#people have to get money out of anywhere they can to pay internet or phone data

[basofy]

oh my godddddddddddddddddd you have to be fucking kidding me

[genderqueerdykes]

being poor is so mind numbingly boring. you can't afford hobbies, leisure activities, games, books, music, transportation for going to places, some people can't afford internet or a phone. entertainment is seen as a complete and total luxury, but what people don't realize is that people need to be entertained.

there is nothing left to do for fun that's completely free. parks are tiny and meant for dogs, mostly, they're unsanitary as hell because there's mostly just dog waste everywhere. getting to the park costs money. kids and adults alike cannot just go "play outside". adults aren't even allowed to "play," we gawk at adults who stop to play with bugs or look at small animals. adults aren't allowed to play pretend it's seen as weird. kids don't have anywhere to go- they're considered "loitering" or an annoyance if they hang around anywhere for too long. not everyone can go to bars.

it is necessary for our mental health to have things to keep ourselves entertained with. people often get caught up on a poor person having one nice thing for themselves, but after a while, that 1 nice thing gets boring, too. people need variety. we need stimulation. we need input. we need to experience the world, too

i was told by my own therapist and case worker that people need entertainment and happiness to survive. humans are not wired to suffer 24/7, no one has to earn entertainment. if you think i'm pulling things out of my ass, i'm not. multiple mental health professionals in my own life have confirmed that people need to have fun or their health will suffer. mental health is connected to physical health. you know nothing if you think this is factually inaccurate.

poor people shouldn't be relegated to boredom and never experiencing life and what the world has to afford. the entirety of entertainment should not be paywalled. people should not have to pay entry for every single event in their area, or try to find free events and struggle to pay for the transportation. it's not good for your mental health.

[ms-demeanor]

got a question I was hoping you could answer!

why do all apps have to go through an app store? why doesn't anywhere have their app downloadable from the internet or something?

was wondering this because lots of issues with apps seem to stem from having to comply with app store guidelines and whatnot. So why not avoid that problem and make the app available off the appstore? And if part of it is because they're easier to find in the appstore, why not do both? why not also offer the download on a website or something?

there's gotta be some reason why there's afaik no one who offers a download for their app without the appstore right?

There are absolutely other ways to get apps, and the one that springs immediately to mind is the F-Droid App Repository.

Sideloading is the process of loading an app that doesn't come from your phone's OS-approved app store. It's really easy on Android (basically just a couple of clicks) but requires jailbreaking on an iphone.

The reason more USERS don't sideload apps is risk: app stores put apps through at least nominal security checks to ensure that they aren't hosting malware. If you get an app from the app store that is malware, you can report it and it will get taken down, but nobody is forcing some random developer who developed his own app to remove it from his site if it installs malware on your phone unless you get law enforcement involved.

The reason more developers don't go outside of the app store or don't WANT to go outside of the app store is money. The number of users who are going to sideload apps is *tiny* compared to the number of users who will go through the app store; that makes a HUGE difference in terms of income, so most developers try to keep it app-store friendly. Like, if tumblr were to say "fuck the app store" and just release their own app that you could download from the sidebar a few things would happen:

Downloads would drop to a fraction of their prior numbers instantly

iOS users would largely be locked out of using tumblr unless they fuck with their phones in a way that violates Apple's TOS and could get them booted out of their iOS ecosystem if they piss off the wrong people.

Ad revenue would collapse because not a lot of advertisers want to work with companies that are app-store unfriendly

They'd be kicked off of the main app marketplaces

So most people who develop apps don't want to put the time and effort and money into developing an app that people might not pay for that then also can't carry ads.

Which leads into another issue: the kind of people who generally make and use sideloaded app aren't the kind of people who generally like profit-driven models. Indie apps are often slow to update and have minimal support because you're usually dealing with a tiny team of creators with a userbase of people who can almost certainly name ten flavors of Linux and are thus expected to troubleshoot and solve their own problems.

If this is the kind of thing you want to try, have at it. I'd recommend sticking to apps from the F-Droid Repository linked up above and being judicious about what you install. If you're using apple and would have to jailbreak your phone to get a non-approved app on it, I'd recommend switching to another type of phone.

(For the record, you also aren't limited to android or ios as the operating system of your phone; there are linux-based OSs out there and weird mutations of android and such - I am not really a phone person so I can't tell you much about them, but they are out there!)

[lilyliveredlittlerichboy]

it's time now. it's time to imagine the brightest future you can, and talk about it.

a future where people only work 8 hours a week and everyone's basic needs are met. a future where we are more connected to nature and eat seasonal, local produce. a future where you look out for your neighbours and they look out for you. a future where you actually know who your neighbours are. a future where everyone is just a lot more relaxed and able to do whatever they want to do - this 8 hour working week has given people their lives back and now they're able to make community events, work in community gardens, sing and dance and spend time with their kids, play whatever sport they want, travel, read, create art and music.

People are interacting with each other in good faith again because money as an ulterior motive has all but disappeared. Cus you see a few decades ago they made profits illegal. All money has to be put back into the company and CEOs can take home a salary only, no bonuses and it can't be more than 3x what the lowest paid employee makes. You can go to jail if your company is found to make profits, advertise on a large scale or pay its high ranking members more than what's allowed.

Jail still exists but mostly people go in for financial crimes (greed still exists); drugs are decriminalised and available to use safely. people are not as desperate now so there's been a massive reduction of violent and petty crime and most of the people who still do this are teenagers who get away with a slap on the wrist. police are not armed anymore and are heavily penalised if they abuse their power or hurt a civilian, and their role is more that of mediator, signposter (to community services, social services, and free and accessible healthcare including for mental health) and security. together with the former military they make up an "emergency task force" which are called upon in times of need and crisis, for floods, fires, other such disasters.

the stock market completely collapsed after profits were made illegal and people had to find other ways to figure out what a company was worth: such as how they treat their staff or how accessible their processes are. as a result of this, as well as more widespread disability thanks to Covid and an ageing population, accessibility is fucking incredible now. most places are accessible to the vast majority of disabled people even without them having to ask for a single thing. If they have to ask, accommodations are made quickly and without fuss and this is completely normal now. disabled people are more visible than ever in public life and this has led to a generally kinder, more tolerant public life.

Everything is slower now. Social media as we know it died decades ago and Internet 4.0 is efficient, will find you accurate answers and the websites you're looking for very easily and fast. there's monopoly laws restricting how large companies operate online. online ads are all but illegal - there's "phone book" esque pages where you can promote your business or service and that's allowed but not anywhere else. Lots of people are still annoying and some of them are still cruel but overall living together as humans has gotten so much more chill. We've tackled climate change and reversed much of it, now it's a global day of mourning whenever a species is found to be extinct through human intervention. these days used to happen much more frequently but it's very rare these days. Most everyone gets the day off and is encouraged to read about the lost species or hold themed funerals. Globally everything has gotten better - there's much more global equality now after a bunch of western/formerly colonising countries almost self destructed and then instead decided to own up for colonialism, pay reparations to a lot of countries in Africa Asia and Latin America, as well as indigenous nations of North America, Oceania, even in Europe. The USA doesn't exist anymore instead its a whole host of separate nations all managed by the native people whose land it is. The UK doesn't exist anymore. England is still sad about it but Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall are called Cymru, Alba, Eire and Kernow again and they've formed a Celtic Union for better collective bargaining power in the EU (which still exists, somehow. Its better now. England may still be out of the EU I'm not sure). Migration is common and foreigners are welcomed into any country with open arms.

I may try to write something about this. I have a vision for a future and it's so lovely. Here, on earth, with the starting point being now. We have a lot to work with and only a few changes could make such a difference. Demilitarisation, UBI and maximum working hours, greedy financial practices made illegal. Conservation and education on local plants and nature and food. Community building on every level. Giving people their lives back.

This is all extremely possible. If it were up to me, very little in society would be left unchanged but it would all be people friendly changes. changes that aim to support the poorest and most marginalised, changes that aim to punish greed and exploitation. It's a work in progress of course. But I have a vision for a better world and dammit if I'm not going to share it with you.

[quiverwingquack]

Please help two queer people and their cats out!!!

Hi again. I hate to be making another post like this, but we're really struggling right now.

The big hitters right now are that we have no rent money, or food. We've been skirting by by the skin of our teeth for awhile, watching out for the next emergency that would throw us back into the red. And here we are.

Last month, we had a big, pricy surprise: our oldest cat gained multiple diagnoses in a single visit. His bills are paid up for now, but he's due back in about 3 more weeks for more x-rays and tests, and he's been placed on medication permanently. The monthly cost of pet supplies has essentially doubled, just to care for him.

Meanwhile, we're behind on every bill. Our phones have been off more often than not in the last two months. We're out of food, laundry detergent, soap. We're in danger of losing heat, electric, internet. Because management at my job is pretty unreliable, I can never predict how many hours I'm gonna get, but it often doesn't reach 20, when I'm meant to be full time. It's been impossible to stay on top of things due to this. We're both applying and interviewing everywhere we can, but we haven't had any luck getting any other source of income. And we could really, really use some help right now.

We've been getting by on as little as we possibly can, for years now. We don't have hot water, or a working stove/oven, or proper flooring and insulation to keep the cold out. Often, the cats eat and we don't. Neither of us can drive, so we can't go anywhere without paying for a ride, and we don't have anyone supportive living in the area. Asking for help like this is basically all we have left. It's shaping up to be a pretty miserable holiday season, but we're both very grateful for anything.

Reblogs are very, very appreciated. Tumblr is only making it harder to circulate posts like this, so every reblog is important. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who donates or reblogs.

Paypal // Venmo // Kofi

[youcouldmakealife]

LBTE: Jared (136-137)

I love it when a plan comes together. Especially when, as in this case, the plan has been in motion for years (on my part, at least. More of a day-to-day thing on theirs)

If you want to follow along, you can here.

136. Hostage Negotiations

Fans howling or not: he’s a star player and you do not hand a star player to your divisional rival. You just don’t. Unless you’re like, the Leafs back in the day, but Lapointe had a bad season before that, and Jared suspects that deal was made on the winged feet of homophobia. The former GM of the Leafs and Deslauriers are probably poker buddies or something.

I like to picture the Old Boy’s Club as a real thing sometimes. It’s at a golf course, naturally. The only women are decorative. Scotch and cigars and toxic masculinity and white privilege and unearned cockiness. Random deer skulls because they like to mount their trophies. Etc.

“I mean, I hope I’m staying in the West,” Bryce says. “Calgary’s probably going to start reaching out, seeing who’s interested, ship me off before the NTC kicks in.

That would certainly be the clever thing to do, considering how few options they’ll have come July 1st. But then, when have the Flames done the clever thing in this universe?

The Senators beat the Scouts in a massive upset.

Scratch and Money become ScratchnMoney. And a Cup for Dan and the boys!

Greg goes back and forth with the Canucks. They ask for 5.5, even though Jared would have been content with the initial 4.5 offer, told him that, Greg exasperated with him on the other side of the phone. The Canucks agree to 5. He knows the two years combined are less than Bryce makes in a single year, but it’s — huge to him. They send him the papers, and Jared doesn’t know whether to sign them or not.

That’s 2.5 AAV on a two year deal, which is pretty fair as far as bridge deals go for a middle-sixer you use heavily on special teams. Jared could have, but didn’t want to sign for longer, with no idea where Bryce was going to be in two months, let alone two years.

“Still,” Jared says. “Foster’s like — he seems like a genuinely nice guy, maybe he’d—”

“He’s a GM, babe,” Bryce says. “He’s not going to just let you like, go because of love or whatever. It’s a business.”

If any GM would…

Jared signs everywhere he’s supposed to sign it, and that’s it. He’s a Canuck for two more years. Bryce has two more years on his contract, so — maybe in two years they’ll figure it out, manage to get to the same place together. It’s hard to be happy about that when two years sounds like, well, two years, when Bryce is already frayed close to snapping.

Obviously the situation is vastly improved very shortly, but I think Bryce going just about anywhere would have probably improved his mental state, though being in the East would be undoubtedly hard on them as a couple.

They crack open a nice bottle of wine, eat good dad cooking, and Jared gets his hair ruffled by his parents like, a billion times, like being a millionaire means they get to treat him like a kid again.

Jared gets so huffy when people fuck with his hair. Which of course both parents are aware of. Gotta keep him humble. (They’re also, you know, proud of their boy!)

“You were already a millionaire,” Erin says, her hand outstretched. Jared eyes it.

“What was your signing bonus, Jared?” Erin asks sweetly.

“Nothing,” Jared says. “Not a cent.”

“Jared,” Erin says, hand still outstretched. “The internet exists. It is literally public knowledge.”

Money please.

It was a quarter of a million dollars of his contract up front and Jared isn’t going to give her any of it. He already offered his parents a cheque and was rebuked and then offered again, citing financial support being the reason he had a hockey career, and had it very grudgingly accepted.

They both have well-paying middle-class jobs and aren’t hurting for money, but they are currently paying for Erin’s schooling and expenses, so it is eventually accepted (very grudgingly).

“Am I boring?” Jared says.

“You are the most exciting person in the world,” Bryce tells him, all earnestness, and takes his hand at the next red light.

Jared squeezes, then lets go. “Both hands on the wheel, babe,” he says.

“You can sometimes be a little boring,” Bryce says.

I mean —

Free-agency comes Bryce is still a Flame, which means all the leverage is his now.

Dropped a punctuation mark and/or word, whoops.

“Who’re your three?” Jared asks that night, fingers running through Bryce’s hair as Bryce drowses beside him.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Bryce says. “Like, I’m going to put Vancouver on it, obviously, but it’s just going to be a flat out no from them.”

“I know,” Jared says.

“If they gave in they’d ask Vancouver for way too much in return and they’d say no,” Bryce says.

“I know,” Jared repeats.

Bryce blows out a breath. “I wanna go so bad,” he says. “I just—”

The scheming is underway.

“I trust you in absolutely everything,” Bryce says solemnly, which automatically puts Jared on guard.

“Except?” Jared says.

“Be patient with me during the negotiations?” Bryce says.

Dave’s now involved in the scheming.

“Are you going to be booed the next time you play in the Saddledome?” Jared says.

Bryce smiles, and Jared doesn’t care if that means Bryce is playing further from him, that they may give up the apartment that’s felt like home since Jared was seventeen. He doesn’t care. Bryce smiled.

Jared really would light the Saddledome on fire for him. And not figuratively speaking.

137. Culmination

It’s all of twenty four hours after Summers comes to town that Bryce literally comes jogging in the door, yelling, “J?” like Jared isn’t sitting on the couch ten feet away from him half-watching the news. One nice thing about living in Vancouver is he doesn’t have to listen to the fucking UCP. “J, turn off your phone.”

He ran the entire way home. It was not a long run — partly due to distance, partly due to speed. He wanted Jared to hear it from him, especially if the ‘Bryce Marcus to Tampa’ came separate from the follow up ‘and then to Vancouver’.

“Your phone was about to go crazy and I need to tell you this before someone else does,” Bryce says, kneeling in front of him like he did last night, clean pressed suit and earnest eyes. “I’ve gotta sign papers still but—”

Practically a proposal, which is fitting because Bryce just did everything in his power to be where Jared was. And yes, it’s his hometown, and his childhood team, and his mom’s there, but he would have done it wherever Jared was (would have been easier to swing, in fact, were they not divisional opponents)

“Please tell me it’s a Western Conference team,” Jared says.

“It is,” Bryce says.

“If it’s Edmonton I’m going to be—” Jared says.

Bryce kisses him. “Shut up for a second,” he says.

Jared scowls, but does.

He knows your proposal derailing ways, Matheson.

“Three teams on my list,” Bryce says. “They picked one of them.”

“They would have to if you’ve been traded, unless you waived your NTC,” Jared says. “You know I know all of this, stop being all weird and cryptic and—”

Jared let him explain his and Dave’s plan to you, he wants you to be proud of his scheming!!!

“Tampa’s over the cap,” Bryce says. “And they were desperate to shed salary so they could re-sign Tanner before someone bit and offer-sheeted him and they gave Calgary Schlitz and Barbieri and a second for me.”

Dear RL NHL GMs: use more offer sheets, you utter cowards!!!

So, deal wise, Tampa comes out of this very nicely. They get cap space they needed, they shed good but too expensive players, and they trade a second for a first (from Vancouver when they flip Bryce), and a goalie prospect when they don’t have anyone particularly promising in the prospect pool.

Calgary gets a decent if not terrific haul from Tampa, and it looks like an okay if not great deal for them, but understandable given the short trade list. Until, well. The second flip. Then they look like dupes.

“Tampa can’t afford to keep me,” Bryce says. “Which is why Vancouver offered Tampa a first, a third, and a goalie prospect because Summers told Foster, strictly off the record, I’d re-sign in a heartbeat when my term was up and I’d give them a significant hometown discount when I did as long as my husband was still in the Canucks line-up when that time came. Do not fucking tell anyone that last part, not even your parents or my mom.”

Obviously Vancouver is over the moon about getting Bryce. Hometown hero, on a sweetheart deal for two more years, going to sign for cheap as long as Jared’s by his side.

Dave Summers was in violation of NHL rules and ethics for conveying that message to Vancouver and we should all tsk and shake our heads. (But we’re not gonna)

Jared beams at Bryce.

Bryce beams back.

This is what we’re doing instead.

“I can’t believe I made you this Machiavellian,” Jared says.

He’s so proud.

He IS so proud of your scheming, Bryce!

“They weren’t really — big on moving me at first,” Bryce says. “Like, even with the media shit and all, I’m on a deal that was pretty normal then but cheap now and they figured my play was back on track so like, may as well wait, see if they could get more for me next season at the trade deadline or throw me at someone before I was a UFA. So I maybe like, held out until my NTC kicked in and then mentioned that my trade value was higher right now because I hadn’t come out yet and I was considering it.”

This isn’t technically against rules or ethics because ‘player wants to come out’ is legally protected, at least in Canada, but you know, it's probably not morally in the clear. But I think weaponizing your sexuality against bosses who have been absolute shits about it falls under ‘they have it coming’ branch of ethics, ie: karma’s a bitch and so am I.

“You’re not considering it,” Jared says. If Bryce was even remotely considering it, Jared would have caught on.

Bryce shakes his head. “Not to media,” he says.

Famous last words, though that shoe won’t drop for a year and a half.

They're both smiling too hard for the kiss to be any good but Jared doesn't give a fuck, he hauls him in, tastes Bryce’s smile against his own, feeling like he can breathe easily for the first time in months.

All of Jared’s favourite kisses with Bryce are objectively bad because they all involve them both beaming their faces off and I love that, especially since Jared isn’t much of a grinner. (Bryce increasingly is, especially after moving to Vancouver, but Jared mentions Bryce grinning so much you’d think he has a perma-grin — he doesn’t, except around Jared.)

As much as ‘actually on the same team now’ calls for some terrific celebratory sex, it’s going to have to wait. Bryce has papers to sign. They have people to talk to. They are grown ass adults who cannot have celebratory sex.

Maturity is so boring.

“Foster wants to talk to you?” Bryce says.

Jared takes the phone.

“Hi Jared,” Foster says.

There’s a bit of a laugh in Brian’s voice right there because he’s been gleefully laughing to himself all day. He did absolutely nothing to earn this deal that makes him look like a genius except be a stand up guy and I am delighted for him.

“You tell Bryce he has the biggest brass balls I’ve ever seen,” his dad says.

This is the most Don has ever liked Bryce. And really the moment Don puts down the Flames fandom. He doesn’t know what was involved, but he suspected it was complicated, and that Bryce did some shit, and that he did that shit so he could be with his son, and Don can’t not admire that. (Also the brass balls.)

“How’d he keep this a secret?” Elaine says, now sounding completely incredulous.

Bryce is way better at keeping secrets than Jared or Elaine. But only if he considers the secrets GOOD secrets. Like ‘I want to marry you, I bought a ring’ — hidden for months. ‘I have been setting up a charity’ — four months of steady work before he felt confident letting Jared know about it. And some of that is Jared being oblivious, but Bryce is perfectly good at hiding something he considers a surprise rather than a secret.

He’s got a next text when he gets off the phone with her, Stephen has not stopped laughing since we found out. Legit is going to make himself puke. Imagine you’re slammed right now but give us a call when you get a minute?

Stephen is DELIGHTED by this. Gabe’s a little concerned honestly, the dude is puce coloured at this point.

“They’re going to boo you,” Jared says.

“I know,” Bryce says.

“Not just the first time,” Jared says. “They’re probably going to do it for years. They might do it for the rest of your career.”

Bryce shrugs. “I know.”

A lot of Bryce’s complete and utter exhaustion in the run up to this deal involved him coming to terms with and making peace with that fact; that he was going to leave Calgary on poor terms, that he was going to get a boo from the crowd rather than a tribute video and a standing ovation. And this was going to happen no matter where he went, but yes, going to Vancouver significantly upped the chances of that happening for the rest of his career.

Bryce shrugs again. “It’s going to suck,” he says. “I’m probably going to feel like shit. But like. I get to play for my hometown team, and live with you all year round, and be near my mom and my grandparents and it’s like — it’s worth it, so. Whatever I have to deal with, I’ll deal with. Plus like, it’s nice knowing going in that it won’t be a shitty room. Because if it was a shitty room you would have bitched about it. Hell, you bitched about the Oilers’ room being nice.”

How dare Darryl Rogers exist, being friendly and supportive to rookies.

“Well,” Jared says. Fair. Stupid Darryl Rogers being a nice guy and welcoming him kindly.

Literally Jared, tho.

“Dmitry—”

“Sounds like a totally normal dude, you just hate everyone,” Bryce says.

This is also probably fair.

“He pied my face,” Jared says. “Twice.”

“On your birthday,” Bryce says. “With shaving cream. Which is a tradition.”

“He pied my face,” Jared mutters.

God I love Jared.

“Want to rail me in your Canucks jersey?” Bryce asks.

I would suggest against this for purely Pavlovian reasons, but you do you boys.

Canucks blue really brings out Bryce’s eyes. It’s like, stunning, how beautiful they look.

“Less talk about my eyes, more getting your dick in me,” Bryce says.

The ONE time Jared tries to be romantic.

“Look at me?” Jared says, and when Bryce does, his eyes are so fucking blue.

“Vancouver,” Jared says, and tastes the grin that spills across Bryce’s face in response.

They did it!!! Took 137 parts, but they made it to the same place!

[hamncheddar]

I miss IRL streaming. I’m gonna put this rig back to use next week while I have a visitor in town. In my experience, IRL streaming doesn’t have to look bad on a phone. Here’s some nerd shit about IRL streaming and why I have my setup the way that I do.

The standard for IRL these days is a LiveU encoder with a few 4G/5G modems connected to it. The benefit of this setup is not only using multiple connections, but it allows you to max out the quality of the camera you use for IRL. It allows you to use anything from a GoPro to a DSLR / Mirrorless camera for IRL. The liveU takes that camera’s HDMI or SDI output and sends it over the connections of the modems to a destination: typically a server somewhere that is running streaming software like you would at home to stream on Twitch or YouTube. Using this server (IRLToolkit for example) adds the benefit of automatically switching scenes to a "be right back" scene if your internet connection ever dips on the go. While this is the "standard" for IRL, the barrier for entry is pretty steep. The LiveU alone will run you $1k new, maybe $700-$800 used. Then, for it to be even worth the investment, you'd want to bridge at least two modem's connections which can be anywhere north of $40 a month per modem. That intermediate server will also run you a decent amount of money per month. I haven't sworn off the idea of adopting this standard some time in the future but for now, I am running a setup on a phone that has admittedly gotten to the point where I should have just done so ages ago. I use my iPhone 12 pro max for IRL, but on that phone I use an app called Prism to stream to IRLToolkit (just like the big boys do) over RTMP, rather than just streaming directly to twitch from, say, the streamlabs app. The video quality on an iPhone 13 pro max holds up to that of a high quality camera, as long as the right software and tinkering is behind it. The audio codec and noise cancellation on Prism do a good job with keeping the audio crisp, but I've recently made the addition of DJI's new lav mic system. I have yet to test this live, but I have used it just in the iPhone's camera app and it sounds great. Then, there is the gimbal. I am currently running the DJI osmo moblie 5. A lightweight stabilizer is something that even those running the LiveU setup don't have. On the left, I have an old pixel 3 running chat, alerts, and the IRLToolkit dashboard all at the same time. Since this requires very little data, this is doable just with a pay-as-you-go SIM card. Lastly, the box jutting off on the left is a LumeCube that is mounted in a cold shoe mounting block. This is just a small LED panel that I can spin away or toward me to keep my subject lit. Not pictured: I've got a JBL clip speaker to strap to my chest, which runs alerts and TTS (which I get in trouble for in public all the time. Shoutout to the guy who played a TTS out loud while I was in the security line at TwitchCon Amsterdam saying I volunteered for a cavity search). All said and done, the Gimbal costs $140, the extra phone plan costs maybe $30 a month depending on usage. The (unnecessary) mic system is $300. I do have a discount on the intermediate server with IRLToolkit because I know the guy who runs it (sue me - it's normally $120 a month and I won't say what I pay). You could run this same setup on the Prism app to stream directly to Twitch or YouTube, so the intermediate server service can be avoided (at the cost of your stream possibly going down when you lose connection). The upfront cost is really low and the ongoing cost is also relatively low. For someone that wants a better-than-average IRL setup, I think that going down a route like this or similar is something people should explore. It requires the least amount of knowledge for a relatively low amount of money. If you want to watch this stuff in action, as well as my studio space where I run my own twitch production full time - I'm live at http://www.twitch.tv/hamncheddar ched.tv for other socials

[pedropascalito]

I would love to visit Chile, Argentina etc and wonder if you have any advice or tips! I’m a single female wanting to go myself as I’ve always wanted to go and can’t find anyone wanting to go

I'm happy to give advice or tips. I am much more familiar with Chile. What are you interested in doing? Outdoors, city, beach, arts, etc? Chile has so many different regions and there are different reasons to go.

In general, my advice:

It's a long ass plane ride. Whatever money you can spend to make that more comfortable for yourself, I recommend. And don't both er filling out any forms online in advance, as you will be asked for a paper copy to enter the countries anyway.

Even though I had international data roaming turned on via Verizon, I could never get a signal outside of hotels, so I recommend packing paper maps/guide books for anywhere you are going, because you can't rely on mobile service, even in the cities. Or, plan to get a local phone and phone plan to have internet access on the go.

Chileans and Argentinians speak different dialects of Spanish, but when you are trying to speak Spanish, they are very understanding and patient. If you use a translator app, download for offline access due to the internet issues above.

Be mindful of your surroundings just like you would anywhere else and you'll be fine in the cities. I didn't feel like Santiago was any more dangerous than any other large city, and the subway is significantly nicer than what I am used to.

I think they are both fine for traveling as a single woman, as long as you are smart about your surroundings and the details you give to strangers. Don't be flashy or wear jewelry, carry your phone in your hand, bag hanging off your shoulder, etc. and you'll be fine.

Oh, in Chile, DO NOT throw away the receipt you get with your entry date stamped on it. Even though your passport is also stamped, the receipt is what exempts you from paying locals taxes at hotels and such. You will be asked for that receipt at every hotel you check into and border crossings. If you cross into Argentina and back again, you will surrender the receipt crossing into Argentina and get a new one when you come back to Chile.

Don't ever try to bribe your way out of a police check or checkpoint. They don't do that there. You will regret it.

Drink all the red wine you can get your hands on. You will love the variety and cost!

Everyone in Argentina is hot. You will see attractive people everywhere you go. It's amazing.

[forestryfae]

man it is SO nice to find a solution to a really shit problem only for 50 other problems to happen

i am completely alone with zero support in a house i hate, doing as much housework as possible so it can be manageable both in day to day life and so its not hard to just leave when i move, and i still am not getting any help getting rid of the stuff.

i have almost no money and i have to pay to take the train to buy food or neccessities and i was dumb enough to not send a letter sooner so i dont know if ill get my money until after christmas or not, i havent bought more than one christmas gift either cus im fucking broke, and i dont feel anywhere in my body that i want to spend time making something for anyone. my brother still isnt done paying me my money back and literally hasnt talked to me since last time he asked for money, my dad hasnt fucking talked to me in ages and the one time he called in summer it was out of boredom to ask when i was gonna visit them, none of my extended relatives talk to me at all so what the fuck is the point there, and my mom is just. a fucking bitch.

i had her removed as a legal guardian, not even on purpose initially but because folkenemnda or whoever sent her a letter before i was able to have a meeting, so she ofc got fucking offended and now has decided sve cant be involved in anything. she cant call electricians, she cant help fix the house, its "too difficult" for her to have to talk to me or my new legal guardian instead of just buying stuff right away, and she told ME to get a new phone service provider. i had to fix that myself. on top of her being, once again, a useless bitch. dont touch my stuff i say, its fucking embarrassing that you have dirty laundry she implies while moving all my furniture around and doing shit to my kitchen while refusing to acknowledge its my house but still treating it like her own, and not fixing the internet again after they unplugged it.

so i have no access to internet besides my last 150 mb of phone data unless i call some guy to fix it, but they wont be here until next year most likely so its pretty much pointless, and if i buy phone data i have to pay. so if i cant get it fixed ill be literally alone for two weeks straight with no people at all around me and noone i can talk to on the internet. except for fucking. christmas. idk about new years eve. and i dont even fucking like my family, i dont even want to spend time with them, they treat me like shit.

the ac doesnt work since mom got the electricians to look at everything but never actually hired anyone to fix shit and now is completely uncooperative. and after they checked the fireplace in that control like two years ago im not allowed to use it, and mom never actually got that fixed either even though shes been in charge of absolutely everything since forever.

plus both heaters downstairs are set to 27c or max and it still is only like 17 or 19 or so, i have an entire room in the house i straight up cant use cus theres no power and no light and 17c in there and its full of stuff i asked mom to take to the thrift store for me 6 months ago. also i cant leave either heater on if im boiling water or washing dishes cus that overloads the entire fucking thing.

and its just like so much bullshit all at once and ive been spacing out for like 2 hours while writing this cus i get so frustrated and upset and angry and sad. its not fucking fair that my parents literally dont care about me, yet im expected to be fucking sociable and call and visit them and reach out. they didnt reach out to me or support me at all when i was a kid, or a teenager, or an adult, why the fuck would i want to deal with them. but if i dont go to visit them on christmas or i point out that hey. youre not really being fair or nice to me at all, hell breaks loose cus i should be more than happy with the crumbs they give me, as if theyre the best people in the world for fucking. calling once every six months or letting me celebrate a holiday with them.

like. im stuck here for 2 weeks, im broke as shit, no connection to the outside world once i use all my data, i very much am still mentally ill even if im better than before i went inpatient. but once i go back ill have to go back to work and i dont have a psychiatrist to talk to and im not on any meds i think i might need and i havent been tested for anything yet, i havent been had driving practice yet, i can barely talk to my support contact, i need a lot more help than i am being given, im not getting the help i ask for when i do ask for it, and thats on top of shit parents and a shit house and two cats i love but am not sure i can keep given the whole thing where im gone for months at a time. and i just. how the fuck am i supposed to be able to keep a job or ever move out or make friends properly or keep a new apartment or house or be mentally stable. its so much bullshit all at once wtf

[grenade-maid]

I think the way that people think about intellectual property and copyright really betrays a lack of understanding and imagination for both the society we live in and a better society that I should think we would be hoping to create. Specifically, the argument around IP and copyright for most well-meaning people centers on the desire to see creative and inventive people be compensated for the work that they put in. When things get slightly less abstract they will often act more specifically on the desire that authors and workers in industries such as film and television be able to have a living wage, under the supposition that piracy undermines the profit made by their endeavors and therefore threatens their livelihood. This is a relatively straightforward and intuitive set of assumptions that are internally consistent. Internally consistent it may be though, it does not really hold up to scrutiny within real world contexts where IP and copyright have overwhelmingly not only failed to benefit authors or workers, but have been used against them in countless ways to undermine both their artistic agency and basic economic livelihood. Additionally, 30 years of living in the internet era, several decades of home taping prior, and centuries of public libraries and used bookstores should speak to the overwhelming lack of threat that piracy poses (remember after all, publishing industries DO regard libraries and home taping or even just content sharing with friends with equal hostility). all of this is well trodden ground, I have said nothing new in this summary.

⚠️ HOWEVER ⚠️

this is typically where the conversation ends, running around in circles until the heat death of the universe. Do people consider what it is they are truly talking about, though. That is to say, something very fundamental is being taken for granted here as an immutable fact of the universe tantamount to natural law like gravity or thermodynamics. that thing, the very thing they are arguing about, is the livelihood of artists and workers as defined by their wages. Again, this seems entirely reasonable and intuitive, after all, you need money to live ergo artists and workers should receive money to do the aforementioned living. But it is at this point that we must recognize that this in itself is an abstraction that has to be understood on a more complex and complete level for the conversation to ever hope to go anywhere.

so we must ask then, what is meant by a livable wage, or economic survival more broadly? Thankfully that question is quite simple. Because it simply means asking, where do those wages go? And the answer is, primarily they go towards keeping roofs overhead, beds to sleep in, mouths fed, water, electric, heat, phone, internet, and all other bills paid, transportation, healthcare expenses, taking a trip to the beach, and laughing with friends. So long as the conversation remains solely on the arms race between workers being paid enough to keep up with all the ever more egregious ways capitalists will find to squeeze the money right back out of them it will be a conversation that fails to achieve its goals no matter how straightforward and simple it seems. The only way out of this sisyphian cycle is for all of those things that wages go towards being guaranteed regardless of wage. There is no model of Byzantine mechanism that rewards some calculation of sales or views or other measure of audience engagement with an equivalent payment to artists and workers that will guarantee their livelihood-- and even if one existed it would immediately be circumvented in enumerable ways owing to the fact that capitalists pay entire armies of people whose sole job is to find loopholes and exceptions and vagaries in language that will allow them to circumvent them.

it is this dynamic that illustrates the way in which in a capitalist society law is controlled by capital. Even with no explicit lobbying involved capitalists can simply pour however much money it takes to get a million monkeys at a million typewriters to generate for them an entirely legal reason that any law that is meant to compel them to do anything (such as paying artists and workers) does not actually apply to them. Artists and workers are too busy making art and doing work to act as a similarly vast number of monkeys with typewriters, and as such, fights such as these cannot be gainfully fought solely in the realm of laws which compel capitalists to pay you x amount under y conditions. The rise of replacing employees with contractors who have no rights, the proliferation of shell companies that can be folded as soon as production is over thus erasing any legal obligation towards artists or workers, not to mention the countless methods of accounting trickery that allow companies to claim they made no money despite millions of sales should clue you into this.

The only way this fight can be won is for the necessities of livelihood to be guaranteed with no exception, with no requirements based on approval by this or that capitalist. We have observed this in healthcare--tying healthcare to employment only serves to let capitalists threaten you by withholding it. If they must provide it upon you working a certain number of hours they will employ you for exactly 1 hour less than that. The same is true with all things because the logic remains consistent. They want to save money and maintain authority, regardless of the matter at hand. This, by the way, is also what is meant by the dictatorship of capital. Just as healthcare needs to be a universal guaranteed right, so too does housing, food, water, transportation, and, in a world where phones and internet are a necessity, they must be guaranteed too, in all instances, regardless of context, whether you think any particular individual deserves it or not.

for artists to be able to make a living making art the only true prerequisite is that they are guaranteed by human rights everything it takes to live. Ergo, healthcare, housing, public transportation, food, water and all these other things being a universally guaranteed right is defacto the primary necessity to fight for in the fight for the rights and lives of artists, not IP or copyright.

[myhalloweendreams]

Hey guys!

I need ideas!!! Urgently!!!

(This post will probably be a mess bc I'm in a really bad place rn and can't stop crying so please bear with me please)

I can't find a job, and hell knows I'm trying, and the worse is that I know I've no way to pay my bills (or anything else) for the next month and I'm so desperate rn

I tried so many things people rec on the internet and mostly or don't work or don't accept people from other countries or ask you to buy coins and alikes to be able to offer your work for the clients T-T

I need ideas to get some money $$$... Like I need freelance sites and remote jobs and stuff, sites that really work, sites that I can use from anywhere (I have no money for VPN and I tried many ways of using non paid options and they don't work)

Options that pay on dollar or euro and stuff like that would help a lot bc they are worth like 5 times my currency and it would be a lot easier to feed myself for another week even with the low paying ones (it has to have the option to be paid for PayPal tho bc idk other way to get the money)

I want to work, I want to do the effort, I just don't know how... Anyone knows a way?! Anyone have ideas or smt to help me to get some money?! I really need it!

Things I can do: the basics, I can edit and restore pictures and stuff like that, I can create posts, I never did yt thumbnails but i can figure it out how, I can enter data, answer chats for help clients, put subs in small videos, I can probably translate from English to Portuguese(I think), I can do simple stuff, but idk what are money worth but give me any ideas about it too, I'm willing to try

Things I can't do (or my my neuro divergent ass can't handle): talk in english in general (I'm way too rusty and haven't practiced in like so many years that I can't talk well enough anymore), so no reading too, talk to people even more strangers (even if my english wasn't bad by now I can't talk in the phone without having panic attacks) - I can read and write (I'm not that good at writing in general even in my main language but i can work around it)

The thing is: I'm fucked rn, I don't even have enough money to eat the rest of the month and I stopped taking my meds like in january bc i had to to save money until i find a job and well, i don't have money to pay for them even more rn lol - and so many other things (good lord I have take my cat to the vet and even that I can't afford and I feel like the worse person in the world)

I'm so sorry for be annoying and taking the time of everyone and anyone reading this, but I'm really desperate rn... I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!!

[sometimesrosy]

Hey Rosy, somewhat of a difficult “question”. I live in a smaller country in Europe, where things are getting very difficult. We’re considered a 1st world country, but I digress. My mom has a pretty good high-paying job, still only middle-class, so I was fortunate enough to grow without anything missing, although there were no luxuries and almost no traveling, etc. But, if we felt like eating out on a friday afternoon, we would, for example. Eventually I went to live with my boyfriend at a rented house, and we considered ourselves lucky to have that rent at that time, because prices were already spiking. We were able to maintain a normal lifestyle, no big excesses but we could pay for everything, spend some money on our hobbies, and still save by the end of the month. We even went on a big vacation, although my mom helped a bit there. Fast forward to now and we bought a house, after some insistence from my mom, and because it really was the best thing to do: the house we were in was without contract and price of everything was still raising like crazy. Who knew if we’d stay at the house next month or the landlord would double the rent or kick us out? So, we got ourselves a nice apartment, SUPER EXPENSIVE, but we got it. It absolutely drained us, especially my mom and grandma who paid for the full 10% entrance, otherwise we couldn’t buy it. Rent now, as in, payment to the bank, has been very high, and in June it will be even higher. I don’t think any of us had any idea of how ridiculously expensive everything is now, but we’re having a difficult time, mentally, paying for everything. I have a minimum wage job as I can’t find anything better even with my degree, and my bf gets paid a bit more but is also taxed more, so I ended up bringing more home than him. We have been able to pay for everything, but it’s been impossible to save even if 20€. We finished last month with 5€ in our accounts, and this is because my mom helps us a lot and does most of the grocery shopping. With so much stress, I’ve already went to the hospital with a nervous gastritis, which made me miss work and the cut on my salary was HUGE. I can’t help but feel even more stressed, knowing it’s being hard now and that in June it will get worse. Sometimes I even regret buying this apartment. It’s not even the fact that I can’t do anything else besides paying bills, it’s the fact that buying a 10€ book after 3 months of spending 0 money on anything else but bills and rent might make us not be able to pay the bills for this month, and how guilty I’d feel for that. I’ve been working my butt off, even doing some side jobs, and we still can’t save even if 10€. I feel like I’m living on auto pilot, and I know that, unfortunately, this is how millions of people live. I’m just looking for ways to cope.

I am familiar with this struggle. It's definitely hard, no matter where you live in the world right now. I'm not sure anywhere is stable. I don't feel the us is stable either. Expenses keep going up and wages... aren't.

So there are three different ways you can handle this struggle, I think. Or rather. Three different elements.

Cut expenses. (money going out.) It sounds like you've already done that. But you might want to look into some things you're spending money on that you aren't using. Like streaming subscriptions, or a cheaper phone/internet plan. Renegotiate some of your current bills. Who knows? It might work. Or you might want to buy groceries in bulk or generic instead of brand name. I actually think you SHOULD still allow room for small pleasures, like your book, and cut back on expenses you wouldn't even notice, like brand names, if you can.

Increase income. (money coming in.) I know I know. Your jobs don't pay enough. You can't find a better job. I get that. If that's the case, ok. I understand. Find other ways to bring money in. A job on the weekend. Seasonal work. Freelancing. Monetize a hobby. Maybe even selling some of your stuff. Or stuff you get from thrift stores. Yard sales or internet sales or consignment. Maybe a roommate if you have a guest room. A roommate can offer a lot of relief on that rent stress.

Decrease anxiety. My friend. I know not having money is stressful. It makes you afraid. But. BUT. It's just money. Money is a temporary problem. It flows in and it flows out and sometimes there will be more coming in and sometimes there will be more going out. You are making yourself sick over it. Literally. Think back to some previous times in your life when you were short on funds and realize how you got through it. And how when you got through it, the anxiety went away. Because it's just temporary. It's just money. Find ways to enjoy your life REGARDLESS of money. Stop thinking you can't enjoy your life. If that book is too expensive, go to a used book store. Or trade with your friends. Join a collective. Look online for places where people are giving away free or discounted things. Go to free shows and festivals. Visit the beach or parks to decompress. Find outlets that don't cost money. Romanticize the life you have instead of the life the media wants to sell you.

I am giving this advice based on my life in the states, of course. I don't know what's available to you in your country, so I can only offer suggestions that I know of in this country. I do know that there are freelance jobs paying US dollars that you can work from wherever you are. When I worked for a ghostwriting company, a lot of the other freelancers were in other countries. Maybe you could find some sort of freelance side job using your degree. Maybe you can also get some assistance from your government-- but again I don't know what would be available in your country.

But let yourself breathe. It sucks not having money, I know, but once you figure out some ways to juggle income and expenses, there will be breathing room again.

[pwnyta]

Okay so there’s the thing… I play CROB still (for some reason 💀) and couple of updates ago I sent you a pretty long message about all the changes and how ugly they are and how much I hate them and how they demotivate me and I don’t really wanna play the game, but that message, sadly, was completely lost when I sent it because of the internet disconnection… so, I was really angry about it and just decided to let it be.

But OOOOOOHHHHH MYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOD I CANNOT DO THIS ANYMORE‼️‼️‼️‼️ THIS FUCKING GAME JUST GETS WORSE AND WORSE, UGLIER AND UGLIER, LESS AND LESS CONVENIENT I— god I REALLY don’t want to be angry about it, but I’ve been playing this game for 2-3 years and put good amount of many into it (let’s not discuss whether it was a good idea or not, I have money to spare and CROB was one of my hobbies), but now the game is just so. Fucking. BAD.

Bro.

They changed the way to level up characters. I LEGITIMATELY don’t know how to do it anymore. You can pay GEMS to level up your characters (yes, you heard it right), they got rid of the character and pet gachas, BUT IT DIDNT MAKE IT BETTER!!!! I AM!!! SO‼️ ANGRYYYYYYY AGHHHHHH‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Today was a new update (it’s a Yogurca update) and I’m just…. Not only did they bring ANOTHER legendary treasure that is near impossible to get (I spent 50k+ gems that I’ve saved up + a lot of free pulls for treasure gacha and didn’t get SHIT), But also - and, tbf, I didn’t connect the dots until I went to the CROB’s YouTube channel - they’ve released a BOMBER cookie with a BOMBER jelly shapes for a middle eastern inspired world during Ramadan… need I say more?

God I’m so tired. I really liked CROB, I preferred it heavily over CRK, I was there for quite some time, but devs just get greedier and greedier, and they keep making game uglier and less convenient. I really don’t want to leave it behind, because, well, I put money into it, but outside of that, I still really like characters, I love their designs, I love the concept of the game and I REALLY love guild runs, they are fun! But at this point, I just login into the game everyday for rewards and to login into guild lottery. I just… god I feel so defeated. Why are they doing it? If the game is doing worse than they want, then just pull the fucking plug. I understand that some people are going to play and going to whale no matter what - I’ve already seen people with fully refined new legendary treasure, and that shit came out only couple of hours ago. But my GOD. I really liked this game, I felt nice while playing it, I liked the sense of accomplishment when I was getting better. Now the game is ugly, I don’t understand how to fucking LEVEL UP the characters and just….. ugh. Sorry for this rant, I just needed to talk about it somewhere 😓

Damn… Yeah IDK whats with CROB lately either. Im assuming theyre just putting more time and resources into CRK now, I know they never expected for CROB to get as consistently popular and well loved as it did and were planning for it to end well before… but like I honestly wish if they dont wanna do it anymore that they really did just shut it down rather than making things super bad until people just leave.

Which I mean theyre PROBABLY not going out of the way to make the game worse… but certainly FEELS that way. Or I guess its more they just wanna make more money off it. Since the Gacha was super generous when I was playing at least with the character/pet Gacha

And Peppercorn Cookie... great design... probably ANYWHERE ELSE at ANY OTHER TIME would have been a better time to release her... remarkably tone deaf.

It all really sucks since with Kingdom you need a higher end phone and it takes up way more space so theres probably a lot more people on the poorer side of things playing CROB which is probably why its so popular still… IDK.

Well IDK what to tell ya… I know I really loved the game and praised it for a long time and even spend money on it as well cuz I really enjoyed it… but it just stopped being worth it. If your still having fun just enjoy what you can… if you just wanna see the characters im sure you can find the stories on Youtube or something so you dont have to waste your time with it…

No worries tho. Im always ready to commiserate the loss of a good series or game...

(Unlike BNHA Im more sad about CROB than mad about it.)

[audiomobile]

Secrets To Being Happy In Hayward, CA

Hayward, CA is a great place to live. It's safe, has excellent schools and plenty of opportunities for fun and recreation. And yet, it can be easy to feel unhappy when you don't have enough time for yourself or your family. The good news: Your Hayward, CA home doesn't have to be filled with stress and tension!

Do what you love.

Do what you love and you will be happy. Do not do what you don't love, or else life will be a drag.

Don't worry about what other people think of your passion for something as silly as crochet or making candles in the shape of Bigfoot's head (I know someone who does this). If it makes them uncomfortable, let it go!

If there is no money in it yet, don't worry about deadlines; they will come eventually if the world needs more Bigfoot-shaped candles out there somewhere.

Get enough sleep.

The first step to being happy is getting enough sleep. The average person needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night, but some people need even more than that. If you're not getting enough sleep, your body won't feel refreshed in the morning and you may be more likely to get sick.

If you've been having trouble sleeping for a while now, there are several things that can help:

Don't take your phone or laptop into bed with you at night (or any other electronics). The light from these devices will keep our brains stimulated and make it harder for us to fall asleep quickly

Try to exercise.

Exercise is good for your health.

Exercise can help you sleep better.

Exercise can help you feel happier.

Exercise can help you manage stress, which in turn will reduce the risk of depression and anxiety disorders (and who doesn't want that?).

The benefits don't stop there: exercise has been shown to improve mood, energy levels, confidence and self-esteem--all things that make us happier!

Take time to pursue hobbies.

When you are trying to be happy, you need to take time out of your day in order to pursue hobbies. Hobbies can be anything that you like doing, such as reading or playing video games. If there is something that interests you, then try it!

In order for us humans to stay happy and healthy we must not only eat food but also engage in activities such as sports or exercise that get our blood pumping through our bodies so we can live longer lives without getting sick from being bored all day long with nothing else going on except sleeping late into night without waking up early enough before work starts so there's no time left over after dinner just sitting around thinking about how miserable everything feels right now instead of doing something fun like going out dancing with friends because none exist within walking distance apart from one person who moved away years ago after graduating high school together back when internet didn't exist yet so we'd call each other up every night before bedtime just talk until exhaustion took over

Savor the good moments.

When you're happy, you tend to focus on the good moments in life. That's because happiness is a state of mind that makes you more aware of those moments. You can be happy anywhere and at any time--even if it's just for a few seconds at a time!

It doesn't take much effort to find happiness; all it takes is some positive thinking and appreciation for what we have in life. Here are some ways that will help:

Take time out every day (even if it's just 15 minutes) where nothing else matters but enjoying yourself and doing whatever makes YOU happy - whether reading a book or watching TV show or playing video games; whatever floats your boat!

Stop and smell the roses whenever possible - literally stop walking down the street if there are flowers nearby so that they can fill up your senses with their sweet aroma! It's amazing how much better things feel when we take notice of them rather than rushing past everything without paying attention...

These secrets will help you create a happy life for yourself in Hayward, CA.

There are many secrets to happiness, but these are the most important:

If you love your job, then you will be happy.

If you are healthy, then you will be happy.

If you have friends and family who love and support you, then that too will make for a happier life.

Hobbies and interests can also be great sources of joy in your life; if there is something that makes an individual happy (for example playing sports), it should be encouraged rather than discouraged by others if possible--and this applies to passion projects as well as hobbies like painting or writing short stories!

There's no need to wait until retirement before starting new adventures either--you can find happiness right now by making small changes in your daily routine that lead towards bigger goals such as taking classes at community colleges while working full-time jobs so they can eventually become doctors/dentists themselves one day too!

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[trevorhunter]

Stop Complaining and Start Earning: How to Build a Business From Nothing

Let’s get straight to the point. Every day, I see people talking about how they can’t find jobs, can’t find income, and are struggling to get by. It’s the same old story: complain, complain, complain about whatever situation they’re in. I get it; maybe it’s a little tougher to get by today than it used to be, but here’s the reality: the only thing holding anyone back is excuses. Call me insensitive if you want, but I’m not the guy who’s going to pat you on the back and say, “Yeah, it’s rough; things will get better.” No, it won’t get better until you get off your ass and do something about it.

If you’ve got a phone, a tablet, a computer, or any access to the internet, you’ve already got everything you need to start earning. I’m not talking about a side hustle, I’m talking about making a real living.

There’s nothing you can’t learn online. If you’ve got the will, YouTube’s got the way. There are plenty of small businesses you can start with almost no money. I once broke down five businesses you could kick off with under $1,700 and turn into a six-figure income. You can check out the details here: https://youtu.be/MxFXv6IdDFI. But let’s take it even further. Let’s say you only have $100.

House cleaning? You can start with almost no money. You don’t have a car? Cool. Ride a bicycle, walk, take a bus, or get a ride from a friend. All you need is to post on Marketplace that you’re offering house cleaning services, put up a quick Google Business Profile, make some Facebook posts, and start running some revenue. Car washing? Same deal, same scenario.

So, what’s the excuse? The truth is, there isn’t one.

The problem isn’t the lack of opportunity; it’s the unwillingness to do the work. Take house cleaning as an example. People want to start a service, then they look at what others are charging and decide they need to charge $60 an hour. Let’s be real: most jobs pay anywhere from $12 to $25 an hour, but suddenly, cleaning a house should demand $60? No way. You could charge $25 or $30 an hour and be booked solid. But instead, people hold out for that $60 and then wonder why they’re not getting any work.

The hard truth is, you’re overvaluing yourself. If you’re sitting around not getting work and complaining online, it’s because you’ve priced yourself out of the market. You’ve got to price to get the work first, build a reputation, and then raise your prices. This isn’t a popular opinion, but it’s the truth.

When I started building websites back in 2002, I charged $150 per site. It took me days to complete one, but I got so full I couldn’t take on any more work. A mentor told me to double my prices, so I did. Got booked again. I doubled them again. Fast forward to today, and my websites go for $5,000 to $12,000, and I’m booked through next year. But I didn’t start there. I charged what I needed to survive, to get the work, to build my name.

That’s what too many people miss today. They want top dollar before they’ve proven their worth. If you want to make it, you’ve got to earn it. Build your reputation first, then the money will follow. No excuses, just action.

Alright, if I were in that position financially, here’s exactly what I’d post on Facebook. And here’s the crazy part: pride is the only thing keeping most people from doing this. They’re not willing to be genuine, real, and vulnerable. That’s what’s stopping them.

Take a minute, set your ego aside, and get real. Jump on Facebook or whatever social media platform you’re on and share something like this. If you’ve got a car, add errand running to your list. If not, adapt the list to what you can do. Post it, charge a fair price, and let your phone start ringing. Answer it, be nice, be respectful, and by the end of the week, see what you’re getting hit up for the most.

Start a business. Don’t even worry about naming it yet, who knows what it can grow into? After a week or two, you might figure out what your niche is, which one of these tasks you don’t mind doing the most. You’re not going to love any of it, this is hard work. It’s not going to be easy, but you might find something you enjoy more than the others. Then, grow it.

USE THIS POST

🚀 Starting a New Chapter – I Need Your Help! 🚀

Hey everyone, I’m in a bit of a tight spot financially, and I’m looking to start a business. I need your help to make it happen. Below is a list of services I’m offering, I’ll come to you, work hard, and do the best job I possibly can. I really need a chance to get this off the ground. I’ll charge you a fair price, so if you’re interested, send me a DM. Let’s make this happen together!

Here’s what I can help with:

- House Cleaning

- Lawn Care and Gardening

- Car Washing and Detailing

- Errand Running

- Window Cleaning

- Laundry and Ironing Services

- Packing and Moving Help

I don’t have everything figured out yet, but I promise to give it my all. Your support would mean the world to me!

Good luck, guys.

[hong-kong-art-man]

Streets In Hong Kong Are Quiet: Why Online Shopping Like Taobao May Uproot More Street Shops?

Shopping is an appeal to innate human rapture. New ideas rise and old shops fall, but we still shop.

People used to shop in stores; swiping through hangers or caressing items on supermarket shelves. Now, products are mere digital images that you can scroll past. You can log on to an online shopping platform from anywhere and order even chicken and papaya. Shopping online is all about ticking boxes: species, colour, size, number and grade of quality which are all options appearing on the screen of your computer or mobile phone, with no need for personal touch. It is a mechanical process but worth on its own.

Online shopping can never completely replace some shops especially those restaurants where romantic ambience is the reason for enjoyment. It will not replace shops selling luxury goods where you want to be treated like a VIP. For shops which are ordinary and cannot offer competitive prices of their products, it is hard to see how they will be able to battle against their online counterparts. At the end, only the convenient shops satisfying a customer’s daily needs may survive. This is why I still frequent 7-Eleven or Circle K. In a competition, there are always winners and losers. Losers will disappear.

In Hong Kong, Taobao(淘寶) is the market king. It is an online shopping platform headquartered in Hangzhou(杭州), China and owned by Alibaba which at first targeted at a ‘B2B’(business-to-business) and later at a ‘B2C’(business-to-customer) operating model. Taobao is almost the most-visited website for shopping among the Chinese.

Few years ago, I resisted but now Taobao is too hard to resist for me.

My friends said the following: “China used to produce low-cost and low-performing goods, and the focus, in recent years, has shifted to high-quality goods. The trick is to look for the mid-range prices and you seldom get disappointed.” “Most shops in Hong Kong typically close at 7pm. With the rise of e-commerce, I can buy what I want from the comfort of my own home, any time of day or night.” “Buying something online is often cheaper and delivery is much faster, usually within 1-3 business days.” “My God! One of the benefits of online shopping is that specialty items, hard-to-find products and almost everything under the sun particularly out-of-stock goods can be found on the internet.” “Shoppers’ comments are available on Taobao and I can assess at once which is good and what is bad. I can also know how many items that the manufacturer had sold. I just wisely follow the crowd.”

Chinese people are very creative and this is why you will be amazed by the innovative products which emerge from Taobao every day: curtains without drilling nails, bedside tables with different lighting ideas, fake muscle T shirts which can make you look like having a six-pack abs, slippers which feel like jelly, ladders that can be turned into a chair and more…

Some Taobao sellers hire Hong Kong transportation companies to take back the goods back to the Chinese Mainland if you are not happy with the quality that you have bought. Some Mainland suppliers display their samples in Hong Kong and let you go to check out the grade. Some house fittings manufacturers employ local Hong Kong workers to provide installation services at your home. 

Taobao is a wonderland where you can pay no mind—just relax, enjoy and spend your money in full swing.

Online retailers such as Taobao, Amazon, Carousell, eBay and Tmall are popular in Hong Kong and are quietly forcing many small street shops to close down. Land and labour in Hong Kong are expensive. This is why the prices of products in physical shops with the same quality can be 3 or 4 times more. Only those who are not accustomed to ‘cyber shopping’ or who insist on personalized encounter still do in-store shopping. 

The big challenge to cyber shopping is the cost of ‘e-commerce logistics’ which term refers to the movement of goods in online retail. It involves managing inventory, order fulfilment, warehousing, transportation and delivery. The latter two are not cheap. Often, transportation charges are equal to the price of a product and you are forced to buy many other things at the same time in order to justify delivery charges. It encourages ‘prodigal spending’.

It is also a pity that most e-commerce sites are just a product list. They do not have stories or human inspiration. They do not tell you why the products are made or who developed the idea behind. 

My life has changed. I seldom go out for aimless shopping. I simply wait happily for an order to show up at my door every single day. It is always like Christmas! Online shopping wins because I can do it in bed or even in my toilet! Carrying stuff which is a kind of heavy lifting can cause a problem to us after a certain age. There is already too much stuff to carry around like cellphone, wallet, keys and a briefcase when we go home. Grocery bags surely piss us off now!

Great shopping is when laziness finds respectability.

Maurice Lee

Chinese Version 中文版: https://www.patreon.com/posts/you-yi-zhong-qu-104771940?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Online Shopping Fraud https://youtu.be/gQBNkKdecCc?si=YPwHvFlgDNDwhmil  Acknowledgement-HK Police

Even kids do online shopping https://youtu.be/9PtwmK36Of8?si=lQfOAN5PaFF2T0bN  Acknowledgement – RTHK

Development of online shopping in HK https://youtu.be/pbGU74aURvg?si=ezNc59RssgZcoh-r  Acknowledgement – China Daily Asia