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grison-in-space · 4 months

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I'm honestly curious how you square the criticism of paternalism with the apparent conviction that people (or at least some people) are better off with some kind of minder, or in some way unfree. These read as basically the same things to me, so what qualifications need to apply to the latter to make it acceptable?

You know what, that is a fair question. I think what I was trying to articulate last night is actually a little more complicated than that, but I definitely did not lay out the connective tissue to get there, and I see how you got that reading. (I am very much one of those people who thinks by speaking, sometimes, and I am absolutely doing some of that by this point.)

First: I don't think that some people are better off unfree, full stop. I really want to emphasize that very strongly here.

Second: I was trying to articulate some of my tension with the notion that 100% unbounded freedom of choice is inherently the ideal to which all individuals (do? should?) aspire. ARA philosophy focuses really heavily on the idea that any curtailment of choice or influence from humans to animals is inherently coercion and therefore immoral. It focuses very strongly on the idea that freedom to choose is the highest possible value to strive for.

And I think that partaking in society is inherently to accept curtailments on at least some freedoms, in exchange for receiving the support and resources of the greater social whole. (If nothing else, sometimes things I would like to do are also things that will upset someone else in my shared social world, who will then impose consequences on me about it.) What I was trying to do is articulate that trading some of those freedoms in exchange for the benefits of a society can be, and often is, a pretty good trade. That's why sociality exists in the first place, even in the existence of some pretty harsh hierarchies within some species.

I was not very clear about this, I freely admit.

The thing you gotta understand about me is that I think in terms of trade offs. Life is a series of imperfect decisions made to allocate finite resources (if nothing else, time) between series of conflicting demands and desires. Understanding those decisions is essentially my bread and butter. And everything has a cost—even preference itself.

Now, in terms of humans, one of the things that humans are genuinely rather unusual about is our collective capacity for delayed gratification, impulse control, and abstract reasoning. When we talk about animals, we have to recall that informed consent in this sense is essentially impossible to acquire: without language to convey abstract options and with much less capacity to consider future outcomes, it's harder to present these ideas to animals the way you can with humans.

And... for all that humans are unusually good at those things, we're not always that good at them! I was trying to reach for and articulate that my own experiences with decision-making in the present instant don't always square with my longer term goals and values, and that reasoning through the long term consequences of my actions like a perfectly logical actor isn't always something I am capable of doing in all moments of all time. Which is why I build in structures to outsource some of that cognitive load. I think there's a considerable cognitive load that comes with decision-making in an infinitely complex world, and I think that part of the utility of society is to help structure choices so that you don't have to engage in the cognitive effort of gathering information for every potential choice you could make and then making it. The structure lets us conserve effort and reserve energy for other goals and decisions.

I don't have to know why the fire code says there needs to be an egress window in my basement bedroom and think about whether the future risk of fire justifies the definite immediate cost of paying for the window and accurately assess the risk of burning alive; I just need to know that my city fire code says my choice is to have a bedroom with an egress window or not have a bedroom there. Risk assessment is really hard and it carries a lot of uncertainty; yielding my judgement to a trustworthy authority is a way to conserve effort.

Of course, how do we know an authority is trustworthy? That's the thing that is hard; the consequences of yielding choice to a structure that is not actually built to support you are stark. And authority isn't always trustworthy by default.

I view the ideal role of the state as a way to structure our society such that we leave maximal room for freedom while minimizing the amount of effort and discomfort it takes to attain longer term collective goals for safety and comfort. The inclusion of humans with all kinds of experiences in that power structure to the extent that we can do so, with expertise in various situations outsourced to people who have dedicated significant time to thinking deeply about those cases, helps us to minimize the risk of authority wielded to oppress rather than to guide. (And yes, circling back to disability and mad pride, the experience of people with cognitive, emotional, and perceptive disabilities absolutely needs to be a part of that structure.) We collectively build authoritative structures that shape our choice making environment such that we have relatively little room for harm and increased freedoms elsewhere.

That's humans. We can think far enough ahead and communicate well enough to make that work. Animals generally can't. So when we think about the ethics of human/animal interactions, it's likewise important to make sure that we are listening as carefully as we can in order to try to navigate that trade off as carefully as possible, with the caveat that it IS a trade off rather than an unalloyed good juxtaposed against a certain evil.

#ethics

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reasoningdaily · 1 year

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Across a sterile white table in a windowless room, I’m introduced to a woman in her forties. She has a square jaw and blonde hair that has been pulled back from her face with a baby-blue scrunchie. “The girls call me Marmalade,” she says, inviting me to use her prison nickname. Early on a Wednesday morning, Marmalade is here, in a Finnish prison, to demonstrate a new type of prison labor.

The table is bare except for a small plastic bottle of water and an HP laptop. During three-hour shifts, for which she’s paid €1.54 ($1.67) an hour, the laptop is programmed to show Marmalade short chunks of text about real estate and then ask her yes or no questions about what she’s just read. One question asks: “is the previous paragraph referring to a real estate decision, rather than an application?”

“It’s a little boring,” Marmalade shrugs. She’s also not entirely sure of the purpose of this exercise. Maybe she is helping to create a customer service chatbot, she muses.

In fact, she is training a large language model owned by Metroc, a Finnish startup that has created a search engine designed to help construction companies find newly approved building projects. To do that, Metroc needs data labelers to help its models understand clues from news articles and municipality documents about upcoming building projects. The AI has to be able to tell the difference between a hospital project that has already commissioned an architect or a window fitter, for example, and projects that might still be hiring.

Around the world, millions of so-called “clickworkers” train artificial intelligence models, teaching machines the difference between pedestrians and palm trees, or what combination of words describe violence or sexual abuse. Usually these workers are stationed in the global south, where wages are cheap. OpenAI, for example, uses an outsourcing firm that employs clickworkers in Kenya, Uganda, and India. That arrangement works for American companies, operating in the world’s most widely spoken language, English. But there are not a lot of people in the global south who speak Finnish.

That’s why Metroc turned to prison labor. The company gets cheap, Finnish-speaking workers, while the prison system can offer inmates employment that, it says, prepares them for the digital world of work after their release. Using prisoners to train AI creates uneasy parallels with the kind of low-paid and sometimes exploitive labor that has often existed downstream in technology. But in Finland, the project has received widespread support.

“There's this global idea of what data labor is. And then there's what happens in Finland, which is very different if you look at it closely,” says Tuukka Lehtiniemi, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, who has been studying data labor in Finnish prisons.

For four months, Marmalade has lived here, in Hämeenlinna prison. The building is modern, with big windows. Colorful artwork tries to enforce a sense of cheeriness on otherwise empty corridors. If it wasn’t for the heavy gray security doors blocking every entry and exit, these rooms could easily belong to a particularly soulless school or university complex.

Finland might be famous for its open prisons—where inmates can work or study in nearby towns—but this is not one of them. Instead, Hämeenlinna is the country’s highest-security institution housing exclusively female inmates. Marmalade has been sentenced to six years. Under privacy rules set by the prison, WIRED is not able to publish Marmalade’s real name, exact age, or any other information that could be used to identify her. But in a country where prisoners serving life terms can apply to be released after 12 years, six years is a heavy sentence. And like the other 100 inmates who live here, she is not allowed to leave.

When Marmalade first arrived, she would watch the other women get up and go to work each morning: they could volunteer to clean, do laundry, or sew their own clothes. And for a six hour shift, they would receive roughly €6 ($6.50). But Marmalade couldn’t bear to take part. “I would find it very tiring,” she says. Instead she was spending long stretches of time in her cell. When a prison counselor suggested she try “AI work,” the short, three-hour shifts appealed to her, and the money was better than nothing. “Even though it’s not a lot, it’s better than staying in the cell,” she says” She’s only done three shifts so far, but already she feels a sense of achievement.

This is one of three Finnish prisons where inmates can volunteer to earn money through data labor. In each one, there are three laptops set up for inmates to take part in this AI work. There are no targets. Inmates are paid by the hour, not by their work’s speed or quality. In Hämeenlinna, around 20 inmates have tried it out, says Minna Inkinen, a prison work instructor, with cropped red hair, who sits alongside Marmalade as we talk. “Some definitely like it more than others”. When I arrive at the prison on a Wednesday morning, the sewing room is already busy. Inmates are huddled over sewing machines or conferring in pairs over mounds of fabric. But the small room where the AI work takes place is entirely empty until Marmalade arrives. There are only three inmates in total who regularly volunteer for AI shifts, Inkinen says, explaining that the other two are currently in court. “I would prefer to do it in a group,” says Marmalade, adding that she keeps the door open so she can chat with the people sewing next door, in between answering questions.

Those questions have been manually written in an office 100 kilometers south of the prison, in a slick Helsinki coworking space. Here, I meet Metroc’s tall and boyish founder and CEO, Jussi Virnala. He leads me to a stiflingly hot phone booth, past a row of indoor swings, a pool table, and a series of men in suits. It’s an exciting week, he explains, with a grin. The company has just announced a €2 million ($2.1 million) funding round which he plans to use to expand across the Nordics. The investors he spoke with were intrigued by the company’s connection to Finland’s prisons, he says. “Everyone was just interested in and excited about what an innovative way to do it,” says Virnala. “I think it’s been really valuable product-wise.”

It was Virnala’s idea to turn to the prisons for labor. The company needed native Finnish speakers to help improve its large language model’s understanding of the construction-specific language. But in a high-wage economy like Finland, finding those data laborers was difficult. The Finnish welfare system’s generous unemployment benefits leaves little incentive for Finns to sign up to low-wage clickwork platforms like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. “Mechanical Turk didn’t have many Finnish-language workers,” says Virnala. At the same time, he adds, automatic translation tools are still no good at Finnish, a language with only 5 million native speakers.

When Virnala pitched his idea to Pia Puolakka, head of the Smart Prison Project at Finland’s prison and probation agency, she was instantly interested, she says. Before the pandemic, another Finnish tech company called Vainu had been using prisoners for data labor. But Vainu abruptly pulled out after a disagreement between cofounders prompted Tuomas Rasila, who had been in charge of the project, to leave the company.

By the time Virnala approached her with his proposal in 2022, Puolakka was eager to resurrect the AI work. Her job is to try and make the relationship between Finnish prisons and the internet more closely resemble the increasingly digital outside world. So far, she has been installing laptops in individual cells so inmates can browse a restricted list of websites and apply for permission to make video calls. She considers data labor just another part of that mission.

The aim is not to replace traditional prison labor, such as making road signs or gardening. It’s about giving prisoners more variety. Data labeling can only be done in three-hour shifts. “It might be tiring to do this eight hours a day, only this type of work,” she says, adding that it would be nice if inmates did the data labeling alongside other types of prison labor. “This type of work is the future, and if we want to prepare prisoners for life outside prison, a life without crime, these types of skills might be at least as important as the traditional work types that prisons provide,” she says.

But how much data labeling offers inmates skills that are transferable to work after prison is unclear. Tuomas Rasila, the now estranged cofounder of Vainu, who managed the prison project there for a year, admits he has no evidence of this; the project wasn’t running for long enough to collect it, he says. “I think asking people, who might feel outside of society, to train the most high-tech aspect of a modern society is an empowering idea.”

However, others consider this new form of prison labor part of a problematic rush for cheap labor that underpins the AI revolution. “The narrative that we are moving towards a fully automated society that is more convenient and more efficient tends to obscure the fact that there are actual human people powering a lot of these systems,” says Amos Toh, a senior researcher focusing on artificial intelligence at Human Rights Watch.

For Toh, the accelerating search for so-called clickworkers has created a trend where companies are increasingly turning to groups of people who have few other options: refugees, populations in countries gripped by economic crisis—and now prisoners.

“This dynamic is a deeply familiar one,” says Toh. “What we are seeing here is part of a broader phenomenon where the labor behind building tech is being outsourced to workers that toil in potentially exploitative working conditions.”

Toh is also skeptical about whether data labor can help inmates build digital skills. “There are many ways in which people in prison can advance themselves, like getting certificates and taking part in advanced education,” he says. “But I'm skeptical about whether doing data labeling for a company at one euro per hour will lead to meaningful advancement.” Hämeenlinna prison does offer inmates online courses in AI, but Marmalade sits blank-faced as staff try to explain its benefits.

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By the time I meet Lehtiniemi, the researcher from Helsinki University, I’m feeling torn about the merits of the prison project. Traveling straight from the prison, where women worked for €1.54 an hour, to Metroc’s offices, where the company was celebrating a €2 million funding round, felt jarring. In a café, opposite the grand, domed Helsinki cathedral, Lehtiniemi patiently listens to me describe that feeling.

But Lehtiniemi’s own interviews with inmates have given him a different view—he’s generally positive about the project. On my point about pay disparity, he argues this is not an ordinary workforce in mainstream society. These people are in prison. “Comparing the money I get as a researcher and what the prisoner gets for their prison labor, it doesn't make sense,” he says. “The only negative thing I’ve heard has been that there’s not enough of this work. Only a few people can do it,” he says, referring to the limit of three laptops per prison.

“When we think about data labor, we tend to think about Mechanical Turk, people in the global south or the rural US,” he says. But for him, this is a distinct local version of data labor, which comes with a twist that benefits society. It’s giving prisoners cognitively stimulating work—compared to other prison labor options—while also representing the Finnish language in the AI revolution.

Without this kind of initiative, Lehtiniemi worries that non-English languages are being locked out of this next generation of technology. Smart speakers still struggle to understand Finnish dialects. “Not all Finnish people speak English very well, so there's a need for these local forms of data labeling as well,” Lehtiniemi says. Metroc isn’t the only company that has been forced to get creative about finding Finnish data labor. In 2011, the national library created a game to incentivize volunteers to help digitize its archive. In 2020, broadcaster YLE teamed up with Helsinki University and the state development company VAKE to ask volunteers to donate recordings of them speaking Finnish.

There is a sense in Finland that the prison project is just the beginning. Some are worried it could set a precedent that could introduce more controversial types of data labeling, like moderating violent content, to prisons. “Even if the data being labeled in Finland is uncontroversial right now, we have to think about the precedent it sets,” says Toh. “What stops companies from outsourcing data labeling of traumatic and unsavory content to people in prison, especially if they see this as an untapped labor pool?”

It's also not clear whether labor conditions in Finland's prisons—which famously focus on rehabilitation—could be replicated in other countries with a less progressive approach to justice. In the US, 76 percent of prisoners report that prison labor is mandatory, according to civil rights group, the ACLU. “The prison system in the United States is very, very different from what we have in Finland or Nordic countries. It's a completely different idea,” says Rasila. “In Finland, there is an exclusively positive feeling around the project because everyone knows that this is very voluntary.”

AI companies are only going to need more data labor, forcing them to keep seeking out increasingly unusual labor forces to keep pace. As Metroc plots its expansion across the Nordics and into languages other than Finnish, Virnala is considering whether to expand the prison labor project to other countries. “It’s something we need to explore,” he says.

#These Prisoners Are Training AI #ai #prisoners in finland #training ai

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bilboyagathechickenfootedhobbit · 3 months

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Regarding your response to that post on advertisements, if you ever get a moment could you think up some of the key "easter eggs" you mentioned to look for in ads or do you have any recommendations of educational videos/books that you studied in class? Sorry if this has been asked before. Your perspective seems so intriguing.

So I had like, WAY too long of a response to this and was like, nobody wants to read your damn thesis 😂 So here’s my hopefully more concise answer (surprise, it’s not actually any more concise).

I took that class over a quarter century ago (Hi, I’m old 👋) and aside from retaining the visceral lizard-brain memories of “ADS EVIL DO NOT CONSUME” I don’t recall exact specifics, and sadly, my textbook has been lost during one of my many moves.

One thing I vividly recall: women’s placement in ads. They are almost ALWAYS shown in a physically lower position than men. The exception being if a minority man is in the ad, then a white woman would sometimes be allowed to be placed above him, but a woman of any minority would still be placed lower than the minority man. It reminded me of certain building laws in the city: nothing can be taller than this building. Except in the ads, it was: nobody is allowed to appear taller than this white dude in any way.

That’s a minor thing, but it was one of the more blatant things that I couldn’t help but see EVERYWHERE once I realized it.

I think the main takeaway I took from that class that served me so well as a young woman in a capitalist society was simply realizing that, to any major brand, I am just an object, a consumer, a rube to swindle. They don’t actually care about how plump my lips are or how healthy my skin looks or how shiny my hair is or how fashionable I am. They only care about my personhood insofar as it better enables them to adjust their sales techniques to rob me of my money. And if I avoid them entirely, or as much as possible in this ad-saturated culture, then I can make purchasing decisions based on my actual needs and not the imagined needs some corporate shill came up with during a board meeting.

So yeah, that was my shorter answer, sorry for the wall of text. I’m always happy to discuss the gross ways in which advertising affects us and how we can avoid it and how much better life is without ads. I grew up in the era of heroin chic and anorexia, and ads were a nightmare. They’re worse in ways now, for sure, especially with it being outsourced to influencers, but at least we get to see stretch marks and different body types nowadays. Even if all the “fat” body types are still hourglass figures, it’s better than the parade of skeletons that was forced on teenage girls in the 90’s. That shit is still fucking with my generation nearly three decades later.

I wish I had recommendations, but even if I did, they’d probably be so outdated since the game has changed so drastically in the years since I took that class. Between 24-hour cable and social media, advertising has mutated into an entirely new, horridly evil beast that I’d honestly hate to study.

#this has made me want to get back into making fucked up art from ads #or at the very least get back into graffiti’ing public ads #not that I would ever do anything illegal like that #��#like dumping a bucket of red paint over the giant American flag mural during the war #oops #but seriously #fuck up ads in public spaces #Bilbo bawks back

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chemicalpink · 1 year

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ଘ(´•×•)⊃━☆ a (not so brief) life update

In case you've been wondering where I've been cause by now we all know I tend to just disappear.

A few days ago I felt like oversharing a bit for anyone interested, I feel like getting to this point of sharing is due and will allow me to stop this irrational fear of the internet that I have somehow developed as it tallies to my accountability on this blog.

So hang tight! Cause this is about to be a wild ride...

I'm not regressing to the very beginning cause this isn't about to be a therapy session but I will go back to the near beginnings of this account during the pandemic.

A little before lockdown as I was asked to collaborate as a customs specialist for a pop-up store (which then I found out to be BTS') so I got into them after my job was done. A bit after going down the rabbit hole I started this blog, without very much planning into it, just merely creating a safe space for the people with whom could potentially like the same things I did.

A few months into it, as a last year International Relations student on my way to law school, and with a bit of sleep deprived courage, I applied for an internship at BH online, not expecting much since I barely knew Korean and was most definitely stuck at home in a whole different continent. But things surprisingly worked out, I didn't get paid at all but it was a great learning experience. BH became HB and I got to experience that from the inside, my day went like this: school from 7am to 5 pm and work from 9pm to 3am (sometimes more)

I obviously never got to work directly with any idols, my work was merely global and very much law related. Customs, contracts, negotiations with international enterprises. When the lockdown was done with, I was asked to move and become a permanent worker of theirs, so I did. However, it involved a lot of moving around so I wasn't exactly based anywhere and living costs are quite a thing. During this time I was also profiling myself as a diplomat, so it was in all of our best interests that I became outsourced.

Which brings us to a timeline closer to the present, the person that was in charge of contacting me for the gigs that I used to do for them suddenly quit and while I'm sure they were doing whatever was best for them, left me fending for myself during may-june. I came back home with my parents during june-july and networked for a bit– at least enough to regroup my possibilities so during august-september I was allowed to staff and collaborate (on a lower level) on some big concerts/tours.

During this time however (july-september) I was mostly reliant on my parents and coincidentally, their work slowed down by a lot. The rather small amount of money I got from working here and there was spent on my medical treatment (during july my doctor let me know that I needed to get diagnosed properly for lupus and by august my treatment costs were up by a lot) I tried picking up freelance tutoring (a pain, truly) and other small hustles that didn't require me to tire myself out too much since most of my days I spent aching all over, while also caring for my mother who had to have an emergency glaucoma surgery.

Oh and I cried and felt miserable during my birthday so.

I believe that's where we are at. I can't exactly get a job since I need to apply to an unpaid internship in order to graduate law school but I can't apply for an internship because one of my teachers just suddenly decided to fail me in their class (which means I need to pass it first) so I try to get by with small, low commitment hustles and now I'm picking up more seriously my ko-fi content. Which is why, I haven't been on here.

Those damned retrogrades hit me good ngl.

I do want to say though, I am not in a state of emergency, however, I am not living comfortably, but I'm trying my best to pick myself up and be nice to myself with the decisions I make and actions I take by the minute. While also trying to save up to go visit my 17 year old sister that has just moved away to study medicine.

I am grateful for what I have and I cherish you all that have remained close to me (even in this infinite nothingness that is the internet) and I hope you've been treating yourselves kindly during this time. If you'll have me, let's navigate the rest of the year together.

If this gains a lot of traction, I'm privating it lmao. I have no issue now talking about it since I'm no longer working there but I made those NDAs myself so I know what I'm up to.

#wow look shes back #life update

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johannwolfgangvongoethe · 2 years

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organizing care + being a legal guardian + struggle tweeting irl

enstars thought collection below. i dont know how we got here.

anyway, so this is a post where i talk about my vague ideas on whats up with kanames health and care situation. like, legally speaking.

(spoilers for everything surrounding kaname, obbligato specifically)

basically. i am an avid tatsumi and himeru enjoyer and healthcare business and law is? my hobby? idk if you can call this a hobby? so i have been absolutely obsessing over every little throwaway line we get about how kanames long-term care is organized. because depending on who is currently responsible on paper... that could really influence a lot, right!!! since right now kaname is unable to make health decisions for himself.

we all know (ore-)himeru is going through a lot and the possibility of an added responsibility and financial burden of a guardianship on him is something that is very interesting to me.

point of the post so this post isnt much about existing laws (as they are extremely complicated, even if youre native to a region and language), i mostly want to discuss what we know and the possibilities and the mental burden of carrying legal responsibility on top of internal emotions (grief, guilt, loneliness, despair and hopelessness, possessiveness even, and whatever else himeru has going on).

its smth that strongly gnaws on you. i think everyone who ever had to apply for care/benefits will know how horrible of a process it is.

boring health stuff i tried to look up japanese law surrounding how long-term payment and guardianship is organized and who qualifies for both. i am german so obviously most of my knowledge only concerns the legal situation here, unfortunately. i am Assuming enstars just follows the laws of irl japan and as such at least a considerable chunk of financial burdens should be lifted by the countries mandatory insurance.(70%) BUT the long-term intensive care situation for people under the age of 40 is murky (relevant long-term care laws exist for the elderly and aim to provide financial relief. but idk how theyd handle the case of a teenager, especially one that, we can assume, used to be in the foster system. the jpn foster system is its own can of worms) no surprise, disability/care related payment plans for young people, esp those who have never been employed or paid into insurance, are always like. ridiculously convoluted. sometimes nonexistent. so who knows which laws specifically affect kaname here.

(ore-)himeru mentions him still being at a hospital (in romantic? date chapter 5) so that is a vital clue that this has not been outsourced to some other care facility. so i wonder... how expensive is this currently. must be intense. i am just willing to bet his legal guardian (will get to this in a second) has to make financial efforts, on top of the papers and forms and emotional burden that such an arrangement brings with itself. additionally, its somewhat obvious but ill specify it anyways: we are talking about a full-time in-patient situation. (ore-)himeru mentions the circumstances of kanames current health in chapter 1 of the epilogue of obbligato. (while not fully comatose, kaname is not lucid. he does some vocalizing sometimes but communication is not possible.)

so. HiMERU and all that makes you wonder... are the himerus connected via guardianship. we know from obbligato that kanames mothers is dead, he grew up alone (the tojo family not being in the picture, apparently), and while their father is alive, he was not in a position to care for either of them himself, health-wise. (and financially, i am willing to bet) so, responsibility would just jump to the next relative; that being the adult brother. young adult who barely made it back to the country! but working and adult and insured nonetheless, therefore qualifying.

i would assume (ore-)himeru did not need to step up/wasnt really in the picture either (at least health system databases might not have been aware of him) but he visits him in the hospital. even before that, he attempted to become at least somewhat involved in kanames life by his rough attempts to coach him. and most of all, you know how much kaname means to him. i am just going to assume he claimed him.

and like, thats a shit situation for someone in their early 20s (or however old he is). that would be horrible for anyone in a more stable situation at a more established age.

the emotional baggage of it all. not only have you just met your half brother and just gotten around to the idea of having family, you instantly get it taken from you again. the loss and grief and guilt must be unimaginable.

(ore-)himeru has.... unbelievable issues when it comes to... his attempts to prepare what he thinks would be an ideal life for kaname. whether in hope of one day handing it over or just as a sad tribute to what could have been or an attempt to keep “himeru”, the artistic vision, alive. however much of this is happening in what percentage and on what conscious level.

so to the urge to make “himeru” famous, this would add the absolute need to make himeru famous as a source of steady good income. of course (ore-)himeru is desperate to do well out of pride and love but financially and on paper he would be responsible for two people, adding to the pressure to be as successful as possible.

(additionally, while it does not justify (ore-)himeru’s actions, himeru also dodged a public scandal by staying an idol and performing as per usual. there were no news about an idol being beaten and staying unconscious and that by itself provides protection from the public for kaname. especially since his family is infamous to begin with. i wonder how much this would have mattered.)

matching themes? personally as a disabled person, as far as guadianship and custodianship goes, i have a lot of feelings. we all experienced it when we were younger and probably felt powerless in front of our parents sometimes. so experiencing this in your adulthood is GUTTING. yet, it can be absolutely necessary. and while guardians and custodians are often looked down upon, a lot of them are family members with their heart and mind in the right place, who make good decisions for someone they love. it cannot be underestimated how much paperwork and exhausting+annoying communication with your insurance provider goes into it.

so between this and (ore-)himerus behaviour in general i see a lot of matching themes.... mostly control and perseverance and, ofc, a certain flair of being very very condescending towards the person you are supposed to protect. after all, kaname cannot make any decisions right now, not about his health or “himeru”. and perhaps one day maybe his state will change and he will suddenly be more aware of his surroundings and forced to confront what happened without his influence. and he will find that his brother made responsible comprehensible decisions when it comes to his health but, without any need or agreement, took extreme liberties when it comes to his name. they are both important parts of him and (ore-)himeru having that double responsibilty and going wild with it is scary to me. and probably also scary to him. but he is too deep into it at this point.

idk. does any of this make sense. is this interesting. personally, the added layer of pressure and drama is interesting to me. to me its like... it supports all the themes we find in himeru anyway and makes his struggles worse, it just neatly fits into place.

personal related kaname thoughts will the story ever make him more lucid? who knows! i am terrified, personally, of the possibility.

enstars has its fair share of insensitive to offensive writing and i cannot imagine this going well. i cannot imagine them writing this in a way that is respectful and includes a realistic rehab process that restores a realistic amount of physical and neurological functions. especially since... not gonna lie guys. at this point. idk how much quality of life kaname can regain in his current state.

+the added trouble he would get in because (ore-)himeru, essentially, stole his identity is straight up infuriating. i dont think i have to mention this. where do you even start and TRY to live a normal life after this shit.

and thats sad. bc i love kaname dearly. he is an extremely silly, bratty, lovable character to me and i want the best for him so i have these horribly detailed harsh expectations. maybe it will never happen and ngl, that would be perfectly fine with me, too.

disclaimer etc etc i dont know shit about the japanese health system and if you somehow happen to know how intensive long-term care for an underage person that grew up in the foster system would be financed (like, who is responsible??!?!??!?!) please let me know >:) i love learning about health systems. a lot of the stuff i wrote above is just really basic common sense, i just wanted to talk about it.

#enstarsposting #kaname tojo #yeah sure lets slap a tag on this why not

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traumendesmadchen · 2 years

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Chronotopia January Update: Always Tied

I hope the new year is treating you well! If you’ve read my latest year-end post on the team’s devblog, you probably already know that I didn’t have a great time in 2022. In fact, I started 2023 quite depressed due to December’s fallout. I have good and bad news to announce and they are both kinda intertwined.

A New Roadmap

My partner and I have been dreaming of going to Japan for a very long time now and this dream should finally become reality this year. I’m elated, of course, but that trip has to happen in March and I’ll be away for almost a whole month. Needless to say that the deadline I had designated for Chronotopia: Second Skin is now entirely out of the question, which is why I have been feeling quite depressed lately. I know I’m often joking about a curse but I’m very tired of missing every single one of my milestones. You must be too.

This led me to take a painful decision. Up until now, I’ve been helping fellow developers on their own projects and it constantly required my attention. I’ve frankly spread myself too thin, I need to go back to the basics. That’s why I declined several offers and had to cut some collaboration short so that I could focus on Chronotopia as much as possible. January turned out to be a transition period as I wrapped everything I needed to do on those projects. No more outsourcing contracts for a while! It’s a financially dangerous decision but I’m hellbent on not wasting any more time.

I’m now hoping to put a new roadmap in place. Something that should look like this:

February: Fixing all remaining bugs (more on that below)

March: /

April: Directing harmonization

May: TL revisions

June: Completing intimate scenes and, hopefully, release

This time I included an extra month just to be safe so let’s pray that it’ll be enough!

Early Bug Report

For those of you who applied, I hope you’re enjoying Chronotopia’s beta so far! To be perfectly honest, I haven’t received a lot of feedback yet: I suspect releasing the build in the middle of the holidays might not have been the smartest move, ahah.

But I did receive reports of the point system still leaving a lot to be desired, effectively locking people out of the endings. Since it had been a persistent issue with private beta-testing already, I will have to rethink the whole system to ensure this won’t happen with the final version. If you have this problem, don’t hesitate to send me a mail and I will provide you with a guide in the meantime. Not having the end of a story is a shame, after all!

Likewise, I’ve been told the translation bug was back. I thought I had managed to nip it in the bud before the beta started but that was unfortunately wishful thinking on my part. Sometimes special text stubbornly refuses to be displayed in English when it’s supposed to be your chosen language because the main version of Chronotopia: Second Skin is considered to be French. One especially egregious example would be a full letter that appears on-screen during the C routes. Needless to say that I need to find a workaround!

Many thanks to the testers that reported both of those issues, I will work on fixing them shortly. I’ll likely put an end to the beta phase after I’m back from Japan so, until then, please keep the feedback coming!

#Traumendes madchen #visual novel #chronotopia #english visual novel #yuri #otome game #otome #amare game

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dearmrsawyer · 2 years

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Went to The Vamps a few nights ago and had the most fun :) there's something about them?? I don't enjoy a party and I think seeing the Vamps is how a party is supposed to feel lol. They're so FUN, i love sharing a room with them.

I drove up to Sydney to see them, had a great solo concert experience and drove back home. It's the first time I've driven myself to a concert because generally my family see it as a chance to have a night in Sydney while I'm at the show, so I'm always accompanied by a couple of people for the drive. But my brother was away that night and my mum had to stay home so my grandparents wouldn't be alone, so I drove myself and although I was nervous i really enjoyed it! (Also I think my first Vamps concert was the first concert I ever went to alone, and now I'm addicted - I love going to concerts alone)

I was thinking on the drive home about how, aside from work, that's the longest I've been alone since moving into my current house. I haven't been in a very good place for the past year, I know that my life doesn't belong to me right now. It belongs to nonno and nonna, as do any decisions I make about my time. I can't pop out whenever because we need to make sure someone is always home, and I spend many of my free days at home because one of the carers had to cancel their shift (or training a new carer because mum is at work/away). Mum cooks for them 3 or 4 times a week so i'm not very good about cooking when I need to, I eat toast at work for lunch a lot lately lol. And like realistically i don't even have the energy to cook more than I do or leave the house anyway! I feel like I never get to recharge enough to reply to my friend's texts from November, let alone do anything else lol. On new year's day I was thinking about how the new year is like a figment, there's not a single thing about this year that can be different from last year, and felt like I was suffocating. I know it sounds awful to feel that way about living with nonna and nonno. I feel bad because i do like 10% of the caring, probably even less than that, and anything i don't do is on mum's shoulders. I know she's living in survival mode too, but i don't want to talk to her about how hard some days feel because i know she'll carry it and try to find a way to take some of it off my shoulders, and it'll just put more on hers. I know she'll feel like she forced me into this situation and i don't want her to because the reality is that I wouldn't change a thing, this is the best case scenario - the idea of outsourcing my grandparents' care feels far worse than whatever difficulty we have to live through to take care of them here. But it's still difficulty. I try to soothe myself because i know it's the best option, and i get to have all this extra time with them while they're still here. I don't usually feel better lol but i know it's the truth. I'm not very chatty on here because this is all i have felt for a long time, it feels so inane to express other thoughts/feelings that are so small compared to these mammoth feelings towering overhead. Putting it here/reading it again is annoying even me! sick of my own internal monologue!! Also trying to express these feelings is yuck because I feel like I can't express them properly lol, i have lost the ability to communicate. Anyways, I do try to express other thoughts sometimes, to have moments when i feel i have acurately expressed a thought! And hopefully I have the energy/words/will to be able to express more here and there!

I have a more of concerts coming up this year:

Harry on 3 March with my best friend (I'm excited but i'm still pretty disappointed to be seeing him tour Harry's House, which I'm not super in love with 😭 Fine Line is such a beautiful album, I wish i could see him give it all his attention! I love a couple of songs on HH, and there are a couple more that I like listening to but i just can't cope with singing a menu, i can't, i can't sing 'fried rice' 'cook an egg' and feel like i still have my dignity, harry)

MCR on 19 March also with my best friend (we will be seeing each other twice in one month, exactly the number of times i saw her in 2022 lol)

Kisschasy with an old friend from highschool (they're playing at the uni, which is RIGHT behind my house! I'll literally just walk there!)

Also we're going to see Lano and Woodley's new performance and i can't wait, it's going to be so fun

oh AND the local theatre company is doing a Midsummer Night's Dream in the botanical gardens. It was supposed to be December just gone but they postponed because of rain so its this coming December instead. I'm going with my best friend to that too

Trying to think about all of these and how I'm doing more Things this year, and I will hopefully feel like i'm getting more Me moments and maybe this will help average out the general ~life feelings

#it was the vamps' 10 years tour and they mostly sung from their first album which made me SO happy #its my fav of theirs #its got all the songs i want to hear most #also mcr and kisschasy are both reunion tours #why is everyone touring nostalgia this year lol i'm here for it #tp

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dalamusrex · 2 years

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43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people?

Are they religious?

Mm, not particularly. He did hear the voice of Mara at one point when he was going through a really rough time, so it's difficult for him to outright deny that Aedra exist like he used to. He has read books on the teachings of Mara in an attempt to better himself, not only to be a better partner but to be kinder to himself, as well.

He has prayed to Mara during the darkest times in his relationships. He has no idea whether or not it did any good, nor does he particularly want to know. His free will is extremely important to him, and if that is proven to be tampered with, even occasionally, by Aedra and Daedra, then he would be less than pleased.

If someone was to ask him which of the Aedra and Daedra he feels attached to, he would say Mara if only because She was the one who offered consolation when he felt hopeless, and also his boyfriend is an Agent of Mara, after all. But religious religious? Not really.

What do they think of religion?

Largely neutral. Not really his thing, but doesn't think it shouldn't exist, either.

Like most things, it can be taken to dangerous or ridiculous extremes. Wars have been and battles still are fought over religions and who has the right to worship what.

Doesn't necessarily mean religion is bad, just that people are very fallible and occasionally desperate--for help, safety, love, control over their own lives, or over that of others'.

What do they think of religious people?

Some people, like Heimskr, are annoying. Some people, like Maramal, are trying to be helpful and generally kind.

Some people use religion as excuses and justifications for their cruel actions. These people infuriate him. Barring extreme circumstances like mind control, enthrallment, or influential enchanted Daedric artifacts, these people have full control over their actions but outsource the blame onto intangible beings. Dalamus is no stranger to cursing the gods for any rotten luck, but will not use an Aedra or Daedra as a scapegoat for blame, either. (Instead, he finds other ways to mitigate blame).

Some people use religion as a crutch to make all their decisions for them, regardless of their own actual health or happiness. These people are a bit exasperating to be around, because to Dalamus it feels as though they have sacrificed their free will, and refuse to reclaim it even if they admit to feeling trapped. Dalamus prizes his free will highly and cannot fathom why someone would allow another, real or imaginary, to dictate their lives.

Most people, he has found, use religion as a source personal comfort and occasional guidance, rather than a rule book or excuse to harm others. They offer their teachings to others if they think it will help, but don't push. These are people he is fine with. People he can get on the same level on, and who don't mind a bit of skepticism or doubt.

Having a boyfriend who is religious has helped him come a long way in being more sympathetic and patient towards people who think differently than he does. He would never try to steer Sinbadaen away from Mara, even if sometimes the "rules" don't always make sense to Dalamus.

What do they think of non religious people?

Generally, no better or worse than religious people. People are people are people, in the end. They're ruled by internal forces (morals/ethics), or external forces (religion), but usually some mixture of the two.

Anyone determined to do evil will have an excuse, whether it's religion or not. And people don't need religion to be kind, either.

But the non religious at least have motivations that seem.. less complicated to Dalamus, usually.

#missy rambles #ooc #info #ask #boarchasers #thank you!!#all this to say that religion is complicated and that's part of why he avoids it. so he doesn't get tangled and tripped up :'D #and his thoughts on it are equally complicated because with such a wide range of presentations they have to be #i hope all this made sense lmao #lionofmara #tagging for mention!

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tofangirlonly · 2 months

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15, 20, 33, 40 👀

15. personality description

I tried to outsource and all I got was “I’m assuming ‘jeremy jordan’ is not the answer here?” so I may no longer have a discernable personality. XD

Hmm. I’d say I’m introverted and also quiet and awkward unless I’m super comfortable and then I’m (sometimes) louder but still very awkward it just hopefully becomes more endearingly quirky at some point XD I go into things whole-heartedly and passionately and feel all the things deeply.

Friends have previously said kind and caring and thoughtful and that I have a soft, gentle heart and spirit (which are beautiful things I may or may not still be).

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?

You are getting Very *at the moment* because I’m terrible at decisions and (as you know) I am looping Jeremy singing At Last excessively right now so: I love him.

I also listened to Not Jeremy today (shocking) and spent a good chunk of time listening to From This One Place by Sara Groves because my heart needed it.

33. something you want to learn

I started needlefelting a little bit a few months ago? I would like to continue learning and playing around with that. Sometimes you need an outlet for socially acceptable stabbing.

I was making a chipmunk and then Chloe got ahold of him…….She likes sheep and also apparently just the wool. She shredded his head. I still have his accompanying little tree stump with a cute little leaf and mushroom though XD

(I have also threatened to collect Chloe’s undercoat chunks during Intense Shedding Time and needlefelt a tiny model of her so. Learning goals.)

40. favourite memory

I was thinking a lot about two specific recurring childhood memories while these questions were marinating so I’m going to go with:

Laying on the bottom bunk at bedtime finding shapes in the wood of the top bunk with Mom

and

Waking up hearing my parents talking across the hall and the low rumble of Dad’s voice trying to talk quietly while I was still asleep. Especially because it’s specifically associated with Sunday mornings when Dad wasn’t going to work super early and often mixed with the extra bustle of them getting things ready on days when we were going to visit my grandma and it captures all the warmth and excitement and anticipation of that

Both remind me of a time of feeling so warm and safe and loved and I need that a lot these days.

#i did not jj-ify everything #not sure if we should be proud or just ashamed that I'm slacking #but I'm tired and also wanted to answer so for now you get wall of words #asks #meiloorunsmoothie #jeremy friends

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outsourcedresearchservices · 4 months

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Leveraging Outsource Research and Analysis Services: A Strategic Advantage for Businesses

In today's fast-paced and fiercely competitive business landscape, staying ahead often requires more than just having a great product or service. It necessitates a deep understanding of market trends, consumer behavior, and industry insights. This is where outsourcing research and analysis services can prove to be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes.

Outsourcing research and analysis services involves partnering with specialized firms or professionals to gather, interpret, and analyze data relevant to a company's objectives. From market research and competitor analysis to financial modeling and data mining, outsourcing offers a plethora of benefits that can significantly augment a company's decision-making processes and overall strategic direction.

One of the primary advantages of outsourcing research and analysis services is access to specialized expertise. Instead of relying solely on in-house resources, businesses can tap into the knowledge and skills of professionals who specialize in specific areas of research and analysis. Whether it's conducting customer surveys, performing industry benchmarking, or crunching numbers for financial projections, outsourcing allows companies to leverage the expertise of seasoned professionals without the need for extensive training or recruitment.

Moreover, outsourcing research and analysis services can also lead to cost savings. Hiring and maintaining an in-house research team can be prohibitively expensive, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited budgets. By outsourcing these tasks, businesses can avoid the overhead costs associated with hiring full-time employees, such as salaries, benefits, and infrastructure. Instead, they can pay for the services they need on a project-by-project basis, thereby optimizing their expenses and improving their bottom line.

Another significant benefit of outsourcing research and analysis services is scalability and flexibility. Business needs are dynamic, and the volume and complexity of research requirements may fluctuate over time. Outsourcing allows companies to scale their research efforts up or down quickly in response to changing demands, without the constraints of fixed staffing levels. Whether it's a one-time market study or an ongoing analytics project, outsourcing provides the flexibility to adapt to evolving business needs efficiently.

Furthermore, outsourcing research and analysis services can enhance decision-making by providing objective, data-driven insights. In-house teams may sometimes be influenced by internal biases or organizational politics, which can cloud judgment and lead to suboptimal decisions. External research firms, on the other hand, bring an impartial perspective to the table, enabling businesses to make more informed and objective decisions based on rigorous analysis and empirical evidence.

Additionally, outsourcing research and analysis services can help businesses gain a competitive edge by enabling faster time-to-market. In today's rapidly evolving business environment, speed is often of the essence. By outsourcing research tasks to specialized firms with the requisite tools and expertise, companies can accelerate their research and analysis processes, allowing them to capitalize on emerging opportunities and respond swiftly to market changes.

However, despite the numerous benefits, outsourcing research and analysis services is not without its challenges. Chief among these is the need for effective communication and collaboration between the outsourcing partner and the client organization. Clear communication of project objectives, expectations, and timelines is essential to ensure that the outsourced work aligns with the client's goals and delivers the desired outcomes.

Moreover, data security and confidentiality are paramount concerns when outsourcing research and analysis services, especially when dealing with sensitive information. It is crucial for businesses to select reputable outsourcing partners with robust data protection measures and compliance protocols in place to safeguard confidential information and mitigate the risks of data breaches or leaks.

In conclusion, outsourcing research and analysis services offer a myriad of benefits for businesses seeking to gain a competitive edge in today's dynamic marketplace. From accessing specialized expertise and achieving cost savings to enhancing decision-making and accelerating time-to-market, outsourcing can be a strategic enabler that empowers companies to stay ahead of the curve and promote sustainable expansion in an ever-evolving corporate landscape. By leveraging the capabilities of external research partners, businesses can unlock new opportunities, mitigate risks, and chart a course for long-term success.

#outsourcing research #call center solutions #outsourced services

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talenlee · 6 months

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Story Pile: 16 Bit Sensation (And Another Layer I Guess)

Ah, Talen month, Talen month! A month where I celebrate media I love, or maybe media I really want to talk about. Media I want to talk about possibly because I think it’s a topic I would normally find too mean, or too cruel to focus on. After all who wants to hear me vent or complain or just drag something for being mediocre.

I do!

It’s Talen Month, and this time around I’m going to do something different in that I’m going to talk about something amazing, something I love, a manga that I think is genuinely, wholeheartedly excellent that you can blitz through in an afternoon, and also, uh, the anime spinoff of it that serves in my mind as one of the examples of how 2023 just was a mid freaking year for anime. I want to talk to you about one of my favourite genres of media, ‘people making things from an insider perspective, with a dash of economic structures,’ and then one of my least favourites, ‘spinoff that is embarrassed to be associated with a much, much better piece of media.’

Up front before I dive in, I’m going to talk about both the manga 16 Bit Sensation and I’m also going to talk about the anime with a similar name, 16 Bit Sensation: Another Layer. I’m going to spoil details about the storyline of Another Layer, which I don’t think should be a problem because I don’t think it’s any good and it’s not like spoiling it would be in any way a diminishment of your enjoyment of it.

Because I don’t find it very enjoyable.

16 Bit Sensation is a doujinshi that became a real proper published manga, produced by Misato Mitsumi, Tatsuki Amazuyu, and Tamiki Wakaki. It follows the story of Meiko, who goes from a retail job at a rental store to a job assisting illustration to a job doing original illustration and character design and programming for a company called Alcohol Soft, starting in 1993 and running till the late 90s. The manga follows a person who goes from having no access to computers to the stage where she’s buying her own home PC, when that kind of investment was a huge chunk of money spent on a domestic purchase.

Along the way you have a story that shows things like tiny companies restructuring and growing, the way that people’s skills built on one another, and the way that videogames in the 1990s were full of massive, immense technical shifts for the better — like, do you know how many images got made for distributing on screens with only sixteen colours? — and how these shifts didn’t come with immediate access. Like, sure, you get 240 more colours, but now you have to be able to use them, and you need to get familiar with the technology that lets you do it.

In the process you get to see different conversations about what the kinds of games they’re making include, who they are for, and how disconnected pieces can be. A writer generates a script, a programmer makes code, and illustrators make graphics that are to be displayed as part of that script. But those people don’t need to know exactly what’s going on one to another, and sometimes, they can be completely isolated from one another. As the production gets bigger, as the needs for the content of the game gets deeper, they add more people to the creative staff. A writer can strike out entirely on their own and outsource the art. Companies can split and collapse together and it’s entirely possible that just one person’s bad decisions can catastrophically mess with your finances, because this is an industry that was flying without much of a support structure.

Because they were making pornography.

There’s a puritanical attempt to neglect that visual novels, the material that carried the personal gaming landscape on its shoulders through the 90s, was largely pornographic. Anime spinoffs of these games often relied on not mentioning or including the pornography, because, well, you know, this is so good, it’s good even without the pornography! It’s embarrassing, it’s shameful to engage with and do anything with that —

I mean heaven forfend people recognise how much we like, share, and engage with horny media.

16 Bit Sensation: Another Layer is an anime, set in the existing story of 16 Bit Sensation. It follows the story of Konoha Akisato, an illustrator working for a small company that makes eroge in the current 2020s. Distressed by her company’s unwillingness to make her dream games a reality, she accidentallies a time travel plot device and gets thrown back in time to the glory days of 1990s pixel art visual novels. She jumps back and forth between history and the now, seeing how changes she made to the past impact her now.

And look.

Artists have gotten better since then. For example, even a child artist from now, thrown back to 1993, would, with the modern tools we have, be absolutely amazing to the ability of artists back then. Certainly for drawing cute girls in the anime style. Technique and skill have broadened, tools are more available, and people have more ways and tools to practice. I am a firm believer that people are, generally, getting better at niche skills. I have no doubt that Konoha, who is a whole ass adult, could blow people’s minds with the skills she has now, if she could find a way to share them.

Anyway, the anime then follows a sequence of these time hops back and forth that include a boy from that story jumping further back in time to work on a videogame back in the 1980s, and seeing how complicated that process was, and all in the service of uh

the time travelling alien AI art consciousness, that wants to make good? art? By dissolving things in chemicals.

Eventually Konoha’s machinations create a game so good it ruins the visual novel genre, transports it to America, where it starts to look like a different thing, and then in the process kills the videogame and anime industry in Japan, ignoring the way that that also happened in our own history, and part of what helped the industry hold on was the prevalence of niche Japanese media and oh no I am getting angry about this all over again. Ahem. Let me start that again:

The culmination of 16 Bit Sensation: Another Layer is that Konoha travels to a dystopian future. There, Fate looks ugly, because Americans made it, and she hates how the world she crafted through her amazing bishoujou game has the unintended consequence of making videogames, uh, American. She resolves to fix this by going back in time and making another game just as good as the first one, thanks to the power of generative AI tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT and good god I can’t believe I’m saying this, but she’s interrupted and kidnapped in the middle of this process, eventually fleeing from her captors who want to stick her – and other artists – into VR tanks so they can harvest their art. Note that this isn’t seen as being bad for artists, it’s seen as being unfair because it means that whoever has the most money can make the best games.

Then a UFO shows up and sorts the plot out.

I’m not joking.

Or exaggerating.

Cards on the table, if it wasn’t obvious already, I think 16 Bit Sensation is a really interesting manga that I liked a lot. I think 16 Bit Sensation: Another Layer if it was an entirely unique anime would merely be a traditionally mid anime that used an interesting idea as wallpaper to colour a story that was otherwise about something else, clueless about the detail it claimed to be about. The wild disparity between these two does not necessarily mean that 16 Bit Sensation: Another Layer diminishes 16 Bit Sensation in any way. It’s not like a mediocre story set in another more interesting story actually hurts it. What I think makes Another Layer feel so awful to me is the way that it ostensibly strives to be about something in the same way 16 Bit Sensation is, and in the process presents a description of those things that doesn’t understand them at all.

And thing is, that talk about ‘not diminishing’ is – well, it’s just a lie. See, part of the problem is that Another Layer really is diminishing 16 Bit Sensation. If you go check the wikipedia page for 16 Bit Sensation, despite describing the series as the result of a manga that was originally a dojinshi, it introduces the characters by focusing on Konoha, and describing them in terms of their place in the anime. This means that Meiko, the protagonist of the manga, is not mentioned as such, and is mentioned as the fourth character. In the anime, she barely gets lines, which you might imagine is fine because she gets all her dialogue in the manga. But if you liked that manga because of her story, you won’t see it in Another Layer because Another Layer isn’t about that manga.

It’s about not wanting to talk about that manga.

Fundamentally, 16 Bit Sensation is a doujin media that told a story of a really interesting period of the mid-90s about a type of technology and its limitations. It’s about how small businesses with low overheads in an under-regulated environment created remarkable media with a specific kind of technology. The story in the manga puts the technology, the people, and the games front and centre. The way that the media is literally stigmatised and yet also lucrative is presented as a serious part of the story. There’s a serious consideration about what it means to have a young child working even adjacent to it. To simplify it, 16 Bit Sensation is about a thing that happened that you probably don’t understand, and telling its story is both interesting and meaningful. It’s about the history of a type of porn entertainment media.

Another Layer takes this period of history and sanitises every surface. It takes the women who were there, and disappears their story under the story of a modern, current person who disdains the art form they worked on. It is a story ostensibly about a woman who buys and loves h-games who has no opinion or interest in the actual content of that media. It doesn’t want to talk about the limitations of that technology, or the ways people solved problems, and instead makes do by inventing a fantasy of ‘what if you could just make the industry different by wanting it more.’

More than anything else it wants to be about a world-changing game that it literally cannot meaningfully describe or engage with because this anime ostensibly about a game doesn’t know how it could possibly represent a game that good, and the obvious reason why it can’t is because no such thing could exist and the idea that it could comes from the same writing school as ‘with a jump, Jack was free.’ Another Layer introduces ideas that imply it wants to talk about the history of pornographic art in Japan, automation and generative art and bad labor conditions in artistic industries, and then decides to solve all those problems it grotesquely fails to understand with fucking aliens.

I hate Another Layer. I hate the show built out of 16 Bit Sensation. I don’t hate it for what it wants to be, I hate that it’s attached to 16 Bit Sensation. I hate that someone read that manga and thought: You know what this needs? More focus on this boy who we can build up to being the worst kind of gatekeeping nerd. Less focus on why people got into this industry and how they relate to the art of it, more focus on the imagined aesthetics of what these things could hypothetically be about as long as you definitely, definitely don’t look at them.

Another Layer takes an important part of the pornographic history of a vitally important medium and uses it to say nothing. It is about pornography without ever wanting to say the word. It takes an interesting story that manages to circumvent vulgarity, and cannot imagine finding it interesting just telling its story.

It’s like its own Mormon scripture.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Media #Story Pile

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blogbeatsever · 7 months

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The Ultimate Guide to Commercial Printing Services in South Brunswick, NJ

In today's digital-first world, the tactile and vivid world of print still holds a coveted position in marketing and business communications. Commercial printing services continue to serve as a strategic pillar for businesses, providing high-quality printed materials that can leave a lasting impact. If you're in South Brunswick, New Jersey, you're in the heart of a bustling commercial printing scene, but with great options come great decisions. This in-depth guide is designed to be your compass in navigating the local commercial printing landscape, helping you make informed decisions and unlock the potential of print for your business.

Understanding the Essentials of Commercial Printing

Before we dive into the local South Brunswick printing scene, it's essential to understand the craft of commercial printing itself. This industry is more than just pushing ink on paper; it's a sophisticated blend of art, technology, and production management.

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From digital file preparation to the assembly line, each step is critical to the outcome:

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Press: The physical printing takes place on machines that range from small-scale or offset presses to large, high-volume production printers.

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Why Choose Commercial Printing Services?

With the plethora of online and in-house printing options available, a business may wonder why it should opt for commercial printing south Brunswick NJ.

Quality You Can Feel

Commercial printers specialize in high-quality, on-brand materials. They often offer premium paper stocks, finishes, and visual enhancements that stand out.

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Most commercial print houses employ skilled professionals who understand the nuances of print design. Their advice and services can elevate your printing project from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Time and Cost-Efficiency

Despite the perception that commercial printing is more expensive, it can be remarkably cost-effective for larger print runs. Further, the time saved by outsourcing can be a significant benefit for busy marketing teams.

Your Partner in Print: Choosing the Right Commercial Printer

Choosing the right commercial printer can make or break your print project.

Defining Your Needs

Begin by defining the end-use of your printed materials. Are you printing marketing collateral, such as brochures or business cards? Or do you need large-format materials, such as banners or signage?

Reviewing Samples

Requesting and reviewing samples is a crucial step in finding the right printer. Examine paper quality, color accuracy, and overall attention to detail.

Getting a Quote

Transparent pricing is key. Ensure the printer provides detailed quotes, including any potential add-ons or changes that may occur during the printing process.

The Green Factor: Sustainable Printing Practices

Sustainability is no longer a niche; it's a necessity. Explore South Brunswick's commercial printers' environmentally friendly practices.

Look for Certification

Many printing companies are now FSC certified, meaning they adhere to responsible forestry and supply chain practices.

Eco-Friendly Inks and Materials

Inquire about the inks and materials used. Soy-based and vegetable-based inks, along with recycled or sustainably sourced paper, are becoming industry standards.

Waste Reduction

Efforts to minimize waste are another green indicator. Ask about their recycling programs and their approach to reducing paper and ink waste.

Print’s Endurance Test: Durability and Longevity The materials used in commercial printing and the processes employed can significantly impact the durability and longevity of the prints.

Choosing the Right Materials

High-quality paper stocks and finishes can make your prints more resistant to wear and environmental factors.

Lamination and Coating

Lamination and special coating options can further enhance durability and provide water resistance, making prints suitable for outdoor use or in high-traffic areas.

UV Resistance

For prints that will be exposed to sunlight, inquire about UV-resistant options to maintain color vibrancy over time.

South Brunswick Spotlight: Local Commercial Printers

With all you've learned about commercial printing, it's time to shine the spotlight on local South Brunswick printers.

Heritage Printing & Graphics

With a strong local presence, Heritage Printing & Graphics delivers branding solutions through a variety of print services, including banners, signs, and promotional items.

Printech Express

Printech Express prides itself on superior customer service and quick turnaround times, catering to a wide range of print needs from business cards to full-size banners.

Minuteman Press

Minuteman Press is a full-service print center offering both digital and offset printing solutions. They place an emphasis on building relationships with their customers.

The Fine Print: Managing Expectations

Understanding what to expect from the commercial printing process will ensure a smoother experience.

Turnaround Times

While commercial printers are generally faster than in-house options, be clear on the timeline for your project.

Proofs and Revisions

Discuss the proofing process and any revision stages. This is the time to ensure everything is as you expected before the final print run.

Communication Is Key

Ensure there's good communication throughout the process, and that you have a direct contact at the print shop to address any concerns promptly.

Harnessing the Power of Print for Your Brand

With the right partner and a thoughtful approach, print materials can be a powerful brand asset.

Consistency Across Media Maintain brand consistency across all communication channels, including print. Your commercial printing summit NJ should be able to match pantone colors and your brand's design elements accurately.

Print Innovation

Don't shy away from innovative print designs. Embossing, foil stamping, and die-cutting are just a few options that can add a touch of creativity to your materials.

Measuring Print ROI

Track the effectiveness of your print materials to understand your return on investment. Utilize unique QR codes, promotional codes, or track engagement to measure success.

Final Words: The Future of Print

The future of print is continuously evolving with technological advancements and sustainable practices. South Brunswick's commercial printers are at the forefront of these changes, offering state-of-the-art solutions that merge the best of traditional print with the demands of a modern marketplace. By leveraging the expertise and services of local commercial printing firms, you can craft print materials that deeply resonate with your audience, drive engagement, and ultimately, contribute to the growth and success of your business. Now that you're armed with knowledge and insight, go forth and make your mark—on paper. In partnership with its local printers, South Brunswick is not just a map point; it's a destination for progressive businesses that understand and appreciate the timeless power of print.

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monolithm007 · 9 months

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Supercharge Your Growth: 10 Key Benefits of Hiring an Advertising Agency for Your Business

In today’s fast-paced marketing landscape, navigating the choppy waters of advertising can feel overwhelming, especially for businesses just starting to carve their niche. This is where a skilled advertising agency can become your superhero, helping you reach new heights and leave the competition in the dust. But before you leap, let’s dive into the top 10 reasons why partnering with an agency might be the smartest move you can make:

1. Expertise Galore: Think of an agency as an all-star team of marketing wizards. From creative directors to copywriters and data analysts, they bring a wealth of experience across various channels, ensuring your campaigns hit the bullseye every time. No more struggling to master SEO, social media, and PPC like a one-man band!

2. Cost-Effective Magic: While the initial investment might seem daunting, think of it as a long-term game changer. Agencies can often negotiate better rates for media buys and platforms, saving you money in the long run. Plus, you avoid the cost of hiring and training internal marketing staff, making it a budget-friendly win.

3. Fresh Eyes and Killer Ideas: Let’s face it, sometimes we’re too close to our own businesses to see the creative goldmine right under our noses. Agencies bring a fresh perspective, injecting innovative ideas and strategies that can revitalize your brand and leave customers asking for more.

4. Time to Focus on What Matters: Marketing takes time and dedication. By handing the reins to an agency, you free up precious hours to focus on your core business operations, knowing your brand is in capable hands. It’s a win-win for productivity and peace of mind.

5. Data-Driven Decisions, Not Gut Feelings: Forget flying blind! Agencies live and breathe data analytics, providing you with real-time insights into campaign performance and customer behavior. This data-driven approach ensures your marketing efforts are constantly optimized for maximum impact.

6. Scalability for Growth: As your business takes off, your marketing needs will evolve. A good agency can scale their services alongside you, adapting to your changing requirements and ensuring your brand stays ahead of the curve.

7. Industry Knowledge That Impresses: Agencies specialize in specific industries, giving them a deep understanding of your competitors, target audience, and market trends. This insider knowledge translates into campaigns that resonate with your ideal customers and leave a lasting impression.

8. Access to Cutting-Edge Tools: Forget struggling with clunky software! Agencies have access to the latest marketing tools and technologies, giving you an edge in reaching your audience and maximizing your ROI.

9. Accountability and Transparency: A good agency will be your partner in success, not just a hired gun. Expect regular reports, open communication, and a shared commitment to achieving your marketing goals.

10. Global Reach, Local Connection: Need to expand your horizons? Many agencies have international networks, opening doors to new markets and audiences. But don’t worry, they won’t forget your local roots — they’ll ensure your messaging resonates with your hometown heroes too.

Hiring an advertising agency isn’t just about outsourcing tasks; it’s about investing in a strategic partnership that can propel your business to new heights. So, ditch the marketing mayhem and let the experts work their magic! Remember, when it comes to growth, sometimes the best move is to step back and let the professionals take the lead.

Ready to unleash your brand’s full potential? Start your search for the perfect advertising agency today!

#advertising agency

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kjsadd · 10 months

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Notes from "The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too)" by Gretchen Rubin

(Context: After years of being told by the quiz that I was an Upholder, I realized I was a Rebel)

The Four Tendencies > Page 17 A Rebel child might respond better if asked, “Do you feel like playing the piano now?” while an Upholder child would be happy to be reminded, “Time to practice the piano.”

But "do you feel like playing the piano now" still has an expectation embedded in it... as a kid i would have said "No" to resist the expectation, or "Yes " if I felt sufficiently guilty; but none of that would have been purely my own decision. So what's a parent to do?

((the rest of my notes from the book are below the cut; they're very long))

Understanding the Rebel: “It’s so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to”

Rebels May Be Drawn to Lives of High Regulation

They resist control, even self-control, and often enjoy flouting rules, expectations, and conventions.

Rebels aren’t persuaded by arguments such as “People are counting on you,” “You’ve already paid for it,” “I did this task, so will you do that task?” “I think this is really important, so let’s agree that from now on we’ll do it,” “Things should be this way,” “You have an appointment,” “You said you’d do it,” “This way is more efficient,” “Someone else will be inconvenienced,” “It’s against the rules,” “It’s a tradition,” “This is the deadline,” or “It’s rude.” They’re much more apt to respond to being told “This will be fun,” “This is what you want,” “I’m feeling anxious about this, do you think you can do it?” “This feels really important to me, what do you think?” Rebels can do anything they want to do.

For Rebels, the ability to choose is so important that sometimes they make a choice—even when it’s against their own self-interest or it’s not what they prefer—just to reassure themselves that they can make that choice.

Rebels also take great pleasure in defying people’s expectations.

A Rebel on a mission is a force of nature, a superstar. No need for checklists, for routines, rules, or habits to get things done. The need to find a cause, something to truly believe in and fight for, is vital. The inner belief is so strong, it will withstand any external pressure. A Rebel believes in his/ her own uniqueness, and even superiority. There’s certainly an aspect of arrogance. But if Rebels find the cause, then that’s their master.

Rebels place a very high value on authenticity and self-determination, and want their lives to be a true expression of their values.

Rebels often do better when there are no expectations at all. One Rebel told me that she got her best grades during her final semester of high school, after she’d been admitted to a college, and her last year in college, when she already had a job lined up.

Rebels resist doing repetitive, boring tasks—such as taking out the garbage or filing expense reports—unless the consequences become serious enough. Many Rebels mention that they use automatic bill paying, and when they can afford it, they often pay to outsource routine obligations. Also, Rebels have learned that when they simply refuse to do something, other people often pick up the slack.

Of course, when we must do something, we do it—even Rebels. Often, however, when Rebels must do something, they find a Rebel way to get it done.

Some Rebels will take positions in direct opposition to what they’ve said themselves, because they don’t want to feel trapped in a particular view; they’ll refuse to do a task that they said they’d do, because they don’t want to be forced into action, even by their own former words.

When applying to school, Rebels often apply to just one school. They know where they want to go, and they don’t want an admissions committee deciding their future.

Although Rebels resist any expectations imposed on them, some Rebels feel quite comfortable imposing their expectations on others.

When dealing with Rebels, it’s crucial to accept that Rebelhood is a deep part of their nature; it’s not a stage, it’s not something that they will outgrow.

To sum up, REBEL/ Questioners think, “I do whatever I choose,” while REBEL/ Obligers think, “I refuse to do what anyone tells me to do.”

With some Rebels, their Rebelness is forceful and conspicuous; in other Rebels, it looks more like passive-aggressiveness—a quiet, nonconfrontational refusal to do what anyone else wants them to do.

Rebels respond best to a sequence of information, consequences, and choice.

A teacher might say, “To graduate from high school, students have to complete a hundred service hours. Students who start as freshmen or sophomores have more choice about what projects they pick and when they do it. The longer students wait, the fewer choices they have. I’ve known seniors who’ve lost their spring break because they had to spend that time completing the service requirement. My door is open whenever you’d like to talk about choosing a service project.”

A doctor might say, “Research shows that exercise really benefits people over the age of sixty. People who exercise are more likely to live independently and less likely to suffer debilitating falls and pain. If you’re interested, this pamphlet has several suggestions for different kinds of exercise.”

For information-consequences-choice to work, it’s crucial that Rebels do indeed suffer unpleasant consequences—whether to a Rebel’s health, reputation, or convenience. These unpleasant consequences can be painful to witness—and unfortunately, the consequences may affect others as well. However, if other people make problems go away, or do the Rebels’ work for them, or cover for them, Rebels have no reason to act.

Information, consequences, choice. Without lectures or micro-management or rescue.

“I don’t think you can finish the report by Friday,” “I don’t think you could give up sugar,” or “I don’t think you’ll enjoy it” may all be good lines to use to trigger the Rebel spirit (though, true, some Rebels may see right through it). Remarking, “So I see you’re not going to the gym today,” might prompt the Rebel to say, “Oh yes, I am,” while saying, “Don’t you think you should go to the gym today?” might well prompt the answer of “I’m not going.”

Despite their impulse to resist if asked or told to do something, Rebels may choose to do something out of love—when they’re acting from desire, not from obligation. If something is important to someone they love, they may choose to meet an expectation, to show love. But it’s a choice. A Rebel teenager explained, “I’d plan to do something nice for my mom, some chore while she was out, and then as she’d leave the house, she’d tell me to do it. I’d think, ‘No way! It was fun when I was going to do it as a surprise for you, Mom, but not now that it’s an assignment.’ ”

From then on, my grades dropped. I felt like if I were to do well and get the 100 he was looking for, he would be winning somehow.

Now I realize that my husband is such a Rebel, he doesn’t even like to be “told” when to have sex. After almost twenty years of marriage, I’ve learned to keep my advances very low and casual, so he feels like it’s his call, not mine.

I couldn’t help but hold myself back, because I felt trapped and scrutinized.

Rebels struggle to tell themselves what to do. While Rebels often frustrate other people, they may also frustrate themselves, because the imp of the perverse causes them to reject their own desires.

Rebels seek to follow their own will, yet they’re often undone by their own willfulness. Following a schedule and making plans can feel like obligations to resist—even if the plan is something the Rebel wants to do. (To be sure, some Rebels love schedules, to-do lists, and the like, and they can follow this fairly un-Rebel-like behavior if that’s what they want to do.)

Rebels who resist plans, schedules, habits, and commitments can find ways to do things on their terms. The key thing for Rebels to remember: They can do whatever they want to do.

Rebels can meet expectations when those expectations allow them to express their identity—to act like the kind of person they want to be.

As a writer, if I sign up for a 30-day writing challenge, I doom myself. The worst thing to do is to post on my blog that I’m going to do something—I’ll rebel against it. I tell myself that I want to be the kind of person who writes every day. I imagine forming a writing life by getting up and writing, how it will feel when I’m done with my words, and then I do it.

To meet financial goals, a Rebel could focus on his identity as a person who makes smart choices that give him long-term freedom.

“When I need to do repetitive chores, everything in me screams ‘Noooo.’ So I play a game I call ‘As If.’ I enact being somebody else or doing stuff while being filmed: e.g., I enact being a perfect butler, cook, interior designer, famous poet, cool scientist… sounds cheesy, but it works.”

One Rebel combined the strategy of identity with the Rebel love of challenge: “To get things done, I trick my mind with a dare. I tell myself, ‘I’m a Rebel who can stick to a routine and follow through.’ This challenge excites me. It’s rebellious to be a Rebel who can do disciplined things that you don’t expect.”

Rebels may choose to master habits because of who they don’t want to be. “I’m not the kind of coach who keeps the kids waiting because I’m late to practice.”

Rebels use ingenious ways to avoid igniting their spirit of resistance—often by introducing an element of game, challenge, or choice. A Rebel said, “I interject challenge into the more strategic, long-term (but to me, boring) projects: ‘I’ll tame all of our company’s paperwork around on-boarding freelancers by next Monday.’

Instead of writing a to-do list, I write each task on a separate piece of paper. I fold up all the pieces and put them in a bowl, then select one folded paper and do whatever task is written on it. I don’t select another paper until that task is completed. This makes for a fun game of chance, and looking at the little folded papers feels less daunting than looking at a list of tasks.

act. I heard of one ambitious Rebel writer who kept herself prolific by giving away money as fast as she earned it. She knew that if she didn’t have to write to make money, she wouldn’t be able to make herself write.

“You find Rebels among ministers and the military because they’ve found something big enough to deserve all their energy and devotion.”

Also, many Rebels get their energy and direction from pushing back, and highly regulated environments supply Rebels with rules to ignore, limitations to exceed, conventions to violate.

LIKELY STRENGTHS: Independent-minded Able to think outside the box Unswayed by conventional wisdom Willing to go his or her own way, to buck social conventions In touch with his or her authentic desires Spontaneous POSSIBLE WEAKNESSES: Likely to resist when asked or told to do something Uncooperative Inconsiderate Has trouble accomplishing tasks that need to be done consistently, the same way, every time Acts as though ordinary rules don’t apply Restless; may find it difficult to settle down in a job, relationship, city Struggles with routines and planning May be indifferent to reputation

Highlight(yellow) - 10: Dealing with a Rebel: “You’re not the boss of me” > Page 183 · Location 2380

their connection to their authentic interests and desires.

The key point for the spouse of a Rebel? The more that’s asked, the more the Rebel will resist.

A friend said, somewhat bitterly, “Rebels are the people we all take care of.” And that’s the paradoxical aspect to this pattern: The Rebels become dependent.

Similarly, while refusing to commit to plans makes Rebels feel free, their behavior often allows others to set the agenda.

Rebel children can be a challenge. When they’re asked or told to do something, they tend to resist. They want to choose their own way; they don’t want others to set expectations. A friend said, “I told my Rebel daughter that I would tuck her in ‘in five minutes.’ She responded, ‘How about four?’ ”

One parent of a Rebel explained, “The best way to wrangle the Rebel child is to give the kid the information to make a decision, present the issue as a question that he alone can answer, and let him make a decision and act without telling you. Let him make a decision without an audience. Audiences = expectations. If he thinks you’re not watching, he won’t need to rebel against your expectations.”

Rebels can do whatever they want to do.

A music teacher explained how she tailored her approach to a Rebel student: I’d tried to help one Rebel student to become a leader rather than a “disrupter.” So I’d ask him to do things, like pass out supplies, help the person next to him. I could see he wanted and liked to be in charge… so why was he not jumping at the chance to lead and help his neighbors? I learned that as a Rebel, he refuses because he wants leading and helping to be his decision, not mine. So I told the class, “Show me your part of the song and hand movements, all of you at the same time. I want to see who’s doing a good job, so I can find a leader.” Now, he has a choice: Is he going to try hard, or is he going to shy away? Well, he tried really hard. So I asked him, “Do you want to be leader for your section?” I didn’t tell him, I asked him. He said yes. Man oh man was he excited to lead that section.

Rebels respond much better when an action is framed in terms of choice, freedom, and self-expression instead of constraint and duty. “When you want to learn to ride a bike, you can, and then you can ride off with your friends on fun adventures.” Not, “Your friends will make fun of you if you can’t ride a bike.”

if a doctor praises a Rebel by saying, “You’re doing great, you’re following my directions exactly,” the Rebel might immediately stop, in order to demonstrate freedom.

Maybe your Rebel husband can change his way of thinking about quitting.—Rebels hate to be trapped, constrained. So view smoking as a trap: “I’m chained by addiction; I’m helpless without my cigarettes.”—Rebels hate to be exploited: “I’m pouring money right into the pockets of the big tobacco companies.”—Rebels want to express their identity. “I’m a nonsmoker. That’s the person I choose to be. That’s what I want.”—Rebels value pleasure. “It will be so great to wake up without a hacking cough and bad breath, to feel more energetic, and not to huff and puff when I walk up the stairs.”—Rebels value freedom. “In places like office buildings or airports, they order me around, telling me where I have to go if I want to smoke.”—Rebels like to do things in their own way: instead of following a standard cessation program, he could come up with his own way to quit.—NOTE: For Rebels, there’s always the “I’ll show you” gambit. “Honey, I think quitting smoking may just be too tough to do. Those cigarettes have really got their hooks into you. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to quit. Maybe you should give up trying.

They tend to be good at delegating

When the Four Tendencies Pair Up

For instance, in marriage, an Upholder might pair well with a Rebel who puts a high value on the identity of being a loving, helpful partner. And an Upholder and a Rebel can get along well in a relationship where they don’t have many expectations for each other.

as a Questioner, Jamie always wants to do what seems most efficient.

Speaking Effectively to Each Tendency

Upholders want to know what should be done • Questioners want justifications • Obligers need accountability • Rebels want freedom to do something their own way

Upholders value self-command and performance • Questioners value justification and purpose • Obligers value teamwork and duty • Rebels value freedom and self-identity

Obligers often make arguments like “This will inconvenience someone else,” “You have to do this, it’s part of your job,” “It’s not right to expect someone else to do that”—great arguments, for other Obligers.

To craft a sign that works well for all Four Tendencies, we should provide information, consequences, and choice. This is the sequence that works for Rebels, of course, plus Questioners cooperate better when they have information and justification, and Obligers, when they know consequences. Upholders tend to follow a rule.

For the office kitchen, a Rebel suggested this sign: “If the kitchen stays clean, we’ll take down the signs telling people to keep the kitchen clean.”

The happiest and most successful people are those who have figured out ways to exploit their Tendency to their benefit and, just as important, found ways to counterbalance its limitations.

Whatever Our Tendency, We Can Learn to Harness Its Strengths

I’m haunted by a single line spoken by the novelist and Rebel John Gardner: “Every time you break the law you pay, and every time you obey the law you pay.”

Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels, we all must grapple with the consequences of our Tendency—with its strengths and its weaknesses, its foibles and its frustrations. When we understand our Tendency, we’re better able to grasp how, and when, and why to pay—and how to build the life we want.

Appendix

(re: the flash quiz of asking how they feel about New Years resolutions)

In general, Upholders enjoy New Year’s resolutions and will also make resolutions at other times.

Generally, Rebels won’t bind themselves with resolutions. Occasionally, Rebels find it fun to do so, and they emphasize that they wanted to do it, they enjoyed it, they liked the challenge.

Upholders will tend to say they’d go. They want to go; they signed up for it; they’re sorry that someone else is slightly inconvenienced, but they can live with that. They will emphasize the value of sticking to plans, following through on their expectations for themselves.

“Looking back, can you remember a time when you succeeded in changing an important habit?”

For each Tendency, one question matters most: • Upholders ask: “Should I do this?” • Questioners ask: “Does this make sense?” • Obligers ask: “Does this matter to anyone else?” • Rebels ask: “Is this the person I want to be?”

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