#i am not even talking about their currency convertion rates

[luwha]

Working with paypal is like working with a bully that takes your lunch money every day 🙃

[nardo-headcanons]

HI FREN!!! Am here to pick your big brain 🧠 🤗 I had a question about finances?! How much do you think ninjas make for being ninjas, by the time shippuden ends, and how much do you think Naruto as hokage makes 🤔 Sasuke as a missing nin has no money so how do they all pay for stuff?! Thank you for even reading this 🤗🤭🙂❤

*SIGH* Finances in the shinobi world... I have thought about this way too often. It should've been a way bigger part of Naruto's worldbuilding, considering the many money driven motvations we see in the story, but it sadly isn't. For the sake of this post I will convert everything into USD, but feel free to convert that into any currency of your choosing. This will be a mixture of canon and headcanon, you've been warned.

Money in the shinobi world

Let's see what the wiki has to say about money in the shinobi world first.

The ryō (両) is the currency used in the Naruto world. It is based on an old Japanese gold coin that was used in Japan before the Meiji period. It was later replaced by the yen. The exchange rate of 1 ryō is 10 yen. Although money isn't focused on much in the story, certain prices and sums of money have been mentioned. For example, Asuma Sarutobi had a bounty of 35,000,000 ryō (...) The Mujina Bandits made a demand to the Ikkyū Madoka, the daimyō of the Land of Fire, of a ransom of 500,000,000 ryō for the safe return of his son, Tentō Madoka, which Ikkyū had to make preparations to gather.

35,000,000 ryō are about $430,000 while 500,000,000 ryō are about $6.24 million.

Shinobi usually earn their money from completing missions. The rewards for these range from 5,000 ryō for a D-rank mission to more than 1,000,000 ryō for an S-rank mission.

5,000 ryō is about $60, while 1,000,000 ryō equate to about $12,400.

Currency

There are three types of currency in the shinobi world, one being copper coins, the other actual money bills and the last one being gold ingots. Copper coins are the most commonly spent currency, while ingots are the rarest. Bills start from 100 ryō ($1.25) and go up to 10,000 ryō ($125), while there are ingots from 10,000 to 1,000,000 ryō ($12,500).

Pricing

In Naruto Part 1, we see Naruto and Jiraya bump into a man who says his designer jacket is worth 10,000 ryō ($1250), to which Jiraya (who is loaded btw) says that designer jackets of that quality aren't usually "that" expensive. Aside from revealing designer brands exist in the shinobi world, it also implies that the pricing in Naruto isn't comparable to our world, since 1000 dollars for a designer jacket isn't outrageously expensive.

While hubs of economy, the ninja villages are mainly used to produce ninjas and economic growth is not their first priority. Most money is made (and exchanged) in the capital cities of the continent, which is where most of the rich and wealthy live.

I do think there is some basic universal healthcare in the hidden leaf village, however, long term/large scale treatments often have to be paid out of pocket. (ex. Mukai Kohinata, Shisui Uchiha)

Salaries

Given the large majority of missions go along the hokage village and a part of the money is taken by the village and the large position of power that the hokage position provides, it's reasonable to assume the hokage earns quite a lot. My estimate is about 100M ryō, which equates to $1.25M.

The average genin, assumed they do 4 D-Rank missions a week and pays an income tax of 20%, makes about $10,300 anually, most of which will be spent on ninja weapons and training equipment.

Aside from official missions, there are also ways to 'illegally' hire ninja, especially when talking about rogue ninja outside of the village. They are directly payed without paying taxes to their village. Aside from state sponsored killing, there are other missions to do, like transporting intel or other goods, which Sasuke most likely could've done during his time in exile, considering he traveled so much. People with ninja skills are a rarity outside of the ninja villages, so hiring a nukenin to do a job for you is a viable option, at least for more wealthy civilians.

When talking about Sasuke in Orochimaru's hideout, I think he gets an allowance from Oro as well as making money doing "illegal" missions. I think Orochimaru comes from a wealthy family and he makes a lot of money from his lab work and experiments. You can hire him/his men for intel gathering and experiments, as well as medical services if you're a nukenin. Out of the sannin, Oro is probably the richest of the three of them.

[financeknowy]

The 5 Most Interesting Facts About What Hedged Funds Are

Have  been having bad experiences with other blogs in getting some of the fascinating and intriguing facts you need to know about hedged funds and what they are or are you lost in your quest to understand hedged funds?

Well, it’s all right cause you are in the right place to complete your quest, because this blog post is going to break down some of the most interesting facts about hedged funds: what is it, some of the controversial facts about it, and lots more.

In fact, these same things have been proven by many financial experts to be a must-know for anyone looking to go into hedge funds and it also helped me back in 2016 when I was just newly getting started with hedge funds.

Some of the key takeaways to keep in mind from this blog post are [

The meaning of hedge fund is capital that accepts both short and long positions, buys and sells proprietorship, inaugurates arbitrage, and barter bonds, currencies, convertible securities, commodities, and derivative products to make a profit at lessened risk.

The types of hedge funds are Global macro hedge funds, activist hedge funds, event-driven hedge funds, and relative value hedge funds (arbitrage).

There are 6 main strategies that hedge funds use, they are  Capital structure strategies, Global macro strategies, Event-driven strategies, Long/short strategies, Relative value arbitrage strategies, and Directional strategies.

]

I would recommend you read this blog post to the end and try not to miss any parts because I am going to be sharing with you a bonus tip which is going to be

about how hedge funds make their money? and other fascinating facts about them and if you read it to the end, I promise you it will all make sense to you. So what are we waiting for?

Let's dive right in!

So before we even start talking about some of the most fascinating facts about hedged funds. Clarity demands that we start with some basic key knowledge we should know about hedged funds. As a famous quote goes “A lack of clarity could put the brakes on any journey to success”.

First off we are going to start off with the definition of hedged funds and move on to the types of hedge funds, strategies that hedge funds use, and lastly how they make their money. Before entering the intriguing facts about them

What are hedge funds?

Hedge funds are capital that accepts both short and long positions, buys and sells proprietorship, inaugurates arbitrage, and barter bonds, currencies, convertible securities, commodities, and derivative products to make a profit at lessened risk.

What are the types of hedge funds?

They are basically three types of hedge funds. They are:

1. Global macro hedge funds 

Global macro funds are different investment scheme that supports globally established on comprehensive macro-driven motif such as monetary policy, interest rates, inflation, unemployment, and politics.

2. Relative value hedge fund

A relative value fund is an actively controlled investment pool that seeks to utilize short-term variance in the prices of correlated securities. This way of investing is most times used by hedge funds.

3. Activist hedge fund

 An activist hedge fund earns sizable stakes in corporations to achieve functioning/economic impact and convinces Councils and administration teams to enact their preferred modifications; 

What are the strategies hedge funds use?

Hedge funds basically rely on 6 basic strategies and they are as follows:

1. Global macro strategies

For the successful enactment of a multinational macro technique, fund managers have to study different macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.

A global macro strategy is an investment and trading technique that is established on the understanding of big macroeconomic occurrences on the federal, provincial, and international scale. 

2. Directional hedge fund strategies

Unlike classical joint funds, equity market directional hedge funds usually:

take short positions as well as long,

use derivatives (mostly options),

have consolidated portfolios.

They describe the most typical hedge fund strategy company. Mainly bartering commodities, they are like classical stock joint funds, but they generally have more independence and more intrepidity in their trading tactics.

3. Event-driven hedge fund strategies

An event-driven strategy is a kind of investment approach that tries to take the edge of transient stock mispricing, which can happen before or after a corporate occasion takes place.

4. Relative value arbitrage strategies

Relative-value arbitrage is an investment strategy that aims to seize the advantage of price differentials between interconnected monetary tools, such as stocks and bonds, by simultaneously purchasing and marketing the different securities—thereby allowing investors to potentially benefit from the “comparative value” of the two securities.

5. Long/short strategies

A long-short equity strategy is an investment technique that seeks to accomplish favorable returns by taking both long and short positions on an exact company. An investor who takes a long position on a firm thinks that the enterprise’s share cost will go up and have favorable returns.

6. Capital structure strategies

Capital structure strategy is the distinct fusion of debt and equity utilized by a firm to sponsor its general operations and growth.it is a fairly popular strategy but effective.

Now that we have some basic knowledge of what a hedge fund is, let's move on to the focal point of this blog post which is about the most fascinating facts about hedge funds.

Starting from the least to first most fascinating fact about hedge funds is one of the most widely controversial and anticipated debates between hedge funds vs mutual funds 

5. Hedge fund vs mutual fund

It’s no fluke that hedge fund has a variety of contentious topics about it and, hedge fund vs mutual fund is one of their most popular. Considering other common controversies are hedge fund vs mutual fund vs etf. But what really makes these two funds different? and why do some people prefer one over the other? Let’s find out!

What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund is a monetary vehicle that pools investments from shareholders to support securities like stocks, bonds, funds market tools, and different assets.

What are Hedged funds?

Hedge funds are capital that accepts both short and long positions, buys and sells proprietorship, inaugurates arbitrage, and barter bonds, currencies, convertible securities, commodities, and derivative products to make a profit at lessened risk.

The main differences

Mutual funds:

Don't take share from the yield

Are open to the general masses

Levy an administration fee (usually 1–2%)

Can't assemble high-risk investments

Tend to function worse than hedge funds

Hedge funds:

Take a 20% commission fee from the earnings

Are open solely to high-net-worth and genteel investors

Charge management fee normally 2% plus performance fee normally 10–30%

Can make high-risk investments

Tend to function better than mutual funds

They are also a couple of other things that they have their differences in, like investment strategies, investors, investment, fees, holding period and national regulation.

4. Hedge fund list

What is the hedge fund list?

The hedge fund list is a list of some of the richest and largest hedge funds and their managers

Hedge fund managers are known for their competitive efforts to achieve greatness and this has led them to earn a spot in the Forbes magazine a list of the richest hedge fund managers in the world.

Below are the 20 largest hedge funds in the world indexed by discretionary assets under management (AUM) as of mid-2022. Just assets in private funds following hedge fund strategies are calculated. Some of these managers also handle public funds and offer non-hedge fund strategies.

Rank

Firm

Headquarters

AUM as of the second quarter of 2023

(millions of USD)

1

Bridgewater Associates

$126,400

2

Man Group

$73,500

3

Renaissance Technologies

$57,000

4

Millennium Management, LLC

$54,968

5

Citadel LLC

$52,970

6

D. E. Shaw & Co.

$47,861

7

Two Sigma

$40,969

8

Davidson Kempner Capital Management

$37,450

9

Farallon Capital

$37,400

10

The Children's Investment Fund Management

$36,200

11

Marshall Wace

$34,400

12

Ruffer

$31,662

13

AQR Capital

$28,200

14

Anchorage Capital Group

$27,100

15

Baupost Group

$26,300

16

Point72 Asset Management

$26,100

17

Capula Investment Management

$25,000

18

Wellington Management Company

$24,968

19

Brevan Howard

$23,353

20

PIMCO

$23,054

READ MORE

[falseandrealultravival]

Super-regional currency, Galois:　Bitcoin is junk：４(4/4)

Évariste Galois (Mathematician in France:1811-1832)

How Galois should be

Please read while thinking about what you have written so far.

＠It is based on the relationship of trust of some members.

@ 1 yen = 1 Galois( in USA,1dollar=1galois!)

Basically, one-on-one transactions.

@ Use existing coins as a medium (means) for exchanging "acts". And coins

Replace the meaning of. For example, even if the economy is confused and one radish costs 10,000 yen,

We will pay 100 Galois for the act of giving radish.  We avoid inflation and deflation

.

@ There is no interest rate.

@ There is no central administrator.

@ Anyone can do it.

The model is the community before the commercialization society.

You can take advantage of the function of @yen. For payment by Galois of remote comrades, the existing yen

You can use the system and then convert it to Galois (coins).

@ With at least 15 members, you can create a complete community. It is desirable that people of various abilities and professions gather. The rationale is that the combination of taking out 2 people from 15 people is 15C2 = 105 (I used the symbol of the combination taught in high school mathematics). This is because you can make more than 100 transactions.

＠Reason for naming "Galois": Since economics is a discipline centered on the concept of "exchange", it can be said at the beginning of” Galois’s group theory” (for example, the idea of ​​"compatibility").

(I think this claim is very radical. I will continue to discuss this.)

Finally, I would like to say that Galois is a non-commercial currency, and now I am disclosing my thinking, not recruiting members.

Also, as a new type, let's say that I, who may have diabetes, want to eat Daifuku mochi, buy it at a supermarket for 100 yen, and have a person eat 60% of the majority. How much will the currency move at this time? If you think about it simply, it will be 60 yen, and I will get it from the other party, but my heart is not. He did the act of eating Daifuku mochi, so I would pay 20 Galois.

Comparing with the recently talked about "electronic money" such as "PASMO" and "nanaco", "electronic money" is "light" and there is a risk of going crazy due to a computer malfunction. Also, I think that troubles are likely to occur when combined with other card services. In the case of Galois, which I advocate, it is bulky, but I think it can be a reliable transaction. However, I think that it is not suitable for large transactions to some extent.

Oh yeah, there is an Arab saying that "small coins help you"

[aurelacs]

gratitude.

PAIRING: ezra x reader

RATING: 18+

WORD COUNT: 3.7k

CONTENT: slow burn, canon typical violence, some pining, some of this some of that, oral (f + m receiving), unprotected sex, a little bit of come eating, way more smut than i anticipated having when i first started writing this

A/N: this takes place prior to the events of Prospect, so Ezra has both arms and hasn’t met Cee.  

read on ao3

“Stop flinching.” 

Everything happened in such a flash that you barely had a chance to comprehend the events that had unfolded right in front of you. Ezra, your business partner, was negotiating a price for your recent dig with a duo of mercenaries that rubbed you the wrong way. He gave them the same, long winded speech he did to every group of potential buyers and they seemed jumpy as he did so. One kept his eyes squarely on you as you clutched the suitcase full of aurelac to your chest. Back on less toxic ground, a haul this size could set the two of you up for months, but scavengers had stripped your pod for parts. You had managed to find someone on the Green willing to trade, but they strangely weren’t interested in aurelac, and only wanted credits. The desperation led you and Ezra down a path that Ezra had no problem taking, but set you on edge. And the mercs were proving your gut right. You could almost feel the confusion on Ezra’s face as one of the mercenaries tried to name their price. 

“Gentlemen, I do believe you are selling my partner and I a little short. We are not even asking for the full price we deserve, merely enough for us to repair our vessel and be on our way off this wretched moon.” 

You weren’t sure when it started, but it was hard not to notice every time since. A fluttering in your chest whenever Ezra referred to you as “his partner” or “bird” or by your name. The way it rolled off his tongue, cushioned in his flowery, broad, strange language. It might’ve happened some time between your first big sell and the first time you returned to the Green after rotations away chasing other lucrative resources. 

It had been over a year since that sell; Ezra managed to find an untouched deposit of red sand on a near empty planet. The entire trip back to the Ephrate saw both of you as nervous balls of energy: restless fingers on the ship console as Ezra fought to break the atmosphere, tapping heels as an appraiser mercilessly took his time inspecting the haul. Your nails had been bitten down to nubs. The entire process took three hours. Analyzing, appraising, weighing, analyzing again, and converting currency until someone finally met the two of you in the cushy office and gave you their price. The sound bounced around in your head and you had trouble believing that much money could exist. Ezra had shot up from his seat, pulling you up with him. He twirled you around in celebration and when he put you down he leaned you back and kissed you: a reaction so fitting and overwhelming to your newfound wealth that you couldn’t find it in you to protest. And you didn’t want to. Sometimes the memory creeps back into the forefront and makes your lips tingle. The two of you hadn’t mentioned it since. On occasion you’ll catch yourself staring at his mouth as he speaks, dreaming of kissing him again, and you know he notices because a small smile will inch up as he continues to talk. A couple times you caught him staring back. 

The money you made from the red sand was more than enough for the two of you to part ways and retire, but you could see the look of confusion on Ezra’s face when you brought up the idea. It read “why would I give this up” with twice the words necessary, and you couldn’t help but agree. There was a rush to every aspect of prospecting. It was an addiction. And, silently, you weren’t quite ready to part ways with Ezra just yet. You had only been working together for four months, and it wasn’t enough time to scratch the itch that developed on your palms. You both put your split fortunes on bank cards that you kept far off your person to prevent others from potentially stealing them from you.  

When you first returned to the Green, you were hesitant to even try prospecting. The Aurelac Rush nearly wiped the whole moon clean, and there were still plenty of other prospectors ignoring the fact. Adding the toxic air to the mix made you claustrophobic. The suits you had to wear itched against your skin, and the sound of your breath echoing in your helmet filled you with an unease that refused to leave until you had docked back onto the freighter. Ezra felt the opposite. He reveled in the moon’s lush greenery and its sense of anonymity. As much as he spoke of his love for the Green, you could tell he hated the helmets as much as you did from the way he shook his head when he took it off. His first breath was always long and slow as he deeply took in the unfiltered air of your pod or tent. 

“I’d be more inclined to stay on this moon if it wasn't so damn toxic,” he said as he made his way out of your pod. “I would say it’s prettier than a picture, but there is that one you have of us from when we sold the sand,  and it is unfair to the Green to place it in a losing race against your smile.” He didn’t stick around long enough to gauge your reaction: a rosy flush up your neck to your cheeks, mouth slightly agape in confusion. Your lips had begun to tingle again and it took you a minute to remember what the hell you were doing. The Green. Aurelac. Ezra. That trip you struggled to keep up with him. He began to serve better as a distraction than a partner. 

Ezra managed to unearth enough viable dig sites that it almost justified the visit. You wanted to put your foot down, no more going to the Green, not when there were plenty of other planets and moons with easier, more valuable jewels and resources to scavenge and doubly so when the both of you were so rich you didn’t even have to prospect in the first place. In response, he laid out a map you could barely understand. He spoke of untold riches, unlimited aurelac: “My bird, we are already rich beyond the stars, but what if we could be rich beyond the universe?” It was a map to the supposed Queen’s Lair. The shine in his eyes as he talked made it impossible for you to say no. 

By Kevva, you wish you did. 

The map didn’t lead to the Queen’s Laid like Ezra had been told, but the deposit was still large enough that it would’ve been foolish to merely leave it behind. That led to the mess with your pod, the parts dealer, and now the mercs. The one who wouldn’t take his eyes off of you, grew tired of waiting for Ezra and his partner to negotiate and fired his weapon. His aim was off, however, and the bullet only grazed your arm. Or maybe it was exactly what he wanted to do. The sudden shock made you drop the case of aurelac, and made Ezra drop his guard to help you. 

“That is not what we fucking agreed upon,” Ezra shouted. His hands clamped around the wound to stay the bleeding and to try and maintain the integrity of your suit. It meant that Ezra couldn’t reach for his pistol as the mercenaries grabbed the case and bolted. Ezra continued to curse under his breath as he coaxed you up onto your feet, hands still firmly grasped around your wound. You looked down to check and watched as blood escaped through his fingers. He pulled you along, gently, towards your tent: a dark green beacon of safety and clean air about two hundred feet from your meeting spot.

“I apologize, birdie. It seems as though lady fortune would have turned her eye on us today.” 

Which is how you found yourself here: heart racing from a mixture of adrenaline and his proximity, trembling from the warmth of his touch. You were too numb to scream, the confusion and rush from earlier kept your brain entirely occupied on trying to comprehend the last fifteen minutes. Ezra was concerningly quiet. His eyebrows furrowed, eyes and mind focused so intently on your wound that his mouth seemingly forgot to move. He had practically ripped open the first aid kit, opting to use that instead of the patch gun you kept with you. “I am not inclined to trust items that claim to be the only thing you need. It’s simply not feasible.” You were sat on your cot, Ezra kneeling next to it to get a better view of your arm. 

“Chew this,” he said. He dug into the pocket of his suit and dug out a sedative.

“No.”

“I am not asking.” He gripped your arm tighter to keep it in place. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain began to course through your body. 

“I know you aren’t. And I’m not taking it,” you heaved through clenched teeth. You weren’t even sure exactly where on your arm the bullet had grazed you; the ache consumed it to the point where it felt more akin to searing light than skin. 

“I don’t know why you insist on being needlessly resolute in a situation like this, but so be it. You are going to need to stop flinching.” You nodded a silent promise. 

Ezra loosened the grasp on your arm until his fingers danced against your skin, applying just enough pressure to keep it raised. You inhaled sharply as he cleaned the wound. The muscles in your bicep involuntarily flexed at the sensation. It was hard to keep yourself from staring, both at the wound and at Ezra. You opted for Ezra, focusing not directly on him, but on the blonde patch of hair that had always vexed you. It never faded, always seemed to grow with him. Was it a birthmark? His voice pulled you out of yourself.

“That’s it, birdie, just focus on me.” His eyes flicked up to meet yours and a wave of calm washed over you. Don’t have to tell me twice, you thought. Ezra’s lips curled up in a slight smile that suggested the thought might not have remained in your head. He worked impossibly fast, fingers nimbly dancing with needle in hand as he mended you. The brush of his knuckle as he threaded the stitches echoed across your skin. You grew warm. Despite the two of you being partners for over a year, you rarely touched save for errant brushes as you maneuvered in the tight spaces you frequently found yourself in. You weren’t sure why Ezra chose to do it, but for you it was a matter of principle; a sign of respect as associates and partners. It left both of you touch starved. A yearning that ached whenever either of you exposed even the slightest bit of skin. It exposed itself as you walked around the cabin in a tank top and you could feel as his eyes traversed the swathe of skin below your collarbone. When he would misplace his pants, searching for them in only his boxers: his strong legs on full display. The way your hand twitched as he bent over shirtless to pick them up and the muscles in his back rippled. 

You found yourself still lost in thought when he declared you “healed.” Ezra delicately wrapped the gauze around your arm, securing the dressing in place. He kept his hand in place when he finished and rubbed a spot below the gauze with his thumb. The pain was already subsiding. 

“How about no more mercs for a little bit?”

Ezra smiled up at you. “I think I like that proposition.” Letting go of your arm, his knees cracked slightly as he stood up and turned to retreat to his side of the tent. 

“Wait.” You ignored the look of confusion on his face, you took his hand in yours. You cradled it, tracing the lines of his palm, the calluses that danced around his fingers. It was hard to count the amount of times you had simply stared at his hands. They were large with thick fingers that still managed to work dexterously, deftly managing their way around gems or the trigger of a gun. They vexed you. When the two of you sat at the appraisers in the Ephrate, waiting and waiting, what kept your heart rate steady was the sight of his fingers as they danced along his bouncing thigh. 

You pressed your lips against his palm. “Thank you,” you muttered, unable to make eye contact with him. It felt overwhelming. The first hint of affection in months because both of you were too scared to voice the undeniable truth between you, lest it break the carefully woven web you created; like the cautious dances from lifetimes ago that eschewed touch. In your chest, it felt like a flower opening up. Growing more brazen, you stood up and kissed his palm again before working your way up his arm: the delicate skin of his wrist, the tender flesh of his forearm, his bicep and shoulder. You kissed your way across his collarbone and took in the small hiss he made when your lips brushed a vein in his neck.

“What are we doing here,” the confusion practically oozed out of his voice. Your lips ghosted up the column of his neck to kiss the tattoo behind his ear. You kissed everywhere except his lips, fearing that it might topple what you had so carefully built.

“I’m thanking you.” You paused when Ezra didn’t respond. “Is that alright?”

He cautiously put his hands on your hips and pulled you impossibly closer. His eyes darted across your face from your lips to your cheekbones to your eyes and back. With each half second you grew more worried until he kissed you right between the eyes. 

“Abundantly so.” 

One of Ezra’s hands snaked up your body to caress the back of your head and kiss you fervently, like a thirsty man having his first drink in weeks. It was hard to keep yourself contained. You wanted the kiss to last as long as possible, but his lips were a drug that made you beg for more quickly and without end. You ran your tongue across his bottom lip and sighed into him. Ezra dragged his hand up from your hip and brushed it up and under your shirt, gripping onto your back. The skin on skin contact blazed a fire through your spine. You placed your hands on his shoulders and turned him so his back was towards the cot. You pushed down gently, urging him to sit with the intent of settling yourself between his knees. Ezra took the gesture as an invitation to something else and lifted your shirt up slightly. He kissed along the waistband of your pants, the wiry hair of his mustache and beard stinging your belly. You lost yourself in the feeling of his hands gripping on your thighs to keep you in place, the feeling of the heat pooling in your underwear.

“I’m supposed to be thanking you,” you hummed.

“Not to expose myself, but I have thought about doing this for a long, long while,” Ezra said as he gently pulled down your pants. His forehead rested on your belly as he continued to nip and kiss and play along the waistband of your underwear. You gasped as he nipped at your hip bone, a sensitive spot you didn’t know existed. His nose trailed its way down to your mound and nuzzled at the slightly damp fabric between your legs. At first he simply mouthed the area, placing open mouth kissed along your slit and thighs until your hands gripped and pulled at his hair, demanding release. Ezra yanked down your underwear and immediately his lips found your clit and sucked. You yelped and tried to manage your grip on Ezra’s hair, almost afraid you would pull it out. His mouth covered you and his tongue traced various shapes on your clit. Occasionally, his tongue would dip in between your slit, making you both moan. After what felt like hours of sublime torture, Ezra coaxed one, then two fingers inside of you, slowly thrusting them in tandem with his tongue. It was a slow, delicious build. He knew how to listen, changing his methods if he thought the small moans he elicited from you were too small for too long until he hit that spot and a raspy fuck escaped from your lips. He groaned at your pleasure. You taste like heaven itself. Through it all, he never changed his pace. You tried to rock your hips to coax him to go faster and all he did was grip onto you harder, assuredly leaving a bruise. 

You looked down for the first time and the sight of him: his mouth on you, his eyes lust-blown at your taste, made you come, hard, around his fingers. You could barely hold yourself up as the sensation ricocheted down your legs and Ezra’s voice cooed at you: “That’s my girl.” 

Ezra pulled you down and kissed you, his slick-covered tongue licking into your mouth. You moaned into him. He used the opportunity to pull you on to the cot with him, making quick work of the rest of your clothes. The sight of you coming made him hungrier, starving for more of you. You straddled his hips as he practically ripped your bra off and enclosed his mouth around one of your hardened nipples. On instinct, you ground down on his still-clothed, hard cock, your body further craving him. He clutched onto your back again, like letting go of you meant you would disappear. Ezra couldn’t keep his mouth off of you. He released your nipple with a pop and kissed your breast, licking up your sternum before leaving a deep hickey under your collarbone. 

“Please,” you begged, animalistically tugging at his shirt. He got the hint and pulled his shirt over his shoulders and leaned back, letting you explore the beautiful expanse of his torso for the first time. It was peppered with small scars, most seeming to be from bullets or knives. You kissed each one as you crawled down his body. You watched as his belly rose and fell with each labored breath. You reached into his pants to expose his cock, straining from how hard it was. His head fell back onto the pillow as your mere touch was just enough to give him purchase. You licked up the head of his penis to gather the drops of pre-cum onto your tongue. A slew of curses fell from Ezra’s mouth. A hand threaded itself through your hair and gently coaxed your mouth further onto him and you obliged. You worked him as slowly as he had worked you: your mouth laxidaxiously bobbing around his cock like you had all the time in the world. Ezra could barely contain himself. 

“Kevva could not have made a more perfect mouth.”

You wrapped a hand around the base of his cock and moved it in motion with your mouth, your saliva running over your knuckles. The noises you made were obscene, but they served to drive Ezra further down the path of insanity. His hand white-knuckled the edge of the cot. You licked around the head, keeping yourself stationary while continuing to move your hand up and down the length of his cock, while the other began to play with your clit. After a few minutes, he begged you to stop. 

“Birdie, if you keep going, it will surely mark my end, and I want all of you before this is over.”  

Ezra pulled you off of him and looked at you in awe. You were sure you looked a mess: hair still sweaty and out of place from the helmet, your cheeks red and your lips swollen with spit covering your chin. He tugged you up for another kiss, I taste so good on your mouth, before flipping you on to your back. You were already so wet from earlier and from his words of praise that he slid in with no resistance. You hummed in contentment at how full you felt with him inside you. He kissed your jaw as he slowly started to fuck you, adjusting to the feeling of you around his cock. It felt like he was everywhere, engulfing your senses until he was the only thing you could think of and you were begging for him to speed up, to give you something. Your hips rocked against his and you watched him smirk at your whimpers and pleads. Ezra pulled out and you gasped at the loss before he almost slammed his cock into you, leaving you breathless. His tempo was relentless. 

“Fuck, your pussy is ethereal,” he moaned into your ear. He was almost completely on top of you, his forearms resting next to your head. “I don’t think I’m going to last very long,” he chuckled. You could already feel your second orgasm building and could only manage to nod. Ezra continued to suck marks along your throat and chest until you were convinced that there was no part of your skin that was untouched. Ezra began to slow, unable to keep up with the pace, and rocked his hips into you. You moved your hips in time with his, causing him to hit that spot over and over again. His hips stuttered as he came inside you. Admiration fell from his lips: praising you, your mouth, your pussy as it shuddered around his cock with your climax. Ezra pulled out and swiped away some of the cum on your thigh that had leaked out of you and placed his finger to your mouth, where you graciously licked it off. He laid next to you, out of breath and smiling. He took your face in his hands and laughed against your lips.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re welcome, birdie.”

[call-me-jennn]

victim

Late October already and the heavy feeling of being overwhelmed has set in as the days counting down are beginning to get numbered. I’ve been blocking myself off lately because I don’t want to talk about what’s up. I don’t want to be around people who might ask. I just want to do mind numbing activities and not deal. (Thank you Netflix for your service.)

They’ve all told me that this is something I should do for closure. I am aware of what my attending will do for the case and what my statement could mean for the sentence. I’m just not as sure as everyone else that this will give me closure.

For one, I’m not getting any answers. I know that it’s called a victim's statement but man do I hate the idea of being a victim. I think in my coping I fought it. It’s hard for me to let myself be that way.

Can I vent? Say what I can’t say out loud? Promise you won’t judge?

I’m not a bad person. I work hard. I volunteer my time. I teach the youths and small children run to embrace me. I mop church floors and I sing in the choir. I call my parents and write my grandma letters. I actively strive to be kind.

Why did this happen to me? Why did you do this to me you bastard? Why me you sick, sick fuck. I feel like I could scream.

I’d never been an easily startled person before, but now everything makes me jump. Even when I’m anticipating it, even when it’s me that drops something. The phrase ‘drop of a hat’ has literal meaning. Any noise makes me jump. Heart leaps, fists clenched, shoulders tense. My whole body curls. And as the adrenaline pumps through my body, I’m continuously reminded that while on the surface I haven’t been affected really, the visceral response tells me that I’ll be carrying this for a while.

Something was taken from me that day, though I don’t quite know what. And in exchange, society takes more than a decade of his life. If I even knew what I’m missing, I’d be able to plug it into a currency converter and find out if it was a fair rate. But instead I’m confused. Father says he should be castrated, that people like that have evil in their blood. BJ says he doesn’t think he could forgive him. Aren’t we Catholics? Someone tell me how to feel.

If it was about saying what I want to say, I’d say this: I don’t know you. I have no idea who you are. Though you were a stranger, you felt entitled to take from me. You violated me, my privacy, my body, my safety. You thought that I was weak but you picked the wrong fucking girl. I am my mother and father’s daughter and they taught me every single day to keep my eyes open. I knew what was coming. I saw you and I saved myself from you. And now I’m going to stop you from doing this to anyone else. Rot you piece of shit.

But it’s not about what I want to say is it? It’s about saying the right thing to convince a judge to give the sentence the District Attorney is asking for; and, by extension, what I’m asking for. I don’t know enough about the Law. Is it all arbitrary? Is it all about how powerful my statement is, or how liberal or conservative or sexist the judge is? There’s so much shit in the news nowadays about sentences that are far from fair and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Is what we’re asking for even fair? We technically can’t prove anything. That part is unfair, we all know what would have happened. I don’t know what the rules are. I need rules to understand. I don’t know how to write this and I don't know how I feel. All I know is that thinking about this is all I do and it consumes me and I can't talk about it. I just feel so lost.

[kaahaani]

Do all of their Children take after Lee Gon in terms of Intelligence? 2/3 of them are somewhat involved with numbers 🤣. I can picture In na as the lowkey human calculator

Okay....time to share more headcanons! 

Lee Gon has always been like “no kid of mine is going to be a Liberal Arts Major” which causes Tae-Eul to whack his arm, constantly. 

The kids are all well-rounded, they had tutors in all subjects growing up, but their father is sneaky and tutors them additionally in math. 

Lee In-Na hates math unless money is involved. She tried to love it, but once they started talking about functions and calculus she quit. She can calculate sales tax and convert currencies really quickly, and can use math to justify her extravagant spending really well (”well what am I supposed to do if Chanel increases their prices by 7.9% every year?” and “my spending has gone up due to inflation”). She’s really good at bargaining too. She wears a mask, dresses down and hits local markets when travelling - something she picked up from her mother. Although she doesn’t need to bargain (she’s so rich?!) she finds it enthralling and having a good grasp of currency, economic trends, and exchange rates is integral. 

Lee Dae-Hyun is one of those people that is good at everything - everyone always asked him “well what subject do you like” while he was in school and he would always say “I don’t know...all of them?” He understands math and debates equations and theories with his father - but finds that it doesn’t have enough real life applications, and he’s a practical person. He chose the Finance Program at Oxford for his Bachelors’ by throwing darts at the program pamphlet that outlined their offerings. He did really well at it and enjoyed it because he understood it all at a basic level - then he figured that if his sister was insistent on spending money like she did someone needed to make sure they never ran out. So he goes to Harvard for an MBA - specializing in Finance - and starts working for the royal treasury. He’s a homebody, he wants to be around his family - and he was really homesick while he was away.

Lee Seo-Joon has inherited his father’s love for mathematics. He can spend all day working on equations and modelling them - it’s why he does so well in designing games, he really understands the math around movement and such. He even has equations named after him (multiple) which makes Lee Gon super proud. The two of them spend hours locked up in Lee Gon’s study scribbling away on the boards and talking about theories - Tae-Eul thinks it cute but doesn’t understand half the things they’re saying so she leaves them to it. 

Lee Gon brags about Seo-Joon all the time to his “mathematician” friends and to Tae-Eul but she just scoffs and says the future queen is more a liberal arts major than a math one (she majored in political science, global governance and diplomacy).

Lee Gon then argues how all the things she studied are influenced by math while Tae-Eul rolls her eyes, pats his cheek and says i think you’re getting more and more delusional as you age.

[icharchivist]

okay changing the close from “not talking about hpm on main” to “not talking *too much* about it on main” but i’m going insane

there’s a series of limited events on the rhythmic game that are full blown RNG. Basically, we get a remix of a song, and for one week, when we play with the special Stamina of the game, we might get a chance to trigger a Sudden Scratch Music (SSM) which is basically a selected series of song + the remix, at random, that you have to play following some restrictions, and you get points when you fill it.

You can get up to 5k points per event and getting the remix song for yourself and not just as a limited event costs 3k points. You keep your points from the previous SSM onto the next event. Once you capped your 5k points however the points get converted into general game currency (for leveling up mats, not for pulls)

So basically the idea is that you want to trigger as much SSM as possible during the limited time of the event in order to grab the song from the shop.

Easy enough right? 

So we’re at the 3rd SSM right now. 

During Ichiro’s SSM i managed to get BARELY above 3k so i could grab his song, really at the last minute of the event as well. The trigger rate was decent enough without being great either. 

During Sasara’s SSM, i was really busy and i ended the event with 2k points. So i couldn’t grab his song. I bought the pull tickets from the shop so i was at about 1k of reserves afterward. But even if i wasn’t busy, i didn’t get a lot of triggers when i was able to play. It was really miserable.

Now is Ramuda’s SSM, Ramuda being one of my fav chara of course. I got to 3k after 2 days so i could get his song then. I managed to grind for Sasara’s song in the rest of the week.  Today is the last day of the event, but i’ve capped my SSM points to 5k yesterday, before the reset (so considered 2 days before the event ends). Needless to say, i’ve been having an insane amount of trigger rate that isn’t normal.

My bestie who plays this game barely scrapped getting 3k *yesterday*. He wants the tickets in the shop and is in misery because on his side, no matter what he tries, he keeps not getting the SSM trigger.

Meanwhile on my side i’m just trying to do my dailies and use my stamina in order to get mats to drag Jyuto’s ssr home and instead i just

keep.... getting.... SSM......

The fact it’s a Posse/Ramuda centric event that i keep getting trigger for is just. so funny since they’re my favs. but therefore it’s driving my friend completely nuts.

ironically friendo is a Sasara stan and during Sasara’s SSM he got a LOT of trigger and that’s why he’s going insane on Ramuda’s lack of. 

Meanwhile here i am, barely trying.

Does the game feel what my biases are. 

I also have to consider that out of all the times i pulled, i got a Ramuda SSR out of a Solo 10 pulls that i did just to try my luck, VS how i had to spark for Gentaro and Dice the first times, that Dice ignored me the 2nd and 3rd time, and then only Gentaro being MVP on first pull lately. 

Meaning that in general Ramuda had a 100% “Coming Home” Rate compared to the other two driving me insane.

Maybe Ramuda just likes me.

Thanks RNG stuff for making me say those insane stuff.

So this is it, insane moment, bye

[havekiddoswilltravel]

Cuba Travel Tips

Havana, Cuba trip report and pro tips for a safe, personalized family travel adventure to Cuba.

Tips for family travel to Cuba - A guide to exploring Cuba with kids, friends, family or multigenerational groups.

Did you know that you can in fact still travel to Cuba independently?

Updated: July 2019 with new Cuban travel rules.

We cruised prior to the US restrictions. You can however, still enjoy these Cuban tours by traveling by air to Cuba. Keep reading for more details.

Our family of six enjoyed a 5 night Key West and Cuba overnight cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas in December 2018 prior to the cruise ship restrictions. We traveled with four kids ages 13, 10, 7 and 5 and thus felt that a cruise was a comfortable way for us to explore Havana. We’re hooked and already planning a return land trip in order to enjoy more of the island. The Cuban people were gracious, funny and talented. Our guide Dayami is fluent in both English and Spanish and a breath of information about the history, culture, art, music, architecture and food of the island. 

2018 Cuban travel update: The U.S. announced new travel rules for Cuba. Americans can no longer travel to the island under the People to People category as an individual and you're unable to patronized any military - owned business. 

Legal travel to Cuba is still possible under the Support For The Cuban People category and my recommended tours can assist you in planning a safe, educational and cost effective trip to the island. 

Have Kiddos Will Travel Cuba Tours offer: A one of a kind safe, private tour option for those wanting to visit Cuba and experience it like a local.

What we did in Havana:

Dayami picked us up at 9:00 am at the Saint Francis of Assisi Square

(the plaza right across from the cruise ship terminal in Old Havana).

We started with a guided walking tour in Old Havana (about 2 hours) which included:

-       All four main squares

-       Some of Hemingway’s favorite places in the city

-       Handcrafted perfume shop - the perfume is inexpensive and comes in beautiful hand made pottery. 

-       Free entrance museums - our kids loved these museums. We had to drag our 10 year old son out of the art museum. 

-       Cigar/coffee/rum shopping - Dayami was an angel and sat with our kids at a nearby table while my husband and I enjoyed this amazing tasting. I can’t recommend it enough. There was a live band playing during our tasting. In fact, music and dancing was everywhere in Havana. Buy Cuban coffee (I regret not buying more as gifts). Dayami is incredibly knowledgeable about Cuban rum and cigars. We bought two boxes (4 bottles total) of Havana Club 3 year white and 7 year dark rum for approximately 20 CUC. We also brought back 25 (fiftieth anniversary) Cuban Cohiba cigars. We bought handmade individual cigar boxes for the ones that we gave as gifts. 

We did a coffee-rum-cigar tasting/sampling. This service (about 1 hour) is provided by a Habanos sommelier Cuban cigar expert). I highly recommend this tour option. We learned so much and it added to our overall experience in Havana.

After the walking tour, Dayami had a air conditioned car with ready to drive us to the main places of interest in the city. I loved that she was flexible and worked with our children. We took extra breaks for water, snacks and to use clean bathrooms. She knew all of the best places to use the facilities and though I was prepared with my own toilet paper, we ended up never needing it. 

Our family’s personalized itinerary:

-       Ride along the Malecon (sea wall drive)

-       Colon Cemetery (World Heritage Site)

-       Callejón de Hamel (rumba performances/Afro-Cuban religion/art scene)

-       Central Park

-       Capitol building

-       National Hotel

-       San Jose Handicraft market

-       Fusterlandia community/art project

-       Revolution Square

-       Rainforest of Havana (National Park)

-       Bay fortresses and the Christ of Havana (viewpoint)

Dayami made a reservation for us a privately owned restaurant and we enjoyed it. We were lol a bit when we arrived because we literally walked behind a normal looking home in Havana and entered a massive outdoor restaurant which was packed with people and even had a live band. Our total lunch cost was 74 CUC which included drinks, 3 orders of chicken and all you can eat white rice and beans. 

The whole tour was from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, take into consideration that lunch may took over an 1 hour.

What to buy in Cuba:

- While cigars and rum are the main things that people buy when in Cuba, we also bought an amazing art piece (beware that customs will attempt to charge you art fee if you travel back with it in an art tube), engraved leather baseballs, Cuban key chains that I then turned into Cuban Christmas ornaments and a small piece of wood art. We ran out of time to stop by Clandestina, but they do have an online shop that you will not want to miss.

Pro - tips: - Everyone (including children) will need a passport book (not a passport card) that is valid for at least 6 months after your trip. Two pages are required for entry - exit stamps. 

- Each traveler will need a Cuban Visa if you're a US citizen (please research Visa laws for other countries) which cost $75.00 per person. Take your time completing this simple form, as mistakes are not accepted and you will have to buy another one.

-   U.S. credit and debit cards generally do not work in Cuba. Bring cash to cover your stay. The Cuban government requires that travelers declare cash amounts over 5,000 USD. Travelers should note that the Government of Cuba charges a 10 percent fee for all U.S. dollar cash conversions; this does not apply to electronic transactions or cash conversions in other currencies. - US dollar and credit cards are not accepted in Cuba. Do your research regarding how much money you will need and plan accordingly.  I recommend changing money into Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC) before meeting your guide (for lunch, souvenirs, rum, the sampling, etc.). It is recommended that you change US currency to Euros prior to your trip (AAA will do this without an additional conversion fee for members) and then change euros to CUCs upon arrival. At the time of our visit   The official exchange rate (at the time of our trip in 2018) is 0.87 for every 1 USD (due to the 13 percent US dollar fee). The exchange rate for the euro at the time our trip was 1.15.

-  The export of Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) is strictly prohibited, regardless of the amount. When departing Cuba, U.S. travelers are advised to exchange Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) back to US Dollars well before reaching airport security checkpoints to avoid potential confiscation of the CUC. For other currencies, travelers may export up to the equivalent of 5,000 USD. Anyone wishing to export more than this amount must demonstrate evidence that the currency was acquired legitimately from a Cuban bank. - Dayami was very helpful in regards to helping us figure out how much cash we would need for all of our tours, meals, and shopping.

Getting there:

- You can fly to Havana depending on your group size and family needs. We’ve had family members fly and we did an overnight Havana cruise with Royal Caribbean as we were traveling with small children and wanted access to the comforts of the cruise line. Cruising if no longer an option as of June 2019.

Where to stay:

- If you’re flying, I highly recommend Casa Habana for a one of a kind, local Cuban experience. 

What to pack:

- Bring sunblock, hats, and sun glasses. I packed a back pack with safe drinking water, snacks and treats for our kids.- Wear comfortable walking shoes. Havana streets are beautiful, but the cobblestone is hard on your feet. 

What NOT to do:

- Leave your jewelry and fancy items at home. 

- Don't take pictures of Cuban police or military.

- Keep your strong tourist opinions about Fidel, the Castro family, the Revolution or communism to yourself. Avoid discussing politics (history discussions are okay) and you're good.

- There are two currencies in Cuba. The first is the Cuban Convertible Peso CUC  (which tourists use) and is worth 26 Cuban Pesos CUP. Count your change and keep your street smarts about you.

- Don't expect to have access to the many comforts of home. There is almost no access to many of the consumer goods that are common for us in the United States. So, make sure to bring that which you can't live without. If you wan't toothpaste, a toothbrush, toilet paper, hand disinfectant, mints or snacks, make sure to bring them with you. 

- Print out all of your relevant travel documents prior to your trip. I know, we’re digital people but access to technology in Cuba is pretty much nada. If you think you’ll need it, print it at home. 

- We’re big foodies and thus find it crucial to discuss Cuban food in Havana versus Cuban food in the United States and other parts of the world. Due to trade restrictions and general lack of access to ingredients that we take for granted, (our guide Dayami did a great job explaining the Cuban rations to our kids) we found the food to be good enough, but not something to write home about. The saving grace was that our kids love white rice and beans and literally were “starving” from all of the walking. They ate their food and loved it, with no complaints. Pro tip: if you’re traveling to Cuba, pack some salt and hot sauce. You’ll thank me. 

- Book your Cuba tours before you travel. The internet is hard to come by in Cuba and thus, don’t expect to be able to research or use the internet to communicate with tour guides while on the island. We arrived via a cruise ship, and I had all of my confirmation information from Dayami printed and I had confirmed pick up times and location with her while we were in Key West and still had internet service. 

By booking a trusted private tour, you will save hundreds of US dollars on your excursion time while on the island. Our tours are priced per car, not per person for a group of four and can be coordinated to accommodate larger family - group sizes.

- Lastly, let’s talk about safety. We’re a family of avid travelers. Our kids have had passports since they were newborns and we travel extensively throughout the United States and abroad. This cruise to Cuba was our third cruise in 2018 alone and all six of us are Diamond Crown and Anchor with Royal Caribbean International. Even with all of the stamps in our passports, I was perplexed by how safe we felt in Havana. Despite what our history classes and news tell us about communism and Cuba, we felt safer in Cuba than any other place that we’ve traveled to. Use common sense and respect the local culture and you’ll have a blast. 

Havana, Cuba - YouTube

https://havekiddoswilltravel.net/cuba-tours

Check out the link above for a full list of tour options and contact Dayami Interian dayainte@gmail.com to discuss further planning. Your won’t be disappointed!

About Ruth: I’m a wife and mami of 4 active and globe-trotting kiddos. I’ve always loved a good adventure and truly believe that it’s possible to travel with kids. Join me, as I share our adventures and inspire you to get out of the house with your kiddos. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, a road trip or a trip of a lifetime to an exotic destination, I’ll share insights, trip reports and information that will inspire you. Check back often to stay up to date on things to do with kids at your next travel destination.

family travel - adventure - explore - Travel with Kids

[dominion971]

WikiFX:What is Forex?

Global Forex Broker Regulatory Inquiry APP

What is Forex?

WikiFX · Jan 4, 2022 10:25 AM

Abstract：Forex is the global financial markets that we can trading between different pair of currencies. If one currency is stronger than another and you believe it is right in the end, you can make a profit.

　　Forex is the global financial markets that we can trading between different pair of currencies. If one currency is stronger than another and you believe it is right in the end, you can make a profit. Once upon a time, people fly abroad before the pandemic broke out. When you have to spend something on other countries, you need to find a money changer and convert your money into the currency of the country you are spending. You will notice a screen displaying different currencies rates on the money changer counter.

What

　　The currencies rate is the relative price of two different countries currencies .When you find “Indonesian Rupiah” and think to yourself, “Awesome! My one dollar is worth 14,000 Rupiah？! And I have ten dollars! I‘m super rich now!!!”When you doing this, means you're participated in the forex market!You’ve exchanged from your currency for another currency.Or in forex trading terms, assuming you‘re travelling Indonesia, you’ve sold dollars and bought Rupiah.

what

　　After you're stop spending, you stop by the money changer booth to change the Rupiah that you and notice the currencies rates have changed.Its these changes in the currencies rates that allow you to make money in the Forex market.

　　What is forex？

　　The foreign exchange market, which is usually known as “forex” or “FX,” is the largest financial market in the world.

　　The FX market is a global, decentralized market where the worlds currencies change hands. Exchange rates change by the second so the market is constantly in flux.

　　Only a tiny percentage of currency transactions happen in the “real economy” involving international trade and tourism like the airport example above.

　　Instead, most of the currency transactions that occur in the global foreign exchange market are bought (and sold) for speculative reasons.

　　Currency traders (also known as currency speculators) buy currencies hoping that they will be able to sell them at a higher price in the future.

　　Compared to the “measly” $22.4 billion per day volume of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the foreign exchange market looks absolutely ginormous with its $6.6 TRILLION a day trade volume.

　　Thats trillion with a “t”.

　　Lets take a moment to put this into perspective using monsters…

　　The largest stock market in the world, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), trades a volume of about $22.4 billion each day. If we used a monster to represent the NYSE, it would look like this…

WikiFX,

　　Looks intimidating. Looks like it works out. Some may even find it sexy.

　　You hear about the NYSE in the news every day… on CNBC… on Bloomberg…on BBC… heck, you even probably hear about it at your local gym. “The NYSE is up today, blah, blah”.

　　When people talk about the “market”, they usually mean the stock market. So the NYSE sounds big, its loud and likes to make a lot of noise.

　　But if you actually compare it to the forex market, it would look like this…

WikiFX,

　　Oooh, the NYSE looks so puny compared to the forex market! It doesnt stand a chance!

　　Makes you wonder if the “S” in NYSE stands for “Stock” or for “Scrawny”？

　　Check out the graph of the average daily trading volume for the forex market, New York Stock Exchange, Tokyo Stock Exchange, and London Stock Exchange:

WikiFX,

　　The currency market is over 200 times BIGGER! It is HUGE! But hold your horses, theres a catch!

　　That huge $6.6 trillion number covers the entire global foreign exchange market, BUT the “spot” market, which is the part of the currency market thats relevant to most forex traders is smaller at $2 trillion per day.

　　And then, if you just want to count the daily trading volume from retail traders (that‘s us), it’s even smaller.

　　It is very difficult to determine the exact size of the retail segment of the FX market, but its estimated to be around 3-5% of overall daily FX trading volumes, or around $200-300 billion (probably less).

　　So you see, the forex market is definitely huge, but not as huge as the others would like you to believe.

　　Don‘t believe the “forex is a $6.6 trillion market” hype! The huge number sounds impressive, but a bit misleading. We don’t like to exaggerate. We just keepin it real.

WikiFX,

　　Aside from its size, the market also rarely closes! Its open virtually round the clock.

　　The forex market is open 24 hours a day and 5 days a week, only closing down during the weekend. (What a bunch of slackers!)

　　So unlike the stock or bond markets, the forex market does NOT close at the end of each business day.

　　Instead, trading just shifts to different financial centers around the world.

WikiFX,

　　The day starts when traders wake up in Auckland/Wellington, then moves to Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Frankfurt, London, and finally, New York, before trading starts all over again in New Zealand!

　　To help you know what‘s happening in the forex market every day, we provide an FX Market Snapshot tool. It’s a visual guide that summarizes current market activity, allowing traders to quickly see and understand which major currencies are strong or volatile, and which currency pairs have gained or lost the most.

　　In the next section, well reveal WHAT exactly is traded in the forex market.

https://wap.wikifx.com/en/newsdetail/202201048074306122.html

[phaelosopher]

New Post has been published on http://www.phaelosopher.com/2021/02/19/change-your-crypto-life-with-beurax/

Change Your 'Crypto Life' with Beurax

Don’t worry, it was different 10 minutes later. 🙂

All the talk of pandemics, stolen elections, “maskonomics”, and injection of strange materials have likely delegated bitcoin’s rise above $50,000 ($56,000 at this moment) to “Page 3” in the news index. More people may react to Kim Kardasian filing for divorce from Kanye West than consider what these cryptophenomena might mean to them.

Does anyone really care?

The cryptosphere has been, after all, rather cryptic to most people, as anything that is “new” will naturally be. it’s easy to dismiss them. Easy to listen to the admonishments by financial experts call the phenomenon a “bubble”, likened to “tulips”, as many witnessed in 2017 when I first learned of bitcoin.

Less now than yesterday.

What I noticed was that the value of US dollars was steadily going down. The decline had been steady and consistent for several decades. We had grown accustomed to the slow erosion in purchasing power, the incipient “tax” that gives nothing of value, while taking value.

M2 Money Supply

Bitcoin helped me, and millions of others, see an alternative in the making, whose value has only grown as the rate of USD value has accelerated.

Are you in the cryptospace yet? Do you have a wallet, or know how to make transactions… buying or selling products or services, and paying with bitcoin or one of the many other cryptocurrencies now available?

If not, the presentation is no less important or relevant, but would represent a “Step 3” after getting said wallet, and converting some currency into bitcoin and beginning what we’ll call your journey into the cryptosphere.

Video link on Gab.

I produced my own presentation about Beurax, as well as the “macro” reasons that make it relevant, especially for people who may feel “left out” and “in the dark” on this important subject. You can find it here on the new Gab video platform.

You can also learn more about Beurax from this webinar, which is conducted weekly, and is on YouTube.

I have taken my time sharing Beurax with people, having been in it for just over 2 months. Some people have made several hundred thousand dollars in the same timeframe. Depending on what you have to work with, you can do it very nicely without telling a soul. But you can do even better if you do.

This is my Beurax referral link. You can reach me on Gab (@phaelosopher). I am weening myself off Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

PLEASE NOTE: If you reside in the U.S., you will need to run a Virtual Private Network (VPN) app prior to accessing the Beurax site. Set your country location to “Canada”. Always start the VPN before visiting, and turn it off when you’re done.

The VPN that I use is Windscribe (www.windscribe.com), which runs on desktop and smartphones, and is free if your monthly usage is less than 10GB, which mine has been so far. The allotment automatically resets. I have not needed to linger on Beurax for any period

This is a historic time.

Please follow and like us:

[digiatureuniverse]

MLM SOFTWARE ANDROID FEATURE UPGRADATION 2020

While talking about binary MLM software, everybody takes it to match bonus or pair bonus. The daily limit for earning or unlimited depth for pair is the main attraction of binary plan. Also, repurchase of a product can easily maintain in software with an accurate calculation. We even can use MLM binary calculator for results. But if you are hiring a developer for a binary compensation plan also consider tools associated with binary plan and risk associated with the binary plan. Android App is common for each mobile, and MLM leaders love to find MLM Android app on Google play store cause it can be recommended to anyone very easily. But as a binary plan may be a little bit risky for manage, the associated calculation may have a risk with it. You should hire a dedicated MLM software team for your network marketing business for binary MLM software. Well, here we are talking about features in pair matching calculation. Before talking about binary plan features, let me brief about the main points of a binary compensation plan.

In a binary plan, width is fixed but for depth, pair matching can be from an unlimited level.

Although it depends on the company if wants to limit pair matching.

Binary Plan mostly used in product based repurchase software and with forex and cryptocurrency software.

If a member invites more than 2 members, member spill under in his downline. It attracts downline too.

Cause of spillover, one more attractive power leg concept is added in network marketing software, as your sponsor says, he will provide your power leg. Here you have to work in one leg only.

In a binary plan, the best thing is that you may not under your direct sponsor, but providing him a full MLM bonus as he should have.

Binary plan not only promote downline to work but also promote upline, cause business may lapse because of the daily earning limit.

In Binary matching, bonus member receives earnings fast.

The best thing about binary is supposed you found a lazy distributor in your team, but because of him, your earning will never affect. Cause his impact limit to 1 position only.

The binary plan creates faith in the team because of instant earning.

As MLM Industry growing, and virtual technology is integrating with mlm software like AI (Artificial Intelligence), it must have the latest tool in 2020 with binary mlm software. As Google is one of the powerful searching engines, as bitcoin is becoming a future currency, it must understand for web developers to implement virtual stuff which operates the software easily and help end-user to understand the project easily. Perhaps most mlm businesses require a meeting with the public, but using artificial intelligence and virtual technologies is possible through the internet. In reality not only with a binary plan but all other plans required to develop with new versions and future technologies. Here now I am explaining what may be future requirements and tools must with software.

Process Payment with Intimation : In binary MLM software processing of payment is almost automatic. But most mlm software companies calculate it next day cause of limit. But for better calculation, it’s possible instantly also. With cryptocurrency software, it may be required automatic process payment and automatic transfer to their bitcoin address. Suppose when payout processed automatically and transferred to their bank accounts or bitcoin address automatically and let them have an SMS or email intimation with future planning of your mlm business create more faith in the team. And it is part of your multi-level marketing business promotion too. If you update members instantly after transferring mlm bonus to wallet have big virtual assistance to members and motivate him to promote mlm business in his downline, friends and families. One big leader, I want to hide his name here used this method in the multinational network marketing business, and now he is among top entrepreneurs in his country.

Binary Software with E-Commerce MLM E-Commerce is well known online business for products and services, using electronic devices it is very easy for vendors for promoting their products online easily. Amazon.com is the best example of online e-commerce business, although they have an  mlm multivendor software with an affiliate system. If you integrate e-commerce with binary compensation plan, truly create magic in mlm leader’s minds. E-Commerce is a legal platform, and binary gives more payout to members, so downline works for earn here. Using e-commerce products can be sold by a member too in the multilevel marketing system. Using a binary compensation plan each product has its oven BV (Business Volume). And this Business volume distributed in upline. Even in repurchase point distributed to upline as at the time of purchase. So, binary plans invite MLM leaders to resale products for earning more points. Perhaps they can purchase a product for self uses.

Multilevel marketing software with multiple compensation plans. Using a single plan is not fruitful nowadays. Even it does not impress MLM leaders, it causes a limited way of earning.

Live chat- Support System Support Ticket System / Live Chat System Binary mlm software is lengthy in the calculation, also a sponsored member can be placed anywhere in the extreme left and extreme right downline. Perhaps mlm distributors may ask for pair commission not received cause limit applied on binary earninMLMg. Or they have some issues with their downline. Without a support ticket system or live chat assistance it is a negative impact on your mlm business. MLM Developers build a perfect support ticket, live chat support system for end-user. Can contact directly to the company and using artificial intelligence technology (AI) its easily help to control queries of the downline distributor. Canned response for downline distributors for their common queries and integration with Large F.A.Q help mlm business to understand

Wallet for bank and hold crypto balance A wallet is the most common requirement for hold all mlm bonuses and commission and bonuses received from mlm business. It’s a cloud-based electronic medium for hold e-money which can later also use for e-commerce, repurchase plan and distributors can withdrawal this balance to their bank account or cryptocurrency wallet. It depends on mlm business how they want to operate if they want to withdrawal in a bank account with local currency wallet can be operated for bank transfers or if suppose want to hold for cryptocurrency, according to live rate from Bittrex or any cryptocurrency exchange development it can be converted. For bank accounts, the wallet can be transferred manually or may be automatically for some region, but for cryptocurrency transfers developers like MLM Developers, Alien Web done it fully automated way. And also the transaction hash is recorded for each transaction. Also, there can be various wallets in MLM Software according to the network marketing company requirements.  Anyhow e-wallet is the virtual digital currency for the MLM business.

SubDomain Replication with Form Website replication or Subdomain replication is most and non-avoidable feature in binary MLM software. All members assigned with a unique and personalized URL which they can use for promoting the business, perhaps it can a MultiVendor shopping cart with card t-shirt printing script or can be Crypto Currency investment plan for business promotion. MLM distributors can also add their video, image or some promotional link like download pdf, WhatsApp group link, telegram link, telegram channel or Youtube video with a replicated website. For a binary plan its mandatory to have a referral link with replicated website, it can be managed on subdomain also.

Sales Lead Generation with Follow Up Management As digital marketing growing, MLM business mostly becomes an online promotional platform. You may have a list of queries from your downline perhaps which are not a member yet. In binary network marketing software, people join in free first. It’s a good system, to invite members freely and then explain to him about MLM compensation plan in an organized way. Even if network marketing software provides you a tool where you can manage FollowUp from downline, with a good MLM CRM it will very fruitful for your business. Followup management not only helps MLM companies manage followups of downline but the owner has data in an organized way, and people interested in his business, which may be herbal, some MLM product or MLM investment plan. It helps to generate sales lead and manage them in an organized way. Now with the content of the website manages team queries and their conversation in an organized way using FollowUp Management System.

Mobile Apps for Business Smartphones are the most common and widely used worldwide. Apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, telegram is using by most network marketing leaders for promoting a compensation plan with a replicated website and referral link. Even it’s highly demanded to put promotional tool with online MLM software so can easily promote business in just a few clicks. Mobile apps attract mlm leaders and create a trust if they downloaded from the Google Play Store. Not only with android if MLM software ready with iPhone apps it creates a big trust in networkers, Causes iPhone to consider being the safest platform and trusted business too. A best MLM software company can bring MLM apps with all features available in software including profile, genealogy, direct referral list, wallet, withdrawal, binary bonus reports including MLM social promotional tool. Even if it is dynamic can be handled by a network marketing company easily. Nowadays mlm business focuses on MLM apps and mobile app UI.

CRM for Manage Sale MLM Business is all about sale products and reaches the consumer by mouth publicity. Every data is stored in a centralized system and can be accessed by the member as well as the sales team of the company. It’s all about B2B sale. MLM CRM is a great tool it can’t underestimate while querying to delivery of the product. It can manage marketing strategy, MLM leaders, their queries, most wanted product, most common queries from guest members.

Benefits of Using MLM CRM and MLM CMS

All data is safe and centralized

Planning of marketing, lead generation is highly professional.

MLM Leader activity report

Target on Most Wanted Sale and Queries

Keep Network Marketing Business up to Date

Gateway of New Marketing Ideas.

More work in lesser time

Save Money, Organize Your Business

[sevendeadlysinsguide-blog]

The Seven Deadly Sins Cheats

The Seven Deadly Sins Guide

The Seven Deadly Sins guide is a guide for a popular new recreation. In case you trade the cookie settings to your browser positive capabilities would possibly not be available. Please study our privacy coverage for further data. Examine greater the cookie settings in this website are set to "permit cookies" to provide you the fine surfing revel in viable. If you keep to apply this website with out converting your cookie settings or you click "be given" underneath then you definitely are consenting to this. Popular cell recreation seven deadly sins: grand cross now has a international release. There's so much to do in the game, and have fun at your own tempo. I recollect the first few days i did so many sidequests for chapter 1 simply to get the town to affinity 5. i subsequently did it, but now i'm on bankruptcy five and all of the other cities are at affinity three right now. Do pvp if you want, grind tale, grind mats, do sidequests, do something you want! I nevertheless have 28 stamina potions i've yet to use. People who are familiar with the popular anime display recognize that there are many exceptional characters in The Seven Deadly Sins. In addition, in 7ds grand move, you can summon most... anime games are often some of the flashiest, maximum over-the-pinnacle titles of their respective platforms, and the brand new The Seven Deadly Sins recreation isn't any exception. Launched on android simply... on the subject of gacha video games, assets play a important component for the reason that you will need them for plenty specific purposes. From summoning the best characters and upgrading your roster to... bluestacks four is not available on home windows xp. The game ambitions to wow gamers with a willpower to properly portraying this energetic tale right into a online game. Happily for fanatics, it is pretty good. The tale of The Seven Deadly Sins: grand move sticks near the occasions of the anime. People who understand the collection will easily become acquainted with the activities of the story as they're pretty a whole lot identical. I determined to move again and watch the anime, and i'm able to genuinely say that it sticks alternatively close. But, i did note that a number of the greater lewd moments of the anime's story have been toned down here, but now not via much. - had a terrible name inside the beyond with costumes (knights chronicles) however its not as bad as the previous games due to the fact you could purchase with in recreation forex in this sport and it doesnt supply talent changes like kc - you could get costumes by using giving them friendship factors (food or beer), growing their degree cap and pvp save. - costumes cost 20 bucks (complete set) however may be sold for 90 gems (full set ur dress) 60 gem (full set ssr dress) 30 gem (complete set rare costume) there has been a time in which a few heroes were paywalled for occasions within the beyond however they were constant very quickly in a span of two-four weeks and im positive worldwide wont get the equal troubles as kr/jp considering the fact that they recognise their errors.gamers are in livestreams installation via netmarble (pinnacle gamers in kr/jp) and that they actively talk about the game problems so they devs understand the troubles. Once more, this is shockingly detailed for what is a free to play mobile recreation. And the visible clarity is present in battles, where all of the attack animations appearance terrific, for all of the protected 62 gacha characters you can gather. Unique assaults appearance marvellous, and that they maintain looking better as you combine and enhance attacks in battle. It follows a card-based warfare gadget, in which you draw moves and may execute one card - or pass cards to your hand - for every individual of yours on the field. For now anyway. Dupes are treated here in a way i not often see in gacha games. You could use them in greater then one way. One way is to use them in a special change characteristic in which you exchange more than one copies of we could say meliodas and get the cursed meliodas (currently the top unit to go for). The second one is used to improve the gadgets unique assault card. I honestly could move on and on for hours, however a touch tip from me is to save up top rate currency for destiny banners and also keep up ssr tickets considering they may be needed for the first rate rare ssr trades. Each character of this game is rendered in ar as well as numerous easter eggs are in the sport for players to find. Additionally, the use of the digital camera is an elective element of this recreation. If one lets in the camera to get admission to the sport, then he/she can take pics with different ar characters of The Seven Deadly Sins mod. Those are a number of the capabilities which made this game more appealing for human beings. Apart from it, the sport modes and extraordinary characters and more make it one of the high-quality rpg cellular video games thus far. The adventure to exchange the destiny of the sector of meliodas, elizabeth and the alternative individuals of 7 lethal sins are waiting for you. It's tough to discover the answer in case you don't download this sport and be a part of on the adventure. We've got placed cookies for your tool to assist make this website better. You could modify your cookie settings, in any other case we will count on you're okay to keep. Privateness policy - recommendations every utility hosted on xdroidapps has age regulations. Encouraged age for The Seven Deadly Sins mod is three+ years. Find your very own strategy to win! A logo-new turn-based rpg! A unique approach to fight! A strategic fight system using ability synthesis. Abilities with the equal megastar rank improve to a higher rank when they may be subsequent to each different! Sense the joys of battle with every flip in the dynamic combat device. Combine playing cards and use them to cause an ""remaining move"" to decimate warring parties! Create your personal approach with the aid of combining the unique talents of [The Seven Deadly Sins] characters. The authentic international recreated in element - the lively story superbly reborn! With that during mind, i've determined to write a "review" of types in an try to paint a more entire photo for the oldsters right here at r/gachagaming that might be interested in the game. I'll attempt to cowl the fundamentals of the gameplay so that you may be on par with what i am explaining, but i might not pass over maximum stuff that you can discover in video photos. In sds, you play with a party of 3 units + 1 sub unit (that replaces a fallen ally) to tackle most people of the game's content material, with a few special locations allowing you to apply all 4 gadgets in play atonce. The main gameplay in grand cross is simple to a fault. Each character in your team comes with a small number of abilities that can be used to attack or combined into more powerful versions of those attacks. These ultimate moves are often performed with lots of flourish and flair, but still leave players just going through the motions. And even though the game has a massive roster of characters to collect and use, the truth is that once you have a couple of particularly strong characters, there's never really much reason to switch out.

[manufacturing94-blog]

Manufacturing Jobs - Yes We Need Them, But This Next Generation Doesn't Want to Work

click here Manufacturing jobs

Four years ago, I was doing some consulting for a small business who could not find quality workers to work in his company. The unemployment rate was so low, that there were not many good workers left. Whenever he put a "help wanted" sign out front of his business he was underwhelmed by those folks who would come in and ask for an application. It's as if they didn't really want a job, or really want to work at all.

In fact, right now we see much of the same thing. Folks would rather play on their iPad or iPhone all day long in the office, rather than getting any work done. And this brings up another point. What if someone is working in a factory, and they are in charge of things coming across the assembly line? Obviously they can't be using their personal tech devices while working around or operating machinery and equipment.

I know there's been a lot of talk about the weak US dollar strategy to promote manufacturing jobs in the United States. The theory goes something like this; if we keep the US dollar low we can produce products cheaper on the global market giving us the competitive advantage in international trade. Yes, I understand that concept because I watch how China is manipulating its own currency so they can have a continuous advantage.

But even if we grow the manufacturing jobs that United States, will any of these kids really want to work in the factories? No, I don't think they will, they would rather go home and play video games, or text their friends, and play on their Facebook page than actually do work in a legitimate factory and a real job.

There was an interesting article recently in Industry Week posted on June 8, 2011 titled; "A Stimulus Plan to Encourage U.S. Manufacturing" by By Niko Michas, CEO, and Mikael Trapper, managing partner, BridgeNet Solutions, Inc. which laid out an exciting manufacturing revitalization strategy; "Each state should take a portion of its federal stimulus money and allot it towards specific tax incentives that will enable U.S.-based companies to convert to U.S.-based manufacturers." click here Manufacturing jobs

Although I am not one who is much into stimulus of this type, as I see a core problem with over-regulation, over-lawyering, and litigation, and corporate taxation issues, I still do believe the plan could indeed work. But then again I reminded of the problem with the up-and-coming generation that doesn't really want to work all that hard. And if we produce all these jobs who will fill them, who is willing to work in a factory? Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

[tglifestyle]

5 Cities 4 train rides 3 hotels 2 Airbnb’s 2 DMB concerts Countless pizzas, sandwiches, bowls of pasta, and glasses of prosecco and aperol spritz

…And 142,911 steps!  Guess that kind of makes up for the food and drink indulgences.

Rialto Bridge, Venice Italy

My husband and I both agree that this was one of our favorite trips yet, and we are already talking about going back.  There is just so much to see, do, and taste in Italy that 10 days wasn’t enough.  We did, however, manage to cram a lot into those days and experienced as much as we could.

I’ve broken down my Italy Travel Blog into 6 sections:  Introduction & Travel Tips, Venice, Padova, Bologna, Florence, and Rome. Hopefully you will enjoy the stories and pictures, and if you are planning a vacation to this wonderful country, the tips I’ve included are based on both what I read during my research prior to leaving as well as our actual experiences while there.

Top Tips

Do your research and plan ahead. Sure, being spontaneous is part of the fun as well, but mapping out your days will maximize your time there.  Additionally, many of the sites require tickets (that do sell out), so don’t waste your time waiting in long lines.  Plan ahead, and buy tickets in advance when you can.

Be prepared to walk! I hate to say this, but if you are mobility-challenged, you may find yourself frustrated in Italy.  The age of the cities and buildings does not make them friendly to folks with wheelchairs or strollers (although I was stunned at how many families we saw with strollers).  I can’t say this enough: Comfortable shoes are a must!

Visit more than one city. Italy has a fabulous train system so I highly recommend visiting multiple cities traveling by train.  The trains are clean and comfortable, the system is easy to navigate and relatively inexpensive.  And, they get you there fast!

Pack smart. I go into more detail below, but remember that the old, narrow walkways of Italy can be difficult to traverse with lots of big, heavy luggage.  Take no more than a good backpack, and a quality rolling suitcase that can withstand cobblestones and bricks and make sure it is a 360 spinner so you can easily get through the crowded streets.

Learn some key Italian words and phrases.You’ll be surprised at how appreciative the locals are when you can greet them and thank them in their language. Learn numbers for shopping, ordering food, and getting to specific addresses as well as the common greetings used in the day, evening, and when leaving.  And of course, please and thank you are a must!

Open your mind and explore. Eat things you’ve never eaten before.  Learn about local culture and customs.  Try an Airbnb instead of a hotel.  Don’t just rely on cabs, try the bus or subway (unfortunately, there was no Uber or Lyft when we visited).  Strike up conversations with folks who speak English, ask for recommendations, and show interest in what they have to say.

Have a plan for souvenirs. You don’t want to forget anyone, so make a quick list of people you want to buy for, and get something of local flavor (not just cheap trinkets from a vendor or I LOVE ITALY t-shirts).  Think about bringing back items actually made in Italy like wine, limoncello, leather goods, pasta, and other items.  Make sure you understand customs laws when it comes to re-entering the U.S. (or your local country).  We did not attempt to bring any meats or cheeses, but we did bring back plenty of wine and pasta!  Also, think about how to get it home.  I shipped a box from a Mailboxes Etc. store (they’re all over Italy) for $100.  We also purchased a cheap rolling suitcase from a vendor for $20 and checked it as an extra bag (which also cost $100 with United Airlines).  So we spent over $200 just getting the souvenirs home.

Speaking of money, get your currency (Euros) from an ATM once you get there. There is really no need to order currency from your bank ahead of time, and the exchange places at the airport are a rip-off.  Use your bankcard at an ATM and most likely you’ll just have to pay the out of network ATM fee charged by your bank and/or the ATM fee.  You can use a credit card at most places, including in most taxis, but you’ll need cash as well.  And, make sure you always have a few 1 Euro coins in your pocket because some bathrooms require payment.

Get an international data plan. Contact your wireless provider and choose a plan that is right for you.  Mine was a flat rate of $10 per day, plus what I normally pay.  I warned my husband about the cost of international roaming, and sure enough, during our first day in Venice he received an alert that he had already spent over $100 roaming.

Botanical Gardens, Padova Italy

Italy Vacation:  Packing Smart

I have a very hard time travelling light.  I always over pack and end up lugging around large, heavy suitcases.  I was determined not to do that this time, especially since I knew we’d be hopping on and off trains while visiting multiple cities. All I wanted to take was a good backpack, a small crossbody purse, and a 20” rolling suitcase.

The Gear

My mom bought me this awesome SwissGear backpack for my birthday.  It was perfect for this trip.  The straps are super comfortable and there are lots of pockets and compartments.  It has a special section for a laptop and a pocket for your tablet (I did not bring my laptop but I did bring my iPad). I kept my camera, all of my charging cables, plugs, and European power converters (bring more than 1!), my iPad, travel pillow, medications, snacks, glasses & sunglasses, and a small cosmetics bag in my backpack.

I normally carry large handbags, but for this trip I wanted a small crossbody that was more useful than stylish, but still looked good.  I chose this Travelon Anti-Theft Heritage Small Crossbody and it was perfect.  I fit my passport, credit cards and money, sunglasses, tissues, lip balm, Tylenol, and even a small umbrella in it.  It is slash-proof and has an RFID blocking pocket as well as a tiny little LED light so you can see what’s inside in the dark!  This is definitely the perfect travel purse.

I have a few different suitcases, but chose my London Fog 21” hardside expandable spinner since it’s smaller, but sturdy and the wheels on it glide smoothly.  Let me tell you, that baby rolled along cobblestones like a champ! I also like that it has a TSA approved lock on it, so I always felt like the contents were secure.

Now, I’ve always considered myself an ace at rolling up clothes – I can get a lot of clothes into a suitcase.  The problem is finding what I’m looking for and having to unpack half of it to find that one top, and then re-roll and re-pack everything.  When I’m travelling to just one destination for a week, I unpack and hang stuff up, so it’s not a huge deal but knowing we were going to be on the move, I realized I had to have another option.  I decided to try using packing cubes, and I am now a packing cube lover!  Why didn’t I use these bad boys sooner?  They really don’t add any weight to your suitcase and are great at helping keep everything organized.  I bought this set on Amazon for under $20.  It was awesome to have all my tops in one cube, bottoms in another, and underwear and sox in another.  They really helped me to not only stay organized, but also to maximize the space in my suitcase.  And, as I got towards the end of my trip I was able to use them to separate my dirty clothes from my clean.

The Clothes

I had been watching the weather and reading about the climate and new it would be in the high 50’s to low 70’s during the day and cooling down to the 40’s in the evening while we were there in late March/early April, which is similar to spring here in GA.  Layers were going to be essential, so in planning my outfits, I made sure I had a combination of long and short sleeve tops as well as cardigans for layering. Because I wanted to pack as little as possible, I decided to choose pieces that I could mix and match and that were in a similar color scheme (mostly black).  This also helped me to limit shoes.

Shoes– this is where I usually go wrong.  I often end up bringing 6 or 7 different pairs to go with different outfits.  That was going to be impossible for this trip so I decided to take just 3 pairs (wearing 1, packing 2).  Knowing it was going to be cool in the evenings and that we’d be walking a lot, I chose to skip out on anything open-toed and anything with a heel.  Yep.  I did not pack a single pair of heels!  I have never travelled without heels, because I wear them at least 5-6 days a week.  Instead, I chose to bring a cute pair of black flats that worked with both skinny jeans and skirts, and a pair of stylish Steve Madden leopard print sneakers (to break up the monotony of all the black!).  I also purchased a pair of Rockport waterproof ankle booties specifically for the trip (which I wore on the plane so they didn’t take up space in my suitcase).  I did a lot of research and purchased what I thought were the most comfortable walking shoes I could get that were waterproof and didn’t sacrifice style.  They looked good with skinny jeans and leggings.  My feet never hurt and I never got any blisters from any of my shoes.

Outfits– I brought the following items, which I was able to mix and match for my outfits each day. I wore most pieces twice each. The only things I did not wear at all were the skirt and the short sleeve black sweater.  It was just too cool in the evenings for skirts, and we really didn’t dine anywhere super fancy.  I only wore the dress once – the rest of our evenings out were in jeans.

Bottoms:  2 pairs denim skinny jeans, 1 black leggings, 1 black skinny jeans, 1 denim jeggings

Tops:  2 long sleeve t’s (one black, one white), 2 cardigans (one black, one gray), denim button down, black blouse, olive green blouse, black/white stripe top, 2 graphic t’s, floral tunic length blouse, and 4 camis (2 white, 2 black).

Other:  2 scarfs (one leopard, one floral to add color and mix things up), 1 black dress, 1 black floral skirt, and a short sleeve black sweater. Also, socks, underwear, bras, and 1 pair of pajama pants.

Outerwear:  I brought a black jean jacket and a black raincoat with a hood.  I wore the black jean jacket nearly every day, and the raincoat came in handy for the 2 days that it rained!

Miscellaneous Items

Don’t forget the following when packing for a trip:

Raincoat and umbrella (purse size)

Small Ziploc with Band-Aids, Tylenol, Dramamine, antacids, wet wipes or hand sanitizer

Prescription medicines

Tissues

All of your charging cables and adapters/power converters for the country you are visiting (bring more than one, otherwise you can only charge one device at a time)

Earplugs and a sleep mask

Photocopy of your passport (in case yours is lost or stolen)

Hard copies of all of your reservations and pre-paid tickets (in case you can’t access them from your phone it’s good to have paper back-ups!)

Things I brought but didn’t use:

Selfie stick – I found all the tourists with selfie sticks in hand to be obnoxious and couldn’t bring myself to use ours. I kind of wish we did take at least a couple pictures together with one, but it never came out of my backpack

My good camera -I brought it out one day in Venice and found it much easier to just use my phone.  I have the latest iPhone and it takes great pictures.  I do like using my good camera, but it was big and bulky and just seemed cumbersome to carry around all day

Travel Hair Dryer – the hotels and Airbnb’s all had dryers, and honestly I only washed my hair twice the entire trip! Dry shampoo is the greatest invention ever!!!

Overall, I’m happy with my packing choices – I feel like I didn’t overpack, but I still had plenty to wear with some variety.

Itinerary for a 10 Day Italian Vacation

Day 1:  Travel Day Days 2-3:  Venice (Venezia) Day 4:  Padua (Padova) Days 5-6:  Bologna Day 7:  Florence (Firenze) Days 8-9:  Roma (Roma) Day 10:  Travel Day

Click here for Italy Vacation Part 1:  Venice

Italy Vacation: Introduction & Travel Tips 5 Cities 4 train rides 3 hotels 2 Airbnb’s 2 DMB concerts Countless pizzas, sandwiches, bowls of pasta, and glasses of prosecco and aperol spritz…

[fingafings-blog]

Some thoughts from our founder.

By Cornelius Myburgh.

The rise and rise, ad infinitum, of Bitcoin - and now, the rest.

There are two things I really need to stop talking about in my social situations. The first is my taste in music. The constant ‘have you heard of this band or those guys?’, it’s starting to bug even my closest friends. Not that I haven’t converted some of them to a few of my causes with artists like Shakey Graves or Dan Mangan. In fact, Shakey will be a featured artist on a local radio show at some point in the near future as a friend is in a position to do so. 

The second thing I need to stop bringing up are blockchains. I recently went to my folks place for a weekend, I was between friends and family and realized my “go to” subject of conversation had become bitcoin and blockchain tech. I spent at least four hours explaining it to my dad. He seemed to get it. Although separating the technology from the currency is not always easy. I tried my best to make it as simple as possible, keeping that quote from Einstein in mind. In any event, the recent boom only aided my cause in converting some of my family members. Most remain suspicious. 

And therein lies the rub. As the CEO and Founder of a blockchain startup in Africa, the exchange rate of BTC has rarely been my priority. I keep up to date with it, but do not really mind as we maintain a supply, and rarely capitalize on the ebbs and flows of the international trading and trends. I am more concerned about the regulation, application, adoption and disruption potential of the technology. The proof of concept I believe is complete and Satoshi has accomplished his goal. We now understand how to instantiate trust via peer to peer information sharing; and instantiating trust is no mean feat. Maintaining it even harder. Hence the 8 year trial period, the skepticism, the caution and suspicion was justified. Humanity is almost entirely built on trust. If I offer you something for something else in return, I might even be willing to negotiate lower if I could establish trust you would stick to the terms of the deal, now and in the future. Everything currently shared by us on the earth today at some point required that element to be included in the transaction. Which is why currency and banks exist in the first place. 

Let me give you a for instance. Like most startups, we operate entirely from home, coffee shops, hotel lobbies, sometimes even pubs. We maintain a burn chart of expenses and have our own current technologies in development. We provide services in order to accentuate the burn fund, but we pride ourselves on running a bare bones operation in FIAT terms. The technology we are working on spans from messaging related features and applications, to spam filtering and even some hardware integration. However, any hour away from your actual desk is an hour I can’t really afford. With this in mind, I recently made a proposal to a delivery person: Give me your contact details and if I need some specific items in order to make sure my guys can keep burning the hours, I would offer him a fee for that delivery, depending on the time and effort (including the time of day) the specific task that required. This has worked brilliantly and benefited me and our productivity greatly. There was no 3rd party sanction required. I trusted him and he trusted me in return, established quite easily with a friendly smile and a bro handshake. 

What we are learning now I guess, first digitally and I would hope eventually also existentially regarding this technology, is that that kind of trust usually costs us money. With cryptocurrency it’s just much cheaper. With BTC it is built in, with ETH it’s reducible and complex, with Tezos, hopefully adjustable. 

The BTC boom has also forced us to think again about how we conduct our day to day business here in Africa. The net result of the weekend’s boom is that we became almost 25% more expensive to any non-btc based entities. Something we hadn’t really anticipated previously, mainly as our customers just always used to also work with BTC. Now we’re forced to include a model and mechanisms that ensure we can react to these violent surges in the market. I guess that is the beauty about working in this space, there are measures and means developing which are inherently human and being re-built into our information structures and systems. The increase in popularity should actually be viewed as a basic indication of greater trust from the earth’s population. 

It’s an exciting time to be around, and especially to be here on the African continent; to be providing services which enable really motivated and talented people and who are just as excited as we are about the future of blockchain and distributed processing and infrastructure. It’s been a joy and I have a suspicion that the true impact will only be able to be retrospectively studied in the future. 

Cornelius Myburgh - Founder and CEO of FingA. August 2017.