#earn from website in canada

[mitu444]

Make $5,000 per month by from your own website.

Generating $5,000 per month from your own website is an achievable goal, but it requires careful planning, execution, and ongoing effort. Here’s a structured approach to help you reach that goal:

1. Choose a Profitable Niche

1.1 Identify Your Passion and Expertise

Choose a niche that you are passionate about and knowledgeable in. This will make it easier to create content and engage with your audience.

1.2 Research Market Demand

Use tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find out what people are searching for and identify profitable niches.

1.3 Analyze Competition

Research competitors to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and monetization strategies.

2. Build a Professional Website

2.1 Create High-Quality Content

Publish valuable, relevant content that addresses your audience’s needs and interests. This could be blog posts, videos, or tutorials.

2.2 Optimize for SEO

Use on-page and off-page SEO techniques to improve your site’s search engine rankings. Focus on keyword research, quality backlinks, and technical SEO.

2.3 Ensure Mobile Responsiveness

Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and provides a good user experience across all devices.

3. Monetization Strategies

3.1 Affiliate Marketing

Promote products or services related to your niche and earn commissions on sales generated through your referral links.

Join affiliate programs like Amazon Associates, ShareASale, or CJ Affiliate.

3.2 Advertising

Display Ads: Use ad networks like Google AdSense to place ads on your site.

Sponsored Posts: Collaborate with brands for sponsored content.

Direct Ad Sales: Sell ad space directly to businesses relevant to your niche.

3.3 Create and Sell Digital Products

E-books: Write and sell e-books related to your niche.

Online Courses: Develop and sell online courses or webinars.

Templates and Tools: Create useful templates, tools, or resources for your audience.

3.4 Offer Memberships or Subscriptions

Create a membership site with exclusive content, resources, or community access for a recurring fee.

Offer premium content or features through a subscription model.

3.5 Provide Services

Offer consulting, coaching, or freelance services based on your expertise.

4. Drive Traffic to Your Website

4.1 Content Marketing

Regularly publish high-quality, SEO-optimized content.

Use guest blogging and content syndication to reach a broader audience.

4.2 Social Media Marketing

Promote your content and engage with your audience on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

4.3 Email Marketing

Build an email list and send regular newsletters with valuable content and promotions.

Use lead magnets (e.g., free e-books, checklists) to grow your email list.

4.4 Paid Advertising

Use PPC advertising on Google Ads or social media ads to drive targeted traffic to your site.

5. Track and Optimize

5.1 Use Analytics

Monitor your website’s performance with tools like Google Analytics and track key metrics (e.g., traffic sources, conversion rates).

5.2 A/B Testing

Test different headlines, CTAs, and landing pages to optimize for higher conversion rates.

5.3 Optimize Revenue Streams

Regularly review and adjust your monetization strategies based on performance data.

6. CLICK HERE

6.1 Expand Content

Increase the volume and variety of your content to attract more visitors.

6.2 Diversify Income Streams

Explore additional monetization methods to maximize your revenue.

6.3 Automate Processes

Use tools and software to automate tasks like email marketing, social media posting, and reporting.

6.4 Collaborate and Network

Partner with influencers, other bloggers, or businesses in your niche to expand your reach and grow your audience.

By focusing on these strategies and consistently working on improving your website, you can achieve the goal of making $5,000 per month. Remember, building a successful website and generating significant income takes time, dedication, and ongoing effort.

[duckprintspress]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH, EVERYONE! We are thrilled to announce our second-annual Pride Bundles for Charity with two all-new short story bundles – 30 stories total! – that we are selling at a discount to raise money for our chosen queer charity!

Last year, our debut Pride bundles raised almost $350 for queer charities. This year, we’re back with a new General Imprint Bundle and a new Explicit Imprint Bundle, each discounted 20% from their list prices (and each including multiple stories that aren’t for sale and are usually only available to our backers on Patreon) and with 20% of the net profit going to Rainbow Railroad.

How This Works

you buy one or both bundles between now and July 8th, 2024.

we tally up all the proceeds earned and do some math-e-magic to figure out how much we’re donating!

before the end of July, we donate the raised money to Rainbow Railroad, we post the proof we’ve done so.

you get fantastic stories!

we all get that happy, glowy feeling of knowing that money has been well-spent on fantastic causes!

About the Press

Duck Prints Press is a queer-owned indie press, founded to publish original works by fancreators. We’ve been in operation for over 3 years, and in that time we’ve worked with well over 150 creators to publish six anthologies and almost 100 other stories, from shorts to novels, and we’ve got more on the works (our next anthology, our first erotica collection, will be crowdfunding within the next month!). The vast majority of our creators and their creations are queer/LGTBQIA+ (maybe even all, but we don’t out anyone and we don’t ask demography because, frankly, it’s none of our business).

25 of our authors have chosen to include their short stories in one or both of these short story bundles, and all our short story authors nominated potential charities and voted to select Rainbow Railroad as the beneficiary for our 2024 Pride Bundles.

About Rainbow Railroad

In countries around the world, LGBTQI+ people face violence and oppression simply because of who they love or who they are. Rainbow Railroad helps them get to safety! Rainbow Railroad is a global not-for-profit organization that helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety worldwide. Based in the United States and Canada, they’re an organization that helps LGBTQI+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. In a time when there are more displaced people than ever, LGBTQI+ people are uniquely vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. These factors either displace them in their own country or prevent them from escaping harm. 

Note: This charity isnot affiliated with the Press, do not know we’re doing this fundraiser, have not endorsed this in anyway and are, as such, utterly uninvolved in this beyond being the beneficiaries of our efforts! Text is from the Rainbow Railroad website.

About the Bundles

We are offering two bundles, one with 18 short stories published under our General Imprint, the other containing 12 stories published under our Explicit Imprint. The shop listings include details about and excerpts from all the stories. Here’s the gist…

Titles in the General Imprint Charity Bundle:

The Princess and the Maze by A. L. Heard

Of Loops and Weaves by Catherine E. Green

Glass Slipper: A Dance by Cedar D. McCafferty-Svec

Songs, Suppers, and Stories by D. V. Morse

Waiting for the Tide to Turn by Genevieve Maxwell

Chinaski’s Dirty Work by J. D. Harlock

Foundations by Johnathan Stern

Seal Island by K. B. Vimes

Into the Wyvern’s Lair by Mikki Madison

Sarisa by N. C. Farrell

Whispers of Atlantis: A Tale of Discovery and Belonging by Neo Scarlett

Be Not Afraid by Nicola Kapron

Awkward and Oblivious by R. L. Houck

Washer Wars: A Laundromat Feud by Samantha M. Piper

The Wayward Timekeeper by Terra P. Waters

if it’s meant to be by Tris Lawrence

Meet C(omm)ute by Violet J. Hayes

Chrysopoeia by Zel Howland

18 stories. 254 pages. 82,462 words of fiction!

Price: $22.50

Approximately 20% of the list price of this bundle will go to Rainbow Railroad.

Titles in the Explicit Imprint Charity Bundle:

Brambles, Pollen, and Other Natural Disasters by A. L. Heard

A night such as this by April Steenburgh

Theirs All Along by boneturtle

Orchidelirium by Dei Walker

Old Kings and New by Lyonel Loy

Weather the Storm by Lyn Weaver

Pretty 7 Days a Week by R. L. Houck

Adventures of the Scarlet Sentry: After Dark by Samantha M. Piper

Worlds Apart (but Still Close) by Sanne Burg

Taken at Sea by Shea Sullivan

Warm Anything You Want by Tris Lawrence

LA Photographs Itself by YF Ollwell

12 stories. 198 pages. 69,550 words.

Price: $21.50

Approximately 20% of the list price of this bundle will go to Rainbow Railroad.

Come get some great stories, support a queer-owned business this Pride, and benefit two fantastic causes. Win-win-win situations don’t get much better than this!

These bundles will only be available for one month, so don’t miss out. Visit our webstore between now and July 8th and get yours!

[spnfanficpond]

Weekly Pond Newsletter

We are into August, and those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are just hot hot hot hot hot! We're tired of complaining about the heat and would like to complain about some cold, again. 🤣

Old Business:

Angel Fish Awards - The deadline to submit nominations and earn entries for July's raffle has been extended to tonight at midnight, EDT! (Honestly, Admin Michelle probably won't get to it until later than that, so there is some grace if you're still late.) It's a whole new list of prizes, so be sure to get your nominations in!

Giveaway in the Discord server - This weekend, we're giving away a copy of Self-Publishing Websites For Authors Who Want to Conquer the World by Will O'Shire. It's a funny and easy-to-read book on how to set up an author website and more! Drop a link in the giveaway channel to a fic featuring one of the main characters as a writer of any sort to earn an entry into the drawing! Deadline is midnight tonight EDT!

Fishing For Treasures - This weekend is FFT over at the @fanficocean! August's theme is Original Characters. Head over there to read fics with new characters and see how they interact with your old favorites! We will be celebrating FFT the 17th and 18th. The deadline to submit SPN fics with OC's to us will be midnight EDT on Friday the 16th. Submit links to the blog here or drop links in the #fishing-for-treasures channel in the Discord server!

Monthly Prompt for August - The prompt is up and it's Cat vs Dog!! Click here to see all the adorable fuzzies and get inspired!

New Member Spotlight - We got a ton of new members in July! So many, we needed to add a Keep Reading cut to the post! Click here to see the post and hopefully meet a new friend!

Last week's #TweetFicTues prompts -

New Business:

Manta Ray chat in the Discord server - Admin Marie will be hanging out to chat with everyone on Friday evening, 8pm EDT. Having trouble controlling your plot bunnies? Marie has a spray bottle for that! 🤣 Let her encourage you to finish your WIPs or distract you both from writing altogether by asking her what she's baking!

SPN Rewatch: FanFic Edition - On Saturday, we will chat at noon EDT about the next two episodes in our rewatch: 2.19 Folsom Prison Blues and 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be. Why does Dean fit into prison life so well? Is it the same as how he became such a good PA in Hollywood Babylon or something else? In Dean's perfect life fantasy, why does his lawnmower have no blades? We'll ask these questions and more during our chat, so be sure to join us!

Competitive Writing Sprints - On Sunday next weekend, Manta Ray Arthur will be hosting a session of writing sprints at 2pm EDT in our Discord server. Add words to your WIP and win fabulous prizes!!

(Divider by @glygriffe!)

That's all for this week! To see all Pond events, and also other SPN-related things like conventions and online concerts, check out our Google calendar! Click here for a static view in Eastern US/Canada time (desktop only, no mobile app access, sadly), and click here to add our calendar to your own Google calendar! We try to keep it as up-to-date as possible. If there's something you want to see on the calendar that's not there (maybe a convention we missed, cast birthdays, or something similar), send us an ASK and let us know!

Hope you have a great week! - From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, and @heavenssexiestangel!

[lil-shiro]

A (hopefully) half decent guide to get into watching figure skating

With the Junior Grand Prix circuit starting this week, I wrote up a little guide for my online pals and anyone else interested in getting into the sport. I'm going to be focusing on Elite Level Skating.

Disclaimer in case I put this into the main tags: I may make a metaphors or two to F1 for comparison since I primary post F1 related things but I do have a #figure skating tag

Honestly if you want a really good write up/guide I highly recommend the website So You Want to Watch Figure Skating and they even have a Tumblr where they post updates.

If you want to read my more condensed, lower quality version, then stick around.

General Info

The International Skating Union (ISU) is the governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines (not just figure skating but speed skating as well). They're like the FIA in this case and decide/vote on regulations and changes.

Each country has their own individual national associations that administers the sport at the national level.

For example, USFS (U.S. Figure Skating), Skate Canada, etc. These associations do things like assign their skaters to competitions, decide funding, hold national level competitions etc.

Figure skating has 4* disciplines - Men's single - Women's single - Pairs - Ice Dance

*(There's also synchronized skating but I don't really keep up with it)

The two categories I'll be focusing on are: Junior and Senior. You can read about the specific age requirements here

Scoring

A final competition score is comprised of the total score of two programs (segments) added together.

A Short program (SP) score + a Free program (FP) score*

The main difference is that the SP is shorter and the FP is longer. But you can read into the different technical element requirements that I linked since they vary from disciple.

*In ice dance the SP and FP are called Rhythm dance (RD) and Free dance (FD)

To break it down even further, each total segment score is calculated based on the following:

Technical Element Score (TES) + Program Component Score (PCS) = Total segment score (TSS)

TES:

Each technical element preformed has a base value of points (following the code of points) depending on difficulty (it's comparable to gymnastics code of points scoring)

The judges then assign GOE (grade of execution) that increases or decreases the base value depending on how well it was executed

For more detailed info and to read about what makes up the PCS, the USFS has an overview here and guide here.

Competitions

I'm only going to focus on major and easily accessible competitions for this guide. The goal of competitions is to place high and get world standing points.

National Championships Typically held mid-season ish (Dec-Jan). Pretty straight forward, each country hosts their own national champion competition (most people just call them Nationals) for each discipline and age category. Depending on the country, these results may have a little or big impact on which skaters they pick to go to international championships for the rest of the season.

Grand Prix Grand Prix are a series of qualifying events (each held in a different country) that lead to the Grand Prix final. Skaters earn qualifying points at each Grand Prix event and the six highest-ranking qualifiers meet at the ISU Grand Prix Final.

A skater/pair can only participate in a maximum of 2 events. And each individual Grand Prix event can only have up to 3 skaters from the same country in each discipline.

Senior Grand Prix: 6 qualifying events

- for break down of how to qualify for the final refer to this page - skaters are eligible to be assigned to events based on results at the previous World Championships, season’s best scores from the previous and current season, and overall world standing

Junior Grand Prix: 7 qualifying events

- the same requirements apply for qualifying for the finals - eligibility wise, juniors have no minimum score required, as long as they're old enough their country can enter them - there is also no cap on the total # of participants unlike in seniors - # of spots for each nation are designated by previous world junior championship results

Europeans (European Figure Skating Championships) As the name states, Europeans is an ISU Championship in which only European skaters ("members of a European ISU Member") compete for the title. It is regarded as quite prestigious since it's the sport's oldest competition (first held in 1891).

# of competitors per country at Euros is determined based on results from the previous year

Four Continents Championships (4CC) 4CC is like Europeans but with all the other continents [Americas (North America and South America), Africa, Asia and Oceania]. Skaters must belong to a non-European member nation of the ISU.

Each nation can have up to 3 skaters from the same country in each discipline

Each skater must have obtained the minimum TES score requirement in the current or previous season

*Europeans/4CC are senior level only events

Junior/Senior World Championships Aka: the most important competition of the season! (Other than when the olympics happen)

Just like Europeans, # of spots each nation is allocated depends on results from the previous year. This is how they're determined (wording from this reddit post):

A country can have between one and three skaters/teams per discipline.

Each country automatically gets one spot in each discipline.

To get a second spot next year, that skater/team has to place in the top ten. 

To get a third spot, that skater/team has to place in the top two. 

For countries who already have multiple placements, both skaters or the top 2/3 entries: 

must add up to ≤13 with their placements to secure/maintain a third spot (ie. 8th and 5th, 3rd and 9th, etc.)

or ≤28 to secure/maintain a second spot. (ie. 10th and 8th, 5th and 20th, etc.)

How to Watch

All the competitions I mentioned are live-streamed on the ISU YouTube channel. They also stay up so you can watch replays if a competition is held at an inconvenient time!

The Junior Grand Prix events were streamed on the ISU Junior YouTube channel but this year they will also be streamed on the main channel. You can still watching replays all the way from 2011 on it tho!

Occasionally you may find yourself Geo-blocked from a stream. I find this only happens when a competition is being hosted in your country because they want you to use the local streaming/TV service. For example, I'm based in Canada so I'm blocked from the Skate Canada GP event on YouTube because they're streaming it on CBC. I was also blocked from the World's 2024 Youtube stream because it was hosted in Canada. This includes full replays as well. But this is really easy to bypass with a VPN.

Refer to this page for more info

Resources

Here are a few resources to keep up with schedules, timing, standings etc.

Skating Scores: Overview of events, scores, and world standings

@/fskatecomptimes: Time-zone adjusted schedules for ISU-recognized figure skating events

So You Want to Watch Figure Skating: Recommending them again because they're awesome

Jackie Wong: Figure skating analyst, provides updates/live tweets from events

Notes :)

I hope this helps and is somewhat understandable. If you have any questions feel free to send me an ask or DM!

My advice is to just start watching and things will come naturally. I never thought I would be able to identify any jumps aside from an axel...but here I am watching competitions, finding myself calling under rotations on a 3T...

This season is the pre-olympic season and there's lots of skaters returning from injury/break so it should be exciting!

My figure skating tag

My favourite discipline is women's but I try to watch everything

I'm desperate for a Canadian skating revival (2018 you were everything)

Favourite ice dance team: Evgenia Lopareva / Geoffrey Brissaud

Current fave skaters (senior): Chaeyeon Kim, literally all of team Japan, Adam Siao Him Fa, Andreas Nordebäck, Alysa Liu + many more

*I would like to mention that just like any other sport there are a lot of issues within figure skating. It's an environment with a lot of young people whom are susceptible to mistreatment/harassment/abuse, so I just wanted to bring that to light since new viewers will probably discover shocking things that have happened/are happening. And overall raise awareness about being mindful viewers like not commenting on a skater's body for example and just advocating for the increased safety of the sport

There is also most definitely politicking involved when it comes judging, but we as viewers will never know how rampant and the details surrounding it. Some posts explaining it more here and here.

[devilsupdates]

Update on trade

Again this is coming from ESPN and the Devils app

We got a goalie!!!!

The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has acquired goaltender Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for New Jersey’s conditional third-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. Montreal will retain 50% of Allen’s salary both this year and in 2024-25, the last year of his contract. The announcement was made by President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.

The conditions on the pick are as follows: if Allen plays in 40 regular-season games in the 2024-25 season and his club qualifies for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 2025 third-round pick becomes New Jersey’s 2025 second-round selection.

Allen, 33, joins New Jersey after spending the last four seasons with Montreal. The 6’2”, 195lbs. goaltender recorded a 41-68-15 career record with the Canadiens, while also earning three shutouts and a 3.30 goals-against average (GAA). Allen posted 6-12-3 record in 21 games this season for Montreal and owns a 6-1-0 career record playing at Prudential Center.

Before Allen was traded to Montreal on Sept. 2, 2020, he played in parts of eight seasons with the St. Louis Blues from 2011-12 to 2019-20. Allen earned 148 career wins with St. Louis, which ranks second all-time for Blues franchise history. The Fredericton, New Brunswick native logged his first career regular season start on Feb. 13, 2013, in a 4-3 win at Detroit. He recorded a career-high 33 wins in 2016-17 with St. Louis and earned a career-high six shutouts in 2015-16.

The veteran netminder also carries Stanley Cup Playoff experience, after playing in six postseasons with St. Louis, and was a member of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship team. Allen has played in 29 career postseason contests and owns an 11-12 overall record with a 2.06 GAA.

Born on Aug.7, 1990, St. Louis selected Allen in the second round, 34th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft. He also represented Canada on the international stage at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) U18 World Junior Championship (WJC) in 2007-08 and 2009-10. Allen helped Canada win a Gold Medal in 2008 and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He also earned a Silver Medal with Canada at the 2010 WJC.

[athenaofnight]

There is ZERO information about Canadian Horses on this platform. It kind of makes my heart ache. I guess it’s my job to fix that. Here is a brief introduction. I’m quoting a website. I’ll do more personal blogging later on. This is just so everybody can get a feel for what the breed is about. This is my heart breed for equines.

✨Le Cheval Canadien/The Canadian Horse✨

“The Cheval Canadien is truly the unsung hero of North American horse breeds. The breed’s origins trace to 1665 when the first horses, likely from Normandy and Brittany, were sent to Canada by King Louis XIV of France. Over the next a century, a distinct breed developed from this founding stock. The fittest not only survived, but thrived despite harsh winters, hard work, and scarce feed, earning them the nickname “Le Petit Cheval de Fer” or “The Little Iron Horse.

A calm and willing disposition, excellent feet, stamina and strength, made it an ideal cavalry horse, and in the 1860s Canadians were sold by thousands to the U.S. Army to fight in the American Civil War. Americans eagerly bought up quality Canadian stallions to improve their own stock, and the Canadian Horse appears the early stud books of the Morgan, Standardbred, and Tennessee Walking Horse breeds. The Canadian Horse was threatened not only by exports, but by crossbreeding. By the close of the 19th century, Canadian officials recognized that the breed was in danger of being lost, and stepped in to develop breed standards and establish the first studbook.

Although these efforts resulted in a resurgence, the reprieve was temporary. Throughout the 1900s, as farms were mechanized, breed numbers diminished to the point to where it was virtually unknown outside of the province of Quebec. By the 1970s, only 400 registered Canadian Horses remained in existence, and less than five registrations were being recorded per year. Since that time, dedicated breeders have worked diligently to save the breed from extinction and to preserve the qualities of type, temperament, and hardiness that made the breed famous throughout North America 150 years ago.

The breed slowly made a comeback, hitting a population high of about 6000 horses in the early 2000s. Unfortunately with the economic downturn of 2008, it once again began dwindling and many larger and long-time breeders retired. Today the number of actively breeding mares is critically low, and only 100-150 new foals have been registered annually in recent years. This makes CHHAPS’ mission more important than ever.”

-All is quoted from https://chhaps.ca/about-the-breed/, our official breed organization website. It’s a helpful resource to showing you how the breed community works, and how you can support.

CHHAPS stands for “Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society.” Although I don’t compete my horse anymore, and we haven’t been able to attend a lot of ambassador events (the sponsorship hasn’t been there since pre-Covid), I have renewed my membership every single year, and will continue to do so, even when he’s gone, to give support to the breed.

Since COVID began, numbers have plummeted, and are continuing to. Also there’s some “color breeding,” specifically trying to attain the palomino coat color, “INTENSE EYEROLL* happening within the breeding stock, not taking into account type/temperament/function/genetic diversity. It’s disgusting.

It costs $35. You DO NOT need to own a Canadian, or even ride horses, to support the breed. Heavily consider supporting ❤️

We also have a Canadian Horse-specific rescue organization too, “Canadian Horse Rescue and Re-Home Society.”

[scarletsaphire]

tell me about kit!

*cracks knuckles* You have fallen into my trap. Prepare to hear about the singular best character that has ever been created.

Kit Baxter, also known as the Flying Squirrel, is the sidekick to Canada's greatest superhero, the marvelous masked man known only as the Red Panda from the radio show Adventures of the Red Panda. She is also his chauffeur for his secret identity (which remains secret even to the listeners for most of the show.) One other important bit of context is that the show is set during the great depression in Toronto, Canada, so life kinda sucks ass a little bit.

Kit is a first generation Russian immigrant, her father ran a boxing ring and taught her to drive. She's quick witted and quick on her feet, can throw a mean right hook, and drives better than most other people in the city, which earned her a spot as a taxi driver. Panda ended up in her car in his Secret Identity, asked her to drive (recklessly) to a crime scene he wanted to stop, and she, obviously, refused. She wasn't going to be running around like an idiot for some rich asshole. Panda than waved some money in her face to try and get her to listen, and what did she do? She said no, because she isn't some trained dog that'll bark for some rich asshole the moment he gives her a bone. She'd rather go hungry tonight than do that kind of shit for him, and if he's gonna act like he doesn't even know what manners are, he can get the hell out of her cab. (Once he says sorry and asks nicely, than she puts the petal to the metal.)

She's also like. So smart and cool and good with people, she's a jokester and flirtatious (mostly with Panda because she likes flustering him, its really funny) but she's allowed to be all of those things without ever feeling like "Oh she's just there to be the attractive side kick." Kit is very much her own person, its just that she happens to like being a thorn in Panda's side and sometimes that means batting her eyelids (and climbing up walls in a skintight cat suit).

Kit became the Flying Squirrel after, and I quote "I figured out your secret identity and then blackmailed you into letting me play." She cares so, so deeply about the people of her city, especially the people on the streets she comes from because she did not grow up in a nice area of town, and she is constantly trying to fight for the most vulnerable parts of town, despite many of them looking down on her as a woman, especially a woman in her field. She never takes anyone's shit, either towards herself or anyone else, and she is always ready to throw hands with someone she thinks deserves it.

(I'm going to be getting into spoiler stuff underneath the cut. I am asking so very nicely for you to listen to the Adventures of the Red Panda. They're on spotify here ad free, and you can also find them on their website decoderringtheatre.com along with all of their other shows and their audiobooks. It truly is one of the most impressive, fun, and thrilling stories I have ever read, watched, or heard, and it is Criminally Underrated. If you think this is even like. A Tiny Bit Interesting, throw on the first episode, its only 20 minutes, see if you like it. If you don't mind spoilers, or ended up not liking it, keep going.)

Something that I really, really like about Kit is how she's handled later on in the story, once we get into WWII. Her and Panda get married, and she ends up pregnant right as he ends up MIA (presumed dead by most of the world) and she is left to try and defend all of Toronto largely by herself with a child on the way and Archangel, a nazi spy whose manipulating p much everything, bringing havoc upon her city.

It would be super easy to let her fade into the background during all of this. It would be so, so easy to write her off as so many different things do as a mother and a wife and leave her at that. But they don't. She steps up as the mastermind behind everything, pulling the strings of their connections they've forged over the years, continues to fight in her suit until she physically can't anymore, working as hard as she can in and out of costume to make sure that her city, because with Panda gone (not dead. She never believes he's dead for a second and has and will fight anyone who says otherwise.) It is her city and her people and she will not let it fall to ruin. She will not let anyone else, Nazi or American or Canadian or anyone take her city from her.

Katya Baxter is a wonderful character who is just so, so funny and amazing and if anybody knew what the Adventures of the Red Panda were she would be an absolute HIT of a character on here. I love her so, so much.

[radarsteddybear]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: a real, bona fide flying saucer.  Because it was the 1950s and they had to try to make one at least once, right?

The Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar was first put into development when Canada decided they wanted a supersonic, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter-bomber.  As per the museum website, the idea was that

the exhaust from turbojet engines [would] drive a circular “turborotor” which produced thrust. By directing this thrust downward, the turborotor would create a cushion of air (also known as “ground effect”) upon which the aircraft would float at low altitude. When the thrust was directed toward the rear, the aircraft would accelerate and gain altitude.

After the Avrocar had been in development for a little while, the Canadian government decided that the project was too expensive and withdrew funding.  Not wanting to let their hard work (and earning potential) go to waste, Avro Canada shopped the project around to the U.S. government, and the Army and Air Force agreed to take it on.  Each branch of the service wanted different things out of the aircraft: the Army wanted a subsonic, all-terrain troop transport and reconnaissance craft, while the Air Force wanted a VTOL aircraft that could hover below enemy radar then zoom up to supersonic speed.  Avro Canada was like "No problem!  We can do both!"  Unfortunately, they accomplished neither.  Once the aircraft gets more than three feet off the ground, it starts to pitch and roll uncontrollably, and instead of reaching supersonic speeds, it can only go about 35 mph.  The project was cancelled at the end of 1961, and the Avrocar arrived at the museum in 2007.

So I guess it's debatable whether or not we can call it a "real, bona fide flying saucer," since it doesn't exactly fly very well.  But hey, at least we can say we tried!

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

November 8, 2023

Mr. Schmidt: Now, Mr. Speaker, if I offered you a job that paid you $500,000 a year to do zero work for two years, you would be a fool not to take it. You would be a terrible manager of the public purse if you offered executives that worked for you that kind of pay package, and that is exactly the kind of pay package that the University of Alberta president received when I was Minister of Advanced Education. In 2016 Indira Samarasekera earned over $500,000 for doing zero work at the University of Alberta. In 2017 she also earned over $500,000 to do zero work at the University of Alberta. Now, why is that the case?

Well, the practice of paying university presidents grew so out of control under the PC government that these kinds of fat pay packages were routine for university presidents, and it was so obscene, Mr. Speaker, that the people of Alberta threw the PCs out on their behinds in 2015 and elected a government that committed to bringing in fair public-sector compensation, and in fact we did that.

Now, it’s interesting to hear the members for Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright and Calgary-Lougheed talk about leveling the playing field: oh, we’re only going to be allowing universities to compete with other universities for attraction of the top talent in the country. Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. The maximum salary for the University of Alberta president and the University of Calgary president right now is $558,750. That’s right on the government’s website, and that is the pay package that I brought in when I was minister. That is more money than the president of the University of Toronto makes. That’s more money than the president of McGill University makes. That’s more money than the university president at the University of British Columbia makes. In fact, at $558,750, the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary presidents make more money than any other university president in the entire country.

What is this government saying to the students at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary? That their tuition has to go up so that presidents’ pay packages can go up, Mr. Speaker, and that is not fair. How much are they likely to go up? Well, we only have to look to the past, and I will refer again to Indira Samarasekera, who, when she left the University of Alberta in 2015, earned more than a million dollars. That is more than the president of Harvard University makes today. The sixth-ranked university in Canada was paying their president more than Harvard University. Let that sink in for a minute.

The members opposite are saying: “You know what? We need to go back to those days. We need to make sure that our university presidents can earn a million dollars a year.” What’s even more offensive than that is that not only was she making a million dollars a year, but when Indira Samarasekera renegotiated her contract with the University of Alberta in 2010, she worked into her contract not only a million-dollar pay package but a $200,000 profit on a house that she had bought four years prior. When she moved to assume the presidency at the University of Alberta, she bought a house in the neighbourhood for $750,000, and when she renegotiated her contract with the University of Alberta in 2010, she sold it to the university for $930,000, a tidy profit of $200,000 that didn’t even show up in her annual compensation. That’s on top of the million dollars a year that she took home from 2010 to 2015. And that’s exactly the kind of compensation that these guys want to bring back. It is shameful, Mr. Speaker.

[softgaycontent]

Please share everything you know about MLMs I love learning things

Thank you for asking! I’ll start with a TL:DR for everyone: Never join an MLM. Over 99% of participants LOSE money (and time! And friends!). 

A Multi-Level Marketing Company (MLM), also sometimes called Direct Selling, is essentially a barely-legal pyramid scheme. Sales reps can either make money by selling a product or by recruitment of new sales reps.

MLMs make money off of people joining the MLM, even if those sales reps never sell anything, because the sales reps have to buy the product from the company before they can re-sell it. Therefore, they focus a LOT on recruitment (pyramid scheme). 

Some famous MLMs you may have heard of:  Amway, Mary Kay, Herbalife, Avon

We can prove the 99% Lose Money number pretty easily. If you are to only learn one fact to teach others, then look up Amway (the biggest MLM)’s Income Disclosure statement, which they publish themselves, on their own website. Screencap below:

This is PRE-business expenses that sales reps pay out of pocket, and still the average annual GROSS income made by the TOP 10% of the company is LESS than minimum wage. After expenses, you can see yourself how almost everybody loses money. (The money people lose goes to the ppl at the VERY top of the company; it’s not like when a normal small business fails.)

Below the cut is a lot more info, although not close to all I have collected.

Screencap summary of Amway's Income Disclosure:

Half of the TOP 1% made less than 55K pre-expense; studies show even they generally LOST money, or made very very little after expense (the top 0.5% actually makes any money, and the 0.05% make a LOT of money)

The TOP 10% earns, on average, LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE ($15K), with less than half of the TOP 10% making over $4.6K PRE-EXPENSES

Less than half of the TOP 50% makes more than $631 A YEAR. PRE-EXPENSE.

(Also, they cut the bottom 1/3 out entirely, so the 50% referenced is 50% OF the top 2/3. I’m actually OK with this, as long as it’s acknowledged, for better reporting. The bottom 1/3 were “inactive” and possibly not trying to participate in sales. The top 2/3 still sucks.)

I made a very sloppy visual to restate the data, in case it helps anyone:

-

Another example is the Mary Kay public income disclosure [for Canada] (another very popular MLM). 

Again, pre-expense, though also pre-retail sales (more in paragraph below)

The top 0.05%(!) makes average commissions of $124K

The level below that, Independent Sales Director, only 1.7% of the company, makes less than Canadian Minimum wage in commissions

98% of the company, very clearly, makes anywhere from $0 per year, to at most an average of $206 DOLLARS A YEAR (pre-expense, pre-sale)

Mary Kay works a little differently than Amway, where once you purchase a product, MK truly does not know or care what happens to it at all. If all of these people actually sold all the products they bought, it’s possible they made supplemental income, but data shows that most LOSE money on actual sales.

Let’s focus on Mary Kay for a moment, because their structure means the ONLY money the company ever receives was given to them BY their sales reps. So they’re easy to follow.

-

Why do sales reps lose money on sales?

The market is oversaturated. They have 3.5 MILLION reps trying to sell the same product* - meaning they either can’t sell, or they have to greatly discount the product

Many MLM products are more expensive than the same product elsewhere

They constantly refresh their line of products, so the inventory reps already have is now worth less and harder to sell

Sales reps must buy a minimum amount of new product each month to keep certain perks, even if they haven’t yet sold their old product (min $225, with much higher amounts sometimes necessary to keep status)

*What makes MLMs legal (thanks to lobbying, mostly) is that they HAVE a product, which sales reps buy from the company. I’m careful not to call these people employees, as they are technically independent consultants, and thus don’t receive employee benefits... like a guaranteed income, or healthcare, or anything. If you google “Mary Kay employees”, you will find data on their ACTUAL employees, who do actually make money. This is clearly not the case for their sales reps (table above). Mary Kay has about 5K ACTUAL employees, and 3.5 MILLION sales reps. 

-

So how do sales reps make ANY commissions?

If you convince people to join Mary Kay, MK will give you a cut (commission) of what they spend at the company on product

Since this is the main way to make money, reps are incentivized to recruit as much as possible

They are also incentivized to LIE about how much money they’re making, so people will stay with the company. I’ve read stories of reps renting a fancy car from time to time to convince the people below them that they’re making money

Clearly, thanks to the income disclosure, we can see that they aren't making much money on commissions, either

-

How are sales reps buying more product if they lose money being in an MLM?

Reps are encouraged to dip into their savings, with the promise of a greater payout later. If they don’t have any, they can open Mary Kay CHASE VISA card, and charge all the products they will never re-sell to it

Many people end up in heavy debt

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t track what they’re spending vs earning until it’s far too late

-

What else do reps lose?

Time: Selling is actually a very small part of the business. A lot of time is spent FINDING people to sell to, organizing classes, restocking inventory, recruiting new members, traveling, going to conferences, and more. 

Mary Kay’s motto is, “God First, Family Second, Job Third”, to imply that this is something you can pick up part-time, but that’s simply not true

Relationships: Most people try to sell to and/or recruit their friends and family first, which can put a strain on relationships. Additionally, due to debt and/or need to borrow money to buy more products, many have damaged relationships with those close to them, including their spouses, who share the debt.

-

How else does Mary Kay make money?Don’t worry, it’s not all from sales reps buying their products! (Sarcasm. Please worry.)

Website + ability to process credit cards: This is essentially an annual membership fee - to access the MK website to buy their products (to re-sell), or to take credit cards as payment, you pay an annual amount to Mary Kay

Business Cards: More petty costs

Conferences: Sales reps are greatly encouraged to pay to attend sales conferences to learn more about how to be a great salesperson. (BONUS: you will encounter many cult-like tactics here, to keep you IN the MLM)

Jackets: Congrats! You’ve been promoted and you are now permitted to wear the Red Jacket! It costs $100. If you get promoted to NSD(?), you get to wear a fancy suit that changes every year and costs $1,000 each year!

-

How else does Amway make money? Bonus because they are egregious

Sales Reps replacing everything they own: Amway sells a LOT of different things. How can you sell anything if you haven’t tried it? If you really want to succeed at Amway, get rid of EVERYTHING you own that Amway also sells. Make sure everything you own is sold by Amway (people do actually follow these instructions! Cult-like tactics are used)

Training Materials: They make a lot of money off of selling training materials to their sales reps. Aren’t making money? It’s because you don’t WANT to succeed, clearly, if you aren’t buying all the training materials you can get your hands on

Haha maybe more than you've bargained for. I wrote this all at once late at night, but I'll look it over later to check for any potential errors and link more sources.

[nanowrimo]

30 Covers, 30 Days 2022: Day 21

It may still be November, but looks like Christmas is coming early for day twenty one! Mainstream novel Twelve Cookies of Christmas by Kelly J Erickson shows us just how chaotic the holiday season can get! This cover was designed by Amelia Nash.

Twelve Cookies of Christmas

As their annual Christmas cookie exchange approaches, the twelve families on Evergreen Circle face trials, triumphs and a few life-changing events while trying to bake. Each story is inspired by a line from "The 12 Days of Christmas". There will be a cancer scare, a surprise proposal, an unexpected pregnancy, a school concert, and a food fight over the last box of butter. Recipes are included. Shhh... Even Grandma's top secret Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

About the Author

Kelly J Erickson was born and raised in a small ranching town surrounded by a big family and many animals. She now lives in a small house in a big city with a big dog. She started telling stories while in preschool, where she discovered how to decipher those magic squiggly black symbols in books. Many years later, she still believes in the magic of the written word. After writing many short stories and books for kindergartners to middle schoolers, she is beginning to try her hand at books for adults.

About the Designer

Small-town, Canadian-born and always seeking to immerse herself in as much creativity as possible, designer and creative strategist Amelia Nash now works and lives in New York City. After over a decade of design and marketing experience in Canada, Amelia made the move to the Big Apple to earn her Masters in Branding degree from the School of Visual Arts. She currently works as the Brand & Marketing Manager for the Masters in Branding program and relishes any opportunity to thread design, art, branding, culture, illustration, and strategy into compelling work. She is currently on the hunt for New York's best hot dog and enjoys exploring all the niche corners the big city has to offer. See more of Amelia's illustration work on Instagram @wwut_the_faq, connect with her on LinkedIn, and check out her website.

[darrylhudson86]

What's the best way to earn money online for the first time?

1/ Affiliate marketing is the best way to make money online for first-timers because it requires minimal investment and no product creation. You can start with just a website or social media platform and promote products from established brands. 💻💰

2/ With affiliate marketing, you have the potential to earn passive income. Once you set up your affiliate links and drive traffic to them, you can continue to earn commissions on sales without constantly creating new content. It's like making money while you sleep! 💤💸

3/ According to a study by Forrester Consulting, affiliate marketing drives 16% of all e-commerce sales in the US and Canada. This shows the massive potential for earning with affiliate marketing, especially for beginners. 📈💵

4/ Another benefit of affiliate marketing is the flexibility it offers. You can choose products and brands that align with your interests and values, making the process more enjoyable and authentic for both you and your audience. 🌟🤝

5/ If you're ready to dive into the world of affiliate marketing, I highly recommend reading the ebook "Affiliate Gold." It's packed with valuable tips, strategies, and real-life examples to help you succeed in this lucrative industry. Get your copy now and start your journey to financial freedom! 📚💫

[fuckyeahilike]

I love you, Iceland

October 24, 2023

HUSAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Schools, shops, banks and Iceland’s famous swimming pools shut on Tuesday as women in the volcanic island nation — including the prime minister — went on strike to push for an end to unequal pay and gender-based violence.

Icelanders awoke to all-male news teams announcing shutdowns across the country, with public transport delayed, hospitals understaffed and hotel rooms uncleaned. Trade unions, the strike’s main organizers, called on women and nonbinary people to refuse paid and unpaid work, including chores. About 90% of the country’s workers belong to a union.

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdóttir said she would stay home as part of the strike — “kvennaverkfall” in Icelandic — and expected other women in her Cabinet would do the same.

Iceland, a rugged island of around 380,000 people just below the Arctic Circle, has been ranked as the world’s most gender-equal country 14 years in a row by the World Economic Forum, which measures pay, education, health care and other factors.

No country has achieved full equality, and there remains a gender pay gap in Iceland.

Tuesday’s walkout, running from midnight to midnight, was billed as the biggest since Iceland’s first such event on Oct. 24, 1975, when 90% of women refused to work, clean or look after children, to voice anger at discrimination in the workplace.

In 1976, Iceland passed a law guaranteeing equal rights irrespective of gender. Since then there have been several partial-day strikes, most recently in 2018, with women walking off the job in the early afternoon, symbolizing the time of day when women, on average, stop earning compared to men.

Iceland’s chools and the health system, which have female-dominated workforces, said they would be heavily affected. National broadcaster RUV said it was reducing television and radio broadcasts for the day, and reported that only one bank branch in the country was open.

Gatherings on Tuesday were held across Iceland, the largest in Reykjavik, where much of the capital’s center was closed to traffic and tens of thousands gathered on the grassy Arnarhóll hill for a rally.

Speakers listed grim facts about economic inequality and sexual violence in Iceland, ending by asking, “You call that equality?” The crowd thundered back: “No!”

“We have not yet reached our goals of full gender equality and we are still tackling the gender-based wage gap, which is unacceptable in 2023,” Jakobsdóttir told news website mbl.is. “We are still tackling gender-based violence, which has been a priority for my government to tackle.”

Jakobsdóttir’s Cabinet is evenly split between male and female ministers, and nearly half of lawmakers in Iceland’s parliament, the Althingi, are women.

But while women in Iceland have pushed or broken the glass ceiling to top jobs — from bishop to leaders of the national wrestling association — the lowest-paying jobs, such as cleaning and child care, are still predominantly done by women.

The work, essential to Iceland’s tourism-dominated economy, also depends heavily on immigrants, who on the whole work longer hours and take home the lowest salaries. Around 22% of the female workforce is foreign-born, according to Statistics Iceland.

“Foreign women are more vulnerable,” said Alice Clarke, an artist and designer from Canada who has lived in Iceland for 30 years. “Hopefully what is being done today will help to change that.”

Iceland’s 1975 strike inspired similar protests in other countries including Poland, where women boycotted jobs and classes in 2016 to protest a proposed abortion ban. In Spain, women staged a 24-hour strike in 2018 on March 8, International Women’s Day, under the theme “If we stop, the world stops.”

Spain’s acting equality minister, Irene Montero, said Tuesday that the 2018 strike was inspired by Iceland’s 1975 walkout and expressed full support for the latest protest.

[brostateexam]

From the outside, Tyler Gallagher had it all: a $3.5 million house in Beverly Hills, two cars, a gorgeous wife, a flourishing business, and one of the hottest esports teams in the country.

A high-school dropout who lived in a homeless shelter at age 16, Gallagher told anyone who would listen about how he took $5,000 and turned it into a successful company investing his clients’ retirement accounts in precious metals. Within a decade, he claimed to have done nearly $1 billion in investments, and boasted celebrity clients including Laura Ingraham and Lars Larson.

His company, Regal Assets, earned top ratings on review sites, and Gallagher himself was a cited expert, publishing articles online for Forbes and Rolling Stone. Inc. magazine rated his company one of the fastest growing in the country—an honor previously bestowed on the likes of Microsoft and Jamba Juice. According to its website, the company had offices in Los Angeles, London, and Dubai, and was the first company licensed to sell cryptocurrency in the Middle East.

“Today is a milestone on my journey as the CEO of Regal Assets and I could not be more proud of our unbelievable team,” Gallagher said in a press release about the Inc. 500 announcement. “To come from Canada and create the success I have with Regal Assets in the heart of the financial collapse truly shows that the American dream is still alive.”

And then one day last October, Tyler Gallagher—and his gold—disappeared.

[actuallysaiyan]

Hi so I hope you will kindly share this information to your followers as the internet is in serious trouble!

The KOSA law and EARN IT act could get Anime and Manga banned in the US. Due to it having “gore and violence”

It’ll also ban fanfics and any mature content.

The bill is being disguised as a way to protect minors but it will ban all of this for ALL of us.

To stop this please please look that the link I’m sharing. The link allows you to email your state representatives, after if you submit your phone number you will get a call that will connect you to all your representatives offices, you will get a script all you have to do is read off what is said.

Please please take this seriously. If this passes. The anime community will be DONE.

https://www.badinternetbills.com/

Hi there, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll be looking into it. As for giving out my phone number on that website, I don't know that I feel comfortable to do that. But I'll look into it to see if there is a way for me to sign a petition. As I am from Canada, I'm wondering if this will affect my country as well. If anyone else has any more information on this, please send my way and reblog this for visibility.

[rajasimmigration]

Tips for Choosing Immigration Consultant

There has been a rise in the number of people taking trips to other nations. Historically, people have left their home countries in search of better opportunities. Still, it takes time to think of all the paperwork involved in an international trip. And if you are planning for Alberta and looking to move, here is something to know. 

Complications arise from the need to process the visa, examine the legal requirements and evidence, and adhere to the laws and regulations. To improve the effectiveness of our procedure, we need the advice of the top-tier best Immigration consultant in Alberta. 

However, with many qualified and unlicensed consultants available, choosing the right one for your visa application will be challenging yet crucial. This article will provide helpful pointers to help you locate the finest immigration counsel for your needs.

Tips to Find Best Immigration consultant in Alberta

Verify Their Qualifications

The immigration procedure, regardless of your expectations, will be complicated. As a result, it is highly recommended that you only work with a Canadian immigration consultant registered with the appropriate authorities (RCIC). 

RCICs are advisors who have finished an accredited immigration consultant training program. Their membership in the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants is in good standing, and they are active members (CICC). 

As a result, you can rest assured that you'll consistently be presented with appropriate choices and data that can influence your judgment.

Looking up the Canadian immigration consultant you're considering on the CICC website is a quick and easy way to confirm whether or not they have met the educational requirements to practice as a registered Best Immigration consultant in Alberta.

Get some references

It's possible that after your initial phone call or in-person meeting with an immigration consultant, you'll feel comfortable hiring them. Remember to check the citations!

Please inquire with the immigration expert about some of their past clients. You may learn more about the company's reliability as a business partner by speaking with some of its current or former customers. 

It's also a good idea to talk to people who have worked with the consultant you're considering to learn about their experiences and identify any trends that may help you make your final choice.

Examine Their Online Standing

Google and JustDial are good places to start looking into the background of a potential immigration consultant. If their rating is about what you'd expect, it's OK to move further with them. 

In addition, read the immigration agent's published articles on their website to learn more about the company's mission and principles. There will also be reviews from satisfied customers for you to peruse. Finally, research the immigration consultancy's offerings and examine any accolades they may have earned.

Ensure they have the appropriate skills

It's been said, and it's true, that progress is slow but steady. Thus, it is recommended that no payments be made quickly while working with immigration experts. Checking the consultant's credentials is necessary before proceeding with the visa application procedure. 

The appropriate question is regarding the paperwork, schedule, and fees involved. Be bold about stating what you need, too.

Check the website and Cases

Suppose you want your immigration application to have a good chance of being accepted. In that case, you should look at the success percentages of the issues that your selected immigration firm has successfully handled. 

Check at the selected Canada permanent resident consultants website and read up on everything there, including the applicant reviews. Please look at their past performance and determine whether they improved their services for the applicants.

Where to Go?

Hope these tips will help you to find the finest immigration consultant for your needs. If you are still having difficulty, look no further to Rajas Immigration. When you hire them, they will handle everything related to immigration, so you don't have to worry about a thing. They are the Best Immigration consultant in Alberta to look upon. Hang up on their website for more details!