#is it actually too expensive or would you just have to actually tax like 2 billionaires to do it?

[coockie8]

I truly loathe when the response to why we can't do a specific thing to combat climate change, or do literally anything to make life on this planet just a tiny bit easier, is "because it would be too expensive" because basically what you're saying there is "we can't do this one thing that would make the lives of billions of people better because Jeff Bezos wants to be able to have a full fleet of yachts big enough to carry other yachts".

It's not a real reason. Give me a reason that doesn't boil down to "but then 4 people in the world wouldn't be as rich as they were before 🥺🥺"

[eightyonekilograms]

Obviously, JD Vance's proposal to give parents additional votes stirred up a furor from progressives saying it's anti-feminist, reactionary, trying to keep women in the kitcen, etc.

And I agree with them. Frankly I wouldn't shed a single tear if Trump "who will rid me of this meddlesome running mate"-d a second VP in a row and I never had to hear from Vance or his 2010!NRx ideas ever again. But I have a more prosaic objection also: if implemented, I don't think this plan would actually work?

Like, as I understand it, there are two proposed justifications for how this might be a good idea, but I don't think either of them stand up to scrutiny.

The first (and less plausible) one is, people who selfishly want more votes will have more children in order to get more political leverage for [whatever they want]. Even though they're doing it for selfish reasons, children are a public good, and so on net this is good for society.

I think this theory can be dispensed with pretty easily. It sounds just like one of those $1000 payments for having another child that budges the birth rate not at all because it's way too small a reward for the expense involved. Even speaking as someone intensely annoyed by trendy anti-electoralist cynicism, I know the EV of an additional vote is microscopic compared to the expense of having children. It won't move anyone except at the very bleeding edge of the margin.

But that's the easy case. The much more interesting theory of the Vance Plan is that of fixing broken incentives. The story goes like this: one feature of democracy, for better or worse, is that it rewards those who show up. If you have no vote (or don't use your vote), you are invisible to democracy, so your wants will be systematically underrepresented. This is why wealthy first-world countries are increasingly gerontocratic in both legislative makeup and resulting policy: old people reliably vote, young people don't, so even with no conspiracy involved, democracy gravitates to favoring the wants of the old. Vance says, hey, children cannot vote, so just as you'd predict, their interests (as a class!) get ignored, so we end up with a legislative landscape that doesn't favor children and makes it harder to raise them.

It makes perfect sense on paper! But I think in the real world it falls apart.

What are the actual bits of legislation and policy which discourage people from having more children? I mean, people can and do argue furiously over this question, but IMO three of the most significant ones are:

NIMBY localist housing policy locking young potential parents out of the housing market

More localist tax and education policy making competition for "good schools" a Red Queen Race which drives up house prices still further, requiring two working parents

Safetyist legislation which, while well-intentioned, is making everything from cars to child care more expensive than it necessarily needs to be

In order to believe that giving parents additional votes will cause a more child-friendly society to emerge via electoral pressure, you have to believe that parents are more likely than non-parents to oppose 1, 2 and 3. And that just... doesn't seem true? At best there's no difference, and to be blunt, I think as a class parents tend to be worse than non-parents on all three. #NotAllParents, of course, there are plenty of people with kids who still want good abundance policy, but averaged over everybody I think it's hard to deny that parenthood tends to push people toward defensive, loss-averting "protect the children" mentalities which, on a global scale, fuck everyone else over. That talking point you constantly see among the Very Online Right that parents are more likely than non-parents to think Beyond Themselves and want to build a stable world for the long term, just seems obviously false to me. Or at least if it is true, it's true in a way which is mostly irrelevant, since these "long-view parents" don't know how to turn those wants into policy which actually achieves them.

Frankly, I think it's easy to envision a world where the Vance Plan makes all policy around child-rearing worse instead of better, and depresses the birth rate even further.

[alpaca-clouds]

Public Transport COULD Be Great

Americans visiting Europe, especially those more left-leaning Americans, will always be so impressed when it comes to our public transport. And it does not matter where they visit here. Netherlands? "Amazing Public Transport!" France? "Amazing!" Germany? "Amazing!" Even in the UK they will be impressed.

And I kinda get it. While once upon a time the US made a conserted effort to get people moving via train, that has been almost two centuries ago and by now they just decided that people having cars is making more companies more money, so who needs cheap public transport? And while I personally actually kinda liked the public transport on the east coast while I was visiting the US... Yeah, I am well aware that the east coast (especially the area between New York City and DC) is not quite representative for the US.

However, here is the thing: If you ask most Europeans about their public transport... Well, we'll complain as well.

Because they fucking ruined it!

See, here is the issue, in a lot of parts in Europe, at some point or another the government privatized some or all of the public transport. This hit some countries like the UK especially hard, but Germany was hit also quite a lot.

Because of that a lot of things happened that happened when you try to use capitalist logic onto something that cannot work under capitalism.

For example a lot of rails have been removed in areas where it was not "cost efficient" to run trains. Or if they have not been removed, they are at least no longer used. In Germany you will find that in the area where I am living (North-Rhine-Westfelia) we have somewhat good running public transport. Meanwhile a friend of mine is living in former East Germany. And something you gotta understand about former East Germany: After the reunification a lot of people from East Germany tried to move away from there, thinking they would do better in "West Germany". So you will find a lot of mostly empty villages and towns there. And you know what does not pay under capitalism? Right: Running trains to fairly depopulated villages and towns. So... This friend is forced to use a car all the time. Because the next train station that is actually still in use is 45 minutes by car away.

Sure, technically there is a bus running through her village... It comes 3 times a day mondays to fridays, 2 times a day on Saturday and not at all on Sunday. Also to reach the aforementioned train station, the bus connection would take her almost two hours.

Now mind you: There is a train station about 10 minutes by car from her. But that one has not been in use for almost 20 years. Because, again: It just does not pay. It is not profitable for the company, so it is no longer in use.

And here we get to the issue: Public transport is an amazing thing... But we see again and again, that it really only works in those cases where it is state-run and paid for with taxes. As soon as it is privatized it will just not work. Because, well... In general public transport really is not a thing that will be paying for itself. It is fairly expensive, and to keep it profitable you need to keep raising the prices. (As a German: Believe me, I know!)

Not to mention that company policies will lead to weird stuff happening with the trains. Here in Germany? Well, the biggest train company (that is kinda partly state-owned, but not state-run, so it is run under capitalist ideas) has promised their investors that the trains will not be as delayed as before. But given the piss-poor state in which the rail network is, this is just not feasible. So, what will they do? Simple! If a train gets too delayed they will just cancel it. Will that fuck everyone travelling over way more than letting the train delay for 20 minutes? Yeah. But they do not care. They only care about the investors.

And this is the general issue.

For public transit to work, you need to design the transit network to serve the people - and not to make money. Because it does not matter that there are only some old people left in some depopulated little town in eastern Germany or western England... Those old people deserve to be able to get from their depopulated little town to the next big shopping center and cultural center as well.

As long as you do not design the stuff with those people in mind...

Sure, it is better than no public transport. But it still sucks.

[withgreatpowercomesmyfuckingdick]

Hi! Imma do something rare and actually make content, but its 11 at night and i just had a brain worm

for those of you that don’t know, i work at an accounting office. we do taxes. it is tax season. and now im thinking abt how AGSZC does taxes and what their papers are like and im inflicting it on the rest of you even if its gibberish

Angeal: A godsend. Keeps his forms in order and filed properly, calculates everything else himself like a good man. Papers honestly aren’t too bad, maybe 10-12 just because of his career/insurance plus his doubtless donations to charity, but aside from that. straightforward and done at his kitchen table

Genesis: A fucking NIGHTMARE. no doubt pays someone else to do it. and for fucks sake, i know he invests. constantly and consistently and probably in anything he thinks stands the slightest chance against shinra on the market. his 1099-B is a mess and definitely Not Totaled, so his is the bullshit you have to insert one. investment. at. a time. He’s the type that keeps fucking calling too, I can just tell. but, aside from the 1099-B, he’s probably got simple stuff as well. probably several 1099-INTs from several different bank accounts, maybe a couple 1098s floating around from vacation houses or some shit.

Sephiroth: Does his own. In ridiculously early. Makes almost no personal purchases so hardly has anything to pay. I can’t imagine not having a last name or not knowing his birthday doesn’t end up a legal problem somehow, so he likely has to walk directly into a damn tax office to say hey this is me and this is my shit no, someone isn’t stealing my identity. has one singular document and it’s his W-2. Which is. Fucking astronomical. Like, the number doesn’t even look right. His paycheck as a SOLDIER isn’t taxed, so he doesn’t really get much back on his refund. The only first without a healthcare /insurance form because why tf would Sephiroth have healthcare? What’s he gonna do, get sick?

not getting into how doing his own taxes was definitely a fight between him and Hojo at some point and ended up getting hashed out in a board room. Hojo didn’t like him having the autonomy of filing for himself instead of being claimed ad Hojo’s ‘dependent’. Sephiroth deadass threatened to go to court abt it. The President told Hojo to suck it up so they didn’t have to deal with scandal, Hojo wouldn’t tell Seph his birthday to be difficult, and here we are

Zack: Panicking. Late. Doesn’t know if his forms came in the mail, doesn’t know where he put them most of the time. Scrambles around for a fuck ton of receipts, ultimately has to request Shinra send him his shit again. DEFINITELY pays someone else to do it. W-2, 1095-A, 1099-C(s)(he has several debts i can feel it i love him but he screams bad financial decisions), probably some shit for his bike too. He customs it so I can see him listing some parts he buys for it as work expenses. Jokingly puts some money he gave aerith for flowers and what he spent to make her wagon as donations to charity and it actually goes through because the church is still considered a legal entity. Definitely has to pay late fees.

Cloud: Pays Tifa to do it. Filing for both of them is a nightmare cause all their shit burnt in Nibelheim, so once Edge gets right with the WRO they have to do all their paperwork from scratch and get reassigned SSNs. He genuinely has a fuckton of paperwork from doing the Strife Delivery Service. Luckily, only ‘employee’ he has is Tifa, and even then she doesn’t do things regularly aside from pick up the phone. Doesn’t make his business an LLC until he’s literally forced to due to his number of clients and someone trying to sue him for damages. 1099-NEC for TIfa for sure, then once he’s an LLC, some yearly maintenance to keep legal. Mileage and gas expenses go CRAZY on his self employment form, I fucking bet. I bet Cloud’s handwriting is shit tho. Tifa’s at her desk counting up his gains and losses for fucking ages because his fives look too similar to sixes. Eventually she wrangles him into installing some shit on his phone that counts it up, if only to cure her headache. Funnily enough, he does get veteran benefits from what’s left of Shinra’s shit, reparations of sorts, but he doesn’t keep it. All goes to charity, so that ends up in the books too.

alright, that was unnecessarily in depth and way longer than i planned. good night LMAO

[curio-queries]

I’m loving your production breakdown posts, they are so interesting and insightful.

I think you mentioned it maybe in the first ep breakdown but it was about expenses. I just thought it was interesting in ep4 when JK mentioned at the chicken place, paying in cash, and he solely has this conversation with Tae, not Jimin. Would there be an arrangement do you think? Or was that scene cut and he’d have asked Jimin too? I’ve noticed in comparison to Bv where they were usually only allowed a certain amount of money between them, with one usually being in control, or a sum for a task, in AYS, Jimin and JK have been whipping out their cards, be it their own or a company card, in Big Dicks store, in Walmart etc.

I just found it interesting

Hi anon,

The finance bits are interesting in the most boring corporate sense if that makes any sense. 😅 Trust me on this. Let's dive in:

In my opinion, it really boils down to two concerns: taxes and sponsorships. Taxes to insure the company receives every possible benefit for every dollar they spend. Sponsorships because some brands can have fussy rules about how individuals interact with their product and especially any competitor's products while they have an active agreement.

Obviously I have no actual insight onto how the finances and budget were managed for any of these specific shows and I know absolutely nothing of the intricacies of taxes in South Korea but in the US, there are many regulations when it comes to how companies can claim expenditures for tax breaks.

Every company that has had me travel for work has gone to a lot of trouble to insure that I was aware of exactly all of the requirements on my part regarding expenditures. I'm 100% sure all of the BTS members are aware of their requirements as well so I don't particularly think there's any motive other than as a cute convo for the moment between JK and V. Imo, the only reason it made it to the final cut was JKs endearing tone in his response.

Let's go through some examples though:

Receipts: in both AYS and Bon Voyage, we see the members be very specific in getting Receipts. JM and JK talk about it as they're leaving Walmart. In BV, it's all of the shenanigans with the money pouch they acquired in Malta and continued using in New Zealand. This is usually documentation required for any operation that's going to be claimed as a business expense for tax purposes.

Personal Spending: off the top of my head I can think of several clear instances where we know that the members are using their own money for purchases we see them make on the shows. In Run BTS ep.70 in Toronto, JK pays for the member's clothing purchases himself. In BV4, JM pays for the member's clothing himself a couple of times (remember the drama of his lost wallet? 😅)

Budget as Content: BV 1 & 2 mostly only include finances as part of the game-ification of the show. The members had to earn money as an allowance for the activities and determine the best ways to spend it. (I do vaguely remember some members wanting to negotiate for more when buying souvenirs? Was that just in the extra scenes? It's been so long, I've been holding off on rewatching until I'm done with my Run series).

Thankfully, the success of BTS has basically nixed the budget games. I think the last time we saw something like this were the Run episodes of a hotel staycation? But the prices were ficticious and not necessarily about real-world spending but rather determining the secret number to not exceed. (If I'm misremembering and there are more recent examples, please share!) Imo, it would just be too tone-deaf to continue portraying the members in that context. I know we all joke about them being broke millionaires, but there's a reason why celebrity game shows always make it clear that the money involved is for charity.

Anyway, back to AYS, the interesting bit to me is wondering about the inclusion of Taehyung from a budget standpoint. How was that reconciled? None of us can possibly know the answer, but it's interesting to think about. Some costs wouldn't have changed at all with one extra participant, like the house rental, or booking the climbing gym or yacht tour. But there were a few extra concessions, getting the extra mattress likely was more a logistics headache on short notice rather than an impact to the budget. And most Korean meals are served family-style so there honestly isn't a huge difference cost-wise. Except maybe the omakase. That I can imagine was noticeably more expensive with an added individual.

But really, the most expensive item per person would likely have been travel. Did someone say Tae was already in Jeju prior to filming? If he wasn't, did the show cover his flights like they would have JK, JM, and the crew? Or is the budget on these shows big enough that it was just another drop in a bucket? Also, the intent likely was for JK to zip around on the motorbike and JM to be on the scooter. I'm curious if they weren't logistically able to get another such vehicle with the short notice or if the budget/sponsorship constraint didn't allow for a third one the day. Or it could be that the scooter exists because of the 3 member count and production thought one of them could be JKs backpack. That bike has the space for it. But perhaps the difficulty to get coverage and/or converse wasn't appealing. Or maybe there just wasn't a third radio-enabled helmet prepared?

I know the various shippers are using this in their arguments. I'd like to firmly state that I am not building a case for either side here. Go do that on your own and leave me out of it. Lol.

There are so many questions and it's interesting to theorize how the finances could have impacted the development of the show. Maybe we'll get some more insight with the remaining episodes and bonus footage but I doubt it. Finances don't usually make for engaging content.

Thanks again for the ask! It's one of the points I want to discuss when I start doing my BV and ITS posts but who knows when that will be!

[haemey]

Ask game my lovely mutual:

Falafel, Bentley, Alpha Centauri

(I had to recite these over and over in my head like a spell so I wouldnt forget them by the time I got to your inbox)

And now I shall have to do the same when I go back to the post to see what they mean... thanks for asking :D

Buckle up, this is a long one

Falafel - a thought I can never seem to outrun.

For me, that would be just your basic, everyday, run-of-the-mill existential dread. I just finished my studies at university and I don't have a job lined up this season. My executive dysfunction makes it hard to send out applications. And there's a bunch of other stuff I need to think of - get my own health insurance (not US, thank someone), find some students to get some money in, figure out how taxes work as a freelance musician and vocal teacher, find an agent, register as unemployed, etc. It's a lot. And all of it is stuff that shouldn't be too difficult. It's a bunch of small, relatively easy tasks. But I just can't seem to get myself to do them. Meanwhile, time is passing and the little voice in my head that goes "are you sure you're cut out for this job?" is getting louder. It's not exactly impostor syndrome - I know I'm good enough. It's more just me listening to the bullies in my own mind.

What a cheerful note to start on! Yay!

Bentley - my most prized possession.

This is a difficult one. In terms of most expensive, it's probably my e-piano. It's almost a decade and a half old by now, but it's still really good, even compared to the ones on the market now. It cost almost 2.5k€ when it was new. I didn't buy it myself, though - it was a gift from someone who wanted to support my plans to become a singer. Which is kind of crazy.

When it comes to emotional value, it's more difficult to say. I'm a bit of a hoarder and I have a hard time letting go of stuff, but I'm also not super attached to anything? Maybe the necklace my sister gave me for my birthday. It's a tiny heart-shaped pendant with an opal in it. The stone is from my late grandma's wedding ring. It had two, and my sister had both of them made into necklaces, one for me and one for her.

Alpha Centauri - where do I run off to when it feels like the end of the world?

Honestly, my bed. I tend to hole up and hibernate when things get tough. Which isn't the best strategy to deal with stress, especially when said stress comes from things needing to be done. I used to flee into games like Animal Crossing or Breath of the Wild, but I'm kind of burnt out from those. So now, it's tea, my beloved plushie I've had for like 18 years, a bunch of pillows, and fanfiction, until my mom calls and tells me to come home for the weekend. She has a weird talent for calling when I least want her to (which is to say when I actually most need her to)... and then I tell her I'll see if I can make it, because I have so much stuff to do (which is usually true, becaude I've let it build up), and of course I make the time, and I go to her place for the weekend, and I still won't feel good, but it's a little better.

Aaaand now I'm crying. PMS at 2:30am be hitting hard, yo

Was that too much information?

Sorry, not sorry

Damn, you really picked the heavy ones forst, huh 😅

[rainhalydia]

Murder, tax fraud - take 2

I've posted a bit of this before, but I've retouched the part posted a bit since, so I'm posting what will amount to a first chapter at once here. Just finished writing this silliness literally this minute after MONTHS of nothing, so I'm very happy. Will probably post on Ao3 once I've edited it a bit.

Behold, Minshan and Wangji's modern AU sexcapade:

The Jianghu is located on a three-store building, the front a refined affair of muted colors and understated refinement. The reception area is more four generation law firm than gym. There is not a whiff of sweat in the air or grease stains anywhere. Even with coming here for a year already, Su Minshan is still shocked at… well, everything about it. These days, he makes an effort to hide his awe. He knows better than to show any appreciation for what others take for granted.

Old money does things differently. He has his own gym equipment at home – weights, mats, treadmill, an ergonomic bike when he feels like taking in some fresh air – but as with everything else, coming here is not about exercising. It’s about seeing and being seen. Networking. Casual conversation in the hallways. Someone vaguely remembering your face when you cross paths on an actual business setting, and that faint recognition landing you an advantage, however small. Things that don’t come naturally to Su Minshan, which makes every small step forwards all that more crucial.

A part of him still scoffs at such a thing as an exclusive gym. He would have thought the price would be the only real barrier, an invisible but almost insurmountable deterrent, but the elite can’t have any contact with the riff-raff, not for anything as mundane as cardio or weight training. It took bribing and favors to get an invite here. When it finally arrived, it came in a golden-trimmed scroll, a password written in perfect calligraphy. So expensive Su Minshan almost felt unworthy of touching it.

He knows he is worthy of it all. He has actually worked for all he has, earned his good fortune and success. He deserves it much more than the plethora of heirs and trophy wives here, it’s an objective fact. And yet, he always feels out of place among these people who should be his peers, their silence judgment or indifference weighting on him more than the barbell he’s lifting dutifully.

The feeling increases tenfold the day Lan Wangji walks through the door.

He turns heads as he passes, as it’s to be expected. His face is perfect, even more so than in his teen years, for not even that peerless beauty had escaped a few pimples. He’s filled out too, adolescent lankness replaced by bulging muscle. If the world was fair, Minshan would say Lan Wangji had been through at least a few lipo to attain such a completely sculpted shape. As it is, he can believe he is all natural.

Of course he doesn’t notice Su Minshan. Unlike the nightmare hall monitor, virtuoso musician, star athlete that helped parents shatter the confidence of all Chinese-American kids in school, Su Minshan had been a nobody. He studied hard, got good grades, and tried his best at extracurriculars, but nothing that could grab the attention of Lan Wangki, much less amount to something like a proper rival for him.

Still, something in him burns seeing his old one-sided nemesis walk by, long shiny hair flowing behind him like he carries his own portable, invisible wind-machine for a shampoo ad effect everywhere. It would be less humiliating if he had an actual wind-machine on him. Then Minshan’s own hair, plastered to his nape, wouldn’t be so offensive.

Before he can talk himself out of it, he positions himself next to Lan Wangji and watches, arms crossed, as he goes through a series on the bench press. Three repetitions of forty, three plates each side. No spotter.

He doesn’t wait for Lan Wangji to wipe away the sweat or put away the weights. He barely waits for Lan Wangji to vacate the bench. As soon as the man is up, Su Minshan takes his place.

He can bench six plates just fine, though usually with less repetitions. It doesn’t matter now. He copies Lan Wangji’s series, arms straining under the unfamiliar push on top of having done his own training already, and only stops when he has finished the whole thing.

There’s no helping the self-satisfied smirk on his face when he’s done. Take that, Lan Wangji! You’re not the only strong guy here!

The smirk grows when he sees that Lan Wangji has been watching him, as openly as Su Minshan had done.

With a nod, Lan Wangji goes to the next exercise – the abductor. Of course perfect Lan Wangji doesn’t skip leg day. Then, he looks at Su Minshan, making sure he’s watching, and starts his series.

It’s uncomfortable, this time, to watch Lan Wangji open and close his legs. It’s impossible to not notice the bulge in his groin, perfectly tucked in and yet so big that it cannot be hidden; the movements just draw the eye there! And of course Lan Wangji is not only bigger than Su Minshan, but bigger than most porn stars. That tracks with his life.

Still, Su Minshan watches, flustered and angry about it, until Lan Wangji is done. Then he does the same thing as before: jumps on the machine as soon as it’s vacated, repeats the exercise precisely like Lan Wangji did.

They go on like this through what must be Lan Wangji’s full routine, and then some.

At the final exercise, Su Minshan’s leg betrays him. His calf cramps, contracting painfully, and he falls on his ass instead of completing his squat.

He mutters a curse under his breath as he massages the traitorous muscle. Lan Wangji looms over him, undefeated. Nothing new about that, except for the conceited smirk on his lips. Su Minshan sees it as he looks up and almost forgets to be annoyed: barely there, it’s the most expression he’s ever seen on Lan Wangji’s face.

“Shower,” Lan Wangji commands, looking down on him, and turns around, effectively ending their impromptu competition.

Su Minshan splutters a protest, red-faced on all the wall-length mirrors in the room. He watches as Lan Wangji once again commanders all the attention from every eye as he exits, thankfully leaving Minshan to get up and drag himself around, leg still spasming, with some privacy.

A contrarian part of him wants to refuse to retrace Lan Wangji’s steps. Why should he obey him? Who is he to give Su Minshan orders? But he’s not a kid anymore. He’s not about to go home sweaty, disrupting his day even more, to give a figurative middle finger to someone not even looking his direction to see it anymore.

He gives his back a literal middle finger instead.

When he enters the bathroom, Lan Wangji is sat on a bench close to the lockers, a leg crossed over the opposite knee, arms crossed, a shower kit on his lap. Waiting for something. He doesn’t move when Su Minshan enters, nor does he turn his eyes away as Minshan undresses, uncouth and uncaring about it as always.

Su Minshan shoves his dirty clothes in his bag with haste, slipping quickly into a shower stall, feeling inadequate and judged. Maybe he’s not as chiseled as fucking Lan Wangji, but it’s not like he has anything to be ashamed of. Fuck stupid Lan Wangji.

To add insult to injury, the shower refuses to give him any hot water. He gets a violent lukewarm blast to the face and a gush up his nostrils.

Fuck this stupid shower. Fuck this stupid rich people gym.

He’s still coughing when he hears footsteps approaching. Then the stall door opening. He turns around, alarmed, and almost falls on his ass again when he slips on some leftover soap from somebody’s else shower.

Lan Wangji stops his fall by grabbing his forearm.

Casually, like he hasn’t just invaded another guy’s shower, he closes the door behind him. They stand in the spacious cabin, staring at each other, Lan Wangji’s freakishly long fingers around his arm the only point of contact between them. Lan Wangji makes no move to kick him out of his own shower. So, no, despite being completely naked, he’s not here to steal Minshan’s cubicle in some weird power play. Nor could he have miraculously predicted Minshan snapping his neck and decided to interfere to save the gym staff the clean-up; not even perfect Lan Wangji, the next stage of human evolution, has developed that kind of foresight.

Su Minshan is all out of ideas about what is happening.

It dawns on him all at once, though, when Lan Wangji reaches for his cock.

Su Minshan watches, fascinated, as Lan Wangji generously pumps him to half-mast with a soft palm that’s nonetheless dry as fuck. He’s had his own gym hook-ups, of course. He’s cruised before. Never in a million years he’d have acted like he did if he was trying to seduce someone into his pants. But that’s what passes for flirting on Lan Wangji’s mind.

It soon becomes clear that as mind-blowing as that insight into Lan Wangji’s thought process was, it’s also incomplete. Su Minshan watches with a sense of both amusement and doom as the gears clearly go on turning in Lan Wangji’s brain and translate into astonishing actions. Minshan’s lost their competition, true, and that apparently means a two-minute handjob is all he gets before Lan Wangji clearly grows bored with it. His dick is also, absurdly, half-hard despite no touching yet, despite Minshan’s hands lying flat and disinterested at the side of his body. He finds something about this bizarre bathroom adventure enticing despite all odds. Or perhaps he’s that horny behind his mask of indifference.

The cherry on top, Minshan reflects, is that having won their little dispute, Lan Wangji thinks that has entitled him to top. He abandons the useless pursuit of trying to arouse Su Minshan further and presses on his waist to make him turn around. When he doesn’t turn, he slips his hands behind Minshan to knead at his ass and graze fingertips at his hole. It’s a forceful touch, with much more strength than necessary, and yet Minshan hesitates. He could stop this now with a word. He’s no more inclined to like Lan Wangji than he was before entering the strange parallel universe of this shower stall, but the man is objectively hot. Out of Su Minshan’s league entirely, some would say.

In the end he turns, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Lan Wangji, it must be said, is efficient about it. He’s focused. Once he’s inside, he hones in on Su Minshan’s prostrate like a fucking precision missile. He pistons in and out like a man possessed. Like a sex machine.

Mechanical is the exact word that flows gently into Minshan’s mind as he’s plowed into.

The only hiccup is at the start, when Lan Wangji tries to enter him dry, despite the weapon of mass destruction he carries between his legs. Su Minshan has to turn back with a “hey!” and slather his cock with the gym’s expensive soap before he can damage anything. Aside from that, it’s perhaps the most perfectly choreographed quickie Minshan has ever lived through. Perhaps the most perfectly choreographed quickie in the story of all mankind.

Lan Wangji comes inside without asking, like the rude asshole he is. By then, Minshan has long since flagged. He’s counting the drops of water running down the wall tiles for entertainment when it happens: with a stronger thrust, Lan Wangji flattens his hips against his ass checks, going as deep as humanly possible, and groans on Minshan’s ear.

Orgasm makes him generous again. He’s barely pulled out when he reaches a hand around Minshan again to cup his flaccid cock.

“No need,” Minshan says, batting his hand away as he turns around.

Lan Wangji’s face shifts into smugness again, an unfairly good look on him. He clearly thinks that he’s some sex god that made his partner come untouched. It’s possible that that’s even something that happens to him, Minshan thinks; some people are into being used as a sentient fleshlight, and those kind of freaks would be in heaven with Lan Wangji, human jackhammer.

Su Minshan is willing to accept his own share of guilty in this case. His satisfied smile, fixed on his face despite his best efforts since Lan Wangji’s first thrust, is certainly doing nothing to disabuse the man of that impression.

He keeps smiling, somewhat more subdued, as he showers and dresses himself. He smiles as he nods goodbye to Lan Wangji, as he leaves the gym and walks to his car on the parking lot. He even smiles through a wince when he sits on the leather seat, at the reminder of the earlier act.

Lan Wangji is bad at sex. Perfect, unbeatable Lan Wangji who knows no defeat in any area of life, is terrible at sex.

Su Minshan raises a toast with the long-forgotten bottle in the cup-holder before starting his car. The room temperature tap water tastes like victory.

He glows the rest of the day.

[poppy-in-the-woods]

Every time a middle class Karen says "just find a better job!" about people striking for their rights to a livable wage and fair working conditions, God kills a kitten. I don't make the rules, I am only the messenger. So if you don't want cats to go extinct, every time you hear someone say that about the writers and actors ongoing strike, just remind them that:

1) If only people who can support themselves with the actual conditions (A and B listers, and maybe C listers) remained there would be not enough performers left to make all the movies and shows they like. Small roles and extras are actors too and deserve compensation for their work.

2) Nobody begins getting paid 1 million per episode. Even their favourites who live in mansions, drive expensive cars and wear designer clothes began from the bottom. If no one wants to act because it doesn't pay the bills or even gets health insurance, how are we gonna make movies or shows? Who's going to play this episodic character? Brad Pitt? I don't think so. People should be allowed to be passionate about a job that also pays their bills, because if they have to quit acting because of that, soon nobody will have the opportunity to grow as performers.

3) The big names in the industry don't strike for better pay for themselves, they do it to pressure the studios to accept the conditions the unions are putting on the table. That includes better conditions for everyone (safer sets, better hours, studios not being able to get away with stealing someone's likeness...), not only better salary.

4) AI is all A and not enough I to write shows or movies and that's okay, it shouldn't be and nobody should want to watch a show or a movie written by AI. It will be garbage and it'll only put more money in the hands of the studios while people lose their jobs. Do you really wanna put more money in the hands of people who already earn millions and bo basically nothing while the people who make possible the media you like lose their source of income?

5) While I agree that sometimes A listers are payed too much, nobody remains at the top of their game forever. People who aren't as famous anymore still deserve to have enough money to pay for health insurance. Streaming services have to pay residuals, one way or another, because some actors that are starring in shows that never played on TV are not getting properly compensated for their work. Acting is not a stable job, we all know that, but it shouldn't be possible that anyone has a recurring or even regular role in a show that is among the most viewed in a platform and they can't afford to pay their bills. That is happening, and it's absolutely unfair.

6) Studios are canning almost finished movies and pulling shows from platforms almost right after airing for tax breaks. To have more money than they already have and they still refuse to not only give people some of that but to let them have more time to eat, for example. They're only fueled by greed and honestly, I think each and every person that works in making movies/shows should unionise and join the strike. From the directors, the cast, the crew, to the people who do the special effects (practical or cgi), the stuntmen and more. Everyone, all across the globe. Strike. Force them to give in.

7) Piracy is not what's killing the cinema industry, greedy studios and streaming services are. Streaming services are more convenient and reliable than pirating, so people are more likely to pay them as long as they keep it that way. Erasing shows and movies from their catalogue because money and then not paying people what they're owed does not paint streaming services in good light. Making shows not accesible based on region and not allow VPNs doesn't make people think they're the good guys either. Also, people want to own media. If paying a subscription doesn't make them own the content, it's more likely that they will resort to piracy to make sure they can still watch and rewatch their show if the streaming service decides to pull it from their catalogue. It's a simple question of conservationism.

I have enough DVDs, books and overall media to consume to resist a couple of years of strike. Do you, Karen?

[itsbenedict]

Alright, so- two months into the year, how much of my ten-item list is done?

Finish the first case of Justice/Arcana and revise the draft

Finish the SakuraPetalFantasy walkthrough portion of Datasouls (not with the whole combat toy situation, just the rest of it)

Do 24 TFJ recaps, two per month

Work through all the exercises in Genki 1 and 2, and catch up on WK reviews.

Date someone. I feel like I look decent and have a lot of desirable qualities that would make this not too hard to accomplish, but I have to put effort into looking or it’s never going to happen on its own. (I am unfortunately of the gender that doesn’t typically get asked out and has to take the initiative.) It’s gonna be tricky since I’m a weird person with weird life priorities and finding someone who’d actually be happy partnering up with that long-term is a tall order.

Actually get that standing desk walk-while-working workflow set up and establish an exercise routine that I keep to for more than half the year

Release a functional version of that Fire Emblem content authoring tool

Replace grody old kitchen sink that has weird white stuff growing out from inside the handle

Finish the games I’m still playing through from this post

Find some new source of income reliable enough to pay the bills without making me work more than 20 hours a week. (I’m a programmer, this is hypothetically doable.) Freelancing/contract work maybe?

One at a time...

I've done a few updates to Justice/Arcana, and have pretty much all the art assets I'll need done. There's a bit of a writing roadblock at the moment but I just need to take some time and work it out.

I did a handful of enemy icons for Datasouls but otherwise didn't work on it

Did four recaps, staying on course

No Japanese practice yet

No dating yet. From what I hear, there are no good dating sites anymore and it's all just swipe-right hookup apps, which are no use to me. I've written a date-me doc but I still need to have some nice pictures taken for it.

I ordered a new under-desk elliptical that you can actually stand on, and it just arrived, but I haven't set it up yet. I've been exercising regularly, though!

Made a bunch of progress on Medallion Works, such that the map editor is now bare-minimum functional.

No sink amelioration yet

Played most of those games- still need to get through The Sekimeiya, though. That one is long and dense.

Contract work for the company I quit has been manageable, but isn't quite paying the bills on its own- I made $3600 in February, which- setting aside probably half of that for taxes and other bullshit expenses- covers mortgage payments and utilities but not food and other purchases. And I'll be doing less and less work for them over time, as they get their environment stood up and running smoothly. That's still going to have to be replaced by real employment of some sort sometime this year, but not a concern just yet.

Overall, January and February were a bit more scattershot than I'd like- January was a whole lot of travel and finishing up stuff at work, and February still had a bit of work getting in the way. Plus I didn't really focus on any one thing, so nothing's fully checked off yet.

March... I think I need to focus on getting J/A's first case done, since it's in the home stretch. That and a couple recaps, and probably dealing with the sink situation if I can.

[doubleddenden]

I think youtube almost killed my laptop's wifi card. I run Ublock Origin on Firefox because I have limited data each month and used to lose a lot of data to ads, and I was getting 30 second unskippable ads every minute. I was doing just fine until recently in the last month when my internet connection kept cutting itself off. A bunch of experiments led me to realize it was my laptop's wireless connection, and now I either have to keep running troubleshooter or reset my network connection and restart my computer- this is every day, mind you.

I got fed up and decided to start watching YouTube on my ps4 because I want to watch things besides looney tunes reruns, and it works fine. Except now I'm being bombarded with upwards of 30 to 60 seconds of unskippable ads- it's changed from last time too, so its not just "ad 1 of 2," it's a solid 30 second timer that just plays ads until they finally let you skip.

Meanwhile, while this is going on, guess what? My laptop doesn't lose internet connection at all now that I'm not watching YouTube videos on it.

Conclusion: youtube's selfish, self absorbed war on adblock was killing my laptop. I've ordered a new wifi adapter anyway for like $15 after shipping abd taxes, so they're not winning against me. But still, they're fucking lucky I'm broke or I would sue their asses.

Anyway, to any youtube big wigs that might happen to read this: go fuck yourselves. For every ad I see on your platform, I make a mental list of businesses not to support. I'm not paying you losers any money for services that used to be free within MY lifetime, and you earn enough money from Google as it is. I'm not financially supporting you jerks that keep chasing off content creators or outright being hostile to them while allowing your outdated and poorly programmed content flagging system to flag every video they put up. Get the hell over yourselves and behave like actual human beings, and make a SENSIBLE ad system that does not waste my data, does not interrupt my video, does not waste my time, and most importantly DOES NOT FUCKING TRY TO KILL MY COMPUTER, or go fuck yourselves. I refuse to pay you a single penny, because you'll just make it more expensive and hide more previously free features behind a paywall or force me to watch ads anyway. I do not exist to consume fucking ads, I am stubborn and vengeful as hell, I will not lose to you pathetic corporate pieces of shit.

And guess what? Ad blockers are legal and recommended by experts and even the FBI (Google it, it's because cyber criminals use ads as a way to scam people! Wow! Who would have thought those fake Mr Beast ads telling you to "click here for $1000" were harmful!)

You will lose your war with ad blockers one day and we'll all dance happily when it happens.

[guessimate]

We are starting round 2 of the Asian part of my sim town today with the Laos, the family of florists. This family is quite lucky with random occurances. They got a kaching (+5000), but - spoiler alert - it was not enough to afford the instrument I promised to get for Mazu ($5500). It's from this set here. Saving a bit more money is probably a better choice in the long run, because flower arranging is not very lucrative, and it does need money for crafting.

By the way, sims in my town don't pay taxes on gifts from the gods, or inheritances and such. They only pay taxes based on what they earn in businesses or careers.

Mazu was not feeling very well even after her pregnancy and she was still having nightmares. Because she was so miserable, she wouldn't have had the time to practice music, so I decided to have Haru spend the gift on crafting before they would get the instrument.

I think her mood was so bad because of the environment. Sims really don't like big, open spaces, and their whole house is one empty room. I gave them an outdoor toilet instead of a chamber pot, and it improved the score slightly. I also had some other bug fixing to do... Somehow I couldn't direct them to craft indoors anymore, so I moved the flower station outside.

~*~

The Laos' heir, Hisashi, turned out to be a Leo, just like his dad, but he's slightly more neat (as neat as his mom). He's 4 Sloppy, 9 Outgoing, 6 Active, 6 Playful, and 4 Grouchy.

Hisashi has the same One True Hobby as his mom - Music&Dance. He discovered it while his mom was teaching him the Nursery Rhyme. Mazu taught her son to walk and potty trained him, as well. Haru taught him to talk. As it was autumn, the toddler wanted to keep getting skill points. I might get them a chess table next round, as he skill has the want to improve his Logic to level 6.

I decided to impregnate Mazu on the last day of autumn, at the very end of the round, when the heir was aging up. Their next baby will be born in winter, because I set seasons as spring - autumn - winter, don't ask me why, but it works pretty well. The giving trees they planted are already maturing, so they will be able to light fireplaces.

~*~

They opened their business twice this round. I wasn't really planning to do that, but they had more flowers in stock. I was considering not opening businesses in winter, since they are outside stalls, but I think my sims couldn't afford their taxes at all then.

They sold the 12 flower arrangements leftover from last round, earning 492$ (they were sold for 'average' price). Later Haru crafted 20 wildflower bouquets (one costs 47$ to make). I put them for sale as 'expensive', as their business had reached rank 3 by then.

~*~

They crafted 20 wildflowers -940$, sold 10 of them at an 'expensive' price tag +610$. They also sold 12 daisies crafted last round +492$, earning a total of 1102$.

500$ - rent

441$ - tax (40%)

110$ - tithe

~1050$ = to pay (they paid 1750$, as they needed to pay the tax from last round too; the money was paid to the monk). This round they had to pay almost as much as they earned. I don't like it, but that's what running the florist's is like in TS2.

They only have 4236$ left, unfortunately, which is not enough to buy an instrument. They got to business rank 4. Haru got Silver Sales Badge, and Mazu - Bronze Register Badge. Mazu is also the first member of the Cuisine club in my 'hood, because of spam cooking ramen so much. Actually, I think I've considered this step as unlocking cheese before, as it allows you to serve cheese platters, so maybe they will get to eat something else...

[felonious]

My mind is swirling with thoughts. I woke up too early. But I went to sleep too early. So when I wake up early (2am) I will maybe stream a movie and I was trying to stream a movie and it kept stopping saying no internet signal. So I check my connection and it’s on and I try again and it streams a minute and stops, and I check and I have a connection so I check the speed of my connection and it’s down. I live rural and internet is always an issue in the country but..and I’ve been patient. It’s a constant thing with this company. And the tech support never supports. It just tries to bump me up to the next more expensive package. But the package I pay for promises a certain speed. And they aren’t providing me with it. Why the fuck would I give them more money when they don’t even give me what I already pay for? It’s a small company started by local people which makes it really hard to call them up and scream. But this morning after 2 hours of fucking with streaming a movie I lost it and I sent them an email and I told them not to bother with passing it to their inept tech dept. the tech guy is the son of one of the owners. He started at the start of COVID. Maybe he had to leave a job and his mummy gave him one and he really doesn’t know how to do it. I don’t know if any one of them knows what they are doing. I left hughesnet for this. Sometimes I think I should have stuck with hughesnet. They offered me a low low price of 30/mo to stay. But the good thing about the smaller company is that they openly let customers know that there was a federal program to help with low income families to help with internet costs and I am a recipient of that program so I pay 10+tax a month instead of 40+tax a month, and if hughesnet has the same deal, I doubt they actually send you a letter about it. A lot of benefits are hidden so that people in need has to do their research. It’s an acquired skill, and it takes some work, and not everybody is equipped to do that so I appreciate them for that. And now I feel a bit of a shit heel for that email, should I send a bit of gratitude their way? Apologize? Nah, srsly, not being able to stream a movie in SD at 4am is just not acceptable. I really don’t ask for much.

But then another company I do business with is Blick for art supplies and I recently ordered a box easel which is a box and has easel built in so when the lid is up it’ll support a canvas or whatever and also carry art supplies and comes with palette and I wanted this for going outside where I cleared a place yesterday with the help of a hired hand. In the middle of a group of trees we cleared branches. As we were working I was saying how great a little spot it would be to have a picnic, just put out a blanket and an ice chest of food and drink and hang out there for an hour or two when it isn’t windy and if it doesn’t get swarming with ants and a harbor to the no see ’ems and mosquitoes. But that box, yeah it arrived and a part on it had broken off and sadly it was a glued on piece so I sent them a picture and asked them how they could help and they gave me a choice of a 30%discount or send me a replacement. I’m not a cabinet maker. I don’t have the right clamps for repairing it. I don’t even have wood glue. I didn’t want a discount, I just wanted a working box but I was feeling stressed that I would have to send back the broken box. So they told me to throw the broken box away and they’ll send a replacement. Wow. What a relief. Of course I’ll keep the broken box and donate it to the old school gallery for the kids’ art table at the Ramah farmers’ market that I facilitate. Maybe somebody passing by will be somebody with clever clamps and offer to fix the box so that the kids can use the easel too.

It’s warming up so it’s time to watch out for rattlesnakes. They’ll be stirring and feeling peckish. They like my place. Rocks, and woodpiles and plenty of food. What I need to add to my eco system is a confusion of Guinea fowl.

[starseedfxofficial]

BTCUSD Seasonal Trends: Discover the Hidden Patterns That Can Boost Your Trading Game Picture this: You're gearing up for another BTCUSD trade, fingers itching over the 'buy' button like it's the remote control for a Netflix binge. You know what I mean—that anticipation, the rush. Except, just like choosing the wrong show to binge (sorry, "Tiger King" Season 2, you weren't it), getting your BTCUSD timing wrong could lead to sleepless nights spent watching charts that move like they're mocking you. But what if I told you there was a way to predict some of these movements with ninja-like accuracy? Enter: seasonal trends. Now, don't think "seasonal" like pumpkin spice lattes or beach vacations—think about price rhythms that can actually make or break your BTCUSD trades. Let's peel back the curtain and explore the underground, less-discussed seasonal influences that impact BTCUSD and, potentially, your portfolio. The Secret Sauce: Seasonal Trends in BTCUSD Trading If you've been in the Forex world long enough, you know that markets have moods—like that one friend who refuses to go out when it's even slightly drizzly. BTCUSD is no different. There are months when Bitcoin seems to shoot for the moon (like it's taking astronaut lessons), and months when it's napping like a lazy cat in the sun. But why? Seasonal trends. Just as humans have behavioral rhythms, so too does the BTCUSD market. Now, these trends might not align with the exact holidays on your calendar, but there are notable times when BTCUSD behaves predictably—and it pays to know when. So, what kind of seasonal trends are we talking about here? When Bitcoin Plays Santa: The Year-End Rally Ah, December—the time of year when holiday lights twinkle, everyone buys socks as "last-minute gifts," and Bitcoin decides to play Santa. Historically, BTC has a tendency to rally towards the end of the year. Is it the festive cheer? Investor FOMO (fear of missing out)? Or simply market cycles syncing with broader asset allocations? Well, let’s just say it could be all three, plus a sprinkle of pixie dust. The year-end rally is often driven by institutional investors diving in to improve year-end performance metrics—because, let’s face it, nothing makes a holiday bonus shine quite like a well-timed BTC bump. By knowing this, you could position yourself to catch a part of the upswing. And while I can't guarantee you'll be able to buy an island off it, it might pay for a few nights in a luxury tent… and that’s something, right? Beware the Ides of March (and Bitcoin's Mid-March Doldrums) If BTC had a zodiac sign, March would be when it slips into introspection. Historically, mid-March tends to be a bit of a downer for BTCUSD—think "Monday morning vibes." A mix of tax season-related selling, portfolio rebalancing, and economic uncertainties often lead to slower growth or even downturns during this time. Here's where it gets interesting: Instead of holding your breath and hoping BTCUSD won’t suddenly plunge like a bad sitcom plot twist, a seasoned trader will know that March often provides a dip—a chance to buy low before the next leg up. I’m not saying you need to dive in headfirst like a reckless cliff diver, but… this might just be an opportunity for some calculated risk-taking. Or at least a good time to check if your stop-loss strategies are tighter than that expensive pair of jeans you only wore once. Summer Heat = Bitcoin Chill: The Summertime Stagnation Summer—a time for beach trips, backyard barbecues, and Bitcoin… going nowhere? Yep, historically speaking, summer months can be a mixed bag. Often, the excitement that drives BTCUSD in winter seems to take a vacation, leaving price action stagnant like a pool that needs chlorine. Why does this happen? Well, some analysts think that retail traders take a literal vacation—you know, enjoying mojitos instead of candlesticks. Others point to broader economic lulls during the season. Either way, summer can be a great time for range trading—buying low and selling high within tighter ranges. Think of it as practicing your swing on the golf course: It may not be the most exciting game, but when everyone else returns in fall, you’ll be ready, and maybe even a step ahead. Plus, it’s better than just sitting around watching charts like it’s "Game of Thrones" (Season 8—ouch). Breaking Down the Data: Seasonal BTCUSD Analysis for 2023 Let’s get a bit more data-driven. According to recent studies by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and insights from Glassnode’s on-chain analysis, we can see patterns indicating that BTCUSD often performs well in Q4, with a significant spike during late November to mid-December. Case in point: the winter of 2020—BTC rallied by more than 50%, capturing investors' excitement worldwide. While past performance doesn’t always predict future results, it's like saying cats won’t jump at moving objects—highly unlikely. During the summer of 2022, Glassnode data revealed reduced trading volume and lower price volatility—a classic sign of summertime stagnation. This is often a prime time for patient traders to accumulate positions in anticipation of the Q4 rally. How to Use Seasonal Trends Without Losing Your Shirt Now that we’ve uncovered some of BTCUSD’s seasonal secrets, how can you use this knowledge without making some of the typical mistakes most traders do (like buying BTC at its peak—ouch)? Here are some insider tactics that can give you an edge: - Track Historical Data: Keeping track of how BTCUSD has moved during different months over the years can provide a pretty solid road map for the future. Think of it as reading a book where the main character (BTC) likes to follow certain plot points—they might surprise you sometimes, but patterns do emerge. - Pair Seasonal Trends with Technical Indicators: Use RSI (Relative Strength Index) and Bollinger Bands to help you identify when the price is overbought or oversold, particularly during those critical seasonal shifts. For example, when BTCUSD is in a typical year-end rally, watch for overbought signals to lock in profits before things reverse. - Avoid Emotional Trading: Easier said than done, right? Especially when BTC's rollercoaster feels more like the "Tower of Terror." But using seasonal data helps you develop a strategic approach—like knowing when to expect an upward trend or a sideways summer lull—which can help you plan trades more rationally. - Hedge During Expected Downturns: If March is notorious for being a BTC bear, you could consider hedging some of your positions or utilizing stop-losses to minimize risks. It’s like packing an umbrella when the forecast says "chance of rain." You might not need it, but if it starts pouring, you’re going to be glad you did. Why Most Traders Miss These Trends (And How You Can Gain the Upper Hand) The majority of BTCUSD traders are either unaware of these seasonal trends or simply don’t take them seriously. The constant noise of price predictions and the endless hype often mask these cyclical tendencies. But by focusing on seasonal behavior and coupling it with smart risk management, you can sidestep common pitfalls—like buying a pair of shoes on sale that never fits. Did you know, according to an analysis from CoinTelegraph, nearly 65% of retail investors who started trading BTC in the last three years have no idea about the consistent Q4 rally patterns? By simply being aware of these key movements, you’re already a step ahead of a large chunk of the market. Bring It All Together: Seasonal Mastery = Strategic Advantage Now, let’s be real: No seasonal trend, no matter how consistent, is ever a guarantee. The market is always evolving—regulations change, whale movements mess with predictions, and sometimes BTC just feels like going "rogue." But understanding these seasonal trends gives you context. Instead of shooting in the dark, you’re aiming with night-vision goggles—much better odds. If you want to take your seasonal trading to the next level, we’ve got your back. Check out our latest economic indicators and Forex news at StarseedFX to stay ahead of the game. Ready to get serious? Dive into our Forex Education resources for those little-known strategies that give you the cutting-edge at StarseedFX Free Courses. Final Thoughts: Are You Ready to Ride the Seasonal Wave? The BTCUSD market has rhythms—like any good dance, you just need to know when to move. By leveraging seasonal patterns, you're not just predicting moves; you're positioning yourself to anticipate them. While other traders are left scratching their heads over why BTC seems to rally out of nowhere or tank for no apparent reason, you’ll know it’s simply that time of year again. So, get out there, dig into the data, and start planning your moves. And remember—trading is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself, stay informed, and don't forget that sometimes, a well-timed vacation is part of a winning strategy. After all, even the best traders know when to sit back and enjoy a mojito. Now it’s your turn—do you think you've spotted a seasonal trend we haven’t covered? Share it in the comments below! Let's uncover these hidden patterns together. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated Read the full article

[simplefelicity]

september 2024 bookkeeping - the first half

i've moved abroad! i'll be here for a few months and my finances are in absolute shambles so i've decided to make this a bi-weekly occasion. or maybe even weekly, we'll see.

what i spent

in total i've spent: 292.34€. for two weeks not that bad, about 150€ a week is an ok budget i think now that i live alone and am trying to organize my life. i would still like to bring it down to 100€ so let's see where i can improve.

food: 61.38€ (eating out) + 45.62€

here eating out is relatively cheap (it comes to about 5€ per meal) and groceries are expensive, as you can see.

i ate out 11 times in two weeks (+ 3 cafes). mostly because we were out and about visiting places and had to eat there but there were a couple of times that i could have avoided, like going to cafes/bubble tea. it happened 3 times, so for maybe a total of 10€ but i've discovered that i don't even like bubble tea here so i should just not go there anymore.

i've spent a lot on groceries in one go but it should last me a long enough time (lots of prepackaged meals).

object purchases: 171.53€

all of this stuff was unavoidable (even if it doesn't feel like it seeing it totaled up). there were 2 souvenirs, which i could have avoided but like... i'm here. i will get a couple of souvenirs i also refrained from buying a third one, so i'm at least proud of that.

in any case, these are all one time purchases and i won't need to worry about getting these objects for a long time.

i could have gotten some of this stuff tax free but i had forgotten my passport. so next time i should remember to bring my passport.

actually, one thing i do regret is that i tried to take my id photo at a photoboot because it was less expensive, but they rejected it and i'll have to go to a professional studio next week anyway. yikes.

experiences: 45.92€

i paid for a traditional craft class, a ticket to a monument and a one day tour that will happen in october. so far, no regrets.

what i earned

my last salary for a while. it was a bit higher than expected so i'm happy about that :)

what i decluttered

not much to declutter in a new house. but i have been taking a lot of pictures so i'm at 9.835, +255. i need to take the time to sort through them and delete delete delete.

next week plans:

i have booked the professional photo id, which will come to about 20€ (ugh). i'm also going to a baseball game but i'm still not sure how much that will cost. and we have planned a one day trip for tomorrow. and i'm going out in one hour and will probably have lunch and dinner out (but it should be street food so less expensive so maybe 8€?).

i will also need to charge my transportation card, which is going to be a monthly expense (42€ but i will get a discount later on).

what i want to do is 1. not get any bubble tea but rather get some water if i'm feeling too warm. 2, pick the least expensive option at the cafeteria i need to go to when i'm on campus. 3, not go out just for the sake of going out even if we are visiting places i've already been to. i should stay at home and eat my groceries.

hopefully i'll be able to stay in the 100€ per week budget!

oh wait, i wanted to start working out again so probably not :( but i love my sport so it will be worth it!

[queen-mihai]

I think they should all be making $25 an hour. $30 even.

The argument against giving poor people more money is so absolutely moronic that it's hard to even believe.

RICH PEOPLE END UP GETTING THE MONEY ANYWAY

Business owners are business owners. They own the business. The money comes to them. When you buy something from the business, the owner gets the money. And as a matter of fact, with more of us having more money, there's a good chance the rich people would have MORE money.

It probably wouldn't even get to them any slower. There's no freaking downside to giving people enough money to thrive.

"But what if they abuse.."

BITCH we've figured out ways around just about every problem mankind has ever faced. The only damn thing that would happen is people who used to not be able to afford treatment could finally afford it. Plus when people can afford to do shit other than sit around the house all day, drugs start to look pretty damn stale and stupid for the most part. As long as some lawmakers "trying to make a point" don't start fucking up the execution on purpose.

"But this has never been tri.."

It's been tried. It's been proven. Name it. Somebody somewhere has shown that good policies work popular policies are popular for a damn reason. Stop listening to whiney politicians who can't keep their job if people actually get out and vote. Those "leaders" don't have your best interest in mind. They don't have you in mind at all. They want to forget you exist, coast on their title, and keep collecting money until they can't anymore.

"But where's the money gonna come from?"

MOST of it is gonna come from capping corporate salaries. Hire a team of economists and accountants and have them come up with just how much any specific executive should ACTUALLY be earning. Then, have the lawmakers make that the law. Then, have the IRS, backed by our overly militarized police force, enforce that law. The rest comes through taxes on the wealthiest people and actually enforcing those taxes instead of just writing loopholes and calling them laws.

"Isn't that 'big government' though?"

Duuuuude you've gotta see. The amount of mental health crises that are tied to fears about money is too damn high. Giving people money will help so many things in so many different ways that you barely need all that much government.

Here's a story for you.

I once ran a group of over 600 people online.

I had like 2 active mods.

We barely ever had to boot anybody. DO YOU KNOW WHY?

Because when a group is run well, when it feels nice PEOPLE WANT TO KEEP IT NICE. You can hire fewer police because people will self police. You can hire fewer IRS agents once rich people get used to the new system because actually paying their taxes made them RICHER. You can give people jobs like inspector of food safety if anything and just like have them making sure everything is running OK. Probably help the businesses they inspect make more money too because safe food is good and good food makes people wanna buy it and people buying more food makes the business more money.

Maybe you wouldn't need so many agencies spying on people if people actually had money cuz then what are they plotting?

Half of the stuff we are used to these days is only a thing BECAUSE of the shitty system we're used to.

You want to shrink the government? Give people money enough to thrive and watch the need for huge expensive government services dwindle.

It's not big government. Because giving people money would help shrink the government.

It's not fiscal responsibility. Because the best ones to decide what people need to spend money on is the people themselves. Plus these systems pretty quickly pay for themselves.

It's not even "making sure the right people get money and the wrong people don't" because those "wrong people" who may be living in America? Yeah they're spending that money IN AMERICA. So guess who gets it? Americans. Rich Americans.

It's only EVER about suffering. The rich CAN'T STAND for anyone poorer than them to be happy. If they can't monopolize the very concept of "joy" and keep it for themselves, the world is falling apart. I'm not talking Michael Jordan rich. I'm talking jeff bezos rich. Jeff doesn't want people to be happy. If he did, he wouldn't have his workers peeing in bottles.

No. jeff Wants people working for him to suffer because if he creates a hole in them, then the hole he has in himself might not feel as big.

Same with musk

Same with zuck

Same with any of these idiots who can't think of anything better to do with their life than to keep collecting money.

My answer to somebody who doesn't want a barista making $15-20-30 per hour?

Stop drinking the kool-aid. musk ain't about to make you rich. He's lying to you. So are the rest of the billionaires

[abbyindenhaag]

A quick note from Lisbon

Revisiting Lisbon for a work trip and wanted to share some impressions!

1. My taxi driver from the airport said that typically companies spend 1,500 euros per month on a worker’s wages but the worker only sees 800 euros because of taxes. I was shocked to find from Wikipedia that this is mostly true, and much lower than in the US: Portugal’s average gross salary is 1450/month and net salary is 1200/month, while in the US average gross salary is $5,400/month and net is $4,000/month. (We are ignoring exchange rates bc atm a dollar is about a euro.) I knew things were cheaper in Portugal but I didn’t realize average wages were 3x less! I do wonder about medians though. I also didn’t point out that Portugal had a national health system and, presumably, a lot of other social safety net benefits that would increase consumption if not income.

(Other notable things about the conversation were that the taxi driver advocated helping others as a personal belief system but also said there were too many immigrants taking jobs and housing in Portugal — I refrained from citing the economics literature finding that actually immigrants raise native earnings — and that the taxi driver complained both about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but didn’t really agree with me that having a bigger difference between taxes on the rich and poor would fix it. I am not a development economist or a macroeconomist so I don’t necessarily think he is wrong on that point — but just noting.)

(Other notable taxi driver conversation was that my taxi driver *to* the airport -- Logan -- said he was from Tajikistan and won a diversity lottery to get a green card. I had forgotten that this program exists - it apparently awards up to 50k visas per year, which is like nothing, and has a 1/200 acceptance rate. The funny thing is that he won this lottery and then went straight to Springfield, MA, of all places, and was stuck there for the duration of Covid. Real out of the frying pan into the fire situation. His main complaint about Springfield was it was a bad place to be single, lol.)

2. When I walked out of my hotel after dropping off my bags, despite it being in a nice ish area my first 2 thoughts were: graffiti on walls. Smells like piss. Did I remember wrong?? But then once I got over the graffiti and moved to a less fragrant patch of sidewalk the “faded grandeur” of the city became more apparent. All the travel guides (well, Rick Steves and the NYT) had this same narrative of Lisbon being “where the crumbling remnants of a grand civilization sit side by side with the energy of the new growth” which felt rather stereotypical, and I actually peaced out of the Rick Steves audio tour because I wanted to see the city for myself rather than be told how to see it. But unfortunately,…. They were kind of right. Crumbly facades, broken-up sidewalks, new buildings, American-bougie brunch places… this place has it all, often right next to each other. I walked down a street (NYT-recommended, sigh) and it was like half antique stores full of probably junk and half expensive boutiques.

3. Speaking of which, I think for every hairdresser in Bergen there is an antique store in Lisbon. Who is buying this stuff?? The tourists certainly can’t take all of it home. <a moment of self-awareness descends from above. angels sing> oh. People who live here. Who don’t make a lot of money. As in point 1. Not everything is about you, Abigail!! Anyway it is nice to see things being reused instead of thrown out.

4. I saw at least 3 shops with a sign in the window saying they were on lunch break and would be back later. The American brain cannot comprehend this. What do you mean you haven’t hired someone to sell something at a time when people are around to buy it?!? (This is supporting evidence for my taxi driver’s statement that in Portugal people have different priorities than in the US, and they are just more relaxed. I have no stance on the matter, just reporting.)

5. Shops where I wanted to buy things but didn’t included a wool store with lots of beautiful merino blankets, and a ceramic store with lots of nice little bowls. Shops where I wanted to buy things and did were a pastry shop where I got a pasteis de nata (actually 2), and a strawberry cart in the real-people part of the city that was selling strawberries that smelled amazing for 4euros/kg. Unfortunately the two I ate ended up being overripe so I might not even eat any more but the joy of the purchase may still have been worth it.

This falls into the category of “shops I didn’t want to buy anything at but am glad they exist.”

Long snoots standing guard in antique shop #562.

The window of the wool shop. Would that the window wool were wmine!

The jacaranda are out and incredibly scenic!

The facade of a museum of a beloved fado singer, which I did not visit. I might go on Saturday night to hear a performance, not sure. But the scooter in the foreground was too Lisbon-y to resist the shot.