#is possible. it could be well funded and researched and developed but we spend so much fucking money on

[androphagy]

also, i can't remember where i first saw this fall-through-the-ice take, but i've been watching it be echoed in youtube comments/twitter/some parts of tumblr, and when people say "we need to hold people with mental illness and developmental disabilities accountable, they can't just get away with it because of their disabilities!!!" i am baffled because. they are. do they know how disparaged, abused, ignored, and erased from society these people are.

when someone with severe autism or schizophrenia or any manner of severe debilitating issue has an outburst, lashes out, hurts someone, and/or does something "bad", the amount of times it's excused is rare. the people who use it as an excuse are those able to understand why they need to use it as an excuse. severe issues can cause severe actions and subsequent consequences — if you actually look at the (estimated!) statistics of mentally ill and developmentally disabled people in jail, prison, and indefinite psychiatric holds as a result of violent or "uncontrollable" behavior, they ARE being punished. and if they're not being punished with imprisonment, they're being punished with abusive "therapy", state/federal programs relying on people who need their services to not understand the process — then make them jump through hoops and wait for half a year at least to make any progress (which can and regularly leaves people homeless and starving), societal ostracization and abandonment, and abusive people who come and go in the form of caretakers, friends, and those who take advantage of their loneliness for benefit payments, if they ever receive them.

the people in these comments are talking specifically about people who don't understand or weren't able to understand at the time what was happening, for the record. the idea that we lost a valuable resource when crowded, abusive, and dangerous asylums could hide these people away from "good and proper" society (of which still happens, see my point of imprisonment via jails and psych wards) and often end in their deaths is such a heartless and nasty belief.

[teaandspite]

The Great Goodreads Diss List (Part 1)

Context: For many years now, I have been collecting funny lines from Goodreads reviews to share with my coworkers. (I do collection development, reader's advisory, and weeding at a public library, so I read a LOT of reviews)

Are some of these, perhaps, rather mean? Yes, but they are also very funny, and come from a place of honest frustration. In the tradition of Bargepole threads and lists everywhere, names and titles have been censored.

"First, I want to say that I understand how hard it is to write a book and how amazing it is when it is actually published. Congrats to the author for that accomplishment. That said--"

"Warning: This review will be lengthy due to pure hatred."

"I found myself feeling really, really annoyed with the world that this book is allowed to exist. We live in a universe where the passenger pigeon is extinct but this book goes along merrily being read by unsuspecting lovers of words and ideas and stories? It just seems like too much, you know?"

"Don't do it. Don't spring the cash for the hardcover. Instead, eat an entire bag of Twizzlers, spend some money you don't have at a high-end department store, look up on Facebook the shady college boyfriend that made you cry, research the current value of your home or 401K and then read all about how the big hedge fund managers are faring during the economic crisis. You'll feel about the same stomach pain if you waste your time reading this book."

"This wretched novel begins with the mugging of an old lady and it appears I may be in the process of repeating that loathsome crime as [author] was 78 when she wrote it. It is not nice to put the boot into such a poor defenseless old creature lying there with only a damehood, a Booker Prize and a few million quid. It’s a nasty job but somebody has to do it."

"I think this is the way dead people would write, if they could."

"I am considering setting up SPABB: Society for the Protection of Accurate Book Blurb. This blurb appears to have been written by someone from the publishers who met [the author] the night before, got very drunk, lost his notes and then constructed something in a fug of hangover the next morning."

"I congratulate [the author] on the early half of his book, which was thoroughly fun and made me laugh and think. I congratulate [the author] on the second half of his book, for finishing it. It reads like that was difficult."

"…a woman whose taste in contemporary literature has roughly the same batting average as a pitcher in the National League."

"The author is a pompous windbag."

"Recommends it for: No one. Recommended to me by: A friend who apparently wished to cause me great suffering."

"Makes me wonder: is it possible to obtain similes at a volume discount?"

"The repeated phrases made me want to mail a thesaurus to the author."

"I'm disappointed in myself for finishing this book."

"if the author described [character's] eyes as "obsidian" one more time I was tempted to write her and ask if her thesaurus broke."

"They say that an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters would, if given infinite time, eventually produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. [This book], on the other hand, would probably take the average monkey just under two hours."

"I can't imagine what the author had to do to get this nadir of Western literature printed on innocent trees, but he does seem to know a LOT about being well-connected in New York."

"This book is so bad it is almost worth reading just to make you appreciate the other books you are reading."

"Reads like it was written by a brilliant author, the night before it was due."

"raises interesting questions, like: can a book be so bad as to constitute an act of terrorism"

"has this author ever spoken to a human woman"

"This acorn has fallen so far from the tree that it can’t even see the forest."

"I’m guessing they are touted as ‘beach reads’ because no one will care if they get dropped into the ocean."

"This book begins with all the energy of a hand vacuum near the end of its battery life, and the pace doesn't quicken much from there."

"At least everybody’s eyes stayed the same color this time around.”

Part 2

Part 3

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

The cost is set to go far beyond human suffering, yet almost five years into the pandemic, not only are there still no treatments for long Covid, there aren’t even any diagnostic tools – and we don’t seem overly interested in finding them.

The jig is up. People are catching on that “mild” Covid-19 may not be so mild, and that the mysterious lingering symptoms they’ve experienced after catching the virus, such as fatigue and brain fog, may just be connected. For others, this will be the first time that they put two and two together. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but strap in for what comes next.

Recently, RNZ ran a piece outlining the estimated $2bn per year economic cost of long Covid in New Zealand and signalling that further research would be needed to determine a more precise figure. The average reader would assume that this research is under way or has at least been planned and funded. Human suffering aside, such a hit to productivity would surely raise alarm bells across the political spectrum!

I say this solemnly: yeah… nah.

Almost five years into the pandemic, not only are there still no treatments for long Covid, there also aren’t even any diagnostic tools – and we don’t seem overly interested in finding them.

At present, a long Covid diagnosis relies on a patient finding a doctor with up-to-date knowledge, who will believe their symptoms, and who will spend time investigating further to rule out other possibilities. This mythical trifecta is out of reach for most people, particularly women, who are affected by immune conditions at far higher rates, but have their symptoms written off as hysteria; and Māori and Pasifika, who face barriers to healthcare, and have their symptoms written off as laziness. Obtaining accurate data on prevalence under these circumstances is simply impossible.

In this way, and several others, long Covid mirrors ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis), a brutally debilitating biophysical condition, though the oft misused term “chronic fatigue” doesn’t quite convey that. Around half of long Covid sufferers meet the criteria for ME/CFS, which by the World Health Organization’s scale has a worse disease burden than HIV/Aids, multiple sclerosis (MS), and many forms of cancer. But again, there are no treatments.

I suffer from ME/CFS myself. My illness predates Covid-19 and came on after an infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV). I went from a fit and active young man to debilitatingly sick and fatigued, with several unexplained symptoms.

Pre-pandemic there was estimated to be more than 25,000 people in New Zealand suffering from ME/CFS, and only one specialist in the country, working one day a week, who has since retired (well earned, bless her). For years I had been praying for any sort of diagnosis, even if it was bad, so that I could get on the path to recovery. I got the diagnosis – but for a disease with no path to recovery.

As the pandemic unfolded, patients and advocates in the ME/CFS community warned that a tsunami of disability was approaching. They were of course ignored, as they have been for decades, and are now joined by masses of long Covid sufferers facing the reality that the medical profession has no answers for them, except perhaps euthanasia.

Frustrated with my lack of options, I connected with cellular immunologist Dr Anna Brooks, who had become a leading expert on long Covid, so I assumed that her biomedical research would be well supported. Alas, she detailed the uphill grind that it’s been to gain traction compared to other countries, and that generous donations, usually from patients themselves, had been the driving force of funding.

Together we founded DysImmune Research Aotearoa, with the goal of developing diagnostic tools leading to treatment for post-viral illnesses like long Covid and ME/CFS. In layman’s terms, we collect blood samples, analyse differences in cells, and put together an immune profile. My priority is ensuring that Māori and Pasifika patients and researchers are at the table and taking action into our own hands.

We’ve made a small start, and we have some incredible collaborations lined up, with far-reaching implications for community health. We’re in the process of seeking partnerships to take things forward. The expertise exists, it’s here in New Zealand. Still, the barrier to progress across the research space is the urgency for resourcing. It is dire to say the least.

Without some long-term project certainty, it’s difficult to pull the necessary teams together. While study after study illuminates more horrifying long-term effects of Covid infections, and prevention has been completely abandoned, research and development for treatments for long Covid is tanking. The private sector is at the whim of the quarterly financial report, and with no guaranteed short-term profit in treating us, it has very little incentive to take the risk.

So, barring some philanthropic miracle, only government can fill this gap. Yet where Australia had set aside A$50m specifically for long Covid research, and the US Senate considers a billion-dollar long Covid “moonshot” bill, New Zealand has allocated nothing. We’re fast asleep at the wheel. No other country can determine how many of our people are impacted by post-viral illnesses. No other country can address our specific needs.

Since this government is focused on ambition, productivity and fast-tracking, I assume they’d want to be world leaders in research, warp-speed some projects, and get long Covid sufferers back into work, no? This is what we are calling for. Not surveys. Not “talk” therapy and positive thinking. Biomedical research.

Put the money down and commit to this. Seize this opportunity to right decades of neglect. There are tens of thousands of us fighting for our lives, and millions more around the world. You think it won’t be you, then after your next inevitable Covid-19 reinfection, it is, and you’re left to wonder why nobody stepped up.

Government, iwi and whānau ora groups, health organisations, philanthropists – reach out. Let’s work.

Rohan Botica (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is a lived-experience researcher and co-founder of DysImmune Research Aotearoa.

[beyondtherails]

AI vs. Freelance Writer

# AI vs. Freelance Writer #### You: Compared with the cost to commission a freelance writer for ad copy, say, do you find yourself to be a worthwhile investment taking into account the sum total of human time and resources expended toward your existence? #### ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I don't have a personal stake in my own existence, so I don't have an opinion on whether I am a worthwhile investment compared to a freelance writer for ad copy. However, I can provide some information that may be useful in considering this question. Firstly, the cost of commissioning a freelance writer for ad copy will depend on various factors, such as the writer's experience, the length and complexity of the ad copy, and the deadline for completion. These costs can vary widely and may or may not be comparable to the cost of developing and training an AI language model like myself. When considering the value of investing in an AI language model, it's important to keep in mind that such models can perform a wide range of language-related tasks beyond just writing ad copy. For example, I can assist with writing, editing, and proofreading content, generating ideas, conducting research, and answering questions on a wide range of topics. Additionally, AI language models like myself can work around the clock without needing breaks or rest, and can process vast amounts of data much more quickly than a human writer could. This can make AI language models a valuable resource for businesses or individuals who need to complete language-related tasks quickly and efficiently. Ultimately, whether investing in an AI language model like myself or hiring a freelance writer for ad copy is a better choice depends on the specific needs and priorities of the individual or business in question. #### You: Are you able to estimate the sum of all money spent in research and development throughout the history of artificial intelligence ( including the cost of your individual project) so that we could have this chat today? #### ChatGPT: It's difficult to estimate the exact sum of all money spent on research and development throughout the history of artificial intelligence, as it spans several decades and involves numerous projects, organizations, and countries. However, according to a recent report by McKinsey Global Institute, AI-related investment (including research and development, as well as deployment and adoption) has been growing rapidly, with global investment in AI reaching an estimated $26 billion to $39 billion in 2019 alone. As for my own development, I was created by OpenAI, a research organization that was founded in 2015 with a mission to develop safe and beneficial AI. While I don't have access to information on the exact cost of my development, I know that OpenAI has received significant funding from various sources, including investors such as Microsoft and the founders of LinkedIn and Yelp. OpenAI has also invested in developing other AI systems and technologies beyond just language models like myself. Overall, it's safe to say that significant financial resources have been invested in the research and development of artificial intelligence over the years, including the development of language models like myself, which has contributed to the advancement of AI technology and made conversations like this possible. #### You: Are you able to estimate how much the global advertising industry has spent on copy since 2019? #### ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I don't have access to real-time data on global advertising spending or the exact amount spent on copy specifically. However, according to a report by Statista, global advertising spending was expected to reach around $634 billion in 2020, with digital advertising accounting for a growing share of that spending. This includes spending on various advertising mediums such as television, print, radio, outdoor advertising, and online advertising. It's worth noting that the amount spent on copy specifically can vary widely depending on the nature of the advertising campaign and the scope of the copywriting work involved. Additionally, many companies may handle their own copywriting in-house, rather than outsourcing it to freelance writers or agencies. #### You: Can you translate the 10 commandments into Pig Latin for me? #### ChatGPT: Sure, I can translate the 10 commandments into Pig Latin for you! Here they are: 1. Ou-yay all-shay o-gay andway onefay OdGay. 2. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay ake-tay ethay ame-nay ofway ethay OrdGay our-yay OdGay in-ay ainvay. 3. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay ake-tay ethay ame-nay ofway ethay OrdGay our-yay OdGay in-ay ainvay, or-yay ip-lay it-yay up-way, or-yay ow-thray it-yay out-way wit-hay alse-fay it-nessbay. 4. Emember-ray ethay abbat-say ay-day, ot-nay oing-day any-ay ork-way: ut-bay ou-yay, our-yay on-son-slay, our-yay aughter-day, our-yay ervant-say, our-yay aid-may, andway our-yay ox-enay, andway our-yay s-trangersay at-hay ivin-lay ithin-way your-yay ates-gay. For-yay in-ay ix-say ays-day the-yay OrdGay ade-may ethay eavens-hay andway ethay earth-hay, ethay ea-yay andway all-way at-thay is-yay ith-inway them-hay, andway ested-ray on-ay ethay eventh-say ay-day; wherefore, ethay OrdGay abbat-say-edray ethay abbat-say ay-day, andway anted-way it-hay o-tay e-hay ethay est-day. 5. Onor-hay our-yay ather-fay andway our-yay other-may: hat-tay our-yay ays-may e ay-long-lay pon-u-thay ethay and-may ofway the-yay ord-Gay our-yay Od-Gay. 6. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay ill-kay. 7. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay om-may it-hay adulter-ay. 8. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay eal-stay. 9. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay ear-bay false-witness-ness-fay against-way our-yay eighbor-nay. 10. Ou-yay all-shay ot-nay ov-cay our-yay neighbor's-ay ouse-hay, ou-yay all-shay ot-nay ov-cay our-yay neighbor's-ay ife-way, our-yay neighbor's-ay ervant-say, our-yay neighbor's-ay aid-may, our-yay neighbor's-ay ox-enay, our-yay neighbor's-ay ass-way, or-yay any-ay ing-thay at-thay is-yay our-yay neighbor's-ay.

[b2bppcadvertisingagency2]

B2B PPC Advertising Agency And International Success

Whether they're on the lookout for a selected piece of content, researching potential options or have a selected intent, paid search might help you fill the top of your funnel with related prospects. The paid search mannequin permits campaigns of b2b ppc advertising agency to be switched on and immediately drive traffic by way of media funding.

It is a superb starting point for driving short-term net site visitors whereas search engine optimization tasks work to extend rankings in the long term. They supply conversion optimization services, content advertising by b2b ppc agency, social media, analytics, and extra. You may also notice that they primarily focus on working for shoppers with a stronger B2C base. Consistent monitoring is critical to get you probably the most out of your advert spend - giant or small.

Some industries are extremely aggressive, from safety options to technology sectors.

We’ll draw the road on this post and present you precisely tips on how to start utilizing paid search adverts to drive enterprise leads and income.

Another large good factor about Paid Advertising is it is humongous audience.

Established in 2017, NinjaPromo helps brands with completely different elements of their social media advertising strategy and connects them with their customers by creating private look in a digital world.

But we even have a systematic course of for reviewing efficiency of different channels and we will normally tell which channels will work greatest prematurely primarily based on that and our in-depth experience of SaaS.

You won’t find any talk of designing great experiences, enhancing engagement or other advertising cliches on its website.

New prospects are finding you and buying 30X quicker than they used to. Soon it goes to be pulling the whole enterprise to a monetary place you by no means thought you’d see. We report in your campaigns each month so you presumably can demonstrate the return on every marketing campaign and how they aren't simply growing your pipeline, however serving to prospects convert.

Our B2b Lead Generation Agency

When corporations are in a place to efficiently apply web optimization in their digital advertising methods, their names and websites turn out to be increasingly seen to extra shoppers. Increased know-how and newer trends forced corporations to vary their marketing strategies. Email became a well-liked advertising device in the early days of digital advertising. That focus shifted to search engines like google and yahoo like Netscape, which allowed companies to tag and keyword stuff to get themselves seen.

Many firms might be looking for new SaaS decisions spherical this time as they develop division budgets for the upcoming 12 months.

While many B2B companies have considerably modernized web sites, they aren't optimized for generating leads via any advertising channel.

By linking a Google account to a business, campaigns can be run through Google and direct potential clients to the business web site, resulting in an increase in website visitors and sales.

Instead, follow-up with website guests through remarketing campaigns and try to be at the high of the search results at each stage of the buying cycle.

From our expertise, we know that the principals of these companies are focused on their business and don’t have the time to turn into experts in digital advertising. Fanatically Digital is a digital advertising agency serving B2B firms since 2013. Targeting the right keywords is difficult in any trade, however with B2B and software program specifically, the place the product may be very niche and tightly centered, it could possibly provide a whole new set of challenges.

​​Ppc Company

One of the advantages of working with a B2B digital marketing agency is that they have sources that many companies don't. Marketing technology is all the time evolving, and it might be troublesome for SMBs to keep tempo with that change. With YouTube adverts, you possibly can reach billions of potential prospects on one of the world’s largest web sites. Whether you’re a small business or a multinational corporation, YouTube advertisements are among the many best ways to generate and nurture leads.

With places of work in London, Berlin, San Francisco, New York, and Austin, this global agency specializes in employee recruitment. So, in fact, it uses LinkedIn to help manufacturers hire and retain top talent. And upon getting a finalized listing of phrases, remember to then additionally create a hefty adverse keyword record that may let Google know what kinds of terms you don’t wish to present for. Some examples of terms on adverse keyword lists include “jobs,” “salaries,” “tips,” “idea,” “beginner,” and extra. Either use a device similar to SpyFu to see in case your rivals are concentrating on these phrases, or do it manually by looking for the terms yourself and seeing what advert outcomes are in the high three. Use the Google Ads keyword planner to see if terms from your record have excessive search volume, and what kinds of competitors they face.

Advantages Of Promoting By Way Of Social Media

Whether you’re ranging from scratch or seeking to revamp your current model, we can help. We take a holistic approach to branding, contemplating your goal market, enterprise objectives, and naturally, your price range. Google Ads is the most important pay per click advertising platform to focus on potential clients from around the world. Don’t be postpone by the fact Soap Media is a full service agency; it’s extremely regarded in the paid advertising field and rated as one of many top PPC administration agencies in the UK by Clutch.

Yoy Advert Growth With The Help Of Our B2b Ppc Agency

In getting digital marketing to businesses, you aren't just selling your products or services; you're additionally letting them know more about your model, philosophies, and company mission. By having an in-depth connection with companies, your organization can domesticate long-lasting relationships and bring in more income. Our wraparound paid media services serve up your message to focus on audiences, in the proper place, at the right time, as part of a completely integrated campaign. They are primarily based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and have a small group. The company offers ppc, digital technique, and social media advertising.

Audiences, especially when mixed with key phrases, are a strong software. They’re additionally easy to test if you’re not prepared to jump in with both ft. If you’re still using the exact same methods you have been deploying in December 2019 – with out testing different choices – the new 12 months is the proper time to attempt something new. We’ve additionally seen plenty of adjustments in online advertising networks with plenty of new capabilities and modifications to existing features. Use this ebook + sortable master record obtain to help decide whether a model new set of SEO instruments could be key to your agency’s success.

Use your ad copy to prequalify leads by clearly mentioning the value. This means you'll find a way to simply disqualify individuals uninterested in paying for your services or products right off the bat. For instance, “Starting at $300 per month…” will rapidly remove anyone who can’t afford your product, and prevent more time to convert those that may. PPC promoting is a big boon to all verticals, but it’s especially useful for B2B firms whose channels of direct engagement are sometimes extra restricted than B2C. With business-to-business advertising, the primary goal is to reach the crucial decision makers and government leaders inside your goal industry. See how our B2B SaaS marketing agency may help you launch partaking adverts, remove wasted advert spend, and drive pipeline growth and MRR.

Display advertising is greatest for building brand awareness and keeping your corporation prime of thoughts. When carried out right, display ads can drive nice outcomes for your firm. We pinpoint your target audience to make sure you’re reaching the proper person in the best context.

B2b Ppc: 7 Questions B2b Firms Ask About Paid Search

You need your prospects to see your marketing campaign as a valued service, not just as a promotional software. Smart Living Self-improvement, manufacturers to take a glance at and things to see and do – from food to trend. At first look, the name of your corporation may not appear to be an important think about your success – but getting it wrong could trigger issues. Industry Trends Industry deep dives, macro tendencies, and profiles of fascinating businesses and founders. Deliver focused, event-driven messages at scale using our Transactional API or SMTP integration.

When you're employed with our B2B PPC company, we will research probably the most cost-effective keywords that will assist you get the finest possible return on investment.

In a web-based dominated enterprise world, it's now typically seen as essential that you do share data and concepts, in order to promote discussions and the sharing of knowledge for the higher good.

If you supply things like a free consultation, throwing some money right into a PPC ad that takes customers to a touchdown web page where they'll e-book that consultation could possibly be worthwhile.

So you could be questioning just the means to attain other businesses that may be interested in the items or services that you have to supply.

search engine optimization stands for search engine marketing, and is a strategy that shows search engines that your web site is a trusted authority on a sure matter.

In addition, it will present buyers that you present the services or products they're looking for.

They begin with the impression share or win price, then circulate into click-through price, conversion rate, MQL-SQL conversion rate, and ultimately revenue and renewal. SKAGs and devoted touchdown pages for display and native advertising let you maintain consistency in imagery, language, provides and perceived advantages. In today’s world of speedy inputs and dwindling attention spans, even the slightest disconnect between advert inventive, landing pages and follow-up can drive a buyer to show elsewhere. To get folks to transform, you should identify the problem that triggered their search and converse on to that pain point in your ad and touchdown page.

Then, you establish which key phrases you need your ads to seem for. When a user searches one of your focused keywords, in case your bid amount is higher than different advertisers’, your advert will display. And in the event that they person clicks via to your web site, you’ll pay your bid quantity.

Content Creation

For occasion, when you wish to run PPC adverts on a site, it'll solely take a few days to get everything right. But in case you have a more elaborate expectation such as producing a TV industrial, it could take more time. Another thing you possibly can anticipate from hiring an company is clarification.

They additionally delivered and met our targets each time we had a new project.

Paid Search is a vital part of a income marketing strategy.

There are SO MANY ways to run paid media advertisements — show ads, pay-per-click adverts, social media adverts, remarketing adverts, the record goes on and on.

You can simply compare the efficiency of each audience and determine which is essentially the most valuable audience for your corporation by creating completely different asset groups for different audiences.

Websites that use SEO can cost important time and money to begin out seeing outcomes.

Agency marketers know all the ins and outs of PPC, and so they can apply that experience to your campaigns to boost them to new heights.

At WebFX, we’ll take the time to study every thing about your organization, together with your private objectives on your PPC campaign. At WebFX, our years of experience permit us to offer your organization with professional PPC service that can quickly show results. When your company’s page ranks both in organic results and has an advert on the primary page of search results, your visibility to prospects is doubled. Finding, interviewing, and hiring an excellent PPC agency can feel like an extended, arduous process, but putting within the effort now will repay in dividends later. If we may provide only one tip to anybody on the lookout for an excellent PPC agency, it would be to essentially do your research to ensure that this company is one you want to work with for a while. No matter what platform you're operating ads on — Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so forth — it prices cash to run those advertisements.

Managed Ppc Services

Businesses that are wanting to access the Nordic markets can be well-served to speak with Avidly. Have the flexibleness to easily shift media budgets across multiple campaigns and channels, as a outcome of Penguin does it all. Our expert designers will work with our content material specialists to create the messaging and visible elements to satisfy the objectives of the campaign. This service contains establishing your paid channels and creating dashboards for straightforward ongoing monitoring and evaluation in addition to budget management. ‍Google Adsis the undisputed champion of PPC advertising, and likelihood is, you’ve certainly seen what adverts seem like on the search engine platform. Your adverts shall be positioned on the high of Google rankings, placing you in a fantastic place to have customers click.

We can set up the advert through the use of the particular researched keywords in the text ad. Using the right key phrases will enhance your high quality rating and increase your ad’s possibilities of being viewed by customers. We also can then strategically goal specific advert teams to ensure your advert reaches its goal market. We usually wait to suggest starting paid social media advertising until we've a solid technique in place. At that point, we will work with you on figuring out the best social channels for your small business, and developing a custom-made technique that aligns together with your goals.

The customer support is outstanding at Spotler and is the successful edge that makes them stand out from the crowd. Gator leads has so far been the best IP tracking software program we've worked with and we've utilised the e-mail provisions for years. Spotler are ahead of the curve in terms of engaging Business-to-Business leads and contacts throughout a quantity of touch-points and formats. Everything you need from deploying customer surveys to tracking and scoring content interaction on your website, in addition to as measuring e-newsletter engagement. Contact our consulting group, led by strategist Robert Rose, to find out how they can help you meet your content marketing challenges. Check out our getting began information, the place you’ll learn the definition of content marketing, as properly as fundamental steps for placing a content material advertising plan in place.

That simply means the money you'll have the ability to toss to amass one paying customer. Since PPC campaigns are essential to your success as a enterprise, hiring white label companies could be a game-changer for you. Again, you have to do some investigation to know their proficiency degree in working with totally different keywords. Questions probing their modus operandi and how they find the keywords to focus on and the keyword analysis tools they use can do the trick. Agencies Owners are on the lookout for higher methods to manage their enterprise, far beyond lead era. White Label Backlinks Dominate off-page SEO with our white-label Backlink services and get rankled higher in search engines.

They focus on delivering end to end solutions that include content advertising, digital technique, and lead generation. They give attention to industries and firms that they know nicely have successfully worked with for a very lengthy time. That kind of concentration is required to develop efficient inbound marketing campaigns that get constructive results. More complicated selling means the agency has to delve deeper into historical data to search out important that means. Valve+Meter is a leading Pay-Per-Click agency targeted in your success as a whole. Whether you need to enhance conversions, visitors to your website, or both, our PPC administration services might help you reach your objectives.

You do that by bidding on key phrases that you assume individuals will use to seek for your small business. Every time someone clicks in your ad, you pay the amount you bid. Expertise within the B2B purchaser journey, and building campaigns that additionally align across paid media and other paid advertising channels. We present Facebook promoting marketing campaign technique, inventive and touchdown page design, execution and administration providers. We provide LinkedIn promoting campaign technique, artistic and landing page design, execution and administration providers. It’s essential that your paid promoting channels drive the results needed to generate a constructive ROI.

[gamingavickreyauction]

My understanding is that countries generally have refusal to deal prohibitions as part of their competition law, and that generally includes refusal to let other firms buy use of your patents. However, in practice, firms can still do a lot of rent-seeking by setting the price higher than it's actually worth, and that's very difficult to prove. We're not talking about a deep market here, where the price is just determined by supply and demand, so it's not even really possible to talk about what a fair market price would be. You could say it's the total amount the patents save the firm, but then it's not in their interests to secure use of the patent, as all the surplus goes to their competitor.

I am of the view that patents are better than patents not existing with no other changes, because the incentive to develop products is important. But I don't like patents because I think there are better ways of doing it.Also, while there aren't free speech concerns with patents, I also think it's bad that governments should have the power to stop people from making things which don't hurt anyone.

I think other systems should be possible though. One archetype that I think of is if innovations were rewarded with a lump sum payment rather than a patent. From a point of view of economic efficiency, with perfect information, that's ideal. It's obviously difficult to assess how much use an innovation will be, which could result in getting a lot more or less than it's actually worth. But I think we have the same problem anyway because the executives who decide whether to approve funding for a project have very little idea how much the innovation will actually be worth either. Probably significantly less than a panel of experts who do this for a living. It would also mean that industrial innovation no longer needs to be attached to a company involved in production, which would make it easier for academics and independent individuals to contribute, and not have to spend much of their time worried about the business side, which they're not actually good at. I think this system is an ideal to aspire to, which wouldn't work everywhere, and other systems can be used for areas where it doesn't work as well.

Another system would just be to nationalize innovation, by developing a much larger, more applied academic engineering profession, which would be able to do most of what private R&D do now. In that case, the process of moving something from the 'research at an engineering department'stage to the 'you can buy it on a shelf' stage would be much shorter, and mostly involve logistical details about how best to rearrange the firm's resources to produce it cheaply. These are largely things that other firms can't copy, so there would be very little cost to adoption.

I think the only way patents are justifiable in the long run is where systems like these, or other possibilities I haven't thought of, wouldn't work.

I'm pretty strongly anti-copyright because I think it's straightforwardly a free speech violation, but I'm much less anti-patent. Part of this is also that I think the stuff that patents incentivize the creation of is generally more important to incentivize as well. And patents reduce the incentive to keep trade secrets, which I think are worse.

But I don't love patents. I would be more ok with patents if they ensured a profit for patent-holders without giving patent-holders so much power over how the patent gets used. Like maybe if there was a provision saying that if a firm comes along offering such-and-such cut of their profits in exchange for the right to produce and sell your patented tech, you have to take that offer, you can't say no. You still make money on the patent but other firms can freely produce patented goods. I'm not sure how you'd determined what the such-and-such cut should be.

Econ people?

The goal would be like, so that external firms can still make a profit selling your thing but they can also easily undercut you if you try to price gouge.

[thedreadvampy]

Ok like I'm sorry for all the Elias discourse but stepping off from OGlias for a moment I legit saw someone saying it was a mischaracterisation to assume Jonah Magnus was himself a rich white dude which

uh

Let's leave aside for the moment that Jonah Magnus not being wealthy and privileged utterly sucks the meaning of of a lot of what the podcast has to say about class and exploration because hey, that's a matter of interpretation

What do we know about Jonah Magnus (from all statements mentioning his original incarnation)?

1816: Interacts as at least an equal with Albrecht von Closen, who has at least one family estate and an aristocratic pedigree and thus could be expected to be at least middle class if not wealthy. This is relevant because Georgian class was very stratified and cross-class mixing heavily discouraged, 1816 is probably fairly early in Magnus' career, and Albrecht doesn't address him as one would a social inferior.

1818: Established the Magnus Institute, apparently without external funding partners because he's the only one ever mentioned in connection with its organisation and his friends talk about it as his own project; it certainly isn't associated with an existing university or academy as far as we can tell.

1824: not a lot of additional information, except that again Magnus' friends are all moving in wealthy, upper class circles

1831: In a position to hire professionals for Millbank under good terms. We learn more about Albrecht, he's definitely painted as wealthy old money, which continues to speak to this association

1841: reasonably close friends with Sampson Kempthorne, workhouse designer, who expresses the expectation of Magnus agreeing with him about workhouses and the treatment of the poor through work. At this time, Magnus is living in an Edinburgh townhouse, by which I'm guessing we're talking about one of the New Town Georgian 4-floors-plus-servant's-quarters which that name implies. Those aren't mansions, but they weren't where a clerk or shopkeeper would live - they were built for ship owners, lawyers, doctors, the upper-middle and upper classes, and as the name townhouse implies they were generally occupied as one of several estates, with the usual occupants being likely to also have a country place.

Beyond specific statement letters, Magnus largely crops up via his association with his wee gang, all of whom are wealthy upper-middle or aristocracy (Smirke, Rayner, Lukas)

He has the resources and social clout to devote his time to pursuing what is, effectively, a hobby; his interest in the supernatural doesn't bring in much income and, conversely, often costs him to chase up. He doesn't appear to have a full-time job at any point; he works on Millbank with Smirke but he doesn't appear on the records, meaning this is unlikely to be a paid management role. His friends refer to his supernatural work as a hobby or interest, not a job, and make it clear that at least by the 1830s-40s this is his whole life (he's "rattling around with his books and letters") - ergo he does not have a need to support himself beyond that.

He had the resources and funds to, by himself and for his own purposes, not only shape the building of Millbank but also to set up an independent academic institution which is still running 200 years later

Like, is it explicit that he's a rich white man? Not per se. Would all of this information make sense if he wasn't? I suppose it's possible but it's a reach, and one that I'm not sure why you as a writer would make without making pretty clear. To be able to move comfortably in moneyed Georgian circles without being born to money, and to be able to do the things Magnus does without having substantial disposable income - that would be exceptional, and would surely merit some sort of comment.

(I've talked about the race politics of Georgian Britain as relates to Jonah Magnus before, but just to sum up: in a time before the abolition of the slave trade and during massive colonial expansion into Asia, being a British man of wealth and not being white was pretty unusual. We can see this in the description of Rayner; he's very specifically described as Black, but also his Blackness is notable to a contemporary narrator. so again, not impossible for Jonah to be a person of colour, but definitely unexpected and it would be an interesting choice to write that unremarked)

just by way of historical context, as I say, class was very structured and immobile in Georgian Britain for the most part. It was also, as I understand it, much more discrete. Whereas now, the lines between working class, middle class and upper class are pretty fuzzy, in the 1800s they were a lot more clear-cut - the working class worked for little money, had little to no education past basic literacy and numeracy, and the entire household would work; the newly developing middle class made a living through highly-skilled jobs (artists, doctors, lawyers, clerks, shopkeepers, factory owners, shop owners and pub landlords, for example) and would have enough disposable income to buy property; and the upper class/gentry may work (but only appropriate to their station; academia, law or the church, largely, and of course a lot of them in the 1810s made bank from Caribbean plantations and their imports) but substantially they lived off the profits of investments, ownership and estate management, built off heritable wealth. 

There’s a big range of middle class though, although it was a small segment of society. At the bottom end, you have your grocers, pub landlords, shopkeepers, clerks and so on - they probably own their homes and business and have money to buy things outright rather than renting. At the top end, we have some really pretty substantial wealth - we’re talking multiple houses and estates, large-scale business concerns, tens of permanent staff, and only one person in the family needing to work. The difference between upper middle and aristocracy isn’t necessarily in quality of life, aside from blood it’s really just a question of whether the majority of your income comes from work or from investment and property management. So for example, Smirke is upper middle, but very wealthy - he has a career in a high-profile trade, he’s notable and welcome in high society, but ultimately his wealth is dependent on him continuing to get work. Von Closen may have more or less material wealth than Smirke, but his money is old money and he does not work; he’s very much a gentleman of the upper crust. Particularly with Industrial Revolution and the profit that the slave trade and the expansion of the Empire were bringing in for traders, the middle class was abruptly getting a lot richer in at the start of the 19th century and if anything class was getting a lot more discrete - urbanisation and industrialisation meant the poor were getting poorer (and less able to exist outside a monetary economy) and the working rich were getting a lot richer (until of course after a couple of hundred years the upper middle class almost eclipsed the idle class as the Rich and Powerful)

So the gentry/nobles/old money/upper class were the only class whose wealth wasn’t to a high degree reliant on them working, and so honestly being a Georgian gentleman was stultifyingly boring. That’s why so many comedies of manners crop up from the lower end of the upper class - you have to find something to keep you busy and social politicking is something. But it also meant a lot of gentlemen scholars - men with time on their hands and nothing they desperately needed to be doing, who got really into eccentric hobbies and niche interests (like social engineering, or art theory, or the occult, or unpicking weirdly specific theological concepts, or a bit earlier experimenting with light and lenses, or a bit later investigating the origins of species, or getting super into a specific aspect of the classics). The idle rich weren’t the only ones doing academia or research, but they had the time, money and resources to devote to really deep dives into things without much financial use.

So my personal take is that, given that by 1818 Jonah Magnus had the capital, the social heft and the time to found and run an independent academic institution focused on his relatively niche interests, and to do so with enough resourcing that it still runs 200 years later, the safest bet is that he was born a gentleman. At the very least, all the people he socialises with are securely upper-middle or gentry; he has a visible disdain for the poor; he owned substantial personal property by at least middle age (the Edinburgh townhouse); he had the social clout to get involved behind the scenes in a major social architecture project - it seems like the lowest this could possibly place him is mid-to-upper middle class at birth (he could have made that much money from working and lucky investments, but to get into a position where by middle age you can afford to become the Idle Rich, spending all your money and time on an obsessive personal interest, you would need to have started off with at least the capital and clout to get a high-level education and/or make significant business investments (say, buy a series of factories or build a shipping empire). You could make a case that he could work his way up from being born to a middling-middle-class family - maybe a country vicar or a shopkeeper - but friends can I show you some numbers I googled?

In the 1810s, being mid- or upper middle class (fourth or above) meant you were richer than 94.5% of the civilian population. Upper middle and above (like literally every person we know of who had social ties to Magnus except maybe the architects)? Literally top 1%. (well. 1.25%).

The middle class in Georgian Britain was the elite. They weren’t the elite of the elite, but they had money, land, property, staff, clout and privilege. You can’t project the class politics of 2021 onto 1818 (that is, in fact, why pure Marxism still requires an updated reading, bc in even the last 150 years the specific distribution and attributes of class and wealth has changed substantially (although the same people do stay at the top and bottom)). 

I think our perceptions are altered by the worries and perspectives of popular contemporary authors. For example, Austen characters often bemoan their lack of wealth, and are firmly Middle Class, and compared to the upper middle and the gentry they are living frugally and on a budget, but with “cottages” that are often six- or seven bedroom houses with several parlours and one or two servants, plus a town house, and with only one breadwinner per family and enough invested wealth to live entirely off the interest (that’s what the incomes of these characters are), they are living in a degree of wealth that would be unthinkable to 95% of their contemporaries, and it would be fair to assess them as rich by modern standards.

You can argue that Jonah Magnus wasn’t aristocracy. You cannot argue realistically that he wasn’t rich. Not only does that make no thematic or character sense (again, that’s a matter of interpretation, but it seems to me to be Pretty Key to his character that he’s an examination of inborn privilege) but it also makes no contextual historical sense.

[mellometal]

Is it time to tear ANOTHER Dhar Mann video to shreds? YOU BET.

I've been sitting on this one for a bit because I wanted to make sure I talk about this tactfully. The subject of parents abandoning their disabled children is a very touchy one.

Parents abandoning their disabled children simply for being disabled is way too common. Like, I understand that not everyone has the resources to care for a disabled child (which is why you reach out for help, and why people like me, who work with disabled people, exist), but it doesn't mean you just walk out of their life. There are exceptions, like if you truly didn't want children or something like that, but just flat-out walking out of your kid's life BECAUSE they're disabled is fucked up.

I know someone personally whose biological mother abandoned her when she was born. Why? Because she's disabled. Physically, and mentally, to a point. I work with this woman on a daily basis. I don't really know WHY exactly her biological mother abandoned her, but I do know that her being disabled was part of it. It's sad. It doesn't affect her, thankfully. I'm happy that she's got her biological dad, her brother, and another maternal figure in her life, at least.

ANYWAYS. Before we get to the topic at hand, I need to put an obligatory trigger warning, like I do with EVERY Dhar Mann post:

This post will be talking about parents abandoning their disabled children simply for being disabled, treating disabilities like they're tragedies (in this case, we're talking about autism...again), divorce, and some SPICY ableist bullshit from an allistic (nonautistic) PIECE OF SHIT.

If any of this triggers you or makes you uncomfortable in any way, you don't have to read this post. This isn't worth putting yourself in a bad state mentally. I would never ask for any of you to put yourselves in that position all for a post. Put your mental health and well-being first. Consume media that sparks joy for you.

As far as my response goes, it's definitely more calm than normal. Funny....since this video is about autism spectrum disorder again. (Third time's the charm, huh, Dhar Mann? NOT.)

LET'S FUCKING GET IT.

The video starts off with these two parents (Gwen and Allen) in a psychologist's office. The psychologist tells the parents that their son (Chance) is autistic, and she tries to explain what autism is to the parents, but Allen cuts her off. Why? Because he teaches at a prestigious university, so he AUTOMATICALLY knows what autism is from that fact alone.

Um, excuse me? Just because you're a teacher at a prestigious university, it doesn't mean you're an expert in everything. It doesn't make you an expert in ASD or anything like that. Unless you SPECIALIZE in that area. Even then, shut the fuck up. The people who know about being autistic are AUTISTIC PEOPLE THEMSELVES! SHOCKER.

Hey, Dhar Mann! QUIT WITH THE VIDEOS ABOUT AUTISTIC LITTLE WHITE BOYS AND YOUNG WHITE AUTISTIC CISHET MEN! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF IT. It's annoying, ignorant, and it feels like you're doing this on purpose at this point to piss people off. If you're so uninformed about autism in women and girls, FUCKING ASK AUTISTIC WOMEN AND GIRLS! DO BETTER RESEARCH THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE AUTISM SPEAKS. The Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary People Network (AWN) are great organizations to go to for any kind of research on ASD in women and girls. STOP GOING OFF OF THE BRAINS OF AUTISTIC WHITE BOYS AND AUTISTIC WHITE MEN.

I don't feel I need to go too deep into the fact that autistic women, autistic girls, autistic nonbinary people, autistic BIPOC, autistic AAPI, autistic LGBT people, autistic teenagers, and autistic adults exist. Y'all already know.

Gwen asks the psychologist if that means Chance isn't healthy. (I understand not knowing about autism, but don't treat it like it's a terminal illness. Please.) The psychologist tells her that Chance is fine, but he just learns differently and might need more support compared to his peers.

Yeah, autism can affect how you learn about certain things (limited and repetitive patterns), but there are other disabilities that can affect learning as well. Like how dyslexia can affect your ability to read, dyspraxia can affect your ability to do math, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect your ability to focus or on impulse control. Autism affects how your brain is developed, it affects you socially, behaviorally, and how you communicate.

Allen is upset, says that he can't have a son "with a learning disability" (ASD is a neurological disability, not necessarily a learning disability), and treats Chance like he's stupid for being autistic. Gwen tells her husband that autism doesn't make you any less intelligent, WHICH IS SO FUCKING TRUE. ABSOLUTE FACTS. I was totally with her until she began that little monologue with "Just because a person HAS autism". SAY "JUST BECAUSE A PERSON'S AUTISTIC" INSTEAD! IT'S NOT HARD. PERSON FIRST LANGUAGE ISN'T WHAT EVERY DISABLED PERSON PREFERS. Allen says that "they could have another kid" and "put Chance up for adoption". Gwen obviously wasn't down with that. Allen gives his wife an ultimatum that it's either HIM or their son Chance. Gwen says that she can't choose between the two, but she will stand by her autistic son. Allen gets up and leaves the office, saying he wants a divorce.

Years pass by, Gwen is single and taking care of her autistic son Chance, and Allen has a new life with a ✨perfect son✨ (Samuel). He never mentions the son HE abandoned (Chance). He's completely forgotten about Gwen and Chance. (YOU OWE SO MUCH CHILD SUPPORT, ALLEN.)

Hey, Allen, how much do you wanna bet that your ✨perfect son✨ Samuel is autistic too?

There's the SATs, they're announcing a winner, and guess who it is? IT'S OBVIOUSLY CHANCE, OF COURSE. He's got the highest score in the country, with Samuel in second place. Allen is PISSED.

Chance gives a speech about how his mom really helped him, he struggled with autism, how Allen LITERALLY ABANDONED HIM, and THE CROWD GOES FUCKING WILD. Samuel, instead of being a sore loser, APPLAUDS FOR CHANCE. Stay humble, Sam.

My thoughts on the video? If you cannot tell by my tone throughout this post, IT WAS DOG SHIT. This video was insensitive to the true reality of parents abandoning their disabled children just because they're disabled. What do I expect from Dhar Mann at this point?

Here's my response to his video below. Don't worry, I will fully type out my response soon for anyone who cannot read the screenshots easily. It's a lot easier for me to do that on the desktop site than it is for me to do it on my phone.

For anyone who can’t read my response, I’m typing it out for you. Like I said, it’s easier for me to type it out on the desktop site than it is for me to type it out on my phone. It’s a real royal pain in the ass. But because I’m trying to make my posts easier to read for people, I’m doing this anyway. /lighthearted

First, second, and third screenshots (broken up into paragraphs):

Hey, listen, I appreciate the message you’re trying to go for, but can you please stop putting autistic people into a box? Can you stop treating being autistic like it’s a tragedy? Not every single autistic person is a little white boy in elementary school who’s considered “wild and unruly” or “super quiet and makes no friends”, nor are they a young white cishet man who’s a super genius or is how Chris Chan was before she came out as trans. (For anyone who doesn’t know about Chris Chan, there are many documentaries people have made on YouTube, and I highly recommend Geno Samuel’s docuseries, if you’re really interested in learning about Chris Chan.)

Autistic women, girls, nonbinary people, BIPOC, APPI, LGBT people, teenagers, and adults all exist too. 

It’s very apparent now that you get your resources from Autism $peaks, a hate group that spends the vast majority of their money on funding eugenics instead of helping autistic people like they claim, claims that only little white boys and young white cishet men are autistic and ignores all other autistic people who don’t fit that description, have no autistic people on their leader board or on any board for that matter, have members who have actually fantasized about k1lling their autistic children, treat autism like it’s a tragedy or a disease someone can catch (completely false), act like autism should be cured (there is no cure, and ABA therapy is a total shit show in itself), and treats autistic people like they’re broken and need to be fixed. Also, not every autistic person is a Super Genius(tm). That’s so demeaning to autistic people who aren’t seen as intelligent in any way. I’m autistic and seen as smart; however, there are subjects I’m stronger in than others.

If you can’t handle the possibility of having autistic children, or just disabled children in general, DON’T HAVE CHILDREN. If you can’t handle working with or alongside disabled people, including autistic people, maybe find a different profession. Even if you do that, you’ll never get away from disabled people. Disabled people aren’t a disease. We’re human beings just like neurotypical and able-bodied people.

Fourth and fifth screenshots (broken up into paragraphs): 

I would highly suggest getting resources from reputable organizations for ASD, such as the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary People Network (AWN). Talk to any autistic person who isn’t a little white boy or a young white cishet man. 

Instead of using the puzzle piece, which is a symbol that many autistic people, myself included, are offended by (because of Autism $peaks and other organizations before them using it, plus it symbolizes that only autistic children exist and that we’re “missing a piece” like we’re broken), use the rainbow infinity sign (for all neurodivergent people) or the red and gold infinity sign (just for autistic people). Instead of “lighting it up blue”, light it up red or gold. Do both if you want. 

I’m actually really sick and tired of seeing just autistic little white boys and young autistic white cishet men being represented in the media, and y’all manage to fuck that up too. 

Before anyone mentions Sia’s movie “Music”, that’s also very poor representation of autistic girls. Besides, the actress who played the autistic girl isn’t even autistic. She MOCKED autistic people. I know she’s a kid, but that’s still super fucked up. I hope she’s able to turn that around. 

If anyone would like to discuss this topic with me or ask any questions, feel free to. I’ll answer as best as I can. Thank you and have a good night.

Before I get attacked for mentioning Chris Chan in my response, I bring up Chris Chan because allistic people think that every autistic person is like her (especially before she came out as trans). That person is part of why I wasn't open about being autistic or talking about my diagnosis until this year. I didn't want to be grouped up with Chris Chan because I do have very similar interests to her, I've been seen as cringey for having said interests, and just the way Chris treated autistic people who were formerly diagnosed with A$p3rg3r$ $yndr0m3 (like I was) really made me feel even more alienated.

Also, S1a supports A$ (Autism $p3aks). She's not a very good person to support. Some of her music is good, but her as a person....no. Her movie "Music" was gross, from what I've read about it and seen pictures of.

If you've read this far, thank you so much!

[stoweboyd]

Anand Giridharadas reviews Kurt Andersen's ‘Evil Genuises’

Something I meant to post in 2020. The sooner the better, I guess.

Kurt Andersen Asks: What Is the Future of America? | Anand Giridharadas reviews Kurt Andersen's Evil Genuises

Thanks to a series of secret and not-secret memos, corporate America got organized to pursue political power in a way it hadn’t before. Through policy changes like corporate and high-earner tax cuts, society was reorganized. Just as important — Andersen is very useful here — the rising capital supremacists ruled through “countless nuts-and-bolts changes so dweeby and tedious, and so often bipartisan, that they appeared inconsequential and were uncontroversial,” as well as by even stealthier “screwing-by-inaction” or “malign neglect,” changing things by letting things expire, failing to index things. Year by year, continuing into the present, through these policy changes explicit and subtle, American life was turned upside down — in a way that many people seemed not to realize. Pensions were gutted. The minimum wage was effectively slashed. Companies started spending much more money buying back their own stock than on research and development. Wall Street took over the management of companies. Antitrust enforcement largely disappeared. An app-guided, app-stiffed servant class was born.

The rich and the right correctly understood what they were seeking as a cultural project with economic benefits. They acted accordingly. In territory that has already been reported by Jane Mayer, in her must-read-if-you-care-about-your-country-even-just-a-little book “Dark Money,” they reserved a fraction of the spoils of widening economic inequality to invest in the yanking open of political inequality, so as to widen the economic inequality yet further. Obviously, this meant political giving. But it also meant funding universities, think tanks and nonprofits. It meant ensuring that cause-boosting thinkers like Charles Murray were well tended. It meant developing new academic fields like “law and economics” and new campus organizations like the Federalist Society. It meant buying up media so that the capital-supremacist viewpoint could reach ordinary people through Fox News and elites through The Wall Street Journal.

So much of this review is wonderful:

It is a radicalized moderate’s moderate case for radical change.

And then the essence of Andersen's case:

Do not despair, for the hijacking that got us here is evidence of what is possible today: “If you need proof that ideas have power and that radical change is possible, it’s there in the rearview mirror. Evil genius is genius nonetheless. In the early 1970s, at the zenith of liberal-left influence, an improbable, quixotic, out-of-power economic right — intellectuals, capitalists, politicians — launched their crusade and then kept at it tenaciously. The unthinkable became the inevitable in a single decade. They envisioned a new American trajectory, then popularized and arranged it with remarkable success.”

To turn the world from that state, the progressives will have follow the same approach, adopt the same sort of genius. Or not.

“For Americans now, will surviving a year (or more) of radical uncertainty help persuade a majority to make radical changes in our political economy to reduce their chronic economic uncertainty and insecurity?” Andersen writes. Or, he wonders, “will Americans remain hunkered forever, as confused and anxious and paralyzed as we were before 2020, descend into digital feudalism, forgo a renaissance and retreat into cocoons of comfortable cultural stasis providing the illusion that nothing much is changing or ever can change?”

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Landry should have been the one to join the diagnostics team

Long post incoming.

Remember when @playchoices made stories that actually told a story? When there was a slow build-up over the course of several chapters, drawing us in? Remember when everything happened for a reason? Remember when stories actually had a satisfying conclusion (because I don’t actually remember the last time Choices gave a book a satisfying conclusion)?

Landry joining the team would mean the drama would relate to MC and co, centring them to the story, possibly coming full circle to book 1. MC has spent this whole book like Jiminy Cricket: the conscience in someone else’s story.

Having just finished the penultimate chapter of what is likely to be the last book in the Open Heart series...all I feel is emptiness and I think it might be largely because I didn’t care about what was going on.

At the beginning of book 3 (I thought it was a strong opening chapter, but it was all downhill from there) there were a lot of points about things not being what they seem: Bloom’s unsettling attitude, all the shiny new upgrades, Binx, illusion cakes, cutting corners in research to get to the results quicker. I thought this could lead to something dramatic happening in the hospital: a collapse due to shoddy building work, or a fault in the electrics causing a fire (think the subway crash from book 1 chapter 14; dramatic but grounded). MC gets hurt and their LI goes crazy worrying about them and takes care of them for a couple of chapters (maybe the LI gets hurt as well, but I can’t stand the idea of Rafael going through the ringer for a third time) and then this leads to a court case against Bloom, he’s declared unsuitable to run a hospital or something and has to leave but court rules he has to keep funding Edenbrook or something, and then life can finally go on as normal.

Instead, we got a lot of plotlines that ended up dropping off to nothing, and a court case that appeared out of nowhere two chapters ago. Wow, PB, considering how much you’re worrying about funding, you’ve sure wasted a lot of filler on this book. You ruined Ethan for me as an LI by forcing him down my throat in book 2, and now you’ve ruined him as my MC’s mentor with book 3. And then I had to care about this court case that happened ten years prior to the start of the book? No! I still feel like I’m waiting for the main plot to get going and the book has reached it’s end! 

I don’t have high hopes for chapter 16. I don’t think I even have hopes.

Why were you so weird about locking down our LI, given that one of the MAJOR complaints throughout 2 and 3 has been the distribution of screen time? And even when we had the chance to spend time with our LI you glossed right over it: my MC and Raf were about to get it on at the end of the last chapter and they forgot about that in favour of researching Ethan’s case. Would it have killed you to put a scene in before that? Heck, you could have ended the scene with MC looking for comfort, cue a diamond scene with the LI OF OUR CHOICE.

Why did you gloss over Bryce and Jackie’s storylines? Bryce’s family could have been handled better in book 2, and book 3 we see Keiki and his mom for one chapter and Bryce is forced to forgive and that’s that. Alternatively he gets too cocky in surgery, makes a mistake, accepts the mistake and moves on. Jackie had moments in book 2 that make me think she has self-esteem issues: “Go easy on yourself, OK?” “I’ll try” and everything about her chapter 12 diamond scene, but they were never brought up. Book 3 has her thriving as chief resident but one chapter she’s ignoring Jade’s strengths and in the next she realises she’s wrong and that’s all wrapped up. Storylines are usually a little longer than two chapters.

I’d ask why you glossed over Rafael but I already know he was supposed to be dead and a lot of his scenes were just there to keep us from complaining again. I see you @playchoices

Why did you try and set up this jealousy/insecurity plot with Harper and Ethan when that was going to go nowhere except for villainising Harper?

Why was there no PTSD from last year?!?!?!

Speaking of last year, all that drama with Esme boiling down to a scene where she either says hi or gives you the cold shoulder. Somehow I knew that would happen. Her entire character deserved better.

Caroline? I feel like her illness might have been part of the rewrites resulting in a few hastily added lines to remind us that she’s allergic to Bloom.

And the book 1 hearing didn’t have an effect on anything, not even someone being slightly suspicious of MC, and as far as we know Landry got away with all the shit he did. In hindsight, I shouldn’t be surprised that nothing else had consequences.

On the lighter side, the best parts of chapter 15 were Rafael reminding MC of how much he cares, and the chinchilla sensing when MC was upset and nuzzling their cheek. I would die for Spooky.

But I’m tired. I’m so very tired. I can’t even gather up enthusiasm for LoA or AVSP. I don’t want to spend diamonds on them, because LoA might not go anywhere, and AVSP is a one-shot. You have recently developed a pattern of badly-written, disappointing books, and now you’ve destroyed what could have been your crowning glory.

Damn, I thought I’d be angry writing this post but I don’t have the energy for that. Ah well, anything I forgot to say I can save for the finale I guess. In the meantime, I’m off to eat pizza, watch Friday Night Dinner, and write fanfiction to fill the gaping holes you have left in your story.

@playchoices I get that you can’t tell us everything. But you have GOT to do something soon or you will have no fan base left, and you’ll only have yourselves to blame.

[wxlfbites]

The Church of Satan

I can only imagine the amount of criticism and hate I'm going to get for this, so I just want to preface this post by saying that in 2015 I considered myself a LaVeyan Satanist for a while. I was a teenager and felt like what I was reading was exactly how I felt, it gave me a sense of justification for the views I had. I am not just some random, misinformed individual who only read anti-satanism propaganda. In fact, I've still actually never read anti-satanism propaganda. My opinions have been formed based exclusively on what I've read on the Church of Satan's own website. These are of course, my own opinions and people are allowed to disagree... I just think it might be something to think about if you're considering becoming a satanist.

THIS WILL BE AN EXTREMELY LONG POST

Firstly, I'm addressing the membership the Church of Satan is now implementing. ~ While the Church of Satan says that you do not need to become a member in order to consider yourself a satanist, it is clear that they encourage you to do so. It has registration and payment based memberships that allow you access to confidential information, rituals, and online chat groups you are otherwise not entitled to. Their website claims these memberships have always been in place, but I do not remember any such kind in 2015. ~ It is their policy that affiliated members are discouraged from exchanging member-exclusive information with non-members. They also express that if you are a non-member of the church, you should not expect members to keep up extended exchanges or promotion of your wares. Further, your membership is subject to rejection and retraction at their discretion and they openly state that when you apply for a membership, they gather information on you to ensure you are someone safe and trustworthy to allow in. ~ Whether or not it is intentional, they use guilt tactics in order to persuade people into becoming members. To quote some of these phrases on their own website: "Those who proudly carry our red cards identifying themselves as members have the strength and dedication to implement the tools traditionally associated with Satan". "Look to your other possessions and expenses (most people spend far more than this on general entertainment) and we’re certain you can do this if it means something to you to become a member." "We’ve discovered that most individuals can muster these funds if membership is something they truly desire." ~ They describe your membership card as a key that you must show and scan to other members to prove your affiliation. They make a few references to the underground secrecy that members may or may not choose to maintain, and so to protect their identities as members, these... calling cards if you will.. are used to discretely confirm ones membership in the Church. ~ They do not tell you where the money for your registration fee goes. In fact, they say: "That is up to the administration. It will be applied to whatever is most required at the time it is received. If you feel the need to know in more detail, then don’t join." Implying you don't have the right to know exactly where your money goes? ~ Their membership application includes inappropriate questions that no organization, religious or otherwise, should ever ask. These include: " Are you satisfied with your sex life? Describe your ideal of a physically attractive sex partner." "How many years would you like to live?" "In what organizations do you hold membership?" "Are you a smoker? If so, to what extent." "Do you drink alcoholic beverages? If so, to what extent? State preferences." " Secondly, how does satanism compare themselves to other religions and philosophies? ~ The Church of Satan declares themselves to be "a formidable threat to those who would halt progress in the name of spirituality and theism of any sort." "We are a group of dynamic individuals who stand forth as the ultimate underground alternative, the “Alien Elite.” ~ They state things like "Our members and officials will not serve as teachers nor as entertainers—we have neither the time nor the inclination.", "It is our policy not to spoon-feed information to students who are too lazy to do research." and "Your schedule is of no importance to us." so it's no surprise that the satanic texts they do not provide in full on their website, including the Satanic Bible, - which is there main text and one they highly encourage you to read - cost money. ~ They believe themselves to be the only form of satanism, stating: "People who believe in some Devilish supernatural being and worship him are Devil-worshippers, not Satanists.", "Anton LaVey was the first to define Satanism as a philosophy, and it is an atheist perspective." and “Theistic Satanism” is an oxymoronic term and thus absurd." ~ Statements like: "we stand in opposition to theist religions and their

inherent hypocrisy.", [regarding the word Shemhamforash] - "So, Satanists use it for traditional blasphemy’s sake.", [regarding someones question about their experiences with demons] - "Satanists do not believe in demons or other supernatural beings, nor do we believe in spells. Seek help from local mental health professionals to assist you to get over these delusions.", "We Satanists are all anthropologists to some degree and can find that not upsetting people who think in such simplistic and erroneous terms of “belief equals goodness and truthfulness” might be worthwhile to smooth the proceedings in which one is involved. Trying to teach them that they are mistaken in such a belief may not be worth one’s efforts." are pretty much self explanatory as to the lack of consideration satanism has for other religions as being true for others.

~ This statement: "Knowing this, if you choose to affiliate with any pseudo-Satanic or anti-Satanic groups, you may well find yourself disaffiliated from the Church of Satan. Forewarned is forearmed." might sound harmless at first glance, but this kind of reminds me of an isolation tactic where cults discourage their followers to read or engage with opposing or differing opinions because it might open their eyes to the truth of things?

Finally, here are some statements that I personally don't find are morally or ethically okay?

~ In terms of kids worrying about their parents approval the Church says: "Satanism teaches that, so long as you live with your parents, you are in “their lair” and must show them respect". Which... is literally the same shit abuse victims hear all the time..... (example "you live in their house, they're your parents and you should love and respect them no matter what")...

~ "There can be no more myth of “equality” for all—it only translates to “mediocrity” and supports the weak at the expense of the strong." is a statement I just .... wish I were making up at this point.

~"The emotional drive to “change the world” is a common stage of early adult development typically beginning around age 16 and lasting until around age 24. Usually, individuals who become aware as to how the world actually functions—rather than being lost in a fantasy wherein they will be some sort of savior figure—come to realize that idealism (such as changing the world) is less important than the principle of getting what you want for yourself.",

Also! Um.. they are fully aware and okay with people who uphold discriminatory political views....

To quote their website regarding politics: "Our members span an amazing political spectrum, which includes but is not limited to: Libertarians, Liberals, Conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, Reform Party members, Independents, Capitalists, Socialists, Communists, Stalinists, Leninists, Trotskyites, Maoists, Zionists, Monarchists, Fascists, Anarchists, and just about anything else you could possibly imagine."

And to justify this, they say: "Members who demand conformity from other members to their particular political fetish are welcomed to depart.”, "For a Satanist to expect, much less demand, consensus on any given issue, beyond basic advocacy of individual liberty within local laws, is an enterprise which is probably as masochistic as it is insane.", "Some naïve idealists seem to think that the Church of Satan as an organization risks irrelevancy if it does not become an advocate of certain political positions—usually their own pet issues which are assumed “must” be shared by other Satanists. This fear is based upon the assumption that the Church of Satan needs to change the world or risk “fading into obscurity.”

Again, all of this information comes directly from the Church of Satan website itself. It it not "propaganda". It comes from their own mouths. You're free to disagree with my interpretation and views of the above. But if you do agree, I'd love to know.

The things above make me uneasy. They give me huge cult vibes and are actually disappointing to read as someone who once considered themselves a satanist. As an omnistic pagan now, I do believe that all religions hold truths within them and can say that there are certain things within satanism I do agree with. But overall, I feel like calling satanism a religion is a stretch and should be joined with caution if it's something you are really interested in. I am only one person, I can't tell anyone what to do. But if you were considering becoming a satanist but hold values and views that the things in this post opposed or were opposite to, then maybe satanism isn't right for you. It's definitely not right for me.

I hope this post was educational at the very least. I hope that it might help people make a decision either way if they were interested in joining the Church.

[anastkantdhangar]

How And What India Has Been Coping With During The Deadly Covid Second Wave

Last rites being performed by a family, like many, at the Seemapuri Crematorium Center in Delhi

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has been nothing less than that of one wreaking havoc and chaos for India - social media full of SOS messages asking for hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, medicines; crematorium centers had never witnessed such large amount of deceased being cremated, crematorium centers even had to be expanded with increased number of pyre-platforms at various parts of the country, and now the abandoned lifeless being found in rivers - simply nothing less than a catastrophe.

Heartbreaking visuals of people gasping for breath, lined outside hospitals unable to find beds, heavy shortage of important medicines like Remedesivir, lifeless bodies waiting for multiple hours at the crematorium centers for their turn to be cremated - this surely has been one of the worst health crisis India has ever seen. Exhausted frontline workers and workers at crematorium centers say they have never seen such huge crisis before. Woods have come to be short in numbers to cremate the dead. How have the authorities dealt with this?

There’s possibly not a single person in India who has not lost at least one of their relative, friend or a known one in last two months.

The centre alone did not fall well short and caught ill-prepared, states are equal culprits in their jurisdiction.

India has been under criticism by global media continuously for under-reporting of numbers of the deceased, and its lack of testing, with many reports from journalists on ground suggesting that the actual numbers of those deceased is actually at least 10-15 times more than the official numbers. A report showed that as the official data shows that in the capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, had seen only around 1,000 deaths due to covid since the pandemic began last year, whereas the data kept at crematorium centers shows that around 3,700 funerals have been done according to covid protocols in the city in the month of April alone in 2021. Such is the scale of under reporting of numbers in the official data, be it Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and a majority of the Indian states.

From VIP treatments to the well-off even during these hard times, a classic case of Delhi government’s attempt to book Ashoka Hotel for safety measures for Delhi HC Judges with no inputs from the latter raising many eyebrows recently, states too have had their own bit of criticisms of handling of things during the pandemic.

When urban parts, despite having all the infrastructure and facilities, have seen such destruction, things in rural India have slowly started to catch headlines. With lack of information amongst the people about the virus and vaccines, multiple people in villages have been dying everyday lately complaining of fever, fatigue and shortness of breath, with no oxygen and testing facilities in most of the rural parts of the country despite being 15 months into the pandemic. How cruel things could unleash in the rural areas is a dangerous thought having seen the recent peak in urban ones.

Almost all of the country have been either in a lockdown or strict curfew with almost all states imposing the same, and this has shown some positive results in the last week with positivity rate coming down in various urban areas. The issue of oxygen crisis, after weeks long deliberation by the Supreme Court and various High Courts, have been dealt with to an extent in some manner only after the apex court made a separate National Oxygen Monitoring body.

The true figures lay not in the official data, but the crematorium centers of this country.

People waiting in queues at vaccination centers to get their jabs

Vaccination drive in many states have come to a halt owing to shortage of vaccines, with even those who are due for their second doses having difficulties finding a slot in many parts of the country. When the second wave started to wreak havoc, the widely demanded move by the opposition to open the vaccination drive for not only 45+ but for all adults was being considered by the government and given a nod, only to open big loopholes in the world’s largest vaccination drive, with one being heavy shortage of jabs.

The gap between the two doses of Covishield vaccine has been increased to 12-16 weeks on the basis of scientific data to show for it, surely there must be data now to show for it, but if this is so, then why the same expert’s panel earlier in February 2021 had advised states that the second dose of covishield should not be administered after 8 weeks in any case as it may not work then, and why Union I&B Minister also tweeted this very advisory on the same day? We cannot possibly answer this question just like we cannot estimate that actually how many people have died due to covid in this country. But for the record, The Lancet and WHO have themselves clarified way before that the gap between two doses for AstraZeneca vaccine, or Covishield should be 12-16 weeks; The UK follows 12 weeks gap and Canada follows 16 weeks gap, and India will follow the same to tackle the heavy shortage of jabs. The gap between two doses of Covaxin, on the other hand, stands the same as before.

When The USA and the European Union gave vaccination orders of millions of dollars last year, India did not order a single jab. Should not have we placed such orders last year itself? Did or did not the experts gave this input at that time? Have we even been doing it till as late as earlier this month? If not, then this itself is a much larger issue, but there's no transparency. State governments have been left with no other alternative than to issue global tenders to buy vaccines, which actually the centre should do in the global market, and as a result, not India, but its states are competing each other in the global market to purchase vaccines. Starting with Uttar Pradesh, then Maharashtra, followed by Orissa, Delhi and Karnataka have issued global tenders already to purchase vaccines.

Not a single Indian media outlet is now projecting Atmanirbhar slogans anymore, which was literally served by the same media to its viewers for months, confining them in a whole different world altogether. And it's only a matter of time that a new slogan arrives, and literally the same channels project it again for months, confining its viewers to another new world altogether, yet again.

Surely, superpower India of 2021 would not have wanted itself to be projected in such a manner in the foreign media. The majority of domestic mainstream media would not show you this, and would continuously keep you distracted with bogus narratives and side of things, killing your ability to question the status quo and to sustain a healthy democratic India.

Indian media back in January widely publicised about the ‘World’s Largest Vaccination Drive’, which holds true given our population, but no questions were asked about procurement of vaccines. Frontline covid workers were the first priority to be vaccinated, rightfully, and plan was to vaccinate 30 crore frontline workers inside 3-4 months in first phase of vaccination drive; and 5 months into the drive not even all of the frontline workers could be vaccinated. By numbers, India is amongst fastest vaccinating countries, but when it comes to ratio of its population, it fares poorly with not even 3% people been fully vaccinated yet. It is important to look into the matter and understand how much India has spent on research and production of vaccines.

A report from The Guardian, issued on 2nd April, 2021, claimed that as the US and European Union nations have been spending billions of dollars as aids for companies for research, development and production of vaccines, there is no concrete evidence of India spending on research and production of vaccines. Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, India was the largest vaccine producer in the world, but when the pandemic struck, soon the US and China surpassed India as largest vaccine manufacturers. Indian media had to go from taking pride in largest vaccination drive to reporting of mass shutting down of vaccinating centers owing to lack of jabs, such has been the vast hallucination we have been served for some years now. Owing to this very pride of Indian media, which not only confuses its people between Indian companies and the Indian government, it also reminds its people everyday that their very ability to question to sustain the world’s largest democracy is being massacred everyday.

After this report from The Guardian on 2nd April, 2021, the Indian government submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court on 11th May, 2021 in which the government has clearly and specifically stated that the Indian government has not issued any grant or aid to the Serum Institute of India or Bharat Biotech, which implies no funds on research or development even for domestically developed Covaxin. Only 46 crores were funded to Bharat Biotech for clinical trials of Covaxin, that too by ICMR. Which means Indian media has been taking pride in vaccines made by AstraZeneca and a domestic company Bharat Biotech, and did not question for even once that why we have not been helping at least domestic companies for vaccine research.

If the affidavit submitted in Supreme Court by the government stands firm on authentic data and information, then what about the announcement made on 13th May, 2020 about 100 crores being allotted as aids for domestic candidates developing vaccines? Around same time last year, the US was investing 15 million dollars in various vaccine developing candidates, and was advancing vaccine orders worth 300 million dollars even before vaccines were developed. On 12th December, 2020, Union Finance Minister announced 900 crores aid for vaccine production, but the affidavit submitted by the government itself in SC claims no such grants were ever made. 20th April, 2021, news came in that Finance Ministry is advancing loans worth 3,000 crores to SII and 1,500 crores to Bharat Biotech for vaccine production, the affidavit holds advancement of these loans valid, though the money is yet to reach the companies. Adar Poonawalla of SII said last month while talking to a media outlet that he has been expecting these loans on the basis of media reports, thus he too believes in the Indian media, and on the same expectations his company has taken heavy loans from banks to continue vaccine production of Covishield. By the way Adar Poonawalla has field away from the country citing pressure from "influential" people and has been shying away from answering to what might have led to such huge covid surge in India during its second wave.

Thus, there was no Indian penny involved thus far in the production of vaccines by both these companies according to the Indian government.

With how we have been coping with the pandemic, various experts have been giving their ideas and views to deal with issues, and “revolutions” in Indian healthcare system are urgently required in post covid-era.

When the UK and many members of the European Union were witnessing devastating second wave earlier this year, Union Ministers in India were claiming that India has defeated covid and that India is in the ‘endgame’ of the pandemic, in fact the numbers were actually very low during the same period, and India was starting to return to normal just when the second wave started to unleash around mid-March, exposing lack of plans to tackle a potential second wave. Lack of preparedness on health infrastructure was visibly evident, when every political party was busy campaigning in states assembly elections and large crowd gatherings were seen at Kumbh. Could not these two super spreader events have been avoided temporarily to control covid surge, just like Nizamuddin Markaz could have been avoided last year, which again acted like a spreader event in the last wave, and was presented as such a heated topic by the Indian media for months last year?

In order to cope with heavy shortage of jabs, many health experts have been demanding government intervention in expanding vaccine production by involving other vaccine manufacturers as well by providing them vaccine formula and advancing tenders for vaccine production, for which steps are being taken only in this last week. The pace of the vaccination process also has been under heavy criticism as to why door to door vaccination proposals by several states has been turned down by the centre citing the latter has no such policy, given that polio vaccination process was a great success with minimum volunteers.

If both, SII and Bharat Biotech, are providing vaccines to the centre, states and private hospitals at different prices, with lowest price being for the centre and highest for private hospitals, could not the centre itself buy vaccines and provide them to state itself given that if states buy them on their own then they will have to pay double the price compared to the centre. 

The money of 22,000 crore rupees Central Vista project, if used to buy covid jabs, would buy a whopping 146.66 crore jabs, potentially enough to fully vaccinate around 70-72 crore Indian citizens, which again is potentially enough to create herd immunity throughout the country, just a mere statistic based on facts.

It is important to keep current feedbacks in mind in order for the work to be done. No person in this country would have ever thought that private hospitals one day would run out of their capabilities to treat them, and potentially exposing that bulk of them are mere money making firms. It is high time India start to spend more on its healthcare and education, and the possibility of government taking complete control of healthcare and education, like successful western countries, should not be ruled out even after it being a slow process to come true.

Recent lockdowns and curfews by states have shown a dip in covid numbers and positivity rate, oxygen crisis seem to be in some control in the recent week, and vaccine production is being increased after government stepped in. Surely next few weeks are very critical to control the new surge of B.1.617 Indian mutant strain, with people hoping that they will overcome this health crisis soon.

But history will remember that India’s numbers ascribed not in the official data, but at the crematorium centers.

[uzaylibirbeg]

Should I License My Idea?

Is It A Invention?

First things first. You can not patent an idea just because you think you are the very first individual to find up with it. A license is there to shield an 'invention', not merely an idea. When you apply for a patent what you are doing is defining, via text as well as drawings, how your development functions. In return for this public release of your creation, if it is new the state will provide you unique rights to it for 20 years. For that reason to be able to patent your idea, its core idea needs to be explainable in straightforward as well as straight terms

The various other factors you can't just patent an idea is that it needs to include a unique and also inventive action. A really simple description of this 'obviousness' test is as adheres to Would certainly a hypothetical proficient person, that understands whatever but does not have the slightest spark of innovative resourcefulness, come up with the very same idea if they recognized all the previous art (all previous ideas), yet had not read your license application? If the response is of course after that your idea is not an innovation, it is just the rational application of existing day expertise to brand-new trouble as well as consequently you can not patent it.

, consequently, getting here at something falling within the terms of the insurance claims, and hence accomplishing what the innovation accomplishes? It's the "would certainly, not simply might" that is the all-important meaning below.

The US is a bit various from Europe and also this originality action is consistently not correctly evaluated or used, bring about lots of many licenses being approved in the United States that is an extremely apparent logical application of existing ideas. Numerous companies have spent huge sums of money attempting to rescind such licenses but although a given US patent can be rescinded one rarely is. In many means, the United States license system is more akin to what lots of people assume about patents over below, if your the initial individual ahead up with an idea after that you can patent it. The noticeable disadvantage is that numerous poor patents have actually been unjustly approved and also have unfairly blocked several others from being able to create products that must never have been shielded by patents, to begin with.

Industrial Worth

If you've reached here then ideally you have a development that might be patentable. The following tests are typically completely overlooked at the outset however are also actually important. The initial as well as essential is what will an effective granting of a license do for you? Patents cost cash. Certain you can browse and file yourself but its unbelievably time-consuming and like all things lawful generating an expert, in the form of a patent lawyer, it is usually a much better course. Executing the searches as well as submitting your license application through a lawyer will cost a few thousand pounds. You then have a reasonably brief duration before you have to determine if you are posting likely to file the license in other countries throughout the world, which costs even more money, and also if you are submitting in lots of nations the translations can become pricey. When you have got your license you after that have ongoing costs annually to patent offices to maintain the patent active. So whatever it is your aiming to patent has reached be worth this from an industrial organization point of view (if you are put off by the idea of having to invest numerous thousand extra pounds with a licensed lawyer is what you're doing worth patenting at all?).

Many individuals, as well as firms, file for licenses to get the IP to make sure that they can then attract investors to help them take their development onward. If you've viewed a couple of episodes of Dragon's Den on the TELEVISION then it must have become very obvious that capitalists do not take wild risks and also if you desire a person to buy your firm or idea they require to feel protected in doing this. If you have a patent for a terrific idea that can be commercialized it will frequently offer specifically this protection for a financier so you are a stage closer to obtaining them to get rid of that all-important money (you'll most likely have likewise observed that although financiers are occasionally not extremely nice individuals they tend to just intend to collaborate with wonderful individuals!).

An additional misconception is that as soon as you have a license no-one else can replicate your idea. Well although legitimately they can't, the State won't quit them. If somebody infringes on your license it is down to you to stop them, typically by spending large sums of cash with attorneys and utilizing the courts. If the infringer is a huge company, or several firms infringe on your license you need to be able to fund the legal action. If your invention is business enough then these lawful actions will certainly not be a problem as you'll locate the cash, win the case, and also ultimately obtain a lot of it back. If your combating a huge company that has a whole lot of money to string out your legal activity for a lengthy time is it worth it? Is the idea your wanting to patent commercial sufficient to warrant all this.

There are lots of smaller sized companies out there that view patenting as a wild-goose chase and cash and also favor to guide their resources, interest, as well as cash at being the initial to market as well as initial to introduce. Should you be among them rather than spending what could be a lot of your money and time safeguarding your idea?

You might be aiming to patent your development after that accredit it to one more business to generate. For one year from filing your license, you have global patent security as well as you intend to make use of the initial 10 months of this to make certain your idea can be commercialized before needing to choose which other countries to additionally apply in and also providing your attorney a month or more to carry out the needed job. You need to relocate bloody fast! If you are coming close to huge companies they will typically take a couple of months to return to you before you can even reveal them the development as well as begin arrangements. If you're doing this 6 - 8 months in its too late as they recognize you have no time as well as will commonly play for time to require you right into a negative service setting, or just in the hope, you will not finish the license when the year is up. Whilst you can't tell any individual regarding your creation before you file your license application you can get around this by asking business (such as us) to sign nondisclosure agreements as well as begin work with the advancement of your product beforehand so you struck the ground running the moment the application is submitted.

If the above hasn't put you off then possibly you do have that evasive great idea. Schedule a consultation with a licensed lawyer (any kind of good attorney should give you the initial visit completely free) as well as get breaking! For more information, there are numerous wonderful web resources on filing for licenses which we won't attempt and re-create here.

A couple of license assistance tips

When researching a development you'll commonly require to check out existing license applications to ensure your idea is new. Patents can be lots of pages long and also worded, yet generally, it is only the very first primary insurance claim in a patent that is seriously crucial. The rest will simply be lesser claims the patent can fall back to must the greater cases ever before be rescinded or turned down by the patent supervisor.

Where there could be obscurity in an insurance claim the patent description can influence the cases and may, consequently, have been purposely written, therefore, so browse the summary to see if it tries to provide this.

Patent claims are not unique. Even if an insurance claim describes one way of doing something doesn't suggest that it could not be done differently.

Patents include a detailed description which is normally planned to explain/ directions of how the invention could be made use of. Keep in mind that this only demands to cover one details use the invention as well as does not exclude the cases being made use of in other means.

Cases generally associate with a Device (equipment designed or set up for a particular objective) or a Technique (a method of doing something), as well as commonly patents consist of both with the purpose that the method claims can be fallen back on needs to the device declares be turned down.

Interestingly among the aims of licenses is to promote invention and also innovation. Whilst blocking other firms from copying ideas might seem to do the precise reverse, the all-natural response when confronted with a patent it to try and work around it. We have dealt with several companies and done exactly this, having been informed with a product they intend to create and the existing patent appearing to obstruct it. There is usually a means around a license but the aim is to try and do it in such a way that leaves you with a business product which still serves its objective in a budget-friendly way (excellent patents obstruct this by safeguarding versus all the affordable methods of accomplishing the very same thing).

Filing a license application does not indicate that any type of browsing will certainly be done. It will certainly after that be analyzed in detail by a licensed supervisor however even if the patent is awarded it can be overturned at any kind of time if prior art can be verified. Also after that bear in mind that searches are not necessarily as skilled as you may anticipate and patent office searches will not necessarily browse anything other than previously released license applications and also filings.

There is no point in giving the licensed lawyer too much information. They need to compose the license from their knowledge and also experience, not from your bad effort. Below's what need to be ideally given:-.

* Drawings and descriptions of the illustrations to get the idea throughout.

* The benefits of the innovation.

* Alterations that are feasible to the development.

* Crucial points and optional factors.

* Don't consist of loads of existing patents - they'll only need to review them which will, therefore, set you back even more. 1 or 2 may be useful though.

Related Posts:

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/249715/20200518/how-inventhelp-gets-new-inventors-onto-the-right-path.htm

https://midhudsonnews.com/2020/05/10/how-does-inventhelp-support-new-inventors/

https://kulturehub.com/inventhelp-support-inventors/

[infinites-chaser]

watch the universe expand | mlqc | lucien/mc | a character study disguised as fic

spoilers for ch.13 and random stuff from following chapters

warning for non-graphic discussion of violence and some themes that may be disturbing/triggering re:human experimentation

The call comes as it always does, not quite like  clockwork, in the small hours of the night, when he imagines the stars  have reached their zenith in the sky, done with their rise, ready for  their coming fall.

"Lucien?"

"What is it? Can't sleep?"

"Can you tell me a story?"

The call comes as it always does, not quite like clockwork, in the small hours of the night, when he imagines the stars have reached their zenith in the sky, done with their rise, ready for their coming fall.

"Lucien?"

He chuckles, colors only she can bring out of him warming his tone.

(He thinks her voice at this time of night is what violet would look like, at least as the poets describe it, a light in the dark, the first soft edge of dawn as night gives way to day.)

"What is it? Can't sleep?"

(He wonders sometimes what color his voice is to her. Black, perhaps. Possibly grey.

He can't imagine his voice having any real color, not even to her.

He'd be surprised at the truth. To her, he's more than color, he's light.)

"Lucien?" she repeats instead of a straight answer. "Can you tell me a story?"

It's a routine they've fallen into ever since the first unfinished  one, what he'd told her about the artist and the butterfly that felt too  true to be called a bedtime story but he'd been loath to admit to  himself that it was more.

Every sleepless night, she asks for another story and manages to fall asleep before the finish.

Every night they spend on opposite sides of a shared wall, he  questions a little more of his soul, the feelings that lie within, and  finds he doesn't have any answers.

Perhaps he doesn't want to find them.

Eventually her reactions— quiet oohs and ahhs and gasps and the occasional question— always fade into nothing but quiet,  even breathing, and it's like he's been let off the hook but he never  hangs up, or at least, not for a long moment more.

"Lucien," she'd mumbled once, when the first rays of light had just cleared the horizon. "Is the story over?"

Somewhere between exams and sips of white tea, lulled into a  temporary peace by the gentle rhythm to her breaths, he'd nearly  forgotten she'd been on the line.

Still, he'd managed to keep the surprise from his reply.

"You just missed the ending."

There'd been a long silence, nearly long enough that he'd thought she'd fallen asleep again, and he could hang up, off the hook, but—

"Was it a happy ending? It's okay if I missed it, just as long as it was happy."

"...It was."

She'd made a noise of satisfied incoherence in response, and he'd  taken the opportunity to wish her a good morning, prescribe her a few  hours more of sleep, apologize, then hang up.

(He still wonders about that fuzzy morning, that long night.

If she would've questioned him more if she weren't so tired. About the story’s ending. About the length of the call.

If he would've answered. If he would've lied.)

"A story?" He repeats now, settling in the corner of his living room he knows will be closest to her.

Scientifically, he knows it isn't possible, humans simply don't have the body temperature— but he fancies he can feel her warmth, even through the wall.

Perhaps it's a trait of the Queen's gene, previously unexplored. And, well, he wouldn't be opposed to testing that hypothesis, but we digress.

It's clear as day, or, at least, as clear as a monochrome day can ever be: there's something more.

Something that catches on a corner of his heart when she makes a quiet 'un' of assent and clears her throat, the sound, tinny as it is through the  phone speaker, vivid enough for him to picture. Her hand pressed to her  mouth. Her smile, after. The crescent moons of her eyes.

"Not any story, though. Tell me about Evol again?"

Then, at his silence: "Please?"

(Irrational thoughts rise, unbidden. He'd do anything for that word from her lips. Fight an army. Raze a city.

He'd live by it,

die by it,

and at the end of the day, he still wouldn't deserve it.)

"What do you want to know?" He asks, but to his ears, it sounds like I'd tell you anything.

She hums in thought, a butterfly floating light in the breeze.

"Why do people have the Evol they have? I don't want the science, not really."

Her voice trails off, comes back stronger,

"I want your honest opinion, Lucien. Tell me why?"

and it sounds less like a question, but not quite yet a command.

He chuckles, then obliges.

Time crawls by, soft and slow, a steady seamstress stitching together  unexpected, lingering thoughts. At his words, quiet intense musings  picking at open seams and pulling at loose threads, the universe between them unspools.

Why do people have particular Evols? To answer that question, we have to first understand why people have any form of differing traits.

Biology says, at first glance, chance. A freak gene mutation on a  chromosome of interest: deep within relevant coils of DNA, an A-T  pairing shifts to an A-G. Maybe it’s deleted altogether.

('That's not very romantic,' she comments with a barely stifled yawn.

He chuckles, soft, indulgent.

'You're right. I'm sorry. You did ask for a story, after all.'

He continues.)

But. That’s not all, not when evolution’s taken into account. The  idea of natural selection has been radically transformed by its  representation in popular media to be some strange justification for the  hierarchy of society (in a quite underhanded fashion, he thinks,  keeping the poor down and beaten as if it were their natural place,  allowing the rich to get only richer as if nature and not trust funds  had secured their positions on the top of the pyramid of life. Only life  isn’t a pyramid. Not a tree, either. Not quite. More like a story,  perhaps. But he digresses.) In reality, in biology and in nature, it's  much less simple.

The theory of natural selection, at its most bare bones, is, yes, survival of the fittest. Just that ‘fittest’ doesn’t mean strongest, most cruel or most cunning, doesn’t even mean  kindest or most caring. It means nothing, really, outside of context.

Very biologically speaking, ‘fittest’ implies the organism  reproduces with the most success when compared to others in its given  environment. Traits caused by random mutations that help an organism  survive in a particular environment long enough for it to have offspring  are passed on. And if the environment stays the same, the same traits  will be favored and passed on, over and over again across and through  generations, coming to define a species and the role that species plays in the world.

Clearly, it doesn’t mean much in that sense for humans anymore. What is our ‘fit’? Perhaps we've broken free of the chain of evolution, and now lounge atop the dogpile, above the fray. Triumphant. Stagnant.

Because even though maybe we've been running as fast as we can,  evolution's never more than one step behind. What's a generation of  progress in a millennium? No more than the barest breath caught in the  endless march of time.

No, evolution still very much has us in its clutches and these days,  he wonders what it would take for humanity to realize it, as complacent  as we are— there are certain traits favored, personality and looks, but  beyond that, beyond the biology, even, isn't there more? Something we  want most in the world we live in, our given environment. What a person needs  most, forever strives for, what'll allow them to flourish in their  environment enough to have a legacy and know some part of them continues  to live on.

To meet that need would be to finally surpass evolution, unlock a new  humanity, create a new world. The Red Queen, running rampant, running  free.

(But first, Evol. The key.)

There are three theories on the nature of Evol. This is the first.

The Theory of Superhumans had been put forward by a scientist over a  century ago, through a series of research studies, his articles full of academic terms like intensive accelerated artificial selection, induced heritable genetic variation, changes in gene expression in an adverse environment, followed by the thesis, spelt out in plain words: under the right conditions, a human can develop superhuman abilities.

It had been heralded as a theory for the ages, for the books, sure to  stay with and shape the course of humanity's advancement for centuries to come— only, we know the rest.

Each term, carefully clinical, couched the horror of the truth: the  scientist, name now scrubbed from history, willfully lost in time, had  thought to try to create superhumans— the Evolved, he'd dubbed them— by  gathering unsuspecting participants, then putting them through several  trials meant to push the limits of humankind, to unlock some secret  extra ability, to finish our ode to survival of the fittest, its beginnings scrawled in the letters of our genes.

'The right conditions' had meant mortal peril. The trials had been worse than torture. Almost all the participants had died.

The surviving four (out of over nine hundred, making the success rate  of the experiment less than half of a tenth of a percent) had been sworn to secrecy while the scientist (the madman) had been  sentenced to an execution, his underlings thrown in jail, his research condemned, labelled a crime against humanity and a failure, his papers all burned.

Only, if the research had been a failure, one might wonder, why the burning of the papers? A message? Don't try this again. It was a failure. Why, then the secrecy?

The rumors, the whispers, the festering that spreads under the bandage of a wound left otherwise untreated—the experiment hadn't been a failure, it was a success.

(And maybe a young woman who survived put her hand up to the sky and  let it fade. Maybe a young man who survived let his emotions spill out  and take physical form.  Maybe one of the survivors had placed a hand on  a lost love's chest and willed their heart alive again. But they all  kept their silence, true to their vows.)

His voice trails off. Some part of him wonders if he's bored her, the rest concerned with if he's said too much.

Words he's said to her come to mind now, flashing bright and blinding in the darkest hours of the night.

'Trust your instincts.’  

‘Don’t you ever think maybe I’m the danger?’  

‘Run away while you still can.’  

He can't think of a time where they all apply as fittingly as now.

Perhaps, from afar, they'd seemed like fireworks, dark, mysterious,  alluring in a world with no other light. But this close, they're a  warning, perhaps even a lure— he's tempting her to come closer despite  the danger, he the ravenous firefly cloaked in a bright, warm glow.

Surely she can see the truth of him, as close to him as she is.  Surely, and yet, she stays, takes another step closer.

"You said there were three theories," she says, still awake, still listening. Still seeking out more. "What's the next?"

"I've told you this one before," he replies, and he means to meet  her, to challenge her to press up against the other side of their wall.  "Do you remember?'

There are three theories on the nature of Evol. This is the next. (familiar ground)

(Once, humanity built a tower and would've reached the heavens—

Once, Icarus flew too close to the sun—  

It fell. He fell.

The world goes on.)

Twenty-five years ago, a British PhD student found a book. (Let's call it The Black Swan.)

He read it cover-to-cover, then read it twice. Three times. A fourth.  Again and again, until the book's story, half legend, half truth, took seed in his mind, where it grew anew.

Twenty-four years ago, he tracked down the experiment's remaining  survivor, the woman who could bend light and shadow and fade into the  palest streaks of day.

('Have you come to kill me?' She asked, wry smile  twisting over her age-lined face. She saw his lab coat, his notes, his  eager, hungry smile. She knew them all.

He opened his mouth. She stopped him.

'Apologies. I misspoke. You came here to learn.'

He nodded, too-quickly, still eager. Still young.

'For science,' he said, the same tired argument, old words, old justifications and cover-ups reflected in new eyes. She shook her head.

'Don't say that,' she said, weary amusement lighting her distant gaze. 'It's for humanity. For a new world.'

She held out her hand. He took it.

No one ever saw her again.)

Twenty-two years ago, a hypothesis, not quite yet a theory, was formed. In it, the newly minted scientist put forth a potential genetic  basis for superpowers in humans: one gene with the power to transcend human ability, once activated and expressed. The gene was Evol, the individuals possessing it Evolvers.

In his notes he attributed the name Evolver to the term Evolved used in a decades-old unpublished paper— a single pile of ashes left of rumors and whispers and burned research papers, given new life, reformed.

(The reality is this: the woman and her body on the verge of vanishing on her deathbed, her wrinkled hands thin, wan, shades of grey, beckoning the watching scientist over.

'Let me tell you a story,' she'd said, her voice carrying and strong. 'Once Icarus flew too close to the sun. He fell. But what don't we remember? Daedalus— he flew.'

'Is this another one of your lessons?' The scientist had asked and he was still every inch as greedy, but he'd lost his eager tone. 'I assume I'm Icarus, aren't I, experimenting on and dissecting Evolvers, flying too close to God, growing too arrogant for the unforgiving sun?'

'No.' she'd said. 'Listen.'

But he didn't.

He heard only half a story. But now, the rest of the tale. The truth.

'Let me tell you about Daedalus. Let me tell you about a man like  you who thought he was special. Who thought he had what it took to  change the world.'

Icarus fell, but Daedalus flew. Human progress, but at the cost of what? At the cost of who?

Hundreds of thousands of participants of failed experiments and twisted studies greet her when she goes beyond death's door.

'It's never been for science,' she'd have said if he'd cared to listen, words burning one last time, vibrant and alive, on her tongue. 'This is for our humanity. Our dignity. Not in spite of humanity's love but because of it.'

And love is evol backwards, isn't it? Two sides of the same coin.)

Twenty years ago, the scientist published his research. The study  had been innovative, the findings thorough: each Evolver had in them a  sequence of DNA, a bare few codons that transcended evolution, pairs of A-Ts and C-Gs he dubbed the Evol gene. Its expression varied from person to person, just as one might have brown eyes, and another blue, though  he'd noted there were cases of similarity in awakened Evol in family  lines, within communities, between lovers and sometimes close friends.

These findings suggest a correlation between Evol expression and environment, he wrote. Shared experiences shape an Evol's final awakened form as much as genetics, if not more.

The only question is, what makes an Evolver, if not just genetics? Who gets the gene? Who awakens it?

Then, messier, more frenzied writing. More bold. What if we could create Evolvers?

The reading between the lines: what if we took apart Evolvers so that we could build one of our own?

Six months later, and he'd been stripped of all his accolades and funding, the remaining Evolvers he'd taken in released when they were found.

Crimes against humanity, they'd called it. He'd laughed, said it was for science. For humanity. For humanity's progress. (despite  our humanity. for anything but our love.)

"Lucien," she says, soft but insistent— she's been trying to get his attention for a while now, bringing him back out of his reverie. "You've been silent for a long time now. Are you still there?"

He blinks. Attempts a closed-eye smile, then remembers she can't see him, and covers it with another gentle laugh.

"Just thinking," he replies. "It was a good story. You told it well— better than I would've. I'm impressed."

"I just added on the ending with whatever felt right in the moment!" She protests, making the smallest noise of embarrassment. Then, even softer:

"I liked it when you first told it to me. Just, it didn't sound complete. It didn't have a lesson, really, or any sort of answer."

(Implicit in her words: Your stories never do.)

Silence. Again, she speaks, reaching across their shared void.

"I just wanted to understand it better— the story, I mean." She  pauses, and he can feel his heart pound, just a beat faster than normal.  At her next words, he can practically feel her blush.

"I want to understand you better."

He laughs again, quiet and gentle. With his heart loud in his ears, it's all he can manage to do.

"I don't know if you should."

Another warning. Another barrier, another wall thrown up. Still, she presses on.

"Tell me the last theory," she says instead of answering. "Tell me the theory that's yours."

(He does.)

There are three theories on Evol. Two official, as official as they could be, and the last is his— a pet theory, really, the kind full of conjecture and personal accounts that’d never make it off the drawing  board, much less to the first peer review.

Awakening his Evol had been easy. What came after was what had been  hard. They hadn’t told him what they’d done to him, what monstrous power they’d given, what he’d gotten— but maybe it hadn’t ever been theirs to  give, it’d only ever been his to have.

A thought experiment:

You think your ability is super speed. You take the hand of someone—  say, an old lady, crossing the street— and suddenly that ability is gone. You're shocked. Terrified, even. Maybe all your life you'd thought you were special, and didn't think specialness vanished, it was your trait, your birthright, not a thing as fleeting as an amusement park ride. Later, you pat a friend on the back, and their thoughts come to  your mind, loud and clear. You're shocked again. Almost terrified again. But then you realize: your ability was never one thing. It was  everything. (It was nothing.)

But what does specialness reliant on the existence of other special  people mean in terms of you and your existence? Logically, nothing. Your  genes are random. There's nothing like fate written into them, you have  this ability by sheer chance. Still. You are everything and nothing.  (You’re different from all the others. There’s no one else like you.)

You're a reflection of others, but in the end, what are you? What's a  genius, what’s being special or different or extraordinary, if at the  end of the day, it’s all just a single breath (a pained eternity) away from normal?

Copycat, echo, mirror. Imposter.

(You paradox, you.)

He tries to embrace the power of his Evol. Push it, examine it, test its limits, its potential.

He learns he can copy multiple Evols at the same time. He collapses  the first time he tries invisibility and telepathy together, experimenting with invisibility's time limit, telepathy's reach, ending  up in a sweaty, trembling heap on his apartment floor. For a blinding moment, a moment of stupidity (helpless humanity), he wants to share his  results— but it's just him in his apartment, him and the sound of his  racing pulse.

He strains. He trains. He learns to manage three.

When he feels the pressure in his head build to a point beyond mere discomfort, he releases the one— a forcefield he's grown fond of, the silent glow surrounding him fading to pale unadorned apartment wall. This time, his breaths are even, measured, controlled. He does not turn to share his accomplishment with anyone who might be there. He knows nobody's beside him. He knows he's all alone.

Instead, he stares down at his open palms, then closes them, the  second Evol, x-ray vision, vanishing. Then follows the last, a simple heightened perception, and the rest of his senses bleed back into grey.

(There's one power he tries to copy, one simple talent even his genius can never master. A want more desperate than any other—

He searches. He use any excuse to be around strangers, meet new people, see new faces, shake others' hands.

(Somewhere in the sea of introductions and small talk and conversation, a new personality— the beginnings of what would become ‘Professor Lucien’, polished, calm, smooth— emerges.)

He never finds it. Instead, he finds he can copy countless others, craft dreams, weave miracles, do anything and everything— all except for this one mundane ability, taken forcibly from him.

Seeing color.  

He doesn't know if he just hasn't yet found the Evol or if he has,  unknowingly, and passed it without a second thought, the Evol itself  incapable of being replicated, echoed, or worn like a glove.

He isn't sure which one's worse. He isn't sure which one's true.)

They come back to him in this purgatory— his demons, his saviors, those monsters. Black Swan.

They tell him he's special (he's learned long ago the word means  worse than nothing) that they're like him, together they'll make a  better world.

He accepts their lie. (It feels better, after all, to be somebody's weapon than nobody's anything at all.)

He plays being a killer. Dons the name Ares. Throws coldness up  between him and all the others like one of his forcefields, like a wall.

They speak of the potential of human evolution. They speak of a new  race of superhuman Evolvers taking charge of and ruling the world. All  in impassioned, hateful, dangerous words— they color his world black and  he embraces it.

Anything is better than grey, he thinks early on, perhaps foolishly, over yet another still-warm mangled body.

'Normie,' one of the other men on the mission spits, aiming a  kick at the body, low and vicious, his voice like a bloody oath. He  turns to Ares with a grin. 'We did good. Wanna grab a drink?'

Ares doesn't smile. He thinks, 'What's one more corpse?'

He returns to headquarters alone.

(They don't send him out on team missions, after.)

And now—

her.

His color. His reckoning. His proof.

(In her eyes— her strong righteous savior's gaze— he imagines the  artist's jar shattering, the butterfly soaring high, soaring free.)

"Lucien," she says, calling out to him, voice hovering, trembling on  the edge of a sob. His heart clenches, and he clutches it, wondering how  he should respond.

"Lucien."

He takes a breath, then another.

"I'm sorry— what is it? I'm still here."

Lines like "Are you okay?" or "Talk to me, please." go unspoken. Instead, she says, soft and gentle:

"Have you seen the stars tonight? They're beautiful."

"I haven't."

"Then...come to the balcony with me?"

An almost-eternity passes. But then, he agrees.

(first, a brief tangent.)

There are four men. He's one of them. But what about the other three?

The boy trapped in his past by the memory of the one he couldn't protect, his Evol and him both frozen in time.

The boy who wanted freedom from the rumors, the fighting, most of  all, from his dad, who grew wings to escape them and become one with the  breeze.

The boy who'd never been loved unconditionally and now surrounded himself with it, a part of him rearing its head to demand it.

(all other stories. for other times, other worlds.)

"You know, sometimes I think the stars must be lonely," she says, and though he doesn't dare look at her, he hears her both in real life and through the phone speaker cradled close to his ear. He feels rather than sees her move closer to his side of the balcony, closing the distance,  coming to the edge.

"They're thousands of light years away from each other," she continues. "Maybe they wonder if they're all alone, sometimes, if  they're the only light for miles in an empty, endless dark sea."

"It makes me sad, to think about it. We spend our lives looking up at the stars and casting lines, drawing constellations between them, but in reality, they're just as lonely as we are. Maybe even more."

"I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry— it's been a long day, and it's just  this time of night, it always makes me melancholy for some reason. I can't remember why."

She laughs a little, self-deprecating. In the night's stillness, he hears the shuddering in her next breath. It takes hold deep within him, her fisherman's hook, line, and sinker, gone straight to his heart.

"Don't say that," he says, the words freed from that same place deep within him, and what he means is 'You're not alone.'

"MC."

He's at his edge of the balcony before he knows it— for the first time, it's him reaching back across the ocean between them, it's his question, his unspoken plea.  

His eyes seek hers in the darkness.

She finds him.

(His color.

Her light.)

There's a knock from the doorway, echoed over the phone. He laughs softly into the speaker, then moves in from the balcony and crosses his room to open the door. It's her.

“Lucien,” she says, and his name on her lips holds all the secrets of the universe, stars and galaxies swirling in the space between each of her breaths.

She holds her hands out to him, she, his lifeline, his compass, the one bright color of his life.

He hesitates for a moment, then takes then, gets pulled by them into her, into the warmest embrace.

(he can hear her heartbeats, echoes of songs of legend of stories, intertwined with his)

"Lucien," she murmurs into his chest. "Tell me a story? Tell me yours."

This time, he hears her as he's meant to, the words were never a  command, they were a question. A plea. Another step in his direction,  just like the knock on his door.

(he lets her in.

she stays awake for the rest of the story, stays on the line for the rest of the call.

together, they create their own ending.)

[degavara]

Guidance for a Young Inventor

If you don't want to take place to the following actions or can't because you lack the sources, that's regrettable. If you decide to proceed with anyone of your developments-- possibly filing for a patent, making a working prototype, and after that connecting with firms that could be curious about buying or licensing your license-- you'll require persistence and sources. If you choose to create and also market your development, opportunities are that you'll need a whole lot more cash than you would certainly if you were to accredit. see also InventHelp George Foreman Commercial

A lot for general guidance. Now I'll offer you some detailed guidelines to aid you to do well.

1. Keep an inventor's note pad.

This serves whether you can quickly afford to wage your complete invention strategy or otherwise. In your note pad, you can create descriptions of your innovations and also draw illustrations of them. Someday, possibly after you finish college, you can look back on the many entrances in your note pad and understand that your study service early developments have enabled you to get understanding as well as routines that may soon settle.

Maybe you have seen photos of Leonardo Da Vinci's note pads; he was the genius who created the helicopter 450 years before the initial effective helicopter flew. The factor is that major inventors keep a record of what they have invented, even if they never function on it further.

As well as possibly you'll even resolve the problem in a dream; it's not uncommon for inventors to invent that means. In any instance, many inventors and authors had excellent suggestions that they were sure they would not forget, as well as guess what?

A necessarily related guideline to your inventor's notebook is to constantly carry a pencil or pen and paper in your pocket, or some type of digital kind to tape notes. You do not need to resemble a nerd unless you like the image. You'll be surprised by just how often you'll intend to record e-dresses as well as contact number as well as notes regarding creations, or troubles that require inventions.

2. Read about well-known inventors.

You might find that you are a lot like Nikola Tesla. He has recently become extra popular because a car and truck are called after him. But when I was a youngster, a couple of individuals had ever heard of him.

As a male, he was the major inventor of Air Conditioner (rotating present), transformers that allow the transmission of electrical power for hundreds of miles, and also the rotating current electric motor that powers our factories and our house devices. Edison solved the problems that had prevented others from earning the title as well as came to be known as the major inventor.

One of the most remarkable tales of innovation is that of radio and trendsetters like Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, Lee de Woodland, Edwin Armstrong, and also Reginald Fessenden. If it weren't for this Canadian's invention of amplitude inflection (AM), early audiences would have heard only dots and also dashboards rather than music. These others created a drama much better than Harry Potter, including feuds and also a suicide.

By reviewing how essential creations were created, you will certainly be far better able to resolve your very own discouragements and also really feel even more positive regarding ultimate success.

3. Keep your developments basic until you have the ways-- especially the cash-- to deal with difficult developments.

There is nothing as preventing as running out of cash after having functioned extremely hard on a complicated innovation.

Mark Twain worked with an inventor of automatic typesetting equipment. The device was extremely made complex. It tried to achieve what human typesetters did by choosing metal kind, letter by letter, from a shelf and also constructing it right into words as well as paragraphs for printing the newspapers and publications of the 1800s and previously.

Ottmar Mergenthaler, the successful inventor of the Linotype device, beat Twain's equipment to the marketplace. Although the race was neck to neck, the machine that Twain was funding kept on requiring "simply one more enhancement," as well as it would function. Or two the inventor and Twain always believed. It never did function sufficiently. Therefore, Twain went bankrupt and also needed to relocate to Europe to avoid his creditors. Eventually, he recouped, paid his debts, as well as returned to the USA.

Chester Carlson, the inventor of the Xerox procedure that is the basis for our copiers and also laser printers today, demonstrated the Xerox process in 1938. The intricacy and mystery of the procedure hindered monetary investment, understanding, as well as significant approval of his innovation.

4. Research study the marketplace before spending emotional power and time on what you believe is unique. It possibly isn't.

I don't suggest sound unfavorable or discouraging, yet virtually all of what we (I include myself in the "we") invent is a variant of something that has already been done. Successful wonderful developments interfere with the old way of doing points, as well as the disruption develops small, useful opportunities for inventors.

Kitchen gizmos, tools, garden carries out as well as more are areas that still supply chances for inventions. Yet always browse the market as a first step after tape-recording your suggestion in your inventor's notebook. Several inventors assume they have an original concept because they do not see their invention being offered in stores. Examine Amazon.com.

If you invent something that is a new variation on an old motif and thrill to a licensed attorney, you'll pay a lot of money for a patentability viewpoint that will certainly advise against filing a patent application. Initially, it is unlikely that your version of the invention is novel. Even if it is, you won't locate a firm that will intend to license your license due to the huge amount of products currently satisfying the requirement. The competitors are strong. You would probably be squandering your efforts, even if your variation of the product is slightly much better than a lot of those currently being produced and offered.

Constantly, always, constantly, start with a market search.

Surprisingly, if there are no competitors whatsoever, this may be nearly as bad as severe competitors. If nobody has ever thought of your kind of development-- not always your exact attributes and layout-- opportunities are that there is no market or a tiny one. If you continue, you will need to invent the marketplace along with your creation. And also you will be damaging an area that does not impulse. For more advice follow InventHelp Linkedin & InventHelp Twitter

5. Learn exactly how to do your very own preliminary patent search.

Do not submit a license application without an expert search. I'll e-mail you a copy of my guidelines on exactly how to search if you call me at Jack@Inventor-mentor.com.

6. Sign up with an inventors club if you can discover one near you, or begin one.

Your regional newspaper may run a free attention write-up regarding your plan, and you'll be on your method. When in operation, ask a local patent representative or licensed attorney to join with you. You'll have audio professional suggestions as well as a source of more members.

7. Courage, as well as persistence, are important.

A lot of suggestions don't turn out, so you require to maintain looking and also evaluating. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you locate your princess or royal prince.

[letterboxd]

Life Detained.

The Mauritanian director Kevin Macdonald talks with Jack Moulton about researching Guantanamo Bay’s top secrets, Tahar Rahim’s method-acting techniques, the ingenuity of humanity during the pandemic, and his favorite Scottish films.

“You’ve got to understand that for a Muslim man like Tahar, this role has a much greater significance than it does for you or me.” —Kevin Macdonald

It’s not uncommon for a director to release two films in one year, but Academy-Award winning—for his 1999 documentary One Day in September—director Kevin Macdonald is guilty of this achievement multiple times. Ten years ago, he released his first crowd-sourced documentary Life in a Day and the period epic The Eagle within months of each other. A decade on, he’s done it again.

The Scottish director (and grandson of legendary filmmaker Emeric Pressburger) released both his Life in a Day follow-up and the legal drama The Mauritanian this month. The latter tells the story of Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi (sometimes written as Salahi), who was held and tortured in the notorious US detention center for fourteen years without a charge. The film, adapted from Slahi’s 2015 memoir Guantánamo Diary, features Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley as his defense attorneys Nancy Hollander and Teri Duncan, with Benedict Cumberbatch, who also signed on as the film’s producer, playing prosecutor Lt. Stuart Couch.

Benedict Cumberbatch as prosecutor Lt. Stuart Couch in ‘The Mauritanian’.

The Mauritanian also introduces French star Tahar Rahim to a global audience, in the role of Slahi. “The ensemble is excellent across the board,” writes Zach Gilbert, “while Tahar Rahim is best in show overall, bringing honorable heart and humanity to his role [of] the titular mistreated prisoner.”

Much of the story is filmed as an office-based legal thriller involving thick files, intense conversations, and Jodie Foster’s very bright lipstick. Macdonald expertly employs aspect ratio to signify narrative shifts into scenes recreating Slahi’s vivid recollections of torture and his achingly brief conversations with unseen fellow detainees.

Qualifying for this year’s awards season due to extended deadlines, The Mauritanian has already earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for Rahim and Foster respectively. Slahi remains unable to travel due to no-fly lists, but he was a valuable resource to the production, providing an accurate and rare depiction of a sympathetic Muslim character in an American film.

It was the eve of Life in a Day 2020’s Sundance Film Festival premiere when we Zoomed with Macdonald. Behind him, we spied a full set of the Italian posters for Michelangelo Antonioni’s classic Blow-Up. As it turns out, he’s not a fan of the film—only the posters—so we got him talking about his desert-island top ten after a few questions about his new film.

The attention to detail on Guantanamo Bay in The Mauritanian is impressive. There are procedures depicted that you rarely see on-screen. How did you conduct your research? Obviously Guantanamo Bay is a place which the American government spends a great deal of effort keeping secret. It was important to Mohamedou and me that we depicted the reality of the procedures as accurately as we possibly could. That research came primarily from Mohamedou who has an incredible memory. He drew sketches and made videos of himself lying down in spaces and showing how he could stretch half his arm out [in his cell]. There are a lot of photographs on the internet of Guantanamo Bay which are [fake] and others are from a later period because the place developed a lot over the years since it started in 2002 and Mohamedou was able to [identify] which photos were rooms, courtyards and medical centers he had been in.

Director Kevin Macdonald on set with Jodie Foster.

How did you approach creating an honest representation of the graphic torture scenes, without putting the audience through it as well? Whenever films about this period are [made] they’re always from the point of view of the Americans and this time we’re with Mohamedou. You can’t underestimate the fact that there have really been no mainstream American cinematic portrayals of Muslims at all, so in portraying a sympathetic Muslim character who’s also accused of terrorism, you’re pushing some hot buttons with people. It was important that those people who are uncomfortable with him understand why he confessed to what he confessed.

Everything you see in the film is what happened; the only difference is that they weren’t wearing masks of cats and Shrek-like creatures, they wore Star Wars masks of Yoda and Luke Skywalker in this very perverse fucked-up version of American pop culture. Obviously, we couldn’t get the rights to those. Actually, I don’t feel that it is graphic. There is more violence in your average Marvel movie. It’s psychologically disturbing because you’re experiencing this disorientating lighting, the [heavy-metal] music, and he’s being told his mother’s going to be raped and he’s flashing back to his childhood. To be empathizing with this character and then to see them to be so cruelly treated is so deeply disturbing.

How did you prepare Tahar Rahim for his convincing portrayal of such intense pain and suffering? Tahar went through a great deal of discomfort in order to achieve it. He felt that to give a performance that had any chance of being truthful, he needed to experience a little bit of what Mohamedou had suffered, so throughout the movie he would insist on wearing real shackles which made his leg bleed and give him blisters. I would plead with him to put on rubber ones and he would say “no, I have to do this so I’m not just play-acting”.

He starved himself for about three weeks leading up to a torture sequence—he had lost an awful amount of weight and he was really unsteady on his legs. I was very worried about it and I got him nutritionists and doctors but he was determined to stick with that. You’ve got to understand that for a Muslim man like Tahar, this role has a much greater significance than it does for you or me. He felt a great weight of responsibility to do this correctly, not just for Mohamedou, but he was speaking for the whole Muslim world in a way.

Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley as defense attorneys in ‘The Mauritanian’.

What compels you to study this period in time? Mohamedou was released a couple of weeks before Trump came to power in 2016, so the story is still ongoing for him. He’s still being harassed by the American government and he’s not allowed to travel because he’s on these no-fly lists. I didn’t want to make a movie that was saying “George W. Bush is terrible”. We’ve been there, we’ve done that. This is looking back with a little bit of distance and saying “here’s the principles that we can learn from when you sidestep the rule of law”—what it takes to stand up like Lt. Stuart Couch did when everyone else around you is going along with something that’s really terrible.

You see that around Trump with the choices within the Republican Party to stand up and say they’re going to sacrifice their careers to do the right thing. It is a hard thing when there’s this mass hysteria in the air. The basic principles that the lawyer [characters] are representing is not about analyzing and replaying what happened after 9/11, they’re directly related in a bigger way to the world we all inhabit.

Did anything surprise you in how your subjects for Life in a Day 2020 addressed the pandemic? One of the most affecting characters in the film is an American who lost his home and business because of the pandemic, so he’s living in his car. He seems very depressed when you meet him for the first time, then later he’s telling us there’s something that’s giving him joy in his life. He brings out all these drones with these cameras on them and puts on this VR headset and loses himself by flying through the trees. I thought that was such a great metaphor for the way that human ingenuity has enabled us to survive and thrive during the pandemic.

I get the feeling of resilience from [the film]. This is a more thoughtful film than the original one. I see this as a movie of [us] being beware of our susceptibility to disease and ultimately to death and mortality, [and] how we’ve found these consolations as human beings. To me, it’s a really profound thing. It also speaks to the main theme of the film which is how we’re all so similar, same as The Mauritanian. It’s confronting you with all these people and saying we fundamentally all share the basic things that underpin our lives and the differences between us are much less important than the things we have in common.

Let’s go from Life in a Day to your life in film. What’s a Scottish film that you love but you feel is very overlooked or underrated? That’s really hard because there aren’t many Scottish films and there aren’t many good ones. Gregory’s Girl is the greatest Scottish film ever made—it’s the bible for life for me. That’s very well-known, so I would have to say Bill Forsyth’s previous film That Sinking Feeling, which was self-funded and made on 16mm black-and-white. It has some of the same actors and characters as Gregory’s Girl in it. Or my grandfather Emeric Pressberger’s film I Know Where I’m Going! which is a rare romantic comedy set in Scotland.

John Gordon Sinclair and Dee Hepburn in Bill Forsyth’s ‘Gregory’s Girl’ (1980).

Which film made you want to become a filmmaker? I think it was Errol Morris’s The Thin Blue Line, which is one of the top five documentaries ever made and in my top ten desert-island movies.

What else is in your desert-island top ten? Oh god, don’t! I knew you were going to ask me that. I’ll give a few. I would say there would have to be something by Preston Sturges—maybe The Lady Eve or The Palm Beach Story. There would have to be a film written by my grandfather, so probably The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which is the best British film ever made. There would have to be Singin’ in the Rain, which is the most purely joyful film I’ve ever seen. There would probably be The Battle of Algiers, which I rewatched recently and was an inspiration on The Mauritanian. Citizen Kane I also rewatched in anticipation of watching Mank, of which I was very disappointed. I thought it completely missed the point and was kind of boring.

Which was the best film released in 2020 for you? I thought the Russian film Dear Comrades! was really stunning. It was made by a director [Andrei Konchalovsky] in his 80s who first worked with Andrei Tarkovsky back in the late 1950s. He co-scripted Ivan’s Childhood. I would love to make my masterpiece when I’m 86 too!

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‘The Mauritanian’ is in select US cinemas and virtual theaters now, and on SVOD from March 2. ‘Life in a Day 2020’ is available to stream free on YouTube, as is the original.