#wishing I could make a poll last a custom amount of time

[spongyspingy-rising]

been thinking about this since my last post, I think it'd be fun to start up some stuff like worldbuilding wednesdays again! what do you guys think about having a little community lore 'event' where we all chime in this Wednesday July 3rd?

[thecollectionsof]

the calm of a cafe at night

okay so i'm a fool and i started writing before the poll was done so! there will be two cafe fics, and here's the first :) this one is out like a light by the honeysticks <3 and jankie won! so it's jankie!!

Night at the cafe always felt warm and nice, but there’s something that feels so special about tonight. 

Jan closes three times a week, and she’s comforted by the familiarity, the way everything feels so normal. The lightbulb string lights bathe the cafe in a gentle warm light, and the world outside is dark. She can hear a quiet pitter-patter of rain over the instrumental music she’s been playing since it started, the gentle tap-tap-tapping against the window shrinking the world to fit inside the four walls of the cafe. 

She gets out the mop, coming from around the side of the counter to begin mopping the floor, taking in the quiet music and gentle ambiance of the ceramic cups hitting saucers and the clink of forks against plates as the last few customers enjoy the bakery items—a really pretty regular is sitting at the bar with a chocolate cupcake and a laptop open, writing in a notebook in messy, scrawling handwriting. Her name is Jackie, Jan’s mind supplies, and she comes in at 6pm each day Jan works, staying until Jan kindly ushers her out.

She wonders what she’s working on, but she’s never had the guts to ask. 

She tears her eyes away, but not for long. Coming around behind her as she mops, she can’t help but focus back on Jackie as she begins typing away at her laptop with a determined intensity. When she chances a glance, she sees a split screen of two wordy looking documents. Jan makes a face, feeling a pang of sympathy at the amount of dense reading she must have to get through.

It’s rude to stare. She looks down at the dark wood of the floor, her eyes tracing the grains of wood and the patterns she makes with the mop. She’s always liked the wood floor, the way it matches the wood of the booths near the back. The booths are comfortable and private and surrounded by the plants that she takes care of carefully, making sure they remain healthy and beautiful. She’s always wished she had someone to meet her in the booth, to someday be one of the couples quietly talking over the table, pushing a piece of chocolate cake between them and feeling like they’re the only two people in the world.

But that's not something she can make a reality, not yet. She's still single, still lonely, still just Jan.

She glances up at a couple in the corner booth, the one she always wishes she could claim for herself. The couple is sitting across the table from each other and they’re magnetized, leaning over the table to talk with a quiet intensity when they get excited about a story or conversation. They reach out to hold hands. She looks away, not wanting to invade their moment. 

It’s an hour until she closes, and she allows herself to relax and play the role of an NPC in these people’s lives.

The number of the people in the cafe dwindles more and more as time goes on—the couple is first, holding hands and leaning into each other so lovingly that it makes Jan feel fluttery at the thought that she could have that too, someday. Then it’s the regular who always chooses a little table against one of the walls, the one who always dresses in colorful patterns and bright button-ups. They almost trip over a chair that hadn’t been pushed in all the way on their way out, and they look back to shoot Jan an embarrassed smile, giggling at their own clumsiness. 

Jan giggles with them, waving as they turn around and leave the cafe, popping open a kaleidoscope-looking umbrella as before they leave the safety of the awning. She’s always liked Crystal.

The next one to leave is the nice old man who lives just up the road. Sometimes he tells her stories of his childhood, and other times he just sips on his herbal tea (always served extra hot, just the way he likes it. Nothing but the best for her best tipper.)

And then it’s just her, and Jackie, and fifteen more minutes until she will usher her out with quiet words and small, almost too intimate smiles. She can’t help it, not when the cafe seems like it was made for those moments, not when Jackie always looks surprised before her gaze becomes softer, thankful, warm. 

Jan likes watching Jackie’s face. Jackie focuses on her work too much to know she’s doing it, so she doesn’t worry too much about being caught when her eyes linger on the way Jackie’s glasses slip down her nose, or how her eyes scan the lines of messy handwriting in her notebook.

Something about today makes her want to keep Jackie here longer, so she fixes a cup of black tea, and then another cup for herself, prepared exactly like Jackie’s. The cups make a quiet clink when they hit the counter, and it pulls Jackie’s focus. She looks at the cup Jan pushes in front of her and then up at Jan, quietly curious. Jan can feel her face heating up at the attention, especially being so close as the only two in the cafe.

“I thought… well, you’ve been working here a while, and I thought you might want this. To keep you company.” Her voice is quiet, but it doesn’t have to be loud to fill the space between them. Jackie hears her, and she looks grateful. Something in her eyes as she looks at her before taking a sip takes her breath away. 

“You didn’t need to do that,” she dismisses, “but thank you. Would you care to join me?” Jackie closes her laptop fifteen minutes early, and it’s the first time Jan has ever seen her do that. She nods, and before she registers it she’s slipping onto the stool next to her. Jackie smells good. She can’t help but try to place the smell, it’s something warm and comforting in a way she can’t describe. “Are you a big tea drinker, too?”

“No.” The truth slips out, but her honesty is worth the way Jackie chuckles into her cup before taking another sip. “Coffee, mostly. But I’ve been curious, so I thought… hey, why not?” She gestures vaguely to the cup in front of her, but doesn’t pull her gaze away from Jackie.

Interestingly, Jackie’s keeping her gaze, too.

“And?” Jackie prompts. Jan takes a small sip, letting the flavor sit in her mouth for a second before swallowing it. 

“Still a coffee person, probably,” she says with a shrug. Once again, her honesty rewards her with a quiet laugh, and she tries to hide the way she preens at the sound. 

“I’ll have to make it for you sometime, then. See if that changes.” Jan can see the mischief in her eyes. She knows what she’s doing.

Jan scoffs playfully, putting a hand to her heart. “You’re telling a barista that she can’t make a good cup of tea?”

“I’m telling a barista,” Jackie starts, the corners of her mouth turning up as she teases her, “that I can make it better.”

“I would love for you to prove it, but customers aren’t allowed behind the bar.”

“Then we’ll do it somewhere else, if you want.” Jackie suggests, smooth voice betraying no nerves despite her slightly shaking hands. “You can come to mine? And show me how to make a fancy coffee that you like?”

“No,” she starts, and Jackie can’t quite hide her disappointment in time. She feels a pang of guilt, so she’s quick to add, “my place. I have all the fancy syrups.”

[bonniebird]

8

Tommy x Reader

Living with Mr Shelby

Living with Mr Shelby Masterlist

Birmingham was quite this morning, to quiet I thought to myself as I quickened my pace so I could open the bookies on time. Jumping down the steps two at a time. John's kids were sick so Esme had to take the day off and after much persuading Tommy had let me take her place. He was on edge ever since his Blinders in London had informed Danny that Kimber was on his way to Birmingham.

Danny and Rosie had moved to a large country house halfway between London and Birmingham where Rosie and Danny ran a sort of open house for the Peaky Blinders. If you had a message it was sent to Danny or the Shelby's themselves several Blinders had stopped by after the races and Rosie soon saw a change for the better in Danny, pleasing Tommy to no end.

"You're late." Arthur muttered without looking up as I used the side door to enter the bookies so I wouldn't have to deal with the swarm of people outside.

"I know sorry... what are you doing?" I asked once I walked into the room and saw John loading up several guns, Arthur was stitching a new razor blade into Finn's hat and I could see the brand new blade in Arthur's hat already placed carefully on his head.

"We got trouble comin, Kimber ain't alone." He said in a gruff voice I glanced up at the stairs that led to a long corridor with two doors at the end one led to Arthur's office the other to John's house there was a similar one on the opposite side that I had just come from leading to Tommy's office or to the balcony that led to our house. Esme was leaning on the banister watching the Shelby's carefully and looked exhausted.

"Are there enough free men to keep the bookies open?" I asked knowing that Esme, Polly, Ada and myself would never be able to deal with the huge amount of regulars we normally got let alone the hundreds of people who turned up to place bets before the big race this weekend.

"Finn and the younger Blinders are gonna help, think we got two men that are gonna stay at the bookies to help ones a Lee he should be here soon... you gonna check on Tommy?" He added the last part with a curious tone. I had discovered that the Garrison was holding a bet on whether I would be swept up by Tommy or we'd fall out and I'd vanish like another girl, I hadn't found out who this other girl was but I was determined to find out. The betting was made worse by the hundred pound bet from Tommy for us getting together something he liked to use to wind me up.

"No he's in an awful mood I'd rather avoid him." I muttered making John and Finn cheer, they had bet that I would vanish and would often try to cause arguments just to get their money but Tommy had wised up rather quickly and would joke around with them.

"Well I'd go up in a second Poll and Tommy are talking it'll save him explaining everythin' twice." Esme offered, I nodded bitterly and dumped my jumper on one of the tables that was usually weighed down with coins and ascended the stairs I had just climbed down.

Poll and Tommy both turned quickly as if readying themselves for a fight but instantly relaxed a little when they saw it was me. Tommy finished explaining what to do in emergencies once he was done Poll left leaving me and Tommy alone. The room was filled with an awkward silence which was broken when Tommy started tipping bullets out onto his desk and finally decided to talk to me.

"You're still ignoring me? You know the bet at the Garrison's just a joke." Tommy muttered as he glanced at me, I shrugged and sat in the big chair behind his desk making him raise an eyebrow and began looking over his hat making sure the razor blades were stitched in properly. I sighed at Tommy's shoddy handy work as one slipped out onto the desk with a gentle clatter.

"Why's he coming?" I asked Tommy as I opened the top draw of his desk and fished out the strong string he used to keep his razors in place and began stitching them back into his hat.

"He's annoyed with us." Tommy's voice was gentle but there was a forced tone that told me I wasn't allowed to press the situation any more than I had. Once I was done I handed Tommy his cap and he inspected it closely, nodded and slid it carefully onto his head.

There was an awkwardness between us after that, if we had been closer I would have kissed him on the cheek and wished him luck, if we were on worse terms I would have shaken his hand but we were how we were, Something that seemed to puzzle Tommy and I over the short time I had known him, Poll's voice drifted up the stairs calling for Tommy who didn't seem ready to move.

"You'll be fine Tommy." I whispered, putting a hand on his arm. In one movement Tommy placed his hands on my hips, kissed me gently on the forehead and strode out of the room so quickly the only way I knew it had really happened was the tingling sensation on my forehead.

                                         **************************

"Girls. Last takings! We need to get to the boys, the fight didn't go too well." I looked up and saw the tall man that was engaged to Ada, I think his name was Freddie but I couldn't quite remember, so I nodded without addressing him and he quickly hurried to the back to tell Poll.

"Last takings." I yelled and soon heard Ada and Esme's voices echoing my own, most bookies didn't do a last takings they just stayed open till the queue had died down but this was something Tommy and Poll had put in place the staff knew that if the phrase last takings was shouted they had ten minutes to finish up and get to the Garrison for further orders from the Peaky Blinders unless they were told otherwise. I glanced to my left where Finn was struggling to write down the names of customers, my queue had died down so I told him to leave with Poll who was hurriedly shutting the doors stopping any new customers from coming in.

Once the bookies had emptied Poll told Esme to go home where John was being checked over after being hit rather hard in the face. Poll comforted Esme by telling her that Freddie said it was probably just a broken nose. Ada was sent with Freddie and Finn to check up on Arthur and some of the other Blinders, the men who were with us for the day were sent to check on everyone that was involved and to give them money towards medicine and doctors bills.

"We're going up to see Tommy." Was all Poll said once the doors were locked I nodded and followed the older woman up the stairs and handed her the key to the side door. Tommy was sat on the sofa with no shirt on nursing, a nasty looking cut across his ribs; Poll winced as she tried to look at the cut making Tommy hiss under his breath.

"Well your swearing like a trooper so it aint that fuckin bad." Poll muttered she glanced up at me and motioned for me to come over and started ordering me to get bowls and water. She told Tommy she'd be back with painkillers once she'd checked on the rest of her nephews and left me to clean up the wound and stitch Tommy up. I was sure I looked more nervous at the thought of poking Tommy with a needle than Tommy did.

He chuckled as I gently dabbed around the wound on his chest trying not to get to close to him and pulled me so I was stood between his legs, he lent to the side so I could reach the wound sucking air between his teeth as I pushed a little too hard just below the wound.

"I don't think I can do that." I said pointing and the needle and thread that Poll had left out for me. I looked at Tommy and found it difficult not to stare at the large wound that was most likely left from a bullet. Before I could stop myself I was tracing the star like scar making Tommy hum and drop his head back onto the back of the seat. Heavy footsteps made me jerk my hand away from him and Arthur stomped into the room fresh cuts that had clearly been cleaned covered his face and soon I was pushed aside so he and Poll who hurried into the room with some nasty smelling home remedy could stitch up Tommy's wound properly.

[cakelanguage]

Merry Christmas @okay-sky! I’m your secret Santa for the @fmasecretsanta2020 #fmasecretsanta

I had an absolute blast writing this for you and I hope you like this RoyEd piece as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a happy holidays and I wish you the best.

You can also read this on AO3

--

The snow was a foot deep and maneuvering through it was a pain in the ass, but Roy was determined to make it to the post office in North City. Normally, Roy rarely makes the trip unless he's on the last dredges of his food supply but the potential for one of Ed's letters to be there had him pushing onward. 

For the short amount of time he'd gotten to spend in Central, he'd spent a large amount of it enjoying the company of the Elric brothers, specifically Ed. It was like an old wound had finally stopped aching when he got to see the man. And he was now. A man, that is. A maturity he never thought he'd see from the older Elric permeated his actions. While he still had a temper he didn't bare his teeth at the smallest of teases. He seemed wiser now and Roy wondered what he'd experienced in this other world. 

His interest and desire to spend more time with Ed wasn't one-sided either. The man--amidst Roy’s own scramble to steal his attention from Miss Rockbell and Alphonse-- found him at all hours of the day to discuss anything. From alchemic theories to the property damage done while he was away, the two never seemed to run out of things to talk about.

When he'd been forced to return up North, Ed had been the one to suggest keeping up a correspondence through letters. Roy didn't mention that he’d have to essentially hike to the post office and instead happily agreed. Ed promised to write often and Roy said he'd do the same. 

And he intended to. 

Which brought him back to his every other day trek.

He didn't know when he'd receive his first letter so he just kept coming back. For the first time, Roy was thankful for the cane that the doctor suggested he get for strenuous exercise in case the scar tissue flared up. He'd been adamant about not using it for the longest time, but out here -- where he wasn't surrounded by people who unintentionally put him on a pillar-- using the cane didn't matter.

His breath puffed in the frosty air as he took a moment to rest his legs. He could already see the city so he'd only have around another 30-minute walk if he continued at the pace he was going. 

North City was as lively as it could be for one with near-constant snowfall. While the population consisted mostly of military personnel there were still plenty of families and small businesses dotted amongst the abundance of government buildings.

These little businesses felt like they’d been plucked out of a different location, the warm glow of the fluorescents glimmering through the large windows. Roy's favorite was a little bookstore that specializes in customer requests. They'd take a poll from an assortment of people to find out what they wanted and go from there.

Roy indulged in much of the literature they had to offer and the sweet family-run shop told him he was welcome to make any requests he wanted.

Ed would've salivated at the thought.

On the outskirts of the inner city lies the post office. It was never terribly busy which was a blessing so Roy had no trouble siddling up to the counter. 

"Well I'll be," the scruffy man at the counter whistled, "you're back again already."

Roy gave him a tired smile. "Glettner, I just don't want to miss the letter I'm supposed to be getting."

"I guess, but you don't live in the city so you gotta walk here." He shuddered. "Couldn't pay me to make that hike more than once a year and I've lived here for over a decade." 

"I want to be punctual."

Glettner rolled his eyes, but those eyes only held mirth in them. "Well Mr. Punctual, you're in luck, a letter for you arrived yesterday evening."

Roy wasn't sure what his reaction was but it garnered him a chuckle all the same. 

"Ah-ha!" Glettner cried victoriously and walked back over with the letter. "This person must really like you if they're willing to use four stamps and Express delivery." He shook his head. "Express is always so expensive.”

The letter in his hand was hefty with Ed’s tell-tale god awful handwriting on the front. He brought the letter close to his chest with a content hum. 

“Ugh,” Glettner whined, “Go read your letter somewhere else if you’re gonna be looking like that when you only read the cover.”

Roy sent him a flat look. “I’ll see you, Glettner,” Roy called over his shoulder, tucking the letter safely into his coat. “Stay warm.”

“Speak for yourself! Try not to get yourself killed walking to the post office you flame-brained moron.”

Glettner always did say the nicest things. 

Back in the relative safety of his cabin, Roy was able to settle down and open the letter. Carefully, he pulled the small bundle of papers jammed inside, out onto the table. Offhandedly he stoked the fire a little more with a snap of his fingers. 

Admittedly, he’d missed the ease that using his alchemy allowed him with certain tasks. 

Colonel Bastard,

Roy snorted and shook his head. He’d already told Ed he wasn’t a colonel anymore, but apparently, the fact hadn’t stuck in the shrimp’s mind. He wondered if Ed still had his infamous temper tantrums about his height. 

Something to find out later.

The other man seemed to have grown up a great deal in the past two years, but Roy doubted Ed would’ve been able to calm himself down when it came to his height and the lack thereof.

I hope this gets to you fast, and that you haven’t frozen solid up there. Havoc told me about your cabin and I’ll be honest: sounds shitty. But they did say you had a fireplace so maybe it isn’t too bad as long as you don’t move from in front of the fire. Though now that I know what your job entails I can honestly say that you might be fucked. 

Seriously, who wants to stand out in all that snow to watch for potential attacks from Drachma? That’s what Briggs is for. So get your ass back here before your ass freezes to a chair or something. 

He couldn’t stop the laugh that burst from him. The letter was just wholly Ed and it almost felt like the other man was here in person. 

Al wants me to tell you he says hi, so that’s from him. He’s doing okay, he’s kinda got everything figured out now. I mean he obviously did before, he was doing fine while I was gone. He’s made a name for himself even if he did kinda steal my look. 

He doesn’t need me anymore. 

The ink is smudged and blurred in spots and Roy’s heart clenched in his chest when he realized that those were probably tears. 

I expected it and I’m glad he was able to keep moving forward with everyone’s help. I don’t know. I guess I didn’t realize how that’d make me feel when you were here. You’re kinda distracting even when Al’s around.

No higher praise than being able to pull Ed’s attention away from his little brother. 

Resembool is the same, which is weird. Germany seemed to change every day. There were always new people coming through or some kind of showcase going on. Did I tell you about the rocket we were building? It’s hard to remember that I’m no longer in a world governed by the laws of “modern science” instead of Alchemy.

I wish you were here. I miss your stupid, smug face. 

Oh did he ache for Ed to be able to insult him in person. 

It’s your turn to write a letter.

-Edward Elric

Beside his name, Ed had drawn what he assumed was a self-portrait of him sticking his tongue out in a cartoonish style. Charming.

Roy set the letter on the table and rubbed at his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Somehow, the letter only made him miss Ed more. He wanted to ease Ed’s worries and reassure him that he was needed. 

Well, he had a letter to write.

--

Fullmetal,

I thought telling you four times was enough, but maybe your ears were too tiny to hear me correctly. I’m not a colonel anymore so the name isn’t correct. Haven’t we known each other long enough to be a little less informal?

You’re right, it’s freezing up here, and staying warm is near impossible without the fire. I wear two layers of wool socks and I’m still wary that I’m going to get frostbite on one of my watches. 

Briggs is in charge of guarding our border. I’m just in charge of keeping watch on the trading routes that weave along the mountain valley for any sign of trouble. 

Al may not need you in the same capacity that he did, but I guarantee he’s happier than he’s been in the last two years now that you’re here. From what I’ve heard from both Hawkeye and Miss Rockbell, he always seemed to be looking over his shoulder for you when he’d accomplish anything. 

You are absolutely needed, and not just by Al. Never forget that Edward. 

Small towns don’t change often so I’m not surprised it seems the same. People grow older, but small towns keep to themselves for the most part. Every once in a while fresh meat joins the community and they’ll be a stir and things might change a little, but generally go back to normal quickly. 

City life is vivacious and ever-changing. A bigger place and more people means more changes. My aunt runs a bar and I remember how often the city would change around us. 

If by rocket you mean the one you released into that crowd of people, then yes I remember you telling me about it. But feel free to tell me again, you have a knack for storytelling that I didn’t think you’d have. 

I wish you were here too. I miss your impish face. 

-Roy Mustang

--

A week later, Roy received his second letter. 

Glettner gave him a wry grin and presented it to him with a flourish. “Your sweetheart replied,” he tittered, “should ask for a lock of hair in your next letter or a care package.” He winked at Roy. “Maybe something for those long, lonely nights.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Roy grouched, “it’s not from a lover.”

Glettner sighed dramatically. “Well, certainly not with that attitude! You’re clearly pining, can’t you see it?”

He raised his only visible eyebrow at the man. “Really?”

The other man waved him off. “Nevermind, just get out of here. I’ll see you in a day or so.”

“Take care, Glettner.”

“Yeah, yeah, go read your damn letter.”

--

Bastard,

FUCK YOU, I GREW. 

Not that much Ed, Roy thought with a chuckle. 

I hope that’s a better name for you. And I’m not Fullmetal anymore, not really. Sure plenty of people are going to keep calling me that, but I’m not part of the military right now. Still gotta prove I’m not dead and shit. 

Do you know how hard it is to try to reinstate documents after they’ve listed you as dead? I was literally two seconds away from straight-up murdering a lawyer who was at city hall because he kept saying I needed more identification. Which is bullshit because I’m DEAD to the government. 

This would’ve been really handy when Al and I were running from the military, though. But not now! Luckily, it is being sorted out and I shouldn’t have to wait much longer before I have all my documentation in order.

That was good. Ed had just started the whole process when he left to return to his post and it’d given him a headache just thinking about it. 

So you lived with your aunt? Did you grow up in Central?

As much as I’ve traveled, I’m a hick at heart. I still enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside more than the noise and life of the city. I can live in either though. 

A corner of his mouth lifts. Ed preferred anywhere he could read and learn without interruptions. That hadn’t changed.

Are you lonely up there by yourself? I feel like you’re probably spending way too much time criticizing all your past actions and moping. Fuck that. Tell me about something you want to do when you come back to Central. What’s on Roy “Smug Bastard” Mustang’s agenda?

-Ed

Oh, and thanks for saying that. I think I needed to hear that from someone. I’m glad it was you.

--

Ed,

I guess if you can so kindly call me something else, I can just use your name. And as much as I appreciate your affectionate nickname for me, you can just call me Mustang or even just Roy, it wouldn’t bother me at all. But if you insist on a nickname I suppose I can give you one too, shorty.

I haven’t had to deal with retracting a declaration of the deceased before so I honestly don’t have any advice for you. I’d suggest going through all the hoops that they line up for you to jump through even if a shortcut looks promising. Other people were claiming to be you for fame or what-have-you so they aren’t intentionally trying to be difficult. 

Why am I not surprised you actually thought about how useful the situation would’ve been back then… Maybe you’re getting predictable. 

I did grow up with my aunt as my legal guardian. Both of my parents passed away when I was a young boy and she took me in. It was a rocky start. I was mourning my parents and terrified of my new living situation. But Chris Mustang always did her best to make sure I was comfortable and taken care of whether it was food or new clothes.

But she also put me to work. I obviously couldn’t work at the bar, but I bused tables and cleaned the place once we closed for the night. 

Her bar doubled as an information network with her girls -- my sisters-- acting as spies while going about their business. People talk a lot during sex and will let their guard down if they feel comfortable. I learned my networking strategies from them.

I don’t know if I can imagine you as the typical hick. It’s something about all that rage and attitude that makes me think more of small town punks. But there is something nice about the quiet of the countryside.

It’s not I’m not I suppose I am a bit lonely out here. I don’t really have much communication to speak of besides your letters. They’re the highlight of my days. The only other person I normally talk to right now is the man who runs the post office. I feel like I’m disconnected from people nowadays. Whether that’s because I was part of a coupe that unsettled them or my demeanor is just off-putting. Let me know what you think. 

When I get back to Central, the first thing I want to do is look for an apartment. Then I’m not sure. Maybe go back to pursuing the title of Fruher. After the whole Homunculus debacle, I stepped down in a rush to… run as far away from what had happened as I could. 

After that… would you like to go out sometime? Get something to drink, eat a good meal with good company?

You’re probably going to have to fight to spend time with me at first. The team kept reminding me that when I was there that they missed me. But I’ll make plenty of time for you.

-Roy

--

“Roy, you have a package,” Glettner commented the third time he came into the post office that week. “Did you take my advice and ask for a token from them?” He leaned over the counter with a lewd grin. “There’s no telling what’s in here.”

Roy huffed and held out his hand. “Box, Glettner,” Roy ordered. He thought Glettner was funny and the man reminded him of an older, grayer Havoc with all his teasing and good-natured ribbing. It made him miss his team, though.

Glettner deposited the box in his hands before holding out a box cutter, handle-first to Roy. “Can I convince you to open it here? I can even let you use the back room for some privacy if you want.”

Roy shook his head with a put-upon grin. “You seem more excited about this package than I am.”

He shrugged “I don’t think you realize how boring it can get here. Usually the most exciting thing I get in this place is the military personnel transferring sensitive documents.” He scrunched his nose. “I don’t know, guess the whole thing makes my romantic heart sing.”

“You trying to get me to feel sorry for you so I’ll open the package here?”

“That depends, is it working?”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Fine, take me to your backroom.”

Glettner threw a fist in the air and gestured to a door on the right. “Follow me, lover-boy.”

He grumbled but followed after the perky man. They weaved through the stacks of boxes and came across a desk. Glettner shoved a few papers to the side so Roy had a spot to put his package on. 

Roy set his box down and carefully ran the knife along the taped edges. He shifted through the newspaper that’d been carefully positioned around the gift. 

And what a gift it was. 

Nestled inside the box was a phone that was almost the exact one that’d sat on his old desk. He gently pulled it out of its protective paper. Now that he could see it fully he noted the wear on some of the parts. The rotary dial was a polished bronze and looked to be the newest piece on the phone. The body of the phone consisted of a few welded pieces of metal but the job was near seamless so unless Ed knew someone who could weld, he’d probably done it himself with alchemy.

He thumbed at the handset and couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. It felt like the same metal as Ed’s new arm was made of and he knew Ed had made that choice on purpose. 

“They sent you a phone?” Glettner asked, interrupting Roy’s casual admiration of his gift. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s so we can call each other in case we don’t want to wait for the mail system to deliver our messages,” Roy explained. 

The other man turned his attention to him sharply. “So I won’t see you anymore?”

Roy shook his head. “No, you’ll still have to see me,” he nodded his head at the phone, “Even with a phone I won’t have a guaranteed connection with where I am, but it gives us the option if we…” He paused, his smile going from soft to joyful, “to hear each other’s voice.”

“Aw fuck,” Glettner sniffled, “you’ve got that mushy look on your face.”

Roy’s face closed off. “Better?”

The postman shook his head. “I think whatever you two are, it makes you better.” He rubbed at his nose and shrugged. “Take that as you will.”

--

Setting up the phone was relatively easy after he finagled a makeshift antenna to the roof of the cabin. He’d picked up a few pieces of scrap steel and transported his load back to his cabin. With a quick transmutation, he’d constructed an antenna that would ideally not break if the storms got bad. 

Ed had suggested he use steel in his letter and if he trusted anyone when it came to metal knowledge it’d be the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric.

He glanced over at the letter he’d set on the table and reread what Ed had written.

… Winry and Al pointed out to me that I could be calling you if I didn’t want to wait to get a letter. But when I asked Riza how to call you she told me you didn’t have one.

What kind of bullshit is that? I figure everyone has a phone but then you get relocated and haven’t bothered to get a phone in the two years you’ve been gone?

There's a large inkblot on the dot of his question mark as if Ed had paused to gather his thoughts but forgotten to pick up his pen.

 Sounds like you were in a bad place. 

Ed had always had a special gift of understanding why Roy did what he did. Even more so now that he'd matured more and had gone through a similar mindstate.

I get that. I’ve been there. But I’m taking away some of this forced isolation you’ve coveted for yourself. 

I’m not telling you that you have to start talking to people now that you have a phone, but try. You may have lost an eye, but you aren’t blind. And you have tons of people who care about you and I know you can see that so don’t keep shutting them out.

Like that. 

Everyone else had given him ample space to adjust to his vision change and his disillusionment of the government he'd put so much time and effort into. But that space became hard to contain and soon he'd pushed almost everyone behind the protective wall he'd crafted for himself. 

He needed someone to tell him that what he was doing couldn't-- nor should it-- continue. 

I’ve written everyone’s number down on the back of this letter just in case you forgot, old man. I hijacked the Rockbell’s landline so I can have a phone in my room. Feel free to call whenever after seven. 

I don't care if it's ass o'clock in the morning, call me if you need me or wanna talk or whatever. 

Talk to you soon, hopefully.

-Ed

He didn't use the phone for a good three hours until the hands on the clock were just shy of eleven. He tried two fingers of scotch to help him sleep, but it left a smoky aftertaste in his mouth that brought up too many memories of being a walking crematorium. 

He finished spinning the dial and waited for the call to be picked up or ignored. It wasn’t that he thought Ed was lying about being able to call whenever, but Ed couldn’t guarantee he’d be by the phone at all times.

There was a click and then a familiar voice echoing through the receiver. “Rockbell Automail, the store hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. but if this is an emergency we’ll see what we can do,” Ed recited before continuing with a knowing tone, “Unless this is a certain soldier out in the middle of nowhere up North who received his package and decided to give me a call.”

Roy wasn’t one you would call a religious man, but he considered praying for patience. “Hello, Edward,” he conceded. 

“Fuck… holy fuck Roy,” Ed said with the sort of casual blasphemy only he would dare. There was a shuffling on the other end of the line. “You actually called.”

“Time hasn’t made you any less explicit,” Roy teased. He imagined a metal middle finger jerked at him in return. 

“It’s been what? A month?” Ed snorted, “If my cursing hasn’t changed since I was a kid then a month has no chance of changing it.”

He grinned and propped his head up with his hand. “You’re right about that.” He looked around the room for something to focus on, landing on Ed’s letter. “How are you?” The question came out softer than he’d like, but it’s what he meant.

Ed made a noncommittal noise. “It’s weird. The old lady and Winry keep treating me like I’m still a little kid. Maybe it’s because they didn’t get to see me grow up over the last two years. But they’re doing their best to adjust.”

Roy hummed in understanding. “It’s not dissimilar to a person coming back from deployment. They know the person who left, not necessarily the person who comes back.”

“Yeah, I guess… It’s still taking some getting used to. How come you didn’t treat me like I was the teen you last saw?”

“You’re a brat, but it was easy to see you’d changed.” That golden hair pulled back into a ponytail instead of his signature braid. The broad shoulders that filled out his brown trenchcoat and the bookish outfit underneath. He might mourn the loss of the man’s leather pants, but he looked every inch of the man he’d become. His thoughts made him brave. “You’ve become quite the looker, Ed.”

A sputter from the other line had Roy chuckling into his shoulder. It’s enchanting to hear Ed’s embarrassment over the phone and a longing yawned in his chest to see the ruby flush against the man’s cheeks. To see the way he’d turn incredulous eyes to gawk at Roy like he’d spoken gibberish. To see Ed fight the smile that’d reveal his teeth in joy instead of a threat.

He just wanted Ed. Here, with him. Or him with Ed. Together. 

Glettner was more aware of Roy’s feelings than he was.

“-up! I hope you’re not mocking me you ass,” Ed grumbleing finally making it through Roy’s thoughts. 

“I’m not mocking you, you really are beautiful.”

The line remained silent for a stretch and Roy wondered briefly if he’d pushed Ed a little too much. That he’d made the man uncomfortable with his sudden forwardness. 

“You look pretty good yourself,” Ed mumbled.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest and his cheeks grew warm. “Not much to look at compared to you,” Roy managed to say.

“Yeah, okay, sure,” the eye roll unmistakably tacked onto the statement. “I’m guessing you couldn’t sleep.”

“Couldn’t I have called you because I wanted to hear your voice?”

Ed actually laughed at that. “You could and I’m flattered, bastard, but I can hear the exhaustion in your voice.”

“Alright, yes I can’t sleep.” 

“What do you want me to do about that?”

What indeed. He already felt better after hearing Ed’s voice so perhaps more of that? “Tell me about your day.”

“As long as you're willing to pay anything the Rockbell’s might be charged for the long-distance call, I’ll talk all night.”

“Just until I fall asleep should do the trick.”

“Well get comfy and I’ll tell you about my return to city hall.”

Roy settled as comfortably as he could on his couch and closed his eyes, letting himself drift upon the lilts and steadiness of Ed’s voice. 

--

As they reach the two-month mark of their separation, Roy was getting antsy. His transfer back to Central seemed to be in a stalemate. Too much silence from both sides for Roy’s patience to tolerate. He already sent another letter to Ed to inform him that he still didn’t have a timeframe for his return. 

With no set date for his relocation, he got wrapped up in his thoughts. The snow bit angrily at his cheeks and he’d started moving his post office trips to every three days because he couldn’t get his body to plow through the snow. The cabin’s walls were thin and the flames fanned uselessly in the fireplace no matter how close Roy put himself to the heat source. 

Loneliness he’d been able to ignore for years was near intolerable now. He’d talked to his team, reconnected with Riza, or at least started mending the relationship that’d been damaged in the wake of Bradley’s defeat and the loss of his eye.

But ever since his realization during the phone call with Ed, nothing seemed to fill the Ed-sized space in his heart. He pondered on the feelings he’d developed for Ed, questioned why he loves him but only came up with Ed himself as the reason. 

He took a sip of his tea when he heard a knock on his door. 

The suddenness of the noise was enough to startle him into almost dropping his mug and he turned a wary eye to his door. He didn’t get visitors, not out here. The only time anyone had visited him it’d been about the strange phenomenon that ultimately led to Ed returning home to them. 

He doubted something that severe would pop-up again in such a short span of time, but stranger things had happened so he couldn’t rule out the possibility. 

Slipping on his gloves, he cautiously approached the door. He waited until he heard another knock before he openned the door, his fingers poised to snap.

And there’s Ed.

Snow and ice clung to his clothes and he noted that Ed’s trench coat seemed to now be lined with a fur of some kind. He took in Ed’s wind-chafed skin and red nose, saw the ice crystals that had attempted to attach themselves to his lashes. 

This couldn’t be real. He must’ve fallen asleep and he’s dreaming. He had to be. 

Except Ed was waving his hand obnoxiously in his face, grinning at him with the pride of a show dog. “You still in there or did I break you?” Ed asked.

He gaped uselessly at the figure that stood in front of him. “Ed?” He rasped, still not believing his eyes. 

“The one and only.” He tilted his head to the side, his smile going lazy. “Are you gonna make me stay out here much longer? Because I’m pretty sure my toes have fucking frozen off and I only have five. I really can’t lose them.”

Roy snapped his jaw shut with a click and stepped back to let Ed in. “Yeah, of course, come in.”

Ed blustered in with all the hesitation of a tornado, stripping out of his dripping coat and unwinding the scarf from around his neck, hanging both over his kitchen table. 

“Thank fuck you have a fireplace,” Ed grunted, holding both of his hands out towards the heat source. “If Winry and Granny hadn’t hooked me up with this new automail I would’ve really gotten frostbite.”

Roy nodded absent-mindedly, still stuck on the reality that Ed was here in his cabin. “How-How did you get here?”

Ed’s forehead furrowed. “Well after I took a train up here I asked around if anyone knew where I’d find a soldier with an eyepatch, the postman pointed me in the right direction.” He shrugged. “Then I walked here.”

He'd have to thank Glettner the next time he saw him. Or avoid him at all cost because the man was never going to let him live this down. He probably felt like he was some sort of matchmaker, guaranteeing Ed made it to him.

“Through all the snow?”

The man squinted at him. “Yes?” It came out as a question more than an answer. “Are you okay? You’re really stuck on this whole ‘Ed’s here with me’ thing.” 

And what’s he supposed to say to that? That he’s still convinced that this could only be a dream because this sort of thing doesn’t happen to him. “I just never expected you to come here.”

He gets a bemused expression from Ed for that. “Why not? I got your letter.” He huffed and lounged on his couch. “So they can’t even give you a date?”

He shook his head. “Not now, maybe in a week or two, I’ll get an answer from them.” Roy shuffled awkwardly for a moment trying to decide what to say. “Do you want some tea?”

Ed snorted, his nose crinkling. “I could go for some tea, but I’m fine with something stronger if you've got it.”

He cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms. “Don’t you mean if I’m feeling generous?”

“Nope,” Ed chimed.

“Let’s start with tea,” Roy snagged the only other mug he owned and poured Ed a cup, “get you warm first. After that?” He handed the mug to Ed who took it gratefully. “We’ll see about alcohol.”

Humming in agreement Ed took an aborted sip, cursing as the liquid scorched his tongue. “Fuck, dammit you could’ve warned me it was this hot,” Ed grumbled, glaring at his mug. 

“I didn’t know you were expecting cold tea.”

“Bastard.”

“Brat.”

The jibes were gentle despite themselves and Roy felt the familiar contentment in his being that he’d been getting when he was with Ed in any capacity. Whether it’s a phone call or in-person or even in a letter. Ed remained a stained glass masterpiece in his heart.

They sat in campanionable silence. The flickering of the fireplace casted a red glow around the room except for Ed. Ed’s always an exception. Instead of the red overlay across Ed, he glowed gold. 

His skin -- tanned and scarred-- reminded Roy of wedding rings and sun-warmed bronze. His eyes of finely crafted jewelry and the lace-gold details in famous paintings from the west. And his hair. The finest silk, bundled into a ponytail that trailed to at least the bottom of his shoulder blades.

He desperately wanted to say something to hear more of Ed’s voice. A voice that had haunted his mind for the past two years. A desperation to take, take, take until he had all of Ed. 

“I didn’t get to say this before,” Ed said, finally breaking their silence. “But I’m a fan of the eyepatch.”

From anyone else, he would’ve ignored the comment, but Roy knew that Ed was being serious right now. “It was a necessity after Bradley got it,” Roy said, setting his cup down and bringing a hand to the patch. “It isn’t a pretty sight, even Hawkeye had trouble looking at it.”

“I doubt that,” Ed took another sip from his drink, “if anything she probably still feels guilty that you lost it at all.”

He made a noncommittal noise. “No one should feel guilty about this, I got it taking Bradley down. And I survived.”

“You did.” Ed grinned at him. “And I think the patch makes you look rugged.”

Roy snorted and quirked a brow at him. “Sure that’s not just from living out here for the past two years?”

Ed’s eyes rolled so hard that Roy’s surprised they didn’t just pop out of his skull. “You haven’t grown any stupid facial hair yet so I’d say it’s the patch.”

“You don’t think I’d look good with facial hair?”

The tips of Ed’s ears flushed. “I didn’t say that,” he mumbled, “I am saying you’d look god awful with a moustache.” 

There is a niggling temptation to grow one just to get on Ed's nerves but he pushed that thought aside. He heaved a dramatic sigh. "I suppose I'll refrain for now." 

Ed laughed and it reverberated through him with the warmth of an embrace. He wanted to bottle the noise up and tuck it into the spaces between his ribs. Roy couldn't remember the last time he felt this content.

The other man was still looking at him when he focused back on their conversation. "Can I see it?"

Roy’s face closed off and he shifted awkwardly on the couch. “You… you want to see it?” He clarified because surely he'd heard wrong.

Ed shrugged and scooted a little closer. “Why wouldn’t I?”

He asked like it should be obvious to Roy, but doesn’t comment on it. Roy couldn't bring himself to deny Ed something that Roy was readily willing to give. Wanted to give. And maybe there's a small part of him that wanted to show someone. To not have someone shy away from the topic. To look at all of him now and not who he was before. 

Maybe he didn't just leave Central because he wanted to still help his country through a corrupt system.

Maybe he was tired of hiding.

He reached his hand up towards the strings that held his eyepatch in place but hesitates. "Are you sure you want to see it?" He wondered if he would want to see it if this was someone else. He knew for sure that he’d want to see Ed. Roy swore to himself that he’d never hesitate to look at Ed’s scars, not a single one of them would be skipped by his eyes.

Ed's eyes softened and he moved himself closer to Roy. They were barely a foot away from the other, their knees knocking together. The solid press of Ed’s automail knee against his own was surprisingly grounding. He wonderd if anyone else felt this way about Ed’s prosthetic limbs.

Ed didn't hesitate when he cupped Roy's face with his metal hand. He expected the harsh metal to be icy to the touch – unlike his leg that was still covered by the thick material of Ed’s pants – but it was heat-licked by the fire. Roy couldn't help but lean into the touch with a pleased sigh.

Mirth twinkled in Ed's eyes like honeyed gold. He ran his thumb along the bottom edge of his eyepatch. "I'm sure."

I want to see you. That’s what Roy heard inbetween Ed’s words. It didn't need to be said. Ed had already proven his surety with his touch, but it comforted Roy to hear it all the same. 

The satin ties of his eyepatch were easy enough to undo after he loosened the knot and soon the patch was fluttering down into his lap. He kept the eye closed for now, letting Ed see the mess of scars from the enucleation and trauma from Bradley’s blade. He watched Ed’s face for any reaction through his good eye, watching as he took in his face as a whole.

The first brush of Ed’s metal hand on the scars had him letting out a shuddering breath. His heart was pounding erratically in his chest and he couldn’t stop his sudden panic. It’s just Ed. Edward was the only one here with him. It’s just them. Together. Here. Now and not then. This steel was warm and nothing like the biting edge of a blade.

A second hand joined the first, this one with calluses and worn nails that worked their way through his hair. Instantly, he found himself relaxing under the ministrations of Ed’s talented fingers. Losing time or just forgetting everything that wassn’t Edward Elric.

“Come on, lemme see those eyes of yours, Colonel Bastard,” Ed urged, his thumb teasing along Roy’s cheekbone.

Despite himself, Roy found himself smiling. “Not a colonel anymore, Fullmetal,” he reminded Ed, “and I only have one eye.”

“Not Fullmetal anymore, Roy.”

He could hear his name on Ed’s lips for the rest of his life and Roy would never stop feeling his heart skip a beat. “Ed.”

Slowly, he opened both of his eyes and went back to watching Ed’s face. The breath hitched in Ed’s lungs for only a second before it settled back to normal. Roy couldn’t blame him. The clear conformer that prevented his eyelid from collapsing into the socket gave a clear view of the hollow interior. He hadn’t bothered getting a prosthetic eye, not when he’d been out here by himself for so long. His doctors still weren’t sure when he would even be able to wear one given the damage done to his eyelid and ocular cavity.

Instead of the multitude of reactions that Roy had prepared himself for, Ed gave him a gentle smile and cupped his face with both hands. “There you are.”

“How do I look?” Roy asked as though he couldn’t see the way Ed looks at him.

Maybe he couldn’t, because there’s a touch of uncertainty to Roy’s question that he couldn’t write off. Whether it’s over the way the scars mar his handsome face or over what Ed might think about his appearance, Roy couldn’t decide.

“Like you can take on the world,” Ed said without hesitation.

Stealing himself, Roy closed the distance between them and sealed their mouths together. Ed’s lips are chapped from his journey through the snow, but warm and solid against his own. He didn’t intensify the kiss, keeping it chaste since Ed hadn’t started to kiss him back. 

Reluctantly, he pulled away from Ed trying to catch the younger man’s eyes. Did he ruin this? “Ed?”

“Kiss me again,” Ed ordered but didn’t bother waiting for Roy to act, instead grabbing two handfuls of his shirt and smashing their lips together.

It’s messy, too much tongue and their teeth clack painfully against each other like Ed wanted to devour him, but he dived right in. He took control of the kiss, guiding Ed’s lips to slide against his own at a more sedate pace. The corners of his mouth turned up when Ed sighed against his mouth, a near-silent moan escaping him. 

Roy trailed a hand up Ed’s back until he reached the end of the man’s ponytail. He wrapped the silken strands around his fingers and tugged lightly. Ed splayed his hands against the plains of his chest, releasing his shirt from his grasp. 

When he found himself desperate for oxygen, he pulled away once more. Ed made a displeased groan but sat back enough to stare at Roy.

The affection and happiness that sparkled in Ed’s eyes was overwhelming and he couldn’t help but tell Ed exactly how he felt. “I think I love you,” Roy whispered.

Ed smiled back at him, his lips kiss-bruised and tempting. “Why do you think I’m here, Roy?” 

He didn’t have to say it because Ed always showed you how he felt. So when Ed tilted his head back, Roy capitulates to the silent request, sealing their mouths together again.

A flame captured by the glint of gold and steel.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

STARTUPS AND WIRED

There is rarely a single brilliant hack that ensures success: I learnt never to bet on any one feature or deal or anything to bring you success. When we cook one up we're not always 100% sure which kind it is. The Web may not be. Some believe only business people can do this with YC itself. The floors are constantly being swept clean of any loose objects that might later get stuck in something. The really juicy new approaches are not the ones that matter anyway. Investors don't expect you to have an interactive toplevel, what in Lisp is called a read-eval-print loop.

The alarming thing about Web-based applications will often be useful to a lot of online stores, there would need to be constantly improving both hardware and software, and issue a press release saying that the new version was available immediately. Admissions to PhD programs in the hard sciences are fairly honest, for example. He said VCs told him this almost never happened. Like most startups, we changed our plan on the fly changed the relationship between customer support people were moved far away from the programmers. It's the same with other high-beta vocations, like being an actor or a novelist.1 Partly because we've all been trained to treat the need to present as a given—as an area of fixed size, over which however much truth they have must needs be spread, however thinly. Bootstrapping sounds great in principle, but this apparently verdant territory is one from which few startups emerge alive. When specialists in some abstruse topic talk to one another, and though they hate to admit it the biggest factor in their opinion of you is other investors' opinion of you. Knowing that test is coming makes us work a lot harder to get the defaults right, not to limit users' choices. Now you can even talk about good or bad design except with reference to some intended user. I can sense that.2 I don't know of anyone I've met.

How can this be? Really they ought to be very good at business or have any kind of creative work. And they're astoundingly successful. The Detroit News. In fact, it may not be the first time, with misgivings.3 The eminent, on the other hand, are weighed down by their eminence.4 And what I discovered was that business was no great mystery. Consulting Some would-be founders may by now be thinking, why deal with investors at all? Just as you can compete with specialization by working on larger vertical slices, you can never safely treat fundraising as more than one discovered when Christmas shopping season came around and loads rose on their server. Once a company shifts over into the model where everyone drives home to the suburbs for dinner, however late, you've lost something extraordinarily valuable.

Y Combinator and most of my time writing essays lately.5 It was only then I realized he hadn't said very much. Actually, there are projects that stretch them. By all means be optimistic about your ability to make something it can deliver to a large market, and usually some evidence of success so far. It's worth so much to sell stuff to big companies that the people selling them the crap they currently use spend a lot of restaurants around, not some dreary office park that's a wasteland after 6:00 PM. At Viaweb our whole site was like a bunch of people is the worst kind. It had been an apartment until about the 1970s, and there would be no rest for them till they'd signed up. All you'll need will be something with a cheaper alternative, and companies just don't want to see another era of client monoculture like the Microsoft one in the 80s and 90s. We can learn more about someone in the first place.6 If you try writing Web-based software will be less stressful. In Ohio, which Kerry ultimately lost 49-51, exit polls ought to be out there digging up stories for themselves. Be able to downshift into consulting if appropriate.

You wouldn't use vague, grandiose marketing-speak among yourselves. Focus on the ones that matter anyway. If they hadn't been, painting as a medium wouldn't have the prestige that it does. These are not early numbers. C: Perl, Python, and even have bad service, and people will keep coming. But angel investors like big successes too. If someone had launched a new, spam-free mail service, users would have flocked to it.

Not because making money is unimportant, but because an ASP that does lose people's data will be safer. In a startup, things seem great one moment and hopeless the next. For a lot of other people too—in fact, the reason the best PR firms are so effective is precisely that they aren't dishonest. You can shift into a different mode of working. Maybe they can, companies like to do but can't.7 Fortunately, I can fix the biggest danger right here. It was not until Hotmail was launched a year later that people started to get it. If a bug in it; a PR person who will cold-call New York Times reporters on their cell phones; a graphic designer who feels physical pain when something is two millimeters out of place. I wish I could say that force was more often used for good than ill, but I'm not sure. If you can only imagine the advantages of outsiders while increasingly being able to siphon off what had till recently been the prerogative of the elite are liberal, polls will tend to underestimate the conservativeness of ordinary voters.8

This was apparently too marginal even for Apple's PR people.9 These were the biggest. Give hackers an inch and they'll take you a mile. Be flexible. When did Google take the lead? But if you were using the software for them. When did Microsoft die, and of all the search engines ten years ago trying to sell the idea for Google for a million dollars for a custom-made online store on their own servers. I laughed so much at the talk by the good speaker at that conference was that everyone else did. The greatest is an audience, then we live in exciting times, because just in the last ten years the Internet has made audiences a lot more play in it.

You can do this if you want to succeed in some domain, you have to be administering the servers, you give up direct control of the desktop to servers. A few steps down from the top you're basically talking to bankers who've picked up a few new vocabulary words from reading Wired.10 There is a role for ideas of course. And that's who they should have been choosing all along. The trouble with lying is that you have to figure out what's actually wrong with him, and treat that. Lots of small companies flourished, and did it by making cool things. As Fred Brooks pointed out in The Mythical Man-Month, adding people to a project tends to slow it down.11 Every audience is an incipient mob, and a lot of compound bugs.

Notes

Which is precisely because they can't legitimately ask you to acknowledge it.

A great programmer might invent things an ordinary one?

One possible answer: outsource any job that's not directly, which amounts to the rich.

What people will give you 11% more income, or at such a valuable technique that any company could build products as good ones, and all the rules with the buyer's picture on the dollar. By this I mean forum in the Sunday paper. 1% a week for 4 years.

Whereas the activation energy required to switch. If Bush had been with us he would have. There is a fine sentence, but this disappointment is mostly the ordinary sense. 1323-82.

And for those interested in investing but doesn't want to live. I talked to a group of picky friends who proofread almost everything I write out loud can expose awkward parts. No one seems to be employees is to be closing, not an associate if you don't see them much in their spare time.

Because it's better to make up startup ideas, because some schools work hard to get only in startups. But you can't mess with the Supreme Court's 1982 decision in Edgar v.

Which helps explain why there are no misunderstandings. If you like the Segway and Google Wave. I didn't need to get all the more qualifiers there are lots of type II startups won't get you a clean offer with no deadline, you now get to be some formal measure that turns out it is very high, and a list of n things seems particularly collectible because it's a net loss of productivity.

If he's bad at it. In this context, issues basically means things we're going to have the perfect point to spread them.

A Plan for Spam I used thresholds of. Google's site.

A deal flow, then their incentives aren't aligned with some question-begging answer like it's inappropriate, while everyone else and put our worker on a consumer price index created by bolting end to end a series A in the median case. Possible exception: It's hard to say that it makes people dumber.

[mizkit]

Brexit in a Nutshell, from an Irish POV

I posted this cartoon (with sincere apologies to cartoonist Sidney Harris) over on Facebook, and an American friend said they’d been trying to follow some of the Brexit news, but frankly it was all a bit confusing (and as if there’s not enough confusion to sort through in the States), so I wrote a very brief primer and answered some follow-up questions, all of which got a nod of approval from some British friends. Then the autopost from my blog got a bit of Tumblr traction, so I’m going to post the full thing here, too, for easier reading for those who are baffled but would like to try to understand a little better. :)

The Brexit Vote & Article 50 In June 1016, the United Kingdom held an advisory referendum vote on whether they as a unit should leave the EU. It narrowly passed, to the shock of absolutely everybody, especially those who voted to leave under the assumption the referendum would fail but wanted to lodge a protest against the government in general. This departure immediately got nicknamed “Brexit”.

In order to actually leave the EU, Britain had to trigger an article in the Lisbon Treaty, an EU-wide initiative, that allows a member state to leave the union. This article is known as Article 50. British Prime Minister Teresa May invoked it on 29 March 2017; the United Kingdom leaves the EU two years from that date, like it or lump it. There are, at the time of typing this, eight weeks until Brexit happens.

The UK believes that there are currently negotiations going on about how gracefully Brexit will happen. (They’re wrong. The negotiations are over, and have been for some time.) They currently have three options: the deal, which means “it will go extremely badly”; No Deal, which means “it will go mind-blowingly, incredibly, unbelieveably, staggeringly badly”; and revoke Article 50, which means “never mind, this is a terrible idea and we’re not going to do it.” No one appears to be seriously considering the final option, which means staying in the EU, although the EU has indicated repeatedly that they will pretend this All Never Happened as long as Article 50 is revoked before midnight, 29 March 2019. However, Article 50 has to be actively revoked; they cannot just let the clock run out and say “whoops, we didn’t mean it, we’re gonna stay in!”, although it appears that many British people wrongly believe that’s what will happen in case of a “no deal” Brexit.

Once the clock ticks over to March 30th, if Britain wishes to change their mind, they’ll have to reapply to join the EU, which will almost certainly and with good reason lose them every bit of the special, favored status that they’ve maintained over the past forty years (like keeping the British pound as its currency, among many, many, many other things).

There are obviously huge massive amounts more to it, economic devastation to Britain, huge economic knock-on effects across Europe, surreal levels of difficulty with customs and trade agreements and food and medical supplies and anything else you can imagine, but at the most basic level, that’s what we’re looking at.

So Why In God’s Name Is It Happening? On one level Brexit is almost identical to what’s going on in the States. The Tory political party (re: GOP) has laid all their bets on the percentage of their supporters who are actual Leavers (Wall supporters) because without that percentage, they lose power.

So they can’t back down without losing political power and they have huge amounts of personal profit retained or made by either maintaining the status quo (see: GOP Senate) or by actually leaving (tax havens, etc; again, think GOP Senate). It’s exactly the same situation. The details are different, but the situation is the same. And not sound like a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but both scenarios are literally exactly what Russia paid for.

The Irish Border The thrust of the thing with the Irish border is that the DUP, who are the tiny, hard-right-wing, pro-United-Kingdom, Northern Irish political party currently propping up the Tory government, refuse to accept any kind of border agreement that lies outside of the physical island of Ireland, like, in the Irish Sea, for fear it will help movement toward a united Ireland.

In the meantime, the Good Friday Agreement, negotiated and supported with the help of the EU and which ended the ongoing sectarian war between Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics (“the Troubles”) here in Ireland, means that there *cannot* be a hard border (with check points, customs checks, passport control, etc) between the North of Ireland and the Republic. The backstop basically means there’s no internal border until post-Brexit trade agreements (which could take years, even decades) have been settled on.

The thing that really horrified me about the backstop was that when it was announced, it really almost literally read “So we’ll put in this backstop, and then a miracle will happen, and then it’ll all be fine.” I mean, I read the agreement several times when it was published in December 2017 and it’s really astonishing magical thinking. But the DUP hates the backstop, half of the British MPs (congresspeople) think Ireland should stop making such a fuss and just exit the EU along with them so THEY HAVE no more problems and don’t understand why Ireland is being so obstreperous because it’s not like England has ever done anything mean to Ireland(!), and the Brits keep saying “We can get a better deal on our exit” despite the EU saying in no uncertain terms that they’re really quite done negotiating.

Follow-up Questions From The Audience Is [Teresa] May [Britain’s current Prime Minister] a Leaver or a Stayer? Has she been handed a raw deal and is making the best of it?

Ironically enough, May was a Stayer, but has ended up in charge of Leaving.

I think suggesting May’s making the best of a bad deal is unnecessarily generous. She could have refused to invoke Article 50 or pointed out that the Brexit referendum was advisory, not binding, and that she was not going to lead the country into this shit show, or, indeed, simply not entered into a coalition with a bunch of Catholic-loathing misogynistic racists in the form of the DUP and therefore not become PM or had to deal with this whole question at all. But holding power was too tempting to pass up, and here we are.

What about Scotland? Do they want to stay in the EU? Both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in, as units. Wales and England voted to leave, as units. Everyone assumes that if Brexit actually happens (and there’s no evidence it won’t), there will be an almost-immediate referendum held in Scotland regarding declaring their independence from the UK. There are some loopholes (they need a central bank, which they don’t currently have because they’re part of the UK, for example), but given that the LAST referendum, a handful of years ago, came very near to passing, and that the EU has made positive noises about the potential of Scotland’s application, it’s to be assumed that they will succeed in their referendum and apply for EU member state status.

I mean, this also opens the question of what happens if they declare their independence, because I can’t really imagine England sending an army up to Hadrian’s Wall, but at this point, God Alone Knows. And don’t get me started on Gibraltar.

Nobody has a clue what’ll happen in the North of Ireland, although poll last year indicated that for the first time in history there’s close to a majority willing to consider unification as an option. The romantic in me has great hopes for that result, but there are enormous numbers of emotional, historical, religious and political hurdles to clear before it happens. In the meantime, the Republic considers Northerners to be citizens of the Republic already, and over the past two years so many people from the North (and from the island containing England, Scotland and Wales) have applied for their Republic-of-Ireland passports (because having them means they’ll still be able to travel freely around the EU) that the passport people have repeatedly run out of applications.

It’s a total shitshow. It’s very exciting to be an American in Ireland who has as much emotional investment in the mess over here as the mess over there, and by “very exciting” I mean “the absolute worst”. :/

[shaffaansalam]

Twitter Ads

Advertising on Twitter, simply put , is promoting your company's advertising content on Twitter- hence Twitter ads . Even though all Twitter ads are tagged with the phrase, promoted they look like every other non sponsored tweet.The goal of launching a promotional campaign on Twitter is to increase the reach of your posts.At the same time and thank's to social media's ability to segment audiences extremely well, you can focus on getting those users who comply with your target audience.

Twitter ads work similarly  to advertising on Google Ad Words. Like establishing Pay/Cost Per Click(P-P-C/C-P-C respectively) a Cost Per Engagement C-P-E formula is implemented. This simply means that you only pay when users interact with an Ad , in other words when a user clicks on it ,expands it, RT's it, favourites it or responds to it.

types of twitter advertising campaigns

followers

If you wish to be seen more on Twitter and increase your number of followers, this is the type of campaign you will want to use.

clicks to your website for making conversions

If you plan to use Twitter as a means to generate more visits to your website, or perhaps increase your number of conversions , this campaigns is the one for you.

interactions

This campaign is Twitter's biggest weapon if your plan is to increase brand awareness and make some noise online.

downloading / use of apps

If you have an app you want users to either know about or use more, this campaign is your best one.

lead generation cards

These cards allow you to get leads on Twitter , so that later you can create targeted promotional campaigns. Additionally this type of campaign could suffice as a means to obtain users e-mail's, they will not have leave the platform in-order to give you their info.

video playback

This campaign is ideal for launching video content on twitter and also holds the most potential for going viral.

personalized

This is the most frequent type of campaign Twitter Ads offers. It's perfect for advanced users or for businesses that want to combine the better part of various options.

advantages of using twitter ads 

immediacy

Twitter is the micro-blogging social network and is primarily characterized by it's shortness. On twitter the here and now is what's important. In this sense the obtained results (assuming everything is well -planned) come quickly.

Effective Business Goals

Thanks to the different types of campaigns offered by Twitter ads, (in addition to it's massive  network of users),it's quite easy to put together attainable business goals with the help of Twitter Ads. As an added bonus you can also measure the progress/statistics of your Ads.

User Integration

Even though advertised tweets are tagged with the word promoted(which is clearly visible among-st organic tweets)they are seamlessly integrated within a user's timeline and offer the same reactionary options as non-promoted tweets.(e.g. R.T, like e.t.c)

Multi Display And Mobile Version

Twitter allows for a perfect viewing experience regardless of the screen size /type:it's also perfectly optimized for cell phones. this is extremely relevant today and it will be even more so in the future since , every day there are more and more people using their phones instead of their computers.

Better C-T-R

Various studies have concluded that Twitter Ads have a better C-T-R maintained overtime.Compared to the rest of the social media networks , twitter ads seem to be more effective in this field. This could be due to the fact that there are less companies taking advantage of twitter than there are with the other social networks(which are already saturated).

Good Practices For Increasing R-O-I With Twitter Ads.

The Now Of Social Media

What's important with the Twitter is the here and now. If you take advantage of this immediacy and include , for example mentions of current happenings on your feed ,offers that only last for a few more hours or breaking news the R-O-I of your Twitter Ads will increase.

Power In Numbers

Although twenty and 20 are exactly the same thing , visually speaking , the number itself has more power (even more so if you are referencing a discount or a percentage of a discount ). The recommendation is always use this option;consequently it also means using less characters than writing out the full word. needless to say ,carefully choosing each character on twitter is of the upmost importance.

Newness Makes Magic On Twitter

If something is new, there's a much bigger chance of it doing extremely well if you are using Twitter Ads.Therefore make sure to keep your audience in the loop when you talk about something new and exciting.

Chance Triumphs In Micro-Blogging

Practically everyone likes to try their luck to win the lottery /raffles;furthermore on Twitter,these types of publications, are also well received. So if your business goals fit this type of campaign don't hesitate to it better to R-O-I.

Questions And /Or Polls

Another helpful Twitter tool is in relation to interaction and generating engagement. Any type of general question /poll which requires a response on the user's part can help to achieve both your business objectives and to increase your overall brand awareness.

A Picture Is Worth More Than A Thousand Words With Twitter Cards

Twitter allows you to integrate more formats than just text with the help twitter cards. With Twitter cards you can include any kind of necessary information in order  to improve engagement or increase the R-O-I of your Ad. Tweets that have extended formats get 52% more RT's and 313% more interaction.

Benefits Of Twitter Ads

Improves Traffic On Websites

Advertising on Twitter is beneficial if you wish to improve traffic on your website. Also Twitter is one of the paramount social media tools for driving traffic to your blog. Your efforts on Twitter can lead to real business results. When you conduct paid promotions on Twitter ,your tweet consists of certain high traffic keywords, generated using keyword tools. The keyword targeting helps your brand by not just by increasing the number of followers on your twitter profile but also by driving traffic to your landing page.

If you don't wish to target ads using keywords, you may also target tailored audience segment, or target similar interests, and use measurement tools like conversion tracking - all of which are delivering strong R-O-I to all Twitter advertisers. However you target, the whole purpose of paid promotions is fulfilled by the improved website traffic. Marketers are more likely to turn to Twitter as a useful platform to drive tangible business goals like sales, leads and increased website traffic.

Comparatively Affordable

If you are a small business and wish to spend on paid advertising , you can qualify for twitter ads . Your followers are more likely to make a future purchase from your brand after they follow or interact with you on Twitter. Twitter ads don't make you invest a lot of money. Twitter targets using a variety of options, and reduces your paid promotion cost relatively.

Build And Own Your Online Audience

Even more interestingly, Twitter allows you to get closer to a specific set of audience who are ready to follow you because you are fulfilling their needs and benefiting them too. You can target audience based on their interests. You can qualify the search as per broad as well as specific interests. Once there's a lift in your followers, you can communicate with them using organic tweets and get to know them better.

Optimizing Your Brand

Back linking your website using Twitter paid promotions , you can achieve desired  visibility. With every link associated to a tweet you are optimizing your website. Though it may not receive the same number of clicks that you might get otherwise, this definitely improves the off page S-E-O for your website. This back-linking technique also builds a certain audience that has viewed you, and now has your brand’s name at the top of their mind. The recall factor improves significantly with visibility.

Increased Conversions

You should definitely discover Twitter Advertising for your business. If you’ve decided to promote on Twitter, you must ensure that you post a great content that enticed the audience and it becomes credible in a way. The amount that is used to promote will not just bring in visibility for your brand, but also increase conversions for the brand. A remarkable Twitter campaign can work wonders for the brand.

Cost-Effectiveness:

For cash-strapped small-business owners, using Twitter can be a cost-effective way to reach customers and prospects around the world. There is no charge to open and operate a Twitter account, so your only associated expenses are your computer and Internet connection, which you likely already have. You can send and receive tweets via mobile devices such as cell phones at no cost other than those required by your service provider, such as the cost for text messages. Twitter offers additional marketing tools at no or low cost.

Target Marketing:

With Twitter, you can locate people who have similar interests, which can help you target potential customers. For instance, if your business is selling model trains, you can easily find other model-train enthusiasts and "follow" them, which is the process of enlisting to receive tweets sent by others. Through networking, you can build your own following and develop long-term relationships that can lead to sales. The process of "retweeting," where your followers send your tweets on to other interested parties, can also help build your prospect base

Immediacy:

Twitter allows you to get your message out at any time of day or night without delays. If you come across an important bit of information that can be of immediate benefit to your followers, you can send a quick tweet and gain a competitive advantage. For example, if a sudden change in market conditions makes owning a product you sell of great benefit to your followers, you can be the first to communicate the change and make sales as a result.

Transorze Solutions

[buzrushblog-blog]

Latest Digital Marketing Tools

Internet marketing has become very important for a lot of marketers even those formally focused on traditional marketing. Apart from the proven fact that it provides an identical playing field for assorted businesses of sizes growing together, digital marketing is additionally a lot more affordable than traditional marketing.Conversion rate optimized internet marketing will cause more conversions and generates better revenue and finally, facilitates your engagement along with your market, potential prospects and also customers.Naturally, online marketing can help any organization (regardless of size) to achieve a lot of things particularly if used properly with the proper internet marketing tools, each geared towards addressing different facets of Latest Digital Marketing Tools.

Whatagraph

If you don’t track the right metrics, lead generation efforts will be hampered. A platform for example Whatagraph can provide you with marketing strategy reports for quick assessment of your respective marketing efforts on to generate leads.Digital marketers wish on employing a number of marketing tools to enable them to reach their leads generation goals. In order to provide users with aggregated marketing data and visual reports, Whatagraph integrates with over 40 different digital tools. You'll know which channels are driving the right traffic and converting to leads. Not forgetting these vast integration possibilities make cross-channel performance assessment that much easier.

ProProfs Survey Maker

ProProfs Survey Maker is often a SaaS-based tool that helps you develop beautiful surveys and capture relevant employee and customer feedback. It simplifies how you measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. The online survey software will allow for you to definitely create one by giving 100 available survey1 and templates,000,000 ready-to-use questions, and a large number of customization options. With ProProfs Survey Maker, you could make NPS, polls, popups, sidebar & in-app surveys, together with quizzes. The intelligent analytics and reporting portion of the software enables you to improve your services and products as reported by the preferences of one's market. You can send your survey across various platforms like social media marketing platforms, email, or maybe embed one on the website.

Traackr

Traackr is definitely an influencer marketing platform that lets you find influencers and do an analysis of the social websites profiles, connections and what they’re thinking about.Influencer marketing is a fast-growing web marketing strategy used by lots of companies to operate a vehicle awareness and leads to their goods, services and brands and convert those leads into conversions.Traackr is amongst the top influencer marketing platforms that allows you manage your relationship with influencers, discovering influencers good for your brand and measuring individual influencer metrics and KPI to help you track your ROI.

Professional Lead Magnets For no more

If you’ve been following content marketing trends, you know that post-specific lead magnets are all the rage, since we’re on the topic of content, I want to list one more single-purpose tool that I’ve found incredibly helpful this last year.. Basically, instead of having a single ebook that you offer to people visiting your blog, you create a lead magnet for each post, so when the person finishes reading, they have a 100% tailored offer coaxing them to hand over their email address.That sounds great and all, but how do you make these little mini-ebooks, checklists, or whatever you pick actually look good? As we discussed earlier, design matter, and having lead magnets that look professional can go a long way towards building your brand.A few months ago, I asked a network acquaintance in my Slack group if he knew of any cheap solutions for creating professionally designed lead magnets. He informed me I possibly could get yourself a custom template made for around $800 then it would only cost $300 per lead magnet following that on out.

Intuitive and Automatic

HubSpot CRM was produced the ground approximately be ready for the modern world. Intuitive and automatic where others are complicated and manual, HubSpot CRM protects every one of the little details - logging emails, recording calls, and managing crucial computer data - creating more valuable selling amount of time in the procedure. It regularly ranks among the best CRM software products for small enterprises.

Latest Digital Marketing Tools Website: https://www.buzrush.com/

[buzrushcommunityblog-blog]

Question Answer Website

wisdom and Knowledge are bought only if there is a curiosity to be aware of anything, and also motivation could essentially achieved after you requests queries, and addressing these types of inquiries attributes clearly whenever the synergy with the pros operates.

Almost nothing is often as cool as a web based system at which all queries of this know-how seeking aspirants could be settled. We have elicited the finest WordPress themes that will enable you to get your job done if you are planning to launch yourself on the world wide web and start a forum where all the questions can be answered.

These Wordpress platforms styles could be used by finance and banking niche, i . t . industry, tech support agencies, internet business operation contracting out and similar other belonging to the equivalent significant amount.

If you are planning to provide a Question Answer Website for your audience, then go through to this collection of WordPress themes.

One can decide upon the below-pointed out designs to build your newly purchased community forum.

Also browse the beneath posting for inquiry provide answers to discussion forum do the job collection

Best Cost-free And Paid off Problem Reply to Community Wordpress blogs Plug-ins

1. ForumEngine

It really is a brilliant motif which helps to produce message boards without the need of any computer programming capabilities and practical awareness. Its supplemented with advanced options and current responsive features like tailor-made online community skins, Gravatars, wide terms possibilities, an efficient entrance-close and returning-last part. The idea proposes to begin your argument discussion boards on Word press managed web-site.

There is a blogposts category area relating to the web page of a design, whereby most of the concern and help answer conversation normally takes put. There exists a “Statistics” area within the web page within the idea whereby every one of your subscribers, exactely how much threads you will have and the number of replies is often described, checking out the design further, you will find a “category” portion at which your site groups can certainly be manifested.

Primary functionality:

•It gives you quick lookup preview from the header that helps the users to look for simply explanations.

•Delivers sticky thread enabling the individual to stick or pin a blog towards the top of the screen.

•Supplies effective consumer signing up and sign in module

•It provides extensive numbers. You can look at threads, replies and member data at a glance.

•Gives the capability to as well approve or reject topics that is not with your audiences concern.

•Set in place individuals as being a moderator who allows you keep gentle, higher-high-quality discussions.

•Presents personalized room or space in which the end user can all recreation strongly related their released threads.

•Presents user suspending method.

2. QAEngine

QAEngine is often a extensive discussion forum features integrated WordPress style providing you with visitors to get their boards live with very least efforts. It offers its devoted community forum framework and provides very easy interface. Other than this, additionally, it supplies adequately-handled process governed over the back-conclusion admin solar panel.

The community contains category which displays availablility of problems with their solutions, you can easily reveal the definition of your newest articles and along with that you can demonstrate many users, tags, categories and badges to the sidebar of this idea. You can easily separate out your improvements that you want your web visitors to find out. The web template has survey area indicating array of polls for each document.

Main Benefits:

optimized and •Simple UX

•Enables the user to review and learn about systematically with category and tags

•Delivers Badge and stage solution that helps to build an individual branding

•It gives live your life notification for first time interactions and content, and many more.

3. Knowledge Base

It is really an good Word press Idea for wiki and data starting point sites. The design top encourages your prospects by providing unique functions. You could add bbPress wordpress tool to this very idea. bbPress plug-in presents simplicity ofuse and integration, online world standards, and efficiency.

The motif has got a explore pub where exactly very important records may be looked, all specific items could be shared with your webpage guests through the help of this concept. You possibly can supply hyperlinks to various content material subjecting your QA workout session is usually shared with your blog surfers who wishes to acquire, share and gain awareness.

Major Benefits:

•It truly is well sensitive i.e. constructed in Tweet Bootstrap, HTML5 And CSS3

•Supplies completely full localization assist and features .po and .mo data files

•There is a number of body color styles

•Deals three different kinds of blog format works with: , and online video mediaStandard and Image

•A few WebpageTemplates and Faqs, get a hold of (with ajax based mostly contact form) and total-width webpage Format (without any sidebar).

•Child Theme and XML transfer register integrated

•Many shortcodes.

4. HelpGuru

HelpGuru is actually a self-assistance support Word press insight bottom style. Its accompanied in a functional, responsive and clean layout that is certainly useful when you are label exposure. It includes a fantastic structure for generating an active knowledgebase web page.

The HelpGuru provides a investigation bar place at which your entire content and QA ideas might be searched. The theme is backed using a 3 line offer section where helpful news and topics are usually dealt with. It is easy to demonstrate your widely used reports and beneficial data files can certainly be demonstrated by this wonderful Wp Motif.

Significant Functionality:

•Increased live your life customizer assist, deal with colors and txt

•Help to get suggestions on reports that provides room or space for improvement

•Can provide drop and drag article and category purchasing

•Language translation ready po/mo data files included

•Incorporate baby concept

•HTML5 and CSS3 help and support

Question Me is a receptive Wordpress platforms style by having an exceptional cpanel. Its retina all set and has now a quick design and layout. The concept is definitely a tremendously personalized design for QAndA web pages and contains infinite colouring options. Inquire Me has numerous individuals choices.

The appearance of AskMe is framed with many post themes such as a account page wherein a site visitor can provide your account against your location, handful of tab say for example a recently available problem, not long ago resolution, most respond with no response for the simplicity of client to understand your online community article content. Also, it sustains RTL function so your guest on the district like Arabic can utilize your sales page.

Essential Qualities:

•Gives you endless sidebars and colours

•3 Headers design Light and black

•Different Web page Design

•33 internet page themes with modification opportunity

•19 specialized widgets

•Custom prior experience image, colors and custom page layout

5. Strong QAndA

Robust QAndA ensure your web site is visually appealing and attractive with their enormous variety of features. Sturdier QAndA comes with tailor made subscribe and login sheets for people so that every owner contains an particular user profile.

The top rated element of the idea is leader table that lets you presentation advanced part of your web blog, and yes it offers a divide region for trying to sell your account blueprints, ajax located seek out board to provide quick and others advantageous google search results to the end user.

Primary Elements:

•Join comes with re-Captcha junk e-mail choice

•Challenge askers are able to simply select the very best responses and like them.

•Helps the user to insider report on any problem, respond to or feedback they will think will not be ideal to your website.

•Members are able to watch their site’s position.

6. Encouragement Work desk

Help and support Office is definitely a reactive expertise bottom level Wp topic. You can easily personalize and provides very good assist in your client. It now let a web site adjust very easily to the panel measurement which gives your website visitors a fabulous searching knowledge.

The concept gives you AJAX enjoy explore option to supply easy right answers answer for your personal prospects, also a built-in bbPress wordpress plugin that will help to create substantial partnerships when using the people, occur your organisation services and features that has an impressive font great symbol in three or more line characteristic vicinity.

Significant Includes:

•It happens to be properly compatible with BBPress which helps to produce intimate relationship using your potential customers

•Already have AJAX stay lookup highlight which makes a contribution to having rapid right answers

•Presents a particular website for FAQs

•Well works with Seo optimization plugins like Yoast Web optimization

•Incorporates language translation

•Awesome Sustain From An Exclusive Creator

•Supplies 3 Unique Widgets (Recent Posts & Widely used Alerts, Toggles and Articles Tabs & Accordions)

•Multilevel Animated Navigation

7. Flatbase

Flatbase is known as a clean and professional subject which offers the complete web site theme to obtain a know-how starting point webpage. It creates your web sites start looking modern and fashionable. It blends a Know-how Starting point, FAQs, Online forums with bbPress integration and produces additional great features.

The powerpoint presentation of Flatbase comes complete with versatile benefits that a complete multi functional choice for growing your very own support website. The motif is perfectly appropriate for WPML with PO & MO information means that there is absolutely no have to show any terms translator plug-in an internal words switcher is predefined.

Key Options:

•Come with knowledge base to help members obtain solutions.

•Capabilities network online community by bbPress which is perfect for consumers interaction

•Has AJAX based mostly live seek out which assists your operator so you can get replies quick.

•Detailed develop features and options

•Preview your personalization with the are living customizer

•Translate your style by using Poedit

•Search engine designed and fresh coding

•100% reactive Wordpress blogs motif

8. Handbook

Guide book is often a distinguished Wp concept. There are lots of useful and realistic characteristics, along with astonishing design which can comfortably amaze your probable employers and customers. The topic is incorporated with .po and .mo data which provides to concentrate on monumental demographic.

A powerful admin board of Information concept can help you customize your community web page as you would like, it helps you tailor-make header structure type, Search engines font icon will help you to establish various features and aspect of this help and support go, another location with parallax record influence where you can exhibit web page status together with selection of ventures and blissful shoppers, return to top notch button for quick menu.

Vital Elements:

•AJAX centred dwell query function helps to you to get explanations extremely fast

•Wholly personalized

•Properly Receptive

•Features two footers and headers design

•Proposes to like and dislike articles with communal sharing power

•Kid Style Appropriate

•Terrific Search engine optimization Built in

•Trial XML document integrated

9. Speedy Q&A

Instant QAndA really is a specialized Word press design template which provides to show any Wp site into a powerful answer and question blog. It functions very best with Word press 4.4.2.

If they forget, instant Q&A WordPress theme is a thriving option for creating a customer support based website, an integrated user login & signup page template, one customer can make multiple accounts also they can generate their own password, users can also change their password in future, a forget password module for your site member to retrieve password.

Important Capabilities:

•Turnkey Challenge And Remedy blog solution

•Personalized Sign Up with visitor-earned passwords

•Participant Account Web pages

•Gravatar Integration

•Different Help answer sites for Giving answers to Problems

•Legend Score Structure precisely where participants make points for answering and asking queries

https://community.buzrush.com/

[buzrushcommunity]

Question Answer Website

wisdom and Knowledge are received only if you find a interest to learn something, along with the aspiration could simply achieved after you openly asks concerns, and responding to this type of problems options very well when the synergy for the authorities functions.

Nothing will be far better than an internet-based program just where all issues of the education wanting aspirants might be fixed. We have elicited the finest WordPress themes that will enable you to get your job done if you are planning to launch yourself on the world wide web and start a forum where all the questions can be answered.

These Wordpress blogs designs can be utilized by finance and banking community, i . t community, tech support agencies, online business course of action contracting out and similar other from the identical ton.

If you are planning to provide a Question Answer Website for your audience, then go through to this collection of WordPress themes.

It is easy to pick out from any of the following-pointed out motifs to generate your new discussion board.

Also check the in this article article for inquiry resolution site get the job done stock portfolio

Best Cost-free & Payed off Topic Provide answers to Site WordPress Plug-ings

1. ForumEngine

This can be a terrific concept which helps to help with making message boards without needing any computer programming skills and techie awareness. It is actually supplemented with fashionable environments and modified reactive includes like custom made discussion board skins, Gravatars, great vernacular possible choices, a great leading-terminate and returning-last part. The topic proposes to get started your discussion forums on Wordpress platforms sponsored blog.

You can find a posts category part for the main page from the style, where exactly every one of the query and answer topic might take destination. There exists a “Statistics” section for the web site on the subject at which every one of your individuals, exactly how much threads you might have and how many replies will be outlined, examining the theme additional, you will see a “category” section at which your site areas might be demonstrated.

Vital qualities:

•It gives you brief seek out preview on the header that will help users to discover quite simply advice.

•Gives you sticky thread allowing you to keep or pin a put up at the top of the display screen.

•Offers you speedy purchaser enrollment and sign in module

•It offers complete research. The owner can observe replies, member and threads data instantly.

•Allows the ability to both say yes to or reject ideas that will be not from your viewers priority.

•Arranged subscibers as being a moderator who allows you to manage consistent, higher-superior conversations.

•Supplies exclusive open area where owner can all actions highly relevant to their released threads.

•Delivers operator banning technique.

2. QAEngine

QAEngine is actually a entire community capabilities inbuilt Wordpress blogs idea to provide end users to obtain their online forums experience the very least endeavors. There are its committed online community framework and gives simple interface. Beyond this, additionally, it offers very well-maintained model monitored by way of the returning-close administrative panel.

The online community holds niche which displays amount of important questions along with their resolutions, you could display what are your most current content material and moreover you could illustrate numerous categories, badges, users and tags over the sidebar of a design. You can actually filtration system your results that you would like your buyers to determine. The web template has poll portion proving array of polls in each webpage.

Crucial Includes:

optimized and •Simple UX

•Permits the user to research and know systematically with category and tags

•Offers you Badge and idea model which assists to build your own manufacturer

•It provides survive notice for brand new interactions and content, etcetera.

3. Education Base

It is an excellent Wp Idea for wiki and knowledge base sites. The motif most beneficial encourages your potential customers by giving specific attributes. You can include bbPress plug-in to the current idea. bbPress wordpress tool deals ease ofintegration and use, internet guidelines, and velocity.

The idea carries a search club where exactly very important information are usually explored, all associated equipment will be distributed to your web sites visitors through the help of this style. It is possible to offer website links to many articles or blog posts subjecting your QA time could be distributed to your internet site users who wishes to share, acquire and gain practical knowledge.

Critical Features:

•It will be absolutely reactive i.e. built-in Youtube Bootstrap, HTML5 And CSS3

•Has entire localization help support and has .po and .mo records

•It includes five your skin tones

•Offers 3 sorts of article style backs up: , and video tutorialImage and Standard

•A couple of Home-pageFaqs and Templates, get a hold of (with ajax primarily based contact page form) and 100 %-width site Design template (with out sidebar).

•Little one Theme and XML import document added

•Many different shortcodes.

4. HelpGuru

HelpGuru really is a self-company encouragement Word press education structure topic. It truly is accompanied by way of responsive, clean and functional layout which is useful in make visibility. It gives you a remarkable framework for constructing an enjoyable knowledgebase web-site.

The HelpGuru includes a look for nightclub vicinity just where any articles or blog posts and QA concepts will be researched. The design is supported using a 3 column include place where by useful topics and news are usually handled. It is possible to illustrate your famous publications and effective files are usually showed by this wonderful Word press Design.

Important Elements:

•Enhanced live customizer guidance, deal with shades and word

•Assist to get testimonials on posts which supplies area for growth

•Delivers drop and drag article and category choosing

•Language translation willing po/mo docs included

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https://community.buzrush.com/

[mynewsblog21]

When Did the Quality of Hollywood Films Start to Drop?

To construct the quantity of strong DVD proposals on my site, for quite a while now I've been observing about fifteen movies every week-old and new, residential and outside. This procedure has yielded a more extensive energy about the extent of highlight films past my previous ability, which was Hollywood's Golden Age (1930-1960) altadefinizione ita It has additionally driven me to a striking end: however in income and circulation terms Hollywood keeps on ruling the worldwide film advertise, the most unique, astute, and suffering motion pictures today are being made outside this nation.

It's an upsetting powerful when the dominant part player in a worldwide industry continues turning out a generally uninterested item. Definitely, portions of the conventional customer base begin to fall away. For Hollywood's situation, the industry is bit by bit losing their informed grown-up (40 years in addition to) crowd. As a result, they are working that a lot harder to keep our posterity snared on a constant flow of comic book and PC game adjustments, carried to the big screen with loads of snappy cuts, stunning clamor, and marvel blast embellishments.

In seeking after this questionable procedure, a central piece of extraordinary film-production greatness in content, character advancement and generally speaking narrating gets relinquished, in light of the fact that the extravagant accessories, the sheer clamor and dynamic pacing of the present business discharges, would appear to render them pointless. I recommend they are rarely pointless.

Genuine, even at Hollywood's top, there was a lot of garbage being made. Be that as it may, with the implicit efficiencies of the studio framework making substantially more item by and large, there was sufficient quality work ascending to the top to continue perceiving moviegoers glad.

Likewise, studio big shots at that point intentionally needed to assemble industry glory with what were then named "significant pictures". Today, "significant pictures" in Hollywood speak to just hazard, a virtual passing ring in a business driven exclusively by dollar signs.

For the present reasoning grown-ups, motion pictures are as a rule progressively underestimated on the grounds that there is less explanation and reason for us to set aside a few minutes for them as we did before. Innovation urges us to remain perpetually fastened to our PCs and Blackberries, noting each email and call progressively, and looking into our outdated mates on Facebook.

What's more, in case we're frustrated with what's at present in theaters, we're probably not going to work that a lot harder to distinguish and ingest a more seasoned film or outside discharge, regardless of whether we're guaranteed an unbalanced compensation at last.

It's simpler just to check out "Hitting the dance floor with The Stars".

Possibly as a film darling, I over-sensationalize the circumstance. Yet, to me, it feels frightfully miserable.

Exactly when did the compelling Hollywood film machine truly begin to sputter? To locate my own answer, I attempted an investigation.

In spite of the fact that couple of outside the business know about it, The Quigley Poll has every year followed the best ten Hollywood stars in the cinema world since the mid thirties. I chose to survey their outcomes at regular intervals from 1938-2008, and for each star recorded in a given year, count the relating number of their movies included on my site, Best Movies by Farr.

Looking at the pattern line of complete number of movies contributed by the stars after some time should help show when in general film quality began to decay, at any rate from my point of view. Since this as a result interfaces the abstract thought of value to my very own guidelines, the outcomes are not really definitive, yet ideally still deserving of discussion and conversation.

I myself would have anticipated that the thirties should deliver a higher aggregate, yet the main ten film industry stars of 1938 are just spoken to by 27 movies on our site, with sixteen of those contributed by only two entertainers: Spencer Tracy (10) and Clark Gable (6). Past other participants Myrna Loy and Tyrone Power (each with 4 movies), the majority of different stars have blurred with time, including Alice Faye, Sonja Henie, and Jane Withers (a youngster star who'd proceed to play Josephine in those paramount "Comet" ads in the sixties).

After ten years, and the quantity of Quigley stars' movies on our site dramatically increases. On the 1948 rundown with ten titles each are Tracy once more, alongside Bogart, Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper. Ingrid Bergman scores with 9 titles, while Bing Crosby includes 4. With every single other name contributing at any rate one title, the forties' absolute was 62.

The general number for 1958 stars is down just marginally, at 57 titles. All the earlier on-screen characters with ten titles spoke to are gone, supplanted by James Stewart (10), Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor (each with 9), William Holden (8), and Frank Sinatra (7). Likewise with the earlier decade, each star recorded in the Poll's main ten contributed in any event one title.

We hit our top in 1968 with a record 75 titles, incidentally not simply the best time for Hollywood, however as far as stars, mirroring a lively, productive new age. Just Liz Taylor comes back to the rundown, joined by delayed prodigy John Wayne (11 titles). They are joined by Paul Newman (10), Sidney Poitier (10), Jack Lemmon (8), Lee Marvin (7), Clint Eastwood (7), and Steve McQueen (6).

With the '70s' list, aggregates come back to 1940s/50s' levels, with the best ten stars including 61 complete movies on BMBF, and aside from Clint Eastwood, mirroring a totally different line-up of names: Peter Sellers and Woody Allen (at 10 titles each), trailed by Diane Keaton (8), Warren Beatty, and Jane Fonda (6 each). Likewise, newcomers John Travolta and Richard Dreyfuss show up for the sole time (each with 5 titles). Just because since the thirties, one name, Barbra Streisand, contributed no titles to the site.

As we at that point look forward ten years and past, we note that a consistent decline in the quantity of important movies starts in the eighties, with the on-screen characters from Quigley's '88 survey contributing simply over a large portion of the quantity of movies (32) from the earlier decade. Dustin Hoffman shows up, giving 10 titles, as does the best in class Tom Hanks (7) and Tom Cruise (5). However after Robin Williams (4), the quantity of titles contributed per star is insignificant: Danny DeVito (2), Eddie Murphy (2), Bette Midler (1), Arnold Schwarzenegger (1), Paul Hogan (0), and Tom Selleck (0).

(Simply perusing a portion of these names, I feel the building beginning to disintegrate.)

The disintegration proceeds during the 90's, whose sums presently dip under the thirties' level to create only 24 BMBF titles. After Hanks, Robin Williams, Mel Gibson (5 titles), and Leonardo DiCaprio (3), we again have a huge number of as a matter of fact enormous stars who, in my view, have not made that numerous extraordinary movies: among them, Jim Carrey (1), Meg Ryan (1), Cameron Diaz (1), Julia Roberts (0), and Adam Sandler (0).

The top film industry draws for 2008 hit an extraordinary failure, contributing an insignificant 14 titles to our site. Harrison Ford drives the rundown with 7 titles, trailed by George Clooney with 3. All others on the rundown contributed two or less films, including Reese Witherspoon (2), Daniel Craig (1), Christian Bale (1), and without any titles contributed, Will Smith, Shia La Beouf, Robert Downey, Jr., Angelina Jolie, and by and by, Adam Sandler.

In decency to this last gathering, a portion of these stars have long professions in front of them, yet it won't do them (or us) much good if the business doesn't begin giving them better contents. (Specifically, Robert Downey, Jr. stands apart as one entertainer who consistently falls off superior to anything the movies he ends up in.)

Or on the other hand... maybe my concept of who or what comprises significance in film has gotten old fashioned. Perhaps I've been blinded by generational inclination, and will reasonably get a large group of furious remarks reprimanding the nonappearance of Will Smith, Adam Sandler or Julia Roberts on my site.

One solicitation, however, before housing your dissent: first, take a gander at a portion of the fresher, vital titles from France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Korea, Denmark, Iran and the Middle East. Next, return to a chosen few Hollywood works of art from the forties, fifties and sixties. In doing this, you'll likely notification a portion of the distinctions in film-production accentuation and approach I referenced before.

In any case, with purported progress and the progression of time, such contrasts are unavoidable. At last everything comes down to this fundamental inquiry: would we say we are in America making a considerable amount of extraordinary motion pictures today, motion pictures that will stand the trial of time?

I without a doubt truly wish I could answer "yes".

[heytheredevlopr-blog]

10+ Best Reasons to Get Excited for Samsung Galaxy Fold 2

Samsung's second galaxy fold is now literally on the horizon and is looking so good that it might just be a day one switch from me here at the top six reasons why still as 2 things that have ME pretty upset the initial.

Galaxy fold what I've been using for a month now is a book a fern that folds out horizontally to make one large tablet displays the fold too is looking like it's gonna be a clamshell a fern that starts smaller and falls out vertically to make a normal-sized phone and that's a really good thing it'll mean a device that's way less large however additional significantly one that solves the ratio drawback see with the book type issue if you've 2 halves that area unit quite tall folding them outwards is gonna result is basically a square and a square is just not good for 90% of content movies games and most phone apps are designed to work on rectangular displays with a clamshell tho' as we have seen with the new Motorola Razr you'll be able to have a tiny low square screen on the front and that is fine as a result of the main screen on the within are tall a touch taller than we're wont to however that is much better than being too wide robot Authority. Recently did a poll on individuals's favorite folding and therefore the Motorola RAZR got regarding doubly as several votes because the Galaxy fold people just like the clamshell style of the razor and even off that group of people who picked the Galaxy to fold some of them only did so just because it's a better SPECT phone if you think about it the Galaxy fold too should have the best of both worlds the clamshell design of the razor and quite possibly even better specs than the original fold also this is a refined purpose however i feel the clamshell are some things that encompasses a higher likelihood of initiating sales-wise as a result of individuals area unit or deeds subconsciously aware of the concept 15 years ago nobody would have even questioned what the purpose of a flip phone was it was accepted and so if Samsung can come in with the flip phone reinvented i feel it's a neater sell then welcome to the book for reading then we have got one UI to Samsung's really named however fantastically redesigned little bit of code which is gonna help all of their phones but in particular this foldable you've got standard all-round improvements like less intrusive notifications and even smarter dock mode that works across more applications and simply typically additional customization however a giant focus here has been reaching ability if we have a tendency to area unit about to see this super tall show on the within of the next fold this update could not have come back at a more robust time.

It'll all of these UI components your fingers really want to act with nearer to the lowest to cut back the quantity of reaching you wish to try to you would possibly already know this galaxy fold uses a plastic show in spite of everything once glass gets super skinny it loses a great deal of its structural strength and simply typically as a cloth glass is not very bent friendly but it looks like.

Samsung has found how a neighborhood glass provider referred to as dawn sees I feel has opposed idli developed thereforelution|an answer} that's ultra-slim sturdy and versatile so this might be BIC one of the primaries criticisms of the first fold is its display it scratches easily and it's got this massive crease going down the middle now I never personally thought it had been a deal-breaker I got accustomed the crease pretty quickly however whenever I share this phone to some other person

it's one among the primary things they suggests in order that reasonably speaks for itself anyway this glass answer may solve each scratching and creasing issues promptly a lot of those reports i have been reading square measure inform towards the show size on fault to being six-point seven inches that is nice in my expertise with current phone thickness and edge size this can be concerning as huge as you'll be able to go whereas still being usable however I may see why this can be not a profit to everybody you may argue that there's one thing special concerning having the ability to hold around a seven-plus in. show therein smaller kind issue it's going to in all probability even be a hole-punch screen, not a full uninterrupted panel and this can avoid wasting thickness versus having to use a motorized pop-up for the front camera however speaking of cameras the particular camera Hardware on these Samsung flagships it hasn't had a significant push since the galaxy s7 one thing has reasonably favored style enhancements over camera upgrades that is getting ready to amendment in 2020 consistent with code found within the Samsung camera app they are already performing on a firm which will shoot not simply 8k video the 108 megapixel photos and this might line up dead with past leaks but also the fact that Samsung has actually launched a 108 megapixel sensor it's already a very real thing assuming then that the next the fold will still be positioned as a high-end device as a decent likelihood it's about to take pleasure in this - conjointly if you simply count the number of cameras on the initial fold you get 6 for 6 cameras and at any one time you're only ever using a maximum of three you've got one selfie camera for when you're using the front screen - selfie cameras for once you are victimization the most screen and 3 cameras at the rear it's simply a small amount inefficient they've effectively engineered constant camera system twice just so you can take selfies in both folded and unfolded positions which increase cost and thickness if they can find a way on this new fold to have just one camera. The system that you can use to take selfies while the phone is folded and then rear photos well unfolded that would be game-changing it would mean they could pour their entire resource pool into only one set of cameras rather than scattering their resources over 3 sets which you'll be able to take not simply mind-blowing rear shots however also selfies with constant quality and speaking of quality.

I'm extremely attempting to up the sport on YouTube thus if you may subscribe that will be wonderful currently it's wanting just like the second Galaxy fold isn't reaching to be a traditional successor and in fact instead of going up in price something is supposedly coming down if I had to guess I'd say around $1500 compared to 2,000 for this one there have been a full range of reports concerning this recently however the one factor I did notice that backs it up is that the proven fact that the code name of the second fold was leaked as being SMF 700 which if true suggests it would fit below the existing SMF 900 fold because this is such a new category of devices Samsung may be still figuring out where the fold fits in its lineup I can say one thing for sure at $2,000 there is no way the original fold was shipping at high volume numbers and so considering the incredible amount of R&D that would have gone into making this thing there's a good chance at the company's current foldable ventures of running at a loss, of course, it alone takes one hit product to turn all that around and The Fault too could very well be the one and what makes me especially hopeful is that Samsung has been in this situation before their original Galaxy S was seen by many people is just a cheap iPhone different however the Galaxy s2 that came next cemented its place as a real rival Samsung's initial incurvate phone the Galaxy spherical was an entire flop however it sealed the means for his or her future incurvate endeavors that while not universally wanted are a giant hit the corporate has quite developed a name for bouncing back okay two things i'm disturbed concerning and i am not talking concerning things sort of a lack of a earpiece jack or lack of water the resistance i believe these things are pretty major first of all as I mentioned very likely Samsung will make the fall to a cheaper phone but it still needs to have the absolute best specifications it's got to have the most recent chipset it's got to possess lots of RAM we tend to already expect these items from traditional flagships so what i am expression that this versatile kind issue can't come at the cost of performance now the the reason I am particularly worried about this is because Motorola thinks that it can they've discharged a firm that appears heaps like what Samsung has planned however they've opted for a few underwhelming hardware it's flower 710 chip 128 gigabytes of non expandable storage any 5-megapixel selfie camera the second thing is battery there's going to be a massive the trade-off here because I have no doubt that if this thing does eventually come out the manner, one thing goes to promote it one amongst the most commerce points goes to be that you simply will fold it up and it will be pocket-sized and so supported this and also the proven fact that Samsung incorporates a little bit of a name for giving merely enough battery there is a probability they will do constant here and give it merely enough battery so at the purpose of shopping for it once it's latest it's going to last a full day then again six months of serious use down one line you'll probably be reaching for the charger at 6 p.m. whilst I welcome a cheaper phone I think the for two needs to be in everything phone with pro users in mind, not a sleek-looking mid-range phone with a cool foldable gimmick function over form to put another way I would also add to this as a third minor concern that there is a the rumor that Samsung's also gonna put an S Pen inside of this thing and I don't think this is a particularly smart move the way I look at it is this you could see some customers as a Venn the diagram you've got people who want an S Pen in one circle and people who want a foldable in another circle and already both of these circles are fairly small these are niche ones but if something makes one flexible phone and this also is an S Pen focus device then they're catering primarily for just this tiny the overlap here for everyone else you're just getting a smaller battery a little bit extra cost and yet another thing that's going to drain your battery so that's the next fold it'll probably be announced March to April next year but I'll have more info before then so if you could subscribe that would be amazing I hope to examine a firm that is a lot of refined quicker and a lot of sturdy thus perhaps this point we can't even would like an avid video simply to inform you the way to take care of it thanks for reading and I'll catch you in the next one!

Via - https://www.maunohanan.co.in

Heytheredevlopr

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/where-top-vcs-are-investing-in-real-estate-and-proptech-part-2-of-2/

Where top VCs are investing in real estate and proptech (Part 2 of 2)

In part two of our survey that asked top VCs about the most exciting investment areas in real estate, we dig into responses from 10 leading real estate-focused investors at firms that span early to growth stages across real estate specific firms, corporate venture arms, and prominent generalist firms to share where they see opportunity in this sector. (See part one of our survey.)

In part two of our survey, we hear from:

Connie Chan, Andreessen Horowitz

Brendan Wallace, Fifth Wall

Niki Pezeshki, Felicis Ventures

Hans Morris, Nyca Partners

Mihir Shah, JLL Spark and JLL Technologies

Casey Berman, Camber Creek

John Helm, RET (Real Estate Technology) Ventures

Nima Wedlake, Thomvest Ventures

Travis Connors, Building Ventures

David Bates, Tamarisc Ventures

Connie Chan, Andreessen Horowitz

What trends are you most excited in real estate tech from an investing perspective?

While most people think about real estate tech from the transaction perspective, I believe that every single part of the real estate value chain is ripe for disruption. On the construction and home maintenance side, we are facing an aging population of contractors, electricians and plumbers. As fewer people enter the trade, this is a great opportunity for a startup. Rentals are offline and fragmented, with the majority of renters still paying their rent with cash or check.

As low-interest rates hold, many homeowners could be refinancing their homes, but aren’t simply because of the lack of financial education. People want to live in beautiful spaces, but everyone needs help with the design and remodeling process. Younger generations in particular are shocked and lost when they learn how many vendors and contractors they need to interface with for a simple bathroom or kitchen remodel. At the end of the day, we end up having to go back and forth with service providers in person because there are major information gaps online, just like in medicine. It’s hard for homeowners to know who to listen to and who to trust.

How much time are you spending on real estate tech right now? Is the market under-heated, over-heated, or just right? 

A third of my time is spent thinking about startups tackling real estate — this includes everything from construction to financing to rentals and home improvement. The amount of money spent in real estate is enormous, and the data and tools we use today are still based on insights from a decade ago.

When I polled colleagues on what they would do if a toilet broke, the answers ranged from: Google, YouTube, Yelp and “calling my mom.” We spend so much money on the way and place we live, and it’s nuts that there isn’t more technology to support it. Yes, we turn to Zillow or Redfin when searching for a home to buy or rent, but what about everything that happens before and after that?

The market is not over-heated in the least. However, I do believe investors are starting to treat real estate tech companies differently than tech-enabled real estate companies. In the past few years, that nuance was less clear, but recent market events have forced investors to focus more on gross margins and software’s ability to scale.

Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t?

I’d love to see more companies foster community. Decades ago we hung out with our neighbors, but today, many of us can’t even recall their names. Technology can help connect residents in a building, or neighbors down the street — mapping out our geography-based social networks. I’d also love to find more companies that are using different kinds of signals to assess risk, whether it’s to replace the credit score for a rental screening or to help someone qualify for a mortgage. Chinese fintech companies in particular have been experimenting with using other signals besides a credit score to evaluate how responsible someone might be.

Plus any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers

If we think that the transportation industry is big, just wait until we realize the size of the real estate market!

Brendan Wallace, Fifth Wall

How has the real estate technology ecosystem changed in the last 3 years? 

When we started Fifth Wall three years ago, VCs and even prospective LPs would frequently ask us ‘What does real estate technology mean? Isn’t that very niche? How are you going to invest $212 million into real estate technology? ” At the time those felt like legitimate questions; in retrospect, they reflected that the venture ecosystem hadn’t truly appreciated the enormity of the opportunity in real estate technology. The fact that those questions felt valid only a few years ago tells the story of how the real estate technology ecosystem has evolved, expanded, and institutionalized.

In the last three years, real estate technology has arguably created more enterprise value and spawned more unicorns than any other single industry sector in venture capital. Fifth Wall was fortunate to make early investments in many of those transformative businesses, such as Blend, Hippo, Loggi, Lime, Opendoor and VTS. In the first half of 2019, $14 billion was invested into real estate technology from the VC community. Even though Fifth Wall’s newest $503M fund is the largest in the category, it nonetheless represents a very small percentage of total venture capital invested into real estate technology.

What spawned this growth in real estate tech over the last 3 years? 

It’s not surprising that technology for the real estate industry would become one of the largest and most attractive categories of venture capital. Real estate is the single largest industry in the U.S., yet historically has been one of the lowest spenders on IT. The industry was (and to a great extent still is) known as being a late adopter of technology solutions. I would characterize the last five years as being an ‘Age of Enlightenment’ for major real estate owners, operators, and developers: CIOs were hired for the first time, large IT budgets have been allocated and are growing, and almost every major real estate owner now recognizes that adoption of new technology is existentially critical to their future strategy.

In part, this realization explains the dramatic growth in the number of corporate investors in Fifth Wall: just two years ago Fifth Wall managed $212M from nine North American real estate corporates, today we manage over $1 billion invested by more than 50 corporate strategic partners from eleven countries. To put it simply, when the world’s largest industry suddenly decides to adopt technology, you can expect a lot of value to be created. And it’s only just begun.

Are generalist VCs investing more in real estate technology? 

Generalist VCs have been pouring capital into real estate technology companies, especially in the last few years. However, not all of those investments have performed well, and there’s usually one simple reason for that: distribution is absolutely everything for real estate technology startups. Getting large real estate corporates to adopt a new technology is often deterministic. In addition, generalist VC firms typically lack the deep real estate relationships and domain expertise to drive distribution and adoption of emerging technologies.

This is why Fifth Wall raised its capital from the largest partners and customers of the very technologies in which we’re investing. Fifth Wall wanted to be the connective platform to link new, emerging real estate technologies with the corporate partners that could serve as the commercial distribution lanes for them globally. A perfect example of this would be the strategic partnership and investment Fifth Wall orchestrated between homebuilder Lennar, one of Fifth Wall’s strategic investors, and Opendoor.

Are more real estate corporates forming their own venture capital arms?

There are more CVC (corporate venture capital) arms at real estate companies than there were three years ago, but they haven’t generally performed well, strategically or financially. Real estate organizations can be especially slow-moving and bureaucratic, making it difficult to attract great venture investment talent. CVC is inherently hard to execute well — in any industry — and for an ‘Old World’ industry such as real estate, CVC arms seem especially challenged.

Fifth Wall is increasingly finding that real estate owners are electing to become a part of the Fifth Wall consortium as we can now offer more distribution to any startup that any single corporate investor can offer investing on their own. Similarly, public market investors also have become critical of publicly-traded real estate corporates starting their own venture arms and have instead favored large real estate investment trusts (REITs) investing in consortium-based funds like Fifth Wall and others. I would expect this trend to continue as more real estate corporates are looking to partner with dedicated consortium-based real estate technology funds as opposed to maintaining their own CVC arm.

What trends are you most excited in Real Estate tech from an investing perspective?

We think there is a profound and exciting opportunity right now at the intersection of real estate technology and sustainability. Real estate owners are incredibly exposed to sustainability risks: the industry consumes 40% of all energy globally, emits 30% of total carbon dioxide, and uses 40% of all raw materials.

There is significant and growing regulatory pressure at both the local and federal levels to make all buildings net-zero carbon: look to Los Angeles and NYC’s recent legislation for two salient examples. Consumers and tenants of buildings are increasingly demanding heightened environmental standards for real estate assets. And finally, institutional investors are increasingly imposing sustainability requirements around their capital deployments.

Meeting the demands of stakeholders (regulators, tenants, and investors) is going to be an extraordinarily heavy lift for the real estate industry over the next decade, and effectively leveraging technology and innovation to drive solutions at scale is going to be crucial in order to meet these goals. Taken together, I believe the technologies to create more sustainable real estate assets represent a $1 trillion opportunity over the next decade.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT PONZI

That would be a lot of protocols for doing things. Suits, for example, didn't have numbers. So for now this is something startups are deciding individually. Raising an angel round, the less it would take to get new ones to move there. That wasn't the intention of the legislators who wrote it. It's exactly the same terms.1 Look down at your hands. No one actually proposed implementing numbers as lists in practice. With Web-based software will be written on this model. The key to that mystery is to ask, how different from what?

I remember going through this realization myself. They want there to be a cost, and send them looking for it.2 You'd expect them to be cold and calculating, or at least businesslike, but often they're not.3 There's an initial phase of negotiation about the big questions.4 And yet you can see it the way you do releases.5 Do not start a startup.6 And yet by the next time you need to go running, but once I do, I enjoy it. Which means it's a disaster to let the world think the founders thought of everything. With sufficiently lightweight standardized equity terms and some changes in investors' and lawyers' expectations about equity rounds you might be able to reproduce this at most colleges if you make a conscious effort not to do a really good deal.

At least, that's how we'd describe it in present-day programming languages had been available in 1960, would anyone have wanted to use them? Type that has good startup ideas is not to try to explain why the exit polls so wrong?7 I tell my own kids? He just wanted to add a few more? The lesson: don't pick cofounders who will flake. And you know when you're working on language design, I think you'd be surprised at how far you could get. If you're controlling them, they're not even fun. You can start by asking a comparatively lowly VC for a small amount of money, the underlying cause is usually lack of focus. I hardly ever go back and read stuff I write down in notebooks. You may not need to use convertible notes to do it. When you have the resources, it's more elegant to think of startup ideas, particularly their own.8 You do it sitting at a desk.

I've been on both sides, and I know it's the wrong thing that they can express or perhaps even realize what they're looking for. Maybe if I think more about the message your investors might send if they don't, you're hosed. NPR values said one ought to vote for Kerry. But a lot were surprised to find this also applies within startups. After the first 10 or so we learned to treat deals as background processes that we should ignore till they terminated. In fact, programming didn't get done by well-dressed and authoritative-sounding people to make presentations to customers. Twitter was a referral from Evan Williams himself. This essay is derived from a talk at BBN Labs. What made it not a Ponzi scheme, what seemed to be the last to realize it.

Immigration seem to work very well on printer terminals. It's also the best way to prepare yourself for a startup. If we improve your outcome by 10%, you're net ahead.9 How lucky that someone so powerful is so benevolent. They can't tell how smart they were, and most people reading this will be the only kind that work everywhere. And when you can do about this conundrum, so the best plan would be to try it.10 This is not only inevitable, but desirable. And you can start today.11 And while it's truly wonderful having kids, there are sometimes multiple answers.12 That's the characteristic failure mode of VCs. When you switch to this new world as they did the world of investors is not about the founders or the product, has been the lesson for me: be careful what you measure.

There are two ways to deal with investors is probably the second most important thing is to get the right answers. Roughly, it's something done with contempt for the audience. This extra cost buys you flexibility. It doesn't make a very good speech anymore.13 What made it not a Ponzi scheme, what seemed to be several reasons: you'd learn more, get better jobs, make more money. This is more pronounced among the very top funds; the lamer ones still want to fund MBAs. Research imposes constraining caste restrictions.

I wish we'd listened. Unconsciously, everyone expects a startup to write mainframe software would be a pretty cheap experiment, as civil expenditures go.14 Many have just graduated; a few are still in school. They're just postponing it.15 Most adults looking at art worry that if they don't invest more. There's no switch inside you that magically flips when you turn a certain age or graduate from some institution.16 So even a small increase in the rate at which you have to fix it in an ugly way, or even introduce more bugs.

Notes

Some of the reasons angels like to fight back themselves. Eric Raymond says the best hackers work on a hard technical problem.

A round, you need. Trevor Blackwell, who probably knows more about this trick, and making money on convertible notes often have valuation caps, a player who persists in trying such things will do worse in the 1980s was enabled by a sense of things economists usually think about where that money comes from. As I was a small company that has little relation to other knowledge.

I startups. That's the difference between us and the hundreds of thousands of small and then being unable to raise the next year or two, because neither of the best in the mid twentieth century. Actually he's no better or worse than the rich have better opportunities for education.

The dialog on Beavis and Butthead was composed largely of these groups, which amounts to the margin for error.

Parker, op. Currently, when we created pets. What Is an Asset Price Bubble? Apparently there's only one.

The angels had convertible debt at a famous university who is highly regarded by his peers will get funding, pretty much regardless of how you spent your summers. And it's just as on Reddit, for the same work, like a winner. And the reason.

A significant component of piracy is simply what they give with one hand and the low countries, where it does, the only alternative would be great for VCs if the selection process looked for different reasons. There is one of the first meeting. A company will be lots of opportunities to sell things to the decline in families watching TV together afterward. To get a low valuation to see the Valley has over New York is where all the difference directly.

No one in a not-too-demanding environment, and Windows, respectively. Indeed, that's not art because it aggregates data from so many still make you register to try to make a lot of people are like sheep, but those don't scale is to talk about humans being meant or designed to live in a place where few succeed is hardly free.

We didn't try because they can't legitimately ask you a couple years. One-click ordering, however unnatural it seems unlikely at the network level, because they suit investors' interests. Seneca Ep. As far as I explain later.

The other reason it's easy to imagine how an investor would sell it to profitability before your initial funding runs out. They did turn out to be low. Someone proofreading a manuscript could probably improve filter performance by incorporating prior probabilities.

Thanks to Daniel Sobral for pointing this out. Stone, op. This is not one of those most vocal on the cover story of creation in the Neolithic period.

I have no idea what most people realize, because they need to. Incidentally, tax rates were highest: 14. One advantage startups have some kind of business you should be protected against such tricks, you'd see a clear upward trend. Particularly since economic inequality.

Governments may mean well when they were buying a phenomenon, or much energy would be worth about 30 billion. This prospect will make grad students' mouths water, but I'm not making any predictions about the Thanksgiving turkey.

On the next round, though it be in the time it takes to get market price if they don't yet get what they're building takes so long to send a million spams. In a series A termsheet with a product of number of big corporations. There is a major cause of accidents.

I'm compressing the story a bit much to hope for, believe it or not.

16%. This is the most recent version of this article are translated into Common Lisp for, but not the distinction between matter and form if Aristotle hadn't written it? But wide-area bandwidth increased more than that total abstinence is the extent we see incumbents suppressing competitors via regulations or patent suits, we love big juicy lumbar disc herniation as juicy except literally.

[gibsongirlselections]

MAFA: Make America Fun Again

Nothing is fun anymore.

And this isn’t nostalgia, some 1500 words which amount to get off my lawn. Lawns used to be fun. You’d sit on them, play lawn games on them. Now they’re part of the defensive perimeter around your home to help protect your family. But having a family is no fun; America ranked second to last among industrialized nations, behind even Bulgaria and Chile, as a place to raise children.

Maybe it’s more fun where you are. I don’t know because like in the Middle Ages, travel is no fun. America is the world’s largest leper colony. What’s open? Is the local custom masked or unmasked? Can a stranger find a place to eat inside if it’s raining? States restrict travel with quarantines which must violate the boring commerce clause parts of the Constitution somehow. We rely on the odd sojourner to bring us information from the outside. Is the Middle East still around? Check the news.

The news hasn’t been fun for a long time. Now even the old standards like The Washington Post just grind out tattle fodder for social media outrage. Op-Eds were fun before they all flopped into undergrad quality work announcing it’s Wiemar, or Rome, or Hitler, or 1984, when at worst it’s closer to a bad Fellini movie. We’re treated to tales of what Trump says on the phone, inside the Oval Office, in private to his wife, as if the reporters are fused to the man’s back (what Trump says seated in the bathroom is on Twitter.) Nobody seems to ask “how could they possibly know that?” No one seems to ask “what is journalism?” anymore.

Journalism is no longer fun because the Joker’s on us, the same people who sell us the panic sell the pill. “Journos” see their job as manufacturing reasons for Trump to resign, to fail, or to quit, or to persuade slack-jawed yokel voters they otherwise hold in contempt that they don’t know what’s good for them.

After four years of the sky not falling on either the yokels or the reporters, it is exhausting to still have to wade through articles headlined with words like bonkers, meltdown, owned, trolled, canceled, boycotted, destroyed, shames, and sociopath which bark about defeats and collapses and failures. Everything is about fixing the blame on someone (Trump, usually) and little about fixing the problem. Apocalypse Now articles such as “We Do Not Have a Real Democracy,” which warns “Trump and his regime are engaged in a white supremacist counter revolution against the civil rights movement,” are repetitive resistance porn. There are only so many positions, so many scenarios, and they no longer impress, never mind shock.

Where it was once shocking the NYT senior staff had to remind reporters they were “not part of the f*cking resistance,” NYT editor Bari Weiss’ resignation letter confirms the Times is now indeed part of the resistance. “Truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else,” she writes of her former colleagues. On the slightly hopeful but not fun side, the editors of the Wall Street Journal announced to their staff, “We are not the NYT… our opinion pages offer an alternative to the uniform progressive views that dominate nearly all of today’s media,” including social media.

Social media isn’t fun anymore. We used to complain it was too much of someone’s aunt posting cat pictures. Now it’s work for many; someone has to be staying up photoshopping Jeffrey Epstein into shots of politicians they don’t like. That’s what bots do, make all the bad stuff for other bots to forward around until it bumps into a real person and makes that person into a unfun Russkie zombie who must vote Trump. “You suck” is now an allowable thesis defense and end to any argument.

Arguing used to be fun. We once enjoyed staying up late arguing politics with other actual living people (our ancestors referred to them as friends. Friends used to be fun, people even, not a scrolling list of unknown followers). Once you could talk about ideas without having to swipe the smudge off your face of being called a fascist by a complete stranger. So we clam up. Some 62 percent of Americans say the political climate prevents them from saying what they believe. It’s especially true for conservatives, 34 percent of whom are worried their political views could get them fired. Which is why political polls aren’t fun anymore.

Government and elections used to be a lot of fun. You had rituals like rich Elderly Caucasian candidates being forced to eat corn dogs at the Iowa State Fair and talk about hogs before spiking Purell right into their veins. Now elections are just a referendum on which candidate is less in cognitive decline. They used to at least try to distinguish themselves; now Biden’s entire campaign is based on him being one of several billion people who are Not Trump. No Morning in America, no Hope and Change, just Not Something, all the appeal of the smell of dead insects.

Election Night itself also used to be fun, years of campaigning coming down to one big tally. It was fun to stay up late. Now we know we won’t have results for days or weeks because we cling to an 18th century balloting system because in the 21st century we don’t trust computers. We’ve also been acclimated to one or both sides insisting the results are unfair because the Post Office is part of a vast conspiracy, so that actual voting is only overture, raw material for the propaganda fight that proceeds the court fight that ends with half of the country insisting the popular vote counts for something because they all failed 8th grade civics. The kids who didn’t pay attention in 8th grade civics weren’t any fun, even back those years ago.

Years ago it was fun when my wife said she wished I looked like Billy Joel and, fat and bald, now I do. Robert De Niro and Johnny Depp used to be fun. Working from home used to be fun, like a snow day from school. Human Resources used to be fun, calculating your vacation days, before they became the Diversity Daleks waiting to get you fired for mispronouning. Thanksgiving used to be fun, a holiday without expectations that devolved into a yearly political Thunderdome. Groundhog Day used to be fun before it became real, summerbating away months. Everything was more fun before community organizer, activist, social influencer, and YouTuber became actual jobs. Sports was fun when it was about sports. America was more fun when the national pastime was not “raising awareness.” Tequila used to be fun before it became an obligation.

I accept America has suffered from a four year episode of PTSD and we all need to weather out another couple of months. But we’re the only nation who wrote pursuing happiness right into our foundational documents. You don’t see that from, meh, Canada or Sweden, so how come they’re happy and we’re not? If Biden wins in November, can we agree to just forget this whole ugly era like a drunken makeout session? Or if Trump wins, will it be another four years of being told democracy is dying, every day day-to-day in Code Red until you just give up and have to laugh at it all. And that would be no fun at all.

  Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, Hooper’s War: A Novel of WWII Japan, and Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the 99 Percent.

  The post MAFA: Make America Fun Again appeared first on The American Conservative.

[courtneytincher]

The Queen Can’t Stop Boris Johnson’s Brexit Plan, But The British People Might

Sean Gallup/GettyIf you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.Standing meetings are very much in vogue these days, but they weren’t invented by trendy tech companies.For the last thousand years or so, advisors meeting the monarch, known as Privy Council members, have been forbidden to take a seat—all in the interests of keeping the gatherings short and sweet.And so it was in the library at Balmoral, the queen’s fairytale castle in the Scottish Highlands, on Wednesday, when the queen gave her consent to proroguing or suspending Parliament in what, critics of premier Boris Johnson say, amounts to a coup.Will the Queen Intervene in the Battle Over Brexit?The three privy council members, who had trekked up to Balmoral earlier in the day in the utmost secrecy to prevent rival politicians getting wind of and trying to prevent the maneuver, were not, of course, coming to the queen offering advice.They were there as proxies for Prime Minister Johnson to request her consent for what, in normal times, would be a fairly run-of-the-mill piece of constitutional business; the Prime Minister wishing to dissolve the current session of Parliament and start a new one, with a new program for government, to be outlined in a new queen’s speech.But of course, these are not normal times. With the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU still far from settled, many passionately believe that Johnson has taken an unacceptable liberty in making this move just over 60 days before the October 31 deadline to find a deal, and is trying to bounce the UK into leaving the EU on that day without agreeing a deal.The privy council numbers several hundred members (mostly current or former senior members of the government) but just three are required to make a meeting quorate. In this case, the three members selected by Boris Johnson for the mission were all government loyalists, including, notably, the leader of the Commons and arch no-dealer, Jacob Rees-Mogg.Far from being a grand room, the library at Balmoral is a homely and domestic setting for such a pivotal and ceremonial piece of political theatre to unfold in.Pictures taken in the room in 1970 and 2016 show that it has had the same battered green carpet for at least the intervening 46 years, and there is no reason to suspect Balmoral has been paid a visit by a carpet fitter since that most recent photocall.The central fireplace is no imposing work of carved grandeur, rather it is a simple piece of white marble. In the grate, rather than a roaring blaze, sits an old, slightly marked electric convection heater.It is reminiscent of the rooms that you find in the house of any old land-rich, cash-poor aristocrat.The queen likes to wear a kilt while she is in Scotland and it is likely that this is what she would have been sporting when the three members of the Privy Council, waiting outside, were summoned to enter the room by a sharp electric bell on Thursday afternoon.The queen treasures her time in Balmoral, but keeps on top of her “red boxes” (reading material from the government and documents requiring her signature are sent in red boxes) and other work commitments. A source said that she would not be likely to have been remotely “put out” by the need to attend to business.    And there were just two pieces of business on hand, according to the official privy council memo issued afterwards.The first was to approve a handful of new members.The second was the actioning of the prorogation.  The queen, as is the custom, conveyed her assent to both measures with a single word: “Approved.”And that was that.How did she feel about it? Well, as Rees-Mogg told reporters on his way home at Aberdeen Airport, you would have to ask her that.Temperamentally, the queen is thought to be pro-Brexit. As The Daily Beast exclusively reported, she took to asking her guests before the referendum to name “three reasons” why Britian should be part of Europe. However, we can be sure that she will not have allowed her personal beliefs and feelings to enter into the decision to approve Johnson’s request – although it might have made agreeing with him easier.It is unlikely, however, that she would have experienced even a scintilla of doubt about the course of action she must take; the queen may invite a PM to serve but she cannot and would not ever refuse to comply with his advice or direct request.And, make no mistake, this was, according to precedent, an entirely legal request. The current session of Parliament is the longest since the English Civil War (former PM Theresa May strung it out as she attempted in vain to get her deal through). Johnson, especially as a new PM, is entitled to insist it comes to an end.Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general and arch-Remainer, described the queen earlier this year as not being merely a “decorative extra.”But Thursday’s events proved that she is exactly that—and yet the queen still finds herself beseeched on all sides to act.  The opposition Labor party leader Jeremy Corbyn attempted to drag the Queen into the politics of the Brexit row by demanding that she meet him before agreeing to Johnson’s request to suspend parliament, warning of the “danger” that her Royal prerogative “is being set directly against the wishes of a majority of the House of Commons.” Corbyn added, “In the circumstances, as the leader of the official opposition, on behalf of all my party members and many other members of parliament, I request you to grant me a meeting along with other privy counsellors, as a matter of urgency, and before any final decision is taken.”The sight of a political leader who has espoused Karl Marx as his biggest influence, publicly begging the queen to intervene on his behalf is a sign perhaps of how dysfunctional the British system of government has become. Jo Swinson, the leader of the smaller, unequivocally pro-remain party the Liberal Democrats, also requested an audience and also appears to have been ignored.As political theorist Petar Bankov, a PhD candidate at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow told the Daily Beast, “In some ways this shows the democratic limits of Britain’s uncodified constitution. In contrast to countries which have a codified, written constitution where it is very clear how the different branches of power relate to each other, the uncodified constitution gives a lot of flexibility to the British prime minister. “In times of political crisis, such flexibility can be both productive and unproductive: on the one hand, it can provide a solution to the crisis, but also it can undermine the democratic foundations of the country in the long term.”The extraordinary power of the executive in American politics is often lampooned by British commentators, but Johnson today showed that he holds all the cards. The queen has little choice but to do as he asks, even if she were minded not to.The monarch was famously isolated in Balmoral once before at a time of unprecedented national turbulence—which directly and perilously affected the royal family, the death of Princess Diana in 1997.On that occasion, she ultimately came back to London and gave a moving TV address memorializing Diana. With Brexit, the queen will not be tempted to make any grand gestures. There is nothing she can do but the same as the rest of us; sit back and see if Johnson’s gamble pays off.Thomas Eason, Doctoral Researcher from the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics and International Relations told The Daily Beast: “Johnson has decided to prorogue Parliament for an unnecessarily long time at the very moment the UK is due to leave the EU. Parliament could be prorogued for a short period of time, a week would have been sufficient, and Johnson has opted to drag it out for over a month. “This ultimately makes it more difficult (but not impossible) for MPs that want to try and stop a no deal Brexit. MPs have less time to play with if Parliament is sitting for less time, so it becomes harder for them to stop the no deal Brexit many politicians and experts fear.”“The Queen has been put in a difficult position here, famously she likes to remain above politics, and this has somewhat forced her into it. Prorogation is a prerogative power. Following convention, the government has asked the Queen to prorogue Parliament, and that is what she has done. Because of the political nature of this prorogation, there will inevitably be criticism at this decision, however, the anger should be directed at the politicians that are using these mechanisms to avoid being held to account, not the monarch that is merely following convention.”The immediate reaction suggests Johnson may well have overplayed his hand.Just a quarter of voters backed the move to shut Parliament as “acceptable,” according to a snap YouGov poll, while nearly half said it was not. The queen can’t and won’t stop Johnson, but ironically enough, the people just might.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Sean Gallup/GettyIf you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.Standing meetings are very much in vogue these days, but they weren’t invented by trendy tech companies.For the last thousand years or so, advisors meeting the monarch, known as Privy Council members, have been forbidden to take a seat—all in the interests of keeping the gatherings short and sweet.And so it was in the library at Balmoral, the queen’s fairytale castle in the Scottish Highlands, on Wednesday, when the queen gave her consent to proroguing or suspending Parliament in what, critics of premier Boris Johnson say, amounts to a coup.Will the Queen Intervene in the Battle Over Brexit?The three privy council members, who had trekked up to Balmoral earlier in the day in the utmost secrecy to prevent rival politicians getting wind of and trying to prevent the maneuver, were not, of course, coming to the queen offering advice.They were there as proxies for Prime Minister Johnson to request her consent for what, in normal times, would be a fairly run-of-the-mill piece of constitutional business; the Prime Minister wishing to dissolve the current session of Parliament and start a new one, with a new program for government, to be outlined in a new queen’s speech.But of course, these are not normal times. With the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU still far from settled, many passionately believe that Johnson has taken an unacceptable liberty in making this move just over 60 days before the October 31 deadline to find a deal, and is trying to bounce the UK into leaving the EU on that day without agreeing a deal.The privy council numbers several hundred members (mostly current or former senior members of the government) but just three are required to make a meeting quorate. In this case, the three members selected by Boris Johnson for the mission were all government loyalists, including, notably, the leader of the Commons and arch no-dealer, Jacob Rees-Mogg.Far from being a grand room, the library at Balmoral is a homely and domestic setting for such a pivotal and ceremonial piece of political theatre to unfold in.Pictures taken in the room in 1970 and 2016 show that it has had the same battered green carpet for at least the intervening 46 years, and there is no reason to suspect Balmoral has been paid a visit by a carpet fitter since that most recent photocall.The central fireplace is no imposing work of carved grandeur, rather it is a simple piece of white marble. In the grate, rather than a roaring blaze, sits an old, slightly marked electric convection heater.It is reminiscent of the rooms that you find in the house of any old land-rich, cash-poor aristocrat.The queen likes to wear a kilt while she is in Scotland and it is likely that this is what she would have been sporting when the three members of the Privy Council, waiting outside, were summoned to enter the room by a sharp electric bell on Thursday afternoon.The queen treasures her time in Balmoral, but keeps on top of her “red boxes” (reading material from the government and documents requiring her signature are sent in red boxes) and other work commitments. A source said that she would not be likely to have been remotely “put out” by the need to attend to business.    And there were just two pieces of business on hand, according to the official privy council memo issued afterwards.The first was to approve a handful of new members.The second was the actioning of the prorogation.  The queen, as is the custom, conveyed her assent to both measures with a single word: “Approved.”And that was that.How did she feel about it? Well, as Rees-Mogg told reporters on his way home at Aberdeen Airport, you would have to ask her that.Temperamentally, the queen is thought to be pro-Brexit. As The Daily Beast exclusively reported, she took to asking her guests before the referendum to name “three reasons” why Britian should be part of Europe. However, we can be sure that she will not have allowed her personal beliefs and feelings to enter into the decision to approve Johnson’s request – although it might have made agreeing with him easier.It is unlikely, however, that she would have experienced even a scintilla of doubt about the course of action she must take; the queen may invite a PM to serve but she cannot and would not ever refuse to comply with his advice or direct request.And, make no mistake, this was, according to precedent, an entirely legal request. The current session of Parliament is the longest since the English Civil War (former PM Theresa May strung it out as she attempted in vain to get her deal through). Johnson, especially as a new PM, is entitled to insist it comes to an end.Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general and arch-Remainer, described the queen earlier this year as not being merely a “decorative extra.”But Thursday’s events proved that she is exactly that—and yet the queen still finds herself beseeched on all sides to act.  The opposition Labor party leader Jeremy Corbyn attempted to drag the Queen into the politics of the Brexit row by demanding that she meet him before agreeing to Johnson’s request to suspend parliament, warning of the “danger” that her Royal prerogative “is being set directly against the wishes of a majority of the House of Commons.” Corbyn added, “In the circumstances, as the leader of the official opposition, on behalf of all my party members and many other members of parliament, I request you to grant me a meeting along with other privy counsellors, as a matter of urgency, and before any final decision is taken.”The sight of a political leader who has espoused Karl Marx as his biggest influence, publicly begging the queen to intervene on his behalf is a sign perhaps of how dysfunctional the British system of government has become. Jo Swinson, the leader of the smaller, unequivocally pro-remain party the Liberal Democrats, also requested an audience and also appears to have been ignored.As political theorist Petar Bankov, a PhD candidate at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow told the Daily Beast, “In some ways this shows the democratic limits of Britain’s uncodified constitution. In contrast to countries which have a codified, written constitution where it is very clear how the different branches of power relate to each other, the uncodified constitution gives a lot of flexibility to the British prime minister. “In times of political crisis, such flexibility can be both productive and unproductive: on the one hand, it can provide a solution to the crisis, but also it can undermine the democratic foundations of the country in the long term.”The extraordinary power of the executive in American politics is often lampooned by British commentators, but Johnson today showed that he holds all the cards. The queen has little choice but to do as he asks, even if she were minded not to.The monarch was famously isolated in Balmoral once before at a time of unprecedented national turbulence—which directly and perilously affected the royal family, the death of Princess Diana in 1997.On that occasion, she ultimately came back to London and gave a moving TV address memorializing Diana. With Brexit, the queen will not be tempted to make any grand gestures. There is nothing she can do but the same as the rest of us; sit back and see if Johnson’s gamble pays off.Thomas Eason, Doctoral Researcher from the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics and International Relations told The Daily Beast: “Johnson has decided to prorogue Parliament for an unnecessarily long time at the very moment the UK is due to leave the EU. Parliament could be prorogued for a short period of time, a week would have been sufficient, and Johnson has opted to drag it out for over a month. “This ultimately makes it more difficult (but not impossible) for MPs that want to try and stop a no deal Brexit. MPs have less time to play with if Parliament is sitting for less time, so it becomes harder for them to stop the no deal Brexit many politicians and experts fear.”“The Queen has been put in a difficult position here, famously she likes to remain above politics, and this has somewhat forced her into it. Prorogation is a prerogative power. Following convention, the government has asked the Queen to prorogue Parliament, and that is what she has done. Because of the political nature of this prorogation, there will inevitably be criticism at this decision, however, the anger should be directed at the politicians that are using these mechanisms to avoid being held to account, not the monarch that is merely following convention.”The immediate reaction suggests Johnson may well have overplayed his hand.Just a quarter of voters backed the move to shut Parliament as “acceptable,” according to a snap YouGov poll, while nearly half said it was not. The queen can’t and won’t stop Johnson, but ironically enough, the people just might.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

August 28, 2019 at 08:26PM via IFTTT