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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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2021 Nissan Kicks makes value a virtue

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2021 Nissan Kicks makes value a virtue

The 2021 Kicks looks sharper than its predecessor.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

As far as affordable small cars go, you could definitely do worse than the Nissan Kicks. It’s an efficient, feature-rich little thing, and for new car shoppers on a budget, the Kicks is one of the best overall values available today.

Excellent fuel economy

Lots of driver-assistance features

Excellent overall value

Don’t Like

All trims need LED headlights

Interior could use more personality

No all-wheel drive option

The Kicks gets a much-needed glow-up for 2021, with styling that’s way less frumpy than before. It’s a good look, and while I personally prefer the more extroverted designs of competitors like the Kia Soul or Hyundai Venue, I think the Kicks is altogether more refined than the wacky Hyundai Kona or Toyota C-HR. You get 16-inch wheels on the base Kicks S, but SV and SR trims upgrade to larger 17s. My SV test car has the optional black-painted alloys, which cost $495 and would probably look better alongside one of the available two-tone paint schemes — one with a black roof, for example.

The Kicks’ interior plays it down the middle with a no-nonsense design. The controls are exactly where you expect them to be and none of the buttons or stalks feel flimsy. Sure, the doors are lined with hard plastic and the piano black trim around the gear shifter will never, ever look clean, but the stuff you’ll touch most often — the steering wheel, window switches, infotainment controls, etc. — are all nice. I do wish the cup holders weren’t one big rectangle with a partition in the middle, though. Smaller drinks like, oh, I don’t know, a grande vanilla nonfat latte from Starbucks can easily tip over while making a turn. Ask me how I know.

2021 Nissan Kicks packs a lot of features in a small footprint

See all photos

Nissan’s awesome Zero Gravity seats aren’t available in the Kicks, but the cloth chairs in my SV tester are nevertheless comfortable, and they even have an interesting diamond pattern for a little visual flair. You sit high up in the Kicks, too, and the seating position is nice and comfortable for a 5-foot, 8-inch average dude like myself. Plus, this higher seat height gives you a nice, commanding view out the front and side windows — and it’s better for your posture, too.

The back seats are serviceable, but better suited to smaller adults or children, and there’s enough room behind them to schlep a couple of carry-on bags or a shopping cart’s worth of groceries. The Kicks offers 25.3 cubic feet of space with the rear seats upright, which bests the Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Kona and Kia Soul. However, fold the bench flat and you only get 32.3 cubic feet, which is almost half the max capacity of the Soul and worse than the aforementioned Ford and Hyundai. If you need to haul on the regular, the Kicks might not be for you. But since most people will use the hatch without folding the back bench, I’m glad Nissan chose to err on the side of seat-up spaciousness.

The interior looks plain, but it’s quiet and the seats are comfortable.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

Every Kicks uses the NissanConnect multimedia system, with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard. The base Kicks S has a 7-inch touchscreen but the SV and SR use a slightly larger, 8-inch head unit; these upper trims get an additional 7-inch display inside the gauge cluster, too. NissanConnect’s graphics are dated and the menu structure is kind of weird, but it’s easy enough to plug your phone into one of the USB ports and let the Apple or Android software do the heavy lifting. SV and SR trims come with both USB-A and USB-C outlets, by the way.

A huge selling point for the 2021 Kicks is the sheer amount of standard driver-assistance tech. Automatic emergency braking (front and rear), blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert are standard across the board, even on the base, $20,000 model, and SV and SR trims add adaptive cruise control. No, you can’t get Nissan’s cool ProPilot Assist highway driving assistant, but that’s not a total deal-breaker. You can, however, get a 360-degree camera on this little guy, though it’s only available on the top-level SR.

There isn’t much to get excited about under the hood, but the Kicks’ powertrain is nevertheless adequate and efficient. The 1.6-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine produces 122 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque, which sound pretty dismal on paper, but on the road, it’s totally fine. Remember, the Kicks only weighs 2,744 pounds in its heaviest spec, so that engine doesn’t have a ton of car to lug around. The Kicks only comes with front-wheel drive, however, so if you’re looking for a tiny CUV with AWD capabilities, try the Honda HR-V or Mazda CX-3.

SV and SR models get an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

You can only get the Kicks with a continuously variable transmission. And before you balk at the idea of CVT, don’t forget that Nissan’s been offering this transmission type for years, meaning the company’s had a lot of time to fine-tune its so-called Xtronic setup. Seriously, the Kicks has one of the best CVTs around, quietly operating in the background without the high-revving drone that people tend to associate with these transmissions.

Plus, that CVT helps the Kicks return bangin’ fuel economy. Official EPA ratings aren’t available just yet, but Nissan estimates you’ll see 31 miles per gallon in the city, 36 mpg highway and 33 mpg combined — numbers right in line with what I saw in the real world. That makes the Kicks more efficient than a lot of other small crossovers, beating the Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue, Kia Soul and more.

The Kicks handles daily driving duties admirably, and it’s actually pretty fun to drive. The suspension is nicely tuned for both city and highway driving and the brakes are strong with solid pedal feel. The steering is light, just like every other small crossover, but it quickly responds to inputs, and more importantly, the Kicks is easy to maneuver and park. No one is expecting the Kicks to be a thrill, but it’s a perfectly pleasant little runabout. Yeah, it’s pokey, but it might surprise you on a winding road.

These black-painted 17-inch wheels are a $495 option.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

You can get into a Kicks for as little as $20,595, including $1,095 for destination. The midgrade SV adds a lot of the niceties you’ll actually want, and it starts at a still-affordable $22,395. The loaded SR comes in at $23,035, and its only big-ticket option is the $1,200 Premium Package, which brings the price to $24,235 delivered.

The SV grade should make up the bulk of Kicks sales, but I actually think a loaded SR is the best value. The SR gets you all the best driver-assistance tech and it also comes standard with LED headlights (and foglights). That last bit is especially important — the halogen lamps on my SV test car are so dull that, at one point, I actually pulled over to make sure I had the low-beams on and wasn’t just relying on the running lights (like so many other oblivious Los Angeles drivers). LED headlights are brighter and therefore safer. Why they aren’t standard on every car at this point is kind of beyond me.

It’s hard to beat the Kicks’ overall value.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

But the loaded SR’s virtues extend beyond illumination. Add the Premium Package and you get heated seats, a heated steering wheel and that premium Bose audio system you’ve probably heard — you know, the one with speakers in the driver’s headrest. Nothing makes an inexpensive car feel premium quite like heated seats and a kickin’ (get it?) stereo. All that and more for less than $25K? I know it’s not always easy to swing a couple thousand extra when you’re on a tight budget, but you’ll also be hard pressed to find this many amenities for this little cash.

The Kicks plays in a super-crowded class, alongside everything from the dumpy Chevrolet Trax to the dumpier Ford EcoSport to attractive and compelling hatchbacks from Korea like the Hyundai Kona, Venue and Kia Soul. Personally, I’d probably go with the Soul if it were my money; the Kia has a better interior and it’s nicer to drive, as well. Even so, the Nissan still offers more features, and it’s more efficient than anything else in its segment. Any way you slice it, the Kicks offers great value and it’s hard to argue with that.

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tocinephile · 4 years ago

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#TIFF20 - Day 8

Another day of minimal TIFF activity. The In Conversation With Denzel Washington and Barry Levinson started late but was enjoyable. I’m going to say something that might be a little unpopular in the current landscape of Black Lives Matter and supporting WOC and women’s voices in general...

I liked that the In Conversation got the heart of filmmaking without purposely involving politics or current social issues. Yes, on one hand this could only happen with a male white interviewer and male interviewees, I won’t ignore the fact that a certain ignorance might factor in, but I miss interviews like this. It’s why I like listening to Martin Scorsese talk, or Roger Ebert, these guys got to the heart of filmmaking. I haven’t been on movie sets in over a decade, and when I did PA or work with my friends, we had an understanding that we were operating in a man’s profession but we didn’t fight to acknowledge the differences per se, so much as we just did the work to prove that we were every bit as good as everyone else at our job. If I were to make it as a filmmaker, I think I would personally get tired of fielding questions about being a women in the industry. It’s an outdated term, but I’d want to be seen as “one of the guys”. In this regard I’ve always had a lot of respect for the likes of Kathryn Bigelow, or Leni Riefenstahl (aside from the whole Nazi thing lol).

Less TIFF programming mean more time to spend with TIFF friends on Day 8, including downtown wanderings with my good friend Ryan, former Cars Rep at Elgin and Entourage volunteer. He shared treats with me (sharing food during TIFF has become like the unspoken perk for me in recent years) and we rehashed some of our more harrowing moments over the years, So in that vein, I thought I would share some of my worse TIFF moments with you for a change...all were while on shift at the Elgin lol

(I’m pleased to report the line ups at Elgin & Winter Garden were very manageable this year)

In 3rd place... doing crowd control for Johnny Depp

In the early 00′s we didn’t have barricades on Yonge St., we used stanchions on either side of the red carpet and the staff and volunteers were the barricades in essence. One evening we were expecting Johnny Depp, fans were lined up on one side of the carpet (we still let them spectate in the gazebo area in those years), press was on the other, and the overflow of fans were standing across the street on the west side of Yonge. We were additionally warned that Johnny tends to linger on the carpet for autographs. Despite this being a time before social media, word spread and there were hundreds of people lined up on the other side of Yonge St now.

Johnny arrived and the screams were deafening. As volunteers along the carpet we were asked to face outwards towards the fans and our job was to make sure no one crossed the stanchions. I didn’t quite see, but other volunteers confirmed, one girl on the other side of Yonge, stepped off the sidewalk and ran blindly across the street towards the limo... and 300 people followed! You could feel the crowd surging forward towards us, but luckily the people at the front of the crowd followed rules (mostly... a few tried to crawl under our arms etc) or we would have been crushed.

2nd place... fending off Sophia Loren fans

I’ve worked on the carpet for so many celebrities including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, etc. but (with the possible exception of the Korean superstars... I didn’t work on the carpet anymore at that point. I also heard some stories about Liza Minnelli) the person with the most fanatical fans had to be Sophia Loren.

Again, this was during a time with no barricades or road closures. Also before it was mandatory for volunteer captains to wear their orange shirts. In fact, at red carpet venues such as Elgin, they preferred the captains dressed up a bit instead. So once again I was holding back the fans next to the gazebo at the Elgin, while wearing my dress shoes. The autograph hounds were aggressive that night, several verbal altercations had broken out, someone had their paraphernalia damaged, a girl got spit on, I knew it was going to be a rough go.

Sophia came, there was the usual uproar, she signed autographs, and I began to think maybe the worst was over. There’s often a bit of a bottleneck at the carpet when they enter the first set of doors to the theatre. Lots of press in there, and so they stop for photo ops. The bulk of folks acting as security has left my area of the carpet when a short older Italian man in a suit jumps over of the stanchion and starts running up the carpet calling Sophia’s name. We’re not supposed to physically touch anyone, nor do I want to, so I hold out my arms to either side of me and tell the man he can’t be on the carpet. He’s got a running start though and his arm catches mine as he tries to get past, nearly sending me flying, but as a result I’m essentially pulling him back now. The fans are screaming, the press is screaming, I’m screaming (for a cop, not Sophia)... Paid security or a cop came to assist in the end, but I’ll never forget that night.

THE worst thing I’ve endured at TIFF: Trying to enforce a sidewalk closure at Yonge & Queen during rush hour.

This one might have been within the last 10 years. We had barricades along Yonge by this time which prevented people from crossing the street, but in terms of barricades that stopped sidewalk traffic in front of the theatre, they were only on either side of the Elgin entrance. We also didn’t have much signage at this point. When we closed off the sidwalks people cannot move freely going north and south on Yonge, people will walk all the way until they reach the theatre and get turned back, which is a source of frustration for them, and a bottleneck of people for us.

We put volunteers at the intersections on the north and south end of the block to tell pedestrians there’s no access. At best pedestrians groan and turn around, at worse they yell at us and push past. We were asked to place a few volunteers at Queen & Yonge to divert people and not let anyone past us (not even TIFF ticketholders because they couldn’t access the ticket line from the south side of the theatre). This is already terrible when traffic is sparse because a) people can’t always hear you and you have to get pretty close to physically block their path and explain, b) a good portion of these people are going to have questions or get angry with you, so while you try to address one person, about five are now pushing past you. Now picture this during rush hour when every time the light changes 50 people cross the street in a hurry and start coming at you, and you have nothing but your voice to stop them.

I’d only intended to bring my team to their spot and then move onto other tasks, but messaging this closure was so daunting that we wound up using double the number of people we initially planned, plus two captains to stand with them. People simply ignored you and I was often within 2 feet of someone before I could even get their attention, nevermind get them to follow the rules. I’m experienced with this, not afraid of crowds, and I’ll get in your face, but even I was experiencing anxiety, I felt very badly for those who’d never done it before. At the end of my shift I was running around the theatre with no voice trying to locate a girl who was reportedly very upset by the experience. I never found her, and to this day I still feel a little guilty over that. And the part where I lost my voice, it does tend to happen every year, so for anyone who’s ever wondered why there’s a bag of throat lozenges in the volunteer box, I put it there for all our sakes!

I promise the next entry will be less traumatic lol.

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sawyersamuel1989 · 4 years ago

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How Seedless Grapes Grow Eye-Opening Ideas

The south side of buildings or anything that could revitalize and improve the growth achieved in the hole rather than tree trunks.The European variety is used in making your wine to produce, say, white or red.If you don't prune, you should get some super growth on your family's life.Zinc to be planted closer to each method.

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Where To Grow Grapefruit

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Are Grape Tomatoes Easy To Grow

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#How Seedless Grapes Grow Eye-Opening Ideas #Grape Trellis Kit

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spoonsthings · 7 years ago

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I've always loved the Cottonwood Hills world by @martinessimblr, and the gorgeous builds she has done for them. Unfortunately, Martine has not been able to continue support or answer WCIFs herself for quite some time, while at the same time, I know a lot of people (including myself) would probably like to have a comprehensive list to refer to, rather than do the sleuthing themselves or comb through all the disparate WCIF posts on her main blog. So, with Martine's generous permission, I've taken it upon myself to assemble comprehensive WCIFs for her Cottonwood Hills buildings, or as many of them as I can manage, anyway, and post the results on my simblr.

However, instead of merely posting a list of links with no pictures, or splitting up each of the (already numerous) WCIF posts into several parts to accommodate Tumblr’s image restrictions, I’ve decided to use spreadsheets. I’ve done this for several reasons, not least because this way, people can reorder the list as they please: by order of source website, by creator, or by what specific part of the lot it can be found in.

For example, let’s say that I want to see all the items in the conference room area of the Tesla Science Lot (screenshot of the spreadsheet above). Items that are used in that room are marked with an “O” (as opposed to merely a blank space) in Column “I”. When you open up the sheet in Google Drive, simply RIGHT-click on the letter that denotes the column you want to look at (in my case “I”). A menu will pop up with options: select “Sort from A --> Z” to bring all the items used in the conference room to the top of the list.

I am using Martine’s list that she posted with her map of Cottonwood Hills. Links to my WCIF posts will be added as they are completed.

Currently WCIFs have been completed for 15 lots of 23 that I intend to do WCIFs for. (The remaining 8 lots have either had nothing special done to them, or they were built CC-free.)

Cottonwood Hills City Hall

Ancient Oak Park

Betty’s Salon and Atomic Ink Tattoo Studio

The White Lion Pub, Indigo Clothing Shop and WCWH Radio Station (Martine’s original post)

La Brioche Bakery and The Curious Owl Pet Shop

Chestnut Drive Shopping Centre (Martine’s original post)

Cottonwood Hills High

Cottonwood Public Library

Cottonwood Medical Centre (Martine’s original post)

Parking Lot (Martine’s original post)

Magnolia Leisure Centre (Martine’s original post)

Cottonwood Hills Fire Department (Martine’s original post)

Buckthorn End (Martine’s original post)

Android Nerd Shop and The Blue Anchor Café (Martine’s original post)

Cottonwood Gallery

Cinema, Antonio’s Pizzeria and Heirloom Bridal (Martine’s original post)

The Blue Room Jazz Lounge (Martine’s original post)

Usine Dance Club: no CC (See Martine’s original post for details about store items used.)

Andromeda Dive Bar and Bowling Alley: no CC (See Martine’s original post for details)

Landgraab Industries Warehouse

Betty’s Diner (Martine’s original post)

Nizuni Sushi and Karaoke Bar and The Pink Flamingo Strip Club

Hawthorn Springs Golf Course: not built.

Tesla Research Facility (Martine’s original post)

Willoughby Chapel (Martine’s original post)

Butterfly Balloon Tours

Pine Grounds (Martine’s original post)

Pinewood Film Studios (Martine’s original post)

Oak Valley Ranch (Martine’s original post)

Cottonwood Boardwalk (Martine’s original post)

Trader Nick’s Tiki Bar

Sandy Boulevard Lighthouse

Beach: not built.

Elm Stadium

Redwood Falls Camp Grounds: not built.

St. Francis Nectary: built by Gelina, link to build here.

Crystal Springs: not built.

The Ballroom Wedding Venue: built by Gelina, link to build here.

Willow Island Port: not built.

Willow Island Resort: not built.

Status updates:

2019 February 17: It’s been about a year and a half since I started this WCIF project, though it feels like way longer. Even so, it’s an awfully long time to make you guys wait, and so one of my major goals for this year is to get moving and finish WCIFs for all the lots before the end of 2019, and hopefully before I hit the two-year mark (which would be this upcoming summer).

In my own test games, the town is shaping up pretty nicely, and most of the lots are looking complete or at the very least reasonably close to the originals. I’ve made at least 85% progress on almost every lot that Martine built herself (the only exceptions of the art gallery and the ranch, which I’ve been putting off because those don’t tend to end up in my own versions of Cottonwood Hills). Writing them all up is a lot of work, of course, but locating lost CC is proving to still be the biggest hurdle to actually bringing this project to completion. And it certainly doesn’t help that the CC is getting lost-er and lost-er, as more and more TS3 creators are either moving on to TS4 and abandoning support for their old downloads, or quitting the community entirely.

For the last few lots I’ve written about, I’ve also been reuploading content that could be considered to be “lost”. Once I’ve posted about every lot that needs a WCIF, I will go back and add reuploads to my earlier posts as well. So far, I’ve received no complaints about how I share things, which is heartening, as I’ve tried to do it in as respectful a way as possible, while making life a bit easier for my followers who want the WCIFs.

What is NOT included: 1. Items from massive CC aggregate sites like MTS and TSR 2. Items from CC sites that are still online, and remain well-maintained (like Around The Sims 3, or any currently active simblrs / blogspot / wordpress sites) 3. Store content (with the exception of limited-edition items that are no longer available from EA themselves, even if you pay money)

What IS included: 1. Items by creators who are officially retired from Sims 3 creation (whether or not they are still creating for other games 2. Items that were hosted on sites that are now dead, if the creator has not themselves re-released the content 3. Content hosted online, but only on archive / backup sites and not by the creator themselves 4. Patterns that require extensive modification (fixing “materializing materials” bug, the “7edd20633162e6c*” bug, etc.) in order to be usable as .package files.

As I see it, those seven criteria are fairly black-and-white in terms of whether sharing the files (with or without explicit permission) is going to affect the community for worse or for better. A considerably grayer area is content from individual creators who are not famous and who also go on hiatus frequently, or are only occasionally active. Now, I really do not want to be diverting traffic away from individual simblrs, especially if they are not well-known to begin with... having been an obscure creator at one point (maybe I still am!), I know what it feels like to see people reupload or convert your stuff without acknowledging the hard work you put into it (not so much as a “thank you for your contribution, I want to do this with your stuff, may I?” comment).

But the fact remains that these are the very sites that are most likely to go down without warning (in fact, most of the “lost” uploads that gave me the most trouble to find were from small creators who had moved homepages without providing a forwarding address, so to speak, whether or not they actively scrubbed their old download links).

So I have decided to handle items from such creators on a case-by-case basis. If the simblrs appear to be stable despite their inactivity (that is to say, they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon, and the download links are likely to stay put where they are), I will generally try to avoid reuploading content. If, however, the creator has a history of deleting and/or restarting their blog frequently, if the links themselves are unstable, or if the creator has moved blogs in the past and has not made all their older downloads easily available, I will generally include their items in the zipped reuploads, to make things easier on everyone. And in any case, I will always provide a link back to the creator’s blog, if not to the download itself.

If at any point, any of the creators concerned get wind of what I am doing, and wish to explicitly make their creations off-limits, my inbox is open.

#martine cottonwood hills #cottonwood hills #wcif: cottonwood hills

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lostsummerdayz · 6 years ago

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Castle Point Anime Convention Wrap-Up!

Castle Point Anime Convention is in the books! It surely indeed was one for the books as well, coming from someone who has not attended Castle Point in literal years. Try...2012 to be exact. Seven years passes by so flipping fast. To think, the last time I was at this convention was back when I was a mere nineteen year old! Regardless, time flies and as we get older and we evolve, so too must our conventions that we attend. If conventions do not improve of evolve, then they will never last for the long term. Rather dire things to say for an opening to a wrap-up post, but it’s how I personally feel on the matter. It’s a challenge for grassroots conventions to pull it off, but for those who do, the payoffs are grand. In Castle Point’s case, they have pulled it off. They have evolved greatly from the small yet modest “college con” that I recall attending way back when.

KDA Akali by projectxayah and KDA Evelynn by melanubis

As such, to end this foreword, I’ll be making some comparisons to the last time I attended CPAC back in 2012, to now, throughout this article. It’s going to be quite a lengthy read, so strap in everyone!

The Meadowlands Expo venue was simple to arrive with no issues on our end. A simple fifteen-minute-at-best-half-hour-at-worse-due-to-traffic bus ride from Port Authority was all that was needed to arrive. The bus stop even lets you off directly in front of the convention center itself! Here is where I can immediately talk about how helpful the staff was towards myself and the rest of the podcast. When we needed help as far as knowing where to go and con assistance in general, everyone was able to help, but, there weren’t any crowding that I noticed as well. Lines were handled well, and the Dealer’s Room/Artist Alley, places where there’s known to be a packed pandemonium, was handled well. Mainly this was due in part to there being a designated entrance and a designated exit. Take notes future cons!

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As the time drew nearer for the gates to be open, the hall slowly but surely filled itself with various cosplayers, attendees wearing gaming and anime inspired apparel, and soon enough the events began.

One of the first events was a maid performance, made to kick off the opening of the anime convention. It certainly had set the tone for the convention for sure, where one could hear it in ambiance even if they weren’t there to physically attend.

After the opening ceremonies concluded, I was left to explore the event as it were. One of the first stops I take in any convention is within the game room, so to speak. Majority of the games featured, due in part from the Snow Phoenix team, in the game room below are games in which I have played at least once, play on a regular at the local arcade, or games in which I never had played before (Or ever will play outside of cons)

Regardless of which category the games fell under, it’s always fun to go back to these games from time to time. Free play is just a bonus in all honesty. My personal favorite of the games featured here had to have been Sound Voltex, always a fine game in my book. The second being Crossbeats, a touch based rhythm game which, sadly, development ceased as of last year. It’s still a great game to go back to from time to time.

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Another portion of the game room were console setups. These had a slew of fighting games ranging from the Street Fighter Collection to Mortal Kombat 11, Soul Calibur 6 to Tekken 7, and of course an entire section of CRT televisions dedicated to Melee. Tournaments were held throughout the weekend, which, unfortunately I didn’t make it as far as I would have liked. However, those who I had met were friendly enough to me.

Back on the topic of rhythm games, I had attended a rhythm game panel that was being presented later on that afternoon. The convention was split into two venues. The main venue, at the Meadowlands Expo, had the main events while the Holiday Inn had the extra panels. This was where the Rhythm Game panel was held.

Held by RhythmCore Gaming, the rhythm game panel spoke about the history of rhythm games, mainly focusing on Bemani games, as well as touching upon mobile rhythm games briefly as well. For those reading who aren’t aware of what a “Bemani” is, essentially it’s the rhythm game division of Konami. Familiar titles include Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania IIDX, Sound Voltex, Pop’n Music, and so much more.

All in all, as far as presentation, it was a well run panel. From a technical standpoint, the Castle Point staff made sure all equipment that were in use were running well, as far as projectors for example. Crowd control was also handled quite well, to avoid overflow. From the panelist’s standpoint, I feel they had gotten the gist of what each game is and how they play. Being slightly critical, I feel some of those who were assigned to talk about a specific game went more in depth with their game than others, but I know more than anyone the challenge of running a rhythm game panel.

See, way back in 2013, I, too, ran a rhythm game panel at a convention that has long since been discontinued. A good friend of mine and I both ran the panel, yet, with technical difficulties due to the inability of the staff to assist us, as well as not informing the panel ahead of us that we were running late due to the technical difficulties, the experience gave me more of a headache than I’d like to admit.

An awesome ass couple cosplay that, sadly, did not have any social media :( I still dug it!

However, this is where I can once again praise the Castle Point staff for being on top of making sure the panel ran smoothly. I can also give respect to the RhythmCore Gaming group for tackling on a subject to appeal to a crowd that may look at an arcade rhythm game in fear and confusion. I suppose I admit I attended this panel to see how others would tackle such a topic. I give the panel a “Certified Nay’s Thumb Up.”

For the rest of the convention, I had made sure to try to get my fill in of taking pictures of as many cosplayers as I found whom caught my eye, all of whom you’ll see throughout this post. One in particular who caught my eye was a Kasumi cosplayer.

Kasumi from Persona 5 Royale by ZodiacKind

See, again, for the reader who may not know this about me. I am a huge Persona fan. When I had heard news that Persona 5 Royale was a thing and I had saw the trailer earlier that same week, I was hoping that the cosplay community would work fast.

The cosplay community would not disappoint me.

This cosplayer deserves special mention just for having this at the ready so quickly, so, for that I appreciate this so much!

Another cosplayer who I felt deserved an honorable mention was a woman who was a very good Sub-Zero, but also earlier that weekend she was Kratos. I had the chance to interview her as Sub-Zero in which the video can be found below.

Sub-Zero by Amarys Berry

I mentioned in my previous post about Winter Brawl that vendors are the underappreciated glue that holds a regional/major together. There will be a post separate from this one where I interview one of the vendors from Artist Alley, but the same sentiment is stated here. There are so many vendors in the Artist Alley with their own story and own purpose for doing what they love.

I, in fact, covered an Artist Alley vendor at the Con itself! However, I feel a paragraph alone won’t be enough to give them justice, so please be sure to read the companion article here where I discuss meeting with Bunnies & Cream! You don’t want to miss it, for sure!

In any case, the same could be said for cosplayers. Cosplayers are not so much the glue, but the exoskeleton that makes the entire convention worth it. Each cosplayer has their own story in terms of what got them into it, how long they’ve been doing it, and what made them cosplay certain characters.

Unfortunately, things can tend to go awry when you least expect it. The blade on your sword prop may hang loose, an annoying thread may linger on one’s dress, a shirt may be ripping from the seams. All of these nightmares are easily avoided by those on standby who are dedicated to make any mess a fixable one!

This was quite possibly one of the few points of interest that I saw at the convention. An “all in one” emergency repair station not unlike one you would see at a convention. I couldn’t help myself. I had to learn more. Thankfully these guys were friendly enough to answer my questions I’ve had. Big thanks!

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With all of the maintenance that goes into making the perfect, subjectively of course, cosplay, no matter if it’s been a decade or ten days, every cosplayer is equally important to the well-being of any convention.

Even moreso when cosplayers engage in violent carnage within the squared circle and go for a swinging neck cutter as a finishing move.

In what was perhaps the highlight of the convention, the Cosplay Pro Wrestling event was a fitting end to an action packed weekend. Although I had caught it while in the middle of the event, what surprised me the most was how there was an actual story arc.

From what I was able to gather, the main story arc revolved around the face, or hero, Big Boss, feuding with Team Rocket, who formed an allegiance with Princess Peach. The main event was scheduled for Big Boss vs Princess Peach for the title.

Throughout the set, one of the matches I did see in its fullest was Winter Soldier versus, and I quote, “Jeff Harley Quinn.”

As you could expect from the name alone, this Harley Quinn shared a lot of Jeff Hardy’s likeliness as far as his mannerisms and his moveset. What one may not have expected, was Winter Soldier, who bore resemblance and a moveset similar to Roman Reigns.

Spears, Twists of Fates, Leg Drops, and Swanton Bombs were present here as one would expect to see from fans of both wrestlers, yet they also brought about some of Quinn’s cunning which was what gave her the overall victory.

Harley Quinn by Catie V

Eventually, after a match of Link vs Liu Kang, the main event transpired. Paing homage to heel stables of the Attitude Era, trickery was used while Team Rocket was able to give enough damage to Big Boss to have Princess Peach secure the pin.

However, when all hope seemed lost... Mario and Luigi, decked out in “Bullet Bill Club” shirts, went out and chased Team Rocket as well as Princess Peach out of the ring. What followed after was a tag team match, with more story building now that the Bullet Bill Club entered the scene.

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There was so much more that could be said as to what transpired in this two hour finale to an otherwise action packed weekend, including one of the guys from Attack on Titan fighting Isabelle from Animal Crossing, but it was one of those events where you had to be there to experience it.

That’s the one thing I can say about the convention. For a two-day con, there was always something to experience. If you wanted to meet one of your favorite voice actresses like I had, you could do so.

If you wanted to take in the sights and experience panels and learn new things about otaku culture and the like, you could do so as well. There’s literally no right or wrong way to attend the convention and the only thing that I can recommend is to do everything you possibly can. Unfortunately some conventions don’t have that, but, with this year’s Castle Point I can definitely say that the community as well as the staff had pulled out all the stops to make it memorable.

With that said in conclusion, for this being my first anime convention of the year, it was a fantastic way to start. Thank you once again to the Castle Point staff for giving myself and my fellow members of the Geeks podcast for giving us the opportunity. I’ll definitely try to attend next year for sure.

As always, may the Lost Summer never end! Tune to us soon for the next post!

#cpac2019 #Castle Point Anime Convention

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ronaldmrashid · 6 years ago

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The Biggest Benefits Of A Stock Market Meltdown

Today is an exciting day. Today we find out whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell helps ignite the DIRE Movement by telegraphing aggressive rate hikes in 2019 to stem nonexistent inflation or whether he decides to ease off the gas given the recent meltdown in the stock market.

A market-friendly Fed Chair would take a wait and see approach before raising rates given all signs are pointing to a slowdown. However, if JP doesn’t raise rates today and doesn’t signal for more rate hikes in the future, he may cast doubt on the strength of the US economy. Alas, he is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I’ve never liked investing in stocks as much as I enjoy investing in real estate due to the volatility, occasional corporate malfeasance, and countless uncontrollable exogenous variables stocks face.

When you’re but a piddly minority investor with no say in anything, investing in stocks can sometimes feel hopeless. However, I recognize that investing in stocks is one of the best ways to build wealth over the long term, which is why I’ll always have at least 20% of my net worth in stocks.

Although losing money in the stock market is never fun, I thought I’d highlight some benefits of a stock market meltdown. After all, if it wasn’t for the global financial crisis, Financial Samurai would never have been born.

The Benefits Of A Stock Market Meltdown

More humility. People tend to brag about their wins and hide their losses. When times are good, there is an incessant amount of boasting that can get extremely annoying after a while. It’s very similar to people posting only the best moments of their lives on social media. A return to modesty is a wonderful benefit of a cratering stock market.

Reset expectations. People tend to get bearish when stocks are going down, and bullish when stocks are going up. Being a contrarian thinker by forecasting what might happen in the future is extremely difficult, but worth practicing. With lower earnings growth expectations, stocks now have a higher chance of beating beaten-down expectations, resulting in better future performance. The below chart shows that global fund managers are as pessimistic as they were during the global financial crisis, which seems excessive.

Fewer crowds. A stock market boom creates more jobs. More jobs bring more people to restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues. Due to more people, reservations and tickets are harder to come by. Everything is also more expensive. Further, traffic can become unbearable to the point where you don’t want to leave the house. Back in 2001, San Francisco was a pleasant city with lots more room thanks to the dotcom bubble pop. Now, San Francisco feels more like Manhattan, where every time you step outside feels like going to battle.

The return of mega unemployment benefits. Sometimes, you just need a break from the grind. During the last financial crisis, the federal government stepped in and offered 73 weeks of additional unemployment benefits on top of the maximum 26 weeks of unemployment benefits by the state. Receiving $450/week, or $1,900/month can sure go a long way. Add on a potential severance package and thousands of Americans might finally be able to afford that long-term vacation they so desperately need.

Development of better financial habits. When you’re losing a lot of money in the stock market, you’re forced to look at your budget to see where you can cut spending and boost saving. You’ll also spend more time analyzing your net worth because it’s suddenly at great risk. It often takes a financial shock to finally start aggressively staying on top of your finances. When times are good, it’s easy to take your financial well-being for granted.

Let’s see if we can match the Great Depression’s return this December!

Diversifying investments. A lot of folks put their entire retirement nest egg into the stock market. It’s almost like having blind faith that index investing will all work out. If they can hold on for the long-term, their investments will probably turn out OK. But tell that to the people who were shaken out during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. If only they had a broader diversification of their wealth into bonds, real estate, and alternative investments. They may have been able to more easily pull through the mire.

A catalyst to create a new income stream from nothing. Besides investing in other passive income generating investments, a bad enough stock market correction might force you to create your own income stream that is less dependent on exogenous variables outside of your control. Plenty of lifestyle businesses and traditional businesses were created during the last downturn because people simply had had enough of depending on other people for returns.

My Favorite Benefit Of A Stock Market Meltdown

Stock market meltdowns are great for those who are looking to buy stocks or buy pretty much anything that is dependent on the health of the economy. The worse the economy gets, the lower prices go.

My favorite benefit of a stock market meltdown is cheaper real estate prices. Unlike stocks, which can correct overnight, real estate usually takes years to decline given the asset class is less liquid. But I like slow-moving train wrecks because they give me the time to discover the ideal property without having to make a snap decision.

Although investment real estate can often be a defensive asset class during a downturn due to sticky rents (see the outperformance in REITs and alternative real estate investments), a primary residence may not perform as well if a homeowner gets a pay cut or loses his or her job. During the last recession, thousands of homeowners were forced to fire sale their homes at huge losses.

Therefore, those of you searching for a new primary residence should love a stock market collapse, especially while the Fed is raising rates. Already, inventory is growing in many big cities around the country. As the fear of a recession grows, further price declines are an inevitability.

4Q2018 YoY inventory up in many markets

Since 2016 I’ve been looking for my Honolulu beach home and years later, I’m absolutely thrilled to see continued weakness in residential property prices. This one home I visited in 2016 had an asking price of $4.7M. They might have accepted $4.5M if I had put in an offer. Today, I think there’s a decent chance the house could be had for $3.5M, a 25.5% decline from their original asking price.

It feels amazing to just wait and watch prices fall. This is as close to making money by doing nothing as I’ve ever seen. No wonder why economists fear deflation. If enough people just sit on their hands earning a healthy risk-free yield, self-perpetuating a decline in asset prices, economies fall apart as nobody ends up buying anything!

As the economy worsens, luxury assets that people don’t really need suffer the most. If you’ve been looking to inflate your lifestyle, a stock market collapse could be just what the doctor ordered!

Related: Why Real Estate Will Always Be More Desirable Than Stocks

Readers, anybody else excited about a stock market collapse? What are some other positives to highlight?

The post The Biggest Benefits Of A Stock Market Meltdown appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from https://www.financialsamurai.com/the-biggest-benefits-of-a-stock-market-meltdown/

#Financial Samurai

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endersshadowsnr · 7 years ago

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Bordeaux day 1 - a long walk to a U boat pen

Bordeaux is pretty; it's got a UNESCO world heritage site designation to prove it. And it is: this view over the city from a bridge across the river gives a hint of the reality; it is largely unchanged for 200 years or so.

A figure I've seen somewhere suggests that there are some 5000 buildings all of essentially the same style, though with enough variation to make it interesting, at least up to a point, although by the end of the day ploughing through vast numbers of super nice building began to make me tired.

My AirBnB flat was on the edge of the nice bit - in effect in a fringe of 19th century cheap housing that has not, unlike our experience in England, been knocked down and replaced. The result is some VERY narrow streets; walking down them on the pavement with anything in your hands is hard work, with the result that walking in the street is all but inevitable. To be fair the traffic does tend to be sparse and understanding, but it's not ideal. Yet it does seem to work.

Having viewed the city from the bridge, I went on to the Place de la Bourse, which is the city hall.

This is what it SHOULD look like in the 'right' light

Somehow on a bright autumn day the colour scheme which was more this

was less inspiring. Or perhaps I'd become seriously jaded. I wasn't wholly sure, so asked a policeman in French whether this was the Place de la Bourse, to be answered in excellent English... well - at least I'd tried.In front of the town hall - between it and the river - is 'Mirror d'eau' - a flat area of black rock with a steady flow of water across it that on a good day can produce a nice reflection. As the second picture shows, this isn't always a success. But it's a nice idea!

A relatively underadvertised tourist information office provided me with an excellent map of the city, complete with a recommended route to see 15 of the high spots. I think I did get to all of them over the next couple of days - and they are are cute - but in the end I saw a lot of other stuff too.

Following the route revealed that the sacred area of super archietecture isn't wholly sacred; there are a few modern buildings tucked away in corners.

The Place de la Parlement is a highlight; feeling more like an Italian square, it's notable that it's never had anything to do with a Parlement, which were a financial institution of the government before the revolution.

The Grand Theatre is grand

a last flowering of the ancien regime, it opened in 1780. The 12 statues on the roof parapet are the nine muses of the classical tradition along with Diana, Venus and JUNO. The presence of Juno is a surprise; the much put upon wife of the king of the Gods doesn't seem to make an obvious candidate for this position.

Up from the theatre is the monument to the Girondins,

which catching the sunlight at a distance gave me this photo

They were a relatively moderate pro-Revolution group which, based in Bordeaux, emerged in 1791 and was 'dissolved' - for which read liquidated by the terror - in 1793.

Wandering on I came to the area of the Chartrons. Actually named after the Carthusians, who left the area when they got better digs in the 17th century; see tomorrow for the details. The first old building I enocuntered was the 'Temple des chartrons',

which ironically is Protestant

and showed no signs of life...

Up the street was the Catholic Church of St Louis; this offers some great pictures. The building had me fooled; it gives every appearance of being an ancient building, but is actually a 19th century neo-Gothic creation. There are worse mistakes. There was however a hint in this sign

which was unique in the older churches I’ve encountered in France in being outside, showing that the church is the owner of the building, not the state, which is the case with all church buildings that existed at the time of the Revolution.

The area was also notable for some fascinating antique shops; a brief look was nice, but there was no way I could actually get anything home...

The next church was St Martial. Set in its own square, the only public access was to a small chapel at the end of the nave. A bust. Oh well

Walking on I got to the WWII submarine base. Sadly closed to the public at the moment, the outside is striking

i couldn't get to view this, but another's photo gives an idea of what a pen looks like.

on the side is a neon sign that my photo does no justice to

The area around the base seems to be undergoing a Salford Quays like revival, with a lot of new housing. I stopped at a cafe for a chocolate mousse, before walking on to la cite de vin

which I lacked the energy to engage with. Although an English tour focused on the architecture was available the following day, I didn't follow up. There is definitely a case for a further visit sometime!

I caught the tram

back to the centre. This was not without incident; the ticket machine works by your rotating the wheel around the select button to move the choice on the screen. I successfully broke the one on my side of the tracks; it went into software diagnostic mode. Someone spotted I was struggling and demonstrated, allowing me to buy a ticket. Rotate a wheel? Why? In this day and age when everywhere else you touch the screen? OTOH I have to admit that stylistically they are superior to the Manchester beasts of today.

According to this blog

"One of the most innovative aspects of the Bordeaux tram system is the complete lack of overhead cables for significant portions of the network. This is thanks to the use of a technique that was conceived and perfected for the Bordeaux project, first by Spie-Innorail then by Alstom: ground-level power supply (or, in French, APS, Alimentation Par Sol).

The 750 volts needed to power the trains is provided via a central rail. The central rail is split into 8-metre sections, each section being separated by neutral segments which are 3 metres long (visible in the foreground above). As the train moves, an antenna sends a signal to underground control units which are 22 metres apart. These, in turn, switch on the power supply in the sections of the rail which are located underneath the moving train, i.e. the third rail is only ever “live” when the train is travelling over it. At all other times, the rails are harmless and of no danger whatsoever to pedestrians.

However, the system is costly, adding an estimated €100,000 to the price of the trains, as well as generating a three-fold increase in infrastructure costs. APS is therefore only used in central Bordeaux and, at specific points on each line (such as the one pictured below on Rue des Frères Bonie), trams raise their overhead masts and switch back to more conventional means of power supply for the remainder of their journey. But the aesthetically-pleasing "look-no-cables" APS has been adopted for tram projects in Angers, Reims (both of which opened in 2011) and Orléans (on a new line being added to the existing network)."

I finished the day's visits by going to the Cathedral.

The visit was notable mainly for the spontaneous song from a visiting choir, reminding us that this isn't just an historic building. An unusual feature is the 'royal door' and the area in the nave separated by a low wall opposite it.

The exterior of its apse is currently being restored at the expense of the state...

Wandering home took me past the Taj Mahal

the menu appeared fairly ordinary by English standards. I wish them well.

Another feature of urban life shared

but more sweetly, the off licence has a resident cat

#Bordeaux #Bordeaux sub pens

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annamariegulinogentile-blog1 · 8 years ago

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Where To Find The Best Deals For Your Travels

Traveling is quite an adventure. If you have made a list, then check it multiple times. Then, relax and watch what pleasant surprises happen that make your trip memorable. The ideas below are things you ought to consider prior to leaving. You must plan ahead if you are going to fly. It can be difficult navigating traffic in big cities, where many airports are located. Dealing with rush hour traffic will only make it worse. Pack your suitcase the night before. Be prepared long before you have to be at the airport. Missing a flight is one of the worst things that can happen. There are some criminals in foreign cities that pretend to be police officers, so be careful. Don't give anyone your original passport, because this could set you up for theft. If you are asked to go to an office with them, walk. Perhaps the most important thing is to never allow yourself to enter a strange person's vehicle. If you go traveling abroad, be aware of your surroundings, especially when taking taxis. Make sure any taxi you get into is legitimate. Anybody can place "taxi" on a car, and you don't know if they really are or where they could take you. If the venue you want to go to offers online ticketing, take advantage of this service and print your tickets off at home. Sometimes you can get a good deal, or even if you don't, the small fee you pay is worth it, as you will get to skip the long admission lines. Another option to skip admission is by using the timed entry into the park. Make travel a learning experience for you and your family. You can travel to other countries if you prepare yourself accordingly. This could be a great opportunity to expose your children to other cultures. When you spend time abroad, you give yourself and your family a greater understanding of another culture and the world at large. Lots of travelers have to economize on lodgings. Bring a doorstop with you when staying in a hotel that makes you uneasy. This will allow you another line of protection while you are sleeping. Intruders can break a lock or chain, but the doorstop will make is much harder to get into the room. What will you do if you lose your passport? The US Dept. of State has a website at usembassy.state.gov that has contact information fro the US Embassy our consulate in foreign country of your destination. Make sure to have this information handy on your trip. Generally, a replacement passport can be prepared in a matter of days. Pre-book your parking if you will be leaving your car at the airport. Parking can be more expensive when booked the day of the flight. Make sure, though, to compare the cost of long-term parking to the cost of taking a cab to the airport. Visit the websites of major airlines, and sign up for their email newsletters. These types of e-newsletters give you vital information regarding special discounts and last-minute offers that is only available to subscribers. E-newsletters can provide http://www.cariblook.com/ you with money-saving discounts that are beneficial to your travel, even though they may also contribute a clogged inbox. Go green on your next trip by securing services that are responsible to the environment. Hotels may offer features such as linen reuse, lighting that is energy efficient, recycling services, alternative energy and low flow toilets. Tour operators, car rental companies, restaurants and many other travel service providers are also finding and implementing new ways to allow travelers to travel green. If a rental car is part of an upcoming trip, check out the fine print in your current car insurance policy. Rental car agents are well versed on how to best sell you extra insurance; the problem is you may not need what they are selling. Some of these policies will be a ripoff for what you require. Be sure to consult your policy before leaving home to avoid confusion. If you choose a cruise for your vacation, it's fun making new friends while sailing. Most ships seat you at large tables that include guests with whom you are not acquainted. Have a good time and talk with different people. This will help you enjoy your overall experience. It can be frustrating if you have problems with the travel plans. You may end up with a cancelled flight or a non-existent rental car. In these situations, there are only two people who can deal with what is going on: yourself and the agent you are speaking with. It's easy to lose your top. It is best to try to remain calm and polite. You will accomplish far more this way, and your trip will be less stressful. Don't forget your medications. When someone is packing for a trip it is easy to forget important items like medications. You won't be able to get the medication you may need. When flying, give your child a seat off the aisle, when possible. Either you or another adult should be between the aisle and the child. Children tend to be naturally curious, and reaching out when a cart is being pushed through the aisle could lead to injury. Also, if you block the way to the aisle, they will be unable to get loose. With the information here, you should rest easier during your travels and be able to deal with all the ups and downs. The best advice that you can get is to simply enjoy your ride.

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