#is different from the county which is different from the greater area i think??? which is what i want

[broke-on-books]

Me months ago: omg easy science gened! I like maps I can def make maps this will be great

Me now: *trawling through a 2180 page pdf listing every mailbox in the UK* how the fuck do I turn this into a data layer

[thistransient]

"quiet places you can get to without a private vehicle" sounds like a perfect idea for Taipei recs! Do you have any tips for a tourist navigating their way from Taipei towards the south without speaking any Chinese, armed only with a smile and a desire for tasty foods? (I am hoping for some easy hikes while based in Chiayi & Miaoli, weather permitting - never know if I packed proper clothing, aaahhh~) (anon #1 here, thank you once again, have a great day ^^)

Some years ago I hitchhiked around the south of Taiwan with pretty beginner Mandarin, didn't know that "你吃了嗎 / have you eaten?" was an alternate form of greeting, and found myself taken out to lunch by an old guy who spoke zero English when I said no! If you look like a friendly foreigner, you will get around just fine (a European friend of mine in a similar condition visited last year and managed to eat plenty of things by just pointing, which I have also found to be a successful tactic while abroad). In addition to being the place where hand gestures work well, many night markets have multilingual signage (as do a lot of restaurants in Taipei). Just remember to bring cash, a lot of places still don't take card. Fruit and veg shops are a fun place to explore. Buffets (自助餐) are popular in Taiwan, and a good way to try a lot of different things without having to read a menu. Sometimes they're pay by weight, sometimes the cashier eyeballs your tray and makes up a price.

I've only been to Fenqihu (奮起湖) near Chiayi but there were indeed some sedate and beautiful forest trails there. Miaoli- another unexplored territory (along with Yunlin County) for me, I wish you best of luck. "Proper clothing" depends on what season you're going, but it's good to have rain gear, and layers are always practical (sometimes one must decide if the heat or the bugs are a greater evil).

As for Taipei quiet place recs:

Waziwei Nature Reserve (挖子尾自然生態保留區) - I have never seen a lot of people out here. Someone told me once it used to be a popular place to dump bodies, I've only ever seen fish bones. There's a cool mangrove swamp and a bike trail (might be a bit long to walk all the way out). I usually stop and get some food at Bali Old Street (crowded on the weekends, tolerable on a weekday afternoon).

Guandu Rice Fields (the linkable google maps location is actually 關渡平原大排步道) - Beautiful rice fields when they're green, or when flooded and you get the reflection of the sky and mountains. I also bike here, but I think you can reasonably walk from Beitou Station if it's not too hot.

Shezi Daotou Park 社子島 島頭公園 - Another place to bike to, although I think there's a bus. You get a lovely view of the mountains from the east side, there's a bird watching wetland area if you're into that. If you keep going on the west you'll get, well, all the way down to Xindian before the trail ends.

Guandu Temple 關渡宮 - the temple is not quiet on the holidays, but I like Guandu as an area in general, you can take a bus up to the Taipei National University of the Arts campus and look around (there's a museum, wasn't open last time I went), there's the Guandu Nature Park, more beautiful riverside trails, you can even bike all the way to Tamsui (淡水) if you feel so inclined (also not quiet on the weekends, but the beach can be tolerable), or back down to the city (and all the way to Nangang and beyond if you're industrious).

Not Just Library 不只是圖書館 - if you've had enough of the mozzies outdoors, this specially designed library in an old Japanese era bathhouse is pretty cool, located in the Songshan Creative Park. There's a fee to get in but I think unlimited time after that

Air Force Martyrs Cemetery 空軍烈士公墓 - this is not exactly what I'm recommending but it's got a google maps location, and if you look carefully at the map there's a sort of unnamed cemetery around it which I've enjoyed exploring. You can walk from Xindian Station, Bitan 碧潭 is also a hectic place on the weekend but I've noticed Taiwanese people tend to be superstitious about cemeteries and don't go in there without formal business.

Fu De Keng Public Cemetery (富德公墓辦公室) is also a neat cemetery, but more difficult to get to. Even walking a couple kilometers up Chongde Street 崇德街 from Liuzhangli Station can be fun tho, you can see the location from the movie A Sun (陽光普照).

Yuanshan Archaeological Site 圓山文化遺跡 - I don't know why this place is always empty (except when I went on a walking tour lecture with a bunch of senior citizens the other day, and finally learned it used to be a zoo), there are a lot of cool abandoned traditional buildings (locked up, if you're really industrious you could probably sneak in but even from the outside it's very picturesque). You can walk from Yuanshan Station.

Lin An Tai Historical House and Museum 林安泰古厝 - less abandoned, quiet factor depends on the day of the week but I wouldn't say I've ever seen it truly packed. Beautiful traditional estate grounds and garden you can walk around in, free entry. Also across the street from Xinsheng Park, the rose garden, and indoor botanical gardens. Ten minute walk from the Yuanshan Archaeological Site.

I was going to wrap it up here lest I go on indefinitely but I feel like I should throw in one more indoor place for mosquito-escape:

Beitou Refuse Incineration Plant Observation Deck 北投焚化爐景觀台- I've been here once and it was empty except for one other guy, I'm not sure if it's normally like that but I'm assuming it's not the MOST popular place ever. It's easiest to bike there, just go along the river, go up the flood wall ramp, and there's a Youbike kiosk on the other side. Free entry! Cool views! Silence! (There's a revolving restaurant on the floor above but outrageously expensive.)

[bagelsand-creamcheemse]

Friendly reminder that even if voting seems hopeless and like yours won’t do anything, you should still 10000% get out and do it tomorrow if you haven’t already. This election is not just a fight for the presidency but so so so many other positions. Your vote for local candidates, which you absolutely should be paying attention to, I PROMISE will count far more than you expect.

My local school board has three places in the running this year: each of them has 1 super normal candidate (2 of which are incumbents that have done a great job so far) and 1 batshit crazy opponent. the cuckoo-for-coco-puffs candidates are as follows:

1) a guy who was at the jan 6 insurrection and is running his campaign on essentially “lgbt and dei ideology is destroying student’s brains and opportunities” and the only way to fix the system is to go back to the good ol days and stop limiting “normal” students or whatever.

2) a white christian nationalist who has openly said she was christian nationalist “and that should tell you where I stand on most things” and supports extensive book banning and also going back to the good ol days.

3) a guy who is potentially less cuckoo for coco puffs but is still an absolute dingus that has literally no idea what’s going on. his campaign statements for various publications include a lot of “oh I don’t know how they’re doing things these days but I think we need to fix something. when I was on the board ten years ago we did it like X, but I dunno what they’ve done in the time since then or what it’s like now. I just know parents don’t seem to feel heard. we should change that.” with zero examples of any details or plans on how that would be achieved.

I can’t remember if that last guy is endorsed by them or not but I know that Moms for Liberty have endorsed the first two for sure, which is more than enough evidence for me to not want them in office even if I didn’t already know any of the above other stuff. (if you don’t know who Moms for Liberty are, they’re a group advocating for the removal of any mention of LGBTQ+ rights, gender and sexuality, critical race theory, race & ethnicity, discrimination, and more from school curriculums, and, as far as I can tell, were also initially formed to fight mask and vaccine mandates during COVID.)

If you think the climate is not as bad locally as it is nationally I can assure you that is not the case. I never would have imagined my city specifically — an average sized one with its own pride festival located in the greater hub of an even bigger left-wing metropolis — to have anyone like the three above to be seriously in the running. And yet here we are. The difference here is that there are far less constituents in a local election than there are nationwide, and a single voice weighs infinitely more here.

Research your local ballots and throw your support behind those who would support you — don’t let crazy people who hate your guts to get into your local school board or in a local judiciary position just because you didn’t feel like it would matter. Those are the people who will be making education decisions for your friends and families, who will be presiding over any cases that you and yours get involved in over the years of this next term.

You can’t always rely on the party markers on the ballots either — your area may have non partisan school board or judicial districts, which would only list the names of those running and nothing more. Sometimes a polling location will have party representatives set up outside to tell you which candidate falls under their party endorsement, but not every location will.

If you don’t know where to start for research, getting a sample ballot from your county’s website and just searching the names on it and going to their campaign websites to evaluate their policy statements (and check for any dog whistles) is always a really simple start. If your town/city/county has an active subreddit or facebook group, there may be people who have posted more candidate/campaign information there. If you live in Texas like I do, the League of Women Voters of Texas is a good resource for basic voter guides as well.

Please don’t let the doom and gloom mindset prevent you from having an active say in the people who represent you and make decisions for your community. With the way the political climate is right now, it may be a decision that haunts you for years. Get out and vote tomorrow.

[moleshow]

what would you say to someone (me) who is thinking about moving to chicago

it's a good city. without information on what you're looking for, where you're coming from, what your line of work is, what your finances are like, or whether you want to study here i can only give general advice. so without further ado

what exactly is a chicago

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

POPULATION:

we have the largest population of polish people outside of poland

we are located within COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS which contains the ring of inner suburbs that border chicago. our 3 transit systems are the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which operates the L (back to that in a second) and our city bus system. the suburban bus operations are run by Pace, and the L has two lines which extend into the northern suburbs of Skokie, a predominately jewish and to a lesser extend filipino neighborhood (don't quote me on that), and Evanston, which is where the main campus of Northwestern University is located. Metra runs our suburban commuter trains, but they don't own all of the tracks. metra trains have a few stops within the city, but generally serve the Greater Chicagoland area.

note that Chicago and Chicagoland are different places and the terms are not used interchangeably. chicagoland is always the burbs. this is a chronic issue: people from the suburbs will claim they are from chicago. do not let them trick you. ask them what neighborhood.

the CTA operates the Red, Purple, Yellow, Green, Brown, Blue, Orange, and Pink Line trains. all of these converge in the Loop. because they form a Loop. the other stuff in this picture that do not go into the loop are metra lines.

the "base point" for our address system is in the loop, at Madison/State. major roads will have numbers and N/S or E/W on them to indicate where they are relative to that intersection. you might hear, like, "5200 block on north clark", which will tell you where along clark that location is (in this case, clark street is 5200 N at foster).

regarding politics

if you live here, you will benefit greatly from understanding the politics. we have a council-mayor system. each city council member (known as an alder-wo/man/person or sometimes just alder) represents one of 50 wards. we use a weak-mayor system, but there's coalitions and mayors usually tap into that (unless they're hostile nutjobs)

as you might be able to tell there's a lot of politics happening here. to that point, we do big city democrat boss/machine politics here. you should look up richard j daley and then richard m daley to get a peek into that. it's the politics of knowing a guy

we have a new mayor. you might know this already but this is a lead-in to a larger point which is that chicago is, relative to the extent that any place can be after the 1980s, a union town. brandon johnson comes to us, broadly speaking, out of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). they are to city hall progressives what the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) are to the conservatives. teachers union vs police union. fight

note that our conservatives are not republicans. our conservatives and progressives are democrats, because everyone only votes for democrats. the national party labels don't apply so the policies are what's different

vexillology

we have one of the finest flags possibly in the history of man.

there is no east side because there's a lake.

where to move

you'll get more transit access for your money if you look for apartments on the north side east of ashland, or at the very least, damen. around the brown line might be tempting but it doesn't run 24h and i found that difficult to rely on when i was along it. the area i've described has decent redundancy so you can have a lot of options a few blocks apart.

older buildings almost always use gas stoves and steam radiators. that's something to be aware of when you're looking depending on whether or not you care.

rapid fire north side neighborhood ratings from someone who doesn't go west of ashland because i refuse to cross it

rogers park good, mid around loyola university, edgewater mid if you aren't on wilson, uptown good, andersonville overpriced and mid, ravenswood barely a neighborhood but cheap and mid

this area is so lame it's uninhabitable. over here it's always christian girl autumn. drivers are aggro as fuck, they all drive SUVs, and the food sucks. don't move there

continuing further south: lakeview after belmont (e/w) is good and better on broadway to the east. this is where boystown is due to gay men being there. lincoln park nice to look at but mid to be in. downright bad around depaul. "ranch triangle" is barely a neighborhood, wealthy and mid. near north side is complicated due to proximity to the Viagra Triangle. gold coast is not a neighborhood but has good peoplewatching. nonetheless, mid. old town is where they invent new ways to be mid. and river north is a nuclear mid-off but has fairly swank restaurants if you don't spend too much time there

6. the dollar

apartment prices vary depending on what amenities you want. a basic oldschool unit without a dishwasher or central air but with laundry in the building will generally set you back $750-1000 for a normal, rather than weird, studio. you shouldn't pay more than $1600 for a one bed. it is better to look for places in person but come off of anon and i can give you the name of a company i rented from that had good units in good areas for good prices. and parquet wood flooring.

if you are poor and or gay we have medical services for that. the howard brown health system does sliding scale and has locations across the city

things aren't too pricey here in terms of having fun but the main thing people do is drink, go to the lake, and drink at the lake. there's other stuff of course. the restaurants are good generally speaking and the industry is frankly enormous here. usually all around the same price point, we don't do a whole lot of the Fine Dining stuff here.

culture notes

this is longer than i intended it to be

we have sports teams only three of which matter. these are the cubs, white sox, and bulls. cubs and white sox are both baseball teams and appeal to different demographics. cubs fans usually live in the suburbs or on the north side, white sox fans are largely from the south and west sides. the bulls are a basketball team. you'll see all of this stuff on hats

we got a few newspapers: the chicago tribune, chicago sun-times, and block club chicago are some of our heavy hitters

all the cops and firefighters live out here in the bungalow belt

don't move there

[nonooddo]

Just What is this Developer Up To..?

Oddo Developments is building, planning or has built tower blocks of thousands of beds and and 'townhome' developments across this part of the county and the greater Kansas City area.

The developer is relentless in fighting communities across the region - with teams of architects, lawyers, illustrators, PR people and paid-up engineers all producing 'unbiased reports', 'scenic' renderings and of course candid submissions in multiple sets of municipal planner meetings. Meetings that local residents know nothing about until the Oddo Project is already baked - and its odor has already seeped all through the corridors of the various city halls.

"You Cant Handle The Truth" - until its too late for you to do much about it..!

And IF there is a need for high stacked rental housing - maybe all these legal maneuverings - that just happen to NEVER include the locals and the communities Oddo moves it resources into - are meeting that need. But that doesn't explain why Oddo is determined to grab hold of the gateway to Cedar Creek...

Hiddeous

The Oddo company's other plans, on a much less significant Cedar Creek adjacent site - (between Valley Parkway & 103rd/Hwy 10), are much more modestly scaled. Not on a high elevation - those plans are only intended to be TWO STORIES HIGH...!

Yet More ODDO It will be doubly difficult to sell apartments with traffic views if the luckless Oddo residents wake up to find that Oddo over-development in Lenexa is causing traffic to back up onto Hwy 10...!

Of course selling views of traffic on K-10 would be more of an uphill battle than selling views from the top of the hill on Cedar Creek parkway. Cedar Creek views that we provide, at our expense, and Shadow Glen golf course views that Oddo will appropriate along with the name 'Shadow Glen'.

So is the deal - 'stacking "synthetic stone cladding" and "cement board" multi-level micro apartments' all along K-10 designed to catch the eye of commuters? Those forced to wait for a space on the Cedar Creek off-ramp will have noting to look at but tail-lights and 'ANOTHER ODDO DEVELOPMENT' billboards? Logical maybe - if cheap and nasty.

But what does that do to the claims of luxury resort living..? Is that really the way you recruit top level tenants? Somehow I think not. So really - what is Oddo Developments doing trying to take over the entrance to Cedar Creek..? Why does THIS site have to be 6 stories of building - as opposed to 2 elsewhere (from which he clearly must be able to turn a profit...)?

I'll tell you - this is all about what we have, we created, we should own and we should be in charge of (were it not for another developer who clings onto control through a faux HOA)...

Oddo Developments wants to loot Ceder Creek of its views, its open spaces, its character and its green resources... He has no way to prevent his tenants using our open property, crowding the carefully stewarded natural spaces - and our absurd developer-run HOA has no plans, ability or inclination to stop Oddo. After all - birds of a feather....

So we should be in no doubt that the rapacious machine presently gnawing at our door, does not have a better face or a nicer plan. There are no 'more acceptable' approaches or alternatives. Not from an entity that is here for the singular reason of appropriating for itself all that we have worked for, contributed to, managed, observed, maintained, stewarded and paid for. Oddo's very presence in Cedar Creek is fundamentally at odds with all of us who live here. And that difference is irreconcilable.

The essence of Cedar Creek is at stake here. Nothing more, nothing less.

NO...!

Oddo can't be allowed to win.

[thelistingteammiami]

Debunking The Most Common Misconceptions About Mortgage Refinancing

Refinancing a mortgage can provide lots of advantages for homeowners. They can lock in a lower interest rate or shorten the term of their loan that can help them save thousands of dollars in their monthly mortgage payments. However, there are still lots of confusion about the refinancing process that hinder them from reaping its benefits. If you’re one of those who have been contemplating if you’ll jump at the opportunity, we debunk the most common refinancing misconceptions to help you decide whether it is a smart choice for you.

“I’m afraid I won’t qualify.”

While there are specific eligibility requirements, many homeowners do qualify for a refinance. Even those who haven’t built up a lot of equity in their homes or are struggling to get their credit back on track might qualify. The guidelines have now loosened up that homeowners who thought they couldn’t refinance before because of credit or employment issues just need to approach a lender to know the process. Don’t let your ‘low financial self-esteem’ stop you before you even get started. For an instance, government programs such as the Home Affordable Refinancing Program or HARP can help you refinance as long as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac own your loan; it was originated on or before May 31, 2009, and your current loan-to-value ratio is greater than 80%.

“There’s no reason for me to refinance.”

Believe it or not, there are many reasons for you to refinance. The primary reason for many homeowners is to have a lower mortgage rate, which leads to lower monthly payments. It’s also applicable if you want to shorten the life of your loan and save money in interest paid over the life of the loan. Refinancing is also possible for those who have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and now want to have a low fixed-rate. Homeowners who are planning to stay in their homes for a while can also refinance to fund home repairs and other major purchases.

“It will take too much time and effort.”

Sometimes just the thought of providing the paperwork can be the most daunting part of any real estate transaction. Refinancing is no exception. Many homeowners may find it a burden to provide the documents needed, including pay stubs, tax returns and proof of income (W-2 forms and/or 1099s), credit report, statement of assets and debts, and even title insurance. But if you will think about it, you can easily access most of these requirements anyway if you’ve safely stored them for verification.

If you really cannot locate your copies of those documents and/or you’ve lost them at some point, you can still find that refinancing is worth the hassle. Streamlined refinancing is being offered for homeowners who have government-backed loans such as the FHA, VA or USDA loans. It’s an option that can save them time and money by expediting the refinance process. If you apply for a streamline refinance to simply reduce your interest rate, there may not be a need for a new appraisal or an income verification.

Just remember that while it might not be the case for most conventional loans, the extra time and paperwork can be worth it when you eventually see your monthly payments come down and finally save more cash.

“I can’t refinance with another lender.”

Refinancing is a great opportunity for you to search and compare lenders and mortgage rates so it's a great opportunity to get a better deal with a new lender. It’s also important to shop around and compare loan options from different types of lenders, such as from a local bank, an online lender, or a mortgage banker. You can also venture out of your town or county when seeking lenders.

“Shop around for rates, and don’t rely on banks in your area," said Bryan Marsden, editorial coordinator of FatWallet.com.

“I’m waiting for mortgage rates to drop.”

This is a common misconception that most homeowners have about refinancing. Yes, refinancing when mortgage rates are low can be a very smart decision. And yet, there’s no way to know when rates will go lower so it’s quite a gamble to wait every day for it to drop. Opt to refinance depending on your situation, your goals, and whether it makes sense for you.

“I’ve missed my chance to refinance.”

And speaking of waiting for the “right” time, many homeowners think they might have missed their chance to refinance because of rising interest rates. However, experts are saying otherwise. As long as you’re sure on the costs associated with refinancing and confirm that it will lower your monthly payments, it’ll be an appropriate choice for you regardless.

If you think you are moving soon, a refinance isn’t a smart move because you may not recoup the closing costs you spent to save cash on your mortgage payment. Experts recommend that you look for the break-even point of the loan—your total closing costs divided by monthly savings—where you’ll start saving money in your mortgage payments.

Bottom Line

Refinancing may sound complex and overwhelming, but once you know what you’re getting into, you’ll understand that it’s a great opportunity for you to save some serious cash before it’s too late. Remember to choose the right refinancing product depending on your time frame, goals, and plans.

[earthbelowus]

thinking about esteria more.

i think the structure of the revolution is different from what ive been doing. i've been assuming it started definitively in 2124 and ended definitively in 2133. while the ceasefire still would happen in 2133, leading to a defacto esterian state, the 2124 "start" date feels a bit disengenuous.

after all, the unrest started in 2109. the 2108 elections went to the democrats, which signalled a political right-shift akin to what we see now with trump and whatnot. 2105-2109 president had been a particularly stale party for change presidency; where despite legislative action happening and such, things were kind of heating up sociopolitically. the gyrotasse population within american mars continued to increase at a rate slightly greater than the human population, leading a wave of conspiracy theories and xenophobia in the earth states (particularly in conservative former "red states"). especially as the US has gotten into the habit of having white-hot beef with nearly every powerful gyrotasse polity in Sol.

and the entire time theres also increased tension with the USSR and China. so the russophobia and sinophobia Also contributes to their win. so yeah theres a pretty strong dem trifecta formed. and as the opening months of 2109 went by, the entirely blue government would jump on the opportunity to enact all sorts of stupid shit. cold war red scare shit as well as culture war shit on earth, taking rights and having police brutality and censoring and all that. but it was on mars where they *really* pushed their shit.

they loosened government regulations on corporations, letting them burn martian fossil fuels despite. you know. earth still on overdrive trying to fix its own issues. that also drove the martian economy wild as corporations did the shitty fake inflation thing where they just made things expensive cuz they could.

they loosened regulations on the religious charters, leading to an uptick of social conservatism in these areas. long-held federal rights like gay marriage were now on the chopping block, with the most fundie charters hinting at turning the clock back even further.

but what sealed the deal was the landslide decision to create the "gyrotasse territory", carved from the westernmost counties of the urania territory (aka the area that used to be called "ztchdkast" in 2023 canon). the dems solution to the "gyrotasse issue" was to round up every single one on american mars and deport them to this gyrotasse territory. the climate there is cold and harsh, located in the inland urania campuses. the only gyrotasse that would have been spared were ones living in company towns, working for little to no wage. [wage slavery]

so as 2109 went on many cities across american mars would see cops barge into their communities and drag any gyrotasse out, shoving them into trucks or planes and sending them thousands of miles away to the GT. in many communities, especially in low income neighborhoods where the cities forced them to live, they were an integral part of the community, so when these deportations started happening, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. by the end of the year multiple protest organisations would have already sprung up fighting this.

and *thats* where most would put the start of the revolution. because as the 2110s went on, these groups would only grow and multiply, gradually taking control of cities and counties from the american government. the american news cycle would have called it a civil war even in the early 2110s.

now, 2124 is still important. up before then the groups would have been loosely allied, fighting for a common goal but generally disorganised on a pan-colonial level. but on april 8 2124, leaders of the prominent groups and some smaller ones got together in orangetree and took it to the next step, officially forming the first esterian government by unifying their groups under one banner. its when theyd start writing the esterian constitution, drafting the government, and all that stuff. in the following eight earthyears theyd capture more territory now that they were united. theyd immediately begin setting up the government in 2124, getting less rickety as time went on.

as the 2130s began, it was kinda looking like shit for the americans. theyd been pushed out of many strategic locations and entire states had been absorbed into esteria. in 2132, a party for change president ran on the promise to end the war, and after getting inaugurated in 2133, immediately started peace talks with the esterian government, who by then was already doing strong government things like elections and such.

the united states would give up all its possessions west of the continental divide, as well as the territory east of it north of the obama territory, as well as multiple port cities esterian government controlled in other areas of american mars across the globe. this creates the classic "esteria shape", but bigger.

this absolutely kills the president's chance of re-election, but. the president thought it was the best option for the US in the long run

thats when esteria does all the indpendence referendums and such and we get most of olympus insula + ida insula going independent. but the unity of the revolution kept a lot of the new state intact, including most of the port cities abroad. the fighting was long from over, though, as throughout the 2130s and 2140s esteria would have to deal with militant groups from the fundie charters.

so yeah. esteria would be borne from the union of revolutions under one flag. and i know my brain is healing because i only barely thought of tavadia while writing that previous sentence. i am becoming healthy once again

[libraryofcirclaria]

17 January 1261

Library of Circlaria

Third Level Society: First Version

Story Five: Oscar Lehman

Last I wrote, I was about to head to Bridgetown. Now I am in North Kempton.

Two months ago, November 16th through 17th, I think, I made my way to Bridgetown and met with Meon. I took a plane from Gentry County Airport to the Airfield in the greater area of Lerutan. From there, I took a cable train which arrived to Midway Station in Bridgetown. Meon's flat was one block East and one block North of the Midway Platforms, on the Bridge, itself, on the Combrian side. 

So it was a long day of travel, I think about three hours. 

When I arrived, Meon invited me in and sat me down with some coffee. I told him of everything that happened between Marcus Terrings and Karlin Maryk, more than what I could say over telephone or ticker. Meon seemed to listen intently; but when I finished, instead of providing insight and advice on the matter, he simply stated that he had nothing to say and then changed the subject.

The conversation drifted into politics, during which Meon felt certain that Jackson would win.

"I don't see how a radical third-party candidate from an upstart organization can bring down the mighty Foundationist-Laborist establishment," I remember saying.

"You would be surprised how many think differently," Meon said.

Of course, I did not believe him at that moment. In fact, I was completely dumbfounded by his actions. He seemed a completely changed individual, not the Meon I knew for years and years. And in this case, I even began to wonder if he was either politically swayed or knew something that only few others knew.

And my dumbfoundedness was increased even moreso by what he said next.

"Go back to Cabotton next week, and finish your semester," Meon said. "After finals, I need you to do me a favor. I will send over 500 qors to your bank account that week. Whenever you see that, and whenever your academic break starts, take the plane and train routes necessary to reach the town of North Kempton. See if you can find Cray Fenton."

"I thought you no longer had interest in the happenings of Cray Fenton," I protested. Indeed, that was true. Meon had made countless mentions with me in conversation throughout the years about his fallout with Cray Fenton. After Fenton's downfall, Meon was hoping to reach out in the hope of consolation. He had tried this many times but was met with cold silence. Eventually, Meon gave up, or so it would seem.

But Meon placed his hands on my shoulders. "Don't mention me," he said. "Also, when you get there, approach him as if normally someone from the outside wanting to make friends. In the process, get as much information from him as possible, his whereabouts, his relations, especially with the Galleston family, and especially his craft."

"What is the meaning of all this?" I asked. 

"Just do as I ask." Then Meon smiled. "It will benefit all of us."

Usually, a conversation with Meon made me feel whole whenever I came to him during low points in my life. But that particular conversation made me feel even more fragmented and confused. I returned to Cabotton the same way I came. And during the last week of November, first week of December, I just simply felt emptier than before. I stopped engaging on the most part with the Third Level Society, not just because of having to focus on my final examinations, but because I simply became a shell of who I was.

My mind turned quite frequently to the Four Towers on the University Campus.

I went through the motions. I took and passed my exams. At the end of the first week of December, I put the Society and Meon completely out of mind.

And then, in the late hours of Friday December 7, news broke that the electoral Docks District in South Masonia was handed to Edward Jackson. That was the final building stone in this year's contested election, the outcome of which determined the outcome of the election. So Edward Jackson of the radical Diplomatic Party was named the next Prime Minister, unseating the incumbent James Black and breaking the Foundationist-Laborist dynamic having been in place since the beginning.

Meon Bell was right.

In all this chaos and uncertainty, Meon Bell's seemingly off-hand and semi-delusional statement regarding the politics in the outside world was actually right on point. I actually had thought that Meon was converted into a brainwashed hopeful of that libertarian campaign platform. But now I realize that perhaps I was misunderstood. With Meon Bell serving as the point of fixture in the socio-political soup, I decided to finally follow through with his advice.

I still paid a visit to my family for the first week or so of winter break, staying over the holidays of Stellacrux and the New Year. But afterward, I set out to North Kempton. I decided to take the following Spring Semester off from Cabotton University.

When I got there, I realized that the rumors I heard in the past spoke true about North Kempton. I saw pictures of the town before everything happened. Nothing but a few farmsteads. But when the Airship Pirafone crashed in one of their cropfields, national attention was drawn here. Before long, the airship industry saw the place as a potential stopover; so they built an airfield here, dedicating it to Captain William Solomon, having received a hero's honor for having landed the Pirafone on the ground without casualties. In fact, Cray Fenton having broken his wrist was the only injury requiring a hospital stay.

Things changed dramatically for that town. Before 1251, it was said that "nobody outside of North Kempton knew that North Kempton existed." Where there used to be nothing but open fields and scattered farmsteads stands, today, a proper town. There is a town square with intersecting avenues and traffic lights. And there's line after line of shops.

That was not what got my attention, however. What struck me was the arrangement of the residential housing estates. Those, in North Kempton, are complete squares with uniform houses and uniform lawns. Now we've had estates throughout Middle Remikra and the Great North for the past half-century or so, but these housing plots here in North Kempton are peculiar with their yard decorations, more specifically the bushes and hedges, whose shapes are obviously crafted by humans. And for the past thirty-six hours, I learned from a few North Kemptonians that there is a norm to have the best hedge and the best-kept lawn. Not necessarily an actual competition, but more like a competitive vibe. And this extends to fences, housing exteriors, and even sidewalks.

Another element of culture here is a similar incentive to produce the best model family of the town. In other words, there is a stronger drive here than I've seen elsewhere to graduate from school, join the military if you are male, obtain a college degree, obtain a job, then marry and start a family. And may I add that there is a strong expectation for adolescents to participate in sports. In fact, that norm is so popular that the local high school has more than one team for each of their sports.

And there also seems to be a community expectation extending to even relatively private behaviors such as one's conduct at the family dinner table, as well as pressure to attend Alconist worship every Sunday.

I'm not able to pinpoint what exactly about this bothers me slightly. All the norms here are present elsewhere, including Cabotton. But something feels a bit extreme about all of this. It seems that North Kempton and its very function seems to revolve around the norms of the individual and of the family. And North Kempton is the first town I've seen to boast a slogan: "Tradition and Community."

Regardless, I was happy to finally meet Cray Fenton. At first, I found someone who knew him, but that person would not respond to my inquiry other than "He's busy these days with private matters." I had booked an extended stay at the Town Center Hotel. So I decided to take another approach by leveraging some rumors.

What I gained from that was that Cray Fenton and members of the Galleston family were setting up and running a dymensional plane that simulated the city of North Kempton, itself, with avatars only in the form of humans and animals doing normal things. It seemed boring the way these sources conveyed these activities.

But then I came across Carla Solden. I told her everything that I heard about the Cray Fenton project, and explained to her how I had, on the most part, separated from the Third Level Society. That seemed to catch her interest; and when I asked to observe a session one night out of pure curiosity, she obliged and gave me the address to the Galleston Farmhouse.

So I arrived on the evening of January 14th to the Galleston Farmhouse. It was snowy, and had been all day. But I could see that they had about an acre of crops that they grew during the appropriate season. Indeed, they were right next to the William Solomon Airfield, which was quite a vast area; and Peter Galleston, who met me upon arrival, explained how that all belonged once to the Galleston family, initially as a large grainfield. The airship industry had paid a large sum of money to that family for purchase of the field, as well as paid for a lifetime of wheat flour imports.

The dymensional plane was in the house basement, but we convened in the living room on the first floor, where I finally met Cray Fenton, members of the extended Galleston family, and some of their close friends. 

Fenton seemed quite calm and friendly, in stark contrast to what Meon Bell had told me. I guess that being away from the Third Level Society for as long as he was did much to calm him. So I told them everything regarding my recent experiences with the Third Level Society.

For a moment, Fenton's jolly vibe disappeared and was replaced by an air of serious acknowledgement. "Indeed, some things may have changed. But some things also remain the same." Then he beckoned for me to follow him down into the basement, where he showed me the dymensional plane.

It was basically a rendition of North Kempton. "Every significant building, every street, every zone, every geographical feature, crafted to the best possible detail with respect to our ability," Fenton explained to me. "It's not much, I know. Just a simple re-creation of the real world. But it serves an important purpose. Of course, that would take all night of explaining. So it is better for you to cast your own avatar and take part." 

And I did. Thus far, things seem a bit less structured here. They do not even have a name for their organization let alone a policy book or Statute of Principle. But one rule here is that the avatar you cast must be an exact replica of yourself, with no unreasonable alterations.

But aside from that, there are no rigid leadership roles, although Fenton seems the "head of the round dinner table." There are no bizarre political dynamics here like in Cabotton. There seems to be an air of common sense for once. I haven't yet fully indulged, although I will in due time. But this already feels more comfortable for me than the Society ever did.

"There's probably more of you where you came from," Fenton said at one point. "Let them know that I would like to extend my perpetual invitation."

I am taking Spring Semester off from Cabotton University. In fact, I may even take off Fall Semester.

<- 13 November 1260 <- || -> 01 March 1261 ->

[naturecoaster]

How NatureCoaster is Making a Difference for Florida's Nature Coast

We love Florida's Nature Coast. We work hard to support the many organizations that help make the wonderful place what it is, whether through events, activities, preservation, or assistance to residents and visitors. That is why NatureCoaster.com covers the best of the area and not the crime and politics that divide it. Being involved in politics - the organizations and governing entities that manage our area's resources - is important. Attending County Commission meetings, Southwest Water Management District meetings, Florida Fish and Wildlife Meetings, City Council meetings, and Metropolitan Planning Organization meetings are all ways that we can shape how our area grows. NatureCoaster.com covers notices about when and where you can get involved. When you speak up and get involved in the process you can influence positive change and chart direction. Today's feature story is about the details: who, what, where. Let us know what you think in the comments. Supporting the Florida Wildlife Corridor One of our passion projects is the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which is certainly bigger than our Nature Coast. The Corridor extends from the Keys to Alabama and Georgia, providing a connected path for wildlife to move freely and somewhat safely through the entire state. The Nature Coast is an important piece of the Corridor. The Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation has partnered with us to promote you, our readers, getting involved. To that end, Diane Bedard, NatureCoaster's founder has been involved with this organization for several years. "I believe that each of us can contribute to something greater by trying. I believe God honors effort and when we take the time to put our vision into action, we can contribute to a greater good," Diane says. A Celebration to Help the Cause On April 6, 2024, NatureCoaster.com held a party for our tenth anniversary at the Masaryk Winery in Masaryktown, Florida. We invited all our readers, our advertising partners, and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation's friends to come out and celebrate with us on the 53-acre u-pick farm, winery, restaurant, and venue. Autum Proctor of Traveling Art Parties kicked our celebration off with a custom paint class featuring a Nature Coast theme. Here are some of the finished pieces with their creators. Image by Dennis Bedard. We made a custom art piece under the guidance of Autum Proctor, owner of Traveling Art Parties. We enjoyed some of the finest blues music around by the Sarasota Slim Band. We held a silent auction that had donations from small businesses throughout Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco Counties, and we learned more about the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation by watching their latest film, O2O: the Path to Connection and hearing from a panel that included Justin Alsedek, the artist who created the Florida Wildlife Corridor Brooksville mural, Austin Jenkins, US Army Veteran and Trek participant on the O2O film, Donayle Whitmore, FCWF's Director of Outreach Programs, Barry Meindl representing Brooksville Main Street, and myself. The event was catered by Suzy's Kitchen, a farm-to-table place inside the Masaryk Winery. We had a marvelous turnout at our celebration and raised over $1,300 to donate to the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. This donation, while not monumental in size, will help the organization continue fighting to connect and protect the nature that makes our Nature Coast such a magical place. https://youtube.com/shorts/sOi1nTZrxKE?si=Z3MUslnycn1denWa Let's take a moment to thank the partners who contributed to the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation fundraiser at our Tenth Anniversary Celebration. What a great team! - Chop Block Grill - Florida's Adventure Coast Visitors Bureau - Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation - Freedom Boat Club - Gypsea Arts - Main Street Eatery - Marilyn Tate, Artist - Movin’ Grooms - Philip Bomhoff, Attorney - Richey Suncoast Theatre - Roots Creative Company - Sally White Photography - Tampa Bay Retired Police K9 Foundation and Dog Phonics - The Plantation on Crystal River - The Red Brick Place - The White Heron Tea & Gifts - Traveling Art Parties Raising Funds and Presenting a Check Mallory Lykes-Dimmitt, Chief Executive Officer of the Corridor Foundation, stated, "The awareness you raise through your efforts is significant to our goal of connecting and protecting a safe space throughout our State and we are grateful for your partnership." Her thank you letter for the financial donation stated, "Together we’re continuing to make tremendous strides to keep the Corridor connected and working with a growing array of partners and resources to collectively achieve our critical mission. " We were able to go to the June 8th Gallery opening at their St. Petersburg office to present the check and share some of our NatureCoaster.com branded wine made by Masaryk Winery. NatureCoaster Sponsors Organizations and Events to Help Raise Funds for Local Charities And NatureCoaster is a local publication with a global reach. We help sponsor and promote events year-round to raise funds for charities that provide everything from food for food-insecure schoolchildren to animal care and everything in between. Here is a list of some of the local events and organizations we donate to - The Arc Nature Coast - Florida Manatee Festival - Heroes Boat Parade - Florida Strawberry Festival - Summer Bark Festival - Kumquat Festival - Chasco Fiesta - Live Oak Theatre - Friends of Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park - Friends of Weeki Wachee Springs - Brooksville Main Street - Art in the Park - New Port Richey Main Street - Dade City Monarch Butterfly Festival - East Pasco Chamber - Pigz in Z’Hills Blues & BBQ - Tampa Bay Retired Police K9 Foundation - Walk of Arts Sidewalk Chalk Competition - Drive for Champs Golf Classic - Brooksville Gallery 201 - Red, White & Brews - Walk for Alzheimer's - Floral City Heritage Council - Citrus County Historical Society - 100 Women Who Care Nature Coast If we go back more years, there are more, and I am certain there are some that have been inadvertently left off the list. We want to make a difference for our Nature Coast and with your help, we do. Support the organizations that invest in advertising with NatureCoaster.com. Without our partners, we would not be able to continue connecting you to the best of our area. We hope to see the Butterfly Lady at the 2024 Monarch Butterfly Festival in the newly renovated Touchton Park. Miles the Butterfly, photo ops and much more are sure to be at the annual Dade City Monarch Butterfly Festival on October 26. Image by Dennis Bedard. We Partner with Chambers of Commerce and Visitor Bureaus We belong to several Chamber of Commerce organizations in our region, including the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce and the East Pasco Chamber of Commerce. In previous years, we have been members of the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce, the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Hernando Chamber of Commerce. We work with all three County tourism or destination marketing organizations: Discover Crystal River, Florida's Adventure Coast, and Florida's Sports Coast. They support us and we support them in attracting visitors to the area to experience the best we have to offer. Some of Our Readers' Remarks about NatureCoaster.com In May 2024, we did a reader survey, asking what readers like about NatureCoaster, and here are the comments. Some are repetitive in this list format, but we didn't want to take away from any of the responses. Let us know if you agree - or if you have some to add. - I learn about the Nature Coast. Helps this snowbird feel connected until we return. - Information on events and restaurants - Just good local events and news and I like how much there is about nature! - Events from a couple of counties for better options for family time/memory makers - It's relevant to my home - So fun and informative! - I learn things about my county that I would not think about. - Good Local News Articles and Events - Interesting - Wide and varied coverage - It alerts me to events that I may want to attend. - I get news about the community! - You are local and you are passionate about promoting local! - Keeps me updated on community news and events with interesting stories and things to do - Gives me the facts about what is happening - It provides interesting information about the local area. - "The articles are informational and local and I love to share them on various Facebook pages that I manage. - It lets me know what events are going on and where! - It is an incredible source of local events, local businesses, local news and overall local spots to be visited! - Up to date - It keeps me up-to-date on local places to go - I like the feature stories, and event notices, along with community news. - It goes where other media doesn't. - It informs me of events and places in my county - The background history of places on the Nature Coast - I am interested in learning and participating in outdoor educational activities - Good local information If you get to this paragraph, know that we are trying to help make Florida's Nature Coast a better place with our God-given talents and we couldn't do it without you. Read the full article

[evanvanness]

A screening list for an English club to buy

It's long been a dream of mine to buy a football ⚽ club in England and bring it up the divisions and try to turn it into a big club worth billions.*

What would be an ideal club to buy:

League Two (or possibly League One). League Two is the 4th division, league One is...the third division. In American terms, very roughly speaking, League One is AA minor league baseball, and League Two is A.

Close to an international airport with a direct flight. In practice from Houston this means greater London, maybe greater Manchester/Liverpool (there's a direct singapore air flight). On the other hand, maybe you move there and go 24/7.

Big stadium without urgent need for renovations where fans attend even in lean times. The gate is a big piece of the economic puzzle in lower divisions. The better the attendance in lean years means that you can (theoretically) lever up more with debt because the downside is lower (theoretically)

Higher GDP in surrounding area the better. More sporting success means more economic success. Also generally less xenophobia for when you buy the club and for the inevitable times when your team doesn't live up to expectations.

League Two (via Wikipedia)

League One:

Clubs on this list (12 in League One, 6 in League Two) roughly within an hour of Manchester airport without traffic: Bradford City, Tranmere Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan, Barnsley, Port Vale,

Within an hour of Heathrow: Swindon Town, MK Dons, Charlton Athletic, Reading, Portsmouth, Oxford United.

Top of League One and League Two (by stadium capacity) are both clubs who would probably be pretty gunshy, for some different reasons. Derby County went busto, MK Dons got moved in controversial circumstances.

Even knowing how football mad the general area is, it's somewhat surprising how many clubs are within an hour of the Manchester airport.

You notice Wrexham in the bottom left corner, as it's a short drive from the airport. A few actors managed to buy the club in a particularly brilliant manner by cross-promoting all their investments using a documentary, all the while acting as if they're losing money.

[I find the documentary really annoying. Lots of dumb jokes, overacted "reality scenes," not enough football, business or Wales. I do enjoy the Wales bits though.]

They did manage to go from the 5th division to the 4th division, however, which is a big accomplishment. They got the club apparently for free, by simply promising to invest in the club.

There's a few clubs in London if you're willing to look at the 5th division, but the stadiums are small. For example, of that map, the largest stadium is Barnet at 6400. Since it's London, presumably expanding or building a new stadium when you need to is much more expensive.

I also think that 5th division complicates an obvious blueprint: for me, it would be recruit from Argentina relatively young and create a culture where players aren't homesick and can perform. Beyond that, Chelsea also showed us that buying lots of players cheap when they're young and loaning them out until you sell or play them is a profitable strategy.

_* Almost 20 years ago I spent hours figuring out Peter Thiel's email when he was at the height of his success as a macro trader to send him an extremely half-baked suggestion of buying a club in administration. If you assume he didn't respond, that is the safest of calls.

_** Technically the top level (the Premier League) is no longer a member of the EFL.

[catboybiologist]

Oh yay, stuff I get to nitpick! Sorry if this seems snippy, I just love talking about California geography and nitpicking the subregions is an easy way to do that.

There's a lot of distinctions here that I wouldn't make, and some that I would.

I would strongly argue that wine country isn't distinct from either the far North, or as a "rural", bougie offshoot of the bay. Personally, I'd have it as a "greater Bay and Northern San Jouquin" region that covers the Bay Area, Stockton+Sac, and the North Bay that you have as wine country here. The other funny thing about wine country is that wine production is a lot less consolidated in California than most people assume. While Napa is obviously the most famous and most productive, Paso Robles, Monterey County, and various spots on the central coast creep their way up there.

Eastern California is also mostly just the East slopes of the Sierras plus the Owen's valley, and has the same kind of vibes as the Sierras overall. You also cut them off way too early to the South and somewhat early to the North I would say. A good frame of reference is that Death Valley is in the direct rainshadow of Mt. Whitney- here, you have the tallest and most classic part of the Sierras as "desert", which isn't accurate.

I bring this up bc those divisions are probably a lot less significant than one you missed out on- North Coast vs true "state of Jefferson" Northeast. They're both very low population areas, so people don't think of them much, but the culture is completely different- just compare Eureka to Redding. The North Coast climatically and geographically is very wet, with lots of misty headlands and redwood forests, whereas the interior is a lot of dry brush and pine forests, including the South end of the Cascades.

I'd also rename the central corridor to just central valley. I also personally nudge the SoCal/central Cal border a bit further North than most people, but I know most disagree with me lol

Not that this changes anything. SoCal is probs the worst part either way, it just has the most population by a massive margin, so its gonna win. And the other major population center is the Bay, so that plus socal are gonna take up the majority of the votes.

[cashloans2go]

Lifestyle as Associated with Your Vehicle Choices 

Finally, you are going to own your car. Alternatively, maybe it is time to get the second (or the third one. Have you arranged your finances? Did you finalise your car model? If you haven’t, then this post might do you good. 

To get a suitable car for your life, you have got to think about your lifestyle first. Your lifestyle does get a boost. However, the same lifestyle choices determine the best car for you. Read on to find out more about it.

What Car May Fit Your Lifestyle the Best?

You know very well that vehicles are meant for different purposes. Of course, your responsibility comes more relevant here as a car owner. If you can choose the vehicle meant for the purpose you have, then materially, it’s a correct decision.

However, one may need a minivan not only for the purpose it is created for but also for something extra. For example, people buy a minivan to commute with many passengers. However, simultaneously, you may use it for your business shipment process with delivery people.

It all then comes down to your personal preferences. Put more focus on why you want to own a car’ to come to a clarified decision. It will help you with your purchase. Types of vehicles you might need to consider:

Coupes (cars with two doors) 

Sedans (cars with fur doors)

Vans 

Mini-Vans 

SUVs (utility vehicles)

Trucks 

Campervans or Motorhomes   

When you are sure of the kind of vehicle you want to buy, then you can organize your finances better. Nevertheless, what if you don’t have a good financial condition? What if you have spotted your favourite car and an affordable limited-period offer, yet you cannot own it for lack of money? In that case, take a car loan from the new direct lenders in the UK. They can offer you personal loans for buying your car. Yes, you can get money for your car without having to use it for collateral.

Your Residential City or County Matters a Lot

Maybe you live a lifestyle from which others gain inspiration. We can define the lifestyle we live based on our choices. However, part of that is defined by the location we live. If you are a person on a hamlet in the UK, then you would live differently than a Londoner. It’s that simple. 

In case you are staying in a city that got narrow roads or navigational areas, then it is wise to choose a smaller vehicle. You can navigate through the city more easily. You can squeeze your car into tight parking spaces.

Nevertheless, staying in the countryside or a more wide space than a city, such as a town or a village, can help you own a larger vehicle like an SUV. You won’t have issues driving or parking it. Besides, the larger wheel diameter can get more distance covered for you. 

How about the Type of Driving or Commutes You Are Looking at 

I am going to give you an example with skateboards. My friend Zack has a longboard. The longboard comes with a greater size and softer wheels. Hence, it helps a person to roll with stability for a longer period. The plain reason for that is the length of the board deck and the larger wheel diameter. He uses it to commute to the office, which is about 5 miles from his home.

Chen is another mate of mine who bought a penny board. It is a cruiser. These are smaller longboards with the same sort of wheels. However, their sizes are comparatively shorter. They are great for navigating the roads, alleyways, and pavements of a city.

Have you got your answer? If you are into a cab business or your navigational area is mostly in the city spaces with tight twists and corners, a small SUV will be a good fit for you. You might also go for a coupe that comes in smaller. On the other hand, you can choose a larger SUV if you stay in a freer area with long-distance travelling as your necessity. 

Family Members 

I would ask you to consider sedans and SUVs if you have a family. I mean, if your family consists of only 2 people, and you know that the number of members is not increasing in the future, then that two-door car is going to be good for you. Again, having a sedan or an SUV is more important when you have many family members.

A van might also be a good option if you have a large family. There will be times when you want to go on road trips. A family of that kind needs these occasions at times. If you have a high-budget capacity, I might want to recommend the campervan or motor home. It is splendid not to carry too many people but to accommodate them for a short period quite comfortably and safely.

For the Solo Travellers 

Some people like to call the road their friend. No, I am not trying to tell you that you need to live in your car like a few people are doing these days. That’s a different thing. However, wanderlust may have made you infected with an urge to travel. With that, you’ll need a stronger car.

I want to pick an SUV. However, if you are a traveller who does not like the company of others, then a small truck is good. It can get your things loaded at the back. It has a good hauling capacity, which you can use for long road trips or for things like camping. 

For Businesses

Now you want to ship things. You have a brand, and you would like a transportation partner that is going to get your things moved from one place to the other. You might be working in retail, manufacturing, or the restaurant industry, where you have to come across shipping needs for your customers constantly. It is also a common thing for businesses like dropshipping.

A small truck or a pickup truck will work as a perfect business partner for you. Yes, they are a little costly. However, we can pay that high price if we put our brains to use. 

To Conclude: Financing a Car in Poor Conditions

Sometimes, for an individual or a business, buying a car or any vehicle gets mandatory. But they might face a financial hurdle. A poor credit score or low income can be a few of these issues.

Why worry much? You can take out long-term loans for bad credit from a direct lender online. These loans may not be secured loans. You can take them out without collateral. Your lender wouldn’t mind a bad credit score as long as it is a direct lender organisation and you are transparent with repayment using your salary. 

As a parting piece of advice, I would only like to reflect on the fact that you should research a little more about the car you want. Maybe this post has told you enough about what areas to check. You might have special requirements. Take time to understand them and then finalize your purchase. It is then going to be effective. 

[rgvrollo]

Clearly, #spacex feels their launch was a success!

I would agree to a certain extent, but it's failures alarm me! Here's why:

When NASA, was been placed on the back burner for deep space enthusiasm, Elon has gone somewhat rogue. This can lead to serious consequences for People, Environment, and Sea Life.

NASA spent billions of Tax-payer dollars that funded the research of its launch facilities to accommodate the Saturn 5 Rockets, and The Space Shuttle. Although the fuels, and oxidizers may be different, the concept remains. Very high heat at launch, and lots of down force blast at take-off. NASA has it down. Elon chose Boca Chica, built his own dreamy launch system, and his incredible Merlin engines. Clearly, He didn't account for, or neglected the math. Not only did his launch facility fail at its most Basic design, but destroyed his craft. There was tons of fine silica particles from sand, and concrete blasted even smaller into the Atmosphere in the huge dust cloud after take-off. The prevailing winds carried the Dust Cloud up towards South Padre Island, and West, NW of the Launch site. This would encompass The Entire Rio Grande Valley, and up to Central Texas(San Antonio). This alarms me more than a launch failure. Elon, who has Tesla, a green car company, isn't concerned about Air Quality?

Something to consider, is the fact that Mexico deliberately burns their trash dumps during these predictable winds from the Gulf Coast, that blows carcinogens, and toxic metals, directly into the above mentioned regions. We cannot control Mexico, aside from an invasion, which I will mention in upcoming posts. What we can control, is What We Are Doing Here!

Also, The Ripley Sea Turtles, which many scientists still believe to be highly endangered, nests right on the Beach next to SpaceX launch facility. Often consumed in Mexico for it's eggs, meat, and prized oil for cosmetics; This turtle continues to be challenged for survival! We can't control Mexico, but we can control Our coast! Not Elon! He has tunnel vision!

Why then, would a billionaire, build a launch facility, not up to NASAs well researched standards, and in the Center for breeding of a protected species, like the Ripley Sea Turtle? Good question! Its clear, that something made it easy for him!

The Rio Grande Valley is a predominantly impoverished region of either Extreme Wealth, or Extreme poverty. The same as in Mexico! Very little is gained via legal routes to success. Basically, if you got money; Anyone in politics here, can be bought! Look up RICO arrests in Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron counties for the last 50 years..Much higher than anywhere else in the country! Why? Greed! The levels of success are envisioned by The car you drive(important), and the boat you have! Notice I didn't mention the home? That doesn't matter here! Success is what people see outside of the home! A shanty area will have homes worth >30 grand, with a 80 thousand dollar truck parked in front. Those may be street level thugs(Drugs, human smuggling). My fear is that under this highly volatile mixture of greed, and corrupt politics; Elon got his launch pad...No oversight, no further discussions! A Carte Blanche to thrill the world with explosions, and failed attempts to launch! Why, when Elon, and his Money could go to NASA, and SHARE their Well-built, and Launch proven facilities? It's called negotiations! Sadly, in the RGV, pay under the table, and now we're friends, is Daily business! Elon knew he could go to The RGV, and Brownsville to accept his offer. I'm sure he thinks we are just dumb Mexicans here! Yes, we have about a 50% or greater illegal population than anywhere else, and the border is highly porous; yet vastly militarized, in presence...Nothing makes sense here!

Folks, I am NOT against Elon Musk, and his Ventures! I actually support him immensely! My issue is the Environment after this last failure, and detonation of hundreds of thousands of tons of contaminated sand blown into our Air! The long-term effects on an arguably near-extinct Sea Turtle, and most importantly; The shoddy construction, and design of its launch pad facilities. Who was the code-enforcer on this one?

Mexicans build this countries roads, homes, and buildings. They later cut the grass, and clean those homes, and buildings! We feed the Country by picking their fruits n veggies, and working their farms. They process the meats you eat! When no one will, and no one can? Ask a Mex-I CAN! They will try. One thing for sure, and after watching the work crews at SpaceX; They don't know Rockets, or understand why NASA had sterile environments... Hence, it will never succeed there!

NASA needs to allow a merge of facilities to SpaceX for launch purposes! We know this Rocket can go up, yet no one considered the downward thrust, and high temperatures of its 33 Merlin Engines. Unprecedented! So testing continues till success? At what cost to the poor, and uneducated? They don't understand the extent of damages it actually costs. All this to line the pockets of a very few...

In closing, I urge you to voice your thoughts! Good or Bad; It's time to go beyond a shoddy Environment Impact Study by the FAA..Dig deeper; it smells worse than methane!

We now need to #investinelon, and provide a BETTER launch facility; One that may have already seen a Moon trip... Hence, NASA! It's already built, it's elsewhere, and it's proven!

Win/Win!

Good day!

[trainsinanime]

Trains in Wednesday

If you watched Wednesday (2022 Netflix TV show), then you've probably wondered what the train was, and whether it makes sense. The answer to that is: Sorta, by accident!

We see the train briefly in establishing shots in a number of episodes, but especially episode two, where it pulls into the station. The station is full of American flags everywhere, and the show is set in America, so as you'd expect, the station and train are from…

…Romania, actually. Not quite Transylvania, but close (at least the castle, I don't actually know about the station). This train is a CFR class 96 DMU (diesel multiple unit).

Picture by Stefan Bichler (Stbichler), via Wikimedia Commons, published under CC BY-SA 3.0

To much the rest of the world, this type of train is known as a Siemens Desiro. Specifically it is nowadays known as a Siemens Desiro Classic. There are plenty of other trains named Siemens Desiro, generally with a suffix, that are technically and visually completely different (e.g. the ones for the UK, Russia, Belgium, the newer ones for Germany and Israel, the one for Malaysia… all completely different trains).

The Desiro Classic was designed to offer better service on rural German branch lines, with high acceleration, level boarding, air conditioning and accessibility. Several other companies built similar trains during the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of a big program to modernise Germany's regional rail lines, and all of them managed to sell theirs far and wide beyond Germany as well. Siemens in particular managed to get a good foothold on south-east Europe. They sold significant numbers of these trains to Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, as well as Denmark in a different direction. Most were diesel, but some electric versions also exist. Romania in particular got 120 trains (all diesel), about half of which were produced locally, which makes them the second-biggest user of this type after Germany.

As a train designed to continental European standards, it does not meet US-american crash worthiness requirements, which are all designed around "the heavier the train the better", and have largely ignored "built stuff in to avoid collisions". As a result it can't run on the US mainline rail network. And so you'd expect me to say that this makes no sense in the US, and I'd really like to…

…but as it turns out, for almost any early-2000s low floor German DMU, you can find like one or two lines in the US were these were used as a super innovative regional rail project. For the Desiro, that place was North San Diego County, California, where twelve of these trains run under the name "Sprinter" between places I never heard of (Oceanside and Escondido) in the greater LA metro area.

Picture by Amtrak455, via Wikimedia Commons, published under CC BY-SA 4.0

Different colors, obviously, and I think it got more AC units on the roof, but it's still the same train. The lower crash standards means that it's considered "light rail" in the US, meaning it legally counts as a better type of tram, and freight trains can't run when these trains are running.

Twelve of these trains isn't a lot, but it's still more than the three Bombardier Talent DMUs (a similar type by a different company) that used to run in Ontario, and that people always bring up whenever I talked about a Bombardier Talent somewhere.

Wednesday is set in Vermont, obviously, far from California. But Nevermore and the town of Jericho are clearly fictional, and it's absolutely possible that in the alternate universe of the show, there is a branch line in Vermont that got these trains in the mid-2000s. It's a bit of a stretch if you get down to it, e.g. with the Romanian colours (and for that matter why is the station electrified? Is Jericho a junction on a branch of the North-East Corridor?). But it's way more plausible then the show's love triangle.

[mossyquill02]

Definitely some valid points, but I can provide answers to some of these questions as someone who grew up in a “town” that was legally classified as a village.

> Why is there a Walmart?….How much land was the grandfather hoarding?

There’s always a Walmart. The area I lived in was in extremely rural and bordered on an Amish settlement that my grandparents frequently sold to (animal nutrition) and was a few hours from an indigenous reservation. We had a Walmart, a Kmart, a Blockbuster, two major banks (and a credit union), DollarTree, Dollar General, etc… Even in an area where some schools had a “drive your tractor to school” day, where kids missed school to help on their family farms, we still had major chain stores.

This is because, as much as farmers markets are great, farmers can’t afford to spend their time or the time of their helpers/family just sitting at a booth selling a pick up truck’s worth of produce. They wouldn’t be able to make ends meet. So they sell in bulk to chain stores, and in smaller quantities to friends and neighbours, and then they still need somewhere to buy the rest. So Walmart and the other chain stores still have plenty of business to stay open with (very) minimal staff and high profit margins.

In the case of Stardew, I always kind of assumed that the NPCs we meet and are able to interact with are like the role of friends and direct neighbours/small interpersonal communities that form in villages and small towns—not a representation of the entire population of the area. I think the one thing in game that best supports this idea is the map itself, which has several regions—farm, woods, beach, mountains, etc. In an actual rural area, especially one with this level of different environments, the land space would be massive and everyone would be car/bike dependent. Walking just to your closest neighbour’s house would take upwards of 10 minutes (at a minimum—often further). In order to make the game a playable scale, only the player’s farm is left at a “normal” scale, while the land area for every other area is reduced, including the number of houses and people within that land area. If you scaled things back up, everyone would have a greater amount of land/space and the PC’s land wouldn’t seem so out of proportion. There would also be a lot more people and families, probably enough to qualify as a village.

> How was there enough money for Lewis to embezzle?

I’d say this is connected to several things. One, the population scale. More people = more income = more taxes to embezzle. Two, the shut down of public institutions—the community center, the bus, and any schools. And three, if there ever WAS a gold rush, or even a solid mining boom, then that would have brought in a lot of money.

> What happened to the mine? Where are the miners?

So, when you first start the game, the mine is actually closed off due to a cave-in of some sort that blocked access, which Joja deals with. I don’t believe it ever says how LONG that blockage was there for. Miners also don’t usually own land (or at least not much) and from Penny’s family we can see that there IS an acceptable area for people with mobile/trailer homes to live. Putting those together, it is possible that the line had been naturally closed off for a while before Joja showed up, causing the miners to pack up and leave since they couldn’t make any money without access to the mine—and especially without any land ownership to tie them down.

> No school??

Yeah…uh…that’s real. Even a decade ago, before I left the area, there were schools getting shut down and merged, causing kids from County A (smaller population) to have to be bused out to the County B school, causing overcrowding and conflict over tax allocation/school funding. A lot of smaller communities (including the village where I lived) have a small and very much aging population—those who wanted more, or to start a family, left the area. So there were fewer and fewer young families and even fewer children. This has created an economic strain that my grandparents are still dealing with while living there.

Many people in this situation decide that home school is a better option (aka childcare with Penny). The kids get taught the family business, help out on the farm, and that’s about it. Many get taught the basic addition/subtraction from books and online resources, but don’t go much further.

Honestly, the most “unrealistic” thing to me is definitely the bus, but only because the US sucks at public transit.

Stardew Valley but the town is a real town which makes sense

[oumaheroes]

hii its bougie <3 if you're still taking hc requests, i was wondering if you'd have thoughts on something that's been on my mind for a while. i was interested in the nuance to english culture due to regional differences. eg.,dinner being called "tea" in the north of england, rugby being more popular in the south, the difference in how scones with jam and cream are enjoyed in Devon and Cornwall?? or how certain english accents are perceived as... "less attractive" i guess (the black country accents are unpopular apparently?) -- you'd probably know more about these particularities than me ;u;

i was wondering how these cultural differences might map onto hws England's character, and how they might influence his attitudes and behaviours. because there's such a clearly defined stereotype of the english that i think shape people's expectations of what the english are like, i usually think that Arthur usually consciously acts according to what counts as positive interpretations of himself. however, i love nuanced and somewhat subversive interpretations of his character, and am very curious if you might have any ideas on how these kind of internal regional differences might shape him.

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Bougieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee <3

I’m not gonna lie this sent me down a RABBIT HOLE of thoughts, so hang on tight cos we're gonna get messy.

Accents:

Let’s start with my personal favourite, so excuse me whilst I geek out for a second. I’ve gone into this area already in this headcanon, but I personally see England being a very proud little dragon regarding English accents, those both native and non-native to the British Isles. Focusing just on accents within England for this post, the way Arthur himself sees them, (regarding class and general preference), comes a lot down to how I see him feeling about language and the unification of England in general.

England is a tiny country. It’s really teeny, compared to some, and yet holds an incredible number of regional accents and dialects (from digging about the internet for a good source, I keep finding numbers ranging from 37 to 43). There are a number of reasons for this, but the one that I love the most is that accents are influenced by the previous/ influential other languages spoken in a given area. Accents on the East of England are more influenced by Viking invaders, both phonologically and via the dialectal words used, and accents/ dialects in the West are more influenced by Welsh, for example.

Accents and dialects tell the history of a place, all who ever came there and influenced it to some degree. The map of English accents is a patchwork quilt of old cultures and people now lost to time, but their ways of speaking have been preserved in the modern tongue. The old English kingdoms might now be mere counties- Kent, Essex, Sussex, East Anglia, etc- they may not have their own influence or language these days as they used to, but their old ways have been imprinted on their people of today whether they know it or not and they carry pieces of the past in their words and how they speak them. Older speakers of the Northern English dialects liek the Yorkshire dialect still use ‘thou/thee’ where this has fallen out in other areas, the Midlands and parts of the South-East still keep the ‘-n’ ending for possessive pronouns (‘yourn’ instead of ‘yours’, ‘ourn’ instead of ‘ours’), and there’s even some linguistic research into how Brittonic, the ancestor of Modern Welsh, influenced English structure and phonology (for references, see notes at the end).

Back to England the person (to contain myself slightly), his regional accents are a story of himself, his history being kept alive in all of its variety every day. He doesn’t hold a classist view of a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ accent because he knows why they’re all there- what languages and people influenced them and how these events affected him- the older generations now lost and forgotten being kept alive in the smallest of phonemes.

Every dialect, every accent, and every language tells the story of a people, from the smallest phonological marker right up to a language as a whole and England takes comfort and pride in his dialects and accents’ longevity and variety. He is as much of the North as he is the South, as much of the East as the West and a patchwork man born of patchwork cultures it makes no sense for him to favour one particular accent over another.

That being said, he is aware that there is a common cultural stance on accents as well as an opinion regarding ‘ugly’ ones, ‘common’ ones, and ‘classy’ ones, but he himself doesn’t partake in these ideas. I like to think that a nation takes on the speech of the people and the area they’re in, matching the person they speak to or the area they visit to relate to their people. So, for me a Chav Arthur exists as much as a Brummie one does, or a Scouser, or a Geordie, or a Cockney. They’re all English, and thus they’re all a part of him.

Class

I have to include this one, if only to touch on it lightly regarding accents and dialects. Class does influence which words you speak, arguably just as much as which accent (this is known as a sociolect). Although I said that England adopts the accent of whatever area he’s in, or whomever he’s talking to if they’re English, the class people are will also affect which words he choses to use.

Here’s a short example from here:

'It is pudding for the upper class. Dessert is sometimes used by upper middles, but afters and sweets very clearly put you below stairs.'

Have some more!

Upper class: Spectacles, Lavatory or loo, Die, Napkin, Sofa

Middle class: Glasses, Toilet , Pass on, Serviette, Settee or couch

(Working class is a mix but harder to find sources for).

This is where England treads a fine line. It could be that he again adopts more of a class lexicon regarding who he is speaking to, matching his people word for word. However, England is not unaware of the affects of class, regardless of how he himself feels, and also although class snobbery and divide frustrate him, he cannot deny using this understanding to benefit himself, which also conforms to how his own people behave. (I myself have, many times, diluted and filtered my speech to be seen as ‘better’).

Want to be seen as more reliable and powerful? Want to be taken more seriously? RP and Estuary English (a lot more so these days), hold undeniable sway and England is not above adopting a manner of speaking to come across ‘better’ or more polite, or a more ‘common’ accent to fit in with the working classes. I think of England as leaning more towards a working-class mindset- he’s very hands on, very up for and used to manual labour and this particular English class has always made up the bulk of his population. It makes no sense for a nation, who represents all of their people, to have a snide view or a preference for a particular group and England as a person I see is someone who does not enjoy the foppery and false airs of aristocracy.

That being said, England is an intelligent man. He knows how to work a room and use a crowd to his advantage, knows what must be done and what he needs to do to achieve a goal and if this entails courting the upper classes for a time then he will do so. He’s adepts at switching himself like a chameleon, blending his behaviours, accent, and dialect to match who he’s talking to to achieve a goal or to fit in with someone’s perception of him, or to gain influence or prestige. He also doesn’t hate his upper classes- they are of him too, and the middle and working class have their own prejudices and ideas against the others. But he doesn’t adopt a stereotypical distain of lower classes because to him, it really doesn’t make much sense.

Abroad, this need to cultivate a particular perception defiantly comes under greater pressure. RP and Estuary English are more well know, more heard and taught, and more recognisably ‘British’, and so these are what he uses when speaking English to other nations or foreigners, either wanting to uphold an image of himself (more so in the Victorian/ Edwardian period than nowadays) or just for the ease of being understood.

Regional Differences

Okay, this one is a lot more fun. Does England put in his milk first or last when making tea? Does he put jam first, or clotted cream when having a scone? Does he have chips with gravy, or curry sauce? Does he have dinner at 6, or 9? To marmite, or not to marmite.

Ah, that is the question, and England does not know the answer. Does he do what he does because that’s what he likes, or because that’s what his people do? He didn’t grow up with these habits, after all, they’re all relatively recent in his lifetime, and so these habits are defiantly things he cultures for a particular audience.

I’m not really sure if the above preferences are class based, (well, milk first when making tea is argued to be, but I can't find any sources I'd consider entirely credible. I put the ones I did find in the notes below, in case any one's interested), so it’s hard to get a sense of which one to use. Overall, it doesn’t matter which you do and neither is right or wrong, but the English feel strongly about them, one way or another, and often Arthur the man isn’t sure at all which one he himself actually thinks is better.

Food in another sense though is something he can be surer of. A Cornish pastie not from Cornwall is not worth eating, nor is a Bakewell tart outside of Bakewell. England can be very particular about this sort of thing and enjoys maintaining and supporting the ‘original’ flavour or recipe of a thing where he can, considering this to be the ‘best’. Sally Lunn Buns from Bath, Gypsy tarts from Kent, Eccles Cakes from Eccles.

England wants to preserve his food and culture and has what could be considered a snobbish view on the ‘best’ way of creating or eating his national foods. Some things he is more lenient with: he will eat cheddar cheese, whether or not it is from Cheddar, same from Cumberland sausages not from Cumbria. But he certainly has a preference and he is not afraid to voice this when asked for his opinion.

Okay, we're done

Phew! This had me digging out my old linguistic student brain. To anyone who has made it this far down, gosh golly miss molly thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the ride, and especially @prickyy who was kind enough to want to hear my opinions about all of this <3

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Notes:

Brittonic influence on English:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittonicisms_in_English

https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_url?url=http://journals.mountaintopuniversity.edu.ng/English%2520Language/Celtic%2520Influences%2520in%2520English%2520A%2520Re-evaluation.pdf&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2ohDYdq3BoWImwHn6oWQAg&scisig=AAGBfm29zTF0FBCpd1KqDiAbjM-0X7nfoA&oi=scholarr (PDF)

https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_url?url=http://www.oppi.uef.fi/wanda/unicont/abstracts/14ICEHL_MF.pdf&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2ohDYdq3BoWImwHn6oWQAg&scisig=AAGBfm3UvOXbJEb0b51J73eBnTJvgGaQOA&oi=scholarr (PDF)

Sociolects and class distinction within language in English:

https://languageawarenessbyrosalie.weebly.com/social-dialects.html

https://www.grin.com/document/313937

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_and_non-U_English

Milk in tea first and the potential class reason:

https://www.theteaclub.com/blog/milk-in-tea/

https://qmhistoryoftea.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/milk-in-first-a-miffy-question/