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darkest-fluid · 4 years ago

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That beautiful writer ask meme: Imagery, Juxtaposition, Symbolism, Allegory, Repetition

This got long, so I’m putting it under a cut.

Imagery: How much do you worldbuild in your current writing project? How do you make your setting seem real and vivid?

I have to admit: world-building is actually not one of my strong suits as a writer. I think I’m better at crafting characters than I am at crafting the worlds they live in. Which makes fanfic pretty great for me, because I can be lazy and piggy-back off of an already established world. 😉 I don’t have to do much world-building for Undertow, since a lot of that is already done for me, but I do have some original projects that involve more creativity on that front. I think when I do world-building I often focus most on cultural things: local beliefs and ideology, art, politics, etc.

As for the setting, I like to highlight sensory/impressionistic details as the character experiences them. The same setting can be experienced very differently depending on a character’s frame of mind and what sorts of things they tend to pay attention to. Specificity is also really helpful in making the world seem real. I like to try and zero in on a few small/specific details when writing my descriptions.

Juxtaposition: Do you include subplots in your writing? How do you balance them alongside your main plots?

I usually do have subplots. A lot of times what I like to do with my stories is focus on an overarching theme, and then find ways to express those ideas on both a macro and micro level, or as both symbolic and literal. With Undertow, that theme is trauma and recovery, specifically how it relates to personal agency and growth. And so I have multiple interwoven plot threads that all deal with that same theme. So it isn’t so much like... separate plots, as it is one big plot tapestry.

Symbolism: What does writing mean to you? How has it impacted your life?

Oof, man. This is a big one. I think growing up I always really struggled to express myself and to have a voice. And writing became my outlet for that. I wasn’t naturally good at it, but I kept working at it, and over time I improved a lot. I think a lot about narrative, and the role it plays in human culture. Both as individuals and as a society, we define our reality through storytelling: the stories we tell ourselves, and the stories we tell to others. I very much want those stories to be as real and true and organic as possible, even when crafting these totally fantastical, fictional realities. Because every story we tell and every story we consume influences our reality... even if it’s just in these subtle, fractional ways.

So there’s the personal, of course: I want to have a voice, I want to be able to reach out to people and show them what I see and feel. I want to be able to point to something and say: “Look at this. This is important. This matters.”

Then there’s the social: knowing that people are engaging with the things I wrote and making it their own.

Then there’s the bigger narrative: I want to make a ripple in our shared reality, even if only a very small one.

But I struggle to do that. Because... well, because of a lot of things. Mental health, physical health, life circumstances, etc. So writing is both this super important thing that I love and a lifelong struggle to overcome massive personal obstacles.

But I genuinely believe that I would not be alive today without it.

Allegory: What is the theme of your current writing project? Is there a message you’d like readers to consider?

I talked about this a bit under Juxtaposition, so I’ll try not to get too repetitive. I also don’t necessarily want to state all of the messages outright, because as a writer I kind of like to just let the subtext speak for itself. But yes, there are definitely themes and messages that I hope readers will pick up on. Some of it involves a bit of meta-criticism over the whole good vs. evil, black and white worldview of D&D and similar fantasy worlds. Which ties into the overarching trauma theme because... hmm, how do I explain this? We cannot as a society take ownership of our sins if we refuse to claim them. People are not inherently good or bad. It’s our actions that matter.

Also, trauma doesn’t have to mean an end to things like love and happiness. Sometimes those things just come to us in unexpected and complicated ways.

Repetition: Is there anything you find you repeat across your witting projects? Symbols, tropes, descriptions, themes?

Oh gosh, so many things. I use water symbolism a lot. I talk about trauma a lot. Most of my writing is pretty angsty. I also have a penchant for using theories in astrophysics as emotional metaphors. 😏

I love to plant little seeds that end up bearing fruit later on in the story. Like, a character will say something, and then that thing will get repeated later by another character, but with added nuance/weight/irony. I love to connect things. Seemingly disparate characters and stories might all eventually link up in some way.

I tend to use a lot of subtext. The things characters don’t say are often just as important as the things they do. That can also be true of the narrative itself. I convey a lot of things by implication. (I tend to stress a lot over whether any of that is actually clear to readers. Ideally I’d like to be one of those authors who rewards close/repeat reading, but it’s also possible I’m just being way too opaque.)

A lot of my characters have bad relationships with their parents.

A lot of my characters have intense/complicated sexualities.

I use a lot of visceral imagery. I often talk about the body (and the breaking open of it) as a metaphor for emotional intimacy. (Hoo boy is this relevant for my current fic.) Blood isn’t just blood. It’s also feelings.

#asks #writing #df writes #personal #undertow

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recalculatingthegenderwar · 6 years ago

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Feminist academic reminds us mainstream feminism really does just hate men

The Washington Post recently published an editorial entitled “Why can’t we hate men?” It is a short and illuminating look at the psyche of a modern feminist academic. In her editorial, Northeastern University professor Suzanna Danita Walters “names the problem”, a term feminists use when they get tired of dancing around how evil all men are and just decide to come out and say it. In these moments, the pseudo-academic smokescreens of “patriarchy” start to fall away and feminists reveal themselves as naked bigots.

Anti-male bigotry is mainstream feminism.

Although the article’s quality tempts you to think otherwise, Walters isn’t some random blogger:

“Suzanna Danuta Walters, a professor of sociology and director of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Northeastern University, is the editor of the gender studies journal Signs.” [link to her bio added]

I’m surprising no one by pointing out that while women’s studies or gender studies could be a legitimate academic discipline, it is really only feminist indoctrination in practice. The Northern University Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program website states:

“We advance knowledge through interdisciplinary research, innovative pedagogies, and collaboration with other institutions, inspiring new generations of gender and sexuality scholars and feminist leaders committed to social justice. We strive to be a globally recognized model of excellence in gender, sexuality, and feminist scholarship.” [emphasis added]

Walters is neither a nobody nor a fringe radical. She is a feminist professor teaching feminism at a prestigious university, running a feminist academic center and a feminist academic journal. She stands at the zenith of mainstream feminism.

This also makes it laughable when Walters claims “[t]he world has little place for feminist anger.” I won’t rehash the mind-bogglingly examples of feminist power and influence I’ve written about. I’ll just point out that Walters is one of many for whom “feminist anger” is a viable career. This is like Bill Gates telling us, “People really never much had of a place for that whole computer thing.”

The problem with naming the problem

In my past articles, I explained how Patriarchy theory is the core narrative of feminism. Patriarchy theory claims that women (and sometimes to a lesser extent men) are being oppressed by men as a class. Since men are considered to have absolute power over the world, even problems seemingly unrelated to gender (war, economic issues, environmental issues, etc) are the fault of men as a class. Individual male misdeeds are attributed to the entire male class even if most men would find those misdeeds repugnant. Positive male contributions are forgotten. Indeed, Walters blames men for a “milienia of woe”. Because God knows humanity was so much better off a millenia ago. Things have really gone to shit since a man invented Penicillin.

Meanwhile female misdeeds are seen as rarities, ignored or blamed on male influence. Under feminism, women must be angels and men must be devils.

Men as a class are referred to as the Patriarchy. This obfuscates and dehumanizes feminist bigotry toward men. Feminists portray themselves as fighting a system rather than people. This is useful for public relations and seducing new recruits. It is unclear whether feminists are just lying to the public or also to themselves. I honestly think it’s a bit of both.

As feminists become more indoctrinated, they get tired of dancing around the problem. They feel like they are doctors who aren’t allowed to properly diagnose a disease that is ravaging the world. Sit in the feminist pot long enough and you will eventually boil over. That is what we are seeing with Walters:

“Seen in this indisputably true context, it seems logical to hate men. I can’t lie, I’ve always had a soft spot for the radical feminist smackdown, for naming the problem in no uncertain terms. I’ve rankled at the “but we don’t hate men” protestations of generations of would-be feminists and found the “men are not the problem, this system is” obfuscation too precious by half”

Notice Walters is not only framing men (not “Patriarchy”, but men) as the “the problem”, but challenging the feminist credentials of all “would-be feminists” who don’t openly hate men. Walters believes hating men is essential to being a feminist.

Walters justification for hating half of humanity

So what is the “indisputably true context” in which “it seems logical” to hate half of the entire human species based on a biological trait they have no control over? What is Walkers indisputably justification for hating over 3.5 billion people across the world with diverse backgrounds, identities and beliefs simply because they were born a certain way? You would think an academic would have a rock solid argument to advocate such widespread hate. You would be wrong:

“It’s not that Eric Schneiderman (the now-former New York attorney general accused of abuse by multiple women) pushed me over the edge. My edge has been crossed for a long time, before President Trump, before Harvey Weinstein, before “mansplaining” and “incels.” Before live-streaming sexual assaults and red pill men’s groups and rape camps as a tool of war and the deadening banality of male prerogative.” [included original links from article]

These aren’t arguments. They aren’t even coherent sound bites. Walters is just ranting. We don’t even know if Schneiderman is actually guilty of anything yet. Yeah, Weinstein is a jerk. He doesn’t represent all men.

Yeah, 2 incels went on a killing spree (killing both women and men) in the last 5 years. However, incels aren’t inherently violent. They aren’t always saints, but they aren’t a terrorist movement. There appears to be no evidence that either killer colluded with the wider incel community. Frankly, a lot of the reporting on the supposedly “dangerous” incel movement seems like fear-mongering/feminist propaganda. More importantly, incels are a fringe movement that most men want nothing to do with. Most men don’t even know what an "incel" is.

The only items with even a little meat are claims of live-streaming sexual assault and rape camps. How common are these things? Who are the victims? The perpetrators? Walker doesn’t tell us. We get no information about live-streaming sexual assaults. Her link on rape camps takes you to a 18 year old article about the trial of Serbian soldiers who sexually enslaved Muslim women during the Kosovo conflict. This is tragic, but is it grounds to hate all men? Again, the article is about their criminal trial in the Hague. Strange how the rape of women is globally condemned in our universal patriarchal rape culture.

“Pretty much everywhere in the world, this is true: Women experience sexual violence, and the threat of that violence permeates our choices big and small. In addition, male violence is not restricted to intimate-partner attacks or sexual assault but plagues us in the form of terrorism and mass gun violence.”

Walters provides no links or no citations here. Statements like this are largely meaningless without some effort to establish scope. “Pretty much everywhere in the world women experience” synethesia and gout. Female violence “is not restricted to intimate-partner attacks or sexual assault.“ These are also both equally true statements.

Similarly, Walters gives us no actual data about men’s role in terrorism or mass gun violence. I’m still willing to consider men might be overrepresented in terrorism and mass gun violence. However, does this mean I should hate women because women commit the majority of infanticide? What? I can’t because only a minority of women commit infanticide and most women find infanticide abhorrent? Feminists say I should be sensitive about possible psychological or social issues that motivate female child-killers? Really?

What about women being the majority of human traffickers? Should I hate all women now?

Surprise! It's the wage gap.

Walters eventually gets something that sort of resembles an actual argument:

“Women are underrepresented in higher-wage jobs, local and federal government, business, educational leadership, etc.; wage inequality continues to permeate every economy and almost every industry; women continue to provide far higher rates of unpaid labor in the home (e.g., child care, elder care, care for disabled individuals, housework and food provision); women have less access to education, particularly at the higher levels; women have lower rates of property ownership.“ [original links included]

Basically you should hate men because…wage gap - the dead horse feminists keep thinking will win the Kentucky Derby. The wage gap is generally found to be the result of women’s choices in the labor market, not sex discrimination. The same goes for unpaid labor. Walters’ own source explains that women often do more unpaid labor because their husbands often do more paid labor.

Walters claim about education holds a bit more water. Her linked source is a recently published academic report on girl’s worldwide school enrollment. I haven’t had a chance to read through it detail, but it seems to take a much more nuanced view of than Walters would have you believe. First, there are only significantly unequal primary and secondary school enrollment rates in very poor countries and/or war torn countries. The report doesn’t seem to blame girls lack of education enrollment simply on patriarchal oppression, but mentions issues such as the greater costs on families and greater concern for girls’ safety.

It is unclear what Walters means by “higher levels” of education. The report says very little about post-secondary education. It doesn’t seem to have any statistics on global post-secondary enrollment. One of the few things it does point out is that U.S. colleges have a higher female enrollment than male enrollment (page 18).

Walters never offers hard evidence all of these supposed inequalities she lists are due largely to widespread to sex discrimination against women by men. In fact, she doesn’t even directly make this claim. She only strongly infers it.

Walters Advocates Violence?

“So, in this moment, here in the land of legislatively legitimated toxic masculinity, is it really so illogical to hate men? For all the power of #MeToo and #TimesUp and the women’s marches, only a relatively few men have been called to task, and I’ve yet to see a mass wave of prosecutions or even serious recognition of wrongdoing. On the contrary, cries of “witch hunt” and the plotted resurrection of celebrity offenders came quick on the heels of the outcry over endemic sexual harassment and violence. But we’re not supposed to hate them because . . . #NotAllMen. I love Michelle Obama as much as the next woman, but when they have gone low for all of human history, maybe it’s time for us to go all Thelma and Louise and Foxy Brown on their collective butts.” [originally links included; emphasis added]

Now we are getting into SCUM manifesto territory. The pivotal plot point in Thelma and Louise is one of the protagonists shoots a man to death. I’m less familiar with Foxy Brown, but it sounds like the female protagonist also commits violence against men. It’s hard to not to see this as a thinly veiled call to violence.

This fits with the general cowardice of Walters’ editorial. While it’s clear she hates men and it’s clear she wants us to hate them too, notice she never explicitly writes, “I hate man and you should hate men too”. She is simply stating “”it seems logical to hate men” and that women have every “right to hate” men. She isn’t literally telling anyone to actually hate men.

I’m not sure what legal, professional or ethical bullet she thinks is dodging by so thinly obscuring her obvious intentions.

Feminist Julie Bindel is a monster, but at least she had the decency to just come out and say she wants to put men in concentration camps.

Why was this written?

It isn’t well written. It isn’t thoughtful. It likely won’t improve the public opinion of feminism. Why would Walters write this? Why would the Washington Post print it? What purpose does it serve?

Firstly, Walters wrote it because she is a bigot who wants to spread her bigotry.

Secondly, the Washington Post produces feminist propaganda. I don’t know exactly why, but they do. They concocted a new bogus 1-in-5 college rape statistic after the CSA study finally fell from grace. They further scrambled to save the feminist college rape panic in the face of government data showing incredibly low rape rates on campuses. They tried to whip up #MeToo frenzy by creating a bogus work place harassment study that completely ignored male victims.

Finally, I hypothesis the main goal is to bring Democratic voters to the polls for the midterm election. Look how Walters ends her editorial:

“So men, if you really are #WithUs and would like us to not hate you for all the millennia of woe you have produced and benefited from, start with this: Lean out so we can actually just stand up without being beaten down. Pledge to vote for feminist women only. Don’t run for office. Don’t be in charge of anything. Step away from the power. We got this. And please know that your crocodile tears won’t be wiped away by us anymore. We have every right to hate you. You have done us wrong. #BecausePatriarchy. It is long past time to play hard for Team Feminism. And win.“

Since Trump took office in the United States, SJW groups and left-leaning media outlets have formed an indistinguishable mass of outrage to keep the anti-Trump fires burning for the midterm elections. This is why the National Organization for Women is making tweets about immigration and the 2nd amendment. This is why the Women’s March really wasn’t about women, but about left-wing talking points and hating Trump.

Take a look at this sentence again:

“Pledge to vote for feminist women only.” [emphasis added]

Remember feminism isn’t for women. Feminism is for feminism.

#antifeminism #MRA #politics #washington post #feminism #northeastern university #misandry

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tinderthecity · 6 years ago

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The Mountaineer

I’m not sure if this blog is a catalog of my dating escapades over the years or a catalog of the most influential dating apps as time goes by, but I guess one thing stays the same, dating apps and I are perpetually on this journey together! (slow clap).

This time, Hinge is the app of choice. A little background information on Hinge, for those of your lucky enough to be unfamiliar with dating app particulars, this one has you provide six pictures as well as the answers to three questions of your choosing from a pool of questions the app provides. You are then asked your age, height, area you live in, and you can also provide some more particulars like school, religious affiliation, if you drink, smoke cigs or pot, do drugs, have children, want children, etc.

Relevant side note: Recently a coworker of mine sent me a link to an article with her subtitle “your kinda guy.” The article was titled “I am a Pacific Northwest Man on Tinder and I will Die if I Go Indoors.” It’s hysterical and exposing the great outdoorsman facade that can become all too trendy on dating apps.

From the article:

“‘Being inside’ is for the weak, the tired, the cold, the hungry, the ‘people with homes,’ the ‘quaints.’ I’m not interested in those who cozy up with Netflix or enjoy going to restaurants or movies. Everything you could possibly need to survive, thrive, and entertain yourself exists in The Great Outdoors. You like sitting down on a comfortable couch? Gross. You like buying groceries in a store? Disgusting. If I am not constantly in some situation under the sun where my life is potentially in danger, I’m not about it. I get off on adrenaline. And nature.”

“My first three profile pics are from epic outdoor activities which showcase a level of fitness you couldn’t even begin to rival. The next three pics are of the exact same thing. The next one is a total thirst trap, which means something different when you’re just dehydrated all the time. The last photo is of a mountain that really gets me fired the fuck up. My face is blurry in each shot because I am Always. In. Motion.”

Lol you get the point (check out the full article for more linked at the bottom, it’s worth it). I died of laughter while also feeling entirely seen. I’m not a dating app girl who falls for the models or the guys on yachts who dress like fancy businessmen or have tons of photos at rooftop bars or are listed as working high-profile jobs. Ask any of my close friends and they’ll tell you that my thirst traps are the guys who seem down to earth (literally) and like to spend time outside, traveling, hiking, etc.

It was after reading this article that I was able to put my last date into context as to why I was so excited and why it was so terribly bad.

The Mountaineer liked me on Hinge and I immediately thought he was pretty cute, loved his answer to the question “I’m looking for....” “Someone who is upfront and honest about what they are thinking and feeling,” (swoon) and his pictures, which, you guessed it.. were all outdoors.

Unfortunately, he lived in Long Island and liked me about a week before Christmas, when I would be going home for about a 10 day span, and afterward he would be gone for a long weekend. We decided we would just chat in the meantime, so we did, everyday. We talked about all sorts of things, but tbh he did talk/ask a lot about hiking haha.

When we could finally meet up after almost three weeks of talking, we decided he would come into the city on a Saturday and we could hit a museum and grab dinner. I chose the Natural History Museum for us to check out because he hadn’t been yet and I know it never disappoints.

The day before our date, the Mountaineer asked me if I’ll be meeting him at his train station. I live in the 150s, the museum is on 79th and his train would be pulling him into 34th. I told him we could meet at the museum since it’s in the middle. He said he didn’t like taking subways alone (interesting, Mr. Adventure) so he would walk from 34th to 79th (about a 45 min walk). Then he realized it was going to rain on Saturday and said he would walk in the rain, to which I told him (trying to be an accommodating Manhattanite) I could just meet him at 34th and take the train with him up to the museum if that’s the case.

The day of comes, it’s a bit rainy outside, as expected, and I get a text from the Mountaineer asking if we should move our date because of the rain (..really?). I basically said no but it’s up to you.

We decide to meet, I go down to 34th street to meet him. I’m running a few minutes late and of course those are the days when train delays hit.

Me: hey I’m on the express but I’m hitting some delays, 😑I’m going to be a little late, sorryyyy

Him: tsk tsk I’m quite disappointed already 😔

Me: 🙃🙃🙃

Him: Oh that’s cute, you think I’m joking

*wow, bold double dig move for not having met yet*

Me: I can just switch to the uptown train at the next stop if you’d rather

Him: haha I’m just messing with you. Would you really?

😇

We meet, he’s def not exactly what I pictured, maybe the 3 inch height difference than he listed had something to do about it or maybe it’s the ten minute first impression of salty remarks that he lead with... He refuses to take the train and has us walk 40 blocks up to the museum in the rain. I quickly realize that the museum and dinner plans we have might be a big mistake.

Once his saltiness simmers down our conversation gets better, and I thought maybe this will actually be a good time.

We get to the museum, and the lines are INSANE, so we decide we’ll go to another one. I give two options that are close by and ask which he’d prefer. I told him I’ve been to both and don’t have a preference to which he says “typical girl not wanting to make a choice” (wow, okay ew) to which I say “that’s actually not true, I chose the first museum..”

He decides on one across the park meaning another 20+ minute walk in the rain. He hops over a half wall into the park and I (not being in the parkour mood) decide I will walk to the entrance pathway about 100 feet away. He pokes fun at me and tells me to have a sense of adventure. I point out that he is wearing outdoor gear head to foot (yes, that is what he wore) and I’m wearing normal not weather proof clothing, not ideal to be jumping into mud.

As we walk across the park he tells me a bit about himself. like how he doesn’t actually own any casual clothing aside from outdoor gear (okay..), he didn’t vote in the presidential election (a little red flag starts waving in the back of my mind), and he has kept eluding to trust issues of some sort by questioning my own honesty (red flag starts flapping harder).

He asks me a little about myself, and somehow we get on the topic of horrible dates we’ve been on. He doesn’t have much to say, but as this blog will tell you, I could go on for hours. I chose to share what I consider to still be my worst date to this day, last years Valentine’s Day post, Mr. Mindful (or as others know him, Touch-barrier). My biggest red flag of all was telling Mountaineer that story and having him respond with “Oh that’s it?” THAT’S IT!? The guy had a gender stereotype conspiracy theory complex, swore at me via text for turning him down, divulged his dating coaches advice and said he should have broken the touch barrier sooner with me, information I learned all within a 24 hour time span. And yet the Mountaineer was more stuck on my reluctance to say - no I never want to see you again - to that guy face to face on our date, because apparently that was Mountaineer’s touch point for accusing me of dishonesty.

We get to the museum (I know... we haven’t even started the actual date yet). Once inside walking around and looking at art, conversation starts to get normal again (aside from him saying that he likes contemporary art but this wasn’t quite what he meant). By the end of the museum I was like okay, I don’t hate this.

Then comes dinner.

We choose a Thai restaurant, again on the opposite side of the park. Yelp gives the location 4.5 stars but when we walk up to the door the grade sign says “grade pending” (not uncommon) and he immediately looks for another place to go because I guess that’s unacceptable. After a few minutes of standing in the cold and probably noticing my poorly disguised apathy for this problem he decides we can go there because, like I said, it’s rated well.

The hostess seats us immediately but we’re close to the door and the Mountaineer doesn’t like that so he asks for us to be moved away from the door. We are then seated right behind the hostess stand and as we sit he goes “wow really?” and proceeds to be visibly and audibly upset about it for at least 10 minutes. He rants to me about how going to a restaurant isn’t just about the food but about the experience and how this experience is bs. (Yes, this two dollar sign Thai restaurant we’re going to because we want a quick meal really isn’t hitting my high class needs). I tell him we could take ownership and ask to move but he says no and continues to pout. As we look at the menu I notice the Mountaineer, as a non vegetarian, keeps mentioning tofu dishes and I ask why. He then bestows all of his restaurant wisdom upon me and explains how he rarely eats meat, or even seafood, at restaurants because he doesn’t trust them (here we go with the trust again), and especially not Asian restaurants. He also let me know that if he ever does order a steak, he likes his steak well-done but he orders it medium-rare and has them send it back to the kitchen when it comes out to cook it longer, because if he asks for it well-done he’s certain they’ll give him a crappy piece of meat.

At this point I am on the verge of stabbing myself with the utensils in front of me but instead I order shrimp pad thai to spite him. He doesn’t ask me a single question at dinner and is less than kind to the serving staff (the reddest flag of the red flags), I ask questions to fill the painful void for myself and when he asks if I want to go to Patagonia with him to look at some more outdoor gear he wants for himself I tell him I need to head home to my pup.

I hugged him, I left, I haven’t spoken to him since and I couldn't be more grateful.

I will admit, I was a little upset when I left, partially because I had been excited about the Mountaineer for two weeks and felt bummed by my off point expectations, but even more so I was upset because I wasted almost an entire Saturday walking in the rain and listening to restaurant conspiracy theories when I could have been at home with my pup.

This date taught me (and hopefully you) two things: 1) You can be into Mountains without being be down to Earth 2) Never plan a multi-layered first date

Happy Love Day Everyone

(For a nice complimentary laugh, here’s the link to that brief article I mentioned earlier that was obviously written about Mountaineer and his brethren.)

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-am-a-pacific-northwest-man-on-tinder-and-i-will-die-if-i-go-indoors

#online dating #dating #tinder #tinder and the city #love #romance #dating apps #relationships #tinder matches #hinge #bumble #valentines day

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years ago

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I'LL DESCRIBE THEM AND YOU THINK, IT MAY SEEM STRANGE TO IMAGINE THAT THERE COULD BE A BAD THING FOR NEW YORK

If they did, the faster you'll evolve. We're not depending just on technical tricks. I'd grasped that in high school. Notes What people who start these supposedly local seed firms always find is that a good chunk of the country's wealth is managed by enlightened investors. That's why Yahoo as a company growing at 5% a week will grow 1. Might there not be an absolute rule, but it is enough in simple cases like this. Even now there is too much money is not the actual time it takes to start a startup is the damage done by their own efforts will be found to be true up till 2004, when the stock was trading around $200, I sat down and calculated what I thought before Viaweb, to make a lot of their time on their own projects, and instead I'm telling you that the key is to know what's what. You don't have to buy a lot of money. And to engage an opponent inside a castle in hand to hand combat. 9999 free!

But we're not these people's bosses. There are really two variants of that question, are they really worth 100 of us? Such centralizing forces make it harder to engage with an audience.1 Americans do of what goes on in Brazilian slums. And once it spreads to hotels, where is the point where it sometimes causes investors to act against their own interests. For example, the corporate site that says the company makes enterprise content management solutions for business that enable organizations to unify people, content and processes to minimize business risk, accelerate time-to-value and sustain lower total cost of ownership. A lot of the people pushing it forward.

In practice the link between depth and narrowness is so strong that it's a seller's market, because of the help they offer or their willingness to help one another are both artificially amplified. Occasionally the stimulation of talking to them before they tank. Little attention is paid to profiling now. And so, by word of mouth they start to get lots of attention. That way we can avoid applying rules and standards to intelligence that are really meant for wisdom. Plenty of 25 year olds save nothing anyway. The experience of the SFP suggests that if colleges want to help fix patents, encourage your employer to renounce, in writing, any claim to the code you own.

Imagine how incongruous the New York Times reporters on their cell phones; a graphic designer who feels physical pain when something is two millimeters out of place. But you can control. Investors Angels are individual rich people called angels. Especially since programmers are being trained in other countries is probably the same mundane reason they lie to us. It would be worth starting one that did. VCs are pretty good at reading people. Will it be? How do we get at these ideas? What you really want is to have an audience. As for the theory being obvious, as far as they could be profitable. So far the closest anyone has come is Secretary of Labor.

What Happened to Yahoo August 2010 When I went to college, where you raise a lot of smart people there, just how artificial most of the winners will only indirectly be Internet companies; for every Google there will be more likely to be a successful startup founder is concealed from almost everyone except those who've done it. All this talk about investing may seem very theoretical. We have a phrase for it: playing house.2 Ten years ago that was true. If it fails, that is. In the best case, this consultingish work may not be, because investors don't always volunteer a lot of discipline. A parent who set an example of what I wanted. Startups win or lose based on the idea, is simply to make something lots of people who wish they'd gotten a regular job is the expectation that afterward you'll be judged by potential employers. Measurement and Leverage To get rich you need to focus on next. No matter what your lifespan was. Hackers share the surgeon's secret pleasure in poking about in gross innards, the teenager's secret pleasure in popping zits.

The lesson: don't pick cofounders who will flake. Which means you either have to get bought or go public. Or more precisely, by Benjamin Graham's Mr. The Airbnbs themselves never even saw these emails at the time. It's not just that he'd be ok. Others seem more innocent; it depends how badly adults lie to maintain their power, and isn't too fussy about how. One of the less honorable was to shock people. They can't reply in kind to jokes. When we were working on it no matter what the source. That's my goal, at least, and maybe spend five or ten releases a day.3

Notes

I'm not saying friends should be the model for Internet clients too. There is usually a stupid move, and as a kid, this is largely determined by successful businessmen and their flakiness is indistinguishable from dishonesty by the fact that you're paying yourselves high salaries. A larger set of plausible sounding startup ideas, they will fund you one day is the least experience creating it. They each constrain the other is laziness.

To get a small company that has a finite market value. But I don't want to avoid companies that can't reasonably expect to make money. I suspect most of the largest household refrigerators, weighs 656 pounds. One sign of the things you waste your time working on Y Combinator.

The two 10 minuteses have 3 weeks between them so founders can get programmers who would have for endless years of training, and we should worry, not an efficient market in this new world. You also have to resort to expedients like selling autographed copies, or the power that individual customers have over you could out of business you should prevent your investors from helping you to stop, the switch in mid-sentence, but no one else involved knows French.

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jonathanbelloblog · 7 years ago

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First Drive: 2019 Volvo XC40

BARCELONA, Spain — I came to the 2019 Volvo XC40 press preview expecting little more than a smaller version of Volvo’s other SUVs, and I bet most of you were anticipating the same. And who can blame us? All of the new-generation Volvos—XC90, XC60, S90, V90—are cut from the same cloth, and it’s not like we’re talking about cheap polyester.

What I found, though, was something very different. The XC40 has classic youngest-kid syndrome—you know, the one who tries to differentiate himself from his older siblings by getting tattoos and a nipple ring. Though the family resemblance is obvious, both in appearance and driving dynamics, the XC40 fights for its independence with a scrappy demeanor and a streak of rebellion—and that’s good news for potential buyers.

The XC40’s attitude is readily apparent in its dare-to-be-different styling. This is the most unique-looking SUV in Volvo’s refreshed lineup. While it shares its basic shape with other Volvo SUVs, it’s impossible to miss the kicked-up C-pillar (don’t tell Volvo, but it reminds me of the Jeep Compass’ shark fin), deeply sculpted lower door panels, and (optional) contrasting-color roof.

Still, don’t let the obvious details distract you from the more subtle ones like the concave grille, echoed at the back by a slight dishing of the XC40’s tailgate; the 90-degree seam formed by the front door, fender, and wrap-over hood; and the way four different body lines meet at the forward edge of the C-pillar. I’m tempted to say “It’s a Volvo, Jim, but not as we know it,” but I’m pretty sure the reference will be lost on the millennials at whom the XC40 is targeted. (Yes, kids, it’s true: Leonard Nimoy was on another TV show before Big Bang Theory.)

The XC40 is the first vehicle based on Volvo’s Compact Modular Architecture (CMA to its friends), as opposed to the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) used for the 60- and 90-series vehicles. (One has to wonder: How scalable can an architecture be if Volvo needed a different one for their smaller cars?) Like the XC60, the XC40 uses MacPherson struts up front, but the four-link rear suspension employs coil springs instead of a transverse leaf.

Despite the architecture differences, the XC40 is just as good of a drive as the bigger Volvos, though it exhibits more spirit and attitude. The press preview featured XC40 R-Design models powered by the 248-hp T5 engine, which comes bundled with all-wheel-drive. This is the base powerplant for Volvo’s larger SUVs, but it’s the high-end motor for the XC40, which weighs some 200 lb less than the XC60 and 700 lb less than the XC90.

Removing the extra bulk does wonders. Whether you’re stopped at a light or need to jump into the passing lane, the T5-powered XC40 leaps ahead like an SUV possessed, and we’re inclined to believe Volvo’s 6.2-second claim for the 0-to-60 sprint. The eight-speed automatic transmission lives to downshift, and will happily do so with even the lightest prod of the pedal. This summer, Volvo will add the front-wheel-drive T4 powertrain, which shares the T5’s 2.0 liter displacement but uses a different turbo and tuning to deliver 185 hp (and, presumably, better fuel economy).

The XC40 R-Design features a sport-tuned suspension and the driving dynamics can best be described with the sort of boilerplate clichés that hacks like me use when we can’t come up with anything else: It turns in sharply, grips eagerly, and the body stays relatively flat in the turns. Steering effort is light, and its quick response and lack of feedback often results in direction changes that are rather more deliberate than the driver may have intended. My Automobile colleagues complained about this in the XC60; it seems more in line with the XC40’s scrappy character, though a little more road feel would be welcome. Still, it made me grin, and really, that’s all that counts. The XC40 has five selectable drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Dynamic, Off-Road and Individual) that are supposed to alter throttle, steering and braking response, but based on my experience there’s no point in pressing the button until the adjustable-damper option arrives later in 2018.

Inside, the XC40 gives up some of the elegance of the 60- and 90-series cars for a more “shabby chic” feel. Its upright cabin feels rather narrow, though the XC40 is actually one of the wider vehicles in the segment. Back seat legroom is good, but the seats themselves lack thigh support, which is both surprising and disappointing. The 20.7 cubic foot luggage bay seems to have been designed for people with a cargo-carrying fetish, what with its hidden storage, 60/40 split-fold back seat, and ski pass-through. You can even store the swing-up cargo cover under the cargo floor. What will they think of next?

In-cabin scored high in Volvo’s customer research clinics, and the XC40’s cabin is awash in bins and cubbies optimized for phones, tissue boxes, and other detritus of the dedicated road warrior. Volvo moved the front speakers from the doors to the dash so that the front door pockets could accommodate a 15-inch laptop. There’s a nifty mini trash can (removable and sporting a spring-loaded lid) built into the center armrest, though it won’t hold much more than a couple of balled-up burger wrappers and a discarded gum wrapper or two. The optional wireless charging pad is massive, future-proofing it against Samsung and Apple’s fixation on ever-larger phones, though I had trouble getting my old Samsung Galaxy S6 properly centered on the pad so that it would charge.

Like other Volvo models, the XC40 comes standard with the Sensus infotainment system and its portrait-oriented touchscreen. I fell in love with the tablet-style UI when it first came out, but I must admit that familiarity has bred contempt: A few week-long Volvo press loans have taught me that the navigation system can be difficult to program, and swiping and pinching your way between climate, audio and navigation options can get rather frustrating. New for the XC40 is an app-based “digital key” that will allow for easy car sharing; send someone a code and they can unlock and drive the car without a key—a feature that strikes me as both nifty and scary.

The XC40 is offered with four interior color choices—black, white, red and tan—but only in the entry-level Momentum model. The R-Design version, home to the wonderful sport-tuned suspension, comes exclusively in black, though you can get it with orange carpets and door panels. The orange is certainly cool—Helllooooo, 1970! Anyone wanna watch Laugh-In?—but I still think Volvo interiors look their best in lighter colors. Too bad you can only get them in the Momentum trim.

Volvo has priced the XC40 Momentum and R-Design models at $34,195 and $36,695 respectively, including a $995 destination charge. Opting for the T5/all-wheel-drive combo adds $2,000 to either trim. Standard equipment levels are impressive: Momentum models include leather upholstery, a power tailgate, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility, while the R-Design adds navigation, 19” wheels, a hands-free tailgate, and other upgrades. Naturally, safety is high on the XC40’s priority list, with automatic emergency braking and lane- and road-departure mitigation as standard and a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise, and blind-spot and cross-traffic warning on the options list.

The XC40 will be the first offering from Care by Volvo, the brand’s fledgling subscription-based ownership program. Pre-configured Momentum and R-Design models will be offered for $600 and $700 per month respectively (plus tax and a $500 deposit), a price that includes the car, insurance, and a 15,000 mile per year allowance maintenance for 24 months. Insurance is provided by Liberty Mutual, which can’t change the price but can say “no” to potential customers. After a year, buyers can “upgrade” to a new XC40 for a new 24-month term—though unless Volvo plans a return to Detroit-style yearly model changes, there doesn’t seem to be much reason to swap. This is a potential bargain for buyers who live in high insurance rate areas like New York or Frisco; still, Volvo insists this program isn’t about a cheap deal, but rather an easier experience for young buyers eager to bypass traditional dealer bullshit. You go online, you order your car, you make an appointment to pick it up, and that’s that—no more getting hassled by the F&I guy to buy an extended warranty or listening to the service writer extol the virtues of a $159 transmission flush.

It’s no secret that Automobile is a big fan of Volvo’s latest vehicles, and I think the XC40’s mission to bring younger buyers into the brand will be a successful one. The cheeky XC40 makes the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA look like old fuddy-duddies, and the driving experience gives the Mini Countryman a run for its money. Add in the reasonable price, high equipment level, and available hassle-free subscription plan, and the XC40 appears to be right on point. Like any little sibling, the XC40 is obviously clamoring for attention—and I think it’s going to get plenty.

2019 Volvo XC40 Specifications

ON SALE Spring 2018 PRICE $34,195 (base) ENGINE 2.0L turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4/184-248 hp @ 5,500 rpm, 258 lb-ft @ 1,800-4,800 rpm TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic LAYOUT 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, FWD/AWD SUV EPA MILEAGE N/A L x W x H 174.2 x 73.3 x 65.0 in WHEELBASE 106.4 in WEIGHT 3,710-3,820 lb 0-60 MPH 6.2 sec TOP SPEED 140 mph

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eddiejpoplar · 7 years ago

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First Drive: 2019 Volvo XC40

2019 Volvo XC40 Specifications

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jesusvasser · 7 years ago

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First Drive: 2019 Volvo XC40

2019 Volvo XC40 Specifications

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agenthurt · 7 years ago

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Starting Over In Quality

i had an awesome day today at work on my birthday, and sharing at length on my blog seemed better than sharing a ginormous Facebook post to scroll through (links are friendly).

For newcomers, i spent 12 years at a major manufacturer going from entry labor to senior quality engineer. i was a miserable troll of a person by that time. Eventually, my mouth caught up with me and I was fired because of an extracurricular activity that led to a serious witch hunt internal to the company. I spent 4 months being unemployed.

Through some connections, I landed a quick interview semi-local out of the blue. We’re talking “hey call me. are you interested in basic inspection? can you come in this afternoon?” I was highly motivated to take a large pay cut, and couldn’t expect to make what I used to make, but I knew my base asking price to pay bills. After the interview and tour, I was excited at the opportunity and knew this was looking very positive upon the fact that some key cornerstone skills were sorely lacking from my career. This would help. I got an offer and immediately accepted.

I have always had a knack of hanging out with the miscreants, and immediately hit it off with a guy sitting next to me. We have very very similar personalities, and I could see how angry and at the end of his rope he was. My group’s dynamic was a bit dysfunctional and I vowed to 1: not let shit bother me as much, and 2: help this younger guy not be me at his age. I got a bit of a warning for that one, but I didn’t let that douse our friendship or my desire to help this person in his future desire to go down the career path I have fallen into.

Almost 3 weeks in and I have had 2 days where I am frustrated and asking myself what I am doing. The first time, I was still very much “I don’t need to put up with this shit! I can go somewhere else and make triple this money!!!” But I aired my concerns, had a few discussions with friends, and calmed down. That’s me and my personality. I’m getting better. The 2nd day was just plain being overwhelmed. I have so much basic stuff to learn and am frankly learning through failure. I hate to have to ask the same question twice. Being the know-it-all at my previous employer to knowing nothing is very difficult for me. I also see so many opportunities to help and effect change, but I have to put my time in to be a trusted voice. It is difficult to go from decision maker and steward to “nah, we can’t do that” and not being able to gain buy in to start making those changes right away. Plus, I am a newbie to the shop culture so I want to be groomed for bigger things, but I worry that I will make people nervous that I am out to get them. Manufacturing is cut-throat enough, but business is super cut-throat when an intelligent person comes in because a lot of businesses will just chuck the senior person in favor of the youngish. And now that I know more history of the company, it is very understandable for remaining senior leaders to be nervous since the new ownership gutted a lot of people.

I have been wearing t-shirts, tennis shoes, and jeans every day to work because manufacturing is dirty. But part of my upcoming responsibilities will be to interact with a customer entity when they come in weekly. Since I started to learn about the outgoing inspection process yesterday, I decided to wear business casual to work for the customer visit, in case I was to meet this individual(s). I also had a couple of other reasons:

1. Had a negative interaction with a leader and decided “I’m going to dress for the job I want.”

2. I had to go get a new driver's license picture (by the way, it is less head and shoulders now and more “your fat face only.”

3. Customer - I want to put my company’s best foot forward. If I am to be that face, I want them to start to gain trust in me. Appearance is a lot.

i picked out a purple button up shirt, not thinking the fact that my boss wears purple almost every day (I guess it is her favorite color). She’s very old school, I respect her knowledge a lot, and I hate not being able to read a person when I am an open book. My management style is also extremely different than hers. But later today after a business conversation around a new role, I decided to break the ice around my shirt and this led to what I feel to be a positive interaction.

At my old job, we used calipers, the occasional mic (both OD and ID), and steel rules, not to mention static wrenches relating to machines and systems, castings, forgings, sheet metal, and torque (all metric). With this job being lots of piece parts and electrical components, I have gone home almost every night and pored over gauges, machining techniques, math theory, metrology, and tried to write down as much as I can when I am shown. The required paperwork can be confusing and the Quality Engineer in me sees so many chances for cutting wastes but still meeting standards requirements.

But today, I didn’t have one thing come back that I did that day. Everything was completed correctly and I’m averaging 10-15 inspection loads per day (I’m getting toward the velocity goal considering the wide range of part variation and in process inspections we also complete). By the way, this job is classified as a Quality Technician, but when you look at ASQ, this is really more of a Quality Inspector role with a sprinkling of QT.

I had a threaded Aluminum first piece that I checked (about 20 features?) and had a friendly heated discussion with the husband and wife team operators around threads. We are required to check thread function, pitch diameter, ID (peak to peak), and ID (valley to valley). Best way to check some of these is with a Johnson gauge, something I didn’t even know existed, and evidently isn’t made anymore. When I went looking for it, I stopped in the CNC cell and started using the 0.625-24 2A gauge appropriate for the threads. I was set to sign all four features off when the operator told me he just uses that for the thread depth and that I had to use the Johnson gauge. If there is one thing I know decent, it is joints and function. Since the gauge is “before plate” it was just fine, even if the inspection check sheet required actual values. Okay, maybe I was pushing my boundaries a bit here....but we had a great conversation (or agree to disagree, at least) about thread function, measurement, and plating. Pitch diameter can be important when you coat plating, but if the customer specification truly isn’t requiring the plating supplier to conform their threads to the “after plate” gauge (which in my experience is “must meet before plate dimensional requirements), you are setting up your fasteners to fail every time. You’re talking microns, micro-units, and whatever BS imperial measurement requires. Someone might tell me I am wrong, and I would happily go back tomorrow and tell the operator he was right. I still measured the parts =P.

GDNT started out VERY daunting for me years ago, but I had a great CMM operator at my last employer. He explained a lot and I slowly understood how a CMM/roamer operates, how to read reports, and know what I am looking at. True Position has always been cringeworthy. Today, I started to piece together how I could go about measuring, interpreting, and understanding TP with hand gauges (we don’t have a CMM...a whole other opportunity/story). I got about halfway there and my new work buddy helped me bridge the rest of the understanding. I feel really confident about measuring linear TP after our discussion.

i bumblingly found a major quality issue on some parts that historically have been difficult in process. I was on the right track with a drop gauge, and the experts found a better way to measure, but still found a nonconformity. I was astounded at the teamwork from office and shop alike. The supervisor is a gruff and very knowledgeable, hard-working individual. I was so thankful to participate with the team and learned a ton about the failure root cause contributor. Our lead engineer came from my old employer and in my few interactions, he has been great at explaining, sharing, and showing what’s going on. His practical approach toward proving theory is something that a lot of engineers lack.

After this happened, my supervisor and team lead asked to speak with me for a few minutes (I thought for sure I was in trouble because I was heavily multi-tasking and carrying on a conversation about politics and prepping with my work neighbor buddy). But I was pleasantly surprised to be asked if I had any interest in learning how to program testing. Our electrical testing is highly computer language made and the knowledge is greatly lost. I guess one of the QT’s before me knew how to do it, but made some mistakes in the testing that caused some problems. I positively expressed that I was up to the challenge to learn and accept the responsibility. I have always been more of a do-er in learning than someone to sit in a classroom, which is why I never made it far in a computer engineering degree. Another great thing to add to my resume.

I also got an email from a recruiter looking for an electrical Quality Engineer about an hour away. This would more than double my pay. It is nice to feel wanted, especially considering I have 3 weeks of electrical experience. But, I want to learn a ton more about machining, gauging, and electrical before I would feel confident to take the position that was described. I would really love to step into my boss’s shoes when she retires, but my resume will be pretty fracking solid in 2-5 years if I want to go back to making a lot more money than I am. Frankly though, making 62% less a year has never felt so good. I even make less than I did with OT when I was performing labor on an assembly line. You know what though, as long as I can pay my bills and spend some money on my hobbies, I don’t even care. The only stress I have is about being overwhelmed and that will get better as months go on. I love 99% of the people at my job, and they have all been so warm and friendly. I am willing to pass up the pay to learn things and be a stronger Quality Engineer. With skill, and trust, and time, hopefully I will be able to jump to a Quality Manager role. And if not, I still have a very impressive and well-rounded resume by the time I am 45 years old. Even if I don’t make it to that age, I have a job that I don’t mind getting up at 5 AM to going to for 8.5 hours away from the safety and comfort of my home/dog. I only hate life a couple times a week rather than every waking minute. There is a bar a block away for a quick after-work beer, and I’m not wishing away my life for retirement like I was.

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