommon because they are specific to the Ford brand motor company and to find any intact to purchase or rent is hard because they're collector's items.

Anyway, since for the life of me, I can't find this particular film set, I thought I might look for the car. And, I think I tracked it down. Cam would have rented it from the Picture Car Warehouse in Vallejo, California. It's is a 1985 Ford Mustang convertible and rents for $450 a day. The main difference that I can see is that the headrests have either been replaced or removed. But otherwise, both cars have very similar details, including auto-body damage.

The hood paint seen here has a similar wear pattern. 👇🏻

The hubcaps are a match. 👇🏻

Same streak of silver or gray on the bumper in the same corner spot on the side of the car that has a Ford ornament. 👇🏻

Same small ding on the edge of the black part of the driver's door. 👆🏻

I feel like he might've taken off or replaced the headrests, maybe because they interfered with the shot otherwise. Or the original ones were too beat up, though, in a movie like Cam's it would seem like the more beat up, the better. I dunno.

It also looks like he changed the lampshades and bedspread in this scene, so he might've taken similar liberties with the car, too. 👆🏻

[fantasyfantasygames]

Merc Squad

Merc Squad, Unhellstorm Productions, 2011?

This game vies for the title of "worst TTRPG name ever". I'm sure there are worse ones, but hooo boy this one ain't good. I'm going to put aside the name for now, though, because some of the mechanics are fascinating.

MS revolves around the squad itself. Your team works for a megacorp, executing paramilitary actions for them, like storming a building, defending a stronghold, or boarding a starship. You're not really playing a character per se, you're playing a role within the squad. A role with a personality that you define, but... How about an example. Let's say you're playing The Artillery. If your character dies, you just bring in another one with basically the same stats, because your team needs The Artillery and your employer just replaces you with someone who fits the team. It's the "I'm playing my last character's cousin who looks the exact same as him and has the same skills" trope but as the core of the game loop.

It's a vicious commentary on the way that corporate and paramilitary life treats people as interchangeable cogs in a murder machine. That's especially true since the character you're playing, the team you're part of, the branch of the megacorp that employs you, and the megacorp itself are all on a game-mechanics-designated "good guy to bad guy to good guy" loop, none of which are synched up with one another. You can delay progress on the loop, but you can't hold everything at "good guy" at once, so eventually you either end up as one of the baddies or working for the baddies or both.

You may end up wanting your character to die because they've picked up so many negative character traits, and your next one will at least be new and naive and uncorrupted... so far. Or you might dive into the dark side and come out repentant. It's a game where you have to be willing to see your character change in some pretty specific ways. Not for everyone or every group.

Combat is also squad-based. You're never rolling to hit. (Well, rarely.) Instead you're rolling to add points to your side's victory meter and to force fallout rolls for the other side, hoping that they're more interested in retreating to safety than staying and facing awful consequences. There's some clear influence from Dogs in the Vineyard here.

The setting is pretty bog-standard science-fantasy stuff. Megacorps, energy weapons, combat-oriented magic that they call something else, species where half of them look suspiciously like fantasy races and the other half are wild shit, starships, etc. It's not done badly, but you've seen it before. Steal the mechanics and put them on top of a more interesting setting. And for the name of god, change the name of the game.

Merc Squad (ugh) was self-published on the ebook shop of a now-defunct small press site. You can occasionally find a copy in the now-defunct .bookr format, for which you'll need a Windows 7 machine to run the no-longer-supported Word converter. Unhellstorm is, of course, long gone. If anyone is on the other end of their hotmail account (ha!), they're not answering.

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

Peopled out because someone has been here nearly everyday for a week, making home repairs for us because of thr ice storm last month. Thankfully, he was genuinely happy that I want at least three days without people here.

Seriously, this is why having a guest for more than two nights would have me snapping like an angry hyena.

At the same time, I'm lonely because Bubby doesn't wanna spend time with me. He's now nearly two months without DnD night due to the condition of thr converted garage. We still need to paint the walls, replace the carpet, install shelves on the walls, then move the furniture that's piled up in there.

On top of that, my period started today. I don't bleed or cramp anymore because uterus cauterized and tubes tied, but my boobs swell nearly a full cup size overnight. So now my boobs hurt. Explains my grumpiness though.

Bleh.

I'm giving myself the next several days to recover in order to prevent burnout. The quilt top is finished, fabric and pattern are pulled for the next one, and tomorrow I'm cleaning my sewing room after I out the current quilt in a frame to work on next week.

The highlights of my week: tea arrived and it was on sale so WOOT, the Throne wishlist item someone gifted me several weeks ago arrived today (box of random GF snacks), I got wool socks from a local shop (my feet sweat when cold, so hopefully these help me stay warm) and I need to wash them, my SSDI arrived early, I finished a quilt top, and one of the walls is done and ready for chalkboard paint.

Please send asks. If you read DA smut, please send a link or two to your favs. I prefer canon/near canon DA fanfics. I write explicit smut, so explicit is absolutely okay to send me. My AO3 is Chaosfay, btw. Link is on my profile. Anon is Disabled because I was receiving harassing asks.

[creations-by-chaosfay]

I'm 75% sure I'll have the placemat and coaster tops done tomorrow. Day after, machine quilting, which may take less than two hours. The binding will be done before laundry is started, which means they'll be washed and shipped by the weekend.

Next week will be spent making the Halloween quilt top. I'm guess-stimating a week of just making the top, and four to six weeks of handquilting. Every other day willbe handquilting, and alternating with piecing the astrology quilt top. The top will be finished before I'm done with thr handquilting, but handquilting I'd every other day because my wrists can't manage it daily. Weekends are no sewing or quilting. At all. I've found that works best for me, and prevents me from requiring a week or more off to spend recovering.

On my alternating days, if I have no commissions, I'll work on building up my shop inventory with small items, and maybe a few rag quilts. Those are such fun and quick things...but they take up a lot if space because they can't be folded like standard quilts.

We're also making repairs to our house, so that's gonna be occupying my "free" time. Our insurance sent us their estimate of repair costs, which includes replacing the gutters, repairing the converted garage by repairing the flood damage to the floor and one of the walls, the back door, and possibly the front porch. We will probably finish converting the garage by the time summer rolls in, which will be fantastic. It's the DnD room and my husband DMs a game every week. It's also where all the buildings, ships, accessories and terrains I build are stored, and where my husband has all the miniatures he's finished painting.

After two years of death, near death, and all sorts of horrible things, it feels like this is the beginning of something new and wonderful. With your help, we got our insurance deductible covered and more than half a debt paid off. I hope to have all three major debts paid off using commissions and shop sales, and end the year with three fewer bills to concern myself with. It'll be nearly $400 saved every month, which will go right into savings. But first they need to be paid off, and all my quilt sales and commissions are going towards that. It leaves a feeling if validation when I make those payments with money I earned through my work.

Yes, a year of good and positive changes, and definitely recovery.

[ghxstgutzz]

Welcome to Curry Corner!

These old Spice District apartments have been converted into a few shops owned by different sims. On the bottom floor we have Sweet Sensations; a cozy little bakery with an espresso bar, and Harps; a family-owned convenience store. The second floor is home to a quirky craft supply called Superliminal, and Lance Laundry. Recollection is a thrift store specializing in retro clothing, movies, and music, found on the top floor. Lot complete with outdoor seating and bicycle parking.

This multi-use retail lot was built on Waterside Warble, replacing the karaoke bar. Tray files available for free on my Patreon page! Download & detail shots below the cut~ 

Exterior Details

Interior Details

FREE DOWNLOAD x

TOOL was used (make sure you have bb.moveobjecsts on when placing). The shops are fully stocked, and there's a version available with Llamazon cards in the shop (so your sim can 'special order' items through the shops).

[marksautotrim]

Convertible Soft Top Repair Near Oshawa

Owning a convertible is a thrilling experience, allowing you to enjoy the open road and feel the wind in your hair. However, over time, your convertible soft top may encounter wear and tear, requiring professional repair services. If you reside in the Oshawa area and are seeking reliable convertible soft top repair, this comprehensive guide will provide you with essential information to make informed decisions.

Understanding Convertible Soft Top Repair:

A convertible soft top consists of various components, including fabric or vinyl material, rear windows, frames, cables, and latches. These elements are subject to damage due to exposure to harsh weather conditions, accidents, or general wear and tear. When considering repair options, it is crucial to evaluate the extent of the damage and identify the most suitable repair service providers.

Why Repair Soft Convertible Top?

Repairing a convertible soft top is essential for several reasons:

· Extend Lifespan: By addressing issues promptly, repairs can help extend the lifespan of your convertible soft top. Neglected damage can worsen over time, leading to more significant and costlier repairs or even requiring a complete replacement of the top.

· Preserve Aesthetics: The appearance of your convertible top contributes significantly to the overall aesthetic appeal of your vehicle. Repairing tears, holes, or other damage ensures that your convertible top maintains its visual appeal, enhancing the overall appearance of the car.

· Protection from the Elements: A well-maintained convertible top provides protection against the elements. It helps keep rain, snow, and dust from entering the cabin, ensuring a comfortable driving experience. Repairing any damage or leaks helps maintain the integrity of the soft top, preserving its ability to keep you dry and protected.

· Maintain Resale Value: If you plan to sell or trade in your convertible in the future, a well-maintained and properly repaired soft top can significantly enhance its resale value. Potential buyers are more likely to be interested in a vehicle with a well-functioning and visually appealing convertible top.

·Safety and Security: A damaged convertible top may compromise the safety and security of your vehicle. It may allow unauthorized access to the car or increase the risk of theft. Repairing any issues with the top ensures that it functions correctly, providing the necessary security and peace of mind.

· Warranty Considerations: If your convertible is still under warranty, it's crucial to address any repairs promptly. Neglecting necessary repairs may void the warranty, leaving you responsible for the cost of future repairs.

· Enjoyment and Convenience: Owning a convertible is all about enjoying the unique driving experience it offers. A properly repaired soft top allows you to fully enjoy the open-air motoring experience without any inconveniences or limitations.

In summary, repairing a convertible soft top is essential for maintaining the longevity, aesthetics, protection, and functionality of your vehicle. By addressing any damage promptly, you can ensure a safe, enjoyable, and visually appealing driving experience.

Finding Reliable Repair Services: 

Online Research: Start by conducting online research to identify repair shops specializing in convertible top repairs near Oshawa. Look for businesses with positive customer reviews, extensive experience, and a reputation for quality workmanship.

Seek Recommendations: Ask fellow convertible owners, friends, or family members in the Oshawa area for recommendations. Personal referrals can provide valuable insights and help you find trusted repair professionals.

Local Directories: Consult local directories or listings that feature automotive repair services. These resources often provide contact information, customer ratings, and additional details to help you make an informed decision.

Factors to Consider when Choosing a Repair Service:

Expertise and Experience: Look for repair shops that specialize in convertible soft tops and have a proven track record of successful repairs. Experience and expertise are essential to ensure that your top is repaired correctly. 

Quality of Materials: Inquire about the quality of materials used by the repair shop. High-quality fabrics, vinyl, and window materials are crucial for durability and longevity.

Warranty and Guarantees: Ask about warranties and guarantees provided by the repair service. A reputable repair shop will stand behind their work and offer assurances for the repairs performed.

Timely Service: Ensure that the repair shop can accommodate your schedule and complete the repairs within a reasonable timeframe. Quick and efficient service is vital to minimize the inconvenience of not having your convertible available.

Cost Estimates: Obtain detailed cost estimates from multiple repair shops to compare prices. However, remember that the cheapest option may not always be the best. Focus on the overall value and reputation of the repair service provider.

Common Convertible Soft Top Repairs:

Tears or Holes: If your soft top has developed tears or holes, professional repair technicians can assess the damage and either patch or replace the affected areas.

Zipper or Fastener Replacement: Worn-out or malfunctioning zippers or fasteners can be replaced to ensure a secure and functional soft top.

Window Replacement: If the rear window is damaged or discolored, repair specialists can replace it with a new window made of high-quality materials.

Frame Repair: Damaged or bent frames can impair the functionality of the convertible top. Repair services can address frame issues, ensuring smooth operation and proper alignment.

Conclusion:

Maintaining a well-functioning and visually appealing convertible soft top is essential for an enjoyable driving experience. When seeking convertible soft top repair near Oshawa, it is crucial to find a reputable repair service provider with expertise in handling these specialized repairs. By considering factors such as expertise, materials used, warranties, and cost estimates, you can make an informed decision and ensure your convertible soft top is restored to its optimal condition. Remember, regular maintenance and prompt repairs will extend the life of your convertible soft top and allow you to continue cruising in style.

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Yellow House, Valerio Olgiati, 1999, Flims Switzerland.

This is a big one for the smalt boys – post 200 on the site. Foundational reference here, and one we have seen in person.

The last ski trip of the season, around number 10, and it was a slushy March afternoon in Laax. Hell of a day. Culminated in one of us breaking a pin binding clean off the ski, and the other being deemed the God of Snow. After a sweaty and revelrous gondola ride down the mountain, we had some time to kill before the bus brought us to Chur and the train took us back home to Basel. These ski days often involved 6hrs of transit time and 8hrs ski time but we were committed to shred. We came, we shred, and now it was time to take snacks from the shop and wander around Olgiati’s playpen of Flims.

We dropped our gear on the side of the road next to a restaurant where the Swiss were enjoying their apres-ski (unlocked – high trust in these places) and began to hunt for the goods. We were rewarded instantly. 100 meters down the road, in the center of the town (which is more of a layby on an alpine highway) sits this absolute unit of a building.

It stands in stark contrast to everything around it, yet somehow feels like it has been on this mountain since the rock was thrust upwards during the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, 20 million years ago. Those 15 black voids on the streetside façade silently judge everything that passes. It is solid and ominous and completely unique, yet for some reason there is a warmth and genuine soul to the thing. We showed up and realized that Olgiati’s grumpy exterior conceals a deep understanding and (maybe even) care for the people who live here and visit this place.

The building is a cultural center, converted from a home for the town Parish. Valerio’s father Rudolf, an architect himself, offered to donate his collection to the Parish foundation on the condition that it be renovated instead of demolished. Work began after his death and was completed in 2000. The interior is gutted, with a new wood finish over the whole space. The roof was replaced with a new structural shape and slate shingles. Some openings were left, others covered up, and all refinished with cast concrete frames. The entire exterior is painted and finished in a very fine lime wash, blending all the old textured pieces into one whole.

We had 10 minutes until closing so decided to speed-run the interior. We spent most of the time touching the window frames, admiring the weep holes, and whispering, “holy fuck”. There was a temporary exhibition on and the kid at the desk spoke perfect English. He told us he didn’t know anything about the building when we asked.

The inside is rock solid and completely cozy. You could run a boxing match on the top level and sleep on the wood floor on the ground level at the same time. The plan is dead simple and the same on all levels, but at the top you get the special angled column and pitched roof. The structure and enclosure are so locked down and well-executed they can be forgotten, and the architect can start to consider higher aims.

It’s hard to say exactly why this all works together. It weaves together mountain town culture, physical landscape, heritage buildings, religion, material mass, phenomenology, and one man’s brazen disregard for all that bullshit. I still don’t quite believe Olgiati’s non-referential thesis, but the fact that he genuinely tries it every time means that his buildings are the only stable and true reference points I have for pure architectural thought. He’s insane, but he’s useful and maybe a genius.

After we were ushered out of the building, we visited a few other bangers, hopped on the postbus, tried to eat a poke bowl using a popsicle stick and a rolled-up m&ms wrapper, and received a horrified look from a well-intentioned bus seat neighbor.

Happy 200, we still don’t know what good architecture is.

[atotaltaitaitale]

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Thursday Throwback... Kiosque a Journaux (Newsstands)

We owed the newsstands to Baron Haussmann (who was also in charge of transforming the old medieval Paris into what we know today as the "Haussmannian" buildings built along the wide avenues opening up Paris). French architect Gabriel Davioud was commissioned to design small, elegant pavilions. It was on the Grands Boulevards that the first kiosk was built (on August 15, 1857), responding to the desire to gentrify one of Paris's greatest boulevard. In a minor revolution, the new kiosks, equipped with a lighting system, now lit up the public boulevards at night! But just two years later, these pretty, innovative designs were replaced by others deemed even more beautiful. By 1859, the new Parisian kiosks were even more imposing: taller, they were surrounded by friezes and topped by domes of zinc scales and a spire. By the end of the 19th century, the style and practicality of these kiosks, with their awning and display, gradually increased to 340 by the 1880s.

Today, there are around 360 newsagents in Paris, slightly more than in 1880. But it hasn't always been easy. In 2004, for example, there were just 266 newsagents left in the capital, as newsagents went bankrupt or abandoned a business deemed too difficult and unprofitable. To stem this loss, Paris City Council decided to give newsagents a break on the licence fee they had been paying up until then, before authorizing them to diversify their products at the end of 2011, with a single requirement for newsagents: that the press represent at least 2/3 of their business.

News-stands have almost all changed their appearance since 2018, as Paris City Hall launched a major operation to replace the classic model with brand-new, sleeker and more modern ones, a shelter made of recyclable metal, aluminum and glass, whose glass façade lets in natural light and is inspired by artists' studios and Parisian rooftops. (Source)

NB: The last 4 remaining Kiosk Type 1900 (all converted to Flower shops) can be found: place d'Estienne d'Orves (9th), 21 avenue du général Sarrail (16th), 30 avenue Corentin Cariou (19th) and 6 boulevard de Charonne (20th)

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21 Days to a Slimmer, Sexier You: The Smoothie Diet

Introduction (150 words): In a world where achieving a slim and attractive physique is a top priority for many, the quest for effective and sustainable weight loss methods continues. If you're tired of fad diets and exhausting workout routines that deliver limited results, it's time to discover a revolutionary approach: The Smoothie Diet. In just 21 days, this unique and attractive program promises to transform your body, boost your energy levels, and improve your overall well-being. Get ready to embark on a journey towards a slimmer, sexier you as we delve into the details of The Smoothie Diet and why it has the power to convert even the most skeptical individuals into committed buyers.

Understanding The Smoothie Diet (300 words): The Smoothie Diet is a comprehensive weight loss program that revolves around the consumption of nutrient-rich smoothies as meal replacements. It is designed to kickstart your metabolism, eliminate toxins, and promote healthy weight loss. What sets this program apart is its simplicity and effectiveness. By replacing one or two meals a day with specially crafted smoothies, you provide your body with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, while keeping your caloric intake in check.

The Science Behind the Smoothie Diet (400 words): The success of The Smoothie Diet lies in the scientific principles it is built upon. Each smoothie is meticulously crafted to provide the perfect balance of macronutrients, ensuring you get the right amount of proteins, healthy fats, and carbohydrates. Moreover, these smoothies are packed with fiber, which aids digestion and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. The program's emphasis on whole foods and natural ingredients ensures that you receive all the necessary nutrients while avoiding harmful additives and preservatives.

Benefits of the Smoothie Diet (400 words): The Smoothie Diet offers a plethora of benefits beyond just weight loss. Improved digestion, increased energy levels, and clearer skin are just a few of the positive effects reported by participants. Additionally, the program is flexible and can be customized to suit your dietary preferences and lifestyle. With an abundance of delicious and creative smoothie recipes to choose from, you won't feel deprived or bored during the 21-day journey.

Expert Support and Guidance (300 words): One of the key reasons why The Smoothie Diet is so effective is the support and guidance provided throughout the program. The package includes comprehensive guides, meal plans, and shopping lists, ensuring you have everything you need to succeed. Additionally, you'll have access to a supportive online community, where you can connect with like-minded individuals, share your progress, and seek advice from experienced coaches. This network of support plays a vital role in keeping you motivated and accountable throughout the 21-day period.

Transforming Your Lifestyle (350 words): Beyond the initial 21 days, The Smoothie Diet equips you with the knowledge and tools to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The program educates you about portion control, mindful eating, and the importance of regular exercise. By incorporating these principles into your daily routine, you can sustain the weight loss achieved during the program and continue on your journey to a slimmer, sexier you.

Conclusion (200 words): The Smoothie Diet offers a refreshing and effective approach to weight loss, promising remarkable results in just 21 days. By replacing meals with delicious and nutrient-packed smoothies, you not only shed excess pounds but also experience an array of other benefits. The program's emphasis on scientific principles, expert guidance, and a supportive community ensures a high level of customer satisfaction. If you're ready to embark on a transformative journey towards a slimmer, sexier you, The Smoothie Diet is undoubtedly worth considering. Take the leap today and witness the positive changes.................................