#them] and i presume i never will b/c i have every opportunity and am just like [staring impassively from 19 ft away] it's called self care

[unproduciblesmackdown]

we’ll just have to see How It Feels when billions s5 (part 1 lol) actually hits and i have to deal with the fact that i hate to even Think about consuming billions content outside of the [compilation of Just Winston’s Billions Content], even though technically i had to consume billions content outside the compilation just to create the compilation, and i felt Genuine Anxiety over [it’s saturday night bitches here comes a billions episode] whether it was a rare “and winston will be in it” saturday or a “he won’t be in it so i don’t even have to Look at it” saturday, and this time it will be 100% winston saturdays, and i Dread this, yet i was somehow able to endure even Most of billions eps in the past, b/c it always seems more Unmanageable when you’re thinking about it until it’s actually happening currently and you’re handling it, but usually that’s re: more dire things that [an episode of a show that’s kind of cursed and i kind of hate it] but i can’t explain the complexities of my relationship with billions except that it distresses me all of the time and at the end of the day i’m really just trying to look at the quant while safely assuming that canon will only cause me further suffering

[yeeyee-alumni]

Ellie’s (lack of a) character arc & why the result is an unsatisfying story

Let’s state the obvious: Ellie does not have a character arc in The Last of Us Part 2. A character arc is defined as a gradual transformation or inner journey of a character in response to changing developments in the story. And you may argue that Ellie from the beginning of the game is not the same as the one at the end of the game, and I would agree with you. She went from a woman consumed by revenge (not really but we will stick with that for now) to a woman able to forgive her aggressor and move on. However, there are problems with this supposed inner change on multiple levels. a) the change is not gradual b) the change comes out of nowhere c) the change is not informed by anything I don’t think there’s any need to thoroughly explain the first statement. Ellie has the same goal from the beginning to the very last second before attaining her goal. At no point in the story is she self-reflective, questions her methods, there’s no moral dilemma for her, no inner conflict, no doubt that causes her to put her own actions into a new perspective and possibly change her motivation. From beginning to end she believes to be 100% justified in her goal to kill Abby. Subsequently, if Ellie were actually consumed by revenge, the only logical conclusion to her story would be for her to eventually drown Abby.

Which neatly leads me to the next point: her change comes out of nowhere. The decision to let Abby go, as is implied by the narrative, is triggered by a random, arbitrary flashback of Joel. First of all, the timing here is outright comical. For what reason is she having this specific flashback at this very moment? Sounds like contrived, convenient bs to me to give the appearance that her decision is informed by something (which it isn’t, and we'll get to that in a moment). Second of all, getting a flashback to the most important person in your life that has been brutally murdered in front of you, seeing an image of what could have been and what was unjustly taken from you, is not gonna inspire you to forgive your aggressor. If anything, it would make you more determined and sadistic. And third of all, I hear you all yelling "but it was a flashback to their conversation about forgiveness and that inspired her to forgive Abby." And I have multiple qualms regarding this line of thinking. Number one, forgiving the person you love most in this world for having lied to you cannot be compared to forgiving the person who brutally took said person from you. This actually further accentuates my previous point, this is the person that robbed you of your opportunity for reconciliation. Implying that Ellie's thought process here is „I wanted to forgive Joel, but this person robbed me of any opportunity to, so I have to forgive her” is muddled, nonsensical and quite frankly unrealistic. And number two, is the implication here that this is the first time Ellie has thought back to that conversation? That’s a whole new level of nonsense. She will have reflected on all moments with Joel, including this one, and yet at no point prior to this moment had she considered even the possibility of forgiveness, as I have illustrated earlier. So why now? Very obviously to get a payoff, which was neither set up nor properly developed. And moving on to my last point: it is not informed by anything. I know a lot of players didn’t want Ellie to kill Abby, and even I felt that way at first, albeit presumably for entirely different reasons (I was so drained and removed from the narrative by that point that I only thought to myself "just go home, you psychos"). But upon reflection, I concluded that that would have been an unsatisfying conclusion narratively speaking. Nevertheless, Abby seems to have grown dear to many players. After all, they have spent several hours with her, they have seen her struggle, overcome her obstacles, fight for what she believes to be right. Their feelings towards Abby are informed by the person they have seen her to be and by the experiences they went through with her. Yet Ellie is missing all of that context. She has not been with us throughout our three days in Seattle, she doesn’t know Abby outside of her having horrifically killed Joel and she has not gained any new information that would lead her to change her opinion about her. And so, we have another example of the story making characters do things that are not informed by anything, for the sake of a poor payoff. And since we're talking about characters acting nonsensically, let's talk about the roughly three minutes leading up to Ellie nearly drowning Abby, shall we? Ellie approaches the beach absolutely determined to find and kill Abby (repeatedly murmuring Abby’s name to herself). Yet when she reaches the pillars, she cuts Abby down, letting her free Lev and follows them to the boats, indicating that Ellie has changed her mind, showing pity/empathy upon seeing Abby a mere shadow of her former self. And yet again, we have Ellie acting in a way she never has before. She didn’t have pity for Nora who was coughing her lungs out, or for Jordan who had advocated for letting her live, or for any other innocent WLF or Seraphite that came in between her and killing Abby. But the one person she holds a grudge against to the point of killing hundreds of innocent people without batting an eye, that is the person she is suddenly capable of feeling pity/empathy for? Is it really that surprising that Ellie's actions here feel forced, uncharacteristic, and illogical? But it actually gets worse. In an additional display of Druckmann not knowing how humans work, we have Ellie putting her backpack with all her gear in the boat, looking at her bloody hand and then remembering "Oh yeah, that's the woman who killed Joel. I almost forgot.” And at this point in my playthrough I was laughing out loud. And so, we have Ellie all of sudden determined to kill Abby again, so much so that she is willing to threaten an innocent child’s life (this by the way was the final nail in the coffin for me, they thoroughly obliterated Ellie’s character throughout the entire game, but this goes against the very core of her being). And we know the rest, they fight, Ellie nearly kills Abby but eventually lets her go. To summarize what happened in the three minutes before our big emotional payoff to our 25 hour-long journey of playing this epitome of misery porn: Ellie has 3 - count them 3!!! - changes of heart. Her motivation does a perfect 180 almost every minute. This is not how people work! That’s lazy, contrived beyond believe, and borderline comical levels of writing, because Druckmann prioritized having a final boss battle on a beach over organic, coherent, and logical storytelling (but I guess it was worth it for the goddamn visuals). However, what’s most infuriating is that there are such easy fixes if one only thinks about it for more than two minutes that could erase nearly all for the major issues I just illustrated while maintaining the plot points of the two fighting on a beach and Ellie letting Abby go. If we have Ellie walk to the beach immediately, finding Abby there untying the boat (Lev nearly passed out in the boat, Ellie not seeing him) and she then attacks Abby, immediately we have erased two of Ellie’s changes of heart, she remains consistent in her goals/motivation, not jumping back and forth between two extremes. The two women fight much like we see it in the game, and then as Ellie is about to finish it, we hear Lev calling out to Abby. And there we have our motivation for Ellie to not kill her. Not because she gets a random, convenient flashback, not because she forgives Abby (Abby has done nothing to earn Ellie’s forgiveness), not because Abby has earned her redemption, but because Ellie cannot find it in her to put an innocent child through the pain Abby has put her through. Because at the end of the day, Ellie’s hatred for Abby does not outweigh her capacity for compassion and empathy for those deserving of it (a core characteristic of hers that was established in the first game). Because Ellie would rather let an individual live that is undeserving of it than cause the same pain she was put through to an innocent child that is undeserving of it. Granted, if we were to go with this ending, we would still have to build towards it properly and therefore would have to tweak the rest of the game, mainly by showing Ellie being self-reflective, merciful towards innocents, and even doubtful about her goals at times to make her final decision informed by prior developments in order to have the character arc actually be a gradual transformation leading to a logical conclusion. I have been a writer for nearly 4 years now, which means I am in no way an expert, or the most creatively talented person around and yet I would argue that this ending would be much more satisfying to most players than the alternative we were presented with. Because as it stands, none of our actions or decisions (and yes that is something important to consider when we are working within the medium of video games), or Ellie’s for that matter, lead up to this conclusion. The conclusion to this story, the final moment, the big emotional payoff hinges on a random flashback, not on any other developments that previously occurred in the story. Subsequently rendering all of the 25 hours entirely pointless, none of it had an influence on the finale, none of it mattered narratively speaking. So, is it even a surprise that many found this to be dissatisfying? I noticed a few people who are fond of Abby accusing people feeling differently of having too much of an emotional bias or even going as far as to say they are less emotionally intelligent. This is problematic for two reasons, a) different people have different reasons for disliking Ellie’s final choice. Some still hate Abby as much as in the beginning, others feel drained and indifferent, and others still feel similarly to how I feel in that it’s mainly narratively dissatisfying. And b) the same story can have a different effect on any amount of people (otherwise, we would have settled the discussion about what the greatest movie all of time is long ago). My point being, that no matter how you feel about this particular story you are 100% justified in feeling this way, and yes that includes people that by the end of the game still hate Abby just as much as they did the moment she bashed Joel’s skull in. That does not necessarily have to be personal bias, more often than not it’s the ability to see through the storytelling techniques used, rendering them mostly ineffective for these people (and I include myself in this). I wanted Ellie to kill Abby not because I was unable to empathize with her or couldn’t see past my own personal bias, but because that would have been the logical, narratively satisfying conclusion to this specific story.

[discotreque]

Disco 3.08: The Sanctuary

This week IRL was a real mixed bag for me: a lot of messy and barely-manageable anxiety about my health, my day job, and uhhhh *gestures outside*—but also I’ve recently fallen in love (from a responsible social distance)—so it’s been equal parts re-writing professional emails to edit the panic attack out of my tone and gazing dreamily at Discord notifications with cartoon hearts in my eyes. It feels like my life is going to hell in the cutest, coziest handbasket—which is to say that Michael Burnham could not possibly feel like a more relatable character to me right now.

I continue to have issues with the writing at a strange medium-level—somewhere between micro, where the dialogue and characters are really good, and macro, where I’m digging the pace of the overall season, it almost feels like something went wrong in the assembly process, and the script ended up a little bit less than the sum of its perfectly good parts. Again.

But that’s such vague criticism as to be nearly meaningless, and it’s hardly the most interesting level to spend time on anyway. If I zoom out, the parallel season arcs of “getting used to the future” and “the mystery of the Burn” are hanging together wayyyyy better than the Red Angel saga did last year.

And if I zoom in? This episode was funny as shit, wtf.

The discourse re: Tilly these past couple of weeks has been bullshit, and I have a whole angry thing to say about it—but honestly, if you can’t appreciate Doug Jones and Mary Wiseman as a comedic duo, I’m not really mad: mostly I pity the lack of joy in your heart.

Everyone on this show is so funny. Doug’s prissy little delivery absolutely slaughters me (“Execute!...?”), Mary will make a face sometimes that has me screaming laughter into my hands, and I’ve gone on before—and will again—about Sonequa Martin-Green’s egregiously underrated comedy chops.

They were obviously casting for folks w/ jokes in the new season too: David Ajada is no slouch in the dry-delivery or the goofy-face department; his energy and chemistry with Sonequa are as suited to comedy as they are to romance (i.e. extremely 🥵). Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz we knew about, but Blu del Barrio—a certified tiny baby!!!—holds their own and lands every smartass whiz-kid one-liner just on the right side of “too precious to stand.” (I almost always at least chuckle, and never roll my eyes, and for a “teen genius” character that’s literally as good as it gets.) And living legend Michelle Yeoh is clearly having the time of her life, omfg.

Disco’s not funny-funny like Lower Decks, but they do funny-on-purpose better than any live-action Trek except maybe DS9. They have such a deep comedic bench they don’t even need Tig Notaro—they have her on just to flex, I presume.

(I don’t know if I’m predicting, per se, that Strange New Worlds—with Rebecca Romjin’s deadpan, Anson Mount’s twinkly eyes, and Ethan Peck’s twinkly-eyed deadpan—is going to have a tone somewhere between Disco S3 and LwD—but I mean... it kinda has to, right? And you know they kept the number for Rainn Wilson’s agent.)

***

At the start of this episode, I was “sure, why the fuck not” about First Officer Tilly; by the end, I was completely on board. And to everyone who’s still wringing their hands about “the real military” this (always from people who have no idea how actual militaries work, lol) and “Lt. Nilsson” that (she... already has a job on the ship? And no character traits besides “stoic” and “furrows brow”? Oh, I get it—she’s skinny and blonde)—y’all are kind of embarrassing me.

“Rank” and “position” (and “seniority” and “day-to-day duties”...) aren’t the same thing, in Star Trek or any IRL military. Yes, the permanent first officers of normal-duty Starfleet ships we’ve seen have usually been command-division officers with the rank of Commander—but not always. Star Trek: Discovery-A, if you will, is a unique show about a unique ship in a unique situation: “B-b-but that’s not how they do it on Star Trek!!!” isn’t a legitimate criticism, not of this—it’s the mournful cry of an entitled pissbaby who isn’t having their hand held all the way to the fireworks factory.

Here’s what an argument supported by the text of the first 37 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery actually looks like: Sylvia Tilly is nervous and lacks self-confidence, but once she gets over herself—which she can do pretty much instantly in a crisis, even when hilariously intoxicated—she is competent as hell. In lower-stakes situations, without intense pressure to focus her attention, she sometimes gets sidetracked by her own insecurities; at her best, she channels that anxious energy into ambition, drive, and being scrupulously organized.

The only person Tilly doesn’t always get along with is Stamets, and even Stamets’s husband thinks he’s an asshole. Since Season 1, we’ve seen her easily socializing with the rest of the crew, who seem to universally adore her. And she’s also happy to leave her social comfort zone at a moment’s notice: she aligned herself with Ash Tyler (miss you, Shazad!) when no one else would, and she instantly befriended Po even when Po was in Weird Feral Alien Princess mode and Tilly had salad in her hair. She doesn’t like confrontation, but she’s brave enough to initiate it anyway if she needs to, and she’s compassionate with other people’s feelings while still setting firm boundaries. (Her graceful dodge of Rhys’s tipsy kiss at the party in 1.07 lives rent-free in my head to this day.)

No, Tilly didn’t finish the Command Training Program—but she started it, which is almost certainly more command training than any of the lieutenants whose names we know, all of whom are Ops or Science personnel with, presumably, specialized non-command training of their own. The same could be assumed for any unseen ranking officers on this science ship with an entirely volunteer skeleton crew.

And seriously, about Nilsson: she’s my #3 background bae after Octopus Head and the lady on Pike’s Enterprise with the spiky red face, but her job is Spore Drive Ops, not personnel. If she’s running after Saru with a holo-clipboard, who’s going to look serious and push holo-buttons when there’s a Black Alert? *drops holo-mic* Drumhead!

***

The stuff on Kwejian, though. Ooof. Ol’ Two-Takes Frakes directed this one, and between the kinetic energy he always adds to the camera and the scintillating performances he evokes, things stayed moving so briskly I almost didn’t notice Book’s entire “homeworld” was a rental house outside Vancouver, a couple acres of adjacent woods, and like six or seven people.

It’s a hot mess in retrospect, but in the moment it gave us the intensity of Book and Kyheem trying to hurt each other’s feelings by poking at 15-year-old wounds, which as a sibling with complicated sibling relationships I found both funny and devastating—not to mention Frakes directing “shaky bridge” explosion falls at an obvious intensity of “10” on an outdoor location shoot. It falls apart at the slightest scrutiny, but I can’t lie, on first viewing I was totally along for the ride.

***

I’m dying to see where this Georgiou thing goes. It doesn’t feel like a stretch to assume she got Cronenberg’d a couple weeks ago, probably to get her under the thumb of this century’s Section 31, and that her arc is going to take Michelle Yeoh off this show in a way that sets up the S31 show. But also, I don’t care so much whether I’m right, I just want to watch Michelle Yeoh—and Sonequa Martin-Green, and also David Cronenberg tbh, and bring back Shazad Latif while you’re at it—get wherever they’re going.

It’s also a fun and interesting direction to take the comically-evil comic relief character and show that her performative moustache-twirling is partly habit and partly a transparent emotional defence against very real fear and vulnerability. We’re all products of our circumstances, and a radical enough change in circumstances can afford almost anyone at least the opportunity to change. I can’t say Emperor Georgiou would have been my first choice of protagonist for that storyline, but it’s not like Michelle Yeoh’s not going to fuckin’ crush it.

***

Miscellany:

So the Burn had an origin point, and now that point is broadcasting a signal that’s somehow both a haunting melody that everyone seems to know—but no one can remember learning—and a Federation distress signal. What the fuck, y’all. I have full-body goosebumps just typing that.

Saru workshopping his own captainly catchphrase with the aid of Tilly’s extreme sincerity and organizational skills is probably the funniest thing that’s ever happened on this show—followed closely by the uncomfortably lingering reaction shots when he’s trying them out on the bridge 😂 (And omg please give Rhys and Bryce the dumbass buddy-comedy C-plots they deserve next season, I beg you.)

I would do a little “prop watch” entry on those Kwejianian(?) bolt-throwing rifles, but I’d have to stop drooling over them first. “Curvy polished hardwood” seems to be New Trek shorthand for “extra sleek and futuristic” (cf. the bridge of the USS Titan in the LwD finale), and I have to say: I am fully into it.

Restating my prediction that we will not see Detmer and Owosekun get together this season, because we will find out that they’ve been together for ages. Everyone knew—Pike even knew!—it just never came up in front of the audience before. That would be one of the cutest ways to do it imho, and one of the funniest too, especially as a meta-joke about how much character development didn’t happen in the first two seasons. (That said, if we get to see their first kiss, I will be screaming with incoherent joy for days, so this is a real win-win for me.)

Speaking of cute: IRL spouses Mary Wiseman and Noah Averbach-Katz, both Julliard-trained actors (it’s where they met!), can’t quite hide their chemistry in the scenes between Tilly and Ryn. I loved seeing Tilly be a hardass when Ryn was rude to the captain, but that sparkle in her eyes didn’t quite match the context <3

And speaking of people who are VERY OBVIOUSLY IN LOVE: that last scene with Book and Michael, and his nervous little “yeah, I said it” eyebrow lift, and her irrepressible giggle as she’s walking away... it was almost too much. Especially right after the queer-family scenes with Stamets and Culber and Adira. My poor heart is going through a lot lately, and I guess I’m just glad Season 3’s emotional intensity is melting it with soft sweet scenes like that instead of kicking it down repeated flights of stairs like Season 1.

***

Next week: everyone stops caring about the Burn and starts trying to solve an even more important mystery—why is this (holographic) dude wearing an early-2360s uniform with an early-2370s combadge?

[cureposts187]

Large Disk Sander: Build, Use and Tips

I've lost tally of the occasions when I have been mid venture and thought, what I truly need presently is a huge fat circle sander. With them you can make exact points in wood and metal. You can deliver splendid external edge bends, and exact circles. You can rapidly eliminate material and smooth off stock that is too little to even think about being securely planed, or thicknessed. You can hone instruments, clean up harsh edges, deburr and settle, and do extraordinary toenail nail trim (just on the off chance that you're crazy, I'm not so much suggesting that last one).

Where is the bill of materials and apparatuses utilized?? For this 'capable it didn't bode well. an) in light of the fact that I'm utilizing loads of odd materials that I have fished out of skips, and b) since I was trying different things with instruments and procedures a considerable amount. What's more, c) in case you're wanting to manufacture one you're going to peruse this all and get a thought of what you need at any rate dependent on what you as of now have accessible, isn't that so? I'll give tips on what may be helpful recovered sources en route.In case you're as yet not persuaded you neeeed a plate sander, fly on ahead to the different strides on 'Use' to give you thoughts and tips on what cool things you could do with one.

What makes a decent circle sander?

I'd state you'd need: an extremely solid strong base, great tranquil, smooth and vibration free running, alongside an entirely level and exact work table with an equal miter opening. An inclining table appears as though it would be a pleasant component - however not to the detriment of strength. Something easy to use and safe - wellbeing is clearly significant.

Actually I'd need it BIG as well. 500mm (20") rough circles are about the greatest monetarily accessible here in the UK, so that appears to be a decent size to focus on. Having a huge plate doesn't simply mean you can sand greater stuff, it likewise implies you have a greater scope of grating rates. That is, you can differ the material expulsion rate by picking how out of sight the focal point of the plate you present the workpiece: towards the external edge will be particularly forceful, with the grating moving ordinarily quicker than state mostly out.

I began with a 1kw single stage acceptance engine that I protected from a wrecked floor scrubber/polisher we found in the skip. I was all around satisfied when I got it home, dried it out, and tried it. It went truly well with almost no vibration or clamor, running at 1450rpm. At that speed, at the edge of a 20" circle, the grating will go at around 38 meters for every second This engine had a face mount, the plan would have fluctuated a lot in the event that I was basing it cycle a foot mount engine.

I did some alteration and utilized the lodging/rib mount that accompanied the engine. To sit the engine even I expected to help the backside of the engine with something. For this, I stuck two utilize sorts out and directed a hover in them. Track with the notes on the photographs for the entire story.

Covering a Work Table

A significant aspect of the circle sander is a work table. Its fundamental capacity is to stay overall quite strong at a set point comparative with the turning circle. It is likewise common, and amazingly valuable, to have a space corresponding to the circle. This is utilized for the miter check (which is the reason it's regularly called a miter space) and different dances and frill.

I had some piece aluminum sheet that we saved from a skip (it was a support to a huge highly contrasting photograph that apparently nobody in the entire world loved). It was 2.5mm thick - not strong enough all alone, however...Why not cover a few pieces together, I thought. So I checked them up, and gambled utilizing the tablesaw with a non-ferrous metal cutting edge. I utilized a cast iron surface plate to attempt to accomplish evenness while epoxy sticking three layers together.It is presumably not as solid as a solitary bulky bit of aluminum as a result of the opportunity of de-cover - so far it's held up well however. I put a couple subset machine screws at key focuses, which puts the epoxy under pressure. Which means the main powers on it are probably going to be shear powers - epoxy is exceptionally solid at opposing this sort of power.

Table Relief Cut

This is only an instance of calculating the table's 'plate meeting edge' so when you alter it to 45 degrees, the table won't get on the circle.My little factory is too little to even consider making this cut across the board go, so there was some cinch re-jigging about included. Turned out to be alright at long last.

Note-in the event that you don't have a plant, I figure this progression could be finished toward the end on the sander itself. When you have the grating running on the circle, with care it should be conceivable to bring down the table into the plate, and let it cut the alleviation (I envision).

Table's Frame and Vibration

So to make the table excessively inflexible and durable, I included an under-outline. The casing additionally gives me a few pieces sufficiently able to house the turn fixings. It's piece aluminum expulsion I slice to estimate on the miter saw - a hacksaw would have worked, on the off chance that you can cut superhumanly square (or you as of now have a plate sander, with which you could rapidly settle the harsh cut - ahh the device producer's conundrum).

To join the under-outline I utilized a similar low thickness, slow set epoxy: having roughened up all paste surfaces with an edge processor. Note: The client Amclaussen, was benevolent enough to make reference to test he had with epoxy holding aluminum. You can see the conversation in the remarks, yet its significance is that harsh coarseness disk sander reviews is superior to granulating, with regards to improving bond quality. On the off chance that I was doing it again I would presumably go cautiously with point processor with fold plate - hand sanding aluminum makes my spirit throb.

To help forestall vibration include still greater unbending nature, I occupied in the spaces made by the casing with a homemade libation epoxy rock blend, with steel wire strengthening.

Engine Housing: Rigidity and Damping

I was going ahead pleasantly with the table, so now I have to solidify up the engine mount. I utilized a comparable epoxy stone blend, with steel wire fortifying. I packed the blend down with a touch of scrap wood.

​Table Pivot Mounting

I scored a great find during a dusty space get out, with this thick metal bar - it was somewhat corroded, however it's without a doubt, surface, and I discovered two long lengths :)

So at any rate, grieved about the bragging, back to business. The bar is cut (with the steampunk power hacksaw) and penetrated to acknowledge some M12 8.8 jolts that go about as a rotate. At that point I bored and tapped it for some opposite M6 clipping jolts.

Welding Up the Pivot Points

So subsequent to taking additional consideration to cinch, check parity and measurements, fiddle about, re-clip, re-check parity, and fiddle about some more, I tac-weld the turn focuses set up.

For welding purposes, the steel bar is exceptionally thick so I ground slants on the mating faces, which can be recorded with weld filet. This gets a bigger joining surface and more grounded weld. I am utilizing the welder on greatest force!Once attached set up we can mount the table, check everything fits (for my situation it appears to!), before eliminating the table again and finishing the weld.You can anticipate that it should twist a piece during the last welding, however you can limit this by line welding 1/2" segments. On the off chance that it twists, it's not very huge an arrangement and can be balanced out visit here https://toolsearchkit.com/best-disc-sander/

No Volt Release Switch

We are beginning to arrive at where we are going to need to test this monster! It's never too soon to include a sheltered switch. I had this instant no volt discharge switch (NVRS) hanging about from a crate of arbitrary pieces I got up closeout.

The NVRS essentially keeps the instrument from being fueled up on the off chance that force is cut and, at that point reestablished. ie. It wont jump to life surprisingly as you plug the attachment in, or if the force goes ahead after a force cut.On the off chance that you dont have one you can make one from some simple to rescue parts. Here's an instructable of a NVRS I made for a wood machine.

[chrisnashed3211-blog]

7 Ways a Marketing Strategy Will Grow Your Company

"What Is your best money I will spend in advertising to cultivate my business?" Certainly, this is the question I am most often asked by business owners. It could appear as a query that's promptly followed with an"it depends" type of response, however, it is really quite simple to pinpoint 1 instrument that's relatively affordable, delivers a high ROI and, regrettably, isn't commonly seen in a tiny companies' toolbox. It is a promotion strategy.

chrisnashed321

Why is a marketing plan that the strongest  Tool for developing company? The straightforward response is a good marketing strategy will tackle current challenges and map out avenues by which a company can grow later on. It can audit a company's message and brand, but is not restricted to branding independently. Instead, a marketing strategy is a blend of big image and detail evaluation that incorporates a vast selection of advertising channels tailored to that company's business, marketplace, and price range. Nearly all marketing approaches I compose for smaller companies incorporate a large number of items which could be carried out at no cost by present in-house employees, leading to a plan which will not result in a fortune .

chrisnashed321

Now I Want to Qualify my previous statement; the very best money spent in advertising is a wise marketing strategy composed by a skilled marketer on behalf of a particular company, not something sketched by a rep in an agency store (believe printer or internet business ) or by a generic,'small company plan' test list. To get a promotion strategy to be really successful, it ought to be an customized endeavor between study, analysis and a careful fitting of chances with the company's budget and resources. This may never be a speedy or off the shelf attempt - a wise marketing strategy takes a while to grow correctly.

It is  Important to remember that while a wise marketing strategy will not drive a company beyond its way, it is going to introduce a mixture of opportunities that fulfill immediate targets and show avenues for expansion. A promotion strategy's benefit is that it paints an image of a company, highlights who business is targeting, targets its advertising budget, and develops a program for reaching out to buyers. It accomplishes this in seven Important ways:

1.

A Brand is merely a company's public appearance and message. Firms have the start of a new - a formal title - and a few have taken measures to spot a logo, tagline, and maybe an overall colour scheme or style manual. In tiny companies, these are often a manifestation of their owner's individual preference as opposed to an evaluation of this marketplace and targeted buyers (decades ago I had a customer who picked her corporation's colour scheme from her kitchen wall's paint processor ). They might be due to a family brainstorming attempt or an operator's flash of inspiration. Occasionally they're geographically affected or an effort at gimmickry. The purpose is that while it is uncommon to locate a little company that acquired its title, symbol, and message as the consequence of authentic market study, it is a universal rule which, for bad or good, small companies will refer to those items as their company's new.

And this is Where a promotion strategy measures in. A wise marketing strategy will completely evaluate a company's brand through unbiased and experienced eyes. The marketer isn't (ideally ) a part of their family members and probably has not seen the kitchen walls. Rather, a seasoned marketer may audit the new as either a client and a marketer, and assess its capacity to rapidly communicate the company's narrative, whether it targets the right buyer, and if it's unique enough inside the market to establish the company apart from the competition. The promotion strategy will emphasize any new challenges, inconsistencies, or flaws before indicating improvements and alterations.

Regrettably, 'brand' appears to be a stage where many tiny businesses abandon their tactical attempts. A company's brand is vital and well worth a hefty attempt, however'branding' is not enough of an action thing to cultivate a company and is not where a wise strategy finishes...

2. Audits Present Program

Which Segues well into the next phase of a plan: auditing the current advertising program. This phase goes past branding to critique all the company's marketing campaigns and is a vital element to any wise strategy. It is at this point that wasted money or attempt is detected, missed chances emphasized, or where I discover a customer had begun down a positive path previously but abandoned it too premature or was away in its own message.   My audits look for advantages in addition to holes and flaws in a company's advertising program by dissecting the advertising channel mix, promotional places (both online and conventional ), frequency, and even much more, then fitting the whole program into the targeted buyer profile. I devote quite a lot of time searching through the company's advertising tools like its website, brochures, newsletters, and social websites and assess the company's staff tools, factoring any advantages into the last evaluation.

3.

It May be tough to fathom but you will find small companies that face annually without knowing much in their particular market and the most buyers upon which their livelihoods depend.  Questions like,"the number of buyers are out there now?" ,"how can they prefer to be attained?"  Are basic to business success since it's only through this understanding that a corporation can grow and adapt. The only method to make this profile is by way of research!

I begin by drawing information straight out of my Clients through a mixture of surveys and interviews full of carefully crafted queries. I will request then re-ask until I have developed a whole profile from my customer's perspective. My job then turns to creating a customer profile by a marketing standpoint that stems out of my customer's high level buyer outline. I will dig and investigate till my profile is finished, then assess my profile with that of my customer's. Hopefully we are in synch, but if not, I will figure out where we disagree and appraise where my customer can hone their efforts.

At this Point I will also wish to check out the market from my buyer profile standpoint, and certainly will"store" the contest. I will examine the company's geographic reach and explore both demographic information and neighborhood economic development strategies. All this information will play to the last test of if my customer should continue in its present marketplace or branch out into a place that's buyer-rich.

4. Evaluates Competition

"Who Is my contest and how can we disagree?" That is a question every company owner needs to be able to reply at any given time! Business owners must know about who's snagging market share from them and the way every competitor contrasts in quality, services, client support, messaging, and total marketing campaigns. It is fantastic to be the ideal service provider accessible, but that will not mean anything if the contest is registering more buyers!

With this point of a promotion  Strategy, I love to shop the contest from a purchaser's perspective prior to comparing my findings into my "customer shop". Since I am an external consultant, it is pretty easy for me to presume that an impartial purchaser's strategy to the majority of shopping attempts, be it B or B to C, and now that I search for simple shopping scenarios, who could meet my client requirements, would tempt me to make a buy or conversely would flip me off as a purchaser. I utilize these results to indicate ways my customer could enhance his own company's message and also to...

5. Determine Marketing Mix

This Phase of a promotion strategy is really a game of,'locate the buyers'. After all, what's advertising if it is not an attempt to communicate with buyers and lure them into a business enterprise? To mepersonally, this is the really strategic phase of a plan, but one which may not exist with of the prior actions. It's now that the plan should answer questions like,"if a company adopt the most recent trends or adhere to more conventional procedures?"

It is also the point where experience pays Off since there are many, many ways to invest in advertising and just so many choices which will reach the appropriate buyers. I like this point the most and spend some time searching under rocks to find new alternatives and find economical solutions. No two plans should be be exactly the same in this stage, which makes this the most habit section of the full approach. A fantastic strategy will appear past paid search and Facebook advertisements and discover new ways to present your company - in budget.

This is Additionally the most flexible part of a wise marketing strategy. I love to incorporate an assortment of alternatives which vary from'incorporate instantly' to more longer term efforts which make sense when the company has increased or has set other advertising tools set up. A fantastic combination will pull multiple advertising channels and permit a company to reach buyers on several levels.

6.

Many Companies have low price and free advertising and marketing choices currently at their disposal and might not understand it. A fantastic marketing strategy reviews a company's internal possibilities, evaluates the company as a whole, and also find resources which may be utilised in the advertising program. I love to enable my clients and provide them the opportunity to save their funds for larger ticket items in the future.

7.

I  This marketing strategy lists carefully chosen marketing campaigns determined from the plan and give a schedule for when they ought to be established and assessed. For smaller companies, I try to abide by the very low cost alternatives which could be kept internally with discretionary attempts which will cost more money or ought to occur after a historical goal was achieved. More expensive or entailed chances are usually booked for a 2-5 year program and are determined upon attaining aims.

By integrating the aforementioned 7 phases to a totally  Researched and carefully crafted approach, a small company is going to have a Map where it could reach its targets and develop its business. It is money Well invested and some thing a company actually shouldn't exist !

[strangemaloney03-blog]

Seductive Sport clothes.

On a 500 calorie diet plan WHAT can you probably accomplish that might be taken into consideration workout?. Compared with males which shed exercise with getting older, those who maintained their exercise had a 30% lower threat of death; those which improved their exercise had a 40% lesser risk of fatality. fitnesswelt-de.com have an idea that this is your brain prepping you to seek food since you are actually primarily starving. Diet plan without physical exercise produces thin fat" people and workout without diet makes fit however body fat" people. Like others on listed below I am back on the 2 breast support option (one underwire a bit as well significant, one aged sports bra a bit also limited). The main reason why I am taking this up is since this whole showed me that the sport itself is actually not just what creates you lose the weight, yet the plain act of removaling and acting in conformance to just what your body system requirements from you to accomplish. Thus, merely move your way: dance, strolling, missing, or carrying out whatever you should do in a secure ay. Salute along with a little nut butter, a piece of entire fruit product, a glass from dairy, or a sport beverage may aid obtain you going as well as still be digested prior to you work out. Now where a bunch of these arguments seem to be to link is actually the activity of ice hockey, a game which, while certainly not played considerably down listed here in Australia, is actually the national sport of Canada. The dining establishments are actually constantly free as well as the all-you-can-eat smorgasbords urge sizable plates piled high with meals. Furthermore, some moms and dads from also more youthful gamers, worrying the prospective risk off scalp accidents, are maintaining their youngsters off participating in football, football, and other sports. Thankfully, you do not need to invest a fortune at the local area organic food retail store so as to modify to a healthy and balanced lifestyle. After lunch I was actually over my veggie quantity through 4.5 ounces. This's the tomatoes. Old practices slipped back in. Considerably resorted to meals to turn off coming from lousy feelings and also circumstances. I presume user-friendly eating is actually thus pleasing considering that it proposes a well-balanced, delighted relationship with meals. She efficiently exposes lots of health and nutrition myths, like 1) the should eat every 2-3 hours, 2) saturated fat is bad for your center as well as arteries, 3) eggs misbehave for you (excessive cholesterol levels, you understand), 4) surface items are actually important for health. As well as whatever sport children remain in if they're certainly not picked in staffs or even if they think that they haven't been actually sustained sufficient there will definitely always be some unhappiness. I have actually never gotten on a trip, yet I carried out visit an extensive hotel once for a full week and all the meals was actually included, so it was REALLY appealing to eat continuously, specifically given that you could possibly regularly get something. Make the effort to consume a balanced food or even treat a couple of hours before you start thus you possess opportunity to absorb the food. Ground corn, prepared right into tortillas, is still the shipment system from selection for just about any sort of filling up conceivable. So in fact our company are actually partaking a beautiful area backyard, a great deal from meals has actually been actually expanded below because of individuals collaborating, they all provide their downtime to functioning listed here, so a bunch of the fruit and vegetables are going to be directly coming from this landscape. This's in fact a great headline b/c that allowed's you recognize to expect each advantages and disadvantages from the sporting activity. Several talked about how colorful as well as excellent our meals appeared, compared with the icy lasagna they were actually providing. Esports is a million-dollar sector along with millions of singing fans around the world and is rapidly coming to be the most-viewed and also fastest-growing sport in the U.S. The goal can be elevating much heavier traits, competing longer, burning fat, dropping ache, or carrying out better in a sporting activity. The Great Guide () Established by Lecturer Dara 'Rourke from the University of California-Berkeley, this for-benefit" start-up delivers an individual guide to usual items, ranking each by wellness, influence on the setting, as well as impact on society. He became rather a prominent individual, if you like, in the texas hold'em arena and this delivered into concern his, ah, his history in sport betting and in gambling typically. One more great service the super-local headlines could offer is coordinating a household's timetable. They could go from sitting all day to boosting their position, leg durability and strength status up. Even merely varying between standing and also sitting could significantly increase their power, assist all of them burn added fats, healthy muscle mass, increase their metabolic rate consequently so much more. I also presume numbers 2 as well as 5 are rather big problems for a ton of individuals, however each one of these factors are very important, as well as just one being actually a complication is actually typically sufficient for an individual to 'stop working' at a diet. DTC genes firms should accurately explain the restrictions from health and fitness and nourishment genetic makeups as well as create no deceptive or even overstated claims regarding the potential advantages from their product. KERRY STAIGHT: North from Adelaide, capsicum farmer Andrew Braham is actually readying a brand-new garden greenhouse for planting, as well as some of the nutrients within this garden compost come from food items rubbish. If you remain in Bali and also a guide inquires if you wish to wish inside a temple DON" T DO IT. When you are actually not a member from a caste, the quick guide is actually often operating all together with the police and also can easily fine you for wishing. My lower leg cramps could be related to shortage from magnesium mineral, calcium mineral, or blood potassium. Store that there for 1-2 few seconds, at that point bring the best lower leg back down to fulfill the various other leg. Given that a sporting activity demands you to do something that over opportunity results in damage does not imply as a result that is actually wise, simply. Juice, sporting activities cocktails, as well as other beverages could help replenish the fluids and electrolytes that your child drops during a massive exercise.

[peachyhyvck]

a-z nsfw: moon taeil

warning: absolute filth (YOU’VE BEEN WARNED)

author’s note: so, I've seen a handful of these floating around, and I decided to make my own, cause why not! (I got this template from @chantenyongs but I wasn’t able to find the original creator to give proper credit to... I'm sorry!) I’m pretty sure I’m gonna do it for the entirety of nct (legal members only, of course) and I'll prolly just go in age order? alrighty, without further ado! (K, I just finished and I went a little overboard with this lmao oops)

that stare at the very end of the gif; hot damn

A = Aftercare

I don't know if it’s just because he’s the oldest, but it’s very evident that Taeil has taken this sort of “mother figure” towards the rest of the boys. They’ve even admitted that Taeil is the best one to turn to in regard to any personal problems they may be having. And for that very reason, I strongly believe that this angel would be tending to your every need (and then some) after y’all finish “doin’ the do.” It doesn't matter if the two of you spent hours partaking in rough, kinky sex, or if you simply made love for 20 minutes. Either way, his first instinct is to ask you how you’re feeling; followed by questions regarding showering, eating, and the possibility of another round KIDDING!

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of their’s and their partner’s)

Okay but I remember reading somewhere that he said his favorite body part of his was his abs, so.... I’m just gonna leave that one as it is lmao. As for you, he’s in love borderline obsessed with your neck/jaw. Whenever you guys are alone, he likes to cup your face and rub little circles into your jawline right before he kisses you; slowly making his way down to - you guessed it -  your neck. During steamier moments, he loves attacking your neck area; loving how you squirm underneath him. He doesn't even try to hide the smirk on his face as the whimpers pour out of your mouth while continues to go to town on your neck. When he’s finished, he sits back and takes a good 15 seconds to praise himself on the dozens of blue-ish/green bruises scattered all over your neck and jawline.

C = Cum

In all honesty, I think Taeil likes to keep it plain and simple and cum inside of you. Not only does it save you a mess that neither of you really wants to clean, but he enjoys the intimacy of it. When he feels himself about to fall off the edge, he loves to hold your body flush against his, and bury his face in your neck as he lets himself go inside of you.

D = Dirty secret (A dirty secret of theirs)

This is more of a secret the both of you share, rather than just him, but if any of the boys found out it would end the two of you. You’d both be too mortified to show your faces ever again... I mean, who wouldn't be embarrassed if their friends found out that they took part in their sex life? The entire thing actually started out as an accident. One day while you were at the dorms, you unintentionally got a little too close to Yuta while the two of you were watching a scary movie together. Taeil watched from the other room, fuming as you clung onto one another; burying your faces into each others chests. That night, Taeil decided to show you who you really belonged too, and after agreeing that that was by far the best sex the two of you had ever had, the whole “using the members to tease Taeil” thing became a regular occurrence!

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

As far as actual physical experience goes, I don't think Taeil has much of any. He spent years of his life as a trainee, with presumably little to no time to maintain any kind of relationship; so I think its safe to say he’s still a virgin. But I do think he knows a lot about sex in general, and knows just how to please a woman. Given the opportunity, I think he’d do a pretty damn good job!

F = Favorite position

Taeil prefers good ol’ missionary. Referring back to the answers I've already given, this position not only gives him free rein to mark up your neck as much as he pleases, but it also allows him to pull your body against his and bury his face into your neck while he cums.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Honestly, I think it all depends on his state of mind. If he’s stress free, or as stress free as you can be as an idol, and in a good place, I think sex would be bubbly and lighthearted! But if he’s being overworked, and the pressure is weighing down on his shoulders, I feel like he’d be more serious, and focus all his attention on fucking his troubles away.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they)

Tbh I think he’s pretty good at keeping himself well groomed. As long as there’s nobody to shave for, I don't think he’d go through all the hassle. He probably trims it regularly to keep it under control, but as soon as he gets into a relationship, I can see him starting to actually shave... Cause I mean, ya never know when you’re gonna get lucky, am I right??? 

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect...)

“Doyoung-ah, I’m romantic” I'm sorry that’s the first thing that popped into my head as soon as I read the question lmao. But in all honesty, I truly think Taeil is a very romantic person! During mainstream, casual sex, I see him as the “people pleaser” type. He’s always putting you before himself. He's one of those people that actually gets off on your pleasure! He doesn't even think about coming before you have.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation)

I’d say Taeil masturbates on a regular basis; sometimes more than usual when he’s got a little extra tension built up in him. But he’s kinda weird in regard to said topic... Even though y’all have done much worse in the bedroom, he still gets oddly shy when it comes to masturbating? He checks at least three time to make sure he locked the door before even thinking about dropping his pants. Even the thought of you catching him in the act has him losing his hard on faster than he got it... idk man, I guess everyone needs their alone time, right?

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - Taeil is one hella freaky dude. As far as kinks go, I think he’s into the following:

Dominance: Referring back to the “dirty secret,” you can bet your ass Taeil is gonna be the one in charge in the bedroom! He takes much pride in the way you listen to each and every one of his commands. Even when he “gives you control” for the night, you and him both know damn well that you’re never really in control... Even when you top, he’s got a firm grasp on your hips; controlling both your speed and your movements.

Marking (giving & receiving): Also referring back to his favorite body part of yours, Taeil has a slight obsession with leaving as many hickeys on you as he can. He loves the way your body, (neck in particular), looks after he’s left his mark on you; in the form of little purple blotches. He also secretly loves it when you return the favor; as long as its below the neckline, and out of sight for anyone to see! He likes to bitch and complain about the hickeys on his chest and scratch marks covering his back the morning after, but when he's all alone, he’ll stand in the mirror shirtless, and admire the work of art you left on his skin.

Dirty talk (giving & receiving): At first glance, Taeil might seem like a shy and reserved kind of guy, but in the bedroom he’s far from! He’s actually quite blunt. He likes to whisper crude remarks in your ear in-between pants and moans; leaving you speechless and blushing like crazy. But Taeil can’t even put into words what it does to him when you return the vulgar comments. It sends a chill down his spine hearing such dirty words spill from your precious mouth, and he has to stop himself from coming right then and there.

Teasing (giving): This little shit... Taeil is the biggest damn tease! One of his favorite things to do is make you beg for whatever it is he’s withholding from you. He’s relentless, too. If you’re feeling stubborn and refuse to give into his desire to hear you beg, then oh well. I guess you’ll have to go without, because no matter how willful you may be, he’s even more headstrong; and he is not giving you want you want until he hears you beg for it!

Orgasm control (giving): This one goes hand in hand with the teasing. More often than not, Taeil is going to make you work for your orgasms! Right when he realizes you’re on the brink of euphoria, he’ll slow down any and all movements to an agonizing, torturous pace, with a cocky smirk plastered on his face. He’ll then proceed to taunt you, asking if you “really deserve it” in an ever so condescending tone. Sometimes ya just wanna slap him.

Loud sex: If you ask me, Taeil is one of, if not the loudest in bed. He lets himself bask in the pleasure, not giving two fucks about how loud he may be in the process. But he’s always making an effort not to get too loud; as he wants to be able to hear you crying out from the pleasure. And if you’re thinking of slapping a hand over your mouth, or biting your lip to forcibly quiet yourself down, don't; because Taeil won't be having any of that.

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

Honestly, this freak dude would be fine taking you anywhere, as long as theres a locked door; meaning absolutely no chance of getting caught. Being the oldest, there’s this sense of responsibility he carries, and he can't help but try to be the best role model possible to his younger brothers. Getting caught having sex by one of the other members is one of the worst things that could happen, according to him.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going, etc)

As previously stated, seeing you “flirting” with his friends is a sure way to get him all riled up and ready to fuck your brains out. But a very close second to that would be stress. Taeil is the type of person to literally fuck his stress away. If he’s being overworked and pushed too hard, his emotions get all out of whack, which tends to makes him extremely horny. And I’m not talking “cute, bubbly, vanilla sex” horny - no. I’m talking “fucking you into your mattress so hard you can’t walk tomorrow” horny. But I mean hey, who’s complaining? He’s relieving himself of some unwanted stress while you get dicked the fuck down... It’s a win-win situation!

N = NO (Something they wouldn't do; turn offs)

Like I said, Taeil wouldn’t do anything to risk getting caught in the act by any of the other members. Meaning absolutely no sex if theres not a lock on the door. Just the thought of that is bone chilling to him. Other than that, Taeil strikes me as the kind of guy to “try anything once,” so I think with him, experimenting would be a major key in letting you know what things he enjoys and what things  he doesn't.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Honestly, with Taeil, its dead even. Of course he loves getting his dick sucked, (what guy doesn't), but he loves pleasuring you just as much. Watching you squirm underneath him while your faces scrunches in pleasure, hands desperately grabbing at his hair as you whimper his name followed by moans and groans of pure satisfaction is a thing of beauty to him. He wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. As far as skills go, this boy definitely knows how to use his mouth; thats for sure! Hell, he probably knows your own body better than you do!

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc)

Like I've been saying throughout this entire post, his pace, attitude, and everything alike depends 100% on what kind of mood he’s in. But more often than not, be prepared for rough sex, because thats exactly what Taeil will be giving to you!

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc)

Hell yeah, Taeil’s down for a quickie! But, (for the 50th time), only if its behind the security of a locked door! Whether it be fast one in a LOCKED bedroom at the dorms, or a quick fuck in a LOCKED supply closet backstage before a show, he’s all up for it! He just, and this bares repeating, DOESN’T WANT TO GET CAUGHT!

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc)

Taeil’s as game as they come. Like I mentioned, he’s the kinda guy to try something at least once before deciding whether or not he likes it. A big part of your sex life is experimenting with different kinds of positions, kinks, toys, etc. As far as risks go, Taeil is pretty mild. Since getting caught is a huge no-no, don't expect to try anything spontaneously perilous.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last, etc)

I’d say Taeil’s stamina is a little above average. On average, he can go two, sometimes three rounds if he’s feeling up to it. Sex as a whole usually lasts about an hour or so, (give or take a little), but a lot of it foreplay, rather than actual sex. Still good, nonetheless!

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

It definitely depends on the toy! I can see Taeil loving things like handcuffs, blindfolds, and pretty much anything that has to do with sensory depravation; aiding him in the teasing aspect of things. But I don't see him being too fond of toys such as vibrators. He prides himself in knowing just what you like and being able to pleasure you in unthinkable ways, so bringing in a toy that’ll potentially take his place isn't really ideal to him. He also isn't too keen on you using any of said toys on him. In his eyes, it only takes away from the domineering persona that he worked so hard to build.

U = Unfair (How much do they like to tease?)

HE TEASES YOU TO NO EXTENT! Sometimes, if he's feeling extra cruel, he’ll see just how far he can take the teasing; until you absolutely can't take it anymore. If that means you’re left with tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, then so be it. His dominant nature mixed with his love for teasing and hearing you beg makes for some harsh and persistent torment. Which is still undoubtably enjoyable.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make, etc)

Again, if you ask me, Taeil is the loudest of all in the bedroom. He is very much a moaner! Most of the sounds he elicits are going to be loud, angelic moans. He’s also a bit of a groaner/grunter; especially if he’s fucking you for all you’re worth. I can definitely see him being the type to cry out when he cums, too. The most beautiful, sinful, melodious sound your ears have ever been blessed with.

W = Wild Card (Create a random headcannon for the character of your choice)

“Now, baby girl,” Taeil says, ignoring your distraught whimpers as yet another orgasm slips through your fingers, “what have I told you about flirting with my friends just to tease me?” he asks in a low, raspy tone while dragging a single digit tauntingly around your core; purposely avoiding the place you desperately needed him the most.

There was a dull ache in your shoulders as you wiggled your wrists, wincing at the chaffing of the handcuffs that currently bound your hands together. You slowly looked up to find Taeil already staring at you; making you feel completely powerless under his intense gaze. His eyes were a darker shade than usual, and his face held a stern expression that sent waves of both excitement and nervousness coursing through your body at the thought of what was to come.

“I asked you a question!” he bellowed out as he suddenly pinched your clit between his thumb and pointer finger; eliciting a high pitched yelp from you, as you helplessly tugged on your restraints.

“I’M SORRY I’M S-SORRY-” you cried out, trying to the best of your ability to shimmy your way higher up on the bed, and away from the harsh hold he had on your sex.

“Really? Cause you didn't seem too sorry when you were throwing yourself on Johnny earlier today?” he asked rhetorically as he cocked his head to the side and sent you a bone chilling glare.

“I-I...” you stuttered, unable to think of a suitable response for his accusation.

“That’s what I thought,” he replied in a curt manner, before thrusting his hips forwards; filling you up without the slightest warning.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what's going on in those pants; picture or words)

Hmm I think Taeil is average in length; maybe around 5 inches? But he definitely makes up for it in girth because DAMN that boy is THICK !!!

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Since a big part of his sex drive comes from stress, and I’d imagine he’s pretty stressed out most, if not all of the time, I'd say his sex drive is fairly high.

Z = ZZZ (How quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

This all depends on how rough he was with you. The rougher he is, the more thoughtful and considerate the aftercare will be. This boy doesn't even THINK about laying down to go to sleep before making sure you’re alright; and that he didn't go to far, or get too aggressive with you. He might be all dominant, rough and condescending during sex, but afterwards, he’s back to the sweet, harmless, caring and gentle Taeil you know and love!

[legitimateusername]

So I’m a bit far behind, but in order to capitalize on this meme, I decided to write a full support conversation for one of the pairings that people have gotten from the Fire Emblem Heroes popularity polls. I’ve never really written stuff like this before but there’s no time like the present to start learning how.  So without further mountain dew, here’s my Robin x Azura support conversation! Please note that this contains MAJOR spoilers for Fire Emblem Awakening and probably some notable spoilers for Fire Emblem Fates, so keep that in mind if you don’t want to be spoiled on spoilery spoilers. 

This presumably takes place in Fire Emblem Heroes canon, and after the plot of Awakening and Revelation for both characters. 

C Support

Azura: Hello, Robin. Still reading those books?

Robin: Yeah, I’m just studying some more tactical guides. You can never be too prepared.

Azura: I have to say, I really admire your dedication to that. I don’t think I could ever be capable of having to lead an army’s decisions in the heat of battle.

Robin: It definitely has its challenges. Having the lives of all your allies in your hands is a lot of pressure to handle. No one ever wants to lose one of their comrades.  

Azura: I see what you mean. Some of my siblings were very involved in military strategy too, and I’ve heard many similar sentiments from them.  

Robin: It’s always been a goal of mine to end battles without any casualties. Maybe it’s a bit of an idealistic viewpoint, but I still couldn’t bear to lose someone because my strategies couldn’t protect them.

Azura: Your perspective is admirable nonetheless. If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear more about your time spent as Chrom’s tactician. I’m sure you have some interesting stories to share.

Robin: Sure, if you want to. While we’re at it, please tell me more about Hoshido and Nohr, and how your group managed to unite the two kingdoms.

Azura: Alright then, let’s share stories of our adventures. You can go first, if you like.

Robin: Well, it all started when I had a vision of Chrom and I fighting a dark sorcerer…

B Support

Azura: Sing with me a song of silence and blood… ♪

Robin: That really is a beautiful song. It’s still so surreal to imagine the kind of power that it holds.

Azura: It’s always been a burden to hold that kind of responsibility. There were many times where I was forced to suffer greatly at the hands of that curse, but it was always necessary for the greater good.

Robin: I can relate to that. The feeling that unless you make the hard sacrifices, you won’t be able to secure a better future for everyone.

Azura: I’m glad to know that you understand, though admittedly it’s a bit odd to hear that coming from you.

Robin: Huh? Why’s that?

Azura: We just had a conversation the other day about how as a tactician, you loathed having to put the life of even a single one of your soldiers at serious risk. Yet in your battle against Grima, you were all too willing to give away your own life in order to destroy him completely, even though Chrom could have sealed him away without the need for you to sacrifice yourself.

Robin: …That was a different situation entirely. But if you don’t mind me asking, I am interested to know: if you could rid the world of an evil power at the cost of your own life, would you take that opportunity?

Azura: Honestly, I’ve had to consider that question many times myself. I’ve always known that my songs had the power to prevent evil and destruction, in a sense. But because this power came at a great cost to myself, I knew that I could be putting my life at risk every time I used it.

Robin: It definitely isn’t an easy choice to make.

Azura: I understand. I did decide long ago that if it were absolutely necessary, I’d use my song’s power to prevent disaster no matter what the cost to myself would be. But I’m glad that it never ended up coming to that.

Robin: I guess you’re pretty lucky that it never reached that point for you. Although it feels strange to call anything about this kind of situation “lucky”.

Azura: I do know how you feel, and perhaps I’m a bit guilty of feeling the same way as you. But since you hate the idea of losing one of your friends in battle, don’t you think that they’d feel the same way about you?

Robin: It’s...it’s more complicated than that. I felt like that was the only way to end Grima for good, like there was no other way…I’d have been doing them all a disservice to choose anything else.

Azura: Robin…

Robin: I’m sorry, could you excuse me? I’m not feeling great.

Azura: I hope he’s okay. It sounds like that hasn’t been an easy burden for him to carry.  

A Support

Azura: Robin, can we talk?  

Robin: Azura, I’m sorry for cutting our conversation off like that the other day. I really appreciate getting to talk to you about this, since our situations were so similar. It’s nice getting a chance to have that discussion.  

Azura: It’s okay, really. What you went through wasn’t easy. But it sounds to me like there are more things that were bothering you.

Robin: Azura…I was the Fell Dragon. In an alternate future, I betrayed all of my friends and brought the world to an apocalypse. Everything that went wrong in our world, every struggle we had to face, it was all my fault.

Azura: …

Robin: It’s just, how could I live with myself knowing all of that? It only seemed right at the time, that if sacrificing myself were the only way to stop Grima for good, then I had an obligation to do so.

Azura: Robin! How can you say that? None of those terrible things were your fault, and you have no reason to feel guilty about it.

Robin: I know, you’re right. I’ve been trying to move on from it, but it hasn’t been easy.

Azura: Still though, you weren’t the one who caused the end of the world; you helped to prevent it. You aren’t Grima, you’re nobody but yourself. If your ties to Grima really were so close, you wouldn’t still be with us now, you’d be dead alongside him. Isn’t the fact that you’re still here proof enough that the path you chose matters more than your supposed destiny?

Robin: Heh, that’s a good point. It’s funny, I’ve always said a lot of similar things to all of my friends, that the bonds between us mattered more than the fates that we were scripted to. I always tried to act confident so that everyone in the army could have faith in their tactician to guide them forward, but I guess I could stand to have a little more faith in my own words.

Azura: Well, in any case, I hope the best for you, and I’m glad if I was able to help.

Robin: Yeah, I still don’t know why I got so hung up over all of that. The war has been long over, I should probably have moved on already.

Azura: You’ve dealt with a lot of hard emotions, and nothing’s going to make them go away easily. But I’ll be happy to talk and help you out if you ever need me to.

Robin: Thanks, Azura, I’d be glad to.

S Support

Robin: Hey Azura, I’ve been thinking more about our talk about sacrifices.

Azura: Oh? What about it?

Robin: You said that you had already decided long ago that you would have given your life to save the world if you had to.

Azura: Yes, if it were absolutely necessary, though I certainly don’t want to.

Robin: Yeah, I’m aware that those kinds of risks are no longer relevant given that the wars that you fought in are long over. But still, just the thought of losing you doing something like that is something that I don’t know if I could take.

Azura: That’s very kind of you to say, though I don’t think that you have anything to really worry about.

Robin: I know I talked about how as a tactician, I never wanted to let any of my comrades die. But with you, it’s different. You were also willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good and…I’m not sure if I’d have been able to handle that, if you ever did.

Azura: Well, I’m sure that’s how your friends felt when you gave your life to destroy Grima. We’re lucky that you’re still with us.

Robin: Yeah, you’re right. Realizing that helped me out a lot. But that isn’t the only thing. I couldn’t bear to lose you because, well, you’re such a kind and understanding person and you helped me out so much…Azura, I think I’ve fallen in love with you.

Azura: Oh Robin…I feel the same way. You’ve been so wonderful, and I couldn’t bear to lose you either. I love you!

Robin: Azura, it makes me so happy to hear you say that.

Azura: Promise me that we’ll live the rest of our lives together. I want you to be a part of my life forever.

Robin: I promise! We still have so much to live through together, and I never want it to end.

I wish this pairing had fanart. Like, literally any at all.

[kevinselders99-blog]

Searching For Real Offer Graphic Design Providers

Searching For Real Offer Graphic Design Providers

 In today times there are actually a great deal of Graphic Designers offering solutions online. Maybe way too many. This write-up deals with some practical need-to-knows concerning Graphic Designers as well as what to try to find when getting a company logo concept, sales brochure layout or even some of the plenty of causes to buy a graphic design solution for your firm or even institution's image resolution demands.

https://www.lcsiwebhosting.com/

 Be cautious those graphic design web sites delivering potentials that are actually as well really good to become accurate (if one thing seems as well really good to become correct ... ). If you are actually spending just $fifty for a logo design at that point your are actually more than likely acquiring a pre-made visuals or even clip craft along with your business title squished it to bring in the purchase. If they point out that a great number of developers will definitely be actually focusing on your task at that point opportunities are you will certainly never ever communicate straight along with those developers, or even you will certainly be actually purchasing a great number of developers, or even they are actually merely utilizing graphic methods to obtain the style marketed so they can easily go on to the following customer as rapidly as feasible.

 Upcoming take a great appearance at their style profile. Perform the concepts appear identical to each various other?

 Experience free of cost to attempt these graphic design trick internet sites your own self. Do not mention I really did not advise you if you discover your own self along with concepts that are actually certainly not operating as you anticipated or even Graphic Designers billing you for also an easy modification to your concept.

 Graphic design solutions these times (like any type of solutions these times) have actually been actually on a descending slide for some opportunity right now (in this Designer's viewpoint). I will such as to inform you that the Designers that generated the 1000s of swoosh logo designs out certainly there, used this staple of style given that it was actually the greatest remedy for their customer. I may only hear all of them saying just how this easy factor is actually a complicated and also cultivated "much less is actually extra" method to their customer's concept and also worth every decline of the hundreds of bucks they are actually demanding for it.

 Just how perform you understand if you are actually tapping the services of a genuine Graphic Designer concentrated on performing true style job and also certainly not merely one of the numerous impostors out certainly there attempting to appear like they are actually placing the opportunity as well as presumed right into your style that you are actually spending all of them great funds for? A really good location to begin is actually the realities.

 If you are actually paying for hundreds of bucks or even additional for concept companies at that point you possessed much better view some years of adventure on that Designer's return to. Where performed they acquire their education and learning as well as performed they in fact also significant in Graphic Design? It is actually worth it to perform a little bit of analysis given that possibilities are you are actually going to need to have additional concept job carried out in the future as well as definitely would not it be actually wonderful to possess a Designer you can rely on?

 I have actually also made use of a swoosh or even 2 in my layouts (though often at my customer's ask for as well as absolutely not as the only component in the style). What I am actually stating is actually that when you appear at just how lots of logo designs out certainly there attribute this visuals swoosh aspect it ends up being rather evident that a terrific offer of graphic design resources these times are actually only making an effort to obtain their purchases packed as swiftly as feasible without really placing presumed right into the reason of the layout as well as the necessities of the customer.

 Significance of Graphic Design in the Web Designing Process

 Yes, there are actually internet sites on-line that permit you to market visuals fine arts and also concepts featuring craft as well as various other points that you may perform. Weblog professionals usually acquire pictures as well as graphics for their creating demands as well as you may likewise snatch this option.

 A site professional, that might additionally be actually a visuals developer, needs to mix the graphics in his website design to make an eye-catching internet sites that may store the enthusiasm of site visitors as well as persuade all of them to take another look at the web sites. In the website design, the website page styles, internet site planning as well as web content are actually straight associated with the graphic design produced for the web sites. The graphics must be actually comparable to various other parts of website design.

 If the graphic design is actually combined along with all these elements of website design, the internet site manager may take pleasure in the tracking advantages-.

 It may create or even damage the site as well as so the graphic design on this web page must be actually very most appealing and also reliable. It is actually necessary to possess graphics that are actually appealing as properly as insightful sufficient to carry the site visitors' interest.

 Graphic design has actually ended up being a successful skill-set that you can easily industry offline or even on the web. In services as well as in marketing, graphics fine art and also making may be actually a lucrative capability. Also online, you may additionally earn money in visuals crafts and also concept as internet sites need to have graphics to create it even more attractive as well as.

 Generating Cash in Graphic Design.

 - Start a graphic design service. You can easily provide to companies offline through creating styles for their adds, bring in T-shirt layouts as properly as bring in layouts for company free offers, limits, mugs as well as various other products. A capability in visuals fine arts as well as making can easily be actually very flexible.

 Graphic pictures could be of various kinds consisting of logo designs, visuals message titles, history graphics, photographes, bullet aspects, photo charts, divider panel lines as well as navigating switches. The secret is actually to bring in the graphics helpful good enough to generate the website visitors to explore the web site and also review it.

 A) Added aesthetic allure of the web site: Colours and also graphics are actually a lot more appealing than content therefore the visuals are actually a vital facet of a web site. It entice the cosmetic feeling of the audiences as well as assists all of them to associate with the web site.

 Company Reputation- A great graphic design integrated in to the website design may cause enhanced image of the business and also its own brand name. The graphics like company logos cause development of brand name identification as well as online reputation property consequently they ought to be actually created thoroughly.

 Specify up an on the internet tutorial if you are actually a professional in creating as well as developing graphics. You may likewise compose overviews, tutorials and also guidebooks as well as bring in funds coming from it.

 Information- It is actually the material which refers to your business, items, solutions as well as job yet checking out lengthy web content can easily in some cases be actually mundane. If you want to create it fascinating, the website design must be actually such that the visitors are actually forced to go through the information. Through desirable visuals photos, you can easily involve the consumers and also guide all of them in the direction of the similar web content.

 Allow our team find just how the graphic design is actually related to a variety of elements of the website design-.

 C) Makes the internet site appear much more specialist: Many opportunities, regardless of a great website design and also insightful material an internet site falls short to attain the intended outcomes. This is actually feasible in the lack of a great graphic design. Along with successful graphics, the site may include a contact of professionalism and trust.

 When you make a decision to develop your web site or even obtain it created through an expert internet professional, it is very important to take into consideration the variables consisting of navigating, top quality of material and also the aesthetic appeals of the web site. While the internet developer must look after all these aspects, the graphic design for the site ought to be actually offered equivalent usefulness. Graphic photos are actually the very first thing a website visitor notifications on a site and also it is actually due to the eye-catching visuals pictures that the visitor is actually encouraged to read through the text message.

 - Sell your skill-set online. Like offline companies, internet sites online additionally need to have visuals fine arts as well as styles for their advertisements, for their symbols along with blogging site as well as site switches. Some web site managers likewise choose their very own visuals or even internet professional to provide for their developing requirements too, therefore you may likewise take this chance also to generate cash in graphic design.

 If you are actually somebody that enjoys visuals or even website design and also you are actually seeking techniques to generate cash in graphic design, listed below are actually a couple of traits that might aid you switch that ability lucky that pays.

 - Put up an online company on visuals creating. Graphic design is actually sought-after online along with site creating.

 B) User-friendly web site: The facet of functionality is actually assisted through great graphic design. Various other resources, visuals photos may additionally produce the site easy to use.

[freddanielsenk]

You have my permission

Whatever happened to permission-based marketing? The kind where I opt in to hear messages about your company. What used to be a best practice seems to be a fading reality.

Not sure what’s happening in your world, but mine’s been compromised. Invaded even. And it has me questioning the direction of data-driven marketing.

In the past several months, I’ve noticed some changes in marketing that’s aimed at me – no doubt the result of bigger and better data that makes instant connections and takes instant actions, accordingly.

For instance:

I’ve received direct mail – as in a piece of paper in the mailbox that hangs to the right of my front door – from four separate companies whose ads I clicked on in Facebook.

I’ve received daily emails from companies with which the only interaction I’ve had was to visit their website. (Meaning: I did not fill out a form, I didn’t check a box and I surely didn’t knowingly give them my email address, nor did I say it was OK for them to email me.)

I now receive an average of four unsolicited telemarketing phone calls every day. That’s every day. Four. Every. Single. Day. (Yes, I am on the Do Not Call list, which apparently is meaningless.)

When I pump gas into my Subaru Outback I am forced to watch and listen to advertising built into the gas pump. This makes me feel particularly hopeless because I’m literally trapped right there trying to make a transaction that I pay good money for – a transaction that is not subsidized by advertising.

I’ve experienced a feeling of entrapment on flights in which they curiously don’t enable you to turn off the screen on the seat in front of you until after takeoff. This is yet another transaction which I’ve paid a lot of money for, yet I still have to watch and listen to forced ads.

I’ve received phone calls – direct to my cell – from software companies trying to demo their marketing platform tech to me – presumably because they’ve mined my LinkedIn profile and matched me to my phone number.

What the eff is going on?

First of all, I thought I left the magical 18 to 35 advertising cohort a few years back? Surely, these advertisers can tap all that data and see that I’m no longer in that age range where it’s cool to spend a paycheck on a pair of leather boots.

Second of all, whatever happened to the Do Not Call registry? I never realized I waived the right to not be telemarketed to by staying at a Marriott hotel.

I’m officially a curmudgeon. A naysayer.

I’m a marketer who doesn’t like to be marketed to.

Well, let me rephrase – I’m a marketer who doesn’t like to be aggressively pursued by marketing I did not opt into.

And it bothers me because I happen to like being marketed to by brands to which I’ve given my permission. I do open and read emails (again, from brands I’ve invited into by inbox). I enjoy talking on the phone with companies I buy things from.

But that’s the thing. It needs to be my idea. My world, my idea. My invitation to you.

Not a forced entry just because you happen to have the data now.

A break-in is still a break-in if the perpetrator knows your security alarm code, right?

Seth Godin wrote a succinct post about permission marketing 10 years ago that is still relevant – if not more – today. He notes that humility and patience are needed to successfully pull off true permission marketing, which is why so few companies do it well.

Well, I’m crying uncle here. I’m begging. Please learn the art and science of permission marketing and be diligent about it. Be patient. Give me the opportunity to truly give you permission.

Otherwise, my list of banned brands is getting quite long.

We can all be smarter with data and new technologies that enable these things. Because there’s a reason permission-based marketing started in the first place. And while so much has changed in technology, we humans are still basically the same.

So if you’re about to open a big shiny new box of predictive analytics tools for your real estate company, please, think of the children – I mean the humans whose space you will no doubt be invading armed with this amazing data. I’m not knocking it. I’m just saying, there’s a limit to marketing tolerance.

Move ahead with caution.

The post You have my permission appeared first on 1000watt.

You have my permission syndicated from https://freddanielsenk.wordpress.com/

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[retroglitter]

2016: A Year In Review

I'm writing this while existing comfortably in the enigmatic embrace of 2017 because the last few weeks of 2016 turned out to be a bit busier than I anticipated it to be, leaving me with little time to ponder about my (in)activity over the past 12 months. Do understand that "busy" refers to me binge-watching and finishing the entire Parks & Rec series and 3 seasons of Modern Family, while going out a fair bit and trying - and rather awkwardly failing - to be an emotional support for a brokenhearted friend. Well, long story short, I was rather busy denying my imminent step into the workforce after officially(ish) ending my undergraduate career (rather anti-climatically, I might add).

I digress, but here comes my year in review (6 days later).

A touch narcissistic, but I'm going to ignore all the shit 2016 has thrown at the world (read: referendums, elections, deaths, more deaths, more hate... You get my point) and focus on myself, because focusing on the massive changes going on in the world and how it impacts other innocent, by-standing countries will just cause me to cliff-dive into a pit of despair and hopelessness. If you're wondering (and you probably aren't), I'm surviving on a healthy dose of denial and a cup full of conservative optimism.

So me-time! So millennial, I know, ugh... And as if I don't talk about myself often enough.

1. Spring in Europe 13 Jan - 22 Apr: London, England 12 Feb - 14 Feb: Scottish Highlands, Scotland 14 Feb - 15 Feb: Edinburgh, Scotland 15 Feb - 17 Feb: York, England 17 Feb - 19 Feb: Liverpool, England 19 Feb - 20 Feb: Birmingham, England

Where do I even begin? I remember in vivid detail, the sense of dread in the days looming up to the day I had to leave for London - fear of hating Europe, of not having anyone I was close with alongside my trip, of potential horrible flatmates... And somehow I started missing Singapore as I stood on the marbled floor at Changi Airport. I remember buying cigarettes at duty-free store, and taking my first flight with a stranger wedged between Joanna and I, of sitting around and waiting for our next flight to London at Doha, Qatar. I remember reaching London and just breathing in the cold air, and thinking, "Wow, this is it. No turning back."

I remember meeting my roommate for the first-well, second time, and laughing at how the both of us brought so much medication along with us for emergencies, and laughing even more by the sheer amount of instant noodles she brought. I remember meeting my flatmates and thinking, "Wow, here we go". I remember the horrible dinner I had and wondering if this is what English people eat, because if it is, I feel sorry for them. I remember crashing at 10pm, and waking up at 7 am the next morning bleary-eyed and not ready to go for orientation. I remember meeting my American classmates for the first time and trying to commit their names and faces to memory. I remember the nerves I got from going to the interview for my internship.

I remember sitting at the tiny dining table in my flat every Sunday (usually alone), sipping cups and cups of tea finishing my assignments. I remember weekend trips exploring London and its multiple wonders. I remember going out in 2-degree weather wearing nothing but a cropped top, origami shorts, knee-high socks and a winter coat. I remember meeting someone from Tinder for the first time, and loving the thrill of that. I remember meeting another person from Tinder, and realising that I could actually do this. I remember crying the first time I skyped my friends back home because it hit me that they weren't with me this time on exchange. I remember our own special Chinese New Year.

I remember my first day at work feeling so overwhelmed and so out of place in a sea of European/African faces, in a sea of accents that I usually only heard on TV, and my native language felt so foreign rolling off my tongue. I remember eating a lot of tangerines at work because I didn't have anything to do. I remember weekly meetings with my supervisor. I remember him encouraging me to talk to Jide whom I was intimidated by because I needed to work with him (fast forward, we became friends). I remember James talking to me for the first time and putting me at ease. I remember meeting Sammi for the first time, and our surprise that we actually lived in the same apartment complex. I remember silently approving of Amma because of her love for tea. I remember feeling intimidated by Bobbi, who was aloof, but soon warmed up to me. I remember meeting the Naod and Derrick and trying to figure out what they're saying. I remember tiny details of my colleagues: Jide and his love for GoT, James and his dream of being a scriptwriter, Jamie and his big lunch (dinner?) box, Amma and her tea, and the inflamed gum, Sammi and her writing and our time spent together, Emma and her dancing, Naod asking me if I was seeing anyone to a rather bemused me, James asking me the same question.

I remember the children too. Kezia and her friends asking me about my age and where I was from, and the 17/18-year-olds who could not believe that I was older than them. Chloe and her exclamation that I was about the same height as her (she was 14) and exclaiming that I was adorable. Chloe and her knack of knowing angles. That one girl in dance that asked me if I was doing my GCSEs. The 2 adorable Asian children who followed me around for a bit, presumably because I was the only Asian face in the organisation. The equally adorable mixable kids who took us - the new interns - in like we were there all along. The kid who pointed me out and called me "the girl with the cool hair". The 10-year-olds who insisted that another youth had a crush on me. And even that kid who thought yelling "ling ling ling" at me was funny.

3 months later I left in tears, not wanting to leave the city that I, somehow along the way, came to see as home. Somehow I was going to miss the tube and its seats and sometimes strange smells, the late bus rides home when we went out, the brick lane, the grit of the city on the cusp of modernisation while firmly grasping its history. Even more so, I was going to miss my little family there made up of Singaporeans and Americans. My little family at Goldhawk. I was going to miss my bigger family at Salmon. I was even going to miss the people who worked at the Sainsbury's next to my apartment, the kind man at the Kebab store, the access to rather affordable groceries at Morrison's. I was going to miss many things, and I was definitely going to miss the Denise that I was in London.

In my debrief, my supervisor told me he was proud to have had us as interns. He told me that I gave myself far less credit for what I was capable of. He told me to let go of not knowing everything. And he gave me a piece of advice that I will keep: to always find a job with a scope that has elements beyond your knowledge, so you keep learning.

And a note to self, here are the theatre things you've watched: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2x), As You Like It, Matilda, Wicked, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Railway Children, (not really theatre from here on but): Adam Lambert (!), Winery Dogs

And thank you for a crazy ride (in no order): Eddie, Linyi, Nawirah, Nicoline, McKenzie, Marissa, Ee Lin, Heather, Moriam, Nathalie, Hari, Junxi, Josh B, Tom, Joanna, Kaitlin, Laurice, Nate, Josh Z, Luke, Sam C, Sammi, Rikki, Anne, Kristen, Mark, Debi, Sam A, Amma, Emma, James, Jide, Jamie, Matt, Kezia, Bobbi, Naod, Derrick, Chloe (and many more whose names I don't remember)

23 Apr - 24 Apr: Paris, France 24 Apr - 28 Apr: Amsterdam, Netherlands 28 Apr - 01 May: Berlin, Germany 01 May - 03 May: Prague, Czech Republic 04 May - 06 May: Berchtesgaden, Germany 07 May - 09 May: Bremen, Germany 10 May - Paris, France

Onward, here's to travelling to more countries in Europe.

2. PhD Crisis Halfway through my undergraduate career, I realised just how much I didn't want to graduate because there was so much I didn't know yet. Well, that coupled with the fact that there was always a niggling frustration coupled with writing research papers - not because I didn't like writing them, but because I could never conduct proper research due to time constraints. So in Summer 1, the opportunity of applying for a fellowship (that pays for my PhD education + pays me to be a TA) knocked on my doorstep, and that thought hasn't left me ever since. I've never felt so at home in a field of study before, and a PhD sounded right up my alley - there was so much more I could learn and so much more I could contribute to the literature about Asian countries.

Naturally there has been opposition to this (read: parents), and most people, who think I'm doing this because I'm afraid of joining the workforce, or that I'm extending my academic life because, well, why not? It's comfortable, it's something I've been doing for the past 18 years of my life.

Whether they like it or not, I'm applying for this year and jumping through the many bureaucratic hoops to getting that fellowship. And if I don't get it, at least I tried. That said, I am wondering if this is what I really want to do. Are they right? Do I really just want to do this because I fear the life of a working adult? Or worse, what if I get my PhD and realise just how much I want to do something else, try things I've always wanted to try? By then I'd have been over-qualified.

Of course, because I'm applying to an American university, there's a niggling fear that I will be severely homesick, away from everyone I know. This time, there isn't a group coming with me, it would just be me - the lone Singaporean - against the world. And accepting it will mean accepting 4 years of missed lunar new years and birthdays, of family events. What if I really hate life in the US? What if I can't do graduate studies?

At this point, I'm basically going (cringe) yolo (cringe). We'll see how being a proper working adult works out.

3. Love/Friendship I'm going to be selfish and admit that amidst all the bullshit that 2016 has thrown at the world, my life - at an individual level - was pretty darn good. I've forged new friendships, maintained and/or renewed old ones. I've loved and lost, and I've done things I never expected myself to have done. If anything, amidst the (tiny) heartbreak, I've learnt a lot more about myself, a lot more about how much I'm attracted to people that are the worst for me, and just how easy it is to spot the type that is so bad for me (but feels so good). Of course, this year also taught me how easy it is to step away from bad people.

And for the first time in a long time, I haven't lost a friend this year. The past 2 years saw me cutting ties with friends who weren't really friends, of severing friendships that really didn't mean anything to me anymore, of keeping people who could not reciprocate a relationship. It is honestly quite refreshing to spend a good year surrounded by people whom I love, and love me back in return.

Here's to new year resolutions: (1) Say what you mean - meet people you've been meaning to meet (2) Listen more, talk less - ask after your friends (3) Same as the past few years... LOSE AT LEAST 5KG YOU LITTLE FAT SHIT.

Well, 2017, come at me.