#world mobile phone market

[techfeeddata]

The global smartphone market is in decline this year for the third time in a row

The global smartphone market is in decline this year for the third time in a row

Samsung maintained its lead with a 22% market share, boosted by major stock-reduction promotions. The global smartphone market suffered its third straight decline this year amid turbulent global economic conditions. The smartphone market fell 9% in the latest quarter at the end of September compared to the same period a year earlier. Credit: Canalys “The gloomy economic outlook has led consumers…

[tecdisha]

OpenAI's ChatGPT Voice Mode Finally Arrives—But Why Is Everyone Talking About It?​

OpenAI has unveiled a game-changing update—"ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode". This much-awaited feature allows users to have natural, real-time conversations with the AI, almost as if they were speaking with a person. But while many are excited, the update has raised eyebrows about "privacy", "security", and the ethics of giving AI a voice. Here's a deep dive into everything you need to know about "ChatGPT’s voice feature", how it will transform your experience, and why it's causing such a stir.

Read complete article

[coolreallifes]

How to Choose the Best Broker for Stock, Forex, and Crypto Trading in 2024?

Navigating the world of trading can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to selecting the right broker to meet your trading requirements. Whether you’re interested in stocks, forex, or cryptocurrencies, the choice of broker can significantly impact your trading experience and success. In this post, we’ll explore the key factors to consider when choosing a broker and introduce you to ForexJudge.com, a reliable resource that offers comprehensive reviews and detailed analysis of the world’s best brokers.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Broker

Regulation and Security:

Ensure the broker is regulated by a reputable financial authority. Regulation provides a level of security and oversight, protecting you from fraudulent activities.

Look for brokers that offer robust security measures, including encryption and two-factor authentication, to safeguard your funds and personal information.

Trading Platform:

A good trading platform should be user-friendly, reliable, and equipped with essential tools for analysis and trading.

Consider whether the platform offers mobile compatibility if you plan to trade on-the-go.

Fees and Commissions:

Compare the fees and commissions charged by different brokers. Lower fees can significantly enhance your profitability, especially if you trade frequently.

Be aware of hidden fees, such as withdrawal charges, inactivity fees, or charges for additional services.

Range of Assets:

Ensure the broker offers the range of assets you’re interested in trading. If you plan to diversify your portfolio, choose a broker that provides access to stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies.

Some brokers specialize in specific asset classes, so make sure your chosen broker aligns with your trading preferences.

Customer Support:

Reliable customer support is crucial, especially if you encounter issues with your account or trading platform. Look for brokers that offer multiple support channels, including live chat, phone, and email.

Check reviews to gauge the quality and responsiveness of the broker’s customer service.

Education and Resources:

Many brokers offer educational resources such as tutorials, webinars, and market analysis. These resources can be invaluable, especially for beginners.

A broker that provides regular market updates and trading insights can help you stay informed and make better trading decisions.

How ForexJudge.com Can Help

With so many brokers available, making an informed choice can be challenging. This is where ForexJudge.com comes in. ForexJudge is a trusted platform that has compiled detailed reviews and analysis of the world’s best brokers. By providing comprehensive information and user feedback, ForexJudge helps traders make well-informed decisions.

Detailed Broker Reviews

ForexJudge offers in-depth reviews of brokers across various asset classes, including stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies. Each review covers critical aspects such as regulation, fees, trading platforms, and customer support. By reading these reviews, you can gain valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of different brokers, helping you choose the one that best meets your needs.

User Feedback and Ratings

In addition to expert reviews, ForexJudge features user feedback and ratings. This community-driven aspect allows traders to share their experiences and provide honest assessments of brokers. This real-world feedback can offer a clearer picture of what to expect and help you avoid potential pitfalls.

Regular Updates and Alerts

The trading world is dynamic, with brokers frequently updating their services, fees, and policies. ForexJudge keeps you informed with regular updates and alerts, ensuring you have the latest information at your fingertips. This proactive approach helps you stay ahead of the curve and make timely decisions.

Making the Final Decision

When choosing a broker, it’s essential to consider your trading goals, risk tolerance, and preferred asset classes. By leveraging the resources available on ForexJudge, you can make a well-informed decision that aligns with your trading strategy.

Steps to Follow:

Identify Your Needs:

Determine what you want to trade (stocks, forex, crypto) and what features are most important to you (low fees, robust platform, educational resources).

Research and Compare:

Use ForexJudge’s detailed reviews and user feedback to compare different brokers. Pay close attention to factors such as regulation, fees, and customer support.

Test the Platform:

Many brokers offer demo accounts. Use these to test the trading platform and ensure it meets your needs before committing real funds.

Start Small:

When you choose a broker, start with a small investment to test the waters. As you gain confidence and experience, you can increase your trading capital.

Conclusion

Choosing the right broker is a crucial step in your trading journey. By considering factors such as regulation, fees, trading platforms, and customer support, you can make an informed choice that enhances your trading experience.

For a reliable resource in your broker selection process, turn to ForexJudge.com. With its comprehensive reviews, user feedback, and regular updates, ForexJudge provides the insights you need to make the best decision for your trading needs.

Happy trading, and may your investments be fruitful!

[enbycrip]

This is doubly the case for *actual* accessibility aids, which are so often far out of the reach of actual disabled people, the majority of whom are kept deliberately in poverty by “state disability benefits” being kept deliberately below the poverty line and workplaces being unwilling to provide the reasonable accommodations that would allow disabled people to work.

I had a remote job for 8-15 hours a week during lockdown, when everything was forced to be remote. Even on the lowest hours, I made about as much monthly as my usual social security payments.

Of course, once things opened up again, my workplace, a grassroots charity, was forced to merge with a larger charity and my job was lost. Finding another salaried remote PT job that allows me actual freedom to choose my hours and doesn’t involve phones has been pretty impossible.

It’s also notable how many incredibly helpful accessibility aids are proposed and made as prototypes by large corporations to showcase their skills, but never actually go into mainstream production. They are basically fancy PR and marketing campaigns.

Sedgeway, notably, started out as a plan to build a modern wheelchair that could handle the inaccessibility of the world, but once the designer started getting excited about marketing it, he dropped the idea of making it an accessibility aid and started aiming it as “a revolution in personal mobility” at wealthy abled people who could already navigate the world perfectly fine. (I highly recommend the Sedgeway episode of Tim Chambers’ Cautionary Tales podcast on Pushkin for the entire story.)

[misseviehyde]

INSTITUTIONALIZED

Michael was smart - real smart. But he also knew that he lived in a society full of institutionalized racism that made it harder for a black kid like him to make it in the white world.

He wanted to go to University, but he knew he would be competing against a lot of spoiled white kids and his family didn't have enough money to support him through even the cheapest college.

True he could skip college and get straight to work but he didn't want to end up like his Uncle Luther who was a petty criminal and a bad role model.  Just this morning Luther had woken Michael up and demanded he hide a cache of guns in the house.  Michael was afraid of his uncle so he had obeyed.

It was whilst he was looking through the guns, wondering what he had gotten into and where to put them where his Mom wouldn't find them, that he came across a weird looking blaster.  It looked more like something from a science fiction film than a real gun so he found a serial number on the base and googled it on a black market page.

The info read - "The Costume gun. Stolen hi-tech weapon. Turns anyone fired at into an empty skin that can be worn to allow a person to adopt their identity. Highly dangerous experimental weapon. Can cause identity dysmorphia."

Michael was astonished. He checked a bit further and soon became convinced this was the real deal.  A gun that could let him take another persons identity was now in his possession.  A lot of things began to click in his mind. What if he used the gun to steal the life of a rich, privileged white person about to go to college?

It seemed evil to steal another life, but Michael was sick of being denied opportunities because of systematic racism. He could zap some dumb frat boy - study at university and then one day reverse the effect perhaps. He could work it out as he went along - he just knew he needed to get out of this life.

But where was he gonna find a frat boy?

He put the gun in his bag and went out for a walk to think it over.

It was whilst he was walking down an empty street that he saw Madison Laine - the richest bitch in the neighbourhood approaching. She was walking and talking on her mobile phone to her slutty friends whilst chewing gum. Her tight outfit left very little to the imagination - a tiny pair of daisy dukes and a tight pink boob tube.

She was the same age as Michael but they were definitely not in the same social circles. Madison went to an exclusive private school and her Daddy was a multi-millionaire oil magnate.  She was spoiled, beautiful and rich and already had a place at an Ivy League University.  He had read about her online - she was already a semi-famous instagrammer and aspiring model. Everyone in the area lusted after her in one way or another.

She was also a total bitch and as Michael approached the look of total disdain in her eyes made something in him snap. She giggled and a sneer appeared on her pretty lips. "Oh my gosh girls, I thought all black guys were fucking hot - but I just saw this TOTAL fucking nerd. What a LOSER."

Madison had quite the taste for black guys. She apparantly only fucked black cock and could be found out in the clubs cheating on her white boyfriend nearly every night. That would have turned a lot of black guys on - a perfect blonde snow bunny ready to give herself to superior men.

But Michael was sick of privileged sluts like this one treating black guys like they were either nothing, or simply big dicks to fetishize over. He walked past Madison in barely contained fury and she caught his expression and scowled.

"Hey you... you fucking nerd. How dare you like look at me like that. I'm your fucking superior and you better fucking show it."

Michael ground his teeth. "You're not my superior, you're just an over-privileged white girl that thinks she deserves all her Daddy's blood money."

"Hold on girls, I just need to deal with something," grinned Madison as she hung up. Advancing on Michael she jabbed him hard in the chest with a long acyrillic nail and giggled as he yelped in pain. "Haha, listen dork. All I have to do is make one call to the cops. 'Ohhhhh, help me help me.' Who knows what those racist fucks will do when they see me, the scared innocent white girl being pestered by you."

"You fucking bitch," snapped Michael and suddenly the gun was in his hands.

"What the fuck is that? A toy? Ohhhh this gets even better. They'll probably shoot you when they see you're 'armed'." Laughing Madison began to dial 911.

With a gasp of panic Michael pulled the trigger.

The gun whined and a pink ray leapt out and engulfed Madison. Her face turned suprised, then the beautiful slut moaned softly as her body deflated and in an instant she was just an empty skin lying on the pavement with a discarded handbag and phone next to it.

Michael felt a cold moment of panic - what the hell had he done that for?

He immediately considered flipping the reverse switch and transforming her back - but he knew full well Madison would call the cops. She wouldn't be grateful for him reversing the rays effects.

In a panic he reached down and gathered the skin. It was impossibly soft and her skin smelt amazing. Her hair was even nicer to touch and still felt warm. He stuffed the skin and all the skimpy clothes into his bag and ran home.

On the way, Michael imagined what would happen if a cop stopped him and searched him. How would he explain this situation. He felt more anger than ever.

Safe back home Michael laid Madison and her things on his bed. What was he going to do? If Madison didn't turn up, her bitchy friends and family would stop at nothing to track her down. They'd easily track her back to him and he'd be screwed. If he turned her back, she'd just call the cops on him. He had no choice... he was going to have to become Madison.

A shameful part of him was excited at the idea as he examined the tiny skin and all her girly clothes.

Michael stripped off and then picking up Madison, examined how to wear her. There was a slit down the back of the suit - so he opened it and slowly pushed his feet inside. The skin was soft and warm and his feet slid easily inside. It felt like the skin was eagerly welcoming him inside and clinging to him possessively.

It looked weird as his feet and legs slid in and Madison's skin overrode his. Not only were his legs now perfectly smooth and sexy - they were white. His feet were tiny now. Somehow the skin was making him smaller, fitting him inside. He wiggled his toes and gasped to see the ten perfectly pedicured toes wriggle with their white nails and toe rings.

"Hmmmm this feels pretty good," groaned Michael as he pulled the skin up to his waist. He thrust his cock deep inside the groin of the skin and snapped Madison's taut buttocks over his own. His cock tingled and then sensation vanished, instead replaced by Madison's pampered pink pussy - freshly waxed and shaven.

"Holy fuck I have a pussy now,"  grinned Michael sliding his fingers in and gasping as he felt them slide deep into his own velvety softness.  This was the real deal - the skin was reallt making him into a girl.

He quickly pulled the rest of it up, tugging Madison's big heavy boobs into place. They felt amazing on his body and it was weird to look down and see them hanging there - but also kind of nice. Each one was full and round. Rubbing the nipples felt good.

His whole body was tiny and curvy now. Entirely hairless. A bellybutton ring twinkled in his toned abdomen and washboard tummy.

His arms were now slender and lightly tanned, the fingers ending in slutty acryllic nails and ornamented with rings.

Only one thing was left to do.

With a tingle of excitement Michael slid his head inside Madison's beautiful face and shivered as he felt the slot on the back seal up and the suit tighten.

Blonde hair fastened to his scalp and his eyes rolled up as his voice box changed and he moaned in feminine pleasure as the suit completed transforming him into Madison.

A hot flush ran through him and his head tingled. A host of unfamiliar memories throbbed in his mind and he realised he was gaining all of Madison's knowledge and memories along with enough of her personality and mannerisms to pass safely as her. 

You naughty boy... how does it feel inside me. Good huh?

A voice seemed to whisper in Michael's head telling him he was someone else now. Someone better.

Yesssss Michael. You're a naughty white girl now - you're a slut and a bitch. Your Daddy is rich and you can be a spoiled little whore, every single day. This is what you wanted all along. You're Madison now!

Turning to the mirror the new Madison; giggled as she saw her reflection. A pretty bitch used to getting what she wanted, when she wanted it. It felt good to be Madison.

"Ohhhh fuck I feel like sooooo fucking naughty, mmmmmh I am sooooo hawt now." 

Michael smirked at how big his white titties were and how sexy his manicured nails felt. It was amazing to be this beautiful.

Yessss that's it. You're me now loser. You love being me.  Your mind is becoming my mind. Our thoughts and desires are as one. You are inside me and you never want to leave.

Muchael purred as he accepted these strange new thoughts. Whilst in the skin it was so easy to think, act and feel like a naughty bitch.  All thoughts of taking the skin off were burned away by Madison's intrinsic narcissism. Why would anyone NOT want to be her?

Michael knew inside he was still Michael; but right now Michael was enjoying being Madison too much to care. Taking control of Madison's white privilege was making him feel dizzy.

Eughhhh I have to get out of this dump and back to my mansion. I totally have plans to make and college is going to be so much fun now I'm an Alpha bitch.

Picking up Madison's phone Michael laughed delightedly as it unlocked via face recognition. Her life was his. He WAS Madison. He hadn't meant to use the gun on her, but he had and it was too late now.

"Yessss, as Madison I can have it all. I deserve to be the pampered spoiled brat who gets what she wants. Being a mean, white, brat is gonna be so much fun. No wait... what am I saying? I hate girls like Madison."

That's why you wanna be me so badly dweeb. You lust to have my white privilege and get it all. You can't fight me Michael, you're already under my control. Give yourself to me and take your place as the new Madison.

Lying on his bed Michael began to helplessly play with his new body. He was being overwhelmed by Madison's bratty personality, he was becoming her.

You are ME loser.

Michael/Madison opened her eyes and giggled. Of course she was her. Who else would she be?

Her personality now in flux she was about to play with herself some more when she suddenly heard a creak downstairs and her heart skipped a beat. Who the fuck could that be?

The answer came as the door opened and Luther suddenly walked in. He was back to collect his guns, but he gawped and looked amazed as he beheld the gorgeous white girl in his dweeby nephews room. "Hey gorgeous who the fuck are you?"

Michael was usually scared of Luther but now he was Madison, he felt different. In fact Madison felt turned on by this situation. She had never noticed how big and strong Luther was.  She bet he had a big dick too.

"Ohhhh hey, you must be Luther.  I'm Michael's friend from school Madison. In fact we're like actually we're fuck buddies. Mmmmh you see, I can't get enough of black guys you see - I love a big black cock, it's what I live for. Michael is totally average but he's still superior to some white loser."

Michael was amazed at the slutty trash coming out of his mouth - but the Madison part of him was just turned on by it. She felt her pussy get wet as Luther looked at her appraisingly and he unzipped his fly slowly.

"You little white slut - you think my nerdy Nephew is a good fuck, you should come suck on a real mans cock."

"Mmmmh like ummm okay," giggled Madison without hesitation as Luther's massive black dick flopped out and she hungrily advanced.

Michael found his mouth salivating. He couldn't control himself. He was a horny white size queen now and he needed big cock. He couldn't control his new body as Madison's instincts took control.

Meanwhile Luther groaned happily as Madison lowered herself to her knees and slid her hot wet mouth around his dick.

He had no idea his dweeby Nephew had such great taste.

Licking and stroking Luther's cock - worshiping it in delight - Madison giggled as it got bigger and bigger for her. She knew this was twisted and wrong - potentially incestuous even if Luther was a distant 'uncle', but in this skin she wasn't Luther's Nephew anymore - she was a spoiled size queen who loved a big black dick and Luther was all hers. The sense of power - of knowing Luther wanted and needed her mouth and pussy so bad was intoxicating.

Madison got to work sucking and slurping on the monster cock before her.  She had memories of sucking lots of cock - but this was actually the biggest she had ever had and of course in reality - for Michael this was his first. The skin gave him the muscle memory and skills of a practiced college cheerleader - Madison had learned to suck cock years ago and she loved to swallow cum.

Luther moaned in pleasure. This bitch was amazing. "Yesssss that's it baby. White sluts like you live to suck black dick. Work that tongue baby, suck it real good."

Yesss Michael. You really wanna know how it feels to be a slut and be me, hurry up and get that cock inside you. This monster is all yours and it's going to feel so good stretching your tight young pussy out. You're such a bad girl and you love it. At college there will be even more cock to ride. I know you can't wait. You're Madison now so enjoy it!

"Yessss I love being Madison, oooohbh I need you to fuck me Luther - I want your cock so bad," whined Madison as she finished slurping and looked at him endearingly. The voice in her head made her want to do such deliciously nasty things. "Please fuck my pussy." 

Luther bent Madison over and slapped her ass hard. She moaned and pushed her back up - presenting her tight pussy to her lover as he growled in appreciation and slowly pushed his massive cock inside Madison's super tight teenage pussy

"Ohhhhh fuck yes -  ohhhh its so big!" moaned Madison in joy as Luther began to slide in and out of her soaking pussy and thrust harder and harder into her.  It felt so good and her huge tits jiggled as he fucked the shit out of her.

Being a white slut feels good doesn't it?  You love being me.

Luther pounded Madison and she squealed as she orgasmed over his dick. Then he picked her up and fucked her even deeper till she came again.

Madison's pussy juices were dripping down lubricating his cock and making him slide so deep into her perfect pussy and fucking her felt so good. Luther couldn't take much more of this insatiable slut. She was a sex machine.

"Shit baby - I'm gonna cum," he grunted.

"Yessss do it all over my face; I want all that cum,"  begged Madison. Luther was happy to oblige and she squealed in delight as he unloaded all over her pretty face. Thick globs of warm cum erupted over her lips and her chin, dripping down onto her large firm tits.

With cum dripping over his outer body and making him feel like such a delicious whore - inside the skin Michael had accepted that this was his new life now. 

Being Madison felt amazing. The devious slut wondered whether there was even a way to make Luther appear responsible for Michael's inevitable disappearance in a few days.  Maybe she could engineer something after all she had Luther hooked now. 

"Damn girl that pussy is fine. Are you in town all summer?"

"Yeah; till I go to college. We can fuck again if you like baby?"

Luther grinned. He was all for more but he had no idea the horny slut in front of him was already planning to make it look like he killed Michael in a fit of jealousy and her Daddy's lawyers would make mincemeat out of this idiot and keep the story out of the papers. Money and white privillege always won in the end.

"Ooohhh and in the meantime we can fuck that big dick and cum all night.  Hehe we're so bad."

Michael had become exactly the sort of white privileged manipulative bitch he had always despised. As Madison he would go to University, join a sorority ride a lot of dick and party. It was gonna be fun.  Michael was now Madison and he had definitely been institutionalized.

She was gonna use the system to get what she wanted and spend her days filled with big black dick. Fetish or no fetish she was an evil blonde whore and college was going to be a blast.

THE END

[livwritesstuff]

I love steddie doing all these TikTok trends and having the kids just be general gremlins about trends I need more!!!!

ask and you shall receive, my friend

okay the exxon mobile trend on tiktok is literally everything. for those who haven't seen it - you basically call a loved one and tell them you got a job doing underwater welding for exxon mobile and listen to whoever you called flip out because that job is basically a guaranteed early death sentence. it's usually girls calling their dads and their reactions are so delightful.

Obviously, Hazel sees this trend and has to try it. Problem is - she's seventeen, in high school, lives at home, and isn't in the market for a job. Steve and Eddie would immediately see through her BS in a second.

She asks Moe and Robbie if one of them wants to try. They decide amongst themselves that Robbie should do it because she is actively looking for a job at the time, and Moe films Robbie as she makes the call.

Eddie, picking up the phone: Hello Robert.

Robbie: So you know how you're forcing me to get a job if I want to stay in New York over the summer?

Eddie: Don't love your choice in words there, but yes.

Steve: You got a lead?

Robbie: Yeah, actually. Have you heard of a company called Exxon Mobile?

ex-mechanic Eddie in disbelief that he's being asked this question: Uh, yeah.

Robbie: Okay, so they're offering this program where you go out on an oil rig and do underwater welding.

Robbie: And, I dunno, I did swim team for, like, years, so I figured it wouldn't be too hard.

Eddie: Yeah, absolutely not.

Steve, who knows nothing about this: What's the deal with underwater welding.

Eddie: It's literally the most dangerous job on the planet, pretty sure.

Steve: Jesus Christ, yeah, that's a no.

Eddie: Hon, there is a big world of opportunity out there for you.

Eddie: But it is nowhere near big enough to include this.

Robbie: But why?

Eddie: First of all - you don't know how to weld. Not a great place to start.

Robbie: I mean, I'm taking a jewelry-making class where we learned how to solder metal. That's pretty similar, right?

Eddie: About as similar as walking in a park and climbing Mount Everest.

Eddie: This one's not for you, babe.

[porcelainseashore]

The Lost Tapes (1)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Leon Kennedy x Fem! Reader

General Note: One-shots for my series Where We’ve Left Our Love. Encapsulated moments within the past and future lives of Leon x Reader in no particular order. Follows the Resident Evil Remake timeline.

Chapter Summary: It’s about time that you got over the loss of Leon for your own good. You’ve settled in Berlin, your dance career is on the rise and you’re looking forward to a nice dinner date, but something keeps pulling you back.

Content Warnings: Mild smut or suggestive themes, grief and mourning, suicidal thoughts, drinking, referenced drug use, and depending on how you see things, hurt/comfort or hurt no comfort.

Shoutout to RainyKennedy for suggesting the topic of Reader's grief for this one-shot!

AO3 Link

Chapter 1: All That Remains

“So, who’ve you been messaging with?” One of your co-dancers teased, as she suddenly appeared behind your back, tapping your shoulders playfully, startling you.

“Jeez!” You exclaimed, holding your mobile phone close to your chest in surprise. “Don't scare me like that!”

“Sorry,” she laughed, while shrugging indifferently. “But seriously though, who…?” She pressed on further, while circling to your front and plopping down onto a chair in front of you.

Blushing, you turned away from her prying gaze and shook your head.

“It’s that guy, isn’t it?” She squealed. “The one Silje introduced us to.”

You sighed, knowing you weren’t particularly good at keeping a poker face when it came to such matters. Nonetheless, you felt a pang of guilt rising from your stomach and blooming in your chest. It had been ages since you’d been on a date. The first few times you tried, it ended disastrously, with you excusing yourself to leave before it was even over. Despite it being years after the Raccoon City incident, things were somehow still too raw and no one you had dated so far could hold a candle to him.

Leon. He was all you could think about in times like these. What would he say to this? What would he have wanted you to do? To go on, you supposed. Live your own life. Yet, nothing could shake off the unbearable feeling that what you were doing was like an immense betrayal.

Everything reminded you of him. A flash of dirty blonde tresses when you crossed the street, but when the figure turned around, it was foreign. A waft of his favorite cologne in a crowded market, but it belonged to someone else. Blue - the only color you could describe in a thousand words. Deep blue, lightning blue, everything washed in shades of blue. Like when you were on holiday and stood at the edge of the ocean, feeling the warm breeze against your skin and tasting the salt in the air. You remember getting lost in those cerulean eyes of his, reflecting the surface between sea and sky. But now, the colors of the world you inhabited just appeared muted to you.

You couldn’t even bear to listen to music both of you loved anymore. Little things set you off. Silly phrases he had once said, endearing terms of affection he had called you. You probably should’ve seen a therapist at this rate, but you just kept plodding along. Like you always did. You’d go through a period of intense grief, coming out of it safe and sound, floating in the lull of a wave, and waiting for the next cycle to start again like a rollercoaster.

During the bad times, you’d try to drown out the memories in hedonistic parties with your new lot of friends and a cocktail of drugs. You were afraid of being alone, sitting in the dark in your empty apartment, consumed by your thoughts. On the outside, you were able to keep up your façade. Your career was on the rise and Silje had helped you to settle in. However, inside, you were breaking bit by bit. It was exhausting to keep feeling things, but some part of you didn’t want to forget. You couldn’t. 

Perhaps you were cursed. You wondered if it would always be like this. Being condemned to repeat the same course of events again and again, like Groundhog Day. Time heals all wounds, they said. You wanted to believe in that shabby scrap of reassurance. That was all you had to go on these days, so you latched onto it desperately, reciting it like a mantra in your head.

“Hello?” Your co-dancer called out with mild irritation. “Are you even listening?”

“Hm, what?” You replied apathetically, reluctant to drag yourself out of your ruminations and return to the conversation.

“Ugh, never mind!” She snapped, though she fell back to her spirited, carefree self once again. “When’s the date anyway?”

“Tonight.”

“You don’t sound so enthused,” she remarked, raising an eyebrow. Leaning forward, she whispered in your ear, “I heard he comes from old money.”

Your face twisted in disgust. “I couldn’t care less about that.”

She held her hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, I was just saying that he checks all the right boxes earlier, when you weren’t paying attention. This is just a bonus!”

“Some bonus indeed,” you scoffed.

Ignoring you, she continued, “I mean, he’s obviously quite the poet with those long, flowery messages he keeps sending you.” She motioned to your phone, as you rolled your eyes. “He’s also very handsome, polite, charming-”

“Alright, enough,” you interrupted, shifting in your seat uncomfortably. “You don’t have to keep convincing me.”

Grabbing your shoulders to catch your attention, she looked you dead in the eye with a knowing smile. “I’m just looking out for a friend here.” She rubbed the back of them supportively. “You said there was a guy back home you couldn’t let go of. But this is your life now - a new place, a new chapter. Don’t you think you deserve to move on?”

Did you? You weren’t sure how to answer that question.

“Maybe,” you mumbled, so quietly that you almost couldn’t hear yourself.

━━━━━━━━━━━

A lone, black satin dress hung in the corner of your wardrobe, which was as bare as your apartment. People might have mistaken you for a minimalist, but truth be told, you had been in a rush when you left your home country a few years ago, paired with a grubby rucksack which carried only the bare essentials and some memories you couldn’t let go of.

You never bothered to fill your flat up, preferring to live frugally in this respect instead. The few pieces of furniture you had were what you found in second-hand shops or from random strangers who had left their stuff on the streets ‘zu verschenken’ (to give away).

As you slipped the dress over your head, smoothening it out across your body, and applied the first touches of makeup to your face, you daydreamed about how you had even landed in this position in the first place. When Silje introduced her patron, Mikkel, to you and the rest of your co-dancers hanging around outside in the foyer after a show, he had gravitated towards you. Maybe because you were shy, or you were holding back, unlike the others, who had greeted him excitedly. Perhaps he found the sense of mysteriousness you gave off alluring. 

You remember him being well-mannered and kind, not too pushy, and you talked at length about the performance piece, its symbolism, art in relation to politics and capitalism, and the like. He was engaging, and you couldn’t find any fault with him, except he just wasn’t the boy you had fallen in love with. However, you figured it was stupid to keep putting Leon on a pedestal, where other men that came after had to be judged according to such an impossible standard. So after a few drinks, you accepted Mikkel’s request and gave him your number willingly. It wasn’t long before he asked you out for dinner.

The phone on your table vibrated. You were almost done with getting ready. You smudged the rouge tint along the edges of your lips to create a softer look, before glancing at the screen of your mobile.

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?’

You smiled and shook your head. He was trying to be a gentleman as usual.

‘I’m all good, thanks for the offer though.’

‘Alright, I can’t wait to see you.’

Tucking your phone into your evening purse, you draped a light shawl over your shoulders and eased your battered feet into a pair of heels. A dancer’s feet are always ugly, you remarked, laughing ruefully to yourself.

Then, you heard a tiny voice from the back of your mind pipe up, No, they’re not. 

You could feel it again, that lingering pressure on the soles of your feet, as Leon’s hands worked through the knots skillfully each time you’d been so beat from rehearsals. You tipped your head back against the wall and relaxed, trying to stifle a moan.

Let it out, baby.

It was as if he were in the room with you. You shivered, running a hand over your mouth to your neck as you tried to get a hang of yourself. Shaking it off, you leaned against the cool, metallic door frame for a moment before shutting down the lights in your apartment and venturing out into the city night.

━━━━━━━━━━━

Taking a huge gulp of the white wine that Mikkel had ordered to start with, you fidgeted in your seat awkwardly. Like a fish out of water, this world was unfamiliar to you. Of course, he had chosen one of the most expensive restaurants in town, detailed with pristine white tablecloths, a mind-numbing set of cutlery you had to figure out how to use, and a menu adorned with mostly French words you didn’t quite understand. People were dressed to the nines, the service was impeccable and there was even a live pianist for entertainment. 

You gazed up at the grand, dazzling chandelier hanging in the middle of the room that blinded your vision. To be honest, you would have preferred a rustic, family-owned Italian restaurant. Something down-to-earth and homey, not lofty and pretentious where everyone was performing a part in this spectacle you were witnessing in front of you. Pretending to laugh at each other’s comments, clinking their glasses together, ordering wines which cost an eye-watering amount.

Leon wouldn’t have-, you stopped yourself. This wasn’t the time to bring the topic up again.

“Would you like some recommendations?” Mikkel asked, almost apologetically, as if he detected your discomfort.

“Oh, um, yeah,” you mumbled sheepishly, ducking your head behind the tall menu to avoid his eye contact.

Was he embarrassed by you? You were an outsider in every sense of the word. Your parents would have been pleased for you to get to know him. They would have considered him a real catch. But you weren’t them. And this wasn’t their life. You thumbed the end of the napkin resting in your lap nervously.

He stretched out his hand, placing it over yours. “I’m sorry.”

“Wh- What for?” You sputtered. “No, it’s fine. It’s beautiful here,” you tried to gush. “I mean, thank you for taking me to this place. Really.”

He gave you a side smile, appreciating your attempts at salvaging the situation, though he was well aware of the blunder on his part. “We could go somewhere else, if you want.”

The next thing you knew, you had been whisked off to a more modest restaurant nearby, where you instantly felt at ease. Mikkel mentioned it was no trouble at his expense, he just wanted you to enjoy yourself. It was all that mattered to him. You found him sweet and especially attractive, when he loosened up a little and the strands of his sleek black hair fell across his face.

Maybe this time you’d move on, you mused hopefully, ignoring the sinking feeling in your gut that told you otherwise.

Throughout the meal, your witty exchanges with Mikkel flowed. One drink led to another. You laughed at his jokes, rosy-cheeked and eyes glittering with amusement. The warm glow of the mood light cast shadows across the room, giving it a sultry vibe. Both of you ordered another round of drinks, and chatted merrily until it was closing time. It felt premature to end the night there and so, you allowed him to accompany you back to your place.

If you had an award for the most confusing point in time of your life so far, this would’ve taken the cake. As he kissed you against the door of your apartment, all at once you had the foreboding feeling of dread of what was to come, and yet pleasure, like you had been craving for someone’s touch for so long.

“Do you want to-”

“Mm hm.” You cut him off just like you disregarded the conflicting feelings and tepid apprehension bubbling to the surface. You weren’t going to risk giving yourself another chance to question your decision. 

You wanted this. You deserved it.

Scrambling for your keys, you slotted them into the lock and stumbled through the entrance, as he shut the door behind him. He couldn’t keep his hands off you, while you made your way to the bed, falling backwards onto it, as he continued planting kisses all over your body. You shuddered, as the memories came flooding back-

The times Leon had allayed your self-doubt and comforted you with soft words and kisses…

His calloused hands, worn from police academy training, absentmindedly stroking your bare skin…

The searing heat of the sun against your face as he sucked and nibbled at the sensitive spot on the base of your neck…

Every cry and gasp you ever uttered as you felt him inside you…

“So beautiful…” Who was saying that now? The waters had been muddied and it felt like you were caught between time and space, unable to separate fiction from reality.

When you came to, you found tears streaming down your face as you grasped onto Mikkel’s shoulders in a tight embrace, stark naked, with him on top of you, groaning your name as he came in you. You turned away from him as he pulled out, lying on your side, trying to conceal your crying, along with the absolute disgust and shame you felt welling up within you.

“Are you ok?” He asked gently, trailing his index finger along the curve of your spine. 

Your skin crawled, but you gritted your teeth in an effort to suppress the urge to rush to the bathroom to throw up, angry at yourself for what you had done. “Yes,” you lied. “It was amazing.” 

And this time, he believed you.

━━━━━━━━━━━

It took a while for you to doze off, but when you did, you were ushered into the throes of sleep. 

The cyclical nature of your breath synchronized with the rise and fall of your chest, enveloping you in a blanket of peace and tranquility despite the earlier events. Vague moving images weaved through the fabric of your consciousness, out of focus and delayed, like a grainy film.

Eventually, it settled on a still figure in bed beside you. You squinted, wondering if this was another dream or if you were wide awake in bed with Mikkel again. The flicker of a set of pale blue eyes reflecting iridescently in the moonlight suggested otherwise.

“Leon…” you whispered.

He shifted closer to you, acknowledging your presence, even though he didn’t say a word.

You swallowed a lump in your throat, realizing that you lay before him completely stripped and exposed. You couldn’t hide anything from him in this state, and definitely not what had recently transpired.

“Do you hate me now?” You asked, even though you were afraid of the answer.

Brushing your cheek with the tips of his fingers, he replied without hesitation, “I could never hate you.”

“God, I fucked up,” you choked. “I just- I just miss you so much.”

Your body jerked uncontrollably as you buried your face in your hands, letting out heart-wrenching sobs. How could you? The words spun round on repeat like a broken record in your head.

You felt a pair of arms wrap around you and his chin resting above your head. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he reassured you.

“Do you still think of me?”

“Always,” you admitted openly, as you clung to the back of his neck, inhaling sharply and savoring his unmistakable scent.

He pressed his lips upon the crown of your head, kissing you tenderly. “You can leave this behind, you know?”

“I don’t want to,” you insisted.

Even if all that remained was a figment of your imagination, or an apparition that haunted you, you were stubborn. Nothing could make you give this up. So much so that you blurted out the following statement determinedly into his chest, “Take me with you.”

His breathing stilled all of a sudden, as he understood the implication behind that sentence. You were tempted to join him, wherever he was.

Pulling you up to face him on eye level, he reproached you sternly, “Baby, no.”

He gripped your chin firmly to reiterate his point. “I mean it.”

“Nothing’s helping,” you responded listlessly, as if you were begging him to reconsider.

“Time,” he offered, peering at you sympathetically, the shape of his pupils widening as he combed through your hair soothingly.

Closing your eyes, you sighed, allowing yourself to melt in his touch, despite your disbelief. “That’s what everyone says.”

“Remember when we were at Huntington Beach?”

You blinked, gazing at him curiously. “How could I forget it?” 

It was one of the most blissful days you had with Leon. A quick weekend getaway, before both you headed in separate directions to your respective colleges again. You could smell the crisp, briny sea so distinctly, as if it were only yesterday. 

He flashed that wide, boyish smile you adored. “We had so much fun, didn’t we?”

You couldn’t hold back a chuckle at the memory. “We did.”

Caressing your cheek and then your lips, he promised, “That feeling… it’ll come back again. It just takes time.”

It just takes time. The very same words you had used to comfort him back in high school, telling him to let his eyes adjust to the pitch black darkness.

Although it seemed entirely out of reach for the moment, you knew that the world would open up to you at some point. You just had a ton of shit days lined up in front of you, like an endless maze, and you were growing tired of mustering the strength to confront them.

An unwanted thought crossed your mind. How long would he stay? You started to panic.

“Leon,” you pleaded. “Please don’t go.” Your eyes glistened, as fat droplets spilled down onto the sheets.

He bit his lip, and you saw that his face too, mirrored yours, streaked and wet with tears.

“I’ll be right here.” He cupped his hand over your heart, as you felt his phantom touch for the final time, before he was gone.

━━━━━━━━━━━

When you awoke, it was the brightest time of the day, with the noon light streaming into the bedroom through the gaps in your curtains. The bed was empty, but Mikkel had left you a note. In it, he apologized for leaving early as he had an appointment to attend to which he couldn’t back out of. As you had slept like an angel, he didn’t want to wake you.

Upon checking your phone, you saw another message from him.

‘Last night was special. I would love to take you out again. How about next Friday?’

You paused, re-reading the text over and over until the words started to jump and blur. Your thumb hovered over the buttons of your mobile, as you pondered your next steps. You exhaled deeply, and with a swift tap, you pressed delete.

[solarpunkbusiness]

Musana Carts: Solar-powered business in Uganda opts for open source IP over patenting

Taking its name from a Ugandan word for ‘sunshine’, the Musana cart uses an in-built solar panel to power an eco-friendly stove and a small refrigerator. By removing the need for charcoal burning, the Musana cart produces far less smoke than other food vendor carts, ensuring a cleaner and safer experience for both workers and customers. Other innovations include light bulbs, to allow the vendor to work at night, and phone chargers, so that they can offer mobile money services.

The decision not to patent the Musana cart could have been seen by Nataliey and the team as a setback, but it instead encouraged them to return to their original vision and mission of social innovation: making the livelihoods of Africa’s street food vendors cleaner, safer and more sustainable.

They realized that the more people who had access to their cart designs, the better, and that patenting their invention could restrict access. On this basis, they decided to open source their IP so that vendors across Africa were free to improve their lives through their innovation. When IP is open source, it means that other people and groups can freely use, modify and share it.

After several years of selling to vendors, Musana Carts is already having a positive impact in Kampala. The solar-powered food carts have proved to be cleaner, more hygienic and more sustainable than traditional charcoal-fueled food carts. The Musana cart’s in-built lighting allows vendors to work at night if they choose, giving them an opportunity to earn more. Musana carts can be purchased in installments, making them more accessible to poor workers. The company has also teamed up with Kampala Capital City Authority to ensure that Musana carts are legally recognized, freeing vendors from the risks and uncertainties of working in the informal economy.

Although she sees the value in patent protection in more economically developed countries, where the legal framework is in place to ensure that an individual can be remunerated for the use of their innovation or invention, she knows first-hand that this is much harder to establish in African markets. Consequently, Nataliey encourages female inventors not only to monetize their innovations in their markets, but to share them outside of their capacity as well.

Equally importantly for Nataliey, however, is the philosophy behind open source IP. When there are so many challenges facing the world, she argues, no one individual or organization can satisfy every market need. She feels that there’s room for many to thrive. Furthermore, Nataliey believes that open sourcing can incentivize further innovation by allowing people to build on each other’s inventions. It’s the concept of cooperation, codependence and community at the heart of the African philosophy of ubuntu: ‘I am, because you are.’ Nataliey’s hope is that her company’s use of open source IP will help make this concept a reality for street food vendors across Africa.

A case study on open source innovation from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

[caelwynn]

Caelwynn's Mod List for Stardew 1.6 - Gameplay/Quality of Life (pg 3)

Page 1. Page 2. Page 3.

Useable Community Center — allows you to make use of the appliances at the community center after its completion.

Activate Sprinklers — lets you activate sprinklers by right-clicking them.

Adjust Baby Chances — allows you to adjust the percentage chance your spouse(s) will ask for a baby.

Better Quarry Redux — improves the spawn rate of geodes, ore, and gems in the quarry.

Better Winter Star Gifts — reduces the number of 'dud' gifts at the Feast.

Farmers Market — turns the grange displays at the Stardew Valley Fair into a little farmers market.

Happy Home Designer — overhauls the catalogs and integrates Alternative Texture packs.

Heart Event Helper — shows how dialogue options impact friendship.

It's My Farm I'll Pass Out If I Want To — if you pass out on your farm, you no longer get hauled off to Harvey's. Allows you to configure consequences for passing out at home.

Last Day to Plant — puts up a little message on the last day you can plant something and still be able to harvest it.

Marnie's Auto-Petters — allows you to purchase auto-petters from Marnie.

Mobile Phone Continued — adds in a mobile phone that allows you to call NPCs/allow them to call you. Also lets you re-watch previous heart events.

Mobile Arcade Continued — adds the arcade games Prairie King and Junimo Kart to your phone.

Mobile Phone Themes — adds different background and one skin for your phone.

Mobile Television Continued — allows you to watch today's tv from your phone.

Precise Furniture — lets you adjust furniture pixel by pixel.

Reset Terrain Features — useful for if you add in a new map mid-save.

Smart Building — a more sims-style UI for placing fences, floors, furnaces, etc.

Stack Everything Redux — allows you to stack things that aren't normally stackable, such as furniture, tackles, and wallpaper.

The Return of Immersive Scarecrows — allows you to place scarecrows in and amongst your crops without taking up a tile.

The Return of Immersive Sprinklers — same as above, just with sprinklers.

Tree Spread — prevents trees from spreading on your farm.

World Maps Everywhere — allows you to access all of the world maps from the map window instead of just the current area.

CJB Item Spawner — allows you to spawn any item in the game. Useful for cheating for respawning an item that bugged.

Event Music Volume — allows you to set different volume levels for the music between heart events and regular gameplay. Never again miss out on hearing a concert cutscene because you had turned the music down for your own soundtrack.

The Masterpost for all of the mods is located here.

[tozettastone]

My social media accounts are like, tumblr and, improbably, bluesky. A couple years back my boss was like, "[Tozettastone], I know you don't like this, but you can't work for years on a marketing team this small and avoid getting a LinkedIn profile. You really should have a LinkedIn profile. If nothing else, we need you to manage the company pages."

So any time someone from the — uh, the real world? Meatspace. — asks to connect with me on social media, they're like: "Hmm. I have... Insta? No? Threads? Huh. X? I guess not... well, Snapchat? Facebook?"

A few years ago I'd have told them, you can have my mobile phone number. SMS me. No, I shall not change my ways.

But I'm not going to lie to you, beloved mutuals, it's been something of a relief to now finally be able to go, "Oh! You can connect with me on... ✨ LinkedIn ✨?"

Because this gives the impression that, instead of being a neurotic shut-in who survived the covid lockdowns (in Melbourne) without ever getting on mainstream social media, I am in fact just incredibly boring. This is the impression I aspire to deliver to as many meatspace people as humanly possible.

[tecdisha]

How AI is Shaping the Future of Content Marketing: Key Trends and What to Expect​

As technology continues to advance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a major driving force across industries, including content marketing. Brands are constantly seeking innovative ways to connect with their audience, and AI is transforming the strategies that marketers use to achieve this. To stay competitive in the world of content marketing, it’s essential to understand how AI is reshaping the landscape and the exciting trends emerging in this space. Read full article here

[youareinlovetv]

you wake up. you get out of bed to your alarm set on your phone, and go downstairs to eat breakfast. you decide to go on tumblr for your morning scroll while eating, and find that the ads have gotten more frequent now. they’re all for mobile games. and you can’t mute them because there’s no mute button. you decide to go to youtube to watch a video instead but remember that you have to skip 2 15 second ads just it watch, with 10 ad breaks in an 8 minute video.

you get up and finish getting ready, and go drive to work. on your way, you see dozens of billboards advertising medicine, restaurants, and other things. you turn on the radio to be bombarded with an ad break that feels longer and longer each time you turn on the radio. you open spotify instead and find out your premium subscription expired because you forgot to pay it. no worries, you don’t need it! you shuffle your playlist and after the first song plays, 3 30 second ads play back to back, with the most annoying sounds possible. after your ad break is over, spotify teases you and gives you a 10 second ad saying how you should buy premium.

you arrive to work and open your email inbox to find that half of it is spam, filled with ads and offers for services, dumb skin care products, fake deals on stores. you close your email and decide to listen to a podcast while you work. 5 minutes into the podcast, without warning, the hosts go into an ad break and talk about their new sponsor. this goes on for 5 minutes more. you turn off the podcast and decide to work in silence until you go home.

on your way home, you see the same billboards teasing you like they did in the morning. you don’t get tempted.

you decide to go to the store to get a sweet treat for yourself for all the work you did today. as you’re checking out, the cashier asks if you want to join their rewards program. you say no. they insist. they describe all the “offers” and “benefits” of the program. after saying no 6 times, and waiting 5 minutes, they stop trying. you leave the store.

you go home and decide to watch a show. you open your streaming service to find that they demoted you down to an “ad-supported” tier, and to get no ads again, you have to pay a higher price. but it shouldn’t be that bad. you start playing the show, but 5 minutes in an ad break comes on. it lasts 5 minutes. there’s 6 ad breaks throughout the 44 minute episode. you quit watching after the 2nd break.

you decide instead that maybe you can watch some tiktok to unwind, but that was a bad decision. half of your for you page is cluttered with sponsorships, temu-grade products, and livestreams of people baiting for money.

you close tiktok and think about how boring your life is, so you google “things you can do to make your life less boring”. the first 10 results are all ads for amusement parks that cost too much money and games that also cost too much money. after scrolling through the ads, you find articles with lists of ideas, but by #100 they start repeating the same ideas, but with different wording. you closed the tab after seeing the 6th pop up asking you to subscribe to their email list.

maybe you can read a book! you’ve already read all your physical books, so maybe you can read one of the books you got for your kindle. you pick up your kindle and see an ad on the screen for some dumb product. you put the kindle down and decide to go to bed early.

laying down in bed awake, you wonder how we got this way. how riddled our society is with marketing, corporations, and ads. why everyone wants to sell you something. why instead of making something you love and sharing it with the world, you ruin it with greedy marketing schemes and tactics.

but you can’t do anything about it, can you?

you close your eyes and try to sleep.

you dream about a world without greed, and realize that it’s never going to become a reality.

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Good Boy...Elijah

Elijah Kamski x wife!reader

warning : +18, smut, oral fem, collar, fake dogs ears (is that a thing?), ,,tighter’ outfits for elijah, praise kink

Summary : After a phone call from Elijah and a meeting place that wasn't the shared property outside of town, the pink neon lights shine down on her as she makes a special discovery at the Eden Club…a new anrdoid model comming from personal experience.

Info : I got the motivational bust of the century after this wonderful POST from @thatsthewrongwallcraig and puppyboy Elijah is now a thing ;) Have fun reading

cover from me (proud of this one ngl)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Detroid, a city of millions full of human and machine inhabitants. A major city in Michigan, a city that became world famous after Elijah Kamski, the inventor of androids, the next life of evolution, the father or god.

He was a man who was initially seen as a nerd with long hair, a thick beard and square glasses, but this was several years ago and he was rarely seen at global events or at the annual Cyberlife Expo when new models and gadgets were presented...and until now he had always caused a surprise at the convention.

But the call on her mobile phone just as she was about to put the coffee to her lips was just such a surprise. Turning her attention from the projections showing her new romance novel, a pleased expression came to her lips.

,,What's new Nerdy?’ she asked, smirking at the nickname she had given him and even if he didn't admit it, his suppressed grin said a lot. ,,I'll send you an address, I've got the new android ready...and please hurry darling it's a bit awkward“ she heard his reply quieter not normally loud and in the background she could hear music but it was too quiet for the radio or an open place like a concert.

Above all, Elijah was not a person who appreciated publicity, so where was he? Just as she was about to ask if he was in the Cyberlife headquarters, he hung up and she saw his location pop up a few seconds later.

Why are you in the city? And then in the district? she asked herself, packing up her things before heading out the door to the dark car a few minutes later. Transferring the instructions and location to the car, it drove off on its own while she wrote him a few more messages, which he didn't even read.

The drive from her studio didn't lead to their shared house, neither to the main quarter, nor to the rich neighbourhood where he occasionally hosted small events...instead it led to her surprise.

It was a surprise to arrive in the late afternoon in front of the open Eden Club, whose bright pink colours barely stood out during the day. Leaving the car parked, she got out a few moments later and made her way across the street towards the establishment.

She knew the club everyone knew the club a discreet place for a lot and a little money a place for an android or the whole place everything was just for the short stay. You brought out models like this several years ago, why a new one? she asked herself, not quite knowing why he had built and developed a new sex android.

The models three years ago with improved extras and even better memory loss were more than good, so what could he have now? Going in through the sliding door past the Andorids in the glass tube-like boxes.

She knew the models she had designed with Elijah, nice looking and someone you'd enjoy spending the night with...or just a few hours with before you had to return to the unpleasant reality.

Ignoring the speakers and dancing androids, she looked around her, vaguely remembering the opening of the club as she stood next to her husband, a smile and champagne as they cut the ribbon and the pinkish colours of the club came on...that night was one she felt the next day and so did he.

,,Miss. Kamski how nice that you are here ehm your husband is in room sixty-nine he has something for you’ she heard a voice she had heard before the owner a sleazy man who knew something about marketing the brothel. ,,Thank you the new android model will be good for you too thank you“ she said faster than necessary and moved towards the room seeing in the reflection of the glass that the man retreated to his office-it was better that way she only liked him to a limited extent.

Looking around one last time, the door opened as she put her hand on it and Elijah granted her access as well. Stepping inside, a bluish pink light seemed to transform the room almost like water. She recognised the music but was surprised to see only a switched-off android model standing in front of the small table that was the least illuminated by the light, on which, as far as she could tell, were two glasses of champagne.

,,Elijah? Are you there?" she asked just loud enough to be heard in the room, which was the most expensive and had a small extra area as far as she could remember, a room with extra toys and clothes. ,,Darling, would you do me a favour and close your eyes, I'd like to try something,’ she heard his voice and realised he must be in the extra room, his voice slightly muffled by the extra door.

At first she hesitated and almost wanted to laugh the situation was almost obstruse the couple from Detroid in a brothel with androids and she should close her eyes. ,,All right... but don't scare me,’ she warned and closed her eyes, seeing in the dark the dim lights that were still switched on, she heard the door open and muffled footsteps on the carpet floor with the silver ornaments.

She almost flinched when she suddenly felt his hand on hers, ,,Don't look at me darling...so nervous?’ he asked and she could just see the sly smile on his lip in her mind's eye.

She was about to say something when she felt the gentle kiss he gave her, something he only did when he wanted to apologise. ,,Apology accepted,’ she told him and felt the gentle squeeze on her hand as he signalled that all this was probably necessary for his latest creation...or so she thought.

His hand gripping hers felt him move hers and she tried to slowly piece together the image in her head as she felt the latex material under her fingers.

A mock shocked ,,Elijah how inappropriate“ he released her hand and she slid her hand over the fabric feeling it was the latex top that was cut for the male androids covering the chest and leaving room for teasing which she promptly tried out. Moving her fingers slowly upwards over the lower part, she felt his nipples underneath, which she ran over with a light pressure.

She took in his amused grin when he didn't do anything and let her do it, eliciting an excited sigh from him as she was almost kissing over the tight fabric. He let a restrained ,,D-Darling’ escape and let her continue for a moment before he almost shakily took her hand again, ,,Don't want to end all the fun just yet,“ he said and this time pulled her into a more intimate kiss, but she didn't feel his hands on her as if he was voluntarily holding back.

As if he was getting at something specific, but what? Slowly withdrawing from the kiss, she let her hand wander further down Elijah didn't seem to mind either.

She seemed to sense his anticipation, which was emphasised by his half-hardness. ,,It's all because of you," he assured her, exhaling almost shakily in anticipation as she stroked his bulge, holding it out for a moment until suddenly her hand was on something soft.

Wondering, she paused and groped slightly in front of her, noticing the texture of hair and something soft...like fur. She opened her eyes and saw Elijah kneeling in front of her, his black hair covered with a pair of dog ears made of black and white fur.

His upper body was crowned by the tight latex top and the tight pants spoke for themselves. But the thing that brought warmth to her cheeks, apart from the cute-looking ears, was the leather collar around his neck.

,,HR500 activate yourself,“ he said and she saw the android open its eyes and the light flickered from yellow to blue and she now saw the special feature. ,,Dog ears and optionally cat ears in various designs, plus a collar and a few extra things,’ he introduced and made an inviting gesture towards the new android.

Letting her hand wander over Elijah's new ears in praise, she walked towards the human-like technology that was waiting for her orders.

She ran her hands curiously over the dog ears in all grey and almost heard a sigh from the android who seemed to have changed. ,,He has different variations from submissive to dominant depending on your preference and all the new compunents are extra sensitive," Elijah explained as he watched his wife take care of the new android.

She pulled on the collar and the man immediately got down on his knees and looked at her expectantly, his cheeks slightly flushed and impressed by the sexual glamour in the machine's eyes.

,,You've outdone yourself again...and I suppose programmed from personal experience,“ she said with a grin and stroked the android's cheek as he cuddled up to her and seemed to beg for more. In the reflection of the wall, she sensed that her husband also wanted the attention he was getting.

,,Very personal experience, fantasies and your own neediness,’ she added and a smile came to her lips as she pulled away slightly from the android and an idea occurred to her. ,,Undress me honey,“ she ordered and saw Elijah about to stand up, but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

The android nodded, ,,As you wish miss,“ he replied and little by little the clothes were removed from her body until the skilful fingers opened her bra and she told him to stop.

,,A good boy learns to wait, Elijah,“ she surmised and gave the HR500 a rewarding kiss, which he returned, much to the chagrin of her husband, whose hands held on to the floor to keep from touching himself.

Before she let go of the Andoirdne and disappeared into the small extra room. After searching for the object and giving an ,,Eyes closed darling’, she came back into the room, saw that he had heard her and stood in front of him again.

The click was heard as she attached the matching leather leash to the silver hook on the ring that was on the collar. Giving him a little more of the leash she sat down on the bed and slid a little towards the headboard before pulling on the leash.

Elijah looked at her almost joyfully and crawled onto the bed with her. She saw in his blue eyes how he looked at her, like a sculpture, a painting, an invention, a being he cherished since they were together, he always looked at her as if she was the most precious thing on this planet.

The same sexual lustful glamour that was in the android's eyes was also in the eyes of her husband, who only came crawling towards her when she pulled on the leash. ,,Good boy,“ she praised and stroked his soft furry ears before giving him some leash again and letting him make up for the day in one way or another.

He immediately took advantage of this and began to kiss his way up her legs, leaning back with pleasure as the soft cushions held him gently and invitingly and her hand, which was not on the lead, stroked his head and ears every now and then in praise.

,,I'm going to be a very good boy just for you,’ she heard his muffled comment as he stood just between her thighs, his fingers gently moving her legs slightly apart and his fingers roaming over her clothed centre. Her sigh of pleasure let him know he was doing a good job.

Not teasing her, not stalling, not luring her like he normally would in a normal night together. It was almost funny, a man who had brought about the new evolutionary stage rightly had a bit of a god complex and loved to take what he liked but if you looked closer he was to her her sweet Elijah was a man who wanted attention and love with a collar around his neck and cute soft dog ears on his head.

His kisses were cautious as he felt his way around, knowing what each other liked, but she liked his new way. ,,You're doing well...go on,“ she encouraged him, seeing the flash of pleasure on his face before he put his fingers to her underwear and slowly pulled the fabric from her body, letting it fall to the floor.

A tug on the leash, however, made him almost whimper as she didn't let him touch her yet and demanded another kiss.

A kiss in which she ran her hand over his body, taking advantage of the tight fabric and a gasp went round the room as she pinched his nipples lightly, the fabric only allowing a little movement and she saw his knuckles turn slightly white as he held on to the white bed linen. Moving down to his now hard cock she stroked it harder than before and his hips moved slightly trying to get more of the friction.

After a few moments, however, she pulled back and grasped his chin, ,,You're not a rude street dog, are you?“ she admonished and saw him shake his head hastily and quickly cuddle up to her hand, ,,No-no, I'm a good promise,“ he said and after she sought his gaze one last time, she released him and let him continue.

Leaving the leash on, he kissed his way down her body, nuzzling her breast for a moment before caressing the soft skin of her thighs.

Pushing them slightly apart and finally placing his fingers on her centre, she had rarely seen him so restrained, normally she would feel his hands on her hips and he would give her head until he had what he wanted.

A tantalising image of her hand going to his head and gently pressing down, ,,Don't make me wait any longer, will you?“ she said, and he complied immediately. She was already slightly wet and his tongue ran over her little bundle of nerves without any problems, he took it slowly but just enough so that it wasn't hesitant.

They both knew that he knew exactly how to react but in his new role he was the inexperienced poor boy. ,,Mhh that's good, go on,“ she encouraged him and dropped her head back into the kisser as he began to stroke her clitoris, the bundle of nerves next to him being caressed by his fingers. Before he used his other free hand and she felt him slowly insert first one and then two fingers into her.

It was nothing to compare with his dick, but that wasn't the point here, they both knew that. It was his restraint, his obedience, his taking of power to obey her commands and be her servant.

Something he could only rarely do here as she looked without him, her blue eyes dark from the little light, her lips reddish from the kiss and with a slight almost wet sheen from her wetness, her cheeks an almost dark red, he had never looked more beautiful and pathetic.

She stretched out towards him and got more of him, his movements slowly intensifying and accelerating. The sound of her moans and words of praise mingled with the squeaking wet noises that blended with the soft music and she sucked in her lip to make another excited sound as she thought of them being watched indirectly.

As the andrid still stood there watching her for an order, a sign or a gesture. But she liked it, she liked to be watched, to be desired by Elijah and everyone else, it was addictive.

A fact that not only struck her, but Elijah was also too lost in his rhythm, too attached to her body to give her his best while he took everything like a repentant dog rubbing against the bed. He licked and sucked what he could get his mistress to give him while the words of praise that left her lips seemed to be enough.

The moment dragged on, the climax approached and she felt her body tremble slightly, her back arching slightly. ,,Ah El-Elijah-good good boy,“ she moaned, her eyes closed in pleasure, her lips slightly open and her fingers pulling harder on his hair.

It only took a few more moments before her last loud moan went through the room and her body fell straight into the tangled sheets of the bed.

Releasing the leash slowly and convulsively, she pulled Elijah even closer to her, who lingered between her legs for a moment before pulling back with a satisfied sigh. ,,Thank you, darling, for this praising performance,“ she heard him say and felt his hand on her belly as he lay down next to her.

He gently stroked her body and played with a strand of hair as she slowly turned to him and took off his collar and lead. ,,You've been such a good boy," she praised and pulled him into a brief kiss that made him smile, ,,So the new android model is good,” he realised and smiled, which she did. She pulled the blanket over both their bodies and looked at the collar before throwing it in with her things.

,,The android will be a bestseller for everyone and the toys... aren't we just keeping them my good boy?“ she asked and laid her head on his chest and he stroked her and nodded in agreement.

,,Besides, you seem to have enjoyed the attention from our friend,“ he winked and pointed at the android, whereupon she felt the warmth rising on her cheeks and poked him lightly in the side.

,,You were kneeling in front of me with those ears and the collar and leash,“ she protested and flicked at the fur ears he was holding protectively, but she could still see his red cheeks. Before she felt him wrap his arms around her and hug her close, ,,Well, let's do it again,“ he said before pulling her into another kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How Amazon transformed the EU into a planned economy

Amazon is a perfect parable of enshittification, the process by which platforms first offer subsidies to end users until they’re locked in, then make life good for business customers at users’ expense, until they’re locked in, then claw back all the value they can for themselves, leaving just enough behind to keep the lock-in going.

In a new report for SOMO, Margarida Silva describes how the end-stage enshittification of Amazon is playing out in the EU, with Amazon repeating its US playbook of gouging the small businesses who have no choice but to use the platform in order to reach its locked-in customers, making European customers and European sellers poorer:

https://www.somo.nl/amazons-european-chokehold/

The mechanism for this isn’t a mystery. Amazon boasts about it! They call it their flywheel: first, customers are lured into the platform with low prices, especially through Prime, which requires pre-payment for a year’s shipping, which virtually guarantees that customers will start their shopping on Amazon. Because customers now start their buying on Amazon, sellers have to be there. The increased range of goods for sale on Amazon lures in more buyers, who lure in more sellers, with both sides holding each other hostage:

https://vimeo.com/739486256/00a0a7379a

This flywheel creates a vicious cycle, starving local retail so that customers can’t get what they need from brick-and-mortar shops, which funnels sellers into offering their goods for sale on Amazon. The less choice customers and sellers have about where they shop, the more Amazon can abuse both to pad its own bottom line.

There are 800,000 EU-based sellers on Amazon, and they have seen the junk-fees that Amazon charges them skyrocket, to the point where they have to raise prices or lose money on each sale. Amazon uses both tacit and explicit “Most Favored Nation” deals to hide these price-hikes. Under an MFN deal, sellers must not allow their goods to be sold at a lower price than Amazon’s — so when they raise prices to cover Amazon’s increasing fees, they raise them everywhere:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/

It’s not hard to understand why Amazon would raise its fees: the company has an effective e-commerce monopoly. Like Ozymandias, they have run out of worlds to conquer, and so their growth has to come from squeezing suppliers and/or raising prices, not from bringing in new customers. This is likewise true of mobile companies like Apple and Google, who have run out of people who are so excited about incremental mobile hardware gains that they’ll buy a new phone every year, which means that growth has to come from squeezing app vendors:

https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2023/06/09/Pixel-4-to-7

This is likewise true of the streaming companies, which is why Netflix is cracking down on “password sharing”:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/02/nonbinary-families/#red-envelopes

It’s true of the movie studios, which is why they want to zero out their wage bills by replacing writers with automatic plausible sentence generators that will write stupid movies that they think we’ll still pay to see because there won’t be anything else:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/06/people-are-not-disposable/#union-strong

It’s certainly true of Uber, which is why they’ve double the cost of a taxi ride and halved the wages they pay drivers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Monopolies “grow” by making their customers and suppliers worse off. But they have to be careful about this: if it’s obvious that you’re using your market power to screw buyers, you can get in trouble with competition regulators. That’s because the only part of antitrust law that the neoliberal project left intact is “consumer welfare” — the idea that monopolies should only face enforcement when they raise prices and/or lower quality:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/10/play-fair/#bedoya

This focus on price-hikes has given monopolists a free hand to squeeze suppliers and workers, because a monopolist — from Walmart to Amazon — can claim that squeezing your workers and suppliers is necessary to enhancing consumer welfare. The less you pay to produce a product, the cheaper you can price it.

When a company has a lot of seller power, we call it a monopolist. When it has a lot of buying power, we call it a monopsonist. No one ever made a bestselling, family-destroying board game called “Monopsony” so most people haven’t heard of the concept. But monopsony is every bit as dangerous as monopoly, and monopsonists find it far easier to acquire market power than monopolists. Few suppliers can afford to have even 10% of their sales disappear overnight, so a buyer who accounts for 10% of your sales can demand deep discounts and other favorable terms.

Amazon is a monopolist, but it’s also a very powerful and ruthless monopsonist. For example, its audiobook division, Audible, has a 90+% market-share, and it used that market-power to steal at least $100m from audiobook creators, in a scandal dubbed Audiblegate:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/07/audible-exclusive/#audiblegate

For Europe’s 800k sellers who rely on Amazon to reach their customers, the monoposony conditions are blatant and shameless. Take listing fees: Amazon’s “flywheel” pitch claims that as the company grows, it achieves “economies of scale” that can lower its cost basis. But Amazon’s listing fees haven’t changed, even as the company experienced explosive growth in the EU (remember, sellers whose Amazon fees exceed their margins have to pass those fees onto buyers, and also raise their prices everywhere else to satisfy the Most Favored Nation requirement).

Amazon books the revenues from these fees — and other junk-fees it extracts from sellers — in Luxembourg, an EU member nation that provides a tax haven to multinational businesses that want to maintain the fiction that they operate their businesses out of the tiny kingdom. There is sharp competition in the EU to offer the most servile, corrupt environment for multinationals, and Luxembourg is a leader, along with Cyprus, Malta and, of course, Ireland:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

But at least listing fees haven’t gone up, unlike other fees, which have climbed sharply. Amazon falsely claimed that its additional revenues from fees were the result of growth by independent sellers, which Amazon pegged at 65%. Later, the company admitted that the true growth figure was 22%. Meanwhile, fees are up 85%.

The true growth figure might be lower still. Amazon refuses to show the math behind its growth figures, or even say which sellers and sales are included in the figure.

The SOMO report cites research by Juozas Kaziukėnas of the e-commerce research firm Marketplace Pulse, who finds that sellers are now giving 50% of their gross revenues to Amazon, an increase of 10% over the past five years across the whole EU. However, different EU (and ex-EU) countries have experienced much steeper increases in fees — in the UK, fees have nearly doubled (up 98%), and in France, fees more than doubled (up 115%).

Many of these increases come from the Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) program, which is promoted as an optional service, but which is really obligatory — careful research shows that sellers who warehouse, pack and ship their own goods get banished to the depths of search results, even if they have ratings, costs and times that are competitive with FBA. This is especially true of the “buy box” that lands at the top of most searches. The company refuses to disclose how buy box positioning is determined, but 90% of products in the buy box pay for FBA.

Amazon has used excuseflation to hike its FBA prices, blaming higher energy prices for price hikes that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and blaming covid for price hikes that predated the pandemic.

Italy’s competition authority did yeoman service in uncovering the sleaze of FBA, publishing an investigation that showed that Prime and buy box made the notionally “optional” FBA into a must-have for merchants, meaning that Amazon could jack up FBA prices without losing business.

Another notable source of gouging came in response to the UK and France adopting digital services taxes, which were meant to make up for the tax-base erosion enabled by Luxembourg’s flouting of EU tax law. Amazon passed these taxes straight through to its merchants, without seeing a comparable decrease in the number of sellers using its platforms — an unmistakable sign of market power. If you can raise prices without losing customers, then, by definition, your customers have nowhere else to go.

I’ve previously written about how Amazon’s $31b/year “advertising” market isn’t really advertising — rather, it’s a payola scheme that auctions off the top of a search-listing to the merchant with the most to spend:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

This is how you get a simple search like “cat beds” returning results whose first screen is 100% ads, and whose next five screens are 50% ads, many of them for dog products:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2022/amazon-shopping-ads/

Auctioning off search results means that every time you search for something you want, you have to wade through screen after screen of listings for products whose vendors spent more on advertising, leaving less to spend on making quality goods.

This is as true in the EU as it is in the USA. The SOMO report shows that European merchants are required to spend ever-larger sums to show up in results for the exact products they sell, leaving them with a choice between making less money, raising prices, or skimping on quality.

But even the “winners” of Amazon’s gladiatorial combat among vendors can still lose. Amazon uses an automated product removal process that can delete some or all of a merchant’s products, without warning or explanation, and no one at Amazon will explain what a merchant did wrong. That remains true even if a vendor pays for Amazon’s “marketplace consultant” service — ask these paid Virgils why you’ve been cast into Amazon’s pit, and they’ll shrug their shoulders (and bill you for it).

And even if you can navigate the junk fees, the Kafka-as-a-service removals, the war of all sellers against all sellers for search primacy…you still lose. Merchants told SOMO that a product that survives Amazon’s gauntlet is likely to be cloned by Amazon and sold as an Amazon Basic or other house-brand product. Amazon doesn’t charge itself 50% junk fees, so it can always underprice the vendors it knocks off, and give its own products permanent top-of-search placement.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once testified under oath before Congress that this doesn’t happen — and then refused to return to Congress when multiple vendors showed evidence that he’d lied:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/18/amazon-congress-letter-third-party-data/

He definitely lied:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-india-rigging/

Amazon has faced investigations and enforcement in the EU over this, and settled a claim with a promise to “not use non-public seller data to compete with sellers,” but given the company’s record of broken promises on this score and the difficulty of catching them cheating, it’s pretty naive to think they’ll stick to this.

The report quotes Thomas Höppner, a lawyer who has represented small businesses that Amazon screwed over. Höppner says the problem is that the EU evaluates Amazon’s bad deeds on a “case-by-case” basis, missing the big picture: “By the time one identified problem was seemingly solved, Amazon had long made amendments elsewhere with the same effect. We require a more holistic approach that considers the entire Amazon ecosystem and the various interdependencies within.”

But the EU’s enforcement approach is about to change significantly. The EU just passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes a bunch of obligations on Amazon:

allowing sellers to offer their products on other marketplaces at different prices (Article 5.3),

not obliging business users to pay for one of its services in order to use its platform (Article 5.8),

limiting the way Amazon uses non-public seller data to compete with them (Article 6.2)

preventing Amazon from giving top billing in search results to its own products or sellers that have acquired extra Amazon services (Article 6.5)

The report concludes with a suite of recommendations for improving EU enforcement. First, they argue for a return to traditional competition law, abandoning the “consumer welfare standard” that is so friendly to monopsonies and their abuses of suppliers and workers.

They call for a probe into Amazon’s Most Favored Nation deals (“fair pricing policy”), the practice of sponsoring search results, and spiraling fees. They want the EU to adequately fund DMA enforcement, with “measures to prevent regulatory capture.” And they want Amazon to publish clear explanations for how search results, buy box placement, and other practices hidden behind a veil of secrecy.

Amazon will doubtless claim that disclosing how those systems work will make it easier for spammers and scammers to game their way to the top of search results. We should be skeptical of this claim — content moderation is the last domain where anyone takes the bankrupt idea of security through obscurity seriously:

https://doctorow.medium.com/como-is-infosec-307f87004563

Finally, the report calls for breaking up Amazon, forcing it to choose between being a platform seller or a platform user, calling this the only way to “prevent the conflicts of interest between its role as a platform intermediary, seller, and service provider.”

The technical term for this measure is “structural separation” — a rule that bans platform companies from competing with their business customers. This is the principle at work in the US bipartisan AMERICA Act, which would force Google and Meta to spin off the parts of their ad-tech business that put them in a conflict of interest. Right now, Googbook represents both publishers and advertisers, while operating the marketplace where ad sales take place, and they take 51% out of every ad dollar:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-shatter-ad-tech

Structural separation hasn’t really been applied in the US for a generation, but it’s gained currency in recent years, for the obvious reason that the referee can’t also own one of the teams. I was in Germany last week speaking to regulators and politicians, and they espoused skepticism that the EU would embrace structural separation anytime soon.

But they were wrong! Today, the European Commission announced plans to force Google and Meta to sell off their conflict-of-interest ad-tech lines of business, mirroring the provisions of the US AMERICA Act:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/06/google-may-soon-be-ordered-to-break-up-its-lucrative-ad-business-eu-warns/

Structural separation really is the policy we should be demanding. It’s amazing that lawyers who would never argue a case in front of a judge who was married to the plaintiff will turn around and defend the idea that Amazon can fairly operate a marketplace where they compete with other sellers.

With Amazon dominating online sales, and with in-person retail cratering, Amazon’s decisions have the power to determine the outcome of whole swathes of Europe’s economy. This is the “planned economy” that the EU claims it detests and seeks to prevent — but it’s an economy planned by distant autocrats in a Seattle boardroom, for the purpose of extracting the surpluses needed to launch an endless procession of penis-rockets.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this postto read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

[Image ID: A desert ruin. In the foreground is a huge Amazon box, with an EU flag in place of its shipping label. Atop the box are the feet and partial legs of an Oxymandias figure.]

Image: Rama (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gladiator_with_sword-Louis_Ernest_Meissonnier-MG_1216-IMG_1223-white.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/fr/deed.en

[kakiastro]

Gemini 5h

The 5h is the Sun house. It rules the things we like to do for fun. It’s the house of joy and creativity. It’s the house of passion, romance, and dating. It’s how we openly express ourselves. It’s of the fame houses but this represents the world stage.

Fred and George are perfect examples of this placement 😅

For fun, they tend to be down for whatever as long as it’s mentally stimulating to them

-they may like doing fun things with their siblings or best friends they see as siblings.

-these are the people who probably went to all the school dances or school fun activities as long as their friends were going lol

- may have been the class clown or the jokester in class. Even if the class was boring, these people know how to liven things up at least, maybe the teacher favorite lowkey lol

-they love reading books, they may take an interest in blogs or sites like tumblr and if you’re old enough to, MySpace lol

-may also love writing for fun, it’s a good creative outlet for them.

-may be good at selling fun or cool merchandise for their businesses

-may like to participate in the local neighborhood activities such as block parties, yard sales, bbq cookouts, going to the local markets

-may like to hang out at the library or bookstore.

-may date a variety of different people, some of their partners may have been their best friend or was a friend of their sibling

-loves video games and may find it relaxing. May have a few mobile games on their phone

-in fame, they’ll be in the media a lot, paparazzi will be all over you. Gemini rules over news media and cameras.

-this placement can also indicate having a famous sibling, aunts/uncles or cousins as well

-their children might have Gemini , 3h or mercurial dominant/aspects

Im open for birth chart readings!

[darkmaga-retard]

We need to rebuild American science and medicine from the ground up

Toby Rogers

Aug 22, 2024

This is part II of my series on the Covid response as an example of original sin (part I is here). However I’m coming at it from a slightly different angle today.

I. The state of American science and medicine

What have we learned about American science and medicine over the last several years?

1. American science does not do much actual science. They do marketing, regulatory capture, and mass poisonings but not much actual “science” as that word is usually understood.

2. American medicine creates sickness rather than healing. I know, I know, #notalldoctors. But the profession is deeply sick. #physicianhealthyself

3. American science and medicine abuse their unique epistemic position to increase their own power and wealth at the expense of the well-being of humanity.

4. The proper way to understand American science and medicine today is to see them as criminal cartels. They aren’t making mistakes, these aren’t innocent misunderstandings, the white coat class is engaged in organized crime. Every time you step into a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital you are likely dealing with an agent of a criminal syndicate.

5. American science and medicine have merged with the state, Big Finance, the pharmaceutical industry, the military, and the intelligence agencies to create a new form of fascism.

6. For decades the business model of American science and medicine was to take vulnerable people (the sick and injured, infants, pregnant women, and seniors) and make them dependent on the medical industrial complex for life via toxic pills, injections, implants, surgeries, and therapies. Apparently there were still too many healthy people remaining (‘money left on the table’). So American science and medicine now create and release weaponized viruses together with billions of dollars in propaganda to generate fear that drives people into cattle chutes of toxic treatments and deadly vaccines.

7. The CDC Child and Adolescent Vaccine Schedule, the CDC Adult Vaccine Schedule, and the Covid response are acts of genocide.

8. From everything we can see, American science and medicine are incapable of reforming themselves.

9. American science and medicine as currently constituted pose an existential threat to the future of the United States, the world, and humanity.

10. Big Food, the pesticide industry, the mobile phone industry, other polluters, and bad personal decisions also contribute to making people sick. All of the industries that I named are owned by the same wealth management funds that are investing our own retirement money into our profitable enslavement and genocide.

We all wish that this wasn’t true. But we can either stare reality in the face and do something about it or perish as a result of normalcy bias.