#even when we do get our answers its only always 90 percent of the whole thing

[randomfandomss]

They way the writers have been planting little seeds for what's to come in the future, I loveee itttt!!!!!

[whump-a-la-mode]

Villian-Sicle | Part 3

I didn’t expect to continue this beyond part 2, but I’ve come to love these characters. I hope you guys enjoy! Heed the warnings, this one contains a lot of medical stuff.

CW//Superhero whump, villain whumpee, hypothermia, hospital setting, cardiac arrest, blood, dialysis, talk of death, talk of “pulling the plug”

Taglist:

@whatwhumpcomments

@sola-whumping

@professional-idiocy

The machine was too loud.

Talking over it made Leader feel that they were tearing apart their vocal chords. Then again, the stress of the situation wasn’t exactly aiding in that respect-- they could practically feel their tense muscles tightening around their windpipe.

“They’re going to be okay, then?” Their tone was rushed and pressing.

“I don’t want to guarantee anything.” The Head Doctor bit their lip. “Really, I can’t guarantee anything. By all accounts, the patient should already be dead. Human body temperatures shouldn’t be able to get that low...”

“Humans shouldn’t be able to fly, either.” Medic shook their head, gesturing at Leader, who tucked in their wings, not even realizing that they had unfolded. “But here we are.”

“There’s nothing particularly unusual about their physical anatomy, though?” Head Doctor raised an eyebrow.

“Enhanced people have different anatomy by default. Higher heart rate, for one thing.” Medic provided, glancing towards the heart monitor sitting next to the hospital bed. The spikes were shallow, and abnormally close together, but none the less steady.

“Yes.” Head Doctor dipped their head. “Well, then, that would explain how our patient is still breathing.”

“They should remain that way, then, right?” Leader fretted.

“I have high hopes. We’re doing everything we can. It’s up to them, now. If their body temperature can raise before it’s too late.”

The conversation ended on the same worried note as it had began, and the groups’ gazes seemed to unanimously drift downwards, as if they had simply forgot that they were standing over a body halfway between humanity and corpsehood.

Villain’s skin was horribly pale, translucent, even, as if it were on the verge of melting away. The restraints on their wrists and ankles-- Leader had insisted as to their presence-- seemed far too loose around their captive’s thin structure, but they simply couldn’t be tightened any further.

The only patch of Villain’s body that did not lack color was their chest, in which a catheter of at least an inch in diameter had been inserted. The skin around was red with irritation, resisting feebly against the roaring machine drinking blood from the line, only to return it at the same access point.

The whole spectacle was horribly grisly, with tubes filled with scarlet draped over Villain’s chest in a gruesome web. The machine itself, sat off to the side, seemed to whine and groan with every feeble heartbeat its victim managed to make.

Hemodialysis, the doctor had called the process. Manually warming the blood in an attempt to warm the body. Despite its vampiric appearance, somehow, the process was keeping Villain alive.

A chill ran through Leader’s body at the very thought. Villain was a stubborn asshole, one they’d been pursuing doggedly for months. Somehow, regardless of what trap they placed or what situation they were thrown into, Villain made it out.

Now...

The machine was plugged into the wall with a single cord. Just a wire, just some electrons passing through metal. Something that could so easily be severed. A single tug, a clumsily placed foot. The fight would be over. Would it be so wrong? Villain had done such wrong... and they wouldn’t feel a thing. They’d part in an unconscious pool of their own delusion.

Leader bit their tongue.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“You okay?”

Hero watched the small flame of force flicker between their fingertips, their eyes nearly crossed with focus. They had hardly realized that somehow had spoken to them, and it took several awkwardly long seconds for them to look up.

“Hm?”

“Are you okay? You looked distracted.” Counselor furrowed their brow.

“I think I’m... always distracted.”

“I know. Just... that was a lot, back there. And you looked stressed.”

“Just worried, I guess.”

“About Villain?”

“There’s not much else to be worried about.”

“I’m worrying about you, right now.”

“I think... Villain is the one that we need to worry about, right now.” Hero chewed their cheek. “You were in there, right?”

“For a minute, yeah.”

“Are they okay?”

“Alive. They were alive. But with Medic there-- well, I don’t think there’s a better authority on Enhanced biology on the seven continents. I think it’ll turn out okay.”

Hero chuckled humorlessly.

“That’s another thing I’m worried about.”

“What? Medic?”

“Yeah. Medic kind of. More Leader. Medic is... I mean, I love ‘em, and they’re the biggest hardass out there, but they’re a doctor more than anything else. Hippocratic oath and all that. But Leader...”

“You’re worried because Leader... isn’t a doctor?”

“No, no, it’s not that. Leader just seems so much more worried about the fight, and the mission, and the good of humanity, than, well, than anything that’s right in front of them. I’m just worried that...”

“That Leader’s going to make a bad choice?”

“Something like that.”

“I agree that they can be... a hardass. But they’re not a bad person. I don’t think they’d execute someone. Not like this. Not after everything.”

Hero’s gaze turned to Counselor. They hadn’t expected their friend to come to the base of their concerns with such speed.

Counselor gave a small smile in return.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Head Doctor left the room.

They had made their leave hurriedly, ensuring that they would be back in just a few minutes, to press the Code Blue button if anything happened. Leader had nodded along, hardly processing any of it.

They were focused on the person before them.

Over the last few minutes, by some miracle or curse, Villain’s heart rate had begun to stabilize. Though the beats came just as quickly, they were stronger than they had been. Not quite normal, but on their way.

Medic seemed fixed on the monitor, eyes narrowed as though they watched prey. The screen had more than just a heartrate reading. Alongside that, it showed a series of other graphs-- breathing rate, oxygen levels, among some that Leader was clueless as to the meaning of.

They glanced to the door. It was firmly closed. Certainly, the rest of the hospital would be too busy with the recent break-in to intrude.

“Medic?”

The doctor raised an eyebrow, but continued their fixation on the readings.

“Yes?”

“What would you say is the... the percentage we’re working with here.”

“The percentage?”

“Of survival.”

“Well... I suppose I can’t make an exact predication, but it’s climbing every minute. 80 percent? 85? They’re not completely out of the woods, yet, but their temperature is raising steadily. The dialysis is working.

“80 percent.” Leader hummed. “So... 20 percent chance that they don’t make it?”

“That is how math works, yes.”

“That’s not an insignificant percentage.”

“We’re doing everything we can. As I said, it’s rising, and quickly. If we can get their temperature back up into the 90s, I would say that continued survival is almost guaranteed.”

“Is that so?”

“What’s got you acting so weird, all of a sudden?” Medic finally turned from the screen, glancing to Leader.

Leader gulped.

“Do you remember when we were in Denver?”

“At the telecommunications hub? Yeah.”

“And in Vancouver?”

“Yes?”

“And at the bank, in Phoenix?”

“Leader, I assure you, my memory is fine.”

“No, no, I mean, Villain did all those things, right?”

“They had help.”

“But they led the charge?”

“I suppose so, yes.”

“They’ve hurt a lot of people. Destroyed a lot of places... brought them to the ground. Leveled a city block, once.”

“Seriously, what is this about?”

Leader’s gaze glanced down to the Villain, pale, restrained, with a tube skewering their flesh, then back at Medic.

“No.”

“What?”

“No. No, no, no. I let you restrain them like some kind of beast, which, for your information, is completely against medical protocol. I’m not letting you kill Villain.”

“And why not?”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━��━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Outside the hospital room, in a pair of plastic chairs, Hero and Counselor sat with far more relaxation between them. They watched passively as Head Doctor left the room, hurrying off to another room.

Hero took a fidget rope from a coat pocket and began twisting it between their hands.

“What do you think they’re going to do with Villain, then?” Counselor’s voice was considerably quieter, as if they were telling a secret. They stared off, down the hallway, instead of meeting Hero’s eyes.

“I just hope they let us have some input in this whole thing.”

“Me too. But... what would you prefer? If you had the choice?”

“I mean...” Hero sighed. “They haven’t been the best person, I think we can all agree on that. They’re dangerous. But I also think that... they’re scared. They’re scared, Counselor, really scared.

If it was up to me, I think we should help them. While in our custody, but, I think they need help. And maybe then, they can help us? I mean, they must know something about Supervillain. It’d be nice to have an informant.

Really, I just want to see them okay again. Even if it does mean that they go back to being an asshole.”

“That’d be nice.”

Hero nodded.

“I think Medic mentioned that, once Villain’s stable, we’re gonna move them back to base. Where we have the special medical equipment, the Enhanced care stuff.”

“Yeah. I think Leader is definently going to want to keep them in custody.”

“If they try to hurt them, though... I’m not gonna let that happen. If we have to keep them prisoner, we can at least be humane about it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

“I just hope Leader agrees.”

“Me too.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“It’d be a waste.”

The answer was too analytical. Leader had expected to be yelled at, to get an earful about morality and ethics and other crap. Not something so simple, so factual.

“What do you mean?” Leader’s tone wasn’t accusing, at least they didn’t intend for it to be. It was far more dumbfounded in nature.

“Everything in this world runs on technology. Those lights, that door, this machine, everything. Everyone has a phone. Every building has a network, of both electricity and information. Villain can patch into all of that. You said it yourself, they leveled a whole city block. What else can they do?”

“What are you... what are you implying?”

“We keep them, and we use them.”

A garbled voice resounded throughout the room. Leader whirled around, half expecting Supervillain to be right behind them, before turning back.

“Was that y-” They began to ask, but didn’t quite get the chance.

“Code Blue! Code Blue!” Medic snapped. “Don’t be useless, press the damn button!”

It took Leader’s confused mind a moment to note the emergency that Medic was responding to-- that of a horrible, electric screech. The heart monitor was no longer showing a steady pulse.

At the sight, Leader’s own heart rate sped up. They nearly tripped over their own feet as they rushed to the blue button on the wall, jabbing it with their finger multiple times in a frenzied panic. Once they were satisfied that they spiraling terror had been registered properly, they returned to Medic’s side.

The doctor had their hands positioned on Villain’s chest, one over the other, slamming downwards repeatedly. In between, Leader could see a sharp rise in the chest-- they were still breathing. But for how much longer?

Dammit, dammit, don’t think like that, it’s someone’s life!

A resounding crash burst through the room as the door was slammed open. They rushed to the bedside, seemingly ready to continue CPR, before Medic raised an arm, preventing them.

“No, no, they’re okay.” Medic panted breathlessly. Leader raised their eyes to the heart monitor-- sure enough, a slow, steady rhythm was returning.

They’d made it.

“Mmm..”

Leader panted for breath, trying in vain to calm their racing heartrate.

“Mmm... whaaa...”

Leader’s shaking gaze shifted to the source of the noises--only to find their eyes locked with the wide ones of Villain.

[misterewrites]

Threads of Fate, Jason Todd x reader: Challenge

Hiya everyone! E here and basically I am going to keep this short because I’ve been having on and off internet connection for the last 3 weeks. It’s not too bad but it does randomly cut out so I’m kinda speeding through this.

Umm my good friend @hains-mae whom I’ve accidentally gotten addicted to DC movies *Gotham by gaslight cough cough* Has been on a bit of a batman bender and challenge me to write something for her and since I owe her birthday gifts, why not? Specifically Someone x reader drabbles which I’ve always wanted to do anyway so here we are! She chose Jason Todd. 

This a soulmate au kinda. The reader (that’s you!) and Jason are of the same age though he is currently the Red Hood.

I hope you all have an amazing week. I will be trying to write my original story and post it sometime this week but we’ll see what happens. Stay safe, take care of yourself, for the love of all that is holy stay inside! wear masks! PLEASE!

E out, byeeeeeee!

He was coming tonight.

Probably only a few minutes away knowing him.

I could feel it in my bones, the anticipation gnawing at me uneasily, preventing any chance of getting a good night’s rest.

Okay, so I’m lying. This is Gotham after all. Nobody ever got a good night’s sleep in Gotham. Insomnia was par for the course for 90 percent of us.

I sigh heavily as the torrent downpour of the rain crashes against my windows relentlessly.

Threads of fate.

My superpower though it’s not as cool as than it sounds or useful. My mom coined the phase when I was a little kid and I kinda just went along it. Seems to much of a bother to change it now and frankly it’s not impressive when you got an alien lifeform flying around at the speed of sound living the next town over.

Still she swore I was special. I thought she was crazy but she’s mom.

What are you going to do but love her anyway?

There’s a soft groan as my dusty apartment settles against the harsh night air.

He’s here and he knows that I know despite his best attempts to remain stealthy. I mean to be fair he can’t hide from my eyes no matter how much he tries.

I take a sip of my tea and let the warmth fill my body, relaxing for the moment.

A thrum of thunder booms in my ears and a crack of lightning streaks across the sky, utterly blinding.

When my eyes readjust, there he is standing tall and menacingly like the drama queen he is.

Red Hood.

Yeah, that Red Hood in my apartment.

So many questions I bet. Same to be honest.

It started about a year ago when there was a nasty mugging near my apartment complex. I had been working at the time luckily but the news still caused more than a few of us to start carrying our keys between our knuckles and try to avoid eye contact with everyone.  

He says he was cleaning up the streets. I know he was looking out for us, no matter how much he tries to deny it.

Jury’s still out with public opinion on Red Hood. Half the town wants him arrested and the other approves of his violent methods.

Everyone knew he was the second Robin, the wayward child of Batman at odds with his mentor.

I knew him as Jay.

I don’t think he meant to tell me. I don’t think he meant to stay long.

But he did and I let him in, out of morbid curiosity and no regard for my safety.

It was awkward at first, as typical of a normal citizen and a masked crime fighter in a room together but I guess he was lonely.

I mean I was lonely too so I can’t really blame him.

It was small things at first: Would you like some coffee? Local troublemakers, any dealers pushing on the street and where? Did you want to take off your jacket, it’s hot in here. Who was out of Arkham?

Our little back and forths.

Then it got a bit more personal: How was work? Did you kill anyone today? Anyone bother you on the street?

And before I knew it, he was checking up on me. Regularly. Once a month meetings became every other day.

Hence the whole standing in my apartment dramatically. He was probably waiting for the lightning.

I lazily gesture to the mug next to me, his favorite drink all nice and toasty for him.

He takes a seat, tension from his shoulders easing out of his body.

He doesn’t take off the mask of course. I think he regretted it after the first time.

But there was no taking back what I saw: A handsome face with a streak of white in his messy black hair and piercing blue eyes, lost and seeking.

The face of Jason Todd.

I cough loudly trying to get that image out of my head.

Didn’t work.

“So” I began, fiddling with my mug nervously “You okay? You were a little louder than usual. Practically shouting in my ear with that landing.”

He gives a playful chuckle filtered through the mask “You should’ve been asleep like you promised.”

I wave him off with a hand “I said I’d try, not do. Besides, if I was, I’d never see you”

“I was personally trained by Batman himself. You wouldn’t be able to see me if you tried.”

“Yet” I flush, taking a sip of my coffee for the dramatic tension “I see you all the same.”

He laughed even louder.

“I guess I like bugging you” he admitted “Need to practice my barbs.”

“Your barbs as sharp as a butter knife.” I shot back playfully.

“At least I can cook without burning down the place.” 

I say nothing, ears bright pink as I drink deeply from my mug. I can practically hear his grin through that mask.

Jason Todd.

I didn’t grow up in Gotham but the first thing you learn is to keep track of the Wayne’s.

Bruce Wayne was the only real light in this godforsaken shithole. He likes to get drunk and was an idiot and never meet a healthy coping mechanism in his whole life but he’s our drunken idiotic mess and his biggest scandal was usually him accidentally setting a fire in his kitchen.

Of course Jason Todd was Bruce’s ward and he’s also Red Hood which means that’s as far as I’m willing to deduce.

Sometimes, it’s better to play dumb. Safer too.

We were the same age, Jason and I, yet he had gone through so much in such a short time.

I think that’s why he’s here. I think that’s why he’s lonely.

He was stubborn. He stuck to his guns and beliefs even when they cost him the only family’s he’s ever known.

He still loved them and I think they love him but that belief parts them.

I can’t exactly blame him for having a different set of standards: He grew up on the streets. He knew crime firsthand. Of course he knows how terrible it is.

“….Thank you….”

I snap out of my stupor.

“Wha?” I reply smartly.

He doesn’t move but I can feel his nervousness, his anxiety.

“Thank you” he whispers softly “For….this.”

“Thank you too.” I answer gently “This….this is nice.”

“Just a little”

I narrow my eyes” You’re smirking, aren’t you?”

The smooth features of his mask might be indifferent but the light heaving of shoulders? HE’S LAUGHING AT ME!

“You are such a jerk!” I playfully smack his arm.

He burst out with unrestrained laugh.

“That’s it” I cry, rising to my feet “I’mma kick your ass.”

His head tilts quizzically “Can you even lift anything?”

My hand reaches for a pillow  “No mercy!”

“Oh no, I’m shaking in my boots.”

“You will be” I mutter darkly, lunging at him without warning.

Threads of Fate. The chord that ties two people together in destiny.

I see them everywhere. Ever since I was little. Red lines pulling at each other, scattered in all directions across endless miles. Soulmates searching for each other, hoping to close the distance one day.

And as my hand grips the pillow tightly, the bright red thread wrapped around my wrist since birth stretches only a few feet, its end wound tightly around his wrist as I chase him through my home.

My soulmate, my destiny who I am currently trying to murder with a pillow.

Life has a sense of humor. I’m still trying to figure out if I like it or not.

[rafivadafreddy]

I Wonder.

A Rafael Barba and Amelia ‘Emma’ Herrera Story.

Summery: Amelia ‘Emma’ broke up with Rafael when he was 18 and she was just 16. He left for Harvard and Emma left for Italy two years later when she graduated. Fast-forward Fourteen years when Emma and Rafael run into each other again. Will there still be sparks between the two or have they both changed too much to be together again?

Word Count: 1,622

Chapter Three!

chapters- One - Two

Warnings: There are some cursing here. A little abuse from a patient. Death. Emma cries. Kinda sad. I never know what to put here.

After that day at the café with Rafael, the conversation between the two of them became less and less. Emma had a feeling he didn’t appreciate her words about why she broke up with him. Not that that was her problem, if he didn’t like it, oh well. It was the truth and if he couldn’t handle it. That’s his problem.

But when three months passed and April was nearing, Emma found herself looking at her phone as she was having lunch. Looking at the text messages between her and Rafael. It had been over two weeks since either one of them sent anything to the other. Not that they would even talk much, mostly good mornings and good nights. At least when she wasn’t working and could respond. She hated to admit it, but Emma missed talking to the man, she missed him in general. After years of being separated, Emma found herself missing everything about Rafael.

The little remarks he would make, the fact that he was serious 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent he was sarcastic. The suits she would see him in, the look of pure determination on his face. But even now when she gets off work and heads to her little coffee shop ritual. She would be entering, and Rafael would be leaving. Always on the phone and it seemed important. And so, she never bothered him. Leaving it as it is.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

“Dr. Herrera?” Emma turned to see one of the nurses standing before her. The two were working the ER floor together. There seemed to be a shortage of nurses and so Emma offered her help, knowing she would be paged if she was needed up on the pediatric floor.“Can you look at our John Doe over there?” she asked and pointed to a guy sitting in a chair holding his upper arm with a bloody towel.

“Of course, just, keep security around. He looks ready to bolt out of here.” She nodded to the nurse and walked over to the man.

As she checked him out, asking questions on what happened and trying to get information on him. Emma started to get impatient. Not that she showed that, she just smiled as she took her John Doe to emergency room 3, nodding to a nurse as she passed. As she talked to the guy, checking the wound after having to cut his shirt off. Needing to make sure nothing else was hit or hurt. Emma felt a little uneasy. “Well… it doesn’t seem to have hit anything important; you were very lucky.” She said and shook her head. “I’m just going to go grab what I need to stitch you up and you’ll be good as new...” she smiled at him and left the room.

“Get the cops here. It’s a gunshot wound, he refuses to give his name or any information at all… I’m pretty sure he’s high on something.” Emma told her friend Ava, the nurse who requested she check out the John Doe.

Returning with the tray with everything she would need to stitch up his arm. Smiling at her John Doe, Emma pulled on her gloves and opened each package. Giving him a shot anesthetic to numb the area around the two bullet holes. As she started to stitch the wound, she went slowly, being careful since he kept flinching and moving slightly.

“Can you hurry the fuck up?” he hissed at Emma who glanced up at the male.

“Well, I’m trying to go as fast as I can.” She assured him and she gasped when his hand gripped at her forearm.

“Well then, I suggest you go faster. Got it?” he seethed at her and before Emma could say anything, a male called out.

“Hey! Get your hands off her!”

Emma looked over and was taken back. The man came over and quickly pulled the hand off her forearm and Emma hissed when John Doe’s fingernail scrapped at her skin.

“I’m guessing you’re the little punk who shot at my partner an hour ago. Daniel Warren, you’re under arrest for shooting at a police officer, trafficking cocaine and selling drugs to under-aged kids. You have the right to remain silent….” As he was reading the guys rights, Emma quickly finished the last bit of the stitches and stepped back.

Throwing everything away in its rightful trash can. Emma watched a little spooked as another officer came in and took the guy away.

“Are you ok, doc?” The guy who had handcuffed her john doe- er Daniel, asked and Emma nodded.

“Just a regular day in the ER when a criminal gets handsy.” She joked before looking at her forearm and frowned at the fact that it was bruising from where Daniel had grabbed her. There also being two scratches from his nails. “Well shit…” she mumbled and went to clean up the area.

“Well, I’m gonna need to take your statement from treating Daniel. We’ve been trying to bust him for some time…” he followed Emma and she glanced at the officer. “I’m Detective Nick Amaro. I work in the Narcotics Unit.” He held his hand out and Emma blushed slightly.

“Dr. Amelia Herrera. But please, call me Emma.” She shook his hand, the two smiling at the other. “Uh, right. Statement. We can talk over here.” She mentioned for him to follow her into the Staff Room.

Making a beeline right to the coffee maker. Emma offers Nick a cup and was soon making two. Once she handed off the coffee to him, she snickered when he commented on the fact it was better than what he drank at Narcotics. As she gave him her statement about the guy Daniel. She told him everything from his arrival, refusing to give any information. The fact he was arrogant and aggressive the whole time. She smiled once they finished.

After they traded number, in case he had any more questions, or she remembered anything else. The two shared a smile and Emma walked Nick to the exit. After goodbyes were said, she returned to the nurses’ station ready to go and check on her patients.

“So… the detective was pretty cute.” Ava smirked at Emma, who acted as if she didn’t hear her friend.

“Did the results for my patient in room 4 ever come back?” she asked as she looked over the charts with a small smile. Winking at Ava, Emma went to go see how the teenage boy who had gotten a CT Scan of his head was holding up.

At 5pm, a full ten hours past her usual hour for leaving the hospital. Emma rubbed her eyes. Nearing six that morning, three women came to the hospital. Three women with complications and a baby that was coming way too early. So being asked to say, just in case. Emma stayed. Having to assist all three pregnancies during the day. The first being at ten in the morning, where the preterm baby was born at just 26 weeks. Emma jumping right to care for the small infant along with Her team. Before placing him in the NICU, the small thing being born with an infection that they caught and was now treating. The next birth happened 3 hours later Emma had been sleeping when she was called. The baby came at 25 weeks and there was complication right from the moment he was delivered. When the baby didn’t make it, Emma found herself in the hospital staff showers crying. She knew there was nothing she could do but having to tell the parents broke her. Staying down in the ER, Ava distracting her.

She was called back when around 3 in the afternoon. Emma caught that there was something wrong with the way the baby was breathing while doing the check-up. Stepping up and having to intubate the premature girl. She explained what was going on to the parents. Explaining what RDS was and how their child will have to stay in the NICU until she was able to breath properly on her own. Until then, she would have to be on the ventilator.

When Emma finally left the hospital. She felt like a mess. Her heart ached and her head felt heavy.“Amelia?” she heard a familiar voice call out and the girl squeezed her eyes shut.

Turning to see Rafael standing there, looking like a hot mess. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, surprising Emma. “Have you been working this whole time?” he asked, though he never gave her a chance to speak. “When I didn’t see you at the café this morning, I stopped by your apartment. But you never answered the buzzer. Then you weren’t answering your phone and texts all day… I left the office early and came here.” He explained and her lip trembled.

“I… Our pediatrician is out with a cold… I needed to stay. Three women giving birth to premature babies…” she told him as tears slid down her flushed cheeks. “One didn’t make it… I couldn’t do anything.” she cried and was soon engulfed in a hug and crying into his chest.

“Está bien cariño...” He whispered in her ear. “I’m sure you did everything you could.” He added and she just cried.

By the time Emma finally calmed down, she allowed Rafael to help her go home. Arriving at her apartment, she thanked him and assured the man she’ll text him if she needed anything. Seeing as she was taking the next 24 hours off. Only going into work if she was called. Something she hoped wouldn’t happen.

Tagging- @the-baby-bookworm​ @sweetsummertime99​  Feedback is always welcomed! Heart and Reblog! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! <3

[yeshimanshraj]

Water Freedom System Reviews

The Water Freedom System Review – Is it worth it?

Recently, the Water Freedom System has become creative news in the merchandise, therefore we are providing thorough details about what the Water Freedom System is.

The people who suffer through drought-prone areas are well aware of how valuable is clean and pure drinking water. The human body contains up to 70% of pure water and there is no way to survive without it.

Water is not only used for drinking, but water is also needed for bathing, cooking, planting and many other activities. Would we be facilitated with the pure water when a calamity strikes? Sadly, a small number of areas are predicted to suffer from unforeseen weather conditions or rather suffer from deceptive situations.

WORLD WATER DAY MARCH 22, 2020

First time in history first WORLD WATER DAY was observed on 22nd March 1993 by UN. The main purpose and focus of this elebrations was to draw attention of the whole world towards the increasing importance of water. The ‘World Water Day' advocates the sustained efforts to preserve the depleting water resources.

Water freedom system chris burns

Water Freedom System: Freedom from scarcity of water, freedom from unhealthy, unhygienic, unfiltered water, freedom from wars on the grounds of water resources. 

In the arid area water storage because of drought is a usual issue. Everyone wants a safe, non-disturbed and clean water supply. 

Water Freedom System of Chris Burns is an escort that teaches us about how to change highly toxic and dirty water to refine drinking water. At some point when drought hits, we may produce refine drinking water required to live in any corner of this world.

Pure Water Freedom

The Water Freedom System guide comprehensively teaches us the very exact methods of making the water pure giving us ‘Pure Water Freedom'. The complete set of blueprints, instructions and step by step methods to transform dirty and toxic water into a consumable and pure one. 

The directions and methods are easily understandable and very detailed. The water generator and innovative solution can extract water from the air.

What does the system all about?

This system explains us the very basics of surviving in a drought condition without any water. We may have to generate drinkable water ourselves. Overall it includes a set of blueprints and instructions on making pure drinkable water out of toxic and dirty water. Following are the escorts which come along:

The Ultimate Greenhouse Guide tells the way of maintaining the greenhouse going even in drought condition. Even in a state of drought, we may have a fresh food supply, so vital for our survival.

The essential escort for bartering also comes along with this Water Freedom System guide book. In an emergency condition, this book is very helpful as it teaches us the possible path to trading goods.

Paranoid’s Home Guide Defense is a bonus guide which comes with it. It has tricks and tips for self-defense.Black Survival Guide is a guide which helps you survive after a drought phase. It tells the tricks and tips to survival.

When water starts becoming a new oil and is treasured as gold dust in regions of drought, the Water Freedom System extracts water from the air. This is a portable generator of water by Chris Burns, the innovative answer to make pure drinkable water, free form any toxicity.

What do we get from the System?

We can plant this portable generator and then it quickly removes the water from the air and provide safe and sufficient water.

 Water Freedom System can be installed in the yard or the basement or anywhere we want to plant it. Just turning it on will allow us to enjoy the pure drinking water for a lifetime.

 The materials used doesn’t have to be an expensive one. It can be built by using the junk we have lying around in our store or garage. Any cheap material would work but the instructions should be followed as written in the guide.A saving of about 1000 USD can be done within a year as we start producing our own free water.

Is the system legit?

Water freedom system hoax

Many people asked me about the legitimacy of the water freedom system while others asked Is the water freedom system a scam and also questioned about its legal position. 

Answering all those questions I always tell them that it is hundred percent safe, secure, legitimate, legal and above all a great blessing for the people of those areas who are suffering with droughts. 

Some areas of the world are so dried-up and the people are unable to have any access to pure drinking water. Is that not terrifying? We always need to have our access to clean and pure drinking water and that also on a large scale to stay fine and healthy.

So, as we know that every issue, difficulty, trouble comes with multiple solutions itself or if not multiple it does have a single solution. 

Off course we have it in the form of The Water Freedom System which is a complete step by step recipe along with all those materials which are required to complete the procedure by the author Chris Burns.

Don’t you think it would be the end of the world if there is no water to drink, to grow plants? That will lead to the end of livestock. 

When no rain pour and no water is stored, we need to have a backup like, “The Water Freedom System” that helps us to have access to clean and safe drinking water regardless of the location and It has been successful wherever it is used.

Pros and Cons of the Water Freedom System

Pros

Anyone can easily use the Water Freedom System to have pure water. In case we are caught up in a desert environment, we can use it to generate clean drinkable water. 

In drought areas where availability of water is rare and no other source of water, it can produce natural, clean and filtered pure water for drinking as well as other usage.

Cons

The Water Freedom System is  such a unique system which hardly received any drawback or negative feedback. It has positive things about the water system. No drawbacks are reported yet after many years. 

The only con reported is that the online guide is not available. Steps stated in the guide book some people may need to practice to get full results.

What makes the system so unique?

Water Freedom System helps us to get the automated and fresh supply of water and is meant to be a precious device. Using this we will not face any kind of struggle in climatic disaster.

It takes in the necessary moisture from the air. It converts and filters that thin air into the enormous supply of pure water just by a single press of a button.

We can easily carry this device as it is manufactured in a portable technique. An immediate reliable emergency supply of water is provided to us.

This device helps us to completely keep ourselves secure from the impurities of the water or toxic water by providing sufficient security. We will not have to worry about storing water for later use as we will have access to pure water.

Within an hour we can build this device and make our life contented with a lifetime supply of water under $270.

We can save our valuable money by not spending it on useless products that cost thousands of dollars. We can get free water whenever and wherever we wish to. The device also allows us to save up to 30% to 90% of our water charges.

Does Water Freedom System really work?

The completely new technology helps in building a portable generator which extracts water from the air.

At the very start, instructions may seem complicated to plant, but if the instructions are followed, the procedure becomes quite easy. Yes! This system has been working well for many and you can also find successful reviews.

Whether it is a need or an emergency, a gallon of water can be fetched as we please. No further need is required to store safe water in tanks or chambers.

After this water generator is constructed, we can install it anywhere we wish, it can also be a basement. Just by turning it one can relish the clean, safe and pure drinking water.

It is also quite environmental-friendly. We can save up to 60% of water by generating it on our own. On a small scale or a larger one, every household suffers water issues. On conditions of calamity strike, water is what that is for most needed.

Is it worth your money and effort?

We always want to end our struggle and get to something that will ease our situation for a long time or if possible for a lifetime. To get rid of all the water storage situations, the Water Freedom System, the perfect and the only solution that can help us. If any area has a drought calamity or any other severe water shortage and even more horrible scenario, this product is a life-changing answer by providing pure water.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

648-649: "Making a Sortie! The Legendary Hero Usoland!" and "The Fierce Battle Coming to the End! Lucy vs Chinjao!"

*looks into the camera like in The Office*

The fight between Luffy and Don Chinjao is finally over! I think after what happened, Luffy might have found a new friend. Law also made a stressful phone call to The Krusty Krab Sunny and ordered delivery of one ship to Green Bit.

Zoro and Franky have teamed up with Sol at Resistance HQ in Flower Field, and if Usopp keeps perpetuating his fantastic bullshit, the entire Strawhat crew will be elevated to God status in the Tontatta tribe.

Slightly worried about Law and the Strawhats stuck on Sunny but I’m seventy percent certain they will pull through and won’t be captured by any Donquixote family affiliates. (The thirty percent left over remains a huge, nagging doubt.)

Luffy’s Tough Love Fight Therapy

The Colosseum showdown between Luffy and Don Chinjao picked up at the start of episode 649.

The action was fast and furious. Luffy pulled out all his quick moves: jet pistol, jet gatling, jet stamp gatling. All defended against by Chinjao. The crowd went wild. It was one of the greatest matches the Colosseum had ever seen! Some cheered for Lucy. Others cheered for Chinjao. The atmosphere was electric.

“You’re quite a fighter,” Don Chinjao said.

“Yeah, you’re strong too, as I thought,” Luffy answered. You know. Being honest as he is.

Don Chinjao totally overreacted. “WHAT U SAY? STRONG? U TRYIN TO INSULT MEH??”

Luffy was, quite rightly, bewildered. “Wtf, all I said was that you’re strong?”

Apparently, this was a grave insult to Don Chinjao. A huge kick in the ego. Chinjao had been much stronger before.

“I’m no better than a wolf without its fangs now. A skin-headed man without his drill. A brat like you can’t understand how miserable I feel living my life like this. I’m frustrated, disappointed and sad. But you can never understand.”

I laughed when Luffy yelled, “How can I understand? You keep messing with me without explaining anything!” (He’s just saying what we were all thinking, right?)

“You really want to know why I’ve become like this?”

“No, I’m not that interested.” (Lmao! We meet again, harsh Luffy.)

“Well, I’ll tell you before you die, since you insist.” 

Don Chinjao is one of those old dudes that is TELLING you that long and rambling story even though you have showed zero interest and have been glancing at your watch for the past half hour.

Suddenly, Luffy the Fight Therapist was unwilling and open for business.

According to Chinjao, Garp punched his head in thirty years ago. Literally. As in Don Chinjao once looked like Dan Akroyd from 90s sci-fi comedy, Coneheads. 

That was until his resplendent, pointy napper met Garp’s fist.

The whole flashback was hilariously weird. Turns out Chinjao’s drill-like bonce was the only means to access his remote family treasure vault under an ice sheet. Once Garp took away the key, Chinjao fell into a deep depression. Heartbroken, he retired from piracy, a lifeless shell, just idling away time.

That was kind of sad. I felt for Chinjao then. He’s like the model of the old, proud working man who suffers a physical injury, can no longer work and slips into anger and depression. Since Chinjao knows and values nothing but strength, wealth and power, he cannot and will not see another way forward. Unlike Luffy, Don Chinjao got his ass beat and never found the strength to crawl out of the gutter and retrain.

Instead, he decided to lay the blame for his misfortune squarely at Luffy’s feet.

Luffy, naturally, was outraged. “Wtf are you talking about? Grandpa and I are different people. Look, mate. I’m busy. I’m gonna win Ace’s fruit at any cost and become the Pirate King. I have no time to be your therapist.”

Then Chinjao made two Big Mistakes.

Wow, Chinjao has Really Specific Taste

Mistake #1?

Chinjao laughed off Luffy’s chances at becoming Pirate King. The reason was typical crotchety old man talk: “the media lionised you worst generation squirts and it emboldened you. But none of you are strong enough to sail across the sea *we* fought on. After Whitebeard’s death, I ain’t expecting much. The only guy who looks good is Blackbeard Teach.”

At the mere mention of Teach, Luffy’s eyes became two circles.

“If I had to pick one, it’s him. But anyway, if you’re only good enough to compete against me, just give up!”

Oh, Chinjao, I thought. Ohhhhhhhh, you just goofed. You goofed big time. You do not mention Teach in a positive light within Luffy’s earshot. You just do not. Teach was the asshole who captured Ace and handed him to the Marines. He shares Public Enemy Number One status with Akainu. Tell Luffy you believe Teach will become Pirate King and your fate is sealed.

Mistake #2?

Chinjao’s fighting style is kinda lame. People who spin during fights in shounen anime are always fodder (the one that sticks out is that spinning top guy in the HxH Heaven’s Arena arc.) This was not his mistake. It’s just a side thought.

The Teach comment pushed Luffy’s buttons. But what Chinjao said next was even worse.

“You’re not too bad but if a guy like Rayleigh chose a brat at this level as the flag bearer for this generation, he’s not as smart as he used to be. The Marines were smart when they squelched the most evil one of the lot: Ace. That man had demon’s blood in his veins. Do you think you can beat the Marine admirals, the Yonkou and surpass Roger? That’s impossible!”

Demon’s blood? Most evil one of the lot?

*cue Kill Bill red-mist music*

“Stop whining over one punch!” Luffy yelled, as he wound up a Thor Elephant Gun attack. “I can’t count how many times I got punched by Grandpa!”

When the attack connected and that spike popped back out of Chinjao’s head, I laughed like a drain. Luffy hit Chinjao so hard, he turned the clock back thirty years.

I’m sure Chinjao will be ecstatic. Take the L with good grace, mate. Your conehead is back! Go and wreak havoc on the high seas again. Recoup that treasure. The world is your oyster!

Up on the balcony, Bartolomeo still has not revealed his connection with Luffy. Cavendish is still throwing a strop. Bellamy is lurking in the shadows, clearly in two minds about his new assassination mission. And Burgess, thanks to Cavendish and his big mouth, knows that Luffy is Lucy.

Thanks, Cavendish.

(And Burgess really does walk around chortling and flexing all the time. He’s like an evil All Might.)

Thus the Legendary Heroes of Green Bit were Born

This cast reunion based on Usopp’s total bullshit was so much fun.

I loved Usopp and Robin’s expressions when the Tontatta took them to their airport. They were starry-eyed. And so they should’ve been. It was a miniature version of a proper, fully-equipped modern airport. I wouldn’t be surprised if the place had Duty Free, passport control and Starbucks concessions.

But it was not a holiday destination Usopp and Robin were flying out to. The entire airport had been overtaken by a military operation. Cub, the yellow bee squad leader, and Bian, the pink bee squad leader, reported for duty. Usopp picked up the bee planes and kept saying, “I wanna show this to Luffy.” (They are such good pals, it warms my heart.)

Unfortunately, Usopp and Robin were too big to travel by bee plane, so they had to take the local number 20 bus to Dressrosa. The buses were cute, vulpix-like foxes with huge, fluffy tails you can sink right into for a comfortable ride.

While they made their way through the tunnel, Master Roshi - the pervy little Tontatta chief - emerged from Robin’s cleavage. He bore dire warnings. “I should tell you because you will risk your lives for our cause.”

Usopp was thinking, “I ain’t gonna die for you but go on...”

“Doflamingo has been causing our tribe a lot of pain recently, but our connection with him goes way back before the last decade. Nine hundred years ago!”

Then the narrator interrupted and I was like, “So you’re just going to leave it there when I was about to get Doflamingo family history? I am not at all mad about this. No, sir. Not one bit.”

The action cut to Flower Field, where Franky and Sol descended a secret stairwell. Said stairwell led to the Resistance Army HQ! Some soldiers ran up to Sol and addressed him as “Captain”, so Sol is a Big Deal in the Resistance.

Franky was like, “Why are all these small people swarming me?”

Sol explained. The Tontatta people were called fairies in town, how they moved faster than the human eye could detect and how they were immensely strong. Franky put two and two together and realised one of them stole Zoro’s sword!

And guess who reached Flower Field before Franky? Before any of the other Strawhats!

That’s right. It’s our boy Zoro. (So proud he learned to follow directions.)

Zoro, hilariously, had made himself at home and was watching Luffy vs Chinjao on the big screen TV. He was absolutely fuming. Why hadn’t Luffy told him there was a fighting competition? THE BETRAYAL. Will he get over it? Probably.

He must’ve been distracted by the fight, as he completely forgot 

Then some intelligence scouts ran up. They had a report for Sol. “We already know what our enemies and Sugar are doing!” (Sugar? Who dat?) “And with the battle close at hand, some legendary heroes have appeared at Tontatta: Usoland and Robiland. They have brought with them Luffyland, Zoroland, Namiland, Sanland, Chopperland, Fraland and Boneland.”

Franky and Zoro exchanged a Look. They knew instantly Usopp was on the bullshit wagon again.

“Um, I think I’m Zoroland,” Zoro said. (Lmao, better get into character quick.)

“And I’m Fraland. Nice to meet you!” Franky added.

It was round about then that Zoro remembered that Nami, Chopper and Brook were in serious trouble back on Sunny. He now wants to skip the battle (he doesn’t yet know about) and rescue the other Strawhats.

I wonder how this will go? Wicka did say she would let Zoro go back to Sunny once he’d taken her back to Resistance HQ. But Leo and the others back on Green Bit were suspicious of Robin and Usopp escaping. Will they let Zoro go or will he have to fight the battle first? Hmmm... I’m fifty/fifty about this.

God damn it, Caesar

*curb your enthusiasm music kicks in*

Meanwhile, back on Green Bit, Law was under heavy bombardment. Fujitora took a step back in this episode and Doflamingo stole the limelight. The cool music from Enies Lobby (as I call it in my head. I have no idea what the real title is) played as Doflamingo pursued Law. 

As Doflamingo was about to land a finishing blow, Caesar shrieked, “OI, JOKER! Before you kill Law, I need you to take something back for me. Law took my heart and I don’t know what he’s gonna do with it!”

Doflamingo looked round like, “Wtf... are you talking about?” And while he was distracted, Law shambled his way out of trouble.

Doflamingo was furious. FFS, CAESAR. I bet he wanted to say that but couldn’t. Gotta keep your cash cow scientist happy..

Please send help. Our art teacher has locked us in class.

Unfortunately, Law didn’t have time for a breather. He had an urgent phone call to make.

While Nami, Chopper and Brook were brought up to speed on the Humans Turning Into Toys situation by Giolla, the ship’s DDM rang. Chopper hilariously ignored Giolla and answered the call (she was maaaaad).

It was Law. He said, “Is that Nami-san?”

To my disappointment, Chopper did not answer, “No, this is Patrick.”

“I don’t care what’s going on over there,” Law said. “Listen carefully. I need you to sail Sunny to Green Bit right now. I wanna leave Caesar with you guys. No time to explain. Bye!”

Okay, so I added in the “bye” part. Law abruptly hung up.

I like how he has faith that Nami, Chopper and Brook will be able to handle the situation, but their weapons have been rendered usless by Giolla’s Art Art Fruit power. I have no idea how they’re going to get out of this one (and I’m keen to see Oda’s creative solution).

The shitshow that is Law’s current existence continued once he hung up. Doflamingo is Doflamingo. He caught up with Law again near the end of episode 648. With that slasher smile, he shot Law with a string bullet and demanded to know who Law had called for help.

Doflamingo must be confident he has Law where he wants him because he spilled the beans on his diabolical plan to snare Luffy. “Give me back Caesar’s heart already. It’s so meaningless for you to keep hanging on here. Strawhat has already walked into the trap I set. He’s fighting in the gladiatorial contest at the Colosseum. Tough contenders from all over the world come to fight in it. Outlaws only. It’s a deadly competition. When someone loses, it’s a one way ticket to hell! He will never come out of the Colosseum alive! It’s the end of your alliance, Law. Just give up!”

I wonder if Law will use the heart as leverage. Maybe he’ll give up Caesar’s heart to escape, regroup and stop Doflamingo the old-fashioned way: with Tontatta military might. (Doflamingo better not kill him off...)

Don’t worry, Chinjao. Luffy will beat you until you feel better! :D

[pcttrailsidereader]

Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout: A Worthy Side Trip

By Rees Hughes

Perched on the very top of Sierra Buttes, nearly 8,600 feet high and well above any surrounding topography, the decommissioned fire lookout offers an amazing 360-degree view.  On a clear day, the view extends west across the Sacramento Valley to the Yolla Bollys and Sutter Buttes, south across the Yuba drainage and far into the High Sierra, and north and east are equally stunning.  It is a couple mile side trip from the PCT and well worth the detour.  I’ve gone a couple of times now including a visit in early August.

In 1975 the National Geographic Society published a comprehensive 196-page book on the nascent Pacific Crest Trail.  The book chronicled the thru-hike of author Will Gray and photographer Sam Abell.  This was well before trail names, trail angels, and even completion of the trail.  A friend of mine recently gave me a copy he had purchased at a library sale.  It truly captures the era when external frame Kelty packs, wool, and heavy leather boots reigned supreme. It is well worth a read.

This short excerpt begins at Sierra Buttes, just north of Sierra City. I have included a few photos of the lookout from my walk through the area:

“Lightning makes an incredible whipping and crackling sound just before it hits.  Then there’s a loud buzzing like radio static as the thunderclap shakes the whole building.  Sometimes there’s a blue glow around the roof overhang, and I’ve even seen electricity arc back and forth between the beams.  The first time I saw that, man, I was scared!”

Bill Thomason sat with his feet on a desk inside the fire lookout station that perches – at 8,587 feet – atop the highest of the Sierra Buttes.  The thumb-like spires of volcanic rock provide a vantage high above the rolling ridges of the northern Sierra, and I could trace, far below, the Pacific Crest Trail near Sardine Lakes. A side trail ended at the base of the 178 metal steps that climbed the rocks to our steel-and-glass cage.

Bill, a college student who works summers as a fire guard for the U.S. Forest Service, continued to describe the awesome display of a thunderstorm and I was glad that the sky was bright blue and cloudless. “One of the first things I learned,” Bill said, “was not to touch metal during electrical storms. But I’ve gotten so used to them now that I can usually sleep right through.”

What were his duties? “Basically, I just look for smoke, I take a compass reading and check my card file to see if it’s coming from a sawmill, say, or a campground. If not, I radio headquarters to have it checked out. Fortunately, this area’s not too vulnerable; there are relatively few fires each year.”

I asked Bill whether the isolation of sitting alone high on a remote mountain ever bothered him. “Usually it’s not all that lonely,” he answered. “Besides the hiking path, there’s a jeep trail, so I get a few visitors almost every day. Sometimes more than a few – over the Fourth of July weekend, at least 150 people trooped through. And there’s always communication through the radio. But I have gone as long as four days without seeing anyone.  I guess I’ve learned to appreciate both company and loneliness. The time of day I most like to be alone is at sunset.  It’s so peaceful up here then.”

Fire lookouts are fast going the way of the typewriter, Kodachrome and the handwritten letter. According to author Philip Connors, 90 percent of American lookout towers have been decommissioned with only a few hundred remaining, mostly in the West and Alaska.

A dozen miles north of Sierra Buttes, the trail skirts placid Gold Lake, named in acknowledgment of one of the biggest hoaxes of the gold rush days. In 1849 vague rumors of a lake with banks strewn with gold spread through the mining camps.  In the early summer of 1850, an English miner named J.R. Stoddard appeared in Nevada City with a poke of nuggets and a dramatic tale.  While on a hunting trip, he said, he had stumbled on the fabled lake of gold, and was astounded by its abundance of riches. As he scooped up handfuls of nuggets, he was suddenly attacked by Indians, and was wounded in the leg by an arrow while escaping.

He offered – for a price – to lead an expedition back to the lake; dozens of gold-hungry prospectors responded and paid the fee. When the party left Nevada City, a throng of perhaps a thousand other men followed along.

For days the horde vainly tramped the mountains. Stoddard became increasingly vague about his bearings, until at last the miners rebelled and gave him an ultimatum: He had 24 hours to find the lake or he would be strung from the nearest tree.

That night the wily Stoddard stole out of camp and disappeared. In the morning the miners, thoroughly chagrined, headed back to their old claims or sought new ones in the Gold Lake country.

Sam rejoined me on the trail north of Gold Lake and together we walked the dry, hot ridges of the northern Sierra.  Late one afternoon, as we followed a dusty road toward a bluff overlooking the North Fork of the Feather River, the aroma of cooking drew us toward a small prefabricated house alive with young men.

It was a crew of the California Ecology Corps, sponsored by the California Division of Forestry. Under contract with the U.S. Forest Service, the men were building a six-mile section of Pacific Crest Trail from the ridgetop down into the Feather River Canyon near the town of Belden. After we had demolished a supper of roast beef and corn on the cob, I sat sipping coffee and talking to Dick Hansen, project foreman and a 20-year veteran of the Division of Forestry, and Rick Lawrence, the 22-year-old crew leader.

“We’ve been up here for just under three weeks, and we’ve already got more than half a mile of trail built,” Dick said with pride. “The whole project should take no more than four or five months, we hope.”

“We’re averaging about 250 feet of finished trail per day,” Rick added, “and that’s through manzanita, which is hard to dig out. We have to follow strict specifications of trail width and drainage, of course, and we’re anxious to do a good job; we’re hoping that this one will lead to more contracts.”

In the late mountain twilight the corpsmen returned from swimming, fishing, or rock climbing and crawled into the sleeping bags scattered around the prefab building. A few minutes after five o'clock the next morning I was served a tasty cheese and mushroom omelet by camp cook Jim Atha. Breakfast over, we crowded into a truck and bumped along the dirt road leading to the new trail site.

Following the newly constructed section, I rounded a well-engineered switchback and faced a tangle of brush. Ahead of me a proficient team of two strong corpsmen worked with lopping shears to cut out the tough branches and trunks and form a rough corridor. A couple of dozen yards behind them, another team wielding picks and shovels grubbed out rocks and roots and widened the initial path. Other teams graded, cleared, and trimmed, until finally a permanent section of Pacific Crest Trail had been completed.

“We rotate the men every day so they don’t get burned out on any one  job,” Rick told me. “As we work, we’re careful to preserve the natural lay of the land as much as possible. We only take out boulders or trees where they would be a serious hindrance to hikers.”

From the top of the canyon wall, Rick looked down at his crew and said, “This is the kind of work you can appreciate doing. You feel like you’re leaving your mark, that you can come back in 20 years and be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

Bob Birkby wrote a wonderful piece that is included in the Oregon/Washington volume of The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader, “The Art of the Trail: An Aesthetic Appreciation of What’s Underfoot”.  It captures the work of art that results from good trail building … and reminds us not to take for granted the work of Dick Hansen, Rick Lawrence, and their team and countless similar teams that built the PCT.

[myhauntedsalem]

Astral Projection: Doorway to a New Dimension

The concept of astral projection has been around for a long time, but until today, it has been hidden from most of humanity. Now, with the aid of astral projection, new levels of knowledge and power enable us to discover the answer to Man's eternal question about life in the physical body. Death takes on a ​new meaning as we begin to realize that it is only a transition to another dimension, or place of existence. By learning to astral project, we can learn many things about ourselves, and unlearn many things that were previously thought to be true. This leads us to the realization that our physical bodies are only a part of our entire selves, and there is more to our existence than meets the eye!

In our limited awareness, the reality we live and breathe on Earth, with its beautiful landscapes, mountains, rivers, streams, animals and insects, can be compared with the petals on a flower. What we see is not the whole flower, but only a part. This is because man has lost touch with the use of his own mind. He concludes, erroneously, that the physical world is the only reality there is. He believes that his life as an individual has only to do with the flesh body of himself, and concludes that the physical world is solid and real because his senses tell him it "feels" solid and real.

The mind has abilities that go beyond the five senses of the physical world. The petal of the flower that we now experience is the material world or physical plane of existence. It has a specific vibration, just as all creatures on this level vibrate at the same rate. Because of this, regardless of where we go on this level, all things take on the appearance of being solid, material objects. Just as the colors of the rainbow show the effects of the different vibrations of light, and the melodies on the piano show the effect of the different notes, so, too, does the entire universe contain various octaves, or rates of vibration. These universal harmonics comprise the different levels of existence.

So the Earth plane we live on is only one of many dimensions. There are other spheres that we describe as being above or below us. Actually, they are not really above or below us, but rather at all times around us, permeating all things. Astral projection allows us to discover that the people and objects existing on these other realms can be just as solid and real as any object on the earth terrain. And if we happened to be on another level, looking back "down" into this region, we would view an earth that was not solid. Right now, at every instant, we are living, coexisting with, and walking through people and objects of another dimension! When a person astral projects, he or she can see these other frontiers.

Our Astral Bodies

When we were born into this physical world, we were provided with a physical body to carry out our duties. Astral projection allows us to project "out of the body" and into the next plane of existence, which is the astral plane. When we do this, we are in another body, which is called the "astral body." We already possess this astral body, just as all other people, animals, creatures and everything on earth possess an astral body.

The astral body has some amazing properties. Unlike the physical body, which is held down by gravity, the astral body can overcome this limitation by the effort of thought alone. While out of the body, we can not only walk around as if in the physical, but also soar above the trees, or go out into space. Another property of the astral body is that it cannot be injured. One of the greatest fears while on earth is pain or injury. While out of the body, this normal human reaction can be unlearned, because there is absolutely nothing that will cause damage to the astral body! In the next dimension, fire, knives, guns, falling from great heights, electrical shocks, disease, wild animals or being run over by a steamroller can do no harm. Many people receive lessons about this in their dreams. Watch for them, because you'll discover that you always survive -- don't you?

In this next level of existence, which all of us can visit, there are many familiar things, such as cars, trains, planes, and highways. Everything that is on this Earth right now comes from the astral plane. Many people get this backward. They think the astral dimension was molded from earth. The truth is, the Earth was fashioned from the ideas and discoveries which originated on the astral.

When we are out of the body, communication is accomplished by thought. Another word for this is telepathy. In other words, it is not necessary to move our lips in order to be heard, although we can do this if we wish. Sometimes, when we hear what we think is just a thought, this could actually be someone communicating to us from the astral.

This next plane of existence has been sought after, researched, and argued about by philosophers and religious people from time immemorial. Until now, it has remained elusive and has evaded discovery to all but the most diligent. The individual who looks within instead of without, who looks to correct his own imperfections, and who treats others as he wishes to be treated will have the door of discovery swing wide open for him.

Conquering Our Fears

When we begin to explore this, we must first overcome the obstacle of fear, which will present itself in many forms. The fear of death, pain, injury, the unknown, evil, devils, hell and Satan may loom up before us. We must conquer our own fears head on, and they will rapidly disappear.

We are mental creators, and out of the ether of the next dimension, we can create that which we wish around us. If we are convinced a devil is out there to trick or deceive us, and if we have already pictured in our minds what this devil looks like and what he plans on doing, we should really not be surprised when our worst fears are confirmed. The devils we create become real and solid in the next dimension because we created them.

In the astral plane, we can meet those we love, or that which we fear. If we have no fear, we won't meet fear. It's as simple as that. So we can save ourselves trouble by putting nonsense like that out of our mind. Remember there is nothing that can harm us while we are out of our bodies. This teaching of fear has held people in mental bondage long enough! Its exposure is sure to cause a fury in those who have become trapped in the habit of their own thinking. We must release ourselves from the death grip of fear and set ourselves free.

In the astral plane, we can also visit our loved ones who have passed on before us. We can then ask them face-to-face how they like their new surroundings. We can see schools and universities, and may even find ourselves in a classroom, listening to a lecture.

This is also where we can discover the history of the world, and the history of our lives. The "Hall of Records" contains our present lives as well as our past. In it, are recorded our accomplishments and our failures. We can meet our spiritual teachers - which the churches have termed our "guardian angels" -- and we can ask them for advice and guidance on our problems.

The astral plane is a vast dimension of existence and contains life in abundance. It does not operate by the very same laws of the earth plane, and so many things that are quite impossible on earth, are quite commonplace in the astral. Mind over matter is common. Colors are more beautiful, and we may experience endless fascination with new and exciting things that there are to see and discover.

For many centuries, the teachings of certain churches have been that some things are mysteries and are not to be questioned. Eve eating from the tree of knowledge and the subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden was sighted as proof. This erroneous interpretation was made by those who were ignorant, or by those who wanted to keep the masses of people in subjugation. Man's redemption, in the final analysis, will come from his knowledge of himself and his love of his neighbor, not from his ignorance.

Tapping the Subconscious

The astral plane contains many things that are not on earth at this time. Some of them may appear in the future on earth, and some are from the Earth's past. Many different types of animals that have become extinct on earth exist in the astral. Remember, there is no death.

Astral projection enables us to use the part of our mind that has been dormant or sleeping. We can wake up this part and put it to work. It is called the subconscious, and it can be used to give us the knowledge we need to find out more about ourselves, our purpose on Earth, and our relationship with God. Most people think of their mind as only that portion they recognize as their conscious mind, or waking mind. It has been said that the mind is 10 percent conscious, and 90 percent subconscious. We can learn to expand this 10 percent.

Everyone goes to the astral plane at night while they are asleep. Think of this! Astral projection takes place without a person even being aware of it! As strange and hard to believe as this sounds, it is true. To begin exploring astral projection, pay attention to your dreams each night. Eventually, you will come to the realization that you were in the astral plane, but did not realize it.

When we take the first step, of allowing for the possibility of multiple dimensions and astral projection as realities, we can then focus on ways to understand, explore, and actually experience these things. In doing so, we can open the door to an amazing and expansive existence that was heretofore beyond our wildest imagination!

[confrontingbabble-on]

“On a Sunday afternoon, humanist chaplain Greg Epstein stands in front of about 90 people in an MIT auditorium. It’s an eclectic group, with young kids and college students, thirty-something parents and gray-hairs all attending because of a shared disbelief—no one here has faith in God.

“People who don’t happen to believe in a god, or affiliate with a traditional religion, still want to support one another in living out our positive values.”

”Religion isn’t just fading from campus, though—all throughout the city, faith is dying out. It’s a notion that once seemed unthinkable. Not so long ago, religious institutions permeated city life, forming communal centers for the pious and the profane alike; they simply were the community. Increasingly, though, religion’s power is giving way to the church of scientific inquiry. Religion’s importance in people’s lives is on the decline across the country, but the Bay State is on the trend’s leading edge, tied with New Hampshire for the official title of least religious state, according to the Pew Research Center. Massachusetts is tied for third in what statisticians call “religious nones,” people who say they’re not affiliated with any religion, at 32 percent of residents. Compare that to the 33 percent who said religion is “very important” in their lives. Or the 40 percent who told Pew in 2014 that they’re “absolutely certain” they believe in God—the lowest among the 50 states. Or the scant 23 percent who attend a religious service every week.The result of all of this is that Boston—the cradle of Puritanism in Colonial America, known as the most Catholic city in the nation during the 20th century—has become a secular town in the 21st. Many people, young and old, are concluding that religion doesn’t fit their ethics or their lives. They judge religion for the times it’s created conflict rather than bridging divisions. They believe in equality for women and LGBTQ people, and they won’t join patriarchal or anti-gay religions. New belief systems now dominate the city: higher education’s critical thinking, science’s demand for evidence, technology’s drive for results, liberal politics’ notions of progress and social justice. Some of this is a reaction to national politics—an expression of Boston’s sense of itself as a besieged liberal bastion—but it’s also a rejection of the Old Boston, the Irish-Catholic city on a hill.

“Prior to 2002,” ...“the archbishop of Boston had a direct line to any Massachusetts politician he wanted to talk to.” That time is long gone, says Margaret Roylance, vice president of Voice of the Faithful, a group of lay Catholics formed in 2002 to press for church reforms. “I don’t think the church is the 800-pound gorilla that it was. Politicians are not afraid to support something the church opposes...”

There was a time, of course, when religion and the church taught Bostonians morals and how to treat one another. Scripture, from the Bible to the Koran, provided foundational guidelines for humanity and social justice, not to mention the basis for the Golden Rule. Church leaders also taught us the value of hard work and kept us in line. Not so much anymore. “Catholic church leaders used to have a kind of moral force in Massachusetts,” says Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University. Big civic debates in Boston, such as whether to host the Olympics, would have included the Catholic leadership’s opinions. Now they don’t.

“In the olden days, you’d always go to Catholic leadership,” Prothero says. “Nowadays, I just don’t see why you would. They used to matter. I just don’t think they matter anymore. I think the moral capital has been spent.”

Even many Catholics who’ve stayed in the church don’t much care what the leadership thinks anymore. “Catholics, whether on the progressive or conservative end of the scale, none of them really trust the bishops to do the right thing,” Roylance says. The sex-abuse cover-up “made us look at them differently...”

The sex-abuse scandal may have hurt all churches in Boston, not just Catholic ones, says Stephen Kendrick, senior minister at First Church Boston, a Unitarian Universalist congregation. He recalls talking about Catholic clergy sex abuse in one of his first services after taking over First Church in 2001. “I said it’s going to affect us, because it makes a whole generation of people feel distrustful of authority and particularly religious authority,” he says. “I think that’s a particular challenge in Boston. That is a wound that is not healed. And it affects every religious institution in this city.”

As shattering as the sex-abuse scandal has been, it’s hardly the only reason people are leaving Catholicism—in one national survey, only 32 percent of former Catholics named the scandal as one of the reasons they left. In fact, among the religiously unaffiliated in general, 60 percent said they left their childhood faith because they simply stopped believing in the religion’s teachings.

Friday night comes as a time to relax instead of attend Shabbat services, and Sunday brunch beckons the family instead of a 9 a.m. service. In other words, Kendrick says, “What happened to the Catholic Church in the last 20 years didn’t just happen to the Catholic Church.”

They’ve seen the surveys that show the number of religious nones exploding and the number of professed Catholics declining. “The power of the Catholic Church to move a civic agenda or political agenda is much reduced...”

From...https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2018/12/11/boston-given-up-on-god/

[iheartgrayson]

fortune cookies | grayson dolan

fortune cookies | grayson dolan

💘FLUFFY💘

SUMMARY: YOU FOUND OUT YOU’RE PREGNANT AND FILM GRAYSON’S REACTION FOR HIS FANS.

WC: 2.6K

I took a rather deep breath and focused my attention at the camera that Cameron was holding towards me and clicked start. I was anxious and terrified at first since I was camera shy, never been in one before and of course I have never done something like that before alone. I saw Cameron making me a sign to talk so with another breath I started.

“Hey, guys. Y/N, here. I know this might seem extremely odd for you and rather confusing but I promise you that this video is very important for us and for you all. I like to say that Grayson and Ethan have no idea that I will be doing this and I want to thank Cameron for helping me film it. Also, please forgive me if I seem weird and funny. That is the first time that I am talking to a camera and it’s really weird for me too.” I started and gave a weak smile towards it.

“Since I started dating Grayson I was welcomed to this fandom with open arms and I find it really important since you have such a big impact to his life some myself as long as I am besides Grayson and Ethan of course I will be happy to call you my family too, because that’s what you are guys. A family. So, whatever I am about to share on this video is as much important to you as it for me. Before, I say so I would like to say that the matter is rather crucial, important and it will be life changing. For us and for you too, probably.”

I looked down at my fingers that hold the small box and sighed. I lifted it to the camera view and gave a small sad smile. 

“For you who might not understand what this is lwt me explain it to you. It’s a pregnancy box. Yes, you heard it right. It’s a pregnancy box. And you will be asking why the hell do you want it for? Well, I have a big feeling that I might be pregnant which is socking for you and for me. Some of you might say that what the hell did that happen or you guys are young and all or you should have be protective and all these stuff so I will explain myself and answer them all.”

I made myself more comfortable at the stool that I was seating on the bathroom. I crossed my legal and hugged myself, a gesture i always made while I was shy and nervous at the same time. 

“Making love is not a crime and I want you all to remember it. It’s something that God created and it brings happiness and pleasure to a person and of course age doesn’t matter when both partners decide to take that step in their relationship. Me and Grayson, I know we are only seventeen, but felt both ready to complete that part too. Before you started accusing us as irresponsible and careless I want to defend myself and say that we were indeed careful, responsible and protective every time but as you all might know protection doesn’t always work and only has 90 percent chance of working. And this time it might be of that ten percent which didn’t work.”

I stopped again making a big agonizing pause and felt myself suffocating. I felt a hand on top of mine and I knew that it was Cameron’s. “Hey, you got this.” She encouraged me and slightly patted my cheek and I smiled.

I looked up at the waiting camera trying to finish my monologue. “I want to state that I am against abortion and adoption. I love babies to the fullest and you can tell that I have a baby fever since I was a child. Whatever this stick shows me today, positive or negative, the result would be the same for me. And I have a feeling that Grayson has the same belief. We never talked about having babies any tine soon but I know God has a plan for every single one of us so I will stick with this. I will go and get done this and let you rest from my boring and stupid voice. So, let’s do this.”

Cameron walked outside and turned off the camera while I did my business. After I was done she came back inside and we stood by the large bath tub and she returned on the camera. I put the stick further away from me nearer Cam and tried to focus on the red light on the camera. “I finished with it and now we have to wait for five minutes before the results will be ready. The stick will say ‘pregnant’ or 'not pregnant’. I got that one so there was no mistakes with the lines.“ I stopped and waited. 

My hands were shaking like crazy and I felt my breath stopping on my throat and drops running down my forehead. It was the slowest time that has ever passed to my whole life. I never been more anxious about something in my life and the fact that I was recording it make it more uncomfortable.

"So, the five minutes passed. It is probably ready.” I leaned down to grab it and a breath that I was holding was left my body. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath and with shaken hands I brought it to my face. I looked down at it and my eyes watered immediately.

I hide my face behind my palms and started crying. “What does it say?” Cameron asked me but I didn’t answer her. Instead, I cried even louder and sniffed. “Y/N, hey.” She placed the camera on top of the sink and hugged me tightly. I felt her kissing my head as I let all the tears run down.

After I took a moment to regain my strength, I wiped my tears and laughed a bit. “I know I am crying right now but I am so happy.” I said and showed the stick on the camera. “I know that it says pregnant but I am really happy. I am so happy that I am going to have a baby with the man I love so much. This baby is a blessing for me. I am so freaking happy.” I screamed as me and Cameron laughed and she hugged me again.

“Well, congratulations.” She said and I nodded as I wiped my tears and smiled.

“Thank you. Oh my God, I can’t believe it.” I sighed and turned back to the camera. “Now, for the next part I need to announce the news to Gray and then to Ethan too.”

“How are you planning doing it?”

“Oh, I believe I found the perfect way. So, Cameron do you want to bake some fortunate cookies?” I smirked and raised an eyebrow as she nodded her head and smiled.

“Can’t wait.”

I was in the bedroom me and Grayson were sharing and tried to find a good spot to hide the camera so he wouldn’t notice. He was in the bathroom taking a bath and he would take a while in there so I had as much time as I wanted. I choose his mini piano he had on the corner of the room and placed the camera as far behind as possible. It wouldn’t be a problem being there, Grayson never looks around the room and the fact that it was a small cam helped a lot.

I put it there and pressed play while I went back to the kitchen to prepare myself. Earlier this morning when I found out I was pregnant, Cameron helped me baked some fortunate cookies since she knew the recipe just perfect and helped me find things to write down for Grayson.

We end up baking ten cookies and so we decide to write each one by five and of course I wrote also the one that saying I am pregnant and all. I had a feeling that Cameron wrote mean things the most since she liked to tease the boys and since their reaction was funny to say at least.

I put them in order while I placed the one last. I thought to give him one by one so he wouldn’t go straight to it.

I grabbed them on my hands and placed the white pregnancy stick on the pocket of my hoodie so I could show it to him as evidence. I walked back to the room and I saw him changing in comfortable clothes while wiping his wet hair with a towel.

The sight in front of me was extremely hot and gorgeous and had me drooling like an idiot. I cleared my throat and smiled as I passed Grayson and put the cookies on the bed and sat down. He turned to look at me and after he was done putting on a t-shirt he came and sat beside me.

“Hey, baby, how was your day?” He questioned me as he kissed my lips and looked at my eyes.

“Well, I can say that it was very good. Almost amazing.”

“Yeah? How so?” He raised his eyebrows at me and I smiled as I caressed his cheek.

“Well, you will see. So, I had an idea this morning.” I started as I straighten my body and faced him fully. I turned over to see the camera and I saw that everything was perfect so I turned back to Grayson.

“Will you tell me?”

“Yeah, of course.” As I was about to explain the door burst open and I saw Ethan coming inside. “hey.”

“I was bored so I decided to come and hang out together. I hope its okay with you guys.“ Ethan stated and we nodded our head. It was more preferable. I wouldn’t need to say to him the news later. I could record his reaction too and have it share the news of the first Dolan baby to both twins at the same time.

"Of course. Sit next to your brother. I was about to say that I had an idea this morning which was to bake some fortune cookies for him since I was bored and we never done something like this before. Also, it had been quite some time since I had done something sweet for my boyfriend. So, here they are. I want to state that Cameron helped me and she wrote five of them so please don’t put the blame on me if you see anything mean at any one of them. So, bare with me.” I explained and I saw as Grayson smiled at my gesture and leaned down to kiss me.

“That is so nice and sweet from you baby girl. I can’t wait to open them.” He said.

“Cameron was here this morning? I thought she was out with a friend.” Ethan replied confused. From the whole thing it was that particular statement that made him confused. He was such an adorable idiot to be honest.

“Yeah, with me. She was not lying. Anyway, Grayson do you want to start?” I asked him and he nodded his head. I picked up the first and placed it on his waiting hand. He broke it and read the paper.

“Aw, so sweet.”

“Please, read them aloud.”

“Okay! You are the cheese to my macaroni. That is so delicious. Thank you baby.”

“Next one.”

“If people talk behind your back then just fart. Oh my God, Cameron.” We all laughed at this.

“Third.”

“A sensual full body massage is in your very near future. I hope this is true. I will be waiting for it babe.” He said and smiled. He took the next one and broke it. “ It is your good fortune to share life’s special moments with the one you love. True.”

“Those are so boring. I can’t wait to hear Cameron’s.” Ethan said as he placed his head on his hand and rolled his eyes.

“You will be hungry in thirty minutes from now.” Grayson read and nodded his head. “Already am.”

“Next one.”

“About time to get out of that cookie.”

“She didn’t have such a funny state of mind i suppose.” Ethan commented and I hit his head.

“Please shut up. Seven.”

“Behind a great man is a woman rolling her eyes. Go, Y/N.”

“Love her.” I stated and passed him another.

“You are everything I was looking for. Expect your ass smelly feet.”

“That is mine. I want to say that it’s completely true but I kind of grew to love them too?” I asked kind of socked.

“Yeah, your feet smell too.” Grayson tried to argue but he smiled and kissed my nose. “Nah, a complete lie.”

“So, two more to go.”

“Can’t wait to.” He sang and grabbed the ninth cookie. That was last one from Cameron. “I still remember that you own me ten dollars, stole my shorts and that you hit the back of car. Something terrible will happen soon.”

Ethan and I laughed our heads off. “Dude, you had it so bad.” Ethan patted his back while Grayson rolled his eyes and went to grabbed the next one but I grabbed his hand and stopped him.

“Read it carefully.”

“Roses are red, violets are blue, i have a secret and here’s the clue… what does that-?” He cut off himself when he looked at the stick on my hands. He looked at it carefully and lifted his eyes to meet mine. “What does that…?”

“Oh my God, dude.” Ethan yelled, gripping at his roots as he realized what it was.

Grayson’s eyes grew wide as they change in a green color. He grabbed the stick and looked at it carefully. He stared at it for a good amount of time, not making a noise or a move while I looked at him with a confused, waiting and worry look on my face. “Does that mean that you are… we are…. oh my God.” He said and started crying.

Were them happy or angry tears? I couldn’t say.

“Grayson, look I am-” he cut me off as he grabbed me by the face and kissed me deeply. I locked my hands around his neck as I kissed back.

“We are having a baby. I can’t fucking believe this. Ethan we are having a baby. Oh my Gosh.” Grayson said and hugged the both of us as he cried once more making me cry too as I hugged him tight. I saw them hug, I saw them smile and I saw the happiness written all over Grayson’s face.

 I was so madly in love with him that I was willing to take that step with him even in that young age. Of course, for me, age doesn’t matter at all. It doesn’t matter if you are seventeen or forty to be ready so they can have a child, all it takes is to be mature and ready deep inside to have a baby.

“Y/N, well, thank you so much.” Grayson said snapping me out of my daydream. I smiled and leaned on his arms and hugged him as tightly as I could.

“No, I want to thank you for deciding to be in that step of our life.” I kissed his lips and then hugged him again, as I smelled his scent that made me relax so fast and nake me feel comfortable. “I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our baby.”

“Me too, baby.”

“Also, I have made a video for this. I recorded your reaction as well me finding out the news. Do you want to see it?” I questioned him and I saw him nodding his head eagerly.

You were thankful that he was happy about this as you were. You were young and all but this was a blessing and you were happy that Grayson was the one that you were going to share this with. He was the best ans you couldn’t ask for better guy.

[dahmer]

no longer my call

michael just broke up with me. outside, by his car, parked in the red outside our apartment building gate. as I helped him load up bags into his trunk. two of which I packed for him the night before. full of thoughtfully selected clothes, socks, underwear, chargers, books, mail, bathroom stuff, and a journal. the journal is one of those “each page has a prompt question” type pre-made journals. a friend, King, gifted it to me years ago as a birthday gift. most of the questions are about “your partner” and relationship type stuff, sprinkled with some “today made my smile because” sentimental wash. the questions are sort of unfair right now, but many would do him good, in my calculations, since he isn’t talking to anyone or handing out time apart in a healthy way. his words. the journal never seemed needed, but upon digging through my many gifted empty-notepads, journals, and writing mediums, I found that this one has found its place for good use. I filled out the first six or seven entries, outlying “my favorite memories with my partner” and “nice things I’ve done for my partner recently/nice things my partner has done for me recently.” 

for my “nice things I’ve done...” I crossed out “nice” and exchanged “for” with “to,” so I could highlight and overview all the pain and damage I’ve caused our relationship since he found out I was struggling with addiction. He discovered my opiate paraphernalia gear that I began barely trying to hide. It was in my clothes basket in the bathroom, and I knew he noticed I oddly had it pulled out randomly for no reason while entering/leaving the bathroom between showers. it’s like I wanted to get caught. I was near or already felt several rock bottoms, at least in the stages I’m at, and couldn’t stand another day of my addiction. It had been that way for months. a year. since the start. but I couldn’t bring myself to telling him. the shame, the guilt, and the paralyzing fear that I’d lose him. that he’d just walk away without looking back.

sure enough. my biggest fears came to pass. there’s no one to blame but myself. this is all from my own toxic behavior and selfish decisions. he left to his parents house immediately after discovering me using. he waited until I left the methadone clinic to start detox, then took off. that weekend was the hardest. being alone at home, left without the man I love. who has given my support, who has fallen asleep in my arms for almost six years, who has been there for me everyday. but to him, it was all a lie this last year. and as I progress through recovery, I understand that more and more. his perspective and position, his pain and hurt, his distrust and disgust, it’s understandable. he grew up in a clean, upper class, wealthy, one percent little south orange county town, and he’s never had to face any real world struggles. showing support in our relationship always reflected what he inherited from his father: how can I give money to make this all go away. he seemed most upset about my addiction in terms of money. the money i would have had. the money that i took when i needed help with big expenses. the money that’s preventing him from buying a house and progressing in society, moving up the social ladder. i understand all that because i understand who i was dating. always.

and i love him. he’s the love of my life. at least that’s how i feel right now. the last 10 years he’s gone radio silent. before that, we only met up once after he left to his parents house. we went to dinner. where he asked a few questions, and i cried nearly the whole time, answering in total and complete honesty. that level of vulnerability is incredibly difficult. sometimes i resented how he took it for granted. as if it were easy for me, yet something he could never even do himself. that’s what came up. my response to him breaking up with me.

i, firstly, brought on myself. he came by to pick up some things, and grab the bags I packed for him that I planned on dropping off the night before. but once he got wind of me bringing it over and having them brought up through his twin brother’s boyfriend (my appearance and involvement non-existent--simply a gesture), he texted me while on my way last night to say he planned on coming over today to grab stuff anyways, so I don’t have to come by. so it’s “easier on me.” My gesture was about care and concern, not convenience. when I saw he was close to the house today, I packed up my work--grading papers--and went to the coffee shop that’s basically connected to our fancy apartment complex. it’s directly across the small street we live on. “The Walk” it’s called, a strip of shops for our big complex, with the coffee shop being the main staple. you can see it from where we exit our gate from our side of the building. I figured this gives him space in the apartment, but if he needed to chat or check in, I’m right here.

i was frankly delighted when he texted me moments after being in the apartment:

‘Hey I’m at the apartment. What are you up to?

I told him I was at the coffee shop. A short, direct response, but I implied the night before I might go there when he came by if he needed space. He said he didn’t, but I was trying to be diplomatic knowing him and the response of “doesn’t matter if you’re around or not.” He responds with a shorter “For sure.” i wait a few minutes and inform him i’ll swing back to the apartment if he wanted to talk or anything, or he’s welcome to join me at the coffee shop--I’m “at a two seater table.” iMessage never shows he read the text, so I assumed he was busy gathering his belongings. about 10 minutes later and michael appears, asking if he can take the empty seat. no hug or formal greeting, and i almost laugh at the question. “of course.” his eyes glance me over and i detect immediate disappointment. i even point it out quickly, but he dismisses it. i can be a little confrontation. aggressive. but its been 10 days since he’s spoken to me, and before that, little texts that he ended quickly with no intent to maintain dialogue. there were many words exchanged at the dinner date during our last meet--the only one between today and when he left at the start of my detox--but what kept ringing in my ear after that dinner, despite all the kind and ambiguous words were: “I’m still trying to decide if I want to be in a relationship with you.” I know that trust is hard to rebuild, and only able if both parties are committed. i was aware of his doubts, keen to his hesitations of commitments to serious, non-monetary issues, and drowned in the radio silence as of late.

we exchanged basic questions at the coffee shop. his answers were often positive, but felt a little forced. and his face keep drawing this down glare--giving off impressions of disappointment and disinterest. i knew seeing me again would not be all that he wanted. i hadn’t made significant progress at the gym yet, i could be eating healthier, i’m under stress from work, and i’ve been depressed on and off about our situation. on the bright side, i’ve been working hard at recovery. and trying to think about what this is like for him, and be understanding to that. i’ve had to take low dose benzos to fall asleep each night, and regretted that last night because it makes my eyes droopy, and michael always said the one thing he can tell that i’m on by still looking at me was xanax. even though it was the nice before in lose dose as instructed in treatment, i’ll always wonder if maybe that played a factor. the half-life the next day, still dampening my appearance. an appearance already i didn’t feel confident of next to him, with hopes and expectations of this just going all away--as stated during our previous dinner meeting 2 weeks prior.

we asked adult questions. about work. my classes. his family. my family. my recovery, but he jabbed a little mock at me wanting to call it that. he asked if i was still “on methadone,” i tried to explain that this was a treatment option that yielded the highest success rate for some, and i’ve already experimented and failed with others. but i don’t think he likes the idea. understandably. as much as i hoped my sister-in-law, who was coaching him over the phone before he even confronted me, after finding my gear, had explained the positives of methadone. but i know they’re not fond of medication assisted programs, and even though i hoped it would inspire him to research more, which i know his has, i don’t think he’s stumbled upon the vast outdated and bias, outworld thinking of this epidemic. i wish i could show him this HBO documentary I just watched. there was a post short film that discussed recovery options. i quote some stats, about 75% of medication assisted treatments prevent relapse, compared to the 90% fail rate of most other treatment options. a 10% success rate means i’m being smart about how i go about it. but not sure if that translated well.

our conversation was brief. he ended up after about 10 minutes, checking his iWatch several times. the universal gesture of wanting to leave. i offered, but he dismissed that was the case initially. but then said he’d “let me get back to work.” before he left, i mentioned how i wanted to see this film, beautiful boy, on a date. a ‘by myself’ date, but implicated i would enjoy company. the subject matter was relevant to what i’m going through, and one of the rare early screenings happens to be in Irvine not too far from where he lives--opening this Friday. i dangled it out there to gauge interest. he didn’t bite. just noted how “yeah, I think I saw the trailer to that.”  

[more later]

[theopentable]

No hate, no hate

PENTECOST 18

MARK 7:24-37

If we examine this story there are so many factors that add up to making Jesus and this woman outsiders to each other.

Tyre was an important commercial and political centre as the leading city of Phoenicia. The region included not only the city but also the farmlands and villages located near the border of Galilee that were crucial in terms of feeding the population of the city.

Tyre itself was largely a Gentile population but in the borderlands the area was ethnically mixed – Jew, Gentile, all immersed in an often-uncomfortable collision of ethnic, religious and cultural difference, and all of it heightened by economic tension between the city dwellers and the residents of the villages.

What happened was that the poorer farming communities would be captive to the needs and desires of the wealthier city dwellers. When there was times of poor harvests and food was scarce the poorer farming communities would go hungry at the expense of those in the urban settings who had more resources.

And so we likely have this setting where Jesus is among fellow Jews in the borderlands, where tensions are high, where people feel marginalised, defensive, and vulnerable to exploitation in a context of chronic scarcity – a seedbed for hostility, bitterness and strained relationships.

And then this woman, seemingly from this elite urban classes, comes to Jesus in a desperate state.

And in many ways, she herself is an outsider - in conventional Mediterranean “honour culture” it would have been inconceivable for an unknown, unrelated woman to approach a man in the privacy of his residence—much less a Gentile soliciting favour from a Jew.

So we have all kinds of factors that make both Jesus and this woman outsiders to each other – ethnicity and culture, gender, religion, economic realities, a sense that one people have been exploited by the other….

It’s a dramatic set-up that leaves us expecting that there’s no way of overcoming the distance, the otherness.

It’s impossible to imagine that good would come from this situation.

The whole scene is immersed in difficulty – a world seemingly lacking in grace and mercy, where people are in survival mode.

The text seems to ask, what happens when we’ve become outsiders to each other?

Can there be any healing here?

What happens when our lives are defined by otherness, by distance?

And what might bring us together?

How can we learn to live without enemies?

How can our hostility become hospitality?

How can we rewrite history?

In what way might we need to learn a new way of being?

One of the big challenges in this text for me is that we might imagine that Jesus would be on the front foot showing us the way forward here because when Jesus is involved, God’s heart is engaged.

But then something deeply troubling seems to take place.

Jesus is harsh and refuses to offer healing to someone in a situation of vulnerability.

This is a striking story because the hero or the protagonist doesn’t seem to be Jesus. There’s no story like it!

Jesus calls the woman a dog.

Now there are many thoughts people have offered about this passage –

maybe Jesus said this with a playful look, maybe he gave a wink.

Or maybe he says those words through sad, compassionate eyes naming the normal barriers and dynamics at play in typical relationships between a Jewish man and a Gentile woman – almost as if to say, “I know how this conversation is supposed to go for outsiders like us, let’s name it so we can subvert the way things normally go so we can then pave a new way that is more human.”

These are certainly possibilities.

But is it also possible that Jesus spoke out of his cultural perspective, that perhaps he defaulted to an instinctive reaction to this outsider who may have even brought oppression to his people?

Is that what we’re dealing with here in Jesus’ harsh response, the anger of the rural Jewish poor and the pain of the marginalised?

Is this a reaction to the exploitative economic realities that crush Jewish families and their children?

In reality the text itself doesn’t tidy the matter up, we’re left with questions hanging – surprising questions that we might struggle with.

As I’ve sat with this episode over the years I can’t say I’ve come to a conclusive answer.

But I want to suggest, as the episode unfolds, perhaps we have two heroic examples of what it looks like to overcome distance and otherness in a way that brings good out of almost impossible circumstances, examples that might offer hope for all of us.

First, the woman.

We have to say, at least on the surface way the text is presented to us, that the initial sustaining energy for this relationship originates in the woman.

She comes to Jesus with great courage and desperation.

She is labelled harshly but perseveres despite insult so that her daughter might be healed.

We could talk about the sacred mother-daughter love that she demonstrates, the kind of love that ignores all kinds of barriers and endures all things to make sure that her loved ones may flourish and have the best shot at life.

That’s a powerful form of love. It’s a beautiful kind of love.

It’s the passionate, sacrificial and protective love of a parent. If we all lived from that place we would embrace a rich way of being in the world.

But I think there’s something even deeper than a parent’s love for their child at work in the text, something even more profound about this woman that creates the healing possibilities that this episode encapsulates.

And I think that quality is worthiness.

She hangs in there. The voices that reduce and dismiss and condemn come at her like waves rushing in but she does not allow them to pull her under for good.

She seems to know who she is. She knows that she is worthy.

And she knows that Jesus can heal her.

Somehow she holds onto a greater vision that hatred and division.

She had every right to destroy Jesus in her heart, to put up the walls and shatter the possibilities for relationship between outsiders.

But she doesn’t. And in the process she models for all of us how to avoid being trapped by another’s characterisation as enemy. 

Sharon Ringe writes,

‘Her tactic is the verbal form of the strategy in martial arts of meeting the opponent’s attack by using its own force against the perpetrator. Instead of confronting the insult, she turns the offensive label of contempt to a character in a domestic scene so familiar and so obvious that the logic cannot be refuted: children are always dropping food, and pets gobble it up almost before it hits the ground. Likewise, she and her daughter will get what they need from the bits and pieces that fall from the table on which Jesus’ ‘food’ is intentionally served. Her witty ‘words’ turn his rejection into assent to her request’ (Ringe, A Gentile Woman, Revisited, p.90-91).

The woman’s presence is entirely disarming and non-defensive.

She refuses to repeat the cycles of hostility and suspicion that reflect the shared history of their people.

Perhaps she understands on some level Jesus’ reaction and accepts his pain on some level, absorbing and deflecting the hurt that comes her way in the process.

Let’s be honest. Few things in life are harder to do than this.

The most instinctive and natural thing for all of us to do when we are hurt or insulted is to armour up, to default to a place where we will no longer show any hint of vulnerability to those who might hurt us.

It’s unnatural under these circumstances to show grace.

But the problem is that it only creates a kind of prison for ourselves. No healing can come from that place. It only creates bitterness, hostility and anger in us.

And unless we can find something life-giving to do with our anger and our hurt it destroys us. It saps us of energy and steals our joy.

So how do we do stop that from happening?

How do we disarm our own ego-defences that are endlessly determined to protect, prove, and when necessary, attack?

How do we avoid getting stuck in the endless cycles of bitterness?

I believe the only way we can do this is if we can hold firm to our worthiness, the deepest part of who we are as human beings that is not defined by how we are treated by others.

We can live from our bruises but we are better off living from our unbreakable worthiness that is grounded in God’s profound love for us.

That’s the ultimately truth of who we are. You have infinite dignity of worth. Nothing and no-one can take that from you. 

The first and last word about you is that you are loved, you are loved, you are loved.

And then the extension of that is that so is everyone else – even those who have just hurt us!

They are still God’s beloved. They are our brothers and sisters. We are bound together and when we hurt another we also hurt ourselves.

Love is who we are and love is our destiny. Not hate. Never hate.

Author and spiritual director Alexander Shaia tells a story about how when he was seven years old, racists burned his grandmother’s house to the ground.

The Shaia family had emigrated in the 1950s from Lebanon to Birmingham, Alabama and were Maronite Catholics.

At that time, Birmingham was less than one-half of one percent Catholic, and Maronites were a tiny, obscure minority even among those Catholics.

They were outsiders in a very real sense - a minority of a minority within an immigrant minority in a city that was, in those days, not kind to minorities.

He says,

“They waited until nightfall so they could slip through the shadows. Then they scoured her house, dug in her closets, opened her wooden chest, stripped the mantels of her beloved mementos, and put everything into a big pile in the living room. All the Catholic artifacts, statues, and family pictures from her tiny home were added to the stack. Placing the crucifixes atop the heap, they poured on kerosene, lit matches, and fled.

Fire engulfed the structure in minutes. Summoned from my bed, I rushed to her house with my family and watched the conflagration, despairing, certain that my grandmother was inside, perishing in agony. We all called her “Sitto,” which is Arabic for grandmother, and she was especially beloved to me. Since she walked with a cane, I was sure there was no way she could have escaped the terrible fire. However, hours later she appeared, having fortuitously been taken to church by a friend that evening. Her restoration to us was joyful, but I will never, ever forget the smell of the charred wood, nor my fear, nor the palpable experience of hate that surrounded me that night. Indelibly imprinted on my seven-year-old heart was the clear understanding that being “outside” meant the risk of pain and terror, and perhaps even the loss of life itself.”

Alexander Shaia goes on to talk about how the family met for their regular Sunday dinner five days after the fire:

“We always met on Sundays at Sitto’s house—everyone: parents, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole extended crowd—and usually we sat around the big, old mahogany table, which was covered for the occasion with embroidered linen and china. My recollection isn’t clear whose house we went to that week, but I do remember that the tables were planks on sawhorses, the chairs were folding metal, and the tablecloths were paper.

The grown-ups sat in the middle, the kids around the edges. Sitto, as always, was at the head of the makeshift main table, and when the room hushed, she led us in saying grace. Afterward, there was silence, and then her eyes, clear and direct above the glasses perched midway down her nose, slowly moved to meet the eyes of every person in the room—even ours, the children. We all waited patiently in the silence. Finally she spoke. Her voice was soft, and she said only two words, though she repeated them until she was sure we understood and accepted them: “No hate. No hate.…” And I felt the burden lift from the heart of my family.”

Sitto and the Syro-Phoenician woman both embody the kind of grounding that transforms hate and anger into a healing force for good.

In our little household we try and let this same spirit shape our lives and our relationships. We’ve got a family motto that we come back to all the time, especially if in our interactions we’ve somehow forgotten to live it out.

We say to each other, “remember, no hate, no hurt, no harm. Always love, always love, always love.”

Because we do make mistakes. And it’s brave and hard coming back to that place of love. But we are beloved and love is our destiny.

Which brings me to the way I think Jesus is heroic in this episode.

I used to really struggle with the possibility that Jesus might make a mistake and treat someone with a lack of compassion, that he might have these reactive judgments that somehow missed the full picture of who another is.

And while there are obviously different ways to read this text I’ve come to warm to it over time.

Maybe there’s even something here that can deepen our appreciation and understanding of what love and compassion looks like.

What I want to propose here is that what if love, even here in Jesus’ experience, isn’t so much about always getting it right every time, or finding it easy, but is best displayed in our willingness and capacity to say “I got it wrong, I’m sorry. Let’s make it right. Let’s start again.”

I don’t know about you but that’s a love I can really relate to. Because I have these reactions that rise up within me all the time, that feel right and appropriate. Only they don’t always come with the right spirit. Sometimes they dismiss or reduce others. Often I get it wrong.

But in preference to rumbling with my judgments I rationalise them, justify them, build a strong case around them.

Because then I don’t have to change. Then I get to maintain the high-moral ground. I get to remain guarded.

And I might walk away feeling like I am right and that my cause was a noble one but perhaps all I really did was hurt or dismiss someone when instead it might have been an occasion where some kind of healing could have happened between us.

And if it wasn’t some kind of healing or flourishing for them, perhaps it would have been for me. Maybe some healing or freedom from my own pride, or lack of compassion, or whatever else.

One of the things I’ve been learning is that Jesus comes to us with great tenderness and grace but usually that grace comes in an uncomfortable form –

in the form of otherness, in the form of an outsider that maybe we might have already made up our mind about, or maybe in the form of someone who has hurt us.

Whichever the case, Jesus may come to us in a form that is hard for us to love – at least from each of our own unique experience. Those that are hard to love for me will be different for you and different for others again.

I think those occasions are Christ coming to us, saying “can you receive me?”

If you can you will be drawn into a larger kind of life, a bigger kind of love which is good for us and good for the world.

But usually we struggle to receive Christ in his most uncomfortable forms for some time.

But grace keeps coming, keeps offering us discomfort, keeps offering us opportunities to enter in this one wild life that is before us, perhaps even within us.

And I think that presence comes with words saying, 

“No hate, no hurt, no harm. Always love, always love, always love.”

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION

Let us go and bear witness

to the healing power of Jesus Christ.

May we be a people defined by Christ’s affectionate love,

May God give us strength to choose reconciliation, courage to choose a higher love,

And way we, by the Spirit’s power, embrace even those who might hurt or dismiss us so that a greater good might come.

Go in peace. Amen.

[cryptocoinguides]

HUGE! Bitcoin Price Prediction

Hello and welcome back to Crypto Lion. Today, we’ll be discussing whether you can retire early through Bitcoin and subscribe to this channel to see more videos like this one. Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency to ever be created, sparking the birth of an entire industry and thousands upon thousands of old coins to be created in its image. Not only is Bitcoin the first of its kind, but it’s been designed to disrupt and replace paper-based fiat currencies to become the global digital currency used by the entire population, regardless of what country or region they live in.

Bitcoin price has lately become the hot button topic since the forefather of old cryptocurrencies is making headway and revisiting its highest price level at twenty thousand dollars established on December 17th, 2017.

However, a wise investor should always think far ahead and ask themselves what Bitcoin will be worth in five years. We’d also like to offer our Bitcoin price prediction for the next five to 10 years, taking into account the Bitcoin price history and its fundamental value. Needless to say that ever since people announced that it’s stepping into the cryptocurrency space by offering its three hundred and sixty million users an option to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin, cash, and Litecoin directly on its online platform, the price of Bitcoin has been pumping hard. The performance profile of the first cryptocurrency looks as follows eighty-seven point four percent of the upside against the US in one year, forty-two point three percent gain in a month, and five-point four percent price appreciation in the past seven days.

This is undoubtedly bullish performance and it’s had a significant impact on the alignment of forces, so to speak, on the Bitcoin historical chart, the Bitcoin price chart for the year ahead.

Twenty twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-five, and twenty-thirty confirm that the uptrend will persist throughout that period of time. Our Bitcoin price prediction model suggests that in six months, Bitcoin will be worth twenty-eight thousand three hundred and thirty dollars, whereas the 12-month projection puts Bitcoin at thirty-eight thousand one hundred and four dollars, which marks one hundred and thirty-five percent price appreciation. This price expectation is supported by the fact that the famo around the cryptocurrency hasn’t even kicked in yet. As the Google search data still shows that the interest in Bitcoin remains quite low, especially when compared to that of twenty seventeen.

Besides, the majority of search inquiries about Bitcoin price come from developing countries, which is great for adoption purposes but also signifies the fact that retail investors from the first world economies haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet.

Once they do, the US disvalue of Bitcoin will rise exponentially. So there is little to no doubt that the all-time high is going to be met and surpassed over the course of this year, despite the fact that Bitcoin remains a risky asset that has the proclivity towards significant price fluctuations like those we’ve witnessed during twenty 20 this cryptocurrency as one important trait, which is adding a zero to its price at least once every few years.

Right now, we might be looking at the nascent stage of the bull market that could last for three to five years, since the cryptocurrency industry itself in the market by association has been getting more mature, which means more protracted but also more sustainable periods of market growth before it naturally begins to degrade. One Bloomberg analyst claims that the maturity time during which Bitcoin goes from one price hike to another tends to double with every cycle, which puts Bitcoin price and USD at over one hundred thousand dollars by twenty twenty-five and beyond.

In four years, the price of Bitcoin will shoot up by one thousand four hundred and sixteen percent and put a two hundred and forty-six thousand dollar price tag on it.

And to answer the question, what will bitcoin be worth in twenty, twenty-five? Our model insists that Bitcoin will rise to the stratosphere by about two thousand nine hundred and thirteen percent and end up being valued at four hundred eighty-eight thousand eight hundred eighty-six dollars. Our prediction falls in line with that of Max Keiser, the well-known broadcaster and Bitcoin proponent who sees Bitcoin at four hundred thousand dollars in the next few years.

To summarize, in five years Bitcoin will be worth anywhere from one hundred thousand dollars to four hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars, which suggests that now might be the best time to buy Bitcoin. Since the bull market is at the nascent stage, Bitcoin offers one of the most compelling RESCORED profiles among assets, as our analysis suggests, should scale from roughly two hundred billion dollars today to one to five trillion dollars net or capitalization during the next five to 10 years.

Whether you’re an existing or prospective investor, you’ve probably been watching Bitcoin’s recent performance obsessively.

With a current market cap of about six hundred and forty-two billion and a price of thirty-four thousand six hundred twenty dollars, Bitcoin is far outstripped its previous all time high of twenty thousand. Its bullish run began in early November, rising from thirteen thousand one hundred and twenty-four dollars to fifteen thousand four hundred sixty-three in the space of just one week. Since then, its price hasn’t slowed down. In fact, it was averaging a daily growth rate of almost a thousand dollars a day before the end of twenty-twenty.

Ever since Bitcoin came to our computers in 2009. The world of cryptocurrency has been famously hard to predict. Some people believe that crypto would never take off, while others thought that it would replace fiat money within a matter of years. Neither of those outcomes has happened yet, but we have seen the price of Bitcoin skyrocket and crash numerous times in the last decade. In twenty twenty-two, provisionally, Bitcoin expects the price of Bitcoin to reach a top price of two hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars, although this is equal to the heights that Tom Fitzpatrick has predicted in the lead, Citibank reports it’s still a very encouraging value.

The platform expects the Bitcoin asset price to hit a hundred thousand dollars in January twenty twenty-two before skyrocketing to double that by April, an incredible growth rate of more than one hundred percent in less than four months, according to this forecast November twenty twenty-two, we’ll see the price of Bitcoin fall back down to one hundred forty-six thousand, though Bitcoin price will reclaim two hundred eighty-two thousand before the end of twenty twenty two.

But do you want to retire early? I guess you might be saying no by twenty twenty-five, Bitcoin will be traded between one hundred thousand dollars and four hundred thousand dollars in twenty-thirty. Bitcoin is likely to be worth over one million with the rate of increase in Bitcoin price and shooting up with future predictions, I don’t think you should be eager to retire soon. Why not work a little bit more and enjoy a more productive income at the end?

Bitcoin price in the following ten years will be determined not as much by its supply to demand ratio as around 90 percent of the twenty-one million coins have already been mined, but rather by the rate of adoption of both block, chain, and Bitcoin.

Right now, all on-chain metrics are extremely positive for Bitcoin, which means that in 10 years’ time we’ll see a true mass adoption of Bitcoin and other strong cryptocurrencies is that might well push the price of Bitcoin to one million dollars or higher. The year 20 30 could catch investors in the midst of the third bull market. That is likely to begin taking shape in twenty twenty-four after the next Bitcoin having an event that will cut the block reward to three thousand one hundred twenty-five coins and ultimately shorten the supply and drop the inflation rate. Plus, let’s not forget that Bitcoin represents arguably the most lucrative market for millennials and the people of Generation X who are likely to choose a digital asset over something like commodities and property, thus bringing Bitcoin’s market capitalization and its price to a whole new level.

The recent bull run in the crypto markets has been incredibly exciting to watch, with Bitcoin smashing records in early January after surging to forty-one thousand nine hundred forty-one dollars. Institutional adoption has led to a favorable forecast in the short term, but for investors who are concerned, they may be buying at a bad time.

Bitcoin price prediction for twenty twenty-five can prove useful. Bitcoin’s market cap has the potential to reach three trillion dollars in just four years’ time. This would result in a price of bitcoin of about one hundred and forty thousand dollars, although triple-digit growth may seem exceedingly outlandish.

Do remember that Bitcoin achieved this and much more in twenty-twenty alone. Here’s some proof of the rise in Bitcoin price in the future, Robert Kiyosaki, New York Times best selling author of the book Rich Dad.

Poor Dad has been recommending his followers to buy gold and bitcoin. He calls for gold to reach three thousand an ounce and Bitcoin to reach seventy-five thousand dollars within the next three years. Max Keiser, investor, and host of the Kaisa Report call for one hundred thousand dollar Bitcoin in the short term, but four hundred thousand dollars in the long term is one of Bitcoin’s most outspoken bulls, calling for one hundred thousand dollars since the asset was just trading at one dollar.

His new one hundred thousand dollar target those for the end of twenty-twenty. Meanwhile, four hundred thousand is a long-term goal to do the coronavirus and the comparison to gold. Bitcoin developer and early electronic cash pioneer Adam Beck says the Bitcoin should reach as high as three hundred thousand dollars over the next several years.

The price of Bitcoin will peak in twenty twenty-three at one hundred thirty thousand dollars over the next two years. Bitcoin price will continue to climb before falling again in the run-up to twenty twenty-six.

We believe the bitcoin will hit the following yearly highs. One hundred and twenty-one thousand eight hundred seventy-one and twenty twenty two, an all-time high of one hundred and thirty thousand in twenty twenty-three.

Twenty twenty-four would see a drop back down to ninety thousand and closing off twenty twenty-five at any nine thousand dollars. This outlook is ultimately a mix of good and bad news for any investors who are worried that Bitcoin’s bullish run will proceed to a massive and sudden crash that will take it back to its predecessor prices.

It’s an encouraging sign, and just like a new bull market started and the bubble pattern began again right after each hardcoded, having another one is due towards the end of twenty twenty-four and into twenty twenty-five.

Twenty twenty-five should line up. Well, with the current price action since the having takes place roughly every four years, giving Bitcoin a unique four-year market cycle, considering all of the massive price projections and forecasts from industry experts, that’s just bitcoin will someday replace all currencies across the globe. It’s easy to see why so many are bullish on Bitcoin and why Bitcoin price predictions can reach such high numbers.

The revolutionary technology has sparked an entire industry aimed at disrupting traditional finance, and cryptocurrencies are already well on their way to widespread adoption and regular use by the mainstream public. With Bitcoin about to take off on yet another bull run, the opportunity to profit has never been greater.

And with Bitcoin price expected to reach a hundred thousand dollars to as much as one million per bitcoin, it’s never too late to get started. We hope you enjoyed this video, and if you did, please give it a thumbs up. Subscribe and click on that notification. Bill, what other bitcoin topics would you like us to talk about? Let us know in the comments below.

Read More: Litecoin LTC Price Prediction 2021

via HUGE! Bitcoin Price Prediction

[onepiik]

levoit core 300 air purifier

Our first product, the Rabbit Air SPA-780A, positively has the right to be delegated one of the best air purifiers for allergies.

The builders promote this second-generation air purifier as “still the intelligent air purifier,” and, no matter how conspicuous it sounded to us at first, it deserves such a reputation (at least if we speak about their mixture of air purifiers).

In simple words, still provides reliable purification to bring your home cleaner, healthier air.

Rabbit Air MinusA2 SPA-780A, the two decisions that relate to guard to sensitivities and asthma are the germ protection and pet hypersensitivity safeguard channels, they are equally performed good in their areas of operation.

coway airmega 400 vs rabbit air minusa2

The Coway Airmega 400 vs Rabbit Air Minusa2. Researching and choosing the correct air purifier should be the priority of everyone, as not all air purifiers are suitable for everyone equally. This is even more important when an air purifier comes with a high price tag, such as in this case.

Indoor air pollution is becoming more and more of an issue in recent times, which is why many people choose to equip their homes with an air purifier. Unfortunately, you can find a huge amount of different air purifier types and models on market, which can be challenging to differentiate. Even more so, if you are new to air purifiers and do not know what to look for. As I already mentioned, different air purifiers suit different people, depending on their situation and their air cleaning goals.

The purpose of this comparison is not to just tell you which one is just better, but to help you find out which one is the best fit for you. These are two high-priced and quality models by two trustworthy brands, so you will get your money’s worth either way.

Six stages:

·        Pre-Filter

·        Medium Filter

·        BioGS HEPA Filter

·        Charcoal Based Activated Carbon Filter

·        Customized filter

·        Healthy Negative Ions

Features:

·        Modern BioGS HEPA Filtration

·        It is customized by multi-layer Filter

·        Six phases of cleaning

·        200 pollen / 193 dust /180 smoke CADR

·        Ultra quiet operation

·        Easy control panel.

·        Odor remove feature

·        Light sensor, f your room is completely dark, the air purifier will automatically switch to Sleep mode after 3 minutes, saving energy.

·        5-year warranty

Pros:

·        Advanced HEPA filtration with six stages of purification

·        Dust Remover customized filter

·        Shiny design

·        Ultra silent operation

·        Light sensor

·        Long warranty

·        Multispeed performance

Cons:

·        Somewhat costly

Conclusion:

With multi-stage air filtration and a customizable air filter, the Rabbit Air SPA-780A Air Purifier helps you breathe cleaner air.

 1.    Levoit Core 300

Our rating of this product is 91/100.

If you asked us what is the best air purifier for asthma and pets, the answer is levoit core 300.

levoit core 300 air purifier are maintain the best performance and to ensure what you're buying is worthy of your investment. It has couple of advantages and features.

The Core 300 is a complete package, present good and consistent protection, solidity, and beautiful design all of that at a reasonable price.

The first channel is great for hypersensitivities and asthma all alone, you can get a variation with a specific pet sensitivity channel or with a poison safeguard channel that is particularly acceptable at preventing indications of the condition, respectively. Its Vortexair Technology creates a stronger air flow, CADR number is 230+m3/h, allowing it to cover up to 219 sq. ft. AC 120V/60HZ for USA and Canada. It consist of 3-stage filtration (including a Pre-Filter, H13 True HEPA Filter, and Activated Carbon Filter) traps at least 99.97% of fine particles 0.3 microns in size, including pollen, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, smoke. Levoit air purifiers avoid using UV/Ion light, an air cleaning method that research has shown can produce toxic ozone and secondary pollution.

The pre-filter can be cleaned by every 2-4 weeks to maintain its effect and other 2 filters cannot be cleaned. It is recommended to replace the filters by every 6-8 months to breathe easier all the time.

Specification:

·        Power Supply Input: AC 120V, 60Hz

·        Rated Power: 45W

·        Effective Range: ≤ 215 ft² / 20 m²

·        Operating Conditions: Temperature: 14°F–104°F /

·        -10°C–40°C

·        Humidity: < 85% RH

·        Noise Level: 24–50dB

·        Standby Power: < 0.8W

·        Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.7 x 14.2 in /

·        22 x 22 x 36 cm

·        Weight: 7.5lb / 3.4kg

Pros:

·        3-in-1 HEPA Filter

·        Beats all safety standards

·        Silent operation

·        Particular user manual & quick start guide

Cons:

·        Filters require replacement with some other air purifies

Conclusion:

There are three fan speeds and it is so quiet. So easy to use. Incredibly easy to set up. It looks elegant in any room. Well-made and sturdy. The controls are nicely displayed.

2.    Germ Guardian AC9200W

Our rating of this product is 90/100.

The Germ Guardian AC9200W is a mid-range air purifier. It could be could be a strong competitor, germguardian air purifier costco is the best air purifier for asthma because it is spotted with a great number of features that reduce symptoms. It is a user friendly. It captures 99.97% of dust and allergens as small as .3 microns in size! A large activated granular carbon filter attacks common household odors including those caused by smoking, cooking and pets. It works to reduce the many VOCs that are emitted by common household products and cleaning chemicals. UV-C light technology kills germs including staph, influenza and rhinovirus. It has the True HEPA filter (responsible for dust, pollen, mold, dander, etc.), combined with the Pre-filter that deceive even larger particles (such as pet hair, etc.). The Pre-filter has another function – it continue the life of the HEPA filter so that you need not change it as often.

In other two filters, Charcoal filter is also a part of HEPA filter. In sleep mode, the noise level reaches only 12dBA, and at the highest speed, around 50. Your clock will basically be louder than this air purifier!

The only limitation is that you cannot dim or turn off the blue light it emits. However, the light is really subtle, and it didn’t bother us at all, even when we tested the purifier overnight.

Features:

·        Traps Allergens

·        Reduces Odors

·        Fights Germs

·        AHAM Verified and Energy Star Certified

·        Filter Replacement Reminder

Pros:

·        Captures Dust & Allergens

·        Reduces Odors

·        HEPA Filter

·        Ultra-Quiet Operation

·        UV-C Kills Airborne Mold & Germs

·        3 Year Limited Warranty

·        Energy-saving

·        Compact & portable

Cons:

·        You can’t  turn off the light

Conclusion:

·        GermGuardian AC9200WCA Air Purifier will have more fan power.

·        Better additional features.

3.    Coway Mighty AP-1512HH    

·        Our rating: 95/100

·        Compact size with the powerful performance to cover a large living room Compact size with the powerful

·        Powerful filtration system

·        Small in size but mighty in power

·        Keep your indoor air clean

·       Equipped with a HEPA efficiency rating of 99. 97 percent

·       It uses a four-stage filtration system to effectively eliminate odors and pollutants.

Pros:          

·        Profitable

·        Durable HEPA filter

·        Well-off with additional features

·        Good quality features

·        Friendly value price

·        Auto mode

Cons:

·        We recommended an AC filter for smoke control to the Vital Ion filter

Conclusion:

It is consist of four-stage filtration effectively reduces the odor, pet dander and other pet-generated contaminants from indoor air and strong filtration system.

4.     Honeywell HPA300

Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover effectively captures up to 99.97% of airborne allergens, 0.3 microns and larger, that pass through the filters. This air purifier is highly effective at capturing airborne particles such as dust, smoke, pollen, pet dander and mold spores in extra-large rooms (5x air changes per hour in a 465 sq. ft.). An odor reducing pre-filter and True HEPA filter are paired to capture odors, VOCs, allergens and germs. The honeywell hpa300 True HEPA Whole Room Air Purifier with Allergen Remover offers easy tap controls and an automatic shut off timer. Overall score for the Honeywell HPA300 92/100. Core 300, is better for asthma and that the LV-H134 is better if you want a more rounded-up air purifier (but also pricier). Always purchase Genuine Honeywell replacement air purifier filters. They are certified to help remove allergens, dust & odors, and other compatible filter replacements are not guaranteed to offer the same performance or efficiency, honeywell air purifier hpa300 The Doctor’s Choice, is the No.1 brand recommended by allergists. Honeywell air purifiers are a trusted partner in the fight against airborne particles.

Features:

·        HEPA Filter

·        A+ Honeywell Pre-Filter

·        465 square feet coverage

·        Turbo clean feature

·        Four cleaning levels

·        Touch controls

·        Timer

·        Control panel dimmer

·        300 dust /320 smoke / 300 pollen CADR

·        5-year warranty.

Unlike many other air purifier brands, Honeywell doesn’t install the Smart Sensor feature in their old devices. You can only find the basic settings like a Timer, with 3 different values of 2 hours, 4 hours and 8 hours. There are 3 fan modes: Allergen, General clean and Germ.

For the maximum efficiency, you can switch to Turbo mode. Turbo mode maximizes the honeywell hpa300 fan and should be used for extreme allergies situation.

Also, we have a auto light dimmer setting in this air purifier. The last but not least, you could remember the replacement date due to the electronic filter replacement reminders.

A+ Genuine Pre-Filter:

This air purifier works with the Honeywell A and A+ Pre-Filter. The Pre-Filter is the first level of filtration and helps capture large particles such as dust, lint, fibers and pet fur and helps to reduce VOCs & odors from cooking, smoke, bathrooms and pets. This filter should be replaced every 3 months. The filter check/reset light will remind you when it’s time to change your filter. Initial filter included. To ensure stated product performance, use only genuine and certified Honeywell replacement filters.

Pros:

·        Extra-large room air purifier

·        Help to remove allergens and certain germs

·        Effective air cleaning and circulation.

·        Easily adjustable

·        Certified technology

·        Smart features

·        Outstanding performance

·        Excellent value for the price

·        Lots of fan power

Cons:

·        Quite noisy

Visit Us:

https://onepik.com/

[wickedbananas]

The Bot Plan: Your Guide to Making Conversations Convert

Posted by purna_v

Let’s start off with a quick “True or False?” game:

“By 2020, the average person will have more conversations with their bot than with their spouse.”

True, or false? You may be surprised to learn that speaking more with bots than our spouse is precisely what Gartner is predicting.

And when Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg says “messaging is one of the few things that people do more than social networking,” it requires no leap of faith to see that chatbots are an integral part of marketing’s future.

But you don’t need to stock up on canned peaches and head for the hills because “the robots are coming.” The truth is, the robots aren’t coming because they’re already here, and they love us from the bottom of their little AI-powered hearts.

Bots aren’t a new thing for many parts of the world such as China or India. As reported by Business Insider, sixty-seven percent of consumers worldwide have used a chatbot for customer support in the last year.

Within the United States, an impressive 60% of millennials have used chatbots with 70% of those reporting positive experiences, according to Forbes.

There’s no putting bots back in the box.

And it’s not just that brands have to jump on board to keep up with those pesky new generations, either. Bots are great for them, too.

Bots offer companies:

A revolutionary way to reach consumers. For the first time in history, brands of any size can reach consumers on a personal level. Note my emphasis on “of any size.” You can be a company of one and your bot army can give your customers a highly personal experience. Bots are democratizing business!

Snackable data. This “one-to-one” communication gives you personal insights and specificity, plus a whole feast of snackable data that is actionable.

Non-robot-like interaction. An intelligent bot can keep up with back-and-forth customer messages in a natural, contextual, human way.

Savings. According to Juniper Research, the average time saving per chatbot inquiry compared to traditional call centers is over four minutes, which has the potential to make a truly extraordinary impact on a company’s bottom line (not to mention the immeasurable impact it has on customers’ feelings about the company).

Always on. It doesn’t matter what time zone your customer is in. Bots don’t need to sleep, or take breaks. Your company can always be accessible via your friendly bot.

Here in the West, we are still in the equivalent of the Jurassic Period for bots. What they can be used for is truly limited only by our imagination.

One of my most recent favorites is an innovation from the BBC News Labs and Visual Journalism teams, who have launched a bot-builder app designed to, per Nieman Lab, “make it as easy as possible for reporters to build chatbots and insert them in their stories.”

So, in a story about President Trump from earlier this year, you see this:

Source: BBC.com

It’s one of my favorites not just because it’s innovative and impressive, but because it neatly illustrates how bots can add to and improve our lives… not steal our jobs.

Don’t be a dinosaur

A staggering eighty percent of brands will use chatbots for customer interactions by 2020, according to research. That means that if you don’t want to get left behind, you need to join the bot arms race right now.

“But where do I start?” you wonder.

I’m happy you asked that. Building a bot may seem like an endeavor that requires lots of tech savvy, but it’s surprisingly low-risk to get started.

Many websites allow you to build bots for free, and then there’s QNAMaker.ai (created by Microsoft, my employer), which does a lot of the work for you.

You simply input your company’s FAQ section, and it builds the foundation for an easy chatbot that can be taken live via almost any platform, using natural language processing to parse your FAQ and develop a list of questions your customers are likely to ask.

This is just the beginning — the potential for bots is wow-tastic.

That’s what I’m going to show you today — how you can harness bot-power to build strong, lasting relationships with your customers.

Your 3-step plan to make conversations convert

Step 1: Find the right place to start

The first step isn’t to build a bot straightaway. After all, you can build the world’s most elaborate bot and it is worth exactly nothing to you or your customer if it does not address their needs.

That’s why the first step is figuring out the ways bots can be most helpful to your customers. You need to find their pain points.

You can do this by pretending you’re one of your customers, and navigating through your purchase funnel. Or better again, find data within your CRM system and analytics tools that can help you answer key questions about how your audience interacts with your business.

Here’s a handy checklist of questions you should get answers to during this research phase:

How do customers get information or seek help from your company? ☑

How do they make a purchase? ☑

Do pain points differ across channels and devices? ☑

How can we reduce the number of steps in each interaction? ☑

Next, you’ll want to build your hypothesis. And here’s a template to help you do just that:

I believe [type of person] needs to solve [problem] which happens while [situation], which will allow them to [get value].

For example, you’re the manager of a small spa, whose biggest time-suck is people calling to ask simple questions, meaning other customers are on hold for a long time. If those customers can ask a bot these simple questions, you get three important results:

The hold time for customers overall will diminish

The customer-facing staff in your spa will be able to pay more attention to clients who are physically in front of them

Customers with lengthier questions will be helped sooner

Everybody wins.

Finally, now that you’ve identified and prioritized the situations where conversation can help, you’ll be ready to build a bot as well as a skill.

Wait a minute — what’s a skill in this context, and how do they relate to bots? Here’s a great explanation from Chris Messina:

A bot is an autonomous program on a network

A chatbot is a bot that uses human language to communicate

An AI assistant is a chatbot that performs tasks or services for an individual

A skill is a capability that an AI assistant can learn

Each of them can help look things up, place orders, solve problems, and make things happen easier, better, and faster.

A few handy resources to build a bot are:

Microsoft's Azure Bot Service

Bot Service Documentation

Mobile Monkey Facebook Messenger marketing platform

Bot users on Slack

So You Want to Build a Chat Bot – Here's How (Complete with Code!)

Step 2: Add conversation across the entire customer journey

There are three distinct areas of the customer decision journey where bots and skills can make a big difference.

Bot as introducer

Bots can help your company by being present at the very first event in a purchase path.

Adidas did this wonderfully when they designed a chatbot for their female-focused community Studio LDN, to help create an interactive booking process for the free fitness sessions offered. To drive engagement further, as soon as a booking was made the user would receive reminders and messages from influencer fitness instructors.

The chatbot was the only way for people to book these sessions and it worked spectacularly well.

In the first two weeks, 2,000 people signed up to participate, with repeat use at 80%. Retention after week one was 60%, which the brand claims is far better compared to an app.

Adidas did something really clever. They advertised the bot across many of their other channels to help promote the bot and help with its discoverability.

You can do the same.

There are countless examples where bots can put their best suit on and act as the first introduction to your company:

Email marketing: According to MailChimp research, the average email open rates are between 15% to 26% with click rates being just a fraction of that at approximately 2%–5%. That’s pretty low when you compare that to Messenger messages, which can have an open rate of well over 90%. Why not make your call-to-action within your email be an incentive for people to engage with your chatbot? For example, something like “message us for 10% off” could be a compelling reason for people to engage with your chatbot.

Social media: How about instead of running Facebook ads which direct people to websites, you run an ad connecting people to bots instead? For example, in the ad, advise people to “chat to see the latest styles” or “chat now to get 20% off” and then have your bot start a conversation. Instant engagement! Plus, it’s a more gentle call-to-action as opposed to a hard sell such as “buy now.”

Video: How about creating instructional YouTube videos on how to use your bot? Especially helpful since one of the barriers to using this new technology is a lack of awareness about how to use it. A short, quick video that demonstrates what your skill can do could be very impactful. Check out this great example from FitBit and Cortana:

Search: As you’ve likely seen by now, Bing has been integrating chatbots within the SERPs itself. You can do a search for bots across different platforms and you’ll be able to add relevant bots directly to your preferred platform right from the search results themselves:

You can engage with local businesses such as restaurants via the Bing Business bot that shows up as part of the local listings:

Bing Ads is even piloting a chatbot extension as part of PPC ads, to drive more engagement through real-time engagement.

The key lesson here is that when your bot is acting as an introducer, give your audience plenty of ways and reasons to chat. Use conversation to tell people about new stuff, and get them to kick off that conversation.

Bot as influencer

To see a bot acting as an effective influencer, let’s turn to Chinese giant Alibaba. They developed a customizable chatbot store concierge that they offer free to brands and markets.

Cutely named dian xiao mi, or “little shop bee,” the concierge is designed to be the most helpful store assistant you could wish for.

For example, if a customer interacting with a clothing brand uploads a photograph of a t-shirt, the bot buzzes in with suggestions of pants to match. Or, if a customer provides his height and weight, the bot can offer suggested sizing. Anyone who has ever shopped online for clothing knows exactly how much pain the latter offering could eliminate.

This helpful style is essentially changing the conversation from “BUY NOW!” to “What do you need right now?”

We should no longer ask: "How should we sell to customers?" The gazillion-dollar question instead is: How can we connect with them?

An interesting thing about this change is that, when you think about it for a second, it seems like common sense. How much more trust would you have for a brand that was only trying to help you? If you bought a red dress, how much more helpful would it be if the brand showed you a pic of complementary heels and asked if you want to “complete the look”?

For the chatbot to be truly helpful as an influencer, it needs to learn from each conversation. It needs to remember what you shared from the last conversation, and use it to shape future conversations.

So, say a chatbot from my favorite shoe store knew all about my shoe addiction (is there a cure? Would I event want to be cured of it?), then it could be more helpful via its remarketing efforts.

Imagine how much more effective it would be if we could have an interaction like this:

Shoestore Chatbot: Hi Purna! We’re launching a new collection of boots. Would you like a sneak peek? Me: YES please!!! Shoestore Chatbot: Great! I’ll email pics to you. You can also save 15% off your next order with code “MozBlog”. Hurry, code expires in 24 hours. Me: *buys all the shoes, obvs*

This is Bot-topia. Your brand is being helpful, not pushy. Your bot is cultivating relationships with your customers, not throwing ads at them.

The key lesson here? For your bot to be a successful influencer, you must always consider how they can be helpful and how they can add value.

Bot as closer

Bot: “A, B, C. Always be closing.”

Imagine you want to buy flowers for Mother’s Day, but you have very little interest in flowers, and when you scroll through the endless options on the website, and then a long checkout form, you just feel overwhelmed.

1-800-Flowers found your pain point, and acted on it by creating a bot for Facebook Messenger.

It asks you whether you want to select a bunch from one of their curated collections, instantly eliminating the choice paralysis that could see consumers leave the website without purchasing anything.

And once you’ve chosen, you can easily complete the checkout process using your phone’s payment system (e.g. Apple Pay) to make checkout a cinch. So easy, and so friction-free.

The result? According to Digiday, within two months of launch the company saw 70% of the orders through the bot came from brand-new customers. By building a bot, 1-800 Flowers slam-dunked their way into the hearts of a whole new, young demographic.

Can you think of a better, more inexpensive way to unlock a big demographic? I can’t.

To quote Mr. Zuckerberg again: “It’s pretty ironic. To order from 1-800-Flowers, you never have to call 1-800-Flowers again.”

Think back to that handy checklist of questions from Step 1, especially this one: “How can we reduce the number of steps in each interaction?”

Your goal is to make every step easy and empathetic.

Think of what people would want/need to know to as they complete their tasks. For example, if you’re looking to transfer money from your bank account, the banking chatbot could save you from overdraft fees if it warns you that your account could be overdrawn before you make the transfer.

The key lesson here: Leverage your bots to remove any friction and make the experience super relevant and empathetic.

Step 3: Measure the conversation with the right metrics

One of my favorite quotes around how we view metrics versus how we should view metrics comes from Automat CEO Andy Mauro, who says:

“Rather than tracking users with pixels and cookies, why not actually engage them, learn about them, and provide value that actually meets their needs?”

Again, this is common sense once you’ve read it. Of course it makes sense to engage our users and provide value that meets their needs!

We can do this because the bots and skills give us information in our customers’ own words.

Here’s a short list of KPIs that you should look at (let’s call it "bot-alytics"):

Delivery and open rates: If the bot starts a conversation, did your customer open it?

Click rates: If your bot delivered a link in a chat, did your customer click on it?

Retention: How often do they come back and chat with you?

Top messages: What messages are resonating with your customers more than others?

Conversion rates: Do they buy?

Sentiment analysis: Do your customers express happiness and enthusiasm in their conversation with the bot, or frustration and anger?

Using bot-alytics, you can easily build up a clear picture of what is working for you, and more importantly, what is working for your customer.

And don’t forget to ask: What can you learn from bot-alytics that can help other channels?

The future's bright, the future's bots

What were once dumb machines are now smart enough that we can engage with them in a very human way. It presents the opportunity of a generation for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Our customers are beginning to trust bots and digital personal assistants for recommendations, needs, and more. They are the friendly neighborhood machines that the utopian vision of a robotic future presents. They should be available to people anywhere: from any device, in any way.

And if that hasn’t made you pencil in a “we need to talk about bots” meeting with your company, here’s a startling prediction from Accenture. They believe that in five years, more than half of your customers will select your services based on your AI instead of your traditional brand.

In three steps, you can start your journey toward bot-topia and having your conversations convert. What are you waiting for?

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

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[dallasareaopinion]

Exactly what,,, and some advice for both candidates

I figured out the problem with the world, too many people in the United States have no taste buds. 

Now I am throwing stones from a glass house because I know better and still do not treat myself to eating well. I mean this though, the love of good food is a great way to bring people to together. Yet, when people gorge themselves without savoring etc then what have they obtained. Not even real sustenance which isn’t good, and it doesn’t move us forward as a society or culture.

Good food is probably the one excess that all mankind should have available to them regularly. Yes, even the poor deserve to enjoy the fruits of what this planet has to offer along with the talents of men and women who can take it to the next level.

Yet someone like Trump is President, shows how far the cultural ladder the United States lands. Have you heard what he likes?

I was in the grocery store and something caught my eye. I need to be more disciplined about cooking especially since we cannot go out to eat right now.

If I had money, I would be overweight and happy. I love the taste of good food and yet my palate is still in its infancy. I would travel to eat. Yes some fine wine too. Well prepared food by itself though is something every human should have a chance to enjoy at least irregularly. Socialism won’t put a lobster in every pot, but the human race deserves better when it comes to the power of good food.

And yes I know and I hear you, we haven’t even come close to solving world hunger, much less world sustenance. Still someone has to set a goal and the goal should be treat people well and feed them well. No, people won’t all be fat and lazy if you feed them well. The enjoyment of good food is one of the great simple joys of life. Why are we starving people?  (not rhetorical and there are a hundred bad answers to that question, time we find some good ones)

Both candidates just flabbergast me. The one thing that matters going forward is how do we live starting in 2021. “What’s the plan Stan”

I have been on a CNN kick lately, kind of rare actually and Mark Meadows as Republicans usually do stuck his foot in his mouth, then Mr. Tapper, in his pretentious left self focusing on the gaffe and turning a mountain into a mountain, but neither one realized the real problem.

Both candidates have no idea what they are going to do come lets say February. Both have words, but neither are communicating a plan to the American people that the American people can actually put their finger on. 

They say they have a plan, and there are some things you figure either side might do, but a real lets get down and dirty plan. Maybe

So with a week to go, how about we are going to move forward by

1) containment, Mr. Meadows is right we cannot control it, but we do have to contain it till his vaccine is ready. And honestly and both parties better start being honest, even a semi reliable vaccine is still a ways off; not just having results from tests, but having it. 

2) We are going to need some serious economic development in a hurry especially since Leader Mitch is a prick and has shut down the struggling and the poor of this country something horrible. Got cake under that mask Mitch? Or have you never read history? Cause....???? you ain’t looking too smart. If the Republicans want capitalism, they better be ready November 4, not January with some plans. Personally the elitists don’t care, but I do, so I hope something is developed. (I kinda like eating well)

3) And this economic development needs to be much more than energy. So far Trump and fossil fuels and Biden and clean energy is what we hear. We need more especially heavy investment in infrastructure and heavy investment in small businesses. They both use the word infrastructure, but real solid concrete in the ground ideas???? I could add a whole host of projects to start working on yesterday, heck ten years ago.

4) I know Trump doesn’t have a healthcare plan, but what the hay, lets pretend. He better put it on the table the exact same day the Supreme Court strikes down the ACA. I wonder when his base will realize they do not have the money to go to the hospital anymore. And on a side note, lets not forget, only a very few of Trump’s base are the wackos. Many are hardworking people who have dreams, just no education. The pretentious left needs to get over themselves. Trump’s people are Americans, they believe in what they were taught and unfortunately they were not taught well. The vast majority really do not understand the world was pulled out from under them in the 90′s by FOX and the one percenters. And honestly I still need to hear much more from Biden about his plan, especially if he has to craft a new one in January, cause if Trump loses everything will be in limbo for the moment.

5) And we will need to engage each other again as human beings. Sounds simple, but this is so important. We will actually need events that the country can celebrate. Not military parades, President Trump, but true Americana, that bring people together in the streets, open up the diversity and move this country forward. We need to go back to sharing, what about a national potluck, yeah make fun, but right now we need something that redirects the divisiveness clouding our future. And if you point a finger that it is the other side, Stop!

Or basically to both candidates, we need more meat on that plate.

The first answer is jobs and food. The real answer is so much more. 

And the quote is somewhat bantered around and there are two famous versions of it so here they are because the truth is the truth.

“If you vote for the lesser of two evils you are still voting for evil....You should always vote for the best candidate whether they have a chance of winning or not, and then even if the worst possible candidate wins, the Lord will bless our country more because more people were willing to stand up for what is right.” Ezra Taft Benson (maybe and maybe 1972 hmmm)

and yes I know many of you just tuned out, but

“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil” Jerry Garcia

Now that you see polar opposites saying the exact same thing, why the heck are you still voting for Democrats and Republicans. Going back to Mr. Benson, research your other parties and write ins. There are actually a few good people running. You may not agree with everything, but there are some people it wouldn’t hurt you to research. 

And there are other people with the same theme quote. Or there are other quotes similar that deal more with voting your conscience either for principle or for your own benefit. “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost,” John Quincy Adams

And on that note, lets go back to keeping it simple.

Good values and good food should be the soul of our country.