#is copy trading a good investment?

[copytradingsoftwareforindian]

Is Copy Trading a Good Investment? Pros & Cons Explained

Copy trading is becoming more mainstream in the way that people, especially those who have just started trading, enter the financial markets. Copied trades of those who know very well about trading ensure that even those who have no or little knowledge of trading are exposed to the markets. But the big question is: is copy trading a good investment?

Let's break down the factors when considering whether copying trades is right for you.

Advantages of Copy Trading Ready Access to Expert Knowledge The biggest strength of copy trading is that the trades of many experienced and performing traders can easily be mirrored. This also benefits those unable or do not possess the time as well as other skills to read the markets firsthand. By thus copying the expertise of professional market analysts, such profits can, in theory at least, become achievable that individual would not succeed in earning using their own techniques.

Automation Copy trading is highly automated in that once your account is created, trades are copied automatically. This saves much time since you do not have to position trades or continue to analyze markets.

Learning Experience While you are copying the other traders, you can watch their strategies and decision-making procedures as well as techniques of risk management. This helps you learn in the process. Copy trading can be very diverse as you will be copying various traders who apply different strategies and have varying risk profiles. It may thus reduce risk, since your investments will be spread over various asset types.

Drawbacks of Copy Trading Risk of Losses Like any other type of investment, copy trading entails risks of losing. You might be copying the successful traders, but their performance may not continue forever. Markets are unpredictable and do not work according to their previous success record. Therefore, you should know the risk factor.

Dependence on the Trader Copy trading puts one's trust entirely in the chosen trader. Should the strategy chosen fail, the individual will experience losses equivalent to that trader. Before selecting a trader to follow, research that trader very carefully, since any risk exists in such situations.

Limited Control Although you can control the size of your investment and a few other variables, you're still dependent on another person's strategy. You may not always agree with their approach or be able to make adjustments in time.

Fees and Costs Some copy trading platforms charge fees for using their service, or traders might take a cut of the profits. It's important to fully understand the fee structure and make sure that the potential returns justify the costs.

When is Copy Trading a Good Investment? If you are a beginner, copy trading is very apt since it is suitable for a person who doesn't have experience with trading but still wants exposure to the markets. It is a platform without extensive knowledge.

If You Don’t Have Time to Trade: For busy individuals who don’t have time to monitor the markets constantly, copy trading can be an excellent solution. Once set up, it can run in the background, automating your trades.

If You’re Looking for Diversification: Copy trading can be a way to diversify your investments across different assets or trading strategies. This can help manage risk by spreading your exposure.

When Might Copy Trading Not Be a Good Investment? If You Want Full Control: If you like to have complete control over your trades and investments, copy trading might not be the best for you because you are relying on others' decisions.

If You Have a High Risk Tolerance: If you can take on a higher risk level and manage your trades, then copy trading may limit the potential returns it can give since it relies solely on copying strategies from other traders.

Overall, copy trading is an excellent investment opportunity for those people who have not traded before or do not have a significant amount of time to invest in trading. Other people would appreciate this for achieving diversification in their investment. However, understand the risks, and past performance should not be solely relied on; instead, perform due diligence when choosing traders to copy, fees, and other possible downsides.

As companies like Combiz Services Pvt Ltd continue to improve their advanced copy trading solutions, this process is made more accessible and easy for all types of traders. Properly applied, copy trading is a powerful way to amass wealth, but it must be approached with caution and an understanding of its risks, like any investment.

[triviallytrue]

Do you have any beginner's advice for Balatro? Because I'm having good fun around 8 hours in, but figuring out how to actually win is a struggle. My usual instinct in deckbuilders is to thin out the deck as much as possible, but starting with a full 52 makes that a lot less viable.

Yes I have lots and I will do my best not to write several thousand words

Are you playing on the beta? All the achievements and unlocks transfer over, and I think the beta is friendlier and has better balance than the original release of the game.

Number one thing new players fuck up: the interest mechanic is everything. You have to save up to $25 and get that extra $5 of passive income per round, it is in many cases the difference between a winning run and a run that stalls out in the later antes.

Relatedly, I tend to try and find a strong earlygame joker in the first two shops (usually a +mult joker for playing a specific hand) and then save my money unless I see a run-defining joker/voucher until I'm over $25.

Once you have >$25, don't be afraid to spend your money back down to $25. Packs first, then rerolls.

Most skips in most situations are bad. There are some that are good in ante 1 (the coupon tag, the holographic tag, and the investment tag) and a few that can be good later (double money when you have a lot of money, the orbital tag when it's on the hand you're playing already, the handy tag when it's a ton of money)

Your instinct to thin out the deck and your concern that 52 cards is a lot are both correct. Hanged Man and Immolate are both great, as are jokers that let you destroy cards like Trading Card. Keep at it.

Relatedly, purple seals from spectral packs and jokers that generate tarot cards are incredibly powerful. Purple seals specifically are self-enabling - you can use death cards from purple seals to copy more purple seals and hanged man to thin out your deck so you draw more purple seals.

In the early stages before you've unlocked all jokers and decks, a lot of powerful tools are hidden from you. If you aren't beating runs, focus on unlocking locked jokers.

If you want a sense of what a really good player looks like, I recommend Balatro University - he is excellent at the game and also has some videos specifically designed for new players.

[manifesting-principessa]

the beginner's guide to making money by investing in stocks (hot girl version)

since one of my goals here is to make money i wanted to teach you about what i know about investing in stocks. i use the website etoro to invest, below you can see a picture of my portfolio at the moment. i am by no means an expert but i've found the whole process of investing to be unnecessarily mystified so i thought i'd share what i have learned so far.

what does buying stocks mean?

in simple terms, buying stocks means buying a (tiny) fraction of a company. if the value of the company increases the value of your share goes up, if the company loses money the value goes down.

when should i buy and sell?

ideally, you should buy when you think that the value of a stock will increase in the future and you should sell when you have made a profit. in practice, this means you try to invest when a stock has reached its lowest value and you sell when you think it has reached its peak (but this is, of course, impossible to predict perfectly).

where can i buy stocks?

i would personally recommend going through an online stock trading platform, like etoro. you can look up what the best stock trading platforms are for your country. you should pick one with minimal fees that offers some tutorial or introduction to trading.

you can also go through a stock broker (a person that makes the investments for you) or more broadly your bank - be aware though, that they might take a cut of your profit for their services which is something you need to subtract from your expected profit.

how do i know what to invest in?

There are a few recommendations that I have seen time and time again:

ETFs - exchange-traded funds are bundles of stocks that are traded together. the advantage of ETFs is that they don't rely on a single company making a profit, the companies just need to make a profit overall. they are much less volatile than individual stocks and since economies usually always grow in the long-term, you are very likely to make a profit.

large companies - you can also invest in large, well-established companies that are very likely to make a profit and very unlikely to go bankrupt (e.g., apple, amazon, etc.)

diversify - this means you should invest in a wide variety of companies and industries. even when one of them does really poorly you are likely to make a profit overall.

copy-trading - this means 'copying' the investments of a more experienced trader. so you specify an amount of money and invest it the same way someone who knows what they're doing is.

how much should i invest?

most websites have a minimum amount you need to invest so you could start with that to get a feel for how it works.

as a rule of thumb, they say you should not invest money that you will need within the next 5-10 years. that rule prevents you from having to sell your stock at an unfortunate moment - even if you initially write losses, you can wait for a moment when your stocks have increased in value again.

if you have a fixed income you can commit to investing a part of your income every month. i've seen this referred to as dollar-cost averaging and i have not tried it yet but it is said to be a good way to build wealth in the long term.

how do i actually make money using this knowledge?

simple answer: by selling your stock at the right time and withdrawing the money. investing is a marathon, not a sprint - you should generally give your money some time to make a profit instead of checking every day and panic selling when you see a slight change. for some stocks, the company may also pay dividends. disclaimer: at least where i am from you need to declare what you made from stocks as income and pay taxes on it.

thank you so much for reading!

if you have questions or know more about this and want to add something please leave a comment 💕

[tastefulsimp]

A Quiet Evening

I’ve never written anything like this before, but I needed some writing practice, and I cannot get Hazbin Hotel out of my head. I wanted to explore his complexity and write something that aligned with his character, our oh-so-scary-and-charming peepaw.

I’ve heard that some ace folks have an interest in reading romance and spice as a way to access certain emotions. I relish the idea of Alastor enjoying a romance novel from time to time. (and yes, the quotes from the book are really in the book) female reader | not spicy | tension

— Prologue

In life, Alastor always loved a good book. John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and H.P. Lovecraft were among his favorites. But, the radio demon had a soft spot for a the author Elinor Glyn. While he was out running some errands this morning, he spotted a copy of "It" and Other Stories in the window of a book shop.

It had been so long since he enjoyed a good book. Most of the hotel crew would be out with the provocative one and his explosive friend tonight anyway. A quiet evening accompanied by a good book did sound quite lovely.

Once he finished his hotelier duties, he asked poured himself a glass of Sazerac, tuned the lobby radio to some jazz and swing at a low volume, and settled into the sofa.

He forgot how much he enjoyed a good read. In fact, the film adaptation of “It” was one of the only films he had seen while he was alive. Mimzy dragged him along to a showing one evening. In truth, he never cared much for the medium, but the story was entertaining at least. And, anything is enjoyable in good company.

“I should lend this to Rosie” he thought as he crept through pages of the novel, “she would enjoy this character’s— what does she call it? Ah, yes.. moxie.”

— Part 1

Emerging from your bedroom, you’re confused to find silence in the hotel. Your lively group of sinners must have left for the club already. Feeling a bit relieved, that you’re no longer required to socialize, you make for your bedroom once again. The faintest sound of music hits your ears just before you cross the doorway.

When you became a guest after the last Extermination Day, no one knew what to expect. Charlie was elated to have two fresh faces join the crew. But, after your counterpart bailed in the first week, you were the only remaining new guest.

As you approach the end of the hallway, the sound of swing music is grows louder with each step. Quietly descending the stairs into the lobby, you’re surprised to see Alastor relaxing on the sofa, reading a book in the dimly lit room.

You couldn’t help but be curious about Alastor. You knew the stories of the Radio Demon, and you saw the broadcast of their fight with Heaven. He was scary, sinister, and powerful… yet he had been nothing but kind to you so far.

Quietly approaching the lobby sofa, Alastor doesn’t seem to notice your presence. You peek over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of what title has him so invested. Your eyes catch on the sentence: “John was aware of the sex magnetism in her. He instantly wanted to kiss those cherry lips…”

Your breath caught in your throat as you realized, Alastor was reading romance..? There’s no way. Peeking again, you scan the page, your eyes landing on the words “analyzed, dissected, and stripped her.”

Yep. That’s a romance novel.

Alastor cleared his throat and stretched his collar just a bit. You watched, bewildered as he turned his head toward you with a smirk. “You’re not a very good spy, you know” Alastor quipped.

“I’m sorry,” You replied sheepishly. “I didn’t realize anyone else was still here.”

“I thought the very same.” He said, eyes returning to his book. You crossed over to the arm chair across from him and took a seat.

“Not up for a night on the town, my dear?” he said casually, glancing at you over the top of his book. He had traded his monocle for a pair of reading glasses, he was wearing a tied red silk house coat over his white button up, and some loafers. He looked so relaxed, you thought.

“Not really my thing, honestly.” you say, your eyes never meeting his, “It’s loud, it smells, and I can get a better buzz here anyway.” He lowers the book slightly to reveal his signature smile.

“Hm. I often wonder how you ended up down here, Miss ___,” Alastor jokes. You laugh, “My ticket to hell may have been coated in blood, but those petty sins have never been my style,” you reply smirking at him.

“What are you reading?” you ask, crossing one leg over the other in your seat. His eyes trace over your outstretched leg, before meeting yours once again. “Elinor Glyn. A novel called, It” he replied in a dry tone.

“What’s it about?” you asked, thumbing through the redemption lesson plans that were strewn across the end table next to you. His eye twitches. He let out a big sigh, “I was rather enjoying my solitude.” He shifts in his seat a bit.

“Is that all you were enjoying, Alastor?” you teased.

“I suppose I was enjoying the music as well, my dear” he replied, meeting your eyes over the top of his book once again.

“Oh, yes it’s lovely. But, I figured you were enjoying her cherry lips, or maybe her… sex magnetism.” You smirked at him. Annoyance washed over Alastor’s face as his eyes shifted back to his book, and closing it sharply.

“Ah, so you were spying on me.” He places the book down on the couch and rises to his feet. He grabs his glass of Sazerac and slowly starting toward you, static rising in his voice. “Perhaps it’s time you learn your place, Miss ___”

Panic floods your body as the Radio Demon approaches you, static in the air growing stronger. His pupils turn into black dials and he emits a glowing green aura. He could kill you right now.

You uncross your legs, and shift nervously, backing up slightly into your chair as he steps closer, and closer. Despite your fear, a depraved thought crossed your mind. This was kind of hot. NO! It’s not the time for that.

His faces is inches away from yours now, you can feel his breathing, and he can certainly feel your hitched breaths, but you never break the gaze you both hold. Within a millisecond its over. His eyes return to their normal round saucers, and the static dissipates from the air. “Do you understand, my dear?” he asks in a low voice.

His eyes stay locked on yours as he speaks, making your body tense. Are you seriously turned on by this situation?? This close to him, you realize he’s wearing a woody, citrus scent, and it smells incredible. You feel your face begin to grow hot, as a blush reaches your cheeks.

“Yes, sir.” you respond feigning innocence, giving him your best doe eyes.

“Good girl.” he pats your head then turns around to grab his book. “That was a lovely chat, Miss ____.” he says turning slightly to smirk at you, “sleep well.”

Another depraved thought crossed your mind, and this time you headed straight for the bar.

[pockymun]

Maps of Tenebrae by Pockymun

Tenebrae was such a beast. I thought Galahd was difficult; Tenebrae is so much bigger and has continental climates to deal with. Like last time, I nearly lost my mind trying to make sense of the climates, so I kind of gave up.

Most of the writing I've done for FFXV has skirted around Tenebrae, focusing moreso on its politics than the landmass itself. It's been in the background for the most part, largely because I didn't have a proper map to explore with! I copied it the best I could from reference images.

Tenebrae is not as cold as I initially assumed it was. It has a warm ocean current on its western side that brings much rain and warm winds that keep the northern reaches largely temperate. The eastern side of Tenebrae is hit with a cold ocean current, getting far less rain and winds. The fishing is better on the east coast. The southern half of Ulwaat was given a temperate rainforest climate based on what we saw of Tenebrae in Kingsglaive; it had that dark green flora of a rainforest.

I base a lot of my headcanons for Tenebrae off of Western Europe primarily, with a little bit from Northern Europe. The way I figured the latitude lines of Eos, Tenebrae is still well below the subartic circle (assuming Eos has one). It's climate is based upon Ireland, the UK, and Scotland, but those three have only two climates: oceanic and subpolar oceanic. I chose climate terms that best described the forests found in Tenebrae. Because Tenebrae is nothing but forests, mountains, and hills.

Tenebrae is the land of high altitudes and trees. What reference images we have of Tenebrae seemed to have a lot of peaks on it. In the glimpse of Tenebrae that we saw in the movie, there are large rock islands that just float above the rest of the land. While Galahdians have a knack for using magic, Tenebrae itself is a land of magic. These floating islands are unique to its mountains mostly, although a few clusters can exist separately.

Water also seems to be a theme for Tenebrae, with its northern cape, the southern sounds, and a few small bays all around. Where there are mountains, there are rivers running down to the ocean. I imagine there are natural springs all around the country, used as a natural remedy for several ailments.

I will dump my headcanons about Tenebrae below:

I've been talking with @groovytimetravelflower, who has the theory that Niflheim's airships are powered by stones or ores mined from the floating islands. It just makes perfect sense. Niflheim had several reasons to invade Tenebrae: to dominate the whole continent, to establish complete control over trade, and to get their hands on whatever magic exists in the land.

Much of the magic is not well-known nor understood beyond the floating islands. The forests of Tenebrae are old, especially in the north.

The only other country close enough for Tenebrae to trade with is Niflheim. Though Tenebrae has a couple ports of its own, these are not large enough for massive shipyards and international trade. Trading with Niflheim allows Tenebraen trade goods to go farther in the world. The downside is that Niflheim can control all trade that Tenebrae does, taking things for the Empire and blocking imports.

The country is very difficult to navigate because of the terrain. Roads are often winding and go around obstacles; this was done moreso out of the belief that the land could not be damaged by man-made endeavors. Trains have only been established in Ulwaat. There may be a few antique cars, but the most common mode of transportation on main roads are chocobo-drawn carriages, or riding chocobos.

Tenebrae is behind on technology overall: this is a result of Niflheim conquering them so long ago. Niflheim doesn't often invest in the lands they conquer. You can see this in how mainland Lucis has such outdated technology, which was left to languish once the Imperials seized control. Most high-technology Tenebrae is exposed to comes from the Imperial Army and is only used in their operations. Ulwaat is the most developed province. The railroad in Ulwaat was developed by the Empire to more easily transport the stone and ore they mined in the mountains.

The further away one gets from Fenestala, the less modern technology there is. In Morrith, Krahage, and Bruiral, indoor plumbing is a recent technological advancement. Not all places have it; it requires electricity, which is difficult to establish in Northern Tenebrae. Because Tenebrae is such a mystical place and the population is probably very religious because of the Oracle, not a lot of people mind being behind in technology.

Cellphones are unheard of, and you wouldn't get reception in most of Tenebrae anyway. Fenestala Manor probably has a couple TVs, but similarly, reception is terrible. Radio signals come through a little more clearer, mostly because the Imperial Army needs them to.

The architecture of the capital and towns of Tenebrae is Victorian and Edwardian, with art noveau used in Fenestala Manor. Villages typically are full of cottages of wood or stone and roofed with thatch. The typical fashion is also Victorian and Edwardian, although more of the youth have recently begun to wear the modern Western clothing imported from Niflheim. People further north of the Breksos Mountains dress in traditional Celtic and Norse garb.

The Breksos Mountain Range naturally divides Tenebrae into a North and a South. These regions do not strictly adhere to the cardinal directions; it is just what people have referred to it as. Travel through these mountains is especially difficult. There is one passage near Woudoord, but it becomes blocked by snow in the winter, completely isolating the north.

Queen Sylva frequently sent aid in the form of doctors, vaccines, and schoolteachers to Northern Tenebrae. She did a lot to improve the relations across the mountains, although the past few Oracles have never gone north of the mountains. All aid stopped with her death. The Northerners became even more apprehensive of Southerners as they appeared to submit to the Empire.

Northern Tenebrae is even further behind in technological advancements than Southern Tenebrae (ie the indoor plumbing). Northern Tenebrae is very isolated from the rest of the world, especially in the winter. It's rare for a Northerner to travel south, and vice versa. The South views the North as barbarous, and the North view the South as weak. Southerners are prim and proper; Northerners... are not. Both greatly revere the Oracle.

As I said before, Tenebraens are religious, largely in part to the Oracle's presence. Tenebrae has become known as a land of healers, with many practicing natural remedies. The people are generally modest and proper. Victorian and Edwardian social customs still run strong.

Tenebraens are seen as mysterious and exotic to the rest of the world. Niflheim hasn't allow Tenebraens to leave their country since they attacked Fenestala Manor, so it's very rare to see one in Lucis. The rest of the world doesn't really understand the difference between North and South Tenebraens. The differences become clear when putting one of each side by side and listening to the bickering.

-

Feel free to use these maps when writing your own fics or headcanons! I would greatly appreciate being credited. These maps are just my interpretation, and don't stand in for canon material. They are flawed, but I worked with what I had. I made these using Inkarnate.

[seat-safety-switch]

Everyone is afraid of China. And why shouldn’t they be? They have a large industrial base, paid for by American industrialists. They have a lot of money, given to them by American industrialists. And they have tiny, quirky cars, which I desire more than my next breath. It’s an unbeatable combo, and the only way to compete is to play a different game.

We are going to build mid-sized, boring sedans, and then sell them into the Chinese market in exchange for tiny quirky cars and exotic sports electrics. For our prototype, we have chosen to clone the Plymouth Volare. Panel gap is actually better than the original car by far, because we’ve used CNC machining (an old 3D printer we found in the dumpster, with a plasma cutter duct-taped to the end of it) to produce immaculate replicas of the original panel. And our welder is only high on modern synthetic drugs, not the impure and unpredictable strains of the 1960s. That means consistency, and a return on your investment.

Do we think that the Chinese market will buy these cars? There’s a pretty good chance. They sport a lot of features that every market wants. Four wheels. A steering wheel. A trunk. And if the doors are closed and the windows are rolled up, you probably won’t get wet in the rain.

Powertrain is a problem, we agree. It’s a lot of startup cost to open a factory that is capable of manufacturing to the precision tolerances required to produce an internal combustion engine. That’s why we picked the Volare. Those cars came with an un-killable slant-six engine. They’re so unkillable, actually, that we didn’t have to build new ones, just pull ‘em of the junkyard and spray-paint ‘em: they’re good to a few million kilometers, so there’s no need to actually do a rebuild. That’s recycling, which is environmentally friendly (if you don’t think too hard about what’s in the spray cans we’re using.)

Last, investors shouldn’t fret about trade secrets. While these cars haven’t been made for a half-century, there’s not enough of them left in existence to use as a reference to copy from. Any imitators will have to buy at least one of our cars, and maybe two or three, if our quality control doesn’t get better. That’s called guaranteed sales.

There’s been a lot of fear about American workers leaking secrets to China, as opposed to the more traditional format where American managers sell them in large chunks to China instead. Here at Switch Industries, we guarantee our investors that none of us know how to dial long distance. Half of our employees are too young to even have seen a phone, and they definitely don’t use email. Maybe a few of them might know how to switch to Pinyin on their computer keyboards, so we’ve pried the control key off of every keyboard in the office.

[mzannthropy]

The Count of Monte Cristo limited series Episode 8 thoughts

And so we come to the end. (Spoilers under the cut.)

The count visits Villefort in his office where they discuss the poisoning. The count tells Villefort his protege, Haydee saw Heloise take the vial of brucine.

Danglars visits Monte Cristo in his study and asks for the advance on his investment into railways. Our banker is starting to lose it! The count explains that he will sign on the investment as soon as Count Spada does, which should happen at their marriage signing contract ceremony. During their dialogue, a railway line between Manchester and Liverpool is name-dropped, which pleased me bc I live in Manchester.

Count Spada visits Eugenie (she and Louise are together playing cards) and gives her letters of recommendation that will enable her to become an opera singer in Rome. The letters are signed by the count of Monte Cristo. Eugenie wonders why Spada himself didn't sign them, since he's supposed to be an opera connoisseur, to which Spada responds that he doesn't actually like opera. He says, "see you when we have our marriage contract ceremony unless you've already left for Rome" and walks out the door calling the two of them gorgeous women. I think it's safe to say that Luigi Vampa is the captain the of Eugenie x Louise ship.

At his home, Villefort remarks to his wife that Valentine's inheritance from her grandmother would, once she gets convicted of the murder, go to Villefort and then to Edouard. It seems he is piecing the crime together in his mind and is not liking how it's going. Later he visits Valentine in prison. She says as she told him, she didn't do it. I wondered why she never said anything in her defence when it happened, but from this it looks like she did, maybe they cut it out.

Edmond and Mercedes meet at a cafe, she is wearing widow's weeds. She will be leaving Paris for Marseille, as that is her true home. He advises her to withdraw all her funds from Danglars's bank, bc Danglars will be finished by the tomorrow. Mercedes is angry at him for playing with people's lives. I don't know what the hell her problem is. I get she is upset about Fernand's downfall, bc he was her husband (she must have had some affection for him, even if she didn't love him) and Albert's father, even though she doesn't seem to care a bit about the Ali Pasha betrayal. But idk why she cares that Edmond wants to bring Danglars down. But then, this is a woman who knew about Danglars's insider trading and did nothing, so what do we expect from her. I mean, you might argue that the reason why Edmond wants to nail Danglars is not bc he cares about stock market transparency, but for his own personal reasons. But then, Danglars didn't frame Edmond bc of his loyalty to King Louis XVIII either. Nobody in here is acting in good faith, countess. At least, though, she is not such a painful martyr as she is in the book. Albert doesn't appear again and is not even given a mention. So I take it that in this version, he doesn't join the army and keeps using the de Morcerf name. For all I don't like her, I think the book is too harsh on Mercedes, I don't actually wish any misery on her. I am capable of not liking a character and wishing them well. And Albert deserves a chance at a good life. I like to think that Albert and Franz continued their friendship, as Franz just drops off the narrative after the Noirtier reveal, even in the book.

The next person Monte Cristo meets is Beauchamp at his newspaper. He provides him with the receipts of Danglars's machinations at the stock market. A copy of this paperwork will be given to the police.

At Casa Danglars, people are gathering for the signing of the marriage contract. Eugenie cuts her hair, dons man's clothes (she looks awesome, btw) and escapes with Louise through the window. When they come to look for her, the only thing they find is her hair on the carpet. Next thing, the police arrive to arrest Danglars, Hermine and Debray. Another one down. (Doesn't bite the dust though, lol). The count sends a letter to Danglars in prison, revealing he is Edmond Dantes. Out of the supporting cast, Blake Ritson gave the best performance. (Excepting Jeremy Irons who is in a different league.)

Sabrine, the midwife who attended Hermine's birth, testifies that Gaston is the son of Villefort and Madame Danglars. (She is speaking for the defence as they believe she can provide mitigating circumstances.) Villefort announces he is stepping away from the case and goes home. Here, he finds his wife and son dead on the floor. Monte Cristo arrives, but when he sees what happened, walks away without ever confronting Villefort.

There's a scene of Valentine and Maximilien falling into each others arms, I think, outside the court. It's all we see of them. The book's storyline is a touch fantastical (a substance that makes he appear dead?) and the count played with Max's feelings a bit too much, so this works better for me, for a TV show done in 2024 at least. It would have been good to see Edmond gifting them part of his fortune, but nothing indicates it could not have happened offscreen. This is one of the reasons why I previously said they should have gone for 10 episodes, not 8, there'd be more time to wrap things up more neatly.

Edmond pays off Jacopo and Ettore, with a bonus, and tells them he will keep sending them money yearly until he dies. "Don't die to soon," Jacopo jokes. Ettore wants to go on working for him, but the count says he is leaving France for good. All the furniture in his house at Champs Elysees is covered with white sheets.

The final scene takes place in Marseille, on the shore with a view of Chateau D'If. Edmond and Mercedes meet.

Sigh.

At least for this last scene they could have given her a better hairstyle (sorry for going on about this, but stupid haircuts can make or break a film/TV show for me), a mixture of young poor Mercedes and the middle aged countess, but no. He tells her the memory of her kept him alive for 15 years. Mercedes takes his hand and says that line "love can heal" and that is it. The last shot is of the two of them, from the distance, standing at on the beach. Closing credits. (For a minute I seriously panicked that there was a post-credit scene, living in a Marvel era lol, but no, there was nothing, it was just SVT suggesting what to watch next.)

As far as I'm concerned, this is open ended enough for one's own interpretation. It's possible the showrunners wanted to satisfy both E/M shippers and those who don't like the ship, but in that case I prefer the Pierre Niney film ending, which explicitly showed Edmond sailing away. What's mad about this is that episode 6 ending can be taken as their breakup, so to speak. Maybe they mean that Edmond healed a bit now he's concluded his revenge, or idk... Still I would have liked to see him on that boat. And I definitely don't like Mercedes having the last line. I think on future rewatches, I will press stop before it gets there.

Good job I have imagination.

So as you can probably guess, the line "wait and hope" does not appear in the series. Well, if they would have had to force it in, it's better if it's not there, rather then being there for the sake of it. wait and hope for me symbolises my wait and hope for this series, especially as a Sam Claflin fan (he has had a very long dry season and as of me writing this, there is still no news of when we see TCOMC in UK. I watched it only thanks to VPN.)

I was correct about episode 7 being the last showing for Caderousse and Haydee. I quite like Caderousse having a good ending. I hope Edmond visits him in New York. I think this series was a sort of "nice" adaptation. I once saw someone refer to the 2009 Wuthering Heights (the one with Tom Hardy) as a nice adaptation. I think I watched it, or some of it, and the characters did come across as nicer than in the book. So this can be taken the same way. This series Cadrousse's characterisation differs from the book anyway, he actually helps the count a lot, and seems quite competent, so I don't see why he can't come out of it happy. Maybe even in love, if his affair with de Morcerf maid Marie was a genuine relationship. I can picture them running the bar in NYC together.

As for Haydee, well, they were never going to go with the book's ending, we all knew it, didn't we, we all knew it, and YET. I hoped they would give them a found family or platonic relationship, if they were scared of a romantic one, but in this universe, she was only part of his household for a short time. She departed from the show without any explanation of what she would do next, how or where she would live, so much like with Max and Valentine, it can be assumed the count bestowed some fortune on her. Altogether, though, her storyline was handled well, I loved how gentle he was with her, and like I said, I have imagination. Who's to say he won't meet her again on his travels? Mercedes said "love can heal", she didn't say anything about whose love this was to be.

So that's it. The end. Thanks for reading.

[rainedragon]

do you have any tips for scanning old magazines/catalogs? i'd like to help archive some of the publications i have, but i don't really know where to start ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ

i'm mostly concerned about binding (especially on glbs) and what scanner specifications to look at, but any other advice or resources would be appreciated too!

So, I'm not actually an archivist, I'm a web developer by trade. I own a relatively inexpensive flatbed printer/scanner, mostly because it was what I could go out to a physical store and buy for relatively cheap when I started out scanning old magazines and catalogs.

For anything that is staple bound, like a magazine, and can be put flat on a table while open, scanning is relatively easy. You just need a flatbed scanner that is bigger than the pages, and a book to put on top of the lid to keep it flat (don't use too heavy of a book or you will damage the scanner 1-2 magazines is usually good. Also, don't forget they are there, open the lid and fling them across the room). Line up a corner of the page on the corner of the scanner and you should be golden. Scan in photo mode if your scanner software has options. Ideally, for things like the GLB, you would either want a copy you can destroy (which I kind of think is what some of the 'latest magazines' scanning farms were doing in the 2010s) and to carefully unbind the whole thing and scan the pages flat (which I have no personal interest in doing because destroying books pains me and I'm not trying to digitize "clean" digital copies for any professional reason). OR, my understanding is you want something with a V-shaped cradle of some type that is specialized for scanning books, either as an actual scanner or a camera setup with software. The problem is last time I looked those were like 10K and up if you get a piece of specialized equipment.

I've vaguely dabbled with the idea of doing a very hacky version of a DIY build with boxes cut down to the right angle and some panes of glass and my DSLR for my pink house catalogs because they are too big but I never really got it fully figured out. I will admit, I haven't tried super hard. I kept getting reflections, and I had to worry about the glass scratching the pages, and I didn't feel like getting a proper light.... I know I should really try again, and try a little harder, but it's a lot and I have a lot of other stuff I need to do so it just keeps getting kicked down the road.

That said, if you want to get into trying a DIY build, there is a whole community of people who were doing that in the 2010s that have posted good info on types of glass and way more detailed suggestions than I can make here: https://diybookscanner.org/forum/index.php This box scanner is essentially what I was trying to set up and it theoretically should work, I'm pretty sure my whole issue is that I was trying to do it all quickly at like midnight one day and did not have the right lighting and didn't try too hard to fix that. Like... I could have tried a lot harder than I did https://www.instructables.com/Bargain-Price-Book-Scanner-From-A-Cardboard-Box/ (good pictures of one here: https://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1202)

And then I needed to take it apart because I needed the table back...

But yeah, if you don't want to invest thousands or destroy them, I would say try a cardboard box scanner for things like the GLB, see if you can get it to work for you?

And then for things that can go flat, a combo scanner/printer that is good enough for photographs will be more than good enough for the print resolution of most magazines and the scanner/printer combos are way cheaper than dedicated scanners because they think you are going to become an ink customer and buy printer ink, so they make it cheaper. But the joke is on them. My combo scanner printer has never had ink in it before. (Note: do read reviews and make sure it's not stupid enough to require it's ink to be full to scan. I wouldn't put it past some companies to add that to their software). If you are really passionate about this, there are a lot of people who are way more dedicated to archival book scanning who have developed all sorts of DIY solutions for speeding up the process, automating parts of it, etc, and searching for terms like DIY book scanner should get you in the right place on the internet.

[bullet-prooflove]

Killing Me Softly Part Three: Share the Wealth - Alexander 'Tig' Trager x Reader

Tagging: @mortal--soul @yourwinchesterbros @buddinglinguist @spookyboogyuniverse @nessamc @ritasantosworld @bl4ckt00thgr1n @anime-weeb-4-life @redpoodlern @ravencrow83 @nu1freakshow @oureternalbond  @the-wandering-lunatic @lexondeck @keyweegirlie  @theplacewhereallthedemonsgo

Killing Me Softly Series:

Part One: Livid - You and Tig are at an impasse.

Part Two: A Stay of Execution - You and Tig talk.

It’s over a month later that Jax approaches Tig. He’s sitting at the bar in the clubhouse, sipping from a beer as he reviews the latest figures from Cara Cara. Website traffic is through the roof, subscribers just keep rolling in, the business is going from strength to strength. It’s one of the best investments he’s ever made, he may only own a quarter of the business, but he is making bank and the best part of all it’s totally legit.

Jax slides into the stool alongside of him, a cigarette hanging between his lips as Tig pushes the paper towards him so he can study the documentation. They each get one at the end of every month, but Jax hasn’t had the time to read through his copy. He takes a drag from his cigarette, the smoke pluming from his mouth before he nods his approval.

“Your girl knows what she’s doing.” He says as he reaches out for the ashtray further down the bar. His fingers hook it, and he drags it towards him before tapping the ash off the end of his cigarette into it.

“Yea my girl knows her shit.” Tig tells him, removing his own cigarette from the packet beside his beer. Jax removes his lighter, igniting the flame as Tig puts it between his lips. He lights the cigarette before returning it to the interior pocket of his cut. “You take it to table, and it validates everything we were saying when Clay tried to kill the deal the first time. He gave her three months to turn it around and she has.”

There are four equal share partners in Cara Cara. You, Tig, Jax and the Sons.

When the studio had first burned down, Clay had been dead set on cutting ties. He didn’t want the club to be involved with the rebuild, it was a dead business he had stated, there wasn’t enough money in pussy. He’d wanted the club to focus on the gun trade, the higher risk, the higher pay off he’d declared. The problem was most of them had just done a fourteen-month bid in Stockton for gun running, and no one wanted a repeat performance. The porn business afforded the club some legitimacy, it was a steady flow of income that built up the club’s reserves.

When you had inherited the business, you had played it smart, making a series of changes that had played better than any of them had expected. You’d gotten Juice to move the servers offsite, just in case. You set the girls working webcams in their down time, building stronger relationships with the subscribers and more consistent content. You’d taken the time to research other niches, making your categories more inclusive.

When the studio had gone up in flames it didn’t affect the websites, they were still up and running, still serving up premium content. You’d implemented a disaster plan in the early days of your tenure, and it had served you well.

During the physical rebuild, the girls worked the cameras from home, keeping the livestreaming side of the business going. You had built up a good enough relationship with Dondo that he was comfortable lending you his premises and equipment for a fair fee when he was off scouting talent out of state or wasn’t using certain sets. You had a couple of rough cuts you’d rescued the night of the fire, so Cara Cara kept producing.

Yourself, Tig and Jax had fronted the money for the rebuild of the premises, rendering virtually no additional cost to the club. Some of the guys had pitched in on the construction side of things, lowering some of the outgoings. It’s become a communal enterprise.

“This is going to going to keep us on the straight and narrow at least for a little while longer.” Jax tells Tig as he folds the paperwork and inserts it into the back pocket of his jeans. “No one can deny we’re making enough money to consider expanding in the future.”

Expansion. Tig wonders what that will look like in the future, he doesn’t tell Jax that you’re already meeting with Nero Padilla, looking into bigger and better business opportunities. He’s keeping his mouth shut until you’re ready to bring it to the MC.

“I need to talk to you about something.” Jax says, withdrawing the cigarette from his mouth and blowing out a smoke circle. Tig, follows suit, he watching the ring disappear into the air as Jax continues. “Georgie Caruso, he’s complaining that your girl’s been fucking with him and his business.”

Tig stubs his cigarette out in the ashtray.

“That’s probably because she has been.” He tells his V.P frankly. “Luann was her friend; she feels like this thing with Georgie is disrespectful to her memory. She understands that the club needs him, but…” Tig shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t blame her for wanting a little payback.”

“Hm.” Jax nods his agreement before his gaze strays to through the open doors to where Clay is sitting at the head of the table. “It’s not the decision I would have made, but it’s the decision we’re stuck with until he outlives his usefulness.”

The two of them don’t mention the fact you shoved a gun in Georgie’s face and almost pulled the trigger. It’s not something that either of them wants Clay finding out about, it would really fuck up the shit they’re trying to do with turning the MC legit.

“She being safe with it?”

Tig considers the question.

“There’s no proof she called OSHA on him, just like there’s no proof she told his vendors he’s been haemorrhaging cash recently, so that they’d call in their accounts and deal with him on an upfront basis only.”

“Did OSHA shut him down?” Jax asked as Tig took a swig of beer.

The porn business was highly regulated, just like any other workplace. If you cut corners, they would come down on you like a ton of bricks, close down your studio, slap you with fines. Failing their inspection could literally kill a small business.

“Georgie’s a bit of a dirty boy.” Tig informed Jax. “He doesn’t wipe down his sets, thinks it’s too costly between takes. I heard they also found a couple of pharmaceuticals. He has thirty days to turn his shit around, in the meantime his girls are defecting to more upmarket establishments.”

“Cara Cara. It gives us more diversity, bigger names, better revenue.” Jax smiles as he shakes his head. “Your old lady, she’s fucking terrifying.”

“I wouldn’t fuck with her.” Tig tells him resolutely. “She’s got bigger balls than most the guys in here.”

“No doubt.” Jax agrees before jerking his head towards the table where Clay sits as the figurehead. “You ready to take this shit to Church, give them the good news about their investment?”

“You know me brother.” Tig says, draining the dregs of his beer. “I’m all about sharing the wealth.”

Love Tig? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[scotianostra]

William Playfair the Scottish engineer and political economist was born on September 22nd 1759.

I read one article about Playfair that describes him as "a kind of Forrest Gump of the Enlightenment" perhaps a bit harsh, I would say he was a bit of a polymath, another source in my opinion is more accurate, Playfair is without doubt to many of you out there "the most famous man you have never heard of" he rubbed shoulders with the era’s many giants, switching careers at the drop of a hat, and throwing himself headlong into history-changing events, from the storming of the Bastille to the settling of the American West.

William had a lot to live up to, his brothers were architect James Playfair and mathematician John Playfair, his father passed away when he was 13 and it was left to John to lead the family and his education.

After serving his apprenticeship with Andrew Meikle, the inventor of the threshing machine, William Playfair became draftsman and personal assistant to James Watt at the Boulton and Watt steam engine factory in Soho, Birmingham then seems to have just wander from one trade to another, the way Gump wandered through life, so you can see where the analogy comes from.

William, was, during his adult life, (takes a deep breath) a millwright, engineer, draftsman, accountant, inventor, silversmith, merchant, investment broker, economist, statistician, pamphleteer, translator, publicist, land speculator, convict, banker, ardent royalist, editor, blackmailer and journalist.

Okay they are not all jobs, but they do put you in the picture a wee bit on the character of the man I think.

Most interestingly in my opinion was his time as a spy in France during the Revolution and was on the scene during the storming of the Bastille. He even helps trigger the first major political scandal in the newly formed United States, a land speculation gone bad involving Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson.

To go into all of this man's adventurers would take too long, instead I will just tell you that the one thing he did, that has been a part of all your lives, in one way or another, is he invented the graph. Before William invented the graph you had to read through pages of statistics to find things out, the graph, you "get it" in a glance.

In 1786, he published "The Commercial and Political Atlas" , a compendium of bar and line charts representing different European countries’ imports, exports, wages, and other trends for which he had the data handy. As the man himself explained, “Men of high rank, or active business, can only pay attention to outlines… It is hoped that, with the Assistance of these Charts, such information will be got without the fatigue and trouble of studying the particulars.” he went on “No study is less alluring or more dry and tedious than statistics, unless the mind and imagination are set to work,” in the book’s introduction.

His old boss Watt, was sent a copy of the Commercial Atlas for review, and wasn't impressed, called the book “mere plummery” and its author “a Rascal.”

To finish I must say that he was a rather humble man and actually gave credit for the invention to his brother writing, "John taught me to know that whatever can be expressed in numbers, may be represented by lines,” Playfair wrote much later, in the introduction to one of his books of diagrams. “To the best and most affectionate of brothers, I owe the invention of these Charts.”

He was never a success in his lifetime and was seen as a ditherer by Watt.

William Playfair died in 1823, in poverty and relative obscurity, banned from any good society. Slowly, over the next century or so, the supply of readily available data grew—as did the the public’s appetite for it. Bar, line and pie charts began trickling into newspapers and textbooks. Two hundred years later, as we barrel forward into the Information Age, you can’t click a link without stumbling upon some kind of data visualisation.

The next time you come across a graph, remember, like many other notable inventions in our history, take pride in that it was the work of a Scot that gave us these easy to read information "pictures".

You can find more on William Playfair here https://www.atlasobscura.com/.../the-scottish-scoundrel...

[kamini-vidrawan-ras-tablet]

Crypto 101: Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin and NFTs

Cryptocurrency and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) have taken the world by storm, but for many, these concepts are still a mystery. Whether you're interested in investing, understanding blockchain technology, or simply curious about the digital revolution, this Crypto 101 guide breaks down everything you need to know about Bitcoin and NFTs—two of the most talked-about topics in the world of digital finance.

1. What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency created by an anonymous person (or group) known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Unlike traditional currencies issued by governments (like the US dollar or euro), Bitcoin operates on a peer-to-peer network and is not controlled by any central authority, such as a bank or government.

Key Features of Bitcoin:

Decentralized: Bitcoin transactions are verified by a network of computers (called "nodes") around the world, rather than a central bank.

Blockchain Technology: Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain, making it secure and transparent.

Limited Supply: There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins in existence, which helps create scarcity and can drive value.

Bitcoin can be used to buy goods and services, traded for other currencies, or held as an investment. Its value can fluctuate significantly, which has made it both an attractive investment and a high-risk asset.

2. How Does Bitcoin Work?

Bitcoin operates through blockchain technology, a decentralized system that records every transaction made with Bitcoin.

Mining: Bitcoin transactions are confirmed by miners, who use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical problems. Once a problem is solved, the miner adds the transaction to the blockchain, earning new bitcoins as a reward (this process is called "mining").

Wallets: To store Bitcoin, you need a crypto wallet, which is a software application that allows you to send, receive, and store your Bitcoin securely. Wallets use private and public keys—essentially digital passwords that protect your funds.

Security: Bitcoin transactions are secured using cryptography, which makes it difficult to counterfeit or reverse. Once a transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it is nearly impossible to alter.

3. What is an NFT?

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are unique digital assets stored on a blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum (which are fungible, meaning each unit is identical), NFTs are non-fungible, meaning each one is distinct and cannot be replaced by another.

NFTs are used to represent ownership of digital art, music, videos, collectibles, and more. They have gained massive popularity in recent years, especially in the art world, where artists and creators can sell their work directly to buyers in digital form.

Key Features of NFTs:

Uniqueness: Each NFT has a unique digital signature that makes it one-of-a-kind. No two NFTs are exactly the same.

Ownership: When you purchase an NFT, you're purchasing a certificate of ownership for a specific digital asset. While the file itself (like a digital image) can be copied, the NFT proves that you own the original.

Smart Contracts: NFTs are often built on the Ethereum blockchain and use smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into the code. These smart contracts can include royalty payments to creators whenever the NFT is resold.

4. How Do NFTs Work?

NFTs are bought and sold on marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, and SuperRare. To buy an NFT, you'll need to set up a digital wallet and purchase cryptocurrency, usually Ethereum (ETH), as it’s the most widely used blockchain for NFTs.

Minting: This is the process of creating an NFT. When someone creates a digital piece of content (like art), they can "mint" it as an NFT on a blockchain, making it verifiably unique.

Buying & Selling: NFTs are bought and sold through auctions or fixed-price listings. When you buy an NFT, the ownership is transferred to your wallet.

Royalties: Many NFTs are programmed to pay creators royalties every time they are resold, providing a new revenue stream for artists and creators.

5. Why Are NFTs So Popular?

NFTs have exploded in popularity due to their ability to revolutionize the art, gaming, and entertainment industries. Here are a few reasons why NFTs are so attractive:

Digital Art Revolution: Artists now have a way to sell digital creations and ensure they retain ownership. Buyers can prove they own original works of art in the digital space.

Scarcity and Collectibility: NFTs provide a way to create digital scarcity, which makes items more collectible and valuable, much like rare trading cards or limited-edition merchandise.

Access & Community: NFTs often come with perks like access to exclusive content, events, or online communities, creating a sense of belonging and value for collectors.

6. Risks and Challenges of Bitcoin & NFTs

While both Bitcoin and NFTs offer exciting opportunities, they come with risks and challenges:

Bitcoin Risks:

Volatility: The value of Bitcoin can be highly volatile, meaning it can experience dramatic price swings in a short period.

Regulatory Uncertainty: Governments around the world are still figuring out how to regulate cryptocurrencies, which could impact their value and use.

Security: While Bitcoin transactions are secure, cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets can be vulnerable to hacking or fraud.

NFT Risks:

Speculation: Many NFT buyers are purchasing them as speculative investments, hoping to sell at a higher price later. This can create a bubble-like environment.

Environmental Impact: The energy consumption of the blockchain networks used to mint and trade NFTs (especially Ethereum) has raised concerns about their environmental footprint.

Value Uncertainty: Not all NFTs will hold their value over time, and some may become worthless if the market crashes or interest fades.

7. How to Get Started with Bitcoin & NFTs

For Bitcoin:Buy Bitcoin: You can buy Bitcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, or Kraken using fiat currency (like USD).Store Bitcoin: Set up a digital wallet to securely store your Bitcoin. Popular wallets include Trust Wallet and Ledger.Start Small: If you're new to Bitcoin, consider starting with a small investment and learning about the technology as you go.

For NFTs:Set Up a Digital Wallet: You'll need a wallet that supports Ethereum (e.g., MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet).Purchase Ethereum: Buy Ethereum on an exchange like Coinbase or Gemini and transfer it to your wallet.Browse Marketplaces: Explore NFT marketplaces like OpenSea or Rarible to find NFTs you're interested in. Ensure you’re comfortable with the market and potential risks before making a purchase.

Conclusion: The Future of Crypto and NFTs

Bitcoin and NFTs are reshaping the digital landscape in 2024, providing new ways to invest, create, and interact with digital assets. Whether you’re drawn to Bitcoin’s potential as a digital store of value or intrigued by the world of NFTs and digital ownership, both offer unique opportunities in the evolving world of cryptocurrency.

Remember to approach both Bitcoin and NFTs with caution, do your research, and only invest what you can afford to lose. The crypto world is still relatively new, and its volatility makes it crucial to stay informed and educated.

Ready to dive into the world of Bitcoin and NFTs? Start by exploring, experimenting, and staying curious about the potential of this exciting digital frontier! Do You Know KVR?

Hashtags: #Crypto101 #Bitcoin #NFTs #Blockchain #Cryptocurrency #DigitalAssets #BitcoinInvesting #NFTCommunity #Ethereum #CryptoRevolution

[aegor-bamfsteel]

idk if its an unpopular opinion aegor but i hate the show version of larys strong. Looks like they wanted to make a more bizarre copy of Littlefinger, even the mockingbird = firefly thing. the guy acts so suspiciously that you can't not think of a cliche villain when he appears, except that they traded petting a cat when he talks matter-of-factly about the murder of his family that he orchestrated for smelling flowers 🥴

I think that after that foot scene with Alicent (because the new socially aware GOT loves degrading women and disabled people) it’s not an unpopular opinion at all.

I’ll just say that even GOT!Littlefinger isn’t really Littlefinger. GRRM points out that he’s way too obviously evil and stupid to be ASOIAF!Littlefinger, who only got where he was because he seemed helpful and nonthreatening. Like many other characters with hidden/ambiguous motives (Quaithe, Xaro, Hizdahr, Shavepate, the Green Grace, Bloodraven, the Faceless Men, Varys) the show just doesn’t understand them, so they either flatten them into evil or good, kill them off, or just leave them out. Larys is a victim of that kind of no mystery writing (particularly egregious in the supplementary material which thrives on multiple versions of the same events) in the show because that was pretty much his big character trait in the books (aside from hating his club foot). Not even Gyldayn knows his actual goals, because despite being a Green it doesn’t seem like he was loyal to Aegon II so much as disliking Rhaenyra. We don’t know who started the fire at Harrenhal and tbh the show made him the culprit when he had the weakest motivation (but they couldn’t have their Targ faves Viserys and Daemon want to off Rhaenyra’s paramour). The best comparison for Larys in ASOIAF isn’t Littlefinger but Varys, as the spymaster with hidden motivations, underestimated, disappearing after his enemies take the capital but working to undermine them, spiriting away lots of child heirs, and supporting a mysterious boy who is crowned for a short reign; but the show made Varys a counselor invested in the realm’s good when the books made it clear that a guy who cuts out the tongues of children to be good spies is not a hero, so it makes sense they wouldn’t know what to do with another character like him (though at least we’d be spared that nauseating foot scene). I guess Littlefinger was always more popular in the show than Varys, who again was also more of an obvious sinister villain than in the books, so they twisted a hidden-motivation, non-Targ, Green character to fit that mold. Or maybe they just think the audience is dumb enough that everything has to be spelled out without any mystery or ambiguity. Either way, you’re not alone in disliking show!Larys’ characterization.

[the-view]

Tumblr would not let me reblog this from @getawarrant , so I copied and pasted

It wasn’t just taxes.

When the Continental Congress declared independence from Britain, it wasn’t just because they didn’t like the way the King imposed taxes on the colonies. If you read the Declaration you will see there were a good number of reasons as to why the felt that the King was behaving tyrannically towards the colonies.

When laws were submitted for his approval, King George vetoed them, despite the laws being considered necessary and good by the colonists.

Even when the laws were of immediate and pressing importance, the Governors were not allowed to enact those laws until King George approved them, which if he did not veto the laws would frequently just neglect to confirm or veto.

The King disallowed new communities to be established unless the relinquished their right to representation in the colony’s legislature.

The colonial governors of Massachusetts and Virginia, citing safety reasons, declared that the meeting sites of the assemblies should be moved. In both cases the new locations were distant from where their public records were kept, which interfered with them conducting the public business. They believe it was done for the sole reason of wearing the legislative bodies down so they would comply with the King’s measures instead of standing up for the colonists’ rights.

The King had, from time to time, ordered the representative bodies of the colonies be dissolved for various reasons, including when they stood up for the rights of the people that the King and Parliament were infringing.

After dissolving those representative bodies, he would refuse to allow new representatives to be elected. This lead to the colonists convening their own legislative bodies outside the authority of the King, which the writers of the Declaration believed still left the colony exposed to the dangers of invasion and rebellion. 

The King opposed various laws meant to encourage immigration the America, to allow immigrants to become citizens, and to allow the settlement of more land (which was already claimed by the King for the colony.)

The King prevented the administration of justice by refusing to allow the establishment of courts by the colonies, resulting in some states being forced to do without courts of law for a long time.

The King had sole discretion for the tenure, and the amount and payment of the salaries of the Judges, basically requiring them to put the King’s personal will above the law to maintain their positions.

The King, in an effort to enforce the increasingly burdensome trade laws, erected additional courts of admiralty (military, not civil) and sent ‘swarms’ of customs officials, who, by the claim of the Declaration, “harass[ed] our people, and [ate] out their substance.”

The King kept standing armies among the colonists during times of peace and without the consent of the legislatures.

The King rendered the Military independent of and superior to the Civil powers.

The King allowed Parliament to subject the colonies to various legislation which the colonists felt was unjust including:

Quartering large bodies of armed troops among the colonists.

Protecting the troops, by a mock trial, from punishment of any murders which they may have committed against the colonists.

Cutting off trade with all other nations.

Imposing taxes without consent (the infamous Taxation without Representation.)

Depriving some from the benefits of trial by jury.

Transporting colonists to England to be tried for crimes committed in the colonies.

The passing of the Quebec Act which was seen as an example for introducing the same sort of absolute rule on the colonies.

The taking away of Charters, abolition of valuable laws, and fundamental alteration of the colonies’ forms of government.

The suspension of the colonists’ own legislatures and the Parliament declaring themselves invested with the power to legislate for the colonies in all cases.

The King declared that the colonies were out of the King’s protection and waged war against the colonists.

The King, by way of his military, attacked the colonists, including burning down several American towns.

The King hired mercenaries who were at the time of the writing en route to the colonies to help wage war against the colonists.

The King authorized the British navy to capture ships and take colonists and compel the colonists to fight for the British against the colonies or be executed.

The King had encouraged slave and Indian revolts against the colonists.

All of this was taken into consideration, including the fact that at every point of these oppressions the colonists had petitioned for redress only to be ignored or have their complaints dismissed. So while taxation without representation played a crucial role, it was by no means the only reason that our founders declared independence from Britain and fought the Revolutionary War.

Source: founding.com

#because of that post I just reblogged I figured out would be good to bring this back around

1,786 notes

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Remember SH hinted at something big for Scotland in his interview?

It's a new company called...

LATHA ÙR LTD

LATHA ÙR - (Scottish Gaelic) A NEW DAY

LATHA ÙR LTD is an active private limited company, incorporated on 31 January 2023. The nature of the business is Distilling, rectifying and blending spirits. The company's registered office is on Dublin Street, Edinburgh. The company's next accounts are due on 31 October 2024 and fall under the category of the account.

What does this mean?

Distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits: In this class includes the manufacture of distilled, potable, alcoholic beverages: whisky, brandy, gin, and liqueurs- manufacture of drinks mixed with distilled alcoholic beverages- blending of distilled spirits- production of neutral spirits.

Memorandum of association

This is a memorandum of association a type of business document that is used as part of the incorporation process to form SH's new company and helps define the relationship between that new company. A memorandum of association is required as part of the documentation required for incorporation in the United Kingdom. The essential information within a partnership memorandum focuses on stating that certain people [SH+AN] want to form a legally incorporated company and is willing to share capital to finance the company's activities. Depending on the government regulations that apply to the content of the memorandum, it may be necessary to define what the partners will receive in exchange for their investment, such as shares. It’s necessary to identify the name of the company [Latha Ùr] a permanent business address [Dublin Street, Edinburgh] and the type of company they wish to form [private Limited company]

SH said in his SMWS interview he has a couple of projects he's working on (well it seems this definitely isn’t an acting project).

His decision is not surprising, He's certainly no stranger to splashing the cash on his merchandising, but he may not be aware that other, more important things symbolise something really big for Scotland, something culturally known and teamed by Scots, but it's all become a target, his merchandise, and his friends in the Scottish media will be promoting him with free publicity.

With this entrepreneurship, SH will allow his new product development [maybe Scottish GIN] to happen in his new business. Now, will have a distillery for his alcohol may be Scottish in origin, made and distilled in his still distillery. Scotland boasts over 90 distilleries that make their gin with even more planned. This leads to the market becoming so saturated that many brands are ignored in consumer searches for Gin products, even if a newcomer to the market has exactly what the consumer is looking for. Perhaps he hopes his fans will help the company grow, as they have done so far in everything Sam does.

He wants to copy Diageo even with a similar name. Diageo is composed of the Latin word diēs, meaning "day", and the Greek root geo-, meaning "world". LATHA ÙR (Scottish Gaelic) latha, meaning “day” and ùr, meaning “new”. Or perhaps SH expects Diageo to be keen to buy his brand after acquiring spirits firms in recent months. He will spend more time in this business if he wants to secure he’s ready to start trading immediately.

Now, SH will become a member of The Gin Cooperative, where he was judging panel Gin Awards 2022, open exclusively to Scotland’s gin makers and brand owners. Members must be based in Scotland, their gins must be distilled, rectified or cold compound (complete process) in Scotland and The Gin Cooperative will help SH's new brand. I hope he has a good master's distiller. It would be a great starting point.

Everybody knows that starting a business requires cash, and growing a business requires even more—But few people understand that the period over which a company start to grow, perhaps is more than many people would expect. Therefore, while running his startup is to raise more money. This can be done by generating more revenue, with his merchandise. That is his problem without his booze... there is no money, and he can’t balance this better between these contradictions: MPC selling health and the back of the coin selling whisky and tequila that has already become clear that his ads exalt drinking and encourage people to drink alcohol.

In summary, is in the initial stages of business and much work remains to be done, still has a long way to go until his GIN comes out this summer 2023 mentioned in a video shared from a Restaurant in Santa Monica.CA with the sounds of the Pacific Ocean just outside the window, and not in Scotland.

We will see if it will capture the attention of new clients that it has in mind, but also What are his company values (or core values) the fundamental beliefs he holds to transmit to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

In this new venture SH was teamed with AN, a US resident considered inexperienced in the spirits business, which has one vote and equal dividend payments or any distribution, including a distribution arising from the liquidation of the company in Scotland.

SH always confuses his business relationship, and “mixes personal and professional relationships”. Friends are the companions of adventures, of good times, but would it be proper to undertake with AN? Is his friend a suitable partner? For this reason, it is important to find out which values would AN add to SH's recent company and his cultural vision of the spirits business in Scotland because he seems unreliable.

Why Alex was at EDA Glasgow: in mid-January training with Valbo, while Sam was in New York. Well, perhaps he was passing through Edinburgh to provide additional information required by the agents in charge of Latha Ùr before registering the company.

Now we will see AN donning a kilt at his opportunist visits to Scotland in his inauthentic knowledge of the Scottish industry.

CHIENE + TAIT LLP is located at 61 Dublin Street Edinburgh-Midlothian Scotland, its accounting agent’s address, an independent firm of chartered accountants, tax advisers and business consultants based in Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow and London.

This permanent business address it’s his commercial agent’s workplace, not a tourist attraction, filming location or SH’s place of business.

......... The Game is Afoot.

@youmademyollife This is not for Scotland, is for his business. The Scottish Distillers Association (SDA) is clear that to be a Scottish gin, it must be distilled and bottled in Scotland. If SH wants to make gin, using the term “Scottish Gin” and market it as “gin”, the product must meet the requirements established for the category in which it intends to operate. That's why he created his company in Scotland. Everyone in Scotland agrees with that. Every Scottish distiller promotes Scotland, in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@itsmystreamofconsciousnessblog The situation differs from what you think. The owns Midhope Castle or “Lallybroch” is Hopetoun Estate, the castle is on private property. It’s not for Sale. On another hand, the interest is the sitting adjacent next to Midhope Castle. There will be a new whisky distillery on the Hopetoun estate in South Queensferry. The owner is not Diageo, the investors are others interested, and it’s not SH.

As for AN or Mohammad Ali, he has no experience in the spirits business. He’s SH’s partner with products manufactured by other companies. In a Scottish Gin distillery in Scotland, knowing is one thing and being able to communicate it to others is another kettle of fish. BTW… Every part of the business of alcohol is forbidden by his religion. Be it drinking it, making it or transporting it or selling it. So, he has no knowledge and no certain criteria to be involved in an alcohol-beverage company. Last but not least, It seems unreliable during the period surrounding his divorce.

@youmademyollife Starting a business after his spouse started a divorce, it’s an alert because he cannot spend marital assets without authorisation from the court. Until the court finalises his divorce, it could trace the funding to start the business to his marital estate. Thus, his soon-to-be ex-spouse might own half of his new business, 25%. That means SH continues with his 50% and the Norouzis 50% (25% each). She wants to be a part of the business. I agree, Sam should have prevented that, but he didn’t. SH should have learned whether he could and should have started a new business during AN’s divorce. He’s not reliable on the nowhere side.

[transgenderer]

The domestication of the Syrian hamster began in the late 1700s when naturalists cataloged the Syrian hamster, also known as Mesocricetus auratus or the golden hamster. In 1930 medical researchers captured Syrian hamster breeding stock for animal testing. Further domestication led this animal to become a popular pet.

The Syrian hamster's natural habitat is in a small region of Northwest Syria near the city of Aleppo.[1] It was first described by science in the 1797 second edition of The Natural History of Aleppo, a book written and edited by two Scottish physicians living in Syria.[2] The Syrian hamster was first recognized as a distinct species in 1839.[3] In 1930, a scientist seeking animal subjects for medical research had the first Syrian hamsters captured to become laboratory animals.[4] Scientists bred those hamsters and during the 1930s sent their descendants to various other laboratories around the world.[5] By the late 1940s in the United States, a commercial hamster industry had begun to provide hamsters for laboratory use and at the same time to popularize hamsters as pets.[6] In later years, further expeditions back to Syria captured other hamsters to increase genetic diversity among the populations of hamsters shared among breeders.

Wild Syrian hamsters become tame in a matter of days after being captured and handled by humans.[7] Wild hamsters are quick to adapt to captivity and thrive in a laboratory setting.[7]

Albert Marsh of Mobile, Alabama established the commercial hamster industry in the United States in the 1940s.[30] Marsh first got a hamster when he was gambling and won it in a wager.[24] Somehow he got more hamsters after this one, perhaps from the breeding stock managed by Guy Henry Faget in Carville, Louisiana.[24] At the time, Marsh was a highway engineer but unemployed.[24] After getting his hamsters, he learned to breed them and founded Marsh Enterprises and the Gulf Hamstery, which promoted Syrian hamsters as pets, for laboratory use, and in business schemes.[24] Marsh took advertisements in magazines, comics, and livestock trade journals which praised hamsters as pets and presented the idea that breeding hamsters was a good business investment.[24] In his business, he shipped hamsters to people who would be breeders, then he coordinated the shipment of various breeders' hamsters to other breeders or to laboratories.[24]

Marsh was successful in part because of the professionalism he brought to the art of hamster husbandry. He authored a book, The Hamster Manual, which had a distribution of 80,000 copies by its 6th edition in 1951.[24] In 1946, Marsh began a campaign to legalize the ownership of hamsters in California, which were prohibited. On 10 February 1948, with the help of the governor of Alabama and others, Marsh was successful in convincing the California State Department of Agriculture to designate Syrian hamsters as "normally domesticated animals".[19]

The hamstery business peaked from 1948-1951 then profitability dropped to almost nothing in the early 1950s.[31] The market changed when small hamsteries, most of which started with hamsters from Marsh, became available everywhere and satisfied local demand for pet hamsters.[31] Marsh's Gulf Hamstery closed in the 1950s.[31]

hamsters only became pets in the 40s...

[kit-kat-reader]

Kit-Kat Reader

Hey! I'm Kit-Kat (based off an old nickname - yes, people really called me Kit-Kat) and I post a mixture of incorrect quotes, meta ramblings, and headcannons. Fandoms, recently more that ever, vary greatly. I try to keep this post updated but it's probably out of date.

I am bi and asexual (or somewhere on that spectrum). I am also a minor, so please be mindful of that. I don't update very frequently. I am an introvert and INTP (Logician)

There are roughly 25 people who can accurately guess who I am. Exactly one of you I'm actually okay with seeing this blog, and given you are the only one who knows I actually have a tumblr, I'm okay with that. Everyone else - scram. If you have a good guess for my real name, do not interact. There's a reason I don't advertise this.

My favourite quotes are

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

Love looks with not the eyes, but the mind, and therefore winged cupid is painted blind.

Jack of all trades, master of none, better than a master of one.

These are fandoms I care about. Not all of them are fandoms I will post in, just something that is still a large part of me. Yes, there will be the occasional post of something not listed here.

Harry Potter

I don't do a lot of HP stuff any more. It's still quite dear to me, though, so there's that. I might do like a favourite fics or authors thing but you'll most likely just find incorrect quotes. Also, I'm a Ron defender to my core. I'm mostly into canon ships here. I'm also a Ravenclaw!

Percy Jackson

This is something new? Not the series, just enjoying PJO fandoms. As of this update there are no PJO posts but I'll probably add some stuff when I'm done with my reread. My favourite characters (god I hate spelling that word) are Leo, Will and Piper, and again, (mostly - valgrace is the exception) canon ships. My favourites are solangelo and valgrace, but I really like percabeth as well! (Frazel is massively underated). I am a child of Athena.

Legends of Zelda

There are some really old loz posts but I just got EoW so I might add smth? Honestly I love the new game, the style suits me a lot better even if fighting monsters is way harder. Zelink.

Heartstopper

I don't post HS stuff on here, I probably never will, but hey! That might change and sooner or later you'll see HS incorrect quotes.

Aru Shah

I have a copy of NOI, and I was recently re-reading it which got me so much more engaged in the fandom. So yeah, the fandom is criminally small for such a fantastic series but it is one of my faves. Again into canon, and Brynne/Hira (is that canon? I'm not sure.)

Warriors

You will likely never see me post this stuff and I ditched the actual books a while back, but warriors is one of the first books I read and enjoyed reading. I am part of Riverclan and have been named "Kestrel Kelp" by zhonixxx on reddit.

Marvel

There are a ton of incorrect quote posts, and I'm looking at some stuff I wanted to check out but sort of shoved away? So I'm currently into Dr. Strange and America bonding, Kate Bishop - relationship with Yelena and mentorship with Clint but also just Kate being Kate, yk? I recently got invested in the young avengers as well. I'm tying off with some spider-verse (god I love them. Spidey-cule truther, anyone?(Miles, Pavitr, Hobie, Gwen)).