#would have looked great for the uc system

[telesilla]

Nancy’s union has a contract! And it’s a pretty good one, so give it up for unions everyone!

[sexybritishllama]

strap in folks it's time for another neopets drama update

some background reading before we begin: back when neopets wanted to introduce customisation (i.e. dressing up your pet) in 2007, they decided to 'convert' all existing pet art to align with a rigid body structure, rather than all having unique poses. it was just not feasible to create new pieces of art for hundreds of different pet poses every single time they released a new clothing them

customisation had been highly requested up until this point. however, the conversion was NOT popular. in some cases, particularly for basic colours, the change wasn't huge, but in other cases.... uh....

you get the idea. the more expensive colours like plushie, faerie, grey, royal and darigan got the worst of it because they had the more unique poses pre-conversion, and therefore it was largely agreed that the change to the stiff 'samey', frankly kinda goofy converted look did not look great

most users did not get a choice in having their neopet converted and it was done automatically, but if you had one of these colours where the change was huge, you were given the choice of converting or retaining the old pose (but not having the option to customise your pet). those pets that retained the old, pre-conversion poses are therefore referred to as 'unconverted', or UC for short

once a pet is converted, there's no returning to UC. you also couldn't create UC pets anymore, making UCs a limited resource that would only increase in value with time, particularly as people abandon their pets, leave the site, get frozen, etc.

i could write an entire dissertation on the drama that UC pets have caused for the pet trading economy, the neopet account black market, and general retention of the userbase, but to sum it up, people REALLY want UC pets. they are the single most coveted status symbol on the site

we skip forward now to 2023

the neopets team are planning to introduce UC pets back to the site, so that people will be able to create their own UC pets again for the first time post-converstion (legally at least)

they drip feed bits of information over the year about what this will look like. the main points are

changing a pet to UC will be done via some kind of item bought with neocash, the premium currency on neopets that you need to spend real money to get

putting this item on your pet will give it the UC art style appearance

so. not much really known. but expected release is set for january 2024

yesterday, they hosted an AMA focusing on the new UC pet system and how this was going to work. noticeably absent is any explanation of how much this is actually going to cost and whether it is going to involve any kind of gatcha mechanic, so that's causing our first lot of concern

second lot of drama is that the new UCs aren't actually going to be COMPLETELY the same as the old art, as they're making some small changes for style consistency, see below (old on top, new below):

the biggest drama, however, comes from how they're dealing with the 'original' UC pets. ALL pets will be getting forcibly converted on the 23rd, with anyone who has a pet that is already an original UC immediately receiving the UC neocash item. there's mention of possibly some kind of trophy or badge recognition for particularly old pets, but it's vague, and generally seems like it won't be possible to distinguish between the original UCs and these new ones

the people who already have OCs are not happy about this

people are allegedly pounding their pets, cancelling their premium, and quitting the site in protest. the boards are flooded with people complaining about the changes and laughing at the downfall of the 'neo-elite' in equal measure

it's t-minus 5 days until the second great conversion goes live. let's all pray for our souls

[scientia-rex]

Saw a patient today who had been through a series of medical visits that epitomizes what I hate about multiple different kinds of care providers. Their VA dermatologist took a scoop out of them to remove a basal cell cancer. Fine. I’m not a dermatologist, maybe it needed those wide margins. (If it didn’t, going that deep should mean it was an excisional biopsy and they put in sutures to close it.) They gave the patient and his wife confusing instructions about wound care. They didn’t provide guidance around keeping it covered or moist. It got infected. His wife took him to Urgent Care. The UC doc took a swab of the wound and started antibiotics. They came to see me for a visit we scheduled ages ago for something else.

Here’s the thing. Wounds need to be kept at what I call the Goldilocks moisture level: not too dry and not too wet. If it’s pruny/white/mushy like it’s been in a bathtub, it’s too wet. If it’s cracking, it’s too dry. This is why you can’t say “cover it for X days and then leave it out.” That would be like telling someone with heart failure and lower extremity edema “take the diuretic for a week and then stop” without any instructions around dry weight, dizziness, etc. It’s more complicated than that.

This wound was too dry. No one had talked to them about keeping it moist. No one had even mentioned Vaseline.

No, they got a wound swab. Want to guess how good a wound swab is for an open wound exposed to the world? Pretty terrible. You can improve it a little bit by making sure you’ve removed some kind of layer and then expressing fluid directly from the wound with the swab, but it’s still bad. The only time I give a shit about what grows from a wound swab is when it was a) collected in the OR (as when the podiatrist gets a sample of osteomyelitic bone in a sterile environment) or b) when it grows pseudomonas. Everything else? I can figure out by looking at it. If it’s skin it’s probably either staph or strep. If it’s staph, it’s either MRSA or MSSA. If it’s MRSA, it’s making a lot of pus, it’s red, it’s hot, it’s painful. This wasn’t. So it was either MSSA or strep. So what are we going to do for systemic antibiotics? Probably the same thing we would have done anyway—Keflex.

And what’s the utility of systemic antibiotics in a skin wound? Not a lot, most of the time. This wasn’t cellulitis proper. It wasn’t red or hot or angry enough. A red border around the wound does not a systemic infection make. And if you don’t care properly for the wound itself, there’s no point in antibiotics, because it still can’t heal. Antibiotics can get where blood goes. Blood does not go into the slough that is the bacterial biofilm covering a wound.

So I sat there with gauze and saline and gently debrided the 100% slough off the wound. It’s yucky and it takes time and attention. It doesn’t get compensated. That’s why no one else had done it yet. The derm had blown it off as “it’s healing, it’s fine.” It wasn’t healing. It was developing rolled edges, where the wound edges couldn’t heal across the slough and so they started to curl back under themselves. If taking off the slough (and keeping it gone by MAINTAINING PROPER CONDITIONS) doesn’t let it heal, I’ll need to get him back in and rough up the edges with a Buck’s curette until it can heal.

Multiple professionals who should have known better tried to make my patient just go away, rather than heal him.

I’m pissed. I’m tired. I think I have a cold. I shouldn’t be doing the work the dermatologist or the UC provider should have done. And because of everything they’d told her, his wife was pissed at me for doing what was correct. “We’ve heard a lot of different things!” Yes, and I’m right. You’ll find out when the wound actually starts healing when we care for it properly.

The value of a model is in what it can predict. Wounds are great about making it clear when your model sucks.

[three--rings]

Starfield Tips/Things I Wish I Knew Earlier

Starfield is honestly amazing if you like this kind of game, but it does seem to be pretty invested in letting you figure out how it works on your own by experimentation. And it's very easy to overlook features of the game.

So...

The traits that give you parents, a fan, and a house are really neat. You get some cool stuff from them. I only did the parents but damn I'm glad I did. So consider these.

You can make your spacesuit and helmet automatically disappear if you're in breathable atmosphere/in a settlement. This way you don't have to worry about taking them off and on and potentially leaving your ship without them. And you don't look like a dork in town. The option is in the inventory page for each of them.

You can boost/sprint when floating. This is important in the Certain Plot Relevant Places.

There is a part of New Atlantis called The Well with a bunch of people and shops and you get to it from an unmarked elevator behind Jemison Merchantile in the Spaceport (or the unmarked elevator in the MAST transit station.) I played 30 hours before I found this out.

Read the skills closely, including the locked ones. Multiple times I put points in the wrong thing, thinking it would let me do things, when that was actually a different skill elsewhere.

Don't avoid the UC Vanguard questline. A lot of people I think are avoiding it because it's joining the military on a side that is a little sketchy/sus, but there's a lot of reasons to do this EARLY.

There's a museum you go through that gives you the entire lore background and recent history of the world

There's a flight simulator "test" you can take as much as you want to practice the space combat.

The storyline is REALLY REALLY good. (um, warning for horror elements) There are two different quest lines it opens and one also opens access to joining the Crimson Fleet faction.

7. When you upgrade your pilot skill it unlocks using thrusters in space flight. These let you maneuver without moving forward, so you are way more agile in combat. Use RB with a controller, IDK what the keyboard thingy is. But they're actually great. You hold down the button and then move sideways or up and down. Makes moving to new targets much better.

8. Weapons have different levels. Base which just has the name and then Calibrated, Refined, and Advanced. So pay attention and pick up the higher level ones. If you get a good advanced gun early you can use it and upgrade it for EVER. There's also rarity levels, which is the colored things. But that's about bonus effects. So you might get a really shitty gun with a Legendary bonus effect and it's still trash. If you get a high level weapon with a good bonus effect TREASURE IT.

9. Certain quests give you really good items, including SHIPS. IMO the best ship to get is the one from the Freestar Rangers.

10. Once you get a house you can build in it just like in an outpost. Also you can drop things from your inventory into an outpost or a house and then in build mode move that item around onto shelves, etc.

11. There is Universal time and Planet time. So if you wait or sleep, depending on where you are that may count as more time passing than what you chose. All shops refresh their money and inventory in 48 hours UT, but on Jemison, for example, that's only 24 hours of planet time.

12. Ship building can be intense and intimidating but it's really really worth it. You can always cancel out and undo what you did, so experiment. And when in doubt, add more engines, lol. (But really you want to add cargo space ASAP and then you need more engines, and then you end up wanting whole new ships.) Different ports have different makers of parts, and the best items are in the home port for each brand.

13. Unlocking the Ship Targeting skill is a game changer for space combat. It lets you lock on and then slows down time while you pummel the enemy's ship systems. If you take our their engines, and they are alone you can then dock with them and fight them and take their ship. Space piracy FTW.

14. If you get contraband avoid cities. Go to the Wolf System to The Den to sell it. This is very lucrative. At the slight price of your personal integrity.

15. As a general rule if something is sucking, you need to find the skill for it and invest points in it. This is true for piloting, scanning, boost packs, etc. They really made the skill trees count and be necessary in this game. Also surveying planets is really good XP actually. To help you get those points.

16. Speaking of surveying, if you are trying to complete a planet you need to visit all the biomes. If you click on the planet it will tell you the percent complete of that biome before landing. If you have one lone fauna left that fucker is probably in the ocean so look for COAST.

17. When placing outposts make sure there's not a lot of annoying mountains in it, and also you really want to prioritize sites with He-3 because you need it to really do anything. (Helium, iron, aluminum are the most important to build with.) And you have a limited number of outposts without taking a high level skill to get more.

That's all I can think of for now.

[cursedvibes]

What do you think are Kenjaku's favourite manga? We know a bit about what Yuuji've read and probably likes. Though what do you think are Yuuji's favs?

I'm wondering whether they could talk about it or whether it'd be just Kenjaku trying to interest Yuuji in their favs and Yuuji being disinterested because their tastes don't match at all XD

I think their tastes overlap pretty often actually. Like for example, Yu-Gi-Oh! (the original manga). For most of the story it's basically just kids torturing each other Saw-style. It's very bloody and gruesome with some friendship lessons sprinkled over it. So basically like the Culling Games, just with stricter rules and more torture devices. Seems right up Kenjaku's alley, especially because while there's a lot of death, there is for most cases a broader lesson to it and I think they would just find the ways the kids solve the death games very interesting. Plus, you have ancient souls stored in objects possessing other people. Very relatable.

I can see Yuuji liking the manga for very similar reasons. He likes horror, so that part would appeal to him and he would like the broader message of overcoming loneliness, abuse and other trauma together with the friends you manage to make. It's a lot about finding closure and accepting death, quite similar to what he is dealing with. Also, being possessed by a spirit that kills people without your knowledge or influence? Yuuji and Yuugi could start a therapy group together (Yuugi's approach of befriending said spirit won't help Yuuji tho...). actually now I wonder if Yuugi was an inspiration for Yuuji even if their personalities are different

So I think Kenjaku and Yuuji would end up liking a lot of the same manga's but for slightly different reasons.

For Kenjaku, I think they would like manga with a diverse power system or elaborate powers in general, like Hunter x Hunter or Jojo's. Then probably also some of Ito Junji's stories just because they find the ways in which people can drive themselves insane fascinating. Same for Oshimi Shuuzo's stuff (they read Blood on the Tracks for inspiration on how to deal with their children).

Given their extensive knowledge on stand-up comedy, suggesting they watch basically anything that gets aired, I could also see Kenjaku just buying an issue of WSJ and reading everything from front to back only to give the nearest person around a full critique of the contents. Yuuji is similar to that I think. We know he watches basically everything on TV, no matter how dull he thinks it is and I think he could be the same with manga. He'll read everything in a magazine simply because he has nothing better to do, it passes time and keeps him from thinking about less great stuff happening in his personal life (coping mechanism just like his TV habits). The manga he reads in Ozawa's flashback looks like WSJ or maybe an equally packed manga magazine.

Because of that I'm also having a hard time pinning down favourites for him. He's such an omnivore. Did we ever get any specifics from Gege on what he reads? If we go by his movie taste it must be something that isn't just senseless violence and he seems easily moved by drama, like in Lord of the Rings. Don't know how he feels about sci-fi, but maybe some Gundam series (I'd say UC universe, but that's just because I don't know the others)? Evangelion seems a bit too existential, he seems more like a casual reader who doesn't want to be reminded too much of any lurking depression. I think he'd definitely like Yu Yu Hakusho and Fullmetal Alchemist. It has a good mix of action, drama, fantasy and darker elements.

[atonalginger]

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday and so a sneak peek is in order and I've got one ready for you. It's from Stowaway Savior this time! Sam and Jinx are out in the Sparta system searching for our missing duo. I have put it under a read more since it's longish

“Buenos dias Capitán Morph, The time is UT zero seven hundred. I have already taken the liberty to heat breakfast for you and coffee is percolating on the stove.”

Jinx’s voice was impressively chipper in spite of its limitations. Sam laid face down in his bed, already fed up with his robotic second. He told Jinx not to bother him and let him sleep. That meant no schedule, no early wake ups, none of it. He groaned and planted his face into his pillow, muffling his tired scream.

A prerecorded soundbite of a pathetic rooster crowing played over the ship speakers, followed by Jinx, “levántate!”

Don’t punch him? How am I not suppose to bop the bucket of bolts when he acts like that! Sam rolled over onto his side and pulled his pillow over his head.

“Your breakfast will get cold, Captain Morph,” Jinx called over the speakers, his metallic voice sing-songing his sentence as best as the modulators could manage.

“I don’t want it!” Sam yelled from under his pillow.

“Breakfast was believed to be the most important meal of the day on old Earth,” Jinx stated, “it is important to fuel a hard working body.”

“I don’t need it!” Sam shouted, ripping the pillow off his face, “fuck off and power down.”

“I cannot complete either order, as I lack the necessary parts for the first while the second goes against my original orders.” Jinx said.

Sam knew if the robot had the ability it would be smiling. He could hear the shit-eating grin in each word. He forced himself to sit up and manged to find it in him to be civil, “How long was I able to sleep, Jinx?”

“Five hours, forty-three minutes, twenty-nine seconds,” Jinx said.

“I told you to let me sleep,” Sam reminded the robot, “five hours isn’t enough, why are you waking me?”

“Five hours, forty-three minutes…Captain Morph we have a situation. Ships inbound, UC signatures, I am boosting shields and spinning up the turrets.”

“How many? Give me more than that!” Sam shouted as he shot out of bed.

“tres pendejos de tiburón,” Jinx’s heavy feet stomped back to his battle station, “I am blocking their attempts to scan.”

You taught him to swear too? Sam thought at Delgado, great! It’s like your whiny little bitch ass is right here with me. “What kind of scans?”

“Probing cargo and heat sensors. If I had to guess, captain, I’d say they are attempting to get a headcount.”

Sam was storming toward the cockpit, his battered bunny eared slippers ‘twapping’ with each step as he slammed into his seat and went over the systems, batting his robe belt out of the way as he got strapped in. Jinx had everything green and the three small fighters were circling the Bitter Angel II like there was chum in the Blackest waters.

“Open comms, Jinx,” Sam barked.

“Comms open,” Jinx chimed back, “Halt hijos de putas!”

Sam blinked, not sure whether to laugh or cry at his chaotic robotic copilot.

“Aw look Lieutenant, the xeno freak’s daddy is so worried he has a shitty robot speaking for him,” one of the pilots taunted, “wonder if mommy is that ship seen orbiting Charydis I the other day…”

“That's a lot of talking coming from a corpse,” Sam growled as he targeted the culprit’s reactor, “suppose I should commend the brass ones weighing down your ships, thinking those three rinky dinky a-class fighters could take me down but then, SysDef has never been known for their brains.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jinx called out as both turrets opened fire on the edge ships, one per ship, targeting their grav drives first, then engines.

Sam grinned and opened fire with both pairs of gauss guns and helion beams, ripping the shield off the center ship and popping their reactor like a balloon. He watched through the fighter’s cockpit glass as the crew scrambled to suit up like they were somehow making it out of their toasted ship. He located their docking module, one of the bulging ugly nova galactic models, and shredded it with his gauss guns, depressurizing their ship in a snap.

“Anyone else got anything funny to say before you die?” Sam shouted over the comms.

Jinx had destroyed the grav drives and crippled both ships by popping their fuel tanks.

“Only that you’re too late!” one voice yelled.

Another, from the other ship, chimed in, “Vega will drag their corpses from that wreck!”

“Jinx, you take left, I take right,” Sam ordered.

“Aye, Aye, Captain!”

Jinx focused fire on his target while Sam tapped the thrusters and cracked his target in half.

With the three ships in pieces Jinx got to work downloading their black boxes and scooping useful scrap and cargo from their husks while Sam got up and shuffled back to the living quarters to eat. As much as he wanted to go back to bed he knew he couldn’t rest with sharks in the waters. Just great.

Running into SysDef was expected but still not welcome. And their taunts hit too close to the heart. Sam was pretty sure they were bluffing but what if they weren’t? He knew the Squid had been damaged bad enough to lose an engine and a landing gear. Enough days had passed for them to have made it to Sparta if they did scatter like her message seemed to imply. Could they have wrecked out here?

“Captain, los pendejos del tiburón have located two wrecks on Sparta III and are currently picking through the wrecks. One is to the north in the frozen dunes and the other is tucked away in the mountains to the south west.”

Fuck. “Start in the dunes, take us down while I eat and get dressed. Don’t land too close I don’t need those pricks trying to cut their way inside.”

“Affirmative, Captain Morph.”

[escapismqueen]

Chenford + miscommunication/angst speculation for the next ep?

Hi, thank you so much for your request, I hope this is okay ❤️I’ve had a few requests for a 5x19 spec fic so hopefully you all like it 🥰

A Chenford speculation fic- 5x19- ‘I don’t know’

Incl: angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, mostly angst though.

Warnings: allusions/ representation of a panic attack, mentions of needles and drugs.

The words had been ringing in Tim and Lucys ears since they were first uttered that Morning. “Guess we’ll have to get used to seeing less of each other”. He’d been regretting saying anything about it the moment he opened his mouth; he meant it light heartedly when he said it, but Lucy’s sudden drop in expression and worry glazed eyes hammered home the reality- they would be seeing each other less.

So far, their relationship hasn’t experienced any significant bumps or obstacles, they’ve been ridiculously happy in their new relationship bliss, and nothing as of yet had gotten in the way of that. Until now; and it had sent them both in a spiral.

Tim opened the door to Lucy’s apartment with haste. It’s been a rough day at work for him today; the sounds of their morning conversation reverberating in his mind, not helped by the fact he hasn’t seen her since. The fact that they’d be seeing each other less was of course stirring an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, but the nausea- that came from Lucy’s mention of ‘narcotics’. He hated that word; hated everything about it. Narcotics reminded him of everything that pulled his life apart; his dad and Isobel being the forefront. But when it came to work and narcotics; it came in thunderous force to Isobel.

He’d been feeling his chest tighten all day, his heart clenching so hard that he started to worry about his health- an area in which he knew from a recent checkup was all good. So what the hell was the feeling ? As he pushed the door open, a thick, stuffy warmth took over his skin- it reminded him of the night Isobel left him. That feeling- it was coming back. His chest got tighter, his vision blurring from not only a wall of tears but from a dizziness that was now whirring around his system at an alarming rate. But then he registered Lucy. The sweet melodic sound of her voice, the smell of her coconut shampoo, and her mango scented perfume delightfully greeting him as he stepped into the room.

“Tim?” The sound of her voice snapped him out of his fog, his heartbeat steadying the second he looked at her. The blurriness slowly disappearing from his vision, allowing him to see the beauty that is his girlfriend. “Hey, you okay?” Lucys brows furrow in concern, her hands following suit and cupping his cheeks in a reassuring hold. “I’m fine. But are you ? You look a little shaken.” Tim ponders for a moment on wether he should open up to her about this. They spoke about it briefly this morning, but it ended with Tim reassuring her that ‘it’ll be okay’ how was he supposed to tell her later that same day that he wasn’t?

It’s not that he didn’t want Lucy to work in the narcotics division or go undercover- he knows she’d be great at it. But he couldn’t help but have deja vu by the mere suggestion of it. This is how it started with Isobel. The excitement about the opportunity, the anxiety over the test, the smile she had when she talked about anything ‘UC’ related. But then it was late nights, weeks or months without talking that turned into no talking or coming home at all. She left him. She got hooked on the things she was so passionate to get rid of, and got rid of him instead; the one thing she swore she’d always be passionate about. But he couldn’t dangle this insecurity in front of Lucy could he ? She deserves to make the decision herself and not sacrifice anything in hopes that it’ll make him feel better. No. He’s not saying anything.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just been a long day and I have a bit of a headache that’s all.” The lie flew off his tongue like an eagle chasing its prey; smooth and sharp with no hesitation. He felt guilty as soon as he spoke, but he knew he had to do it for her sake. Tim Bradford is a lot of things, but selfish isn’t one of them. Tim sighs in relief at her nodding head, glad she didn’t question him further; he could struggle through a lie to her once, but twice ? Not happening. “Okay babe, as long as you’re sure. Go lie down, I’ll bring you some Advil.” And with a quick loving kiss to his warm lips, she darted into the kitchen and left Tim’s Heart aching even more- he can not lose her.

Later in the evening, Tim and Lucy snuggled up closely to each other, legs tangling perfectly into each others. They’d both been asleep for a few hours, happy to nod off in the others arms whilst they still could. Tim’s arms were placed protectively around Lucy’s waist, his face nestled sweetly in her neck; it was their usual sleeping state, one that Lucy liked to playfully tease him for, stating that he ‘couldn’t bear’ to be without her even in his dreams. But the more he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, the more she knew that she never wanted to sleep another way again. The scruff on his chin would always tickle her and sometimes wake her up, and she often gets very hot from his own body heat being so close to hers, but the first day she had to sleep without him, she’d never been so unsatisfied with such fresh, cold sheets and an unbothered night of rest.

As per usual, Lucy woke in the middle of the night, her body anticipating the scratch of Tim’s beard scruff. But as she turns to her side to give him an affectionate kiss on the cheek, she notices his eyebrows scrunched together, and a thin layer of sweat coating his skin. “Tim?” She reaches her arm out delicately over to him, not wanting to startle him, but hoping that he’ll wake up. Her voice wobbles as she says his name again, her worry this time heightened by the small whimper that escapes his throat- he’s having a nightmare.

The images flash overwhelmingly quick in Tim’s head. The empty house he came home to when Isobel left him, the needles he found stashed away under their bed, her sunken eyes and her frail body laying in the dumpster, blood exiting her and paling her more. Then her face changed and the images got clearer, the words got louder ‘your wife has been arrested’ ‘your wife is in the hospital’ ‘your wife has overdosed’. Everything awful he’d ever heard about her was now repeating cruelly in his slumber, but her face was no longer a part of the images; now it was Lucy’s.

The images piled on top of each other like wooden blocks, each one making the tower weaker and more likely to fall. Tim’s chest began to feel tight again, his breathing now altered and shaky. He heard Lucy’s voice call him over and over again, begging, pleading, but he couldn’t get out. He was trapped there, trapped in the depiction of her close to death or abandoning him at their home. He heard her screams, he saw her being shot, he saw her placing needles in her veins with a far away look in her eyes. Why couldn’t he stop her ? “Lucy !” “Lucy, stop, Lucy !!” His chest was heaving, his hands were clenching, and all he could feel was a fire-like heat rushing through his body, but he was unable to scream.

Lucy looks at Tim in the bed with tears streaming down her face. He looks so vulnerable and afraid. The sweat on his body glistened in the moonlight, but their was nothing beautiful about it. His face was reddening by the second, his breaths were quick and scattered, his body was twisting and turning in shock, and he’d shouted her name several times in desperation; this was a Tim Bradford she’d never seen before, and the sight of it broke her heart. “Tim ! Wake up! It’s okay, it’s just a dream, you’re okay, wake up, cmon”. She pleads.

At his lack of response, she reaches her arms out and shakes his shoulders fiercely, her anxiety no longer contained. “Tim, WAKE UP”. At the sound of her raised voice, Tim’s eyes shoot open, his body following within seconds. His eyes waste no time in scrambling for Lucy; was she okay ? Was she with him ?. Her hands cupping his cheeks answered his question, and within a second, he was wrapped tightly in his girlfriends embrace. He freezes for a moment, slowly readjusting back to reality and telling himself that everything was okay. He looks at her with desperation I’m his eyes and falls into her completely, a sob racking his chest at the first touch from her. “Lucy, don’t leave. Please don’t leave me. You have to stay, please. I cant’t handle losing you. I know I’ve handled losing people before, but it’s never been you and now it is. You can’t leave. Please.”

Her head shoots up from Tim’s shoulder in shock, his words sinking her heart to her stomach. He’d just had a panic attack in his sleep and now she knew what it was about- her. She hadn’t realised until this moment just how much their conversation from the morning had worried him. He reassured her, because she was the worried one, but now he was collapsed in her arms, sobs eliciting from his throat, voice begging her not to leave him. What the hell happened ?

“What ? Tim, I’m not going to leave you. Why would you think that ? I’d never leave you, I love you.” An uncomfortable silence hovered in the air, the only sounds heard being Tim’s laboured breathing and the sound of Lucy’s hands caressing up and down his back. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Tim lifts his head and looks her deeply in the eyes, his tears resurfacing. He takes a deep breath to steady himself, and says the words that have been circling his mind the whole day “She loved me too.”

The words cut through Lucy like a knife, not having to ask to know who ‘she’ was. In this moment, she hated herself for wanting to go UC. The sight of her boyfriend vulnerable and broken; driven to nightmares because of his past, worrying that the same will also happen in his future- it was one hard pill to swallow.

“I’m sorry”

Lucy looks at him with an empathetic gaze, her eyelids blinking slowly, her arms wrapping sturdily around Tim’s chest. “Tim, you don’t have to be sorry. Your feelings are valid. I’m sorry that this is causing you so much pain. And I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier.” She mentally curses herself for missing the signs.

Tim leans his head forward and brushes his nose lightly against Lucy’s, glad that his breathing has now calmed and he can hold on to her a little tighter. “Luce. Whatever you do, please don’t make your decision based upon what just happened. Please. I know you’ll want to, to protect me, but as a person who loves you, I can’t- I can’t be the reason that you don’t pursue something that you want to.”

An eerie silence floods the air, the possibilities of what come next knocking rapidly at their chests. “Tim?” Lucy questions, her mind already running a mile a minute. “Yeah?”

“What’re we gonna do ?” The distress in her voice pushes Tim to place his hands at her waist and under her shirt, his fingers settling comfortably on her bare skin. He looks at her for a moment and sends her a weak smile, both of them knowing that this will not be a simple situation to figure out. He lies down back onto his pillow, pulling her gently towards him, his head finding it’s home back into her neck, nose inhaling her mango scented aroma.

As their hands intertwine, they both try to think of an answer, The strengthening of their interlaced hands giving away what their voices aren’t yet willing to say.

“I don’t know sweetheart, I really don’t know.”

[universalcovers]

UC & TS Selection ▶ Sarah Cruddas

"People often ask me why I love space so much. My answer is always the same. Why would you not love space? We are just this one planet, in this one average solar system, which is one of many in a universe so large it is impossible to comprehend. Why wouldn’t you want to know what is out there? What it is that we are a part of?"

"My mission is to inspire a diverse audience about why space exploration matters, how it has shaped all of our lives and why we all need to look up a little more."

"Space exploration has the power to educate, inform and enrich. Learning about space teaches us that the sky is no longer the limit.  Space inspires. It is a topic which is as much about philosophy as it is science – a search for meaning and a quest to answer fundamental questions such as Where did we come from? Why do we exist? And what else is out there in this vast universe we belong to?"

"We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of what is out there."

"But if we are to succeed in exploring space, in venturing out into the vastness of the cosmos, in seeking answers to those questions that humans have pondered for an eternity, then we need to so for everyone on this planet. The challenges we face are too great to leave any group behind."

"Through my work in television, writing and within the space industry, I communicate to diverse and non-scientific communities about why what we are doing in space matters so much. The goal; to increase STEM literacy within communities and to inspire as many people as possible. The more who understand the benefits to come from exploring space, the more uptake and support there will be in the industry, which will in turn help humankind venture further into the cosmos. As well as perhaps most importantly gifting people with that sense of childlike wonder that comes from looking up."

"Space is for everyone."

Know more about Sarah

[female-malice]

One of my biggest fears is the capture of key sciences such as ecology or chemistry by postmodernism. We've seen it happening with medicine. Survival of the biosphere would be much slimmer if we can't categorize deleterious exotics from native species. By the sounds of your newer posts it seems to be happening already. Are things that bad in the US?

Yes, it's starting.

A certain degree of internal criticism is healthy in any field of science. I think the argument against the current species taxonomy system is interesting. That argument criticizes the anthropocentric worldview of Carl Linnaeus. So it does ultimately help the field. But this argument could get out of hand if postmodernists co-opt it and go "don't say species!" That would get tiring. But that hasn't happened yet. For now, the point of the argument is to examine how Linnaeus's dominionism shaped biology perspectives.

But then there's Banu Subramaniam's Aliens essay and the EEB Language Project. Both have the potential to set disastrous precedents in Earth science.

It's interesting to look at the schools involved in EEB Language Project...

UC Berkeley – post-modernism think tank Harvard – conservative neoliberal capitalism think tank Princeton – liberal neoliberal capitalism think tank UC Davis – biggest agricultural university in the country and home to the CLEAR beef and dairy greenwashing project Stanford – great at protecting campus rapists

There's other schools involved but those five stood out to me.

Earth science is interesting because geography is important. There's good Earth science programs in every public university because there's always something of local interest to study. The best program at my tiny state school was the ecology program. That seems to be a common theme at a lot of small state schools. People deride these schools by calling them "party schools." But when you look at a lot of top ecologists, they spent their entire careers at "party schools"

Big names like Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford don't actually give you extra credibility in the Earth science world.

So there's a class dynamic here. You don't need to pay an arm and a leg to access the top Earth science programs. But now, through EEBLP, "prestigious" schools are talking down to the "party" schools. They're basically saying "you working class scientists are so uncultured and problematic!"

Luckily, Earth scientists have been tangoing with corporate capture and greenwashing for decades. They know what bullshit looks and smells like.

And this is still the face of botanical popular science:

So postmodernists have their work cut out for them lmao

[milenasolis]

❝ ...it had counted after all, every evasion and every procrastination, every mistake, every word, all of it. ❞

Age: 30

Gender identification: Cis female, she/her

Residential area: Glenn Estates

Occupation: Owner of The Mayfair

Gang Affiliation: The Enterprise

Two positive traits: Venturesome & resourceful

Two negative traits: Hedonistic & dreamer

Length of time in Tonopah Valley: 25 years (arrived in Tonopah Valley around 1 year old and spent 4 years in NYC for university)

Faceclaim: Priscilla Quintana

stacks of books everywhere, empty coke cans abandoned on tables and shelves, vintage rock band t-shirts, framed movie posters decorating the walls, an ever tempting crumpled pack of marlboros on the bookshelf, 2am cups of coffee, fitted jeans, scattered meaningful fine line tattoos, paragraph texts in the middle of the night

trigger warnings: death, adoption, drugs, alcohol, depression

A life where everything came on a silver platter was far from what Milena Solis’ mother could have hoped for when it had come to her children. Life for her had been a struggle in her homeland of Mexico; poverty, dwindling family for support, and lack of options set the woman on a mission for something better. Especially when she found out she was pregnant, and with twins no less. A friend of a friend had spoken of a job opportunity in the United States, if she could get to Nevada then she’d have the means to care for her coming children. What she hadn’t expected was how grueling the journey was and how much it would take out of her. Not much is known about Milena’s mother and the family she’d come from, just that she’d passed away not long after childbirth. There were complications and in the long run she had been too weak to overcome them.

The twins were fairly young when they were adopted. So young in fact that Milena has no recollection of any life before Nevada and Diego and Dale Mejia. With origins unknown to the State of Nevada, the twins went into the system and won the lottery when the very wealthy Diego Mejia chose them.

Growing up in Glenn Estates, Tonopah Valley, Nevada she was surrounded by family. Close bonds and an acceptance of differences. Never once had Milena been made to feel like she didn’t belong, as though she wasn’t real family because she didn’t share actual DNA. In fact, Milena, often called Mila or Lena, was groomed from the time she started schooling to eventually take part in the family business. As she got into her teens she would learn and understand that Mejia Morales Homes was more corporation and industry than a simple family passion project. At times it was overwhelming; the pressure to perform well in school, to be apart of certain social circles and noteworthy clubs, and achieving wins in sports all to support the family business. An understanding had been laid on her from the very start that she was to be a piece of the pie, as with all the other siblings in the mixed family.

In youth Milena took much for granted with her older sister shouldering the expectations of their parents and leading the way. She’d set a great example and Milena had always looked up to her sister, in many ways finding that she wanted to be a lot like her. Or at least have her approval. Where she saw her sister doing what was expected and take the path set out for her, Milena began to discover that she wanted something very different for her life. Real estate and flipping houses was far from a passion for her. She was obsessed with films, everything from classics to horror to indie and foreign, and knew that she wanted some sort of life and career involved in that industry. The big dream Milena quietly cultivated was to be a filmmaker of some sort, with arthouse and indie genres being her biggest interest.

When university approached talking about film school went nowhere. Instead she was steered away from schools like UCLA and NYU and more encouraged to find a path like her sister’s. UC Berkeley was pushed on Milena, or any top university with a great business or architecture program. In the end she agreed to go to business school at NYU and left Nevada for four years to pursue her degree, yet was encouraged to come home and work for the family business and her Master’s simultaneously upon completion of her Bachelor’s. New York had been a culture shock but one she loved to the fullest. Life and the people were so different in the melting pot city. Milena found herself in creative circles, going to open mic nights and slam poetry, nightclubs and a party scene, and for the first time in her life really let loose.

Returning to Tonopah Valley had been tough after New York. Family of course always won over, she’d do anything (or just about) for them, and the call to obligation rang. She worked real estate, selling homes and brokering deals, completely dispassioned while she did so. It made the family happy though and who was she to deny that? Except when her sister nearly died during an operation to hand over a kidney to their brother and thus had an epiphany, her departure had left Milena to pick up all that she’d left behind. It became overwhelming and while she understood her sister’s need it turned her a little bitter, because that had been what she wanted and now she’d become so tied to the family business.

It spawned a rebellion. Melina found her way into partying, much heavier than anything she did in New York as this was all about escape. Drugs and excess drinking numbed the regret and longing but made her miss time. Either she was coming in late, hungover or strung out, or Milena would be passed out on her couch all day. Only to rise when it was time to go out burn off the weight of fealty and expectations. It didn’t help that Milena and her twin had begun looking into their origins around this time too, the results only further plunging her into her depression and hedonism.

Eventually an intervention righted the world, turned what had flipped upside down to something she could firmly plant her feet on once more. Only this time Milena found she had room to bargain, she would return to the family business on a more part time status and clean herself up if her father’s, Diego and Dale, signed over The Mayfair to her. If she was to be ensnared in the family business then a lot more respect had to be given. Not only did Milena possess a shiny, prestigious degree from a top university but she had the savvy to do more than broker real estate deals. The last thing she wanted was to go through each day feeling like she was living life as some robot, arguing that the business of real estate, as grand as their success had been, just wasn’t for her. Thankfully an agreement was made and it had become Milena’s saving grace.

With a powerful name and grand success in the world of real estate, The Enterprise had sought out Milena when she took over The Mayfair, and following the vetting process she found herself a board member and with more power at her fingertips than a once orphan had ever thought possible. Milena’s feelings about the divided lines in town are troubled; she can understand the need for balance and order, knows the feeling of power at her fingertips, yet feels strange intrigue to those who’s roots trace back to the same country as where she’d been brought into the world. Nevertheless, the goal is to make her family proud and to solidify their legacy. If only secrets and temptations can keep her from swaying…

Quite the film enthusiast, Milena has plans for a new theater in town. She has a dream of a place that can house both stage and screen audiences.

While Milena and her twin are seeking out who their mother was and her story, doing what they can to discover their origins, they are going to inadvertently find out who their father was and that he has loose ties to the cartel.

She has an irrational love for deep dish pizza.

Something of a car enthusiast, Milena has a small collection of vehicles with her favorite being anything classic and/or muscle variety.

Somehow she’s turned it into an art: seeing how far people will go to bribe or gain any kind of favor from her. Milena is actually friendly, fun, flirty, and easy to get along with but she has no problem saying no and walking away after stringing someone along.

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

July 11, 2023

RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION — ONE SCOOP OR TWO

Alright, that does it. Utah Sen-For-Life Mike Lee will never, ever eat Ben & Jerry's ice cream again. It's unpatriotic and totally sucks. That's what Lee said after Ben & Jerry tweeted on the Fourth of July: “The U.S. was founded on stolen Indigenous land. This year, let’s commit to returning it.” The pair called on readers to support the “Land Back movement” to restore once Native American land to its original owners. Well then, that does it. Goodbye Chunky Monkey, Karamel Sutra and Cherry Garcia. They will never cross the lips of Mike “I've-Got-An-Ice-Cream-Jones” Lee.  He even called Ben and Jerry “smug and lippy.” What do they want? Lee demanded. “Expungement of property rights? OMG! Repatriation of most Americans to Europe?” WTF! Ben & Jerry want the movement to start with Mount Rushmore, the Lakota Sioux’s holy mountain Tunkasila Sakpe before the faces of  U.S. presidents were carved on it. The Black Hills were among 3.5 million acres set aside as a permanent home for the Lakota, but those treaties were broken when gold prospectors and settlers flooded in. That matters little to Lee, the great patriot and ice cream connoisseur who The Washington Post said, “worked furiously to overturn the 2020 election...” Righteous indignation and hypocrisy — would that be one scoop or two?

END DAYS AND “BAT FRIENDLY” TEQUILA

No Wilson, this is not some Hunter Thompson-esque ditty about a strange trip to a Donald Trump rally — although it could be. This is important news: The lesser long nose bat, aka Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, is the only pollinator of agave cactus, which bears the fruit that is used to make tequila. So it's important that when folks go to the liquor store they buy only tequila that carries the “Bat Friendly” label. No lesser long nose bats, no tequila. And no Wilson, the worm, which is actually the agave snout weevile, is not part of the distillation process but is added as a natural preservative that may boost the effects of alcohol. That brings us back to End Days and Trump's 14 promises when elected president. Here are the highlights: bomb drug cartels; put parents in charge of schools; stop the chemical castration and sexual mutilation of our youth; develop vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles for families; ban the use of taxpayer dollars to label speech as mis- or disinformation; end Biden's tax hikes and inflation; fire the unelected bureaucrats who have weaponized the justice system. And that brings us 'round to tequila again, because if Trump returns to power we're going to need a lot of it. The way things are looking, we're going to need a lot of it either way.

RACISM ISN'T ALL THAT BAD, EXCEPT FOR WHITE PEOPLE

As everyone knows, white people are the real victims of racism — it makes white kids feel bad. Just imagine, you're a white kid in public school and the teacher starts in on slavery and Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan. Total bummer. How are they supposed to enjoy hacky sack after that. Teaching school kids about racism is perfectly fine, said Republican Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma school superintendent, as long as no one is “made to feel bad.” Problem solved. According to researchers at UCLA and UC San Diego, some 17.7 million public school students from 2020-'21 had their learning restricted on race, racism and gender. Totally chill. We can't have teachers turning our kids into Marxists who think everyone is equal. Thirty six state legislatures, including Utah, sought to ban teaching of critical race theory (how inequality and systemic racism impact American society). That stuff, whatever it is, could make white people feel bad, according to conservative lawmakers. And if you're worried about that white privilege B.S., just look at affirmative action. Meanwhile, Democrats harp on healthcare, wealth inequality and global warming in a naked attempt to change the subject. But don't forget the GOP is the Party of Lincoln and the party of Clarence Thomas. 'Nuff said.  

Post script — That's a wrap for another sizzling week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of the heat so you don't have to. Mother Earth is hotter than she's been for 125,000 years. But don't tell that to conservative Republicans or MAGAtts, you'll get death threats. But it's not just the crazies. Red States, including Utah, are refusing to invest taxpayer dollars in green energy or entities that conclude global warming is brought on by burning fossil fuels. Great — cutting off our environmental nose to spite our global face. Many on the right don't believe in climate change, said Penn State's Michael Mann, because wealthy fossil fuel interests, the Koch brothers in particular, “have spent tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars poisoning our public discourse over climate change...”  But there is this: More home runs are hit when it's hot. For every 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degree Fahrenheit) increase in temperature, the number of home runs in a game increases by 1.96 percent, according to a study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.The study found that more than 500 home runs since 2010 can be linked to climate warming. Proof positive that whether Mike Lee boycotts Ben & Jerry's or not, we're all going to have to eat ice cream a lot faster.

Hey Wilson, have you ever tried to eat an ice cream cone at 95 degrees. You gotta be real quick with the lick, so quick, in fact, that you could get one of those ice-cream headaches. That's when you freeze the superficial ophthalmic branch of the Trigeminal Nerve. Look it up, well, never mind. Tell the band to put down the Cherry Garcia and take us out of the hot city:

Hot town, summer in the city Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty Been down, isn't it a pity? Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city All around, people looking half dead Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head But at night it's a different world Go out and find a girl Come on, come on and dance all night Despite the heat it'll be all right And babe, don't you know it's a pity That the days can't be like the nights In the summer, in the city In the summer, in the city

Cool town, evening in the city Dressing so fine and looking so pretty Cool cat, looking for a kitty Gonna look in every corner of the city Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop At night it's a different world Go out and find a girl Come on, come on and dance all night Despite the heat it'll be all right And babe, don't you know it's a pity That the days can't be like the nights In the summer, in the city In the summer, in the city

(Summer In The City — Lovin' Spoonful)

[lunarmote]

Kyoto travel log, 2 weeks in

Take a night walk with me, through Kyoto...

This is my 2-week update since arriving in Kyoto. I cannot believe it’s been 2 weeks!

I love Kyoto’s walkability

Look at this night walk and how I’m taking pictures while I’m walking (probably should be a little more cautious; I am a foreigner after all). The streetlamps provide direction; there are always people at pedestrian crossings, and in general people are just minding their own business quietly, sharing the road. I have always loved the enveloping quality of the night and long to take walks, yet I never felt comfortable doing so in California. I arrive at a fork in the road in a residential neighborhood and each way down is rows and rows of houses but I feel no anxiety or rush.

Things I’ve been struggling with

There are some things that I’ve been struggling with that I struggle to put into words... the first has to do with racism and misunderstandings.

The thing is, when you travel abroad, people view you as an ambassador of your country, while I’ve only ever viewed myself as a distinct individual who doesn’t associate strongly with any group. When I hang out with myself, I simply exist —  I am not consciously in the act of communicating things and preferences just by the way I do certain things. When you’re with new people especially those who have come from a different mode of life the differences between you become extremely obvious and perceivable.

It is a bit annoying when you insist that your nationality does not define you and others insist it does more than you think because they are not clouded by familiarity bias when they look at you.

I am also very aware of the fact that outside the Bay Area/LA/UC system where I go to school, “Asian-American” is a category that is not well-understood. I have been aware of this since the first time I traveled outside of the country and I could do a separate entry on the different ways I have been treated by Chinese people, non-Asian Americans, etc. But the thrust of it is: a lot of people still do not understand the legitimate lived experience of being both Asian and American. “But your face is Asian…” is a legitimate protest to them when you insist your values are very Westernized and you’ve been brought up reading Western Enlightenment thinkers, learning a Western conception of rights/duties/obligations, etc. (I am aware that everything I say must be broad and sweeping). And there is a mutualistic solidarity between you and the students who have grown up in the Asian country your “people” supposedly belong to, because you are both foreigners here, and your foreign awkwardness is what drives you together, but this social glue is not because you belong to a category of others who “look like” you.

FOMO and energy management as an introvert.

I’m immensely bothered by the concept of ticking time and the thought of wasted opportunities. I want to do everything at once. (As pressuring and stressful this is, it can also be a positive thing) There are very few things I would not do, only things I decide to not invest into for the time being.

It’s so hard being in a foreign country being completely surrounded by possibilities and new people. I’ve reached a point where, the beats of public transportation no longer give me an anxiety spike (can’t understand 90% of what the announcer on the bus is saying, but I know what “tsugi wa ____” means), and now it’s just the thought that I could, no should, be hanging out with this group of people, no that group of people. Genuinely positive experiences, I always feel great and fired-up after grabbing dinner and bonding with new people. But I am very bad at recognizing the signs of social burn-out until I wake up one day and feel like I really cannot leave the house anymore and need to find ways to recharge.

Another thing is, I am affected differently by different types of social interaction. I do very well at one-on-ones. There is usually more of a nurturing, positive-relating to these interactions. Then there are hangouts where you’re in a group of people exploring manga shops, talking about dirty manga/anime tropes, and these are super fun and banter-y and the well never runs dry of things to talk about, but these are tiring to me, and somehow I end up questioning the way I present myself afterward more in group settings than in individual settings.

I need some kind of reliable wind-down, something that reminds me of home. Something not energy-charged, so I can remember who I am and why I came here.

[mrworldwideplanning]

Blog Assignment #7 

Create a road diet design for your site by applying principles of New Urbanism or Landscape Urbanism (or both) (Due 03/20). Each group should create own sketches, sections, or annotated diagrams and post them on a blog.

Jack G - Transportation

Ludlow street is the primary way for motorists to get to Northside and Hamilton Ave from uptown. The street handles anywhere from 550 cars at peak, to 330 off-peak. It's a busy link between Uptown and Northside. 

Current road layout

Ludlow Avenue is also a public transit funnel. Three Cincinnati Metro bus routes and three UC shuttle routes stop on this street. The street serves as a transfer between uptown and crosstown metro routes, as well as one of the most popular routes on the UC shuttle system. There are 34 buses an hour on peak and 23 buses an hour off-peak. Metro operates the vast majority of these buses (27 metro and 7 UC shuttle). If each of the buses were averaging 15 passengers per bus, the bus ridership on Ludlow would be 420 people per hour at peak. 

Proposed road diet

Because of this high public transit ridership, we propose adding a bus lane on the northbound side of the street. The reason for being only northbound is the UC shuttles only operate on the northbound side of the street. Making the northbound side of the street in need of transit a priority.

Jack J - Parking

Since we are removing the parking lanes on both sides we need to find areas where these displaced cars can park. The solution is to turn the parking lot next to the Clifton market into a parking garage. Having 3 stories will be enough to cover the displaced parking spots. The parking garage will also include easy access to Ludlow Avenue. The Structure should also look nicer than a regular parking garage so it is not an eyesore.

Residents who live on the street would get a pass so they can park in the garage for free instead of paying for it. For regular use, the price will be the same as it is on the street. The funding from this will go to the maintenance costs of the structure.

Sidewalk additions (Benches, lights, trees, dining options, etc.)

North sidewalk is bigger

Image from: google maps

Image from: Houston Parking - Save Up to 50% | SpotHero  

Gabe - Intersections

A great addition to Ludlow would be the use of raised intersections in commercial and highly populated areas. Elevated intersections help to slow down traffic where pedestrians are crossing the street and throughout the entire street. Elevating the entire intersection rather than just the crosswalk is important here because of the BRT route running through Ludlow. We don’t want to be tossing around the bus passengers at every crosswalk. Raised intersections and crosswalks have been shown to slow down traffic by 4 – 12 mph in areas where they have been implemented. Beginning the grade a couple feet before the crosswalk will cause drivers to slow down and become more aware of pedestrians potentially crossing the street, this will also allow vehicles to pass over without being damaged or tossing their passengers around. In the center of the raised intersection would be brick pavers to add some decoration to the intersection as well as to coerce drivers to slow down. The noise and vibration of the brick pavers cause drivers to drive slower.

Source: https://www.miamioh.edu/news/campus-news/2017/06/raised_intersection.html

Roan - Sidewalks

Sidewalks have always been one of the most important aspects of an area when considering an urban environment. They serve as a large connection for people through their provided walkability, and when done correctly enhance an area’s land value. One area that does not have adequate sidewalks is Ludlow Avenue.

Ludlow Avenue has basic sidewalks that do not serve the full potential of its Clifton neighborhood residents and businesses. These sidewalks are too thin to provide comfort to those passing through, and do not have amenities that adequately support the people passing through.

Image of Ludlow Avenue Sidewalk Size

An increase in sidewalk size would also open the opportunity for critical amenities to be introduced and reinforced within Ludlow. Some amenities introduced could include trees alongside the edge of the sidewalk facing the road, and awnings attached to the edge of buildings. These additions would increase pedestrian safety from the adjacent cars, increase shade for walkability, and improve the comfort and appearance of the sidewalk.

Image of North Michigan Avenue in Chicago

Compiled by Lauralee

[garudabluffs]

Beyoncé tour sales are off to a smoother start. What does that mean for Ticketmaster?

February 7, 2023 "...presale is a lottery."

"Ticketmaster announced last week that it would be dividing cities into three groups, each with its own staggered registration deadlines and presale dates, in addition to using its Verified Fan system to try to minimize bots. (It ended up closing registration for the last two groups on Sunday, citing outsize demand.)

Ticketmaster itself sought to temper fans' expectations, explaining in advance how the ticketing process would work and warning that many would likely end up empty-handed because demand exceeded the number of available tickets by more than 800% for Group A cities alone.

"It is expected that many interested fans may not be able to get tickets because demand drastically exceeds supply," it cautioned on Friday.

Politics

The Senate's Ticketmaster hearing featured plenty of Taylor Swift puns and protester

And the company kept communication going as the first round of tickets for Group A — with cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Toronto and Washington, D.C. — went on sale on Monday."

Politics

The Senate's Ticketmaster hearing featured plenty of Taylor Swift puns and protest

"Carolyn Sloane, a labor economist at the University of California, Riverside — whose "Rockonomics" class is currently studying the Ticketmaster drama — says while Ticketmaster's approach to the Renaissance tour is a step in the right direction, these changes alone won't solve the problems we're seeing.

Politics

The Senate's Ticketmaster hearing featured plenty of Taylor Swift puns and protesters

Sloane tells NPR that external pressures like political oversight and the threat of enforcement are mirroring the kind of pressure that Ticketmaster (which controls more than 70% of the market for ticketing and live events) would face in a more competitive landscape, and that's forcing it to invest more in things like communication with customers.

But she says it's not realistic to think that there will be much change in the market without some sort of structural remedy (in the form of something like forced divestment or an updated consent decree from the U.S. Justice Department).

"Absent enforcement activity, you're probably just going to see some kind of status quo with how the ticketing market looks right now," Sloane says — adding that in a perfect world there would be less consolidation in all parts of the music industry, including streaming."

Sloane says every part of the music industry is "extremely consolidated," with the exception of music publishing, and she thinks that will continue to be an issue regardless of what happens with Ticketmaster.

"Plus there's only so much Ticketmaster can do to meet the outrageous demand for certain concerts, which she says can be explained in part by years of demand pent up during the pandemic and the fact that younger consumers are increasingly experience-driven.

But even if getting tickets for big-name performances continues to be high stakes and high stress, Sloane says there's reason for hope.

"People should get out there and see shows that are not just stadium shows," she says. "There's a lot of great theater shows and local venue shows that you can get tickets for and have that experience of going to a great show and maybe discovering some new music. So in that sense, there's always going to be stuff to go to. It might just be more expensive to go to the top 1% of performer shows."

LISTEN READ MORE https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1155150027/beyonce-renaissance-ticketmaster-presale

Stacey Bedford Visits UCR Rockonomics class with Dr. Carolyn M. Sloane

Stacey Bedford, CEO of Bandzoogle, visits UC Riverside Rockonomics with Dr. Carolyn M. Sloane. Questions generated by the students. Students' audio and video removed. Opinions are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of any organization or institution. For educational purposes only. tags #rockonomics #economics #microeconomics #bandzoogle #websitecreation #seo #onlineservices #ucr #ucriverside #music #management #educational #worklifebalance #professionaldevelopment

8 months ago VIDEO https://vimeo.com/720022486?signup=true

[vcpphones]

Hosted PBX Australia - Why You Should Consider Hosted PBX

Hosted PBX Australia is the solution for you if you are looking for a unified communications system that makes it easy for you to make and receive calls on multiple devices. It is also extremely cost-effective and has plug-and-play features that can be easily managed and integrated into any business. In addition, a hosted pbx Australia can be customized to fit the needs of your business.

Unified communications streamlines communication channels

Unified communications is a fusion of several communication tools including voice calls, video conferencing, email and SMS. These tools improve user experience, enhance collaboration and increase productivity.

Unified communications technology allows seamless switching between different modes of communication. This can be done via desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets. It can also be deployed on premises or in the cloud. Using UC technology can boost efficiency and help businesses to reduce costs.

Unified communications is a way for modern workers to communicate and collaborate on any device. As companies move to digital workplaces, employees may need to be able to work on various devices during the workday. In addition, unified communications can be a key tool to improving productivity and customer service.

Make and receive calls on multiple devices

If you're thinking of replacing your current phone system, here are a few tidbits you'll want to keep in mind. Fortunately, it's not as expensive or difficult as you might think. Basically, all you need is a decent internet connection and some patience. The rest will take care of itself.

In addition, the cloud can be a good place to look for free telephone numbers. This is not to mention the fact that you'll be able to make and receive calls on any device you own. That's not to mention the fact that your staff members can use their mobile phones at work, too. So, whether you're in a big company or a small one, you can take advantage of the best that the internet has to offer.

Easy to manage

It may seem counterintuitive, but a hosted PBX system can actually make you and your company more efficient. Not only does it obviate the need to have a physical presence at your office, it allows employees to work remotely as if they were in the office. As a result, a company with more flexibility is more likely to retain top notch talent.

Hosted PBX systems are designed for the enterprise. They have all of the features you would expect from a PBX, and many more, including a fancy schmancy phone system, video conferencing, and teleconferencing. The best part is that it isn't hard to set up. Simply plug in a couple of IP phones and you are good to go. You can even start with one person, and then add users and extensions as needed.

Plug & play

If you are in the market for a cloud based business phone system then look no further than a plug and play hosted PBX. Known as Cloud PBX or Virtual PBX, this scalable IP based communication solution is a great way to simplify network communication. It helps you communicate across locations without sacrificing productivity. Besides, you can lower your call rates with a hosted PBX system.

When it comes to cloud based PBX solutions, you will find providers offering a wide variety of calling features. The most comprehensive offerings include voicemail, auto attendant, hunt groups, and more. Whether you need a small or large number of phones, a hosted PBX can handle the job. There are also numerous benefits to opting for a hosted PBX - a major one being the ease of maintenance.

Hybrid vs hosted pbx

If you're thinking of moving to a new business phone system, you may be wondering what the difference is between a Hybrid and Hosted PBX. The truth is, they are both useful systems, and the best choice for your business is a matter of personal preference. However, you should understand what the benefits of each are before making your decision.

One of the main differences between a Hosted PBX and a hybrid PBX is that a Hosted PBX is cloud-based. This eliminates the need for office hardware and maintenance. You can add and remove features at your discretion. A Hosted solution is also cheaper than a hybrid solution.

Another key benefit of a hosted PBX is that you don't have to worry about downtime. Since the system is managed by a third party, you can expect little to no downtime. In addition, many Hosted solutions offer built-in redundancy.

[voicesfromthepicket]

Summer, Environmental Studies PhD Student, UC Santa Cruz

I did my MA at UC Berkeley, where the housing situation is very bad. But I can confidently say that Santa Cruz’s housing situation is much worse. It is impossible to find housing that you can afford on your own with a grad student’s salary. When I was first looking for a living space here, myself and my friends got turned down by landlords because our paystubs were too low to give them the confidence that we would actually be able to make the rent each month. These experiences of being denied housing simply because I am a graduate student have been a wake up call for myself and a lot of my colleagues.

The Santa Cruz rental market is very hostile not just to graduate students, but to blue collar workers, teachers, and even middle class people who don’t have a steady high income, that is how bad it is here. I strike out of concern for many of my colleagues who are in unstable housing situations; living in hotels, couch-surfing, or trapped with abusive landlords because that is the only situation they can afford. In a addition, many landlords here abide by sketchy lease policies where they can kick out the renter at any time and they often hold this power over their tenants’ heads. 60% of my paycheck and the paycheck of my three roommates goes to rent. I think that by striking and winning a good contract, we have a great chance of eliminating worker exploitation across the UC system.

I study the food system, and I have connections to the campus farm and agroecology program. I take a lot of pride in being a member of the food team and working to provide food for our campus picket line. So many students have expressed their gratitude for being able to eat for free here on the picket line each day; some have said that they otherwise skip meals to save money. The fight for COLA ties into food justice, everyone deserves to have the funds to afford what they want to eat. Nobody should be forced to choose between buying textbooks and buying fresh produce, which is unfortunately the situation for many grads across the UC.