Scott frost big ten media days

/r/HipHopHeads on Reddit

2010.02.01 20:52 zigzagzig /r/HipHopHeads on Reddit

Everything hip-hop, R&B and Future Beats! The latest mixtapes, videos, news, and anything else hip-hop/R&B/Future Beats related from your favorite artists

[link]

2012.11.21 02:47 TenCentPistol /r/HipHopHeads on Reddit

Everything hip-hop! The latest mixtapes, music videos, news, and anything else hip-hop related from your favorite artists.

[link]

2023.05.31 17:58 Daarkarrow Decrypting the Station- Narration

Hey everyone!
It is been a while, but as you can imagine things have been pretty busy with the announcement of Insiders.
Today we will be talking about an important topic, even if for some players it's "not that important". We are referring to the Narration of ENDLESS™ Dungeon.
Decrypting the Station about Narration Thumbnail - Cartie Happy on the right side
As I am not a writer myself, I will leave you in the expert hands of Jeff, Narrative Director, and Benoît, Lead Game Designer.

A long Time Ago...

Compelling stories and events have always been present in Amplitude’s games; we are all geeky fans of great fiction, be it Greek epics or gender-bending SF. Great stories are a critical element of any media experience, and we work hard to bring narrative to our games that is as interesting as the graphics and the gameplay.
Video games of any genre basically have two types of narrative: the authored narrative created by the devs that you discover as you play (canon), and the emergent narrative created by the player as they do their own unique playthrough of the game and build their individual story (headcanon).
While an important part of the tales that come from strategy games like Endless Space and Endless Legend evolve from emergent stories, games with stronger RPG elements like Endless Dungeon necessarily rely a lot more on the content authored by the devs.
Accordingly, the team spent a lot of time at the beginning of the project working out the big picture story of the Station and where (and when) it fit in the canon of the Endless Universe timeline. The timeline is important to determine what factions may or may not be present, what events have or have not happened, etc. Next, of course, we had to refine the history of the Station, its rise and fall, what all the different structures and districts are, why it ended up this way, and everything else that creates the backstory of the actual game experience. (Note: Though these elements are created first, they form the deepest layers of narrative that are only uncovered through concerted efforts by players who want to dig into the lore…)
Once this backdrop was complete (or at least relatively stable), we then started working out the details of the game story. This is the personality and backstory of each hero, the details of how they interact with each other and with the Station, what their individual quests and goals are, and everything else that goes into this most visible layer of the game narrative. These are the stories and events that are the most immediate for the player as they are tied to the progression of the heroes, achievements, equipment, bonuses, and all of that.
To show you how and why we did this, here is a dive into the key narrative elements of Endless Dungeon, explaining some of the systems and content that players will discover in the game.

The Station

Even though you will find yourself controlling a bunch of very unique shipwrecked heroes, the main character of the show clearly is that mysterious station. We took time with the art team to make sure the different places, the saloon, the Hoist, all the 10 districts, also tell a story and convey an ambiance and an atmosphere that fits with the stories the station has to tell.

District Notes

At a more detailed level, there are Notes that are also scattered throughout the Station and tell the story of people who once lived inside the station. From the pomp of the Headquarters to the mad experiments of the Life Incubator, each District has its own storyteller, history, style, and format.
Notes have been written for players who want to connect a bit more with the past of this station, giving a bit more narrative details that you will enjoy reconnecting with each other.
Here are some examples of the types of Notes that you will find as you explore the Station:

Example of a district note
Example 2 of a district note

Heroes and Quests

You will run through the Station, dying and re-trying, as one of the eight heroes in the game. These heroes represent five known factions of the Endless universe plus two new ones (maybe one and a half). Every one of them has not only gameplay roles and abilities, but also backstories based on the gameplay plus personal goals that led them to the Station—or will lead them away from it.
Shroom taking notes
The development of the heroes was of course one of the most entertaining parts of the narrative dev cycle. In fact, any time design, writing, and art are sitting together brainstorming we know it’s going to be a fun part of the dev cycle! Some of the heroes started from concept art and some started from design needs, but all of them get a thick coating of lore icing with animation and audio as the cherries on the cake.
Blaze drafts
Of course, not all the heroes are immediately trusting of whatever noob comes chatting with them in the Saloon. They may have to be unlocked, and will let you know what needs to be done for them to decide if it’s worth going back down into the crazy killzones of the Station. To discover more about them, each hero has a personal quest that they are pursuing. These range from discovery and domination to revenge and redemption.
Cartie sad
Quests have been designed to offer run-based challenges to heroes facing the dangers of the station. The quests are unlocked step by step. Completing quest steps will improve your hero permanently while rewarding you with currencies to spend at the Workshop.
Example of Bunker quests

Saloon

One of the most important parts of the whole Station is the central hub of the player experience: the Saloon! True to the Western tropes of the game, the Saloon is a combination of café, meeting place, workshop, and concert hall. This is where the players will add to the Archives, upgrade heroes and weapons, unlock Districts of the Station, and add to other meta-game elements like trophies that reflect your progress through the monster-infested halls.
Buzzer talking on the Saloon

Character Reactions

Heroes react to game events and objectives through what we call Barks and Talks.
As in any game, a Bark is a reaction to a moment or an event mostly during runs; it is the reaction of the character to a given, immediate situation.
Talks, on the other hand, are used to inform the player about what is going on and explain a bit more about what the hero is doing—or wanting to do. In order to not distract the player from the game (and therefore, uh, kill them), Talks generally occur in the saloon or in game zones where there are no monsters and no immediate threats (Note: There aren’t too many of these…).

ZED talking on the elevator
Bunker talking on the elevator

The End of this Story

If you made it this far, thanks! The narrative team appreciates your interest in the game and your ability to patiently read all this text. Trust us; in the game, we have tried to make everything shorter and sweeter.
We made sure narrative elements are present in different ways throughout the game, and there is even more for those who will look for a little more.
We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about game dev while making Endless Dungeon, and we hope that your experience and your journey is even better than ours.
----
That´s all for today folks.
Hope you have enjoyed learning more about how Narration will work on Endless Dungeon.
Cannot wait for you to discover the story behind the Station, the characters, etc... And the connection with the Endless Universe.
Have a nice day ^-^

submitted by Daarkarrow to EndlessDungeonGame [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:57 StocksonHighAlertz NeoVolta Inc. $NEOV Award Winning Battery Storage & Solar Power

Hello everyone and welcome to our new members,
As mentioned yesterday, we hope everyone had a great and safe long weekend. We have a strong conviction on this one. The tech appears solid and the need for these systems is on the rise.
Your Coming Summer of Blackouts The grid monitors say two-thirds of the U.S. risks electricity outage. -WSJ
US power grids vulnerable to extreme heat conditions this summer, NERC says -Reuters
Next Gen Battery Storage and Solar Power for Industrial and Residential Use
NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) Poised to Take Advantage of Government Incentives, Impressive Management and Experiencing Rapid Growth
Current Price $2.80/Share Public Float 28.28M Shares Held by Insiders and Institutions 18.07% - Source Yahoo Finance
About NeoVolta - NeoVolta designs, develops, and manufactures advanced energy storage systems for both residential and industrial use. Its storage solutions are engineered with lithium iron phosphate (LiFe(PO4)) battery chemistry, which is clean, nontoxic, and nonflammable. The residential-focused NeoVolta NV14 is equipped with a solar-rechargeable 14.4 kWh battery system, a 7,680-Watt inverter, and a web-based energy management system with 24/7 monitoring. The system’s 6,000-cycle battery life, one of the longest on the market, translates to 16.5 years of useful life, based on a full charge and discharge each day. The NV14 has passed the product safety standards set forth by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for battery energy storage safety testing.
Award Winning Technology
The NV14 system has been named one of Solar Power World’s Top Solar Storage Products for 2022. This marks the fourth consecutive year the NV14 has received the award from Solar Power World, one of the solar industry’s leading media outlets.
How it Works
Engineered For Safety With Iron, Not Ion Home Energy Storage Built with Safer Lithium Iron Phosphate Built with Lithium Iron Phosphate [LiFe(PO4)] Longer-lasting and safer battery technology
Non-toxic, cobalt-free energy storage Built for Stability Non-toxic, with superior thermal and chemical stability
NeoVolta Is Built with Safer Lithium Iron not Lithium Ion with Cobalt Built specifically for solar energy storage Batteries are designed for homes, not for cars
NV14 has a higher temperature tolerance than Lithium-Ion batteries Under extreme heat, Iron outperforms Ion
No Maintenance Costs Required 10 year warranty
Built with longer-lasting IRON, not ION 13,896 Wh X 365 days x 10 years 50,720 kWh lifetime throughput
Floor or Wall Mounted Easy Installation Weatherproof and installs in a garage or on the side of a home.
Remote Monitoring They monitor the health of the system so you don't have to.
VIDEO: See How the NeoVolta NV14/NV24 Work
NeoVolta’s NV14 is the first Lithium Iron Energy Storage System to be approved by the California Energy Commission. It seamlessly powers up to 16 breakers and 32 amps of continuous power through peak rates or grid outages.
Connect to DC solar installations without any external inverters or to AC solar installations via String or Micro Inverter.
The rapid auto transfer switch, ensures that even when the grid goes down, power remains uninterrupted.
Recent News
NeoVolta’s Backup System Saves MDX Labs’ Lifesaving Medications During Multiple Grid Outages
- Commercial Battery Backup System Has Prevented the Loss of MDX’s Critical Functions and Thousands of Dollars in Inventory During Numerous Power Failures
SAN DIEGO, May 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, has kept MDX Labs protected during multiple grid outages with reliable battery backup. Thanks to NeoVolta, the laboratory’s critical functions (refrigeration, server, and lights) have kept running, saving thousands of dollars while sustaining lifesaving medications and vaccines.
Founded in 2020, Henderson-based MDX Labs is the top privately held molecular and clinical diagnostic laboratory in the state of Nevada. MDX provides on-site testing services to a range of manufacturers, casinos, entertainers, restaurants, and nonprofit organizations, and it is the official overflow laboratory for the Southern Nevada Health District.
MDX Labs houses large quantities of vaccines, patient samples, and medications that require refrigeration. When grid outages occurred in the past, MDX would often lose tens of thousands of dollars in product and face periods of product unavailability while awaiting restock. In late 2021, MDX began searching for a battery backup system and discovered NeoVolta, which features a clean lithium iron phosphate battery and a hybrid inverter that can accept 208-volt power connections. NeoVolta can also charge from the power grid, eliminating the need for solar installation. In March 2022, MDX Labs installed NeoVolta’s NV14 Energy Storage System.
“Being able to support commercial facilities that are powered with 208-volt electricity is an amazing capability. Transformers are not required, which saves customers thousands of dollars and eliminates loud equipment that gives off radiant heat,” said Brent Willson, CEO of NeoVolta. “Our energy storage solutions are a very smart investment, especially considering the cost and consequence of an outage that would result in the loss of vital medical supplies and medications. We are thrilled to be partnering with MDX, a world-class clinical diagnostic laboratory.” FULL ARTICLE
NeoVolta Approved for Partnership by GoodLeap, the Top U.S. Financer for Solar and Sustainable Tech
- Offering Flexible Options for Consumers to Pay for Battery Storage
- NeoVolta Approved for Partnership by GoodLeap, the Top U.S. Financer for Solar and Sustainable Tech
SAN DIEGO, May 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, has partnered with the sustainable home improvement finance platform GoodLeap to make solar energy storage as affordable as possible for more homeowners.
GoodLeap will finance standalone NeoVolta Energy Storage System (ESS) installations with or without solar panels. They offer flexible terms and highly competitive rates. As of 2022, GoodLeap was the number one financing platform, responsible for 26% of the entire U.S. residential solar market.
To apply, homeowners can coordinate with their installer on costs and then complete an online application. The process is fast and easy, and the underwriting is very flexible so that more homeowners get approved. Finally, GoodLeap has a strong reputation for exceptional customer service, with phone calls answered live by experienced solar professionals.
“GoodLeap’s low financing rates will allow more homeowners to enjoy years of utility savings and long-lasting blackout protection with NeoVolta energy storage,” said CEO Brent Willson, CEO of NeoVolta. “Our energy storage solutions are a very smart investment, and it’s never been easier to get started. With GoodLeap financing, NeoVolta’s market is opening to a much bigger audience. We are thrilled to be partnering with a world-class provider of sustainable home improvement financing.”
The partnership with GoodLeap is expected to help fuel NeoVolta’s continued success in the rapidly growing home energy storage market.
Devastating power outages throughout the country, caused by wildfires, extreme weather, and an increasingly unstable grid system, have underscored the urgent need for home backup power.
NeoVolta storage systems are designed for safety and performance. They use lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry, the nonflammable and nontoxic alternative to lithium ion. NeoVolta’s flagship NV14 energy storage system has a very high storage capacity of 14.4 kilowatt-hours, expandable to 24.0 kWh with the optional NV24 battery—without the expense of a second inverter. The system’s inverter discharges 7.7 kilowatts of instantaneous power, more than most mainstream competitors.
For its superior safety, performance and compatibility with any solar system, new or existing, the NV14 has been named one of Solar Power World’s top storage products four years in a row. FULL ARTICLE
NeoVolta Selected to Provide American Development Partners with Energy Storage for More Than 400 Regenerative Treatment Centers
- NeoVolta’s Energy Storage and Intelligent Power Management Will Be Deployed in Treatment Center Builds Nationwide Over Next Seven Years
- NeoVolta Selected to Provide American Development Partners with Energy Storage for More Than 400 Regenerative Treatment Centers
SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, announced today that its systems will be deployed in more than 400 Orthagenex treatment centers nationwide. This is part of a rollout of NeoVolta batteries in thousands of American Development Partners (ADP) properties across the country over the next several years.
Together with ADP, NeoVolta will provide energy storage systems and intelligent power management for Orthagenex’s cutting edge regenerative medicine treatments centers. These 400 builds over the next seven years will be equipped with NeoVolta’s NV14 and NV24 Energy Storage Systems. The clean solar energy stored in the NeoVolta batteries will be used to dramatically reduce electric bills and serve as a backup in the event of a power loss.
American Development Partners developer Manny Butera said, “At ADP, we work with companies who innovate. NeoVolta’s advanced energy storage product is a perfect fit for the properties we are developing. We are thrilled to continue our close relationship with NeoVolta.” FULL ARTICLE
NeoVolta Poised for California’s NEM Incentives to Pair Solar with Battery Storage
- Additional $630 Million in California State Funding Set Aside to Support Residential Low-Income Solar Plus Storage Adopters
- NeoVolta Poised for California’s NEM Incentives to Pair Solar with Battery Storage
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, announced today that it expects California’s recently updated Net Energy Metering (NEM) program to drive increased demand for energy storage systems.
On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision to update the NEM tariff to promote consumer adoption of solar and battery storage. The program will go into effect on April 13, 2023. According to the CPUC, the move was designed to financially incentivize Californians to install both battery and solar systems.
The CPUC stated that the current NEM 2.0 program was not aligned with California’s grid reliability and climate goals, noting that the increased use of electricity between 4 and 9 p.m. causes dependence on fossil fuel gas plants to meet the demand. With the battery storage incentive, the CPUC hopes to see an increased adoption of residential energy storage that will better support the needs of the grid, with customers saving self-generated solar energy for use in the evening hours.
An additional $630 million in state funding has been set aside by the California State Legislature for residential low-income solar plus battery storage adopters. The decision bolsters federal incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for solar and battery storage.
It’s important to note that NEM 3.0 is not retroactive. Rooftop solar systems installed under NEM 2.0 will remain under that policy for a 20-year grandfathering period. This means existing rooftop solar owners who add a battery after the April 13 deadline will not be subject to NEM 3.0.
“We expect that NEM 3.0 will make Californians more aware of their energy consumption, encouraging them to conserve energy and pair rooftop solar systems with battery storage,” said NeoVolta CEO Brent Willson. “Californians who adopt this strategy will dramatically reduce their electrical bills while increasing their energy resiliency during periods of prolonged blackouts, fires, and flooding.”
California’s vast solar plus storage market has a dramatic impact on the grid. California has about 12 GW of distributed solar generation already installed, equal to nearly 25% of peak demand statewide. California also has more than 80,000 customer-owned batteries connected to the grid, with a storage potential of 900 MW, according to a September 2022 study by the California Solar & Storage Association. FULL ARTICLE
Homebuilder Rebates and Savings
Starting 2020: California Requires Solar On New Construction Each NeoVolta NV14 Could Save Builders $8,500+ (Equipment & Rebates)
Impressive Management
Brent Wilson, CEO
Brent Willson is a retired USMC Colonel with 30+ years of experience, who managed $100B aviation acquisition portfolio for the Defense Department. Brent is passionate about clean energy and providing battery energy storage solutions to consumers that provide the comfort of black out protection and the ability to offset increasing grid costs, with the solar power they produce.
NeoVolta Directors & NeoVolta Advisory
An older investor presentation (2019) but still relevant.
We will be back with more soon on NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV)
The Team

submitted by StocksonHighAlertz to stockstobuytoday [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:57 themeparkblues AITA for not letting my daughter go to a theme park with her friend?

I (37F) am feeling really terrible about this whole situation but I still feel justified in my decision and my husband (36M) is on the same page.
My daughter (8F) who we will call "Evie" was invited to join her friend (8F) and her family (who have 3 kids total, the other two are 6F and 9M) on their day trip to a theme park that is a few hours from our town. Evie was very excited when she was invited, and I was 100% going to let her go - with one condition. This family is one of those social media families that posts their entire life publicly. They don't have a crazy huge following (I think it's around 5k on tiktok) but it's still a substantial amount and everything is public. When discussing Evie potentially coming with them, the mom (33F) who we will call "Sarah" was very offended when I said I was happy to let Evie join, I just asked that they not post her on their social media. I make a point to not post my children (I also have an infant son) on social media, with the exception of a private account that only close friends and family follow). I do this because there are a lot of predators and bad actors online, and I don't feel comfortable with my children's photos being available to them.
Anyway, Sarah accused me of calling her a bad mom after she pestered me for my reasoning. She also said it wouldn't be possible for Evie to not be posted online because she would be doing "live" videos for much of the day. We went back and forth trying to find a solution/compromise but Sarah wouldn't budge. I decided to decline the invite.
Obviously, Evie is very upset and of course doesn't understand why she can't go. We have made a plan to take her and whatever friend she wants later this summer to make up for it, which has helped, but she is still upset about not joining her friend and their family. I have had 2 other moms in our "parent friend group" tell me I'm making too big of a deal out of the social media thing, but they're also people who post everything publicly.
What do you guys think, AITA? Should we have just let her go?

submitted by themeparkblues to u/themeparkblues [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:56 StocksonHighAlertz NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) Poised to Take Advantage of Government Incentives, Impressive Management and Experiencing Rapid Growth

submitted by StocksonHighAlertz to Wealthsimple_Penny [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:54 SituationLive4406 NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) Battery Storage and Solar Tech Poised to Take Advantage of Government Incentives, Experiencing Great Growth Right Now

Hello everyone,
Your Coming Summer of Blackouts The grid monitors say two-thirds of the U.S. risks electricity outage. -WSJ
US power grids vulnerable to extreme heat conditions this summer, NERC says -Reuters
Next Gen Battery Storage and Solar Power for Industrial and Residential Use
NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) Poised to Take Advantage of Government Incentives, Impressive Management and Experiencing Rapid Growth
Current Price $2.80/Share Public Float 28.28M Shares Held by Insiders and Institutions 18.07% - Source Yahoo Finance
About NeoVolta - NeoVolta designs, develops, and manufactures advanced energy storage systems for both residential and industrial use. Its storage solutions are engineered with lithium iron phosphate (LiFe(PO4)) battery chemistry, which is clean, nontoxic, and nonflammable. The residential-focused NeoVolta NV14 is equipped with a solar-rechargeable 14.4 kWh battery system, a 7,680-Watt inverter, and a web-based energy management system with 24/7 monitoring. The system’s 6,000-cycle battery life, one of the longest on the market, translates to 16.5 years of useful life, based on a full charge and discharge each day. The NV14 has passed the product safety standards set forth by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for battery energy storage safety testing.
Award Winning Technology
The NV14 system has been named one of Solar Power World’s Top Solar Storage Products for 2022. This marks the fourth consecutive year the NV14 has received the award from Solar Power World, one of the solar industry’s leading media outlets.
How it Works
Engineered For Safety With Iron, Not Ion Home Energy Storage Built with Safer Lithium Iron Phosphate Built with Lithium Iron Phosphate [LiFe(PO4)] Longer-lasting and safer battery technology
Non-toxic, cobalt-free energy storage Built for Stability Non-toxic, with superior thermal and chemical stability
NeoVolta Is Built with Safer Lithium Iron not Lithium Ion with Cobalt Built specifically for solar energy storage Batteries are designed for homes, not for cars
NV14 has a higher temperature tolerance than Lithium-Ion batteries Under extreme heat, Iron outperforms Ion
No Maintenance Costs Required 10 year warranty
Built with longer-lasting IRON, not ION 13,896 Wh X 365 days x 10 years 50,720 kWh lifetime throughput
Floor or Wall Mounted Easy Installation Weatherproof and installs in a garage or on the side of a home.
Remote Monitoring They monitor the health of the system so you don't have to.
VIDEO: See How the NeoVolta NV14/NV24 Work
NeoVolta’s NV14 is the first Lithium Iron Energy Storage System to be approved by the California Energy Commission. It seamlessly powers up to 16 breakers and 32 amps of continuous power through peak rates or grid outages.
Connect to DC solar installations without any external inverters or to AC solar installations via String or Micro Inverter.
The rapid auto transfer switch, ensures that even when the grid goes down, power remains uninterrupted.
Recent News
NeoVolta’s Backup System Saves MDX Labs’ Lifesaving Medications During Multiple Grid Outages
- Commercial Battery Backup System Has Prevented the Loss of MDX’s Critical Functions and Thousands of Dollars in Inventory During Numerous Power Failures
SAN DIEGO, May 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, has kept MDX Labs protected during multiple grid outages with reliable battery backup. Thanks to NeoVolta, the laboratory’s critical functions (refrigeration, server, and lights) have kept running, saving thousands of dollars while sustaining lifesaving medications and vaccines.
Founded in 2020, Henderson-based MDX Labs is the top privately held molecular and clinical diagnostic laboratory in the state of Nevada. MDX provides on-site testing services to a range of manufacturers, casinos, entertainers, restaurants, and nonprofit organizations, and it is the official overflow laboratory for the Southern Nevada Health District.
MDX Labs houses large quantities of vaccines, patient samples, and medications that require refrigeration. When grid outages occurred in the past, MDX would often lose tens of thousands of dollars in product and face periods of product unavailability while awaiting restock. In late 2021, MDX began searching for a battery backup system and discovered NeoVolta, which features a clean lithium iron phosphate battery and a hybrid inverter that can accept 208-volt power connections. NeoVolta can also charge from the power grid, eliminating the need for solar installation. In March 2022, MDX Labs installed NeoVolta’s NV14 Energy Storage System.
“Being able to support commercial facilities that are powered with 208-volt electricity is an amazing capability. Transformers are not required, which saves customers thousands of dollars and eliminates loud equipment that gives off radiant heat,” said Brent Willson, CEO of NeoVolta. “Our energy storage solutions are a very smart investment, especially considering the cost and consequence of an outage that would result in the loss of vital medical supplies and medications. We are thrilled to be partnering with MDX, a world-class clinical diagnostic laboratory.” FULL ARTICLE
NeoVolta Approved for Partnership by GoodLeap, the Top U.S. Financer for Solar and Sustainable Tech
- Offering Flexible Options for Consumers to Pay for Battery Storage
- NeoVolta Approved for Partnership by GoodLeap, the Top U.S. Financer for Solar and Sustainable Tech
SAN DIEGO, May 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, has partnered with the sustainable home improvement finance platform GoodLeap to make solar energy storage as affordable as possible for more homeowners.
GoodLeap will finance standalone NeoVolta Energy Storage System (ESS) installations with or without solar panels. They offer flexible terms and highly competitive rates. As of 2022, GoodLeap was the number one financing platform, responsible for 26% of the entire U.S. residential solar market.
To apply, homeowners can coordinate with their installer on costs and then complete an online application. The process is fast and easy, and the underwriting is very flexible so that more homeowners get approved. Finally, GoodLeap has a strong reputation for exceptional customer service, with phone calls answered live by experienced solar professionals.
“GoodLeap’s low financing rates will allow more homeowners to enjoy years of utility savings and long-lasting blackout protection with NeoVolta energy storage,” said CEO Brent Willson, CEO of NeoVolta. “Our energy storage solutions are a very smart investment, and it’s never been easier to get started. With GoodLeap financing, NeoVolta’s market is opening to a much bigger audience. We are thrilled to be partnering with a world-class provider of sustainable home improvement financing.”
The partnership with GoodLeap is expected to help fuel NeoVolta’s continued success in the rapidly growing home energy storage market.
Devastating power outages throughout the country, caused by wildfires, extreme weather, and an increasingly unstable grid system, have underscored the urgent need for home backup power.
NeoVolta storage systems are designed for safety and performance. They use lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry, the nonflammable and nontoxic alternative to lithium ion. NeoVolta’s flagship NV14 energy storage system has a very high storage capacity of 14.4 kilowatt-hours, expandable to 24.0 kWh with the optional NV24 battery—without the expense of a second inverter. The system’s inverter discharges 7.7 kilowatts of instantaneous power, more than most mainstream competitors.
For its superior safety, performance and compatibility with any solar system, new or existing, the NV14 has been named one of Solar Power World’s top storage products four years in a row. FULL ARTICLE
NeoVolta Selected to Provide American Development Partners with Energy Storage for More Than 400 Regenerative Treatment Centers
- NeoVolta’s Energy Storage and Intelligent Power Management Will Be Deployed in Treatment Center Builds Nationwide Over Next Seven Years
- NeoVolta Selected to Provide American Development Partners with Energy Storage for More Than 400 Regenerative Treatment Centers
SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, announced today that its systems will be deployed in more than 400 Orthagenex treatment centers nationwide. This is part of a rollout of NeoVolta batteries in thousands of American Development Partners (ADP) properties across the country over the next several years.
Together with ADP, NeoVolta will provide energy storage systems and intelligent power management for Orthagenex’s cutting edge regenerative medicine treatments centers. These 400 builds over the next seven years will be equipped with NeoVolta’s NV14 and NV24 Energy Storage Systems. The clean solar energy stored in the NeoVolta batteries will be used to dramatically reduce electric bills and serve as a backup in the event of a power loss.
American Development Partners developer Manny Butera said, “At ADP, we work with companies who innovate. NeoVolta’s advanced energy storage product is a perfect fit for the properties we are developing. We are thrilled to continue our close relationship with NeoVolta.” FULL ARTICLE
NeoVolta Poised for California’s NEM Incentives to Pair Solar with Battery Storage
- Additional $630 Million in California State Funding Set Aside to Support Residential Low-Income Solar Plus Storage Adopters
- NeoVolta Poised for California’s NEM Incentives to Pair Solar with Battery Storage
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) – NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, announced today that it expects California’s recently updated Net Energy Metering (NEM) program to drive increased demand for energy storage systems.
On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision to update the NEM tariff to promote consumer adoption of solar and battery storage. The program will go into effect on April 13, 2023. According to the CPUC, the move was designed to financially incentivize Californians to install both battery and solar systems.
The CPUC stated that the current NEM 2.0 program was not aligned with California’s grid reliability and climate goals, noting that the increased use of electricity between 4 and 9 p.m. causes dependence on fossil fuel gas plants to meet the demand. With the battery storage incentive, the CPUC hopes to see an increased adoption of residential energy storage that will better support the needs of the grid, with customers saving self-generated solar energy for use in the evening hours.
An additional $630 million in state funding has been set aside by the California State Legislature for residential low-income solar plus battery storage adopters. The decision bolsters federal incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for solar and battery storage.
It’s important to note that NEM 3.0 is not retroactive. Rooftop solar systems installed under NEM 2.0 will remain under that policy for a 20-year grandfathering period. This means existing rooftop solar owners who add a battery after the April 13 deadline will not be subject to NEM 3.0.
“We expect that NEM 3.0 will make Californians more aware of their energy consumption, encouraging them to conserve energy and pair rooftop solar systems with battery storage,” said NeoVolta CEO Brent Willson. “Californians who adopt this strategy will dramatically reduce their electrical bills while increasing their energy resiliency during periods of prolonged blackouts, fires, and flooding.”
California’s vast solar plus storage market has a dramatic impact on the grid. California has about 12 GW of distributed solar generation already installed, equal to nearly 25% of peak demand statewide. California also has more than 80,000 customer-owned batteries connected to the grid, with a storage potential of 900 MW, according to a September 2022 study by the California Solar & Storage Association. FULL ARTICLE
Homebuilder Rebates and Savings
Starting 2020: California Requires Solar On New Construction Each NeoVolta NV14 Could Save Builders $8,500+ (Equipment & Rebates)
Impressive Management
Brent Wilson, CEO
Brent Willson is a retired USMC Colonel with 30+ years of experience, who managed $100B aviation acquisition portfolio for the Defense Department. Brent is passionate about clean energy and providing battery energy storage solutions to consumers that provide the comfort of black out protection and the ability to offset increasing grid costs, with the solar power they produce.
NeoVolta Directors & NeoVolta Advisory
An older investor presentation (2019) but still relevant.
I'll be back with more soon on NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV)
Disclaimer

submitted by SituationLive4406 to Wallstreetbetsnew [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:52 BeckoningVoice This Oakland A's situation is just plain saddening.

I'm a fan of the New York Mets, but I've considered the Oakland A's my AL team for years. I'll admit that I definitely don't follow them closely like I do with the Mets, but I've always liked the Athletics for (among other things) their cool fans (with great attitude and spirit) and the really nice uniforms. I've only once been to California, but on that one trip I was sure to see the A's play at the Coliseum.
I'm sure that I'm preaching to the choir here, but everything about the A's right now is just so sad — infuriatingly so. Major League Baseball should be ashamed what has been happening. I don't know how John Fisher can sleep at night or how team brass can honestly speak on anything with a straight face. I feel really bad for the ordinary people working for the A's, too. They know what's going on. I'd feel terrible if my employer were doing something like that. (Not that the A's are by any means the only employer to do shitty things.)
The on-field product is one thing. It's abysmal, of course. But the lack of hope is another thing entirely. I never experienced the '62 Mets, but every shitty baseball season before has led fans to say "Maybe next year." This team may be exceptionally bad (and that by no means had to be the case — and is itself an indictment of ownership), but even exceptionally bad teams would have a next year. What can you even tell your kids with this team?
Even among relocations, this one is in that particularly disliked category of those openly proposed in the middle of a season. Relocation is devastating and has definitely wrecked a lot of people's relationships with the sport. I live in Montreal and an entire generation has lacked a connection to baseball here because of the loss of a team. The infamous DodgeGiant relocations were not announced openly in the middle of the season like this — nor were most others. I think of the departure of the second Washington Senators and the storming of the field as that franchise made its ignominious exit from RFK Stadium.
Adding insult to injury, though, is the fact that the A's are still marketing towards Oakland. The organization is still talking about their community initiatives and continuing their local events like nothing is happening, even as they're desperate to skip town. They're even trying to promote ticket sales a bit, get the mascot and whatever out there. They have a "kid reporter" out there on their social media. They keep posting about bark in the park — so many dogs on their feeds — which for me (as a big dog person) is particularly depressing. How in the world can they do all this with a straight face? How can they even try to pretend they're providing something to fans? They know — MLB knows — about how the people still coming are demanding that the team be sold to an owner who wants to keep it local.
I understand that the A's have contractual obligations to play out their season. But if they are going to leave — which is bad enough — do they have to spit in the fans' faces on the way out? Who in the world deserves that? It's like your spouse saying they're trying to leave you for someone else (just trying to get a date with them) and still insisting on saying "I love you" and pretending nothing has changed until the day the other person says yes.
I would like the A's to stay in Oakland. If they really have to switch locations, keeping things accessible to the current fanbase should matter, too. I don't believe for a moment that an option in Oakland or at the very least elsewhere in NorCal couldn't be done. Yes, the bureaucracy can get ridiculous — there is no shortage of problems there, I'm certain. But if they were truly determined, it could definitely happen. And it's not like there is no way to afford it. It's pretty clear now that ownership is not only hardly rooted in Oakland, but actually desperate to cut down that tree as quickly as possible.
Speaking of desperation and mismanagement, the Vegas proposals have been so shoddy as to be almost beyond belief. I honestly think they probably started planning this the day it was announced. It's been an absolute joke. Their proposals were rushed and have been so flawed as for it to be obvious even to a casual observer such as myself (a fool who knows nothing about architecture or real estate) that they have not planned anything. And they're trying to get that public funding without so much as a moderately concrete plan. Have they made their deals by cold-calling Vegas numbers and hoping to get a land deal? How have they just had two right this moment?
Finally, the idea of a team in Vegas just really leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I say this with no judgment against the honest ordinary people of the Vegas area. But we all know that a Vegas team will be tied into gambling like you can't believe. Call me old-fashioned, but the omnipresence of gambling in sports in the past few years has been extremely offputting to me. I can't stand the betting odds and whatever that get brought up on every TV broadcast now. I can't imagine a Vegas team does anything but make this much worse. (By the way, I am very unhappy with Steve Cohen's support of sports gambling, too.)
As for the players, while it has to suck to be on a team like this, they have no power either. At the very least, they're getting paid a good salary — even the minimum is a ton of money — to play the game they love. But don't they deserve to play in a city where they might get to consider settling down? Don't they deserve to play for fans who appreciate their team rather than for people whom their organization does the best to alienate? I know you guys support the players, still. But it's got to be weird for those guys. I know they can't really comment a lot on these things, but it will definitely be interesting, whatever happens, to get their candid feelings one day about how things were in Oakland this year.
I know the A's fanbase well enough to know that the Athletics leaving would leave a real void for baseball fans there. I don't think a lot of you guys are all set to root for the Giants. I mean, that phenomenon is basically why the Mets exist today.
A deal in Vegas is by no means done. Through sheer laziness and incompetence if nothing else, it's altogether possible that the A's will not leave Oakland (or at least stay nearby), despite the clear intentions of ownership. Frankly, I'll believe that when I see it.
I know the owners are an old boys' club, and they don't necessarily care so much about what ordinary fans think. But how can they look at the John Fisher situation and not think that this makes them all look terrible?
I hope for the sake of the fans that the team doesn't leave and that this debacle is left in the past. Baseball has a long history in Oakland (with the A's and before them the PCL Oaks), and it would be a damn shame for it to end like this.
In the meantime, though, this all really just puts me off. Best of luck to all the fans. Here's to hoping for a better future for Oakland baseball — and baseball as a whole.

submitted by BeckoningVoice to OaklandAthletics [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:42 _Triple_ [STORE] 900+ KNIVES/GLOVES/SKINS, 50.000$+ INVENTORY. M9 Fade, M4 Poseidon, BFK Freehand, Crimson Kimono, Nomad Fade, Skeleton, Kara Lore, Bayo Autotronic, AWP Fade, Kara Damas, BFK Ultra, Kara Freehand, Kara Bright, M9 Damas, Omega, Tiger Strike, Flip MF, Bayo Tiger, Deagle Blaze, Talon & More

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $2500

★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $822

★ Butterfly Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $616

⎯

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $1300

★ Bayonet Autotronic FN, B/O: $1050

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW, B/O: $629

★ Bayonet Bright Water FT, B/O: $326

★ Bayonet Safari Mesh BS, B/O: $233

⎯

★ Karambit Lore FT, B/O: $1110

★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $840

★ Karambit Freehand MW, B/O: $784

★ Karambit Bright Water MW, B/O: $759

⎯

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $751

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★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1156

★ Nomad Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $544

★ Nomad Knife Blue Steel WW, B/O: $318

⎯

★ Flip Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $646

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $574

★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $552

★ Flip Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $257

★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $255

★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $287

⎯

★ Huntsman Knife Lore FN, B/O: $461

★ Huntsman Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $436

★ Huntsman Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $353

★ Huntsman Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $212

★ Huntsman Knife Bright Water FT, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT MW, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT BS, B/O: $123

★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $127

⎯

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $375

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $363

★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $269

★ Bowie Knife Crimson Web WW, B/O: $192

★ Bowie Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $159

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $126

⎯

★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $616

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $412

★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe FT, B/O: $227

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★ Falchion Knife Lore FT, B/O: $214

★ Falchion Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $192

★ Falchion Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $105

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★ Survival Knife Crimson Web BS, B/O: $216

★ Survival Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $198

★ Survival Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $111

⎯

★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $368

★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $228

★ Shadow Daggers, B/O: $201

★ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $108

★ Shadow Daggers Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $105

★ Shadow Daggers Black Laminate FT, B/O: $99

★ Shadow Daggers Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $85

⎯

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $1700

★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $223

★ Gut Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $203

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $191

★ Gut Knife Case Hardened BS, B/O: $127

⎯

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $138

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $111

⎯

★ Classic Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $146

★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $168

⎯

★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $476

★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $375

⎯

★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $1137

★ Talon Knife, B/O: $608

★ Paracord Knife, B/O: $305

★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

GLOVES

★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $204

★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $142

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

⎯

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1215

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $672

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $305

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander BS, B/O: $140

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web BS, B/O: $137

★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot FT, B/O: $75

⎯

★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $359

★ Driver Gloves Imperial Plaid BS, B/O: $229

★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $77

★ Driver Gloves Racing Green FT, B/O: $48

⎯

★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $739

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $733

★ Sport Gloves Arid BS, B/O: $292

⎯

★ Hand Wraps Giraffe MW, B/O: $212

★ Hand Wraps Leather FT, B/O: $160

★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh MW, B/O: $101

⎯

★ Broken Fang Gloves Yellow-banded MW, B/O: $185

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point FT, B/O: $67

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point WW, B/O: $59

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★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened BS, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald BS, B/O: $62

WEAPONS

AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130

AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70

AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge FT, B/O: $72

⎯

AWP Fade FN, B/O: $1039

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Wildfire MW, B/O: $95

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP Duality FN, B/O: $81

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Electric Hive FT, B/O: $55

⎯

Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $623

Desert Eagle Emerald Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $241

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Printstream FT, B/O: $54

⎯

M4A1-S Blue Phosphor FN, B/O: $434

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Bright Water MW, B/O: $55

⎯

M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1465

M4A4 Asiimov BS, B/O: $55

M4A4 Hellfire MW, B/O: $50

⎯

USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $72

USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69

StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $139

⎯

AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $234

P90 Run and Hide FT, B/O: $147

Five-SeveN Candy Apple FN, B/O: $61

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. Commander, Crimson Web, Mogul, Forest DDPAT, Buckshot), Sport Gloves (Pandora's Box, Superconductor, Hedge Maze, Vice, Amphibious, Slingshot, Omega, Arid, Big Game, Nocts, Scarlet Shamagh, Bronze Morph), Hydra Gloves (Case Hardened, Emerald, Rattler, Mangrove), Broken Fang Gloves (Jade, Yellow-banded, Unhinged, Needle Point), Pistols - P2000 (Wicked Sick, Ocean Foam, Fire Element, Amber Fade, Corticera, Chainmail, Imperial Dragon, Obsidian, Scorpion, Handgun, Acid Etched), USP-S (Printstream, Kill Confirmed, Whiteout, Road Rash, Owergrowth, The Traitor, Neo-Noir, Dark Water, Orion, Blueprint, Stainless, Caiman, Serum, Monster Mashup, Royal Blue, Ancient Visions, Cortex, Orange Anolis, Ticket To Hell, Black Lotus, Cyrex, Check Engine, Guardian, Purple DDPAT, Torque, Blood Tiger, Flashback, Business Class, Pathfinder, Para Green), Lead Conduit, Glock-18 (Umbral Rabbit, Fade, Candy Apple, Bullet Queen, Synth Leaf, Neo-Noir, Nuclear Garden, Dragon Tatto, Reactor, Pink DDPAT, Twilight Galaxy, Sand Dune, Groundwater, Blue Fissure, Snack Attack, Water Elemental, Brass, Wasteland Rebel, Vogue, Franklin, Royal Legion, Gamma Doppler, Weasel, Steel Disruption, Ironwork, Grinder, High Beam, Moonrise, Oxide Blaze, Bunsen Burner, Clear Polymer, Bunsen Burner, Night), P250 (Re.built, Nuclear Threat, Modern Hunter, Splash, Whiteout, Vino Primo, Mehndi, Asiimov, Visions, Undertow, Cartel, See Ya Later, Gunsmoke, Splash, Digital Architect, Muertos, Red Rock, Bengal Tiger, Crimson Kimono, Wingshot, Metallic DDPAT, Hive, Dark Filigree, Mint Kimono), Five-Seven (Neon Kimono, Berries And Cherries, Fall Hazard, Crimson Blossom, Hyper Beast, Nitro, Fairy Tale, Case Hardened, Copper Galaxy, Angry Mob, Monkey Business, Fowl Play, Anodized Gunmetal, Hot Shot, Retrobution, Boost Protocol), CZ75-Auto (Chalice, Crimson Web, Emerald Quartz, The Fuschia is Now, Nitro, Xiangliu, Yellow Jacket, Victoria, Poison Dart, Syndicate, Eco, Hexane, Pole, Tigris), Tec-9 (Rebel, Terrace, Nuclear Threat, Hades, Rust Leaf, Decimator, Blast From, Orange Murano, Toxic, Fuel Injector, Remote Control, Bamboo Forest, Isaac, Avalanche, Brother, Re-Entry, Blue Titanium, Bamboozle), R8 Revolver (Banana Cannon, Fade, Blaze, Crimson Web, Liama Cannon, Crazy 8, Reboot, Canal Spray, Night, Amber Fade), Desert Eagle (Blaze, Hand Cannon, Fennec Fox, Sunset Storm, Emerald Jörmungandr, Pilot, Hypnotic, Golden Koi, Printstream, Cobalt Disruption, Code Red, Ocean Drive, Midnight Storm, Kumicho Dragon, Crimson Web, Heirloom, Night Heist, Mecha Industries, Night, Conspiracy, Trigger Discipline, Naga, Directive, Light Rail), Dual Berettas (Flora Carnivora, Duelist, Cobra Strike, Black Limba, Emerald, Hemoglobin, Twin Turbo, Marina, Melondrama, Pyre, Retribution, Briar, Dezastre, Royal Consorts, Urban Shock, Dualing Dragons, Panther, Balance), Rifles - Galil (Aqua Terrace, Winter Forest, Chatterbox, Sugar Rush, Pheonix Blacklight, CAUTION!, Orange DDPAT, Cerberus, Dusk Ruins, Eco, Chromatic Aberration, Stone Cold, Tuxedo, Sandstorm, Shattered, Urban Rubble, Rocket Pop, Kami, Crimson Tsunami, Connexion), SCAR-20 (Fragments, Brass, Cyrex, Palm, Splash Jam, Cardiac, Emerald, Crimson Web, Magna Carta, Stone Mosaico, Bloodsport, Enforcer), AWP (Duality, Gungnir, Dragon Lore, Prince, Medusa, Desert Hydra, Fade, Lightning Strike, Oni Taiji, Silk Tiger, Graphite, Chromatic Aberration, Asiimov, Snake Camo, Boom, Containment Breach, Wildfire, Redline, Electric Hive, Hyper Beast, Neo-Noir, Man-o'-war, Pink DDPAT, Corticera, Sun in Leo, Elite Build, Fever Dream, Atheris, Mortis, PAW, Exoskeleton, Worm God, POP AWP, Phobos, Acheron, Pit Viper, Capillary, Safari Mesh), AK-47 (Head Shot, Wild Lotus, Gold Arabesque, X-Ray, Fire Serpent, Hydroponic, Panthera Onca, Case Hardened, Vulcan, Jet Set, Fuel Injector, Bloodsport, Nightwish, First Class, Neon Rider, Asiimov, Red Laminate, Aquamarine Revenge, The Empress, Wasteland Rebel, Jaguar, Black Laminate, Leet Museo, Neon Revolution, Redline, Frontside Misty, Predator, Legion of Anubis, Point Disarray, Orbit Mk01, Blue Laminate, Green Laminate, Emerald Pinstripe, Cartel, Phantom Disruptor, Jungle Spray, Safety Net, Rat Rod, Baroque Purple, Slate, Elite Build, Uncharted, Safari Mesh), FAMAS (Sundown, Prime Conspiracy, Afterimage, Commemoration, Dark Water, Spitfire, Pulse, Eye of Athena, Meltdown, Rapid Eye Move, Roll Cage, Styx, Mecha Industrie, Djinn, ZX Spectron, Valence, Neural Net, Night Borre, Hexne), M4A4 (Temukau, Howl, Poseidon, Asiimov, Daybreak, Hellfire, Zirka, Red DDPAT, Radiation Hazard, Modern Hunter, The Emperor, The Coalition, Bullet Rain, Cyber Security, X-Ray, Dark Blossom, Buzz Kill, In Living Color, Neo-Noir, Desolate Space, 龍王 (Dragon King), Royal Paladin, The Battlestar, Global Offensive, Tooth Fairy, Desert-Strike, Griffin, Evil Daimyo, Spider Lily, Converter), M4A1-S (Emphorosaur-S, Welcome to the Jungle, Imminent Danger, Knight, Hot Rod, Icarus Fell, Blue Phosphor, Printstream, Master Piece, Dark Water, Golden Coil, Bright Water, Player Two, Atomic Alloy, Guardian, Chantico's Fire, Hyper Beast, Mecha Industries, Cyrex, Control Panel, Moss Quartz, Nightmare, Decimator, Leaded Glass, Basilisk, Blood Tiger, Briefing, Night Terror, Nitro, VariCamo, Flashback), SG 553 (Cyberforce, Hazard Pay, Bulldozer, Integrale, Dragon Tech, Ultraviolet, Colony IV, Hypnotic, Cyrex, Candy Apple, Barricade, Pulse), SSG 08 (Death Strike, Sea Calico, Blood in the Water, Orange Filigree, Dragonfire, Big Iron, Bloodshot, Detour, Turbo Peek, Red Stone), AUG (Akihabara Accept, Flame Jörmungandr, Hot Rod, Midnight Lily, Sand Storm, Carved Jade, Wings, Anodized Navy, Death by Puppy, Torque, Bengal Tiger, Chameleon, Fleet Flock, Random Access, Momentum, Syd Mead, Stymphalian, Arctic Wolf, Aristocrat, Navy Murano), G3SG1 (Chronos, Violet Murano, Flux, Demeter, Orange Kimono, The Executioner, Green Apple, Arctic Polar Camo, Contractor), SMGs - P90 (Neoqueen, Astral Jörmungandr, Run and Hide, Emerald Dragon, Cold Blooded, Death by Kitty, Baroque Red, Vent Rush, Blind Spot, Asiimov, Trigon, Sunset Lily, Death Grip, Leather, Nostalgia, Fallout Warning, Tiger Pit, Schermatic, Virus, Shapewood, Glacier Mesh, Shallow Grave, Chopper, Desert Warfare), MAC-10 (Sakkaku, Hot Snakes, Copper Borre, Red Filigree, Gold Brick, Graven, Case Hardened, Stalker, Amber Fade, Neon Rider, Tatter, Curse, Propaganda, Nuclear Garden, Disco Tech, Toybox, Heat, Indigo), UMP-45 (Wild Child, Fade, Blaze, Day Lily, Minotaur's Labyrinth, Crime Scene, Caramel, Bone Pile, Momentum, Primal Saber), MP7 (Teal Blossom, Fade, Nemesis, Whiteout, Asterion, Bloosport, Abyssal Apparition, Full Stop, Special Delivery, Neon Ply, Asterion, Ocean Foam, Powercore, Scorched, Impire), PP-Bizon (Modern Hunter, Rust Coat, Forest Leaves, Antique, High Roller, Blue Streak, Seabird, Judgement of Anubis, Bamboo Print, Embargo, Chemical Green, Coblat Halftone, Fuel Rod, Photic Zone, Irradiated Alert, Carbon Fiber), MP9 (Featherweight, Wild Lily, Pandora's Box, Stained Glass, Bulldozer, Dark Age, Hot Rod, Hypnotic, Hydra, Rose Iron, Music Box, Setting Sun, Food Chain, Airlock, Mount Fuji, Starlight Protector, Ruby Poison Dart, Deadly Poison), MP5-SD (Liquidation, Oxide Oasis, Phosphor, Nitro, Agent, Autumn Twilly), Shotguns, Machineguns - Sawed-Off (Kiss♥Love, First Class, Orange DDPAT, Rust Coat, The Kraken, Devourer, Mosaico, Wasteland Princess, Bamboo Shadow, Copper, Serenity, Limelight, Apocalypto), XM1014 (Frost Borre, Ancient Lore, Red Leather, Elegant Vines, Banana Leaf, Jungle, Urban Perforated, Grassland, Blaze Orange, Heaven Guard, VariCamo Blue, Entombed, XOXO, Seasons, Tranquility, Bone Machine, Incinegator, Teclu Burner, Black Tie, Zombie Offensive, Watchdog), Nova (Baroque Orange, Hyper Beast, Green Apple, Antique, Modern Hunter, Walnut, Forest Leaves, Graphite, Blaze Orange, Rising Skull, Tempest, Bloomstick, Interlock, Quick Sand, Moon in Libra, Clean Polymer, Red Quartz, Toy Soldier), MAG-7 (Insomnia, Cinqueda, Counter Terrace, Prism Terrace, Memento, Chainmail, Hazard, Justice, Bulldozer, Silver, Core Breach, Firestarter, Praetorian, Heat, Hard Water, Monster Call, BI83 Spectrum, SWAG-7), M249 (Humidor, Shipping Forecast, Blizzard Marbleized, Downtown, Jungle DDPAT, Nebula Crusader, Impact Drill, Emerald Poison Dart), Negev (Mjölnir, Anodized Navy, Palm, Power Loader, Bratatat, CaliCamo, Phoenix Stencil, Infrastructure, Boroque Sand), Wear - Factory New (FN), Minimal Wear (MW), Field-Tested (FT), Well-Worn (WW), Battle-Scarred (BS), Stickers Holo/Foil/Gold - Katowice 2014, Krakow 2017, Howling Dawn, Katowice 2015, Crown, London 2018, Cologne 2014, Boston 2018, Atlanta 2017, Cluj-Napoca 2015, DreamHack 2014, King on the Field, Harp of War, Winged Difuser, Cologne 2016, Cologne 2015, MLG Columbus 2016, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019, RMR 2020, Stockholm 2021, Antwerp 2022, Swag Foil, Flammable foil, Others - Souvenirs, Agents, Pins, Passes, Gifts, Music Kits, Cases, Keys, Capsules, Packages, Patches

Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.

Send a Trade Offer for fastest response. I consider all offers.

Add me for discuss if there is a serious offer that needs to be discussed.

submitted by _Triple_ to Csgotrading [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 17:35 SituationLive4406 NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) Battery Storage and Solar Tech Poised to Take Advantage of Government Incentives, Experiencing Rapid Growth

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2023.05.31 17:34 pilatesmonster [Review] AllNaturalMom (WisconsinWife)

Sub proof: https://i.imgur.com/KYDjJj1.jpeg
OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/allnaturalmom
Social media: https://linktr.ee/Allnaturalmom
Full transparency – WisconsinWife is my ATF. The moment I saw her on Reddit years ago I was hooked – blonde, perfect body, and the biggest, best breasts on the planet. In the years since, she's changed names to allnaturalmom but she still posts on both Reddit accounts.
One of her best traits is also likely her only downside – consistency. Each and every day you can count on an up-close shot of her gargantuan mammaries along with a medium shot of her titanic tits and a glimpse of her outfit for the day. Would it be nice if we saw more varied content? Of course! But at the same time, I can understand her not wanting to mess with perfection. The majority of her content looks like this and is shot indoors, so if you think you want more variety from your creators then you might get a touch bored with Wisco Mom.
But, if you subscribe to her then you're likely there for a reason – her bodacious boobs. Hands-down the best I've ever seen, no one even compares. With a body so slim and toned, it's simply not fair how incredible her gigantic tiddies are. But hey, we can't all win the genetic lottery, right?
If her only downside is variety, even that may be perfected soon. In the past several months, she's upped her game and started showing WAY more of her face than she ever has. Before, she basically just showed her shoulders down to her waist – not much below her underwear and nothing from the neck on up. But now she's showing off more than ever and, even though her eyes are blurred out (not my favorite, as I believe it ruins the artistic integrity of the photos), she's stunningly beautiful. I'm quite obviously a boob man, but there's something about her luscious lips that has really gotten my attention lately.
She doesn't seem to really talk with fans, which may be disappointing to some. Other favorites of mine, like Sunny-DD for instance, are incredibly active with fans and that is nice and fun. But conversely, I can respect Wisco Mom for sticking to one thing and doing that one thing incredibly fucking well – putting her dynamic heavy hangers on display. She'll send the weekly spammy automated messages on OF like most of the top 1%-ers do, but that's to be expected. I've never messaged with her or interacted in any way, but her amazing assets make up for that in my mind. And thankfully, she's pretty prolific on OF and Reddit, posting multiple times each day nearly every day of the week. If it's a veritable library of content you're looking for, then she's got it.
She shows a fair amount of solo toy play, nipple sucking, etc. that's available as PPV videos. I tend to not get into that added content as much, I've only splurged a few times as solo toy play is not really my thing. But for those of you who enjoy, know that it's there for an additional cost, and there appears to be lots of it. Lately she's been big into slow-mo video content of her boobs swaying, bouncing, soaping up in the shower, etc. That's all free for subscribers, which is just lovely for us breast men.
Bottom line, for whatever small faults she has, Wisco Mom is the best there is. An unreal body that I'll simply never get tired of staring at each and every day.

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2023.05.31 17:14 Important_Session_28 What are you looking for in a server?

This is a long one so if you have no time or can't focus, don't screw yourself over by trying to read the word jumble:
After browsing the servers there are for maybe 2 weeks and always wondering how it could be better but is too late for some servers to even change course, here's my random list of things I'd like to see in a server.
You can agree and disagree, add or remove some of the things I've listed. Everyone's looking for their own thing and have their own perspective on what could ruin a server. Let's imagine a server worth playing.
I actually want to see some more lists.

-BBB version (I like oldschool, tbh I should try the new versions to see if I'd like them too...)
((It could be that the old versions will lose popularity as new generations of "gms refugees" show up.))
-Hosts that know how to run a server (so it wont be gone in a month)
-No vote2win (no nx gacha tickets/whatever)
//-No multiclient(this is kind of double edged because even I've preferred item mules and such with maplestorys limited beginner inventory)
-No leech
-No pay2win
-No AFK minigames
-Balanced/basic bossing system (aka. No boss defeating spam in the chat every minute, 24/7 )

-Special events for at least big occasions like winter- and summer breaks, christmas, anniversary etc
-> 1-2 Month long events for "rare" cosmetics / face / hairs etc.

-Website has library of mobs and loot especially if they've changed drop rules etc.
-Maple island beginners are mentioned separately in rankings because it looks like fun.

-OG classes (or adding very much balanced new classes too)
-Skill balancing etc but by now I honestly have no idea how messed up they were back in the day.
-Monster book & all quests(including PQ's) working
-PQ Party search system so people don't end up being afk at PQ entrance=people can search for party while grinding.
-Roll system for party quest loots
-Added maps and quests from other regions
-No hp washing - progressive auto hp gain or quests for hp?

- Some donor perks that don't mess up the market/turn the game into p2w.
Thought it over and I have an idea but don't know how it'd work in reality (TLDR is after the quote)

// Maybe a decent priced monthly donor system with some free cs perks? Like in elder scrolls online:
-> You pay for a membership and on top of that get donor cash worth the amount you paid for the membership. (so the membership is just a plus)
-You can buy more donor cash during the membership period if you need to but it does not add to the time of the membership.
You can renew the membership once the time's up/about to be up since there's no actual subscription system in private servers (which honestly kind of messes this whole system up.)
- Example perk (from Eso): donor account has expanded inventory space for the period of paid donor membership
// Keep in mind there would still be a chance to f2p perma expand inventory too, but donors would have at least something worth paying for and maybe a bigger inventory in general for the subscription time?

tl;dr eso-style monthly sub (pay for sub but also get donor cash worth the amount spent on sub, get some perks like expanded inventory for the duration of the sub on top of some other nice things)
I haven't stalked the donor system on servers much so idk what's decent in "the market" or what people would deem worth the price if its not p2w. But also: I never became a donor because either the way to pay was difficult or the perks weren't worth the money / were too expensive)

Sorry for the long post. Even I'm tired of reading it by now so there are possibly typos or random sentences after ten edits.

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2023.05.31 16:41 MrC_Red [Update] 100 Great Rock Albums list CHANGES

It's been over a year since the original 100 Great Albums post. Since December 2021, I've listened to 375 Rock albums in total (just for fun, I'm getting paid for this!). Looking back at the original albums, I noticed I have a few with only 1 or 2 listens, whereas now I always try to aim for 3 at the minimum. So as this is a good midpoint (as I plan on stopping at the 20th post), I decided to revisit these certified classic albums and maybe upgrade/downgrade the ratings after more listens. I'll continue to edit grades on other posts if my opinion changes on them later on, but the 100 list got so popular that I feel like it should be left unedited.
Here's the format: Album (year) original grade [orig. Listens] // NEW GRADE {additional listens}

Bob Dylan - Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) B+ [2 listens] // A- {1 listen} More time to digest his lyrics only makes it better. Hard Rain, Blowin in the Wind and Masters of War are still the best here. He had the wisdom and poise of a 70+ year old man, as a 22 year old...
Bob Dylan - Bring It On Home (1965) A- [3 listens] // A+ {2 listens} I can't overemphasize how great side two is of this album is. The songs aren't as musical as side one, so the lyrics are center stage and Bob Dylan ALWAYS captivates your attention. The electric guitar side is even better than I originally thought, but man does the second side has some of his best songwriting.
The Beatles - Help! (1965) B+ [3 listens] // A- {1 listen} This is the album where I think they started making legit "respectable" music. The early Pop music they made before is nice, but it's not that fulfilling. The variety made this age very well: Hide Your Love Away, Ticket to Ride, Seen a Face, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Help!, Yesterday. It doesn't help that every album that followed it is considered one of the greatest albums of all time, but at this point, it was head and shoulders their best.
Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965) A++ [5 listens] // A+ {4 listens} Highway 61 Revisited gets the credit as being the album to kick off the Rock renaissance of the 60s, but imo, the "album arms race" started with this one. Without it, the musical landscape isn't the same as the concept of an entire album of worthy material wouldn't have been as widely adopted. With the praise out of the way... it's pretty one note. A great Folk Rock album, but as it's often compared to other albums (cough Pet Sounds), it doesn't hold a candle to them.
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (1967) B+ [3 listens] // A {3 listens} This is fun, bro. No it's not a legendary album, hell, it's not really a fully formed one as it's really a soundtrack compilation album. But looking at all the songs, they're just fun. Even a half assed Beatles album is still incredible (no I haven't listened to Yellow Submarine, why do you ask?).
The Doors - Self-Titled (1967) A- [2 listens] // A++ {3 listens} Wow, this is why multiple listens are super important. Many of the songs I thought were "so so" are so much better compared to other Blues Rock I've heard so far. Ray Manzarek is a god on the keys and Jim Morrison is pretty magnificent on every song. It still feels dated, as it's not super complex in it's song structure (like in LA Woman), but every song is great. JUST short of a masterpiece.
The Who - Tommy (1969) B [1 listen] // D++ {1 listen} I was being generous on the original post, I really didn't like this album. After one more listen, I really hate it. The story is complete nonsense and the music really doesn't make up for it. But that's not why I hate it so much; it's the length. If you're gonna be a late 60's mess, be your flamboyant mess and get in & get out. But it's an overly long, drawn out, bore of an album. It's mind boggling that anyone would prefer this over Quadrophena. Pinball Wizard is a great song tho, but don't tell anyone I said that.
King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King (1969) A- [1 listen] // A {1 listen} listening to Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed made this album a better listen. That jazz prog rock, with a laid back feel instead of completely psychedelic. The rest of the album (outside the intro) was a better listen this time around with better context, as I remember being bored with much of it. Now that I'm familiar with early Prog Rock, this doesn't feel as foreign anymore.
The Beatles - Let It Be (1970) B+ [3 listens] // A {3 listens} yea, I'm a Beatles stan. Yea, it's probably the weakest Studio Era album. Yea, I enjoy the atmosphere of this album more than the music itself; as a last who-rah of a crumbling friendship that can only be held together by creating music, as that is where the only fun is still found amongst these guys. Do I like to pretend that Don't Let Me Down is apart of this album, so I can grade it higher? Also, yea.
David Bowie - Hunky Dory (1971) A+ [2 listens] // A {2 listens} this is Art Rock. Not being a glam/hard rock fusion makes it less heavy than its successor. It also suffers for not having multiple strong anthems to hold the entire thing. Changes, Life on Mars, Andy Warhol, Queen Bitch are all great songs, but I doubt any are in Bowie's top 5. The other songs don't hold up as much I remembered.
Carole King - Tapestry (1971) A- [2 listens] // A {2 listens} Joni Mitchell's Blue was the driving force this time around. That personal folk storytelling, with that lively piano yet cozy, warm atmosphere. With more listens, I don't really love the lyrical composition as I just love the tone of the thing. I can sit next to a warm fire (or on a window sill) and turn this on and relax. I understand what the genre of Soft Rock is going for now.
David Bowie - the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) A+ [2 listens] // Masterpiece {3 listens} Probably didn't give this one too much thought when grading it, as I think I just fell in love with a few songs on it and forgot about the rest. Listening to this front to back... it's flawless. I tried to find a song that wasn't good or that was kinda boring, but they're all perfect. I've listened to Ziggy Stardust and Starman COUNTLESS times in the past year, and will randomly get guitar riffs from random songs off this album to pop in my head. Of his 4 albums I've listened to, I still think Low is his best, as the atmosphere of that Side B is unmatched. But this album is what I'd consider objectively perfect, as every song is great. Easy masterpiece, and a great example of why sitting with an album is just as important as giving it a bunch of listens.
Queen - A Night at the Opera (1975) A- [2 listen] // A {2 listens} Fun stuff. I enjoyed the multiple vocalists being apart of it instead of only Mercury, made it feel like a "stage play" with a revolving cast. I think I might have been a bit to harsh on this one, as most of the album wasn't that memorable, with how amazing Bohemian Rhapsody is. I didn't understand what this album "was" with it's vaudeville style, but now, I see that it's this halfway point between the Hard Rock and the Prog Rock of the 70s, with that theatrical flair to make it standout. Definitely worth checking out.
Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977) B [2 listens] // A- {2 listens} In 1987, Rolling Stone listed this as the 2nd best album of the last 20 years (since 1967) only after Sgt. Pepper's and man, did that made it easy for me to view this as overrated. I think since listening to more Punk Rock that followed this, I start to see how much better they've done with this compared to others. The guitar playing actually changes throughout the song, Johnny Rotten is actually expressive and feels spontaneous, and the drumming is creative. But the real change in opinion is the guitar playing: the riffs on many of these songs are undeniably awesome, which gives Rotten so much to work on top of. My biggest gripe with Punk Rock is how repetitive some bands can be. Now after more listens to this, I can absolutely NOT say the same can be said about this album. It's varied and expressive; how Punk Rock should be.
Steely Dan - Aja (1977) A [1 listens] // A+ {1 listen} better than I remember. The jazz rock combo is really good, it really leans into the jazz instead of simply using it as an aesthetic. It's not Prog whatsoever, just jazz with traditional Rock instruments. Honestly, you can barely tell if this would considered Rock at all. You really got to like jazz to love this tho. It has that free flowing feel of that genre, from the instrumentation to the flow of the singer. Great album! I'm assuming Steely Dan is hated by the rock community because of this heavy leaning into jazz. Which is understandable, but that doesn't mean they don't make phenomenal music.
AC/DC - Highway to Hell (1979) B+ [2 listens] // B {1 listen} They haven't quite moved away from the Blues sound yet. Back in Black is a pure distillation of what Hard Rock should be as a stand alone genre, but they don't quite have that confidence in being that brash yet. Bon Scott does a lot of heavy lifting as Angus Young doesn't have that swagger in his solos yet. A lot of the songs aren't super great, but they at least still carry energy. Highway to Hell is a fantastic song, but the majority is just meddling around in this laid back blues style.
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (1985) B [1 listens] // B- {2 listens} I originally wrote this off as one that I "just didn't get", with how insanely commerically successful it is. Now after listening to their Self-Titled album, it actually becomes even more disappointing as you know how much more they're capable of. There's such a signature style on it and this throws all of it away in exchange of a 80s soft rock sound. Walk of Life and So Far Away are good tunes, due to the guitar hooks; everything else is just shallow.
Pixies - Doolittle (1989) A- [2 listens] // A+ {2 listens} Now, I view this band on the level of the Beatles or Velvet Underground as one of those influential bands that changed music. At the time, Doolittle was too weird for me, but with much more context from this era, this is just insanely great. Compared to Surfer Rosa, the versatility is on a different level. While it is great and varied, it's not exactly "great" in any one area, so I can see why the bands that were influenced by them are viewed as better, as their stuff would've been more focused in one style instead of all over the place. Great album, legendary band.
Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992) A [2 listens] // Masterpiece {4 listens} This album is a grower. Every time I listen to it, I like another song from it. The harmonies are God tier, the guitar riffs, God Tier, the choruses, God tier. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell... peanut and jelly. I've given out 2 masterpieces to grunge albums (Nevermind and Ten), so what makes this different from those is that Dirt takes its time in developing songs. So many of these songs start slow and somber, and quickly turn aggressive and passionate! Gnarly riffs on one song, than a few minutes later, you're listening to soft vocals behind a rough, tortured voice. Not a bad song on here, hit after hit, I got to say it's a masterpiece.
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994) A [3 listens] // A+ {2 listen} the word "gritty" might get thrown around a ton by me, but I still haven't heard such a brutal, harsh sounding album while still having pristine production value. It's nasty and mean. Even in the slow moments, you can feel the pain, anger, or sadness in his voice. Compared to other stuff, it doesn't have that much replay value to it, as it's not exact what one would call "musical". But you got to call it what it is: art.
Green Day - Dookie (1994) A [2 listens] // A+ {1 listen} It's just good music. Yes, the ceiling isn't as high as it could be, but it's so enjoyable that it is always a fun listen. The album is on point from start to finish, it's one of those "if you like one, you like it all" love it or hate it kind of deals. From Burn Out to When I Come Around is just Pop Punk perfection; the backhalf doesn't hold up compared to the start, but it's all still very good.
Weezer - Self-Titled "The Blue Album" (1994) A- [1 listen] // A {2 listens} I only gave this one listen and only revisited it after listening to Pinkerton. Isn't not as dismissable as I originally remembered, as I only gave it one listen. It's more POP- punk thank pop-PUNK compared to Dookie, which led me to not care for it as much. And it's pretty good pop, with a punk style to give it some edge, I guess. I still like Pinkerton more than it, but it can definitely stand alone as a good album itself.
Oasis - Definitely Maybe (1994) A [2 listens] // A+ {2 listens} Liam Gallagher is really good... but Noel Gallagher is the truth, bro. That dude knows how to make a great song. They aren't super complex, but they're all have perfect execution. Mix in that Wall of Sound effect with the guitars, it makes this stand out even more from the overwhelming stacked albums of the 90s. The non-single tracks aren't as strong compared to (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, as that album is damn near perfect imo. Great debut album.
Radiohead - The Bends (1995) B+ [1 listen] // A {2 listens} If Radiohead didn't make this album, I highly doubt I would've listened to this. Which is a shame, because this is a really good album. On the flip side, being a Radiohead album also did more harm than good, as it gets massively overshadowed. I admittedly did a half assed listen to "get to the famous stuff". Fake Plastic Trees, the Bends, and Black Star are great songs. I've listened to Ok Computer so much that I come to think of it as their official "start" of their sound, when in reality, they set the stage on The Bends of what can be possible down the road. Also, they toured with Alanis Morissette with the album, so extra bonus points!
Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004) A- [2 listens] // A+ {2 listens} better than I remembered. I definitely thought it was borderline pretentious, with how the song structure is when I originally listened to it. Now, without that stigma, it's not THAT abstract and I've come to admire the creativeness of it. I always love when there's women vocalists, to mix up the sound and so many different instruments add even more to the variety. It always feels like a new listen, with how many things I'll forget to notice and remember again.
Lcd Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007) A- [1 listen] // A {2 listens} The first 4 songs are awesome; Get Innocuous with it's multirhythmic layering is my textbook PERFECT song, a 21st century "Remain in Light" homage. The rest just loses this energy and it's never found again. Compare the first track with the last one and it sounds like two different projects. I know you can call me a hypocrite with how much I love Remain in Light, but at least with that one, it's only the last song and not half of the album. Seriously tho, Get Innocuous is a top 10 song of all time
Tame Impala - Currents (2016) A- [1 listen] // B+ {1 listen} Didn't expect my feelings to decrease, but compared to Lonerism, this is so mid. The lack of a real "great" song (Rihanna's Same Old Mistakes clears) makes it tough to love. It is consistent though, so it's still a good listen; just not a memberable one.

Albums I revisited, but no change in opinion. I feel like with these, I need to explain/defend myself more than I did on the original reviews:

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1965) A+ [4 listens] // {3 listens} After listening to a good chunk of their discography, I've come to two conclusions on Pet Sounds: 1) This album is truly lightning in the bottle as they NEVER reach it's level of consistency in quality from track to track. 2) Baroque Pop, while groundbreaking, came and went as fast as it arrived, mainly due to how abstract it is compared to its successor, Psychedelic Rock. Beyond that, there are a few skips that are solely due to wild creative mind of Brian Wilson. As a musical genius, dare I say better than Lennon and McCartney, but as a songwriter? Not even close imo. Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's are all great albums, while Pet Sounds can be argued to be their only great album (Wild Honey is also a good listen). I know bringing up the Beatles can be annoying, but the Beatles made great "hit singles" with their song layout, while about only half of the tracks on Pet Sounds are what I'd consider a traditional song. That's probably why I don't think it's so amazing (I kinda feel the same about progressive Rock) as I tend to favor music with a concise structure; even as unoriginal the structure may be.
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? (1967) B+ [1 listen] // {1 listen} I can't get into it. The songwriting isn't there, especially compared to the stuff that would follow it. This is him at his rawest, but it's a reason why Medium Rare is the most commonly cooked steak.
The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969) B+ [2 Listens] // {3 listens} Thought I would flip on this album, but surprisingly didn't change at all. I still think Gimme Shelter is the best Rolling Stones song and I still think You Can't Always Get What You Want is still a phenomenal album closer, but everything in between is pretty lackluster (besides Live With Me).
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973) A [4 listens] // {1 listen} I do enjoy this album more now I know how other Progressive Rock bands sound like, but not enough to raise it a grade. I enjoy Time and the whole second side much more and the "emptiness" of the genre doesn't bother me as much. But the first half is still a little too abstract for my liking. However, I do see how people can view this as their GOAT album with how groundbreaking it's release was at the time and outside of only other Pink Floyd albums, there's nothing else in this genre that really matches the "entering another world" feel it creates.
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975) A [2 listens] // {1 listen} Similar thoughts to DSotM, but this one has the more catchy "songs" and partly why I love it more. Welcome to the Machine and Wish You Were Here are fantastic, but overall not enough meat for my liking.
The Ramones - Self-Titled (1976) B [2 listens] // {2 listens} I decided to give the Godfathers of Punk another try since I surprisingly came over to like the other Godfather, the Sex Pistols. And yeah... still isn't my thing. Way too one note, monotone singing, guitar takes over too much of the sound, etc. There are a few good hooks here and there, but you basically hear the entire song in the first 15 seconds. Everything I hate about Punk, stemmed from this album and made a lazier copy.
The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dreams (1993) A+ [2 listens] // {1 listen} apparently the Smashing Pumpkins aren't considered grunge? If that's the case, comparing them to a Noise Rock band like a Sonic Youth or a Faith No More, they don't they don't rock out as much as I'd like. Also, I don't like how a few of these songs sound similar to each other. Today and Hummer of course are all top tier songs, but it's just not as much of a comprehensive project as Mellon Collie. Yea, it's definitely not grunge, as it would be much harder if it was.
Radiohead - Ok Computer (1997) A++ [2 listens] // {4 listens} Close, but no cigar. The first 3 songs and the last 3 songs are PERFECT, it's the stuff in between that makes it fall just short. The run of Karma Police into Fitter Happier to Electioneering is also a great moment in the album. Honestly, it's just Exit Music being "okay" that really stops it from being considered a masterpiece in my eyes. Still one of the greatest albums of all time, but not perfect in my eyes. This album is my perfect barometer for an A++ grade; it's objectively a perfect, but on the subjective level, there's nothing that makes me "adore" it. I completely understand how anyone thinking an A++ album I graded is a masterpiece, as I have to personally love it that extra step for it to get to that level.
Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007) A++ [3 listens] // {3 listens A+/A+/A++} Let me end it on a positive review: I didn't really give a thorough listen to it at first, as I don't remember much from it. Over time, my opinion on it dropped as I truly didn't see why people find it so special as they do. Ok Computer easily has the better individual tracks, Kid A is easily the most experimental. After finally revisiting it, maybe because it's a great midway between the two, with a weird electronic-rock-jazz fusion. Feels like there's not a single wasted second; every beat and note is meticulous. It's more chilled and laid back, which threw me off on the repeat listens. The hodgepodge of electronic and experimental sounds, being used in this traditional lofi style instead of being a fast paced one, was the curve that made it hard to love it at first, but now I think that's what makes it unique in its execution. A LOT of these rhythms could have been large and bombastic, and I kinda admire it's restraint in remaining "down in Earth". Also the album cover is noteworthy, where it feels completely spontaneous, never fully knowing what to expect going in. Definitely deserves its high praise

Albums I also revisited, but no change in opinion. Don't have too much to add on these, but listed them as my grades are concrete on these compared to the ones I didn't choose to listen to:

The Velvet Underground & Niko - Self-Titled "The Banana Album" (1967) A+ // Venus in Furs maybe one of the greatest songs ever composed
Cream - Disraeli Gears (1967) A+ // It still holds up, so damn awesome
Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding (1967) B+ // yeah, he's kinda rambling on this one
The Stooges - Fun House (1970) A- // it's "the Stooges", possibly their best
The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street (1972) B+ // Nope, still didn't love it, still a mess
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1972) A++ // One I thought wouldn't have held up. I shall never question Sir Elton's greatness again
The Eagles - Hotel California (1975) B // Great start, gets worst as it goes on
Patti Smith - Horses (1975) A- // labeling this "Punk Rock" is a nicer way of calling this weird af
The Clash - London Calling (1979) Masterpiece // Not only is there not a bad song here, but every song is perfect. Not great... PERFECT
U2 - Joshua Tree (1987) B+ // I can't deny that there are some good songs on here, even if I'll never listen to it again
The Cure - Disintegration (1989) A // after 375 Rock albums, Plainsong is still the greatest opening track
U2 - Achtung Baby (1991) A- // you gotta admit Bono is pretty cool on this one
Nirvana - In Utero (1993) A // love the Bass guitar's tone on this one, rawer contrast to Nevermind. I'm glad I didn't grow up in the 90s, as this will always sound so new and fresh to me :)
System of a Down - Toxicity (2001) Masterpiece // Similar to Hybrid Theory, if this wasn't labeled as "Nu-metal" (and maybe didn't get so overplayed and copied), even the most pretentious critic couldn't deny how great this is
Green Day - American Idiot (2004) A+ // Feels almost like a different band, the songs are much more nuisanced in its lyrics and its musical structure. That transition from Holiday to Boulevard still gives me goosebumps, such a great song.
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) A++ // a tour guide to the UK nightclubbing/pub scene, way better than it has any right to be honestly

Bonus: Ween - 12 Golden Country Greats (1996) A [4 listens B/A-/A-/A] Country is still a somewhat foreign genre for me and I've been kinda bored with the concept of it. But it's Ween, so they've fully earned my trust at this point so I'll give this a try. This style is more or less my biggest indifference with the genre: it's not heavy enough to be impactful as rock, yet not soft enough to be as intimate as Folk. It's in this inbetween grey area where it's just not super captivating for me. With that said, it's rarely has been the "so bad, I can't stand to listen to it" levels of boredom that it has been made out as. That signature tongue-in-cheek humor of Ween is here and it makes the project more enjoyable. With Ween, whether it's supposed to be satirical or serious, the quality of songwriting is always top tier, so it's very easy to take whatever they're doing with my full respect rather than viewing it as just a joke. Japanese Cowboy, Mister Richard Smoker, Powder Blue, Piss Up a Rope and You Were the Fool (the best one) are my favorites; but other than Fluffy, every song is a good time. What really sells this album in particular, is that none of these songs would sound out of place on one of their other Rock centric albums, which allows me to extend a lot more grace towards it. Pretty good listen. For what it is, it's pretty consistent, but there's of course better Ween albums out there.

submitted by MrC_Red to u/MrC_Red [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:37 Any_Engineering Optical Modules: The Backbone of Modern Data Communication

In today's digital age, where the demand for faster and more reliable data transmission is ever-increasing, optical modules have emerged as the unsung heroes behind the scenes. These tiny devices, also known as optic transceivers, play a crucial role in facilitating high-speed communication over long distances. In this article, we will delve into the world of optical modules, exploring their significance, working principles, applications, and future prospects.

What are Optical Modules?

Optical modules, also referred to as optic transceiver, are electronic devices that enable the transmission and reception of data using optical fibers. They act as the interface between optical fibers and networking equipment, such as switches, routers, and servers. These modules convert electrical signals into optical signals for transmission over the fiber optic cables, and vice versa.

How Do Optical Modules Work?

Optical modules employ a combination of optical and electronic components to facilitate data transmission. They consist of a transmitter, a receiver, and various other components such as laser diodes, photodiodes, and integrated circuits.

Transmitter: The transmitter section of an optical module is responsible for converting electrical signals into optical signals. It typically consists of a laser diode or a light-emitting diode (LED) that emits light signals corresponding to the transmitted data.
Receiver: The receiver section of an optical module performs the reverse process by converting received optical signals back into electrical signals. It incorporates a photodiode, which converts the received light signals into electrical signals that can be further processed by the networking equipment.
Optical and Electronic Components: Optical modules also contain various other components, such as wavelength division multiplexers (WDMs), multiplexers, demultiplexers, and integrated circuits, which ensure efficient transmission and reception of data.

Types of Optical Modules

There are various types of optical modules available in the market, catering to different network requirements. Some commonly used optical modules include:

SFP (Small Form-Factor Pluggable): SFP modules are compact and hot-swappable modules widely used in Ethernet applications. They support data rates up to 10 Gbps and offer flexibility in terms of fiber types and transmission distances.
QSFP (Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable): QSFP modules are high-density modules that support data rates up to 100 Gbps. They are commonly used in data centers and high-performance computing environments.
CFP (C Form-Factor Pluggable): CFP modules are larger form-factor modules that support higher data rates, typically up to 400 Gbps. They are utilized in advanced networking applications that require ultra-high-speed data transmission.
XFP (10 Gigabit Small Form-Factor Pluggable): XFP modules are widely used in 10 Gigabit Ethernet applications. They support data rates up to 10 Gbps and offer flexibility in terms of fiber types and transmission distances.

Applications of Optical Modules

Optical modules find extensive applications across various industries and sectors. Some notable applications include:

Telecommunications: Optical modules are the backbone of telecommunications networks, enabling high-speed data transmission over long distances. They are used in the construction of fiber optic backbone networks, connecting different parts of the world.
Data Centers: Data centers rely heavily on optical modules for efficient and reliable communication between servers, switches, and routers. These modules facilitate high-speed data transfers, enabling smooth operation of cloud computing, big data analytics, and other resource-intensive tasks.
Broadcasting and Media: Optical modules play a crucial role in broadcasting and media industries, ensuring the seamless transmission of high-definition video signals over long distances. They enable the distribution of live events, television programs, and video-on-demand services.
Healthcare: Optical modules are utilized in medical imaging systems, allowing high-speed transmission of medical data and images. They enable remote consultations, telemedicine, and the sharing of medical information between healthcare professionals.

Advantages of Optical Modules

Optical modules offer numerous advantages over traditional copper-based communication systems. Some key benefits include:

High Speed and Bandwidth: Optical modules provide exceptionally high data transfer rates, ranging from 10 Gbps to several hundred Gbps. This makes them ideal for applications that demand rapid and reliable data transmission.
Long Transmission Distances: Unlike copper cables, which suffer from signal degradation over long distances, optical modules can transmit data over tens of kilometers without significant loss. This makes them suitable for long-haul communication networks.
Immunity to Electromagnetic Interference: Optical modules are immune to electromagnetic interference, making them highly reliable in environments with high electromagnetic noise, such as data centers or industrial settings.
Secure and Immune to Tapping: Fiber optic cables used with optical modules are extremely difficult to tap, ensuring the security and privacy of transmitted data. This makes them ideal for sensitive applications that require secure communication.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the lifespan of optical modules? Optical modules generally have a lifespan of several years, depending on factors such as usage, environmental conditions, and technological advancements. It is recommended to follow manufacturer guidelines and periodically replace modules to ensure optimal performance.
2. Can optical modules be used with existing networking equipment? Yes, optical modules are designed to be compatible with standard networking equipment. They typically use industry-standard interfaces, such as SFP, QSFP, or XFP, allowing seamless integration with existing infrastructure.
3. Are optical modules expensive? The cost of optical modules can vary depending on factors such as data rate, transmission distance, and module type. While they may have a higher upfront cost compared to copper-based solutions, the long-term benefits and performance make them a worthwhile investment.
4. Can optical modules support multiple data protocols? Yes, optical modules are capable of supporting multiple data protocols, such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, and SONET/SDH. This versatility makes them suitable for a wide range of applications across different industries.
5. Are optical modules future-proof? Optical modules continue to evolve with advancements in technology. Newer modules with higher data rates and increased capabilities are regularly introduced to meet the ever-growing demands of the digital landscape. Upgrading to newer modules ensures compatibility with future networking requirements.
6. How do I choose the right optical module for my network? Selecting the right optical module involves considering factors such as data rate, transmission distance, fiber type, compatibility with networking equipment, and future scalability requirements. It is advisable to consult with experts or refer to manufacturer specifications to make an informed decision.

In Conclusion

Optical modules, or Optical Transceiver, are integral components that drive the modern data communication infrastructure. With their ability to transmit data at high speeds over long distances, they have revolutionized industries such as telecommunications, data centers, broadcasting, and healthcare. The advantages they offer, including high speed, long transmission distances, and immunity to electromagnetic interference, make them indispensable in today's digital world. As technology continues to advance, optical modules will play an increasingly vital role in shaping the future of data communication.
So, the next time you stream your favorite show, make a video call with a loved one, or access cloud services seamlessly, remember that optical modules are working tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring smooth and reliable data transmission.

submitted by Any_Engineering to u/Any_Engineering [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:36 BoysenberrySouth6910 Ad Tech is destroying my soul

I'm at around 15 years experience, most of it on the digital, programmatic and tech side of the industry. The entire advertising industry as a whole (including creative) has honestly regressed in my opinion, which makes me feel disdain for the career path I chose.
A few things that come to mind:

Everything moves at a fucking glacial pace. The world around us is innovating at a much different scale. Ad tech is still trying to figure out SPO and basic shit like fucking fraud. Stuff that should have been addressed 10 years ago. Multi billion dollar companies still dealing with 3rd party ad serving tracking issues because a 22 year old ad ops person never got trained properly. The industry acts as if this is some ultra complex shit that requires a PHD, it really shouldn't be that difficult.
Everyone is so risk averse that innovation is almost impossible for the innovators. Interesting and new ideas get no funding and are disincentivized because all everyone wants to do is keep the status quo. For some fucking insane reason, even ad networks still exist. You know, the ones that just resell dumpster quality media for a 70% profit margin? In fact, my friends and I take bets on who the next retail media network will be. We all agreed that if Bed Bath and Beyond created a retail media network, that would have been epic.
Gigantic circlejerks among companies like TTD or CDPs. Yes TTD, we know that CTV is big and important. You don't need to write smear pieces on Google about how they're a monopoly. We know. We also think you're too big yourself and you've also done nothing to disrupt the massive AdWords business for SMBs. So please fucking stop. (Despite this, I do actually think they have a great product and are an overall well run company. But waking up and going to LinkedIn might as well just redirect you to a video of TTD fellating itself)
Pay is still shit in many jobs. Hey guys, let's put massive financial decisions and executions on the back of the cheapest college graduates we can find! Agencies are basically slave labor on some accounts, which is compounded by...
95% of all the jobs being concentrated in the highest cost of living cities, despite being an industry that could very easily be spread out across the country. The pandemic should have really been the catalyst for this, but the industry was quick to follow the finance industry's lead. Because let's be honest, it's become kind of like finance for people who now wish they had gone into finance and fantasize about them being Wall Street big shots.
Most brands these days are run terribly and the root of all the issues can be traced back to them. Shitty creative? Rest assured, they had a heavy hand in that result. Media campaign is a fucking disaster? Yep, I bet they scrambled to launch after having 3 months to do everything in an organized fashion. Their quest for more performance on a spreadsheet and their unwillingness to invest heavily in new solutions has caused them to reap what they sow. They now get awesome spreadsheets with amazing KPIs they can show their amazing bosses. Meanwhile it's probably all garbage data, filled with fraud, or just plain outdated.
Publishers are the second worst and smell like a huge pile of poo. So many of them have completely abused the end-user experience by loading more and more ads, working with shady companies, etc to help revenues. I'm not saying running a pub business is easy, but a lot of self-benefitting innovations and technology changes could also have been forced by them. They could but they cant seem to pull their heads out of their asses because they are all trying to milk as much money as possible, always.

This industry has turned into a big pile of poo, and I'm honestly wondering what to do next. I'll be sending out my RFP shortly for that.

submitted by BoysenberrySouth6910 to adtech [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:36 megjashi DRAGI ZMIJANAC: “It is a challenge to be the leader of this great global movement!” Founder and President of the First Children's Embassy in the World MEGJASHI - MACEDONIA

DRAGI ZMIJANAC: “It is a challenge to be the leader of this great global movement!” Founder and President of the First Children's Embassy in the World MEGJASHI - MACEDONIA
https://preview.redd.it/1hz5adgry73b1.jpg?width=688&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57bd5ad684d37f617bd81b483439333b081bbb98
INTERVIEW
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DRAGI ZMIJANAC: “It is a challenge to be the leader of this great global movement!”
*Being a pillar and the head of the First Children’s Embassy in the world MEGJASHI is a feeling and experience that only you a familiar with. There were no working conditions, you were the one who created them over all these past years completely oriented towards children, you were alone against the established rules and patterns of behavior, prejudices, discriminations, institutions, loopholes in the law, and above all the mentality of the environment that we live in, as a transitioning society. MEGJASHI is grounded by the milestones of your struggle for children's rights, you leave values behind you, and traces. What motivated you to embark on this great struggle, maybe the fact that you are a parent yourself?
- In the beginning, we were the three pillars - Gorde, Kole and I, and as time passed, more pillars were built into this global children's movement called the First Children’s Embassy in the world MEGJASHI, which represents children and has been fighting for a fairer world for children for 30 years. Since you already asked me about the feeling and experience that I have experienced throughout all these 30 years, the one thing that I can emphasize is that you cannot build something significant and motivating only if you want it, if you are dedicated and believe in what you are doing. It takes persistence and courage in order to see the outlines of the structure, from the very beginning and in the first few years. Now when I look back, I have to admit to myself that everything has to be earned, through work, belief, perseverance and honesty. When you strongly want something and believe in what you are doing, the Universe has your back. Change does not happen overnight. You need to stand strong, be mobile, resilient to attacks and blows and come out stronger after every battle. Defending and fighting for a fairer world for children is not only difficult, but also inspiring. I saw this challenge as an opportunity to be a driver and leader in this great worldwide movement called the First Children’s Embassy in the world. Recognizable and recognized all over the world. It is the pillar of success. Everything else builds upon it, complements it, changes it and pushes it forward. We are here and exist because we are needed. I often joke when I say that if this embassy, the first one in the world, whose heart is in Macedonia, did not exist, it would have to be invented. And, since it exists and continuously proves itself, creates, creates, it should be selflessly supported and helped. In one of UNICEF's manuals, the author, Ms. Sue Gilbert wrote: “Macedonia is famous for children’s rights, because that’s where the First Children’s Embassy in the world, MEGHASHI, was formed”.
The conditions when we started working to help and support children affected by the war in former Yugoslavia were tense, the war had started. Gordana Pirkovska Zmijanac, who is the initiator and founder of the First Children’s Embassy in the world MEGJASHI, appealed for the care of children affected by the war. At her strong insistence, the editor Ljubisha Nikolovski allowed her to make an appeal for solidarity, for help and care for the children affected by the war, on the prime news block of the Macedonian national television. The appeal reached Macedonian citizens. And that's how it all started. It was on April 12, 1992. While Gordana was on MTV, I was at home, I recorded her appeal, the phone rang continuously, I registered all the calls and requests from citizens to take a child under their in their homes. It was real solidarity and humanity in action. That's how we started, as an informal citizen initiative. Due to the fact that we agitated and mobilized all state institutions and demanded the opening of children's resorts, hotels, etc., we realized that we had to get formalized as an organization. On April 29, we had the Founding Assembly in the “Karposh” Youth Home (Pionerski dom), and we got officially registered as a civil soviety organization at in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, back then, on May 25, 1992. Otherwise, I draw the main motive, inspiration and incentive in this struggle from my childhood. I grew up in conditions of social and educational injustice and neglect. I grew up in a family with a single mother. I grew up in a dysfunctional family. The conditions were hrash. Not to mention bordering on poverty and social injustice. But for me as a person it posed a major challenge - to either become strong or to break down. I chose the fight for justice and it has been my guide all these years in my life. It is my life energy, mission and vision. I know that I was not born by accident and I have a task to do something. At least to change and improve things a little. Injustice affects me. And that's why I'm often rebellious, I speak loudly about it and I'm not afraid to raise my voice. My voice is the echo of millions of children. That's how I bring myself up and enter from one battle to another. I know it's difficult, painful, uncertain, but I'm waiting, I'm patient and I'm watching even the smallest changes as a big step forward towards a fairer world for children.
*It is subtle job to deal with children's rights, first of all you need be familiar with all the laws, as well as the mechanisms of their functioning in reality. At the same time, it is not easy at all, because we live in conditions in which society, instead of facilitating, gives resistance against the citizens and their needs, many rights are violated, and many crimes against children are concealed in a well-organized manner. Did all that resistance scare you, this entire situation around you that created pressure, did it discourage you at times?
- Sometimes I feel that our work stagnates. That's the initial impression. There is an improvement in the defense of children's rights, but the state institutions sometimes seem to shift the responsibility between each other. They are not sufficiently efficient and mobile, they do not implement violence prevention in time, they only impose sanctions when there is a case of incest or death, which is a belated measure. The level of abuse of children in Macedonia is constantly increasing, and this is due to the aggressiveness, loneliness and alienation of children, they are increasingly left to fend for themselves. First of all, the most important thing is that we broke the silence surrounding children's suffering, we spoke publicly about all the problems that children in Macedonia face, which were previously shameful and scary to talk about, we encouraged children to talk about violence, to recognize us as protectors of children's rights, as their advocates. Of course, we have instruments, indicators, how to reach information about the problems that children encounter. In 1993, we opened the SOS telephone line for children and youth, now known as “Hello, Bushavko” 070 390 632. This hotline for children has been operating for 29 years, so far over 21,000 children, parents, guardians, relatives have contacted it to report child abuse, violence, violation of children's rights. We use our mechanisms to resist and often with the help of the media we exert pressure, sometimes we can be even louder than what is expected of us, to push the state institutions into working with maximum functionality and efficiency, in defense of children's rights. To respect the best interest of the child. The motto of the Children’s Embassy MEGJASHI is that “All the ideals in the world are less important than the tears of a child”.
*It has been proven that in order to improve a child's right or at least to initiatite a change, unfortunately, one has to see or experience the worst example or incident. After all, we can't do anything about those sad and devastating facts or terrible statistics, but we can build a fairer children's world on their foundations and on the basis of lessons learned.
- In the fight for a fairer world for children, we upturned many taboos, stereotypes, opened up and initiated the solution to many problems affecting children, prioritized the importance of respecting children's personality and their best interests. We broke the silence about the children suffering from sexual abuse, from physical violence, from the problems they have when their parents’ divorce, from the sadness due to the secrecy of adopted children not having access to their biological parents, from the everyday problems that children encounter, from bullying, from the fact that there are still children without a birth certificate, children whose labor is abused, children who are not included in primary education or are prevented from completing their education. But what worries me the most in recent years is air pollution and the carcinogenic particles that children breathe. Air pollution is one of the leading causes of death in children because that air permanently crosses the blood-brain barrier and permanently damages a child's developing brain. Due to the negligence and absence of measures against the extremely polluted air in Macedonia, the most basic right of the children is violated and threatened - the right to life according to Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by the Republic of Macedonia in 1993.
*You were a scanner and with your work you brought to light the fact that, in fact, children are not deviant towards society, but that society is completely upside down towards them. That what they do is, in fact, only a response to the irresponsible behavior of adults and that all of us together bear responsibility.
-Society and state institutions are often deviant towards children. Instead of being their support and help, they often act against their needs and interests. Very often when they do not act properly or act wrongly, the state does not have a mechanism to sanction those who are responsible, but rather protects them. And so the problems only deepen, and the state and institutions become complicit in the dysfunctionality of the system. There are many examples in practice. The alienation between the child and the parent is a deviation that adults and society are responsible for, and such direct and irresponsible behavior affects the proper growth and development of the child. It is difficult for parents from dysfunctional and broken former marital relations after leaving the marital union to be participants in functional and responsible parenting. Joint and responsible parenting even after divorce should be focused on what is most important, which is the best interest of the child. The child should not feel guilty about the divorce and should live a normal life, receiving attention from both parents equally, because the termination of the marital union puts an end to the marriage, but not to the process of parenting. The mother and the father are equally important and significant for the correct growth and development of the child and under no cirscumstances should a child be put in a situation to choose between them. Divorce is the end of marriage, not the end of parening, the child needs love from both parents during the process of growing into a healthy individual to avoid deviant phenomena in adolescence. The child is not to blame for the divorce and must not feel any remorse. The child should not feel guilty about the divorce and should live a normal life, receiving attention from both parents equally, because the divorce of the marital union is the termination of the marriage, but not the termination of parentage. The mother and the father are equally important and significant for the correct growth and development of the child and it should not be put in a situation to choose under any circumstances. Divorce is the end of marriage, not the end of parenthood, the child needs love from both parents during the process of growing into a healthy individual to avoid deviant phenomena in adolescence. The child is not to blame for the divorce and must not feel any remorse.
*Society really swallows up children's rights. The youngest seem to be the most discriminated against and have no way to defend themselves from the adults, unless another adult helps them. Young people need to know that there is a solution to their problem, even though it seems like the whole world has collapsed on them. You indicated this through numerous engagements and campaigns. What would you single out in particular?
- We live in a completely divided society along ethnic, social, educational and any other lines. We live with rude and aggressive, violent behaviors towards those different from ourselves. We live in a segregated society in which students from different ethnic communities study in different schools. Although we each speak our own language, we rarely understand each other when it comes to building trust, shared values and life. That's why we decided to launch the campaign “Foster Peace”, to stir things up and be part of the change, acting both individually and as a civil organization, and on a collective level. At the same time, let's ask the state to be more mobile in terms of what we ask of it, to nurture, build and promote values such as empathy, solidarity, responsibility, dialogue and non-violence.
*Generally, it is a great injustice - with their existence, children paint the world with the warmest and most cheerful colors, and the world often shamelessly paints their childhood in the darkest, gray, sad colors, in the color of tears. We all need to change our attitude towards
children and we must educate them about their rights. You have done a lot in this direction. What is most valuable in all of this?
- One of the most difficult traumas that can happen to a child is sexual abuse. And this trauma is shrouded in silence for many years. But we raised our voices and spoke clearly and loudly about these traumas suffered by the children and sought solutions. Both preventive and punitive. The strong advocacy, support and lobbying of the First Children’s Embassy MEGJASHI for stricter sanctions against sex offenders, incest perpetrators, pedophiles, especially towards children under the age of 14, bore fruit, three out of our four recommendations were accepted and I think that in this way there is an opportunity to put this pathological phenomenon under control, especially when it comes to recidivism. What we advocated for was accepted, drug therapy or chemical castration, a minimum of 15 years in prison, but they did not accept the wearing of electronic bracelets after the pedophile leaves the prison institution. We believe that chemical castration should be mandatory as a measure, especially for recidivists and that it should be established immediately after leaving the prison institution and the pedophile will thus be helped not to repeat the crime, because the Children's Embassy advocates for lifetime in prison for every repeated offender. This is not corporal punishment, because it affects the psyche, i.e. the mental disorder that the pedophile has because he is not able to control his drive and libido, and in this way we believe that we are helping the pedophile, as well as the children, not to commit these crimes again.
*All of the people in the Embassy have experience in all directions, profound, extensive, long-lasting, and each of you can write a thick book of experiences. Can you recall which was the most difficult moment for you in all these 30 years, and which was the brightest and the greatest source of pride?
-”The girl fell on the rolling pin and lost her virginity”, this is how the case of the then nine-year-old girl, who was raped by her mother's friend, ended somehow. Case closed! In cases of sexual offenses, the procedure for determining the origin of the injuries cannot be performed by a gynecologist, but exclusively by a forensic medicine expert. But back then no one reported the case to forensic medicine, where if there had been a case of rape, it would have been discovered due to the specificities of the injuries. It is interesting to note that the two injuries that the gynecologist found could not have been caused by one fall, or even by any rolling pin, but were done on at least two occasions. So, the case was closed, there were neither suspects nor was anyone accused. Macedonia will remain the only country in the world where “virginity is lost by falling on a rolling pin!”
Then, we helped thousands of children affected by the war in the former Yugoslavia, responded to the challenges of rescuing and evacuating children from Bosnia and Herzegovina and taking them into care in Macedonia. We responded to the Kosovo crisis and worked with the children in the camps in Radusha, Bojane, Chegrane, Stenkovec 1 and 2 in the period between 1999 and 2000. During the conflict in Macedonia in 2001 we opened a Shelter for Internally Displaced Persons and took care of 16 people, they were taken care of at the Children's Embassy MEGJASHI during a period of five years. Three babies were born here - Alexander, Marija and Nikola. We responded to the migrant crisis. We had a rapid response humanitarian action to help the children from the flood in Skopje, the children who fled from Syria and were taken care of in Turkey. We also adequately responded with humanitarian aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, by distributing aid to the competent institutions and providing them with overall protective equipment, gloves and masks…
*You moved a world from inside to outside, from invisible to visible, you instigated changes. Going back through the timeline, you can see how quixotic your work was, but then you add things up at the end, when it all comes together, you manage to see the scope of work and the conclusion that nothing was in vain. That MEGJASHI became a “moral” home for any child, barefoot, hungry and starving, but also for those who have a roof over their heads and dream of higher goals... That MEGJASHI became a school for transformation towards democracy and children's rights and managed to impose many positive changes. *Was it worth it?
- The state is more focused on the legal amendments and what the legal norms stipulate, and less or in some parts it is not mentioned at all how those legal provisions are applied in practice. There is no established system of monitoring how the laws are implemented, nor is there any information that an adequate analysis has been made as to what funds are needed for the implementation of the laws. The omission in the protection of children's rights usually occurs during the implementation of laws, and in certain cases it happens due to legislative gaps and inadequate regulation of certain issues. For example, there are laws where it is stipulated that the child has a certain right, but it does not specify how the child can exercise that right, through which procedure, before which authority and in accordance with which law. Such legal solutions are unenforceable in practice and instead of promoting children's rights, they represent an additional obstacle. But yes! It was worth it. The Children's Embassy has not only become a school for transformation towards democracy and children's rights, but also strengthens and encourages children's activism and participation. Namely, Macedonia is one of the few countries in the world that has managed, for the second time, to prepare an Alternative Report on the situation with children's rights in Macedonia - from the children's perspective. To submit, present and defend it in front of the members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child at the UN. Children state that they are victims of various forms of violence, among which bullying is the most common, and emphasize that schools should do much more to educate children to prevent this type of violence. They point to the problems in education, which are numerous, including the poor quality of teaching, insufficient care for hygiene, inadequate conditions for children with disabilities and insufficient care for children's mental health. However, they believe that polluted air, especially in winter days, as well as illegal landfills, factories near populated areas are part of the environmental problems that children face, and they believe that there is neither sufficient awareness nor sufficient care on the part of the government. Not to mention any liability and criminal prosecution. They listed many other problems that children face. We expect the specific recommendations from the Committee on Children's Rights to arrive soon. But, also specifically their implementation and realization by the Macedonian state. Our engagement will still be necessary here, because in every report so far there were numerous problems that children were facing, that have been noted down in the reports sent to the Committee, and are repeated.
*The hard-working team of the Embassy, very gently and carefully, with filigree-like precisions, weaved a network of children's rights. And, with your relentless persistence, you made people to increasingly realize that children's rights are not one or two and that there is no right dosage for fulfillment of children's rights, they need to be exercised down to the last percent. And no matter what is settled, new rights always arise that the heirs of the world deserve. *According to you personally, what is the first most inviolable and supreme right of every single child, wherever he/she may be on this Planet?
- The right to a healthy environment. The right to life. The population most affected by air pollution is children. Air pollution has a harmful effect on children's health. The negative effects of air pollution on children begin even before they are born. The polluted air that pregnant women breathe can lead to damage to the fetus and its development. Polluted air also leads to reduced body weight at birth, premature births, various anomalies in newborn children whose mothers were exposed to polluted air during pregnancy. Children who breathe polluted air have an increased number of upper and lower respiratory tract infections. As a result of frequent infections of the respiratory organs, permanent damage to the lungs and chronic diseases that last a lifetime can occur, such as asthma, allergies, chronic bronchitis. As a result of polluted air, there is also a disturbance in the development of the central nervous system in children, a change in the immune system, and the occurence of malignant diseases. Air pollution directly affects children and their right to life. Namely, according to data from the World Health Organization, more than one in every four deaths of children under the age of five is directly or indirectly related to exposure of children to air pollution. Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution. Children inhale a larger amount of air, and thus a larger amount of harmful substances.
*What other message would you like to send?
- In the upcoming period, we plan to focus on achieving the following long-term goals of the organization, such as respecting and understanding the rights of children and children's personality; promoting and advancing the culture of peace and non-violence among children from an early age, mobilizing, updating and undertaking initiatives and actions for the benefit of children; joint and responsible parenting even after divorce, children having the right to find out who their biological parents are, the right to a healthy environment and clean air, and the struggle to mobilize and build functional institutions that act in the best interest of children.

http://www.megjashi.org.mk/content/pdf/MONOGRAPH%20%20First%20Childrens%20Embassy%20in%20the%20World%20MEGJASHI%201992-2022%20,%2030%20years.pdf

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2023.05.31 16:30 Eye-Zeee Anyone know why I can’t turn in this sub camp quest?

I finished that one frost island sub camp quest and just can’t turn it in. Whenever I talk to the merchant it just goes straight into his menu. I’ve tried closing and reloading the game. Sadly I saved after I completed the quest.

submitted by Eye-Zeee to MonsterHunter [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:29 ILoveNerdRopes2 🖤

Good morning! I have missed y’all!!!!! But I am more than glad I took the break I did! Everyone should try it once in awhile.
Last Monday morning I logged out of ALL social media platforms. Every single one of them. There were things I HAD to give my full 100% undivided attention to, I planned on logging back in that night or the next morning but after a day of thinking on it I decided not to and give 150% to what is the most important to me, I also needed to do some self reflecting and get my mind and heart right.
I will apologize to those who feel I abandoned them but my real life and my mental health will always always come before anything and for that I won’t apologize for.
I have talked to 2 people since then and that was yesterday. I logged back into Reddit yesterday to see what all I have missed since last Monday and to catch up on everything. I have more DMs then I know what to do with and no idea where to even start. Feel free to DM me again to push it to the top, I have no clue how long it will take me to get through everything between here, TT, Reddit and IG.
To those who haven’t made me feel like shit for putting myself and my family first, THANK YOU. Thank you to those who don’t make assumptions and go off of a few comments. Just because I won’t and don’t ever defend MYSELF doesn’t mean I won’t defend the truth.
Now I am excited to get back to doing what I came here for and that is to talk shit about Mary Mack Mack and spread awareness on the vile, evil person she is.
BIG SHOUT OUT TO CLAWS!!!!!!! I fucking love that damn chicken claw. 😘

submitted by ILoveNerdRopes2 to OfficialTinyDinyMatt [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:28 pilatesmonster [Review] Sunny Brooke (Sunny-DD)

Sub proof: https://i.imgur.com/xlrWYmn.jpeg
OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/sunny-brooke
Social Media: https://linktr.ee/sunny_brooke
I've been following Sunny for a while now, starting when she began here on Reddit as Sunny-DD and when she announced her OnlyFans I subscribed that day. She has a big following on Reddit, I believe in her announcement post she referenced something like 20k? And sure enough on her OnlyFans she sent a private message to all of her subscribers thanking us for supporting her during her first month on OF and she referenced that she's now in the top 10% on OF. So suffice it so say, she's been very successful and I totally can see why!
Part of her big appeal on Reddit was her personality and that has totally followed her to OF. She engages with fans better than any other creator I've ever seen. She can take/give a joke, is very witty, and very well-spoken. She was often tough to get a hold of on Reddit, but again she said she had a lot of fans so that's understandable. But on OF she's very active in messages and has always replied back.
Her content has also taken a leap forward on OF. She's released professionally-shot sets, clearly with a nice camera and photographer setup. Sounds like that should be a regular thing. She's also done way more video content on OF than I ever saw her do on Reddit. Like, a ton. She basically never did videos on Reddit. Aside from those two huge improvements, she also shares the same style content that got her popular here on Reddit – public nudity. Hiking and outdoor nudes are still her bread and butter on OF, but even there she's also upped her game. In her first month on OF she did this thing where we followed her around on errands throughout her day and she flashed and teased at all her stops, it was super fun and, again, very engaging for us fans.
Like I said before, she just celebrated her first month by messaging all of her subscribers a special thank you message along with the most risque content I've ever seen her do anywhere – solo toy play! Her OF bio (which is heads above any other creator, she's such a good writer!) made references to her doing more wild content and hinting at bigger things to come, and already one month in on OF and she's already delivering there.
She seems to care about her fans and appears to be doing all of this for the right reasons. She's fun, flirty, never cheesy. She doesn't send those spammy, automated daily messages like a lot of creators I follow. Seems like a real person, an actual girl next door! If she stays as active as she was her first month then I could see her really going places!

submitted by pilatesmonster to OnlyFansReviews [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:15 igorcarbex16 Bully Soundtrack References & Similarities in Details...

https://preview.redd.it/ahl29u0mu73b1.jpg?width=453&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d37661c842a119f0ed83740ec3eebdaf7b35e47
Hello Bully it's me again, The Bully soundtrack composed by the genius Shawn Lee is pretty rad, so as a music enthusiastic, i want to share this post for people really obsessed with the Bully songs like me, tried to include every song in the game like as puzzle pieces getting together with the greatest amount, most accurate and similar as possible in one sitting, with some help around the internet, personal discoveries and songs already mentioned for yourselves so thank you nonetheless, and sorry for the repetition. Unfortunately some will still be missing so "a little help"/hits for these unreferenced sounds are very welcome.
Some songs are pretty obvious but others looks well hidden, but that's the fun of it, not every song is a sample, they just sound alike or has interpolations.
I know it would be boring to reading all of this so also dedicated this YouTube playlist in details for, so that you can check thoroughly for a more accurate comparison: 😎👍 - Have Fun! https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtZ1VivcLOsiTtYHUrK-xw8OHZZAeOzRf
★ Main Storyline
·Welcome to Bullworth (Menu theme): Suspiria Theme - Goblin
·This Is Your School: The Duck - Shawn Lee
·The Setup/Bait/The Gym is Burning: Organ Donor - DJ Shadow
·Slingshot/Revenge on Mr. Burton "Part 3" (Fun): My Sweet Lord - George Harrionson the ex-Beatles & Bill Preston
·Save Algie: Love My Way - Psychedelic Furs
·Defend Bucky/The Eggs/Weed KilleStronghold Assault (Action): Shake, Shake, Shake - KC & The Sunshine Band, A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley, Hocus Pocus - Focus
·That B****/The Diary/Jealous Johnny/Paparazzi: This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
·The Candidate/Cook's Date: Oh Yeah - Yello
·Halloween/The Big Prank: The Chase - Shawn Lee, Burning Bridges - The Republic From The Getaway Game - Shawn Lee
·Help Gary: Cannonball - Breeders (it also reminds me the "X-Files Theme - Mark Snow" but this is overthinking)
·Character Sheets: Agent Woodrow - The Woodies
·Hattrick vs. Galloway: Cat Blues - Seatbelts (Drum Patterns)
·Movie Tickets (Sneaking On A Date): All Mine, Glory Box - both by Portished
·Carnival Date (Romance): Kiss The Sky - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra (also features in "Tales from the Bordelands Episode 2")
·Prep Challenge/Boxing Challenge: Drums on Phasing - Joe Ufer (Sample)
·Race the Vale/Lola's Race: Casio VL-1 Tone (Sampler) *a lot of songs use this instrument for samples, for Bully this is predominant in bike races, it also reminds the iconic song "Funkytown - Lipps inc."
·Beach Rumble: Tenebre 12 mix - Claudio Simonetti
·Tad's House: Billie Jean (Bass Only) - Michael Jackson
·Tagging/Making a Mark (Wildstyle): Chic - Good Times
·Wrong Part of Town/Busting In, Part I: Prog Punk, Psyche Drums (*After The Release!) - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
·The Tenements/Norton Boss Fight: Human Fly - Cramps, I Wanna Be Your Dog - Iggy Pop & the Stooges
·The Rumble/Defender of the Castle (Epic Confrontation): Matador - X Mal Deutschland (as the "wildstyle" music many songs are similar to this, i listed the most accurate or the most fun imo, at least)
·Nerd Challenge/Consumo Arcade (Menu): Sakura, Sakura - Traditional Japanese Folk Song
·Nerd Challenge/Consumo (Main): Four Thousand Years of Chinese History - SNK Sound Team from Fatal Fury: King of Fighters Game
·Glass House/Smash It Up (Destruction/Vandalism): Rapture - Blondie, The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
·Nice Outfit: Odetta - Hit or Miss (Drum Patterns), Dig Your Own Hole - Chemical Brothers (Drum Patterns)
·The Big Game (Nerds "Agent")/Revenge on Mr. Burton "Part 2": Big Bad Wolf - Shawn Lee
·Rats in the Library: You Rock My World - Michael Jackson, Spies In The Wires - Cabaret Voltaire
·Preppies Vandalized (Punishment): D12 40 Oz. - Mr. Stan
·Busting In, Part II/Paper Route: Identity - X-Ray Spec, Mongoloid - Devo
·Showdown at the Plant (Overture): "Saracens Theme" - The Warriors Game
·Complete Mayhem (Street Fight): Criminal - Fiona Apple (also resembles "All Caps - Madvillain-Madvillainy or MF Doom" and "Intermezzo 2 - Mr. chop" but this was released in 2009)
·School's Out (End Credits): Walk On The Wild Side (Bass and Rhythm Pattern) - Lou Reed by Velvet Underground
\Christmas is Here, Small Offences, Discreet Deliveries, The Collector, Mailbox Armageddon and Go See The Principal doesn't feature a unique theme or has any song.*
★ Miscellaneous, Ambience & Shop themes
·Chase Prefect and Police: The Shaft intro and end themes - Isaac Hayes, Beat Dis (12 Version) - Bomb The Bass
·Chase Adults/A Little Help: Take California - Propellerheads, Secret Agent - Bjorn Lynne
·Detention/Mowing Laws - Unused track from The Warrior Game (it doesn't have an actual name, sorry)
·Bike Race 1: Casio VL-1 Tone (Sampler)
·Bike Race 2: Sonic CD Game - Wacky Workbench Zone - Bad Future
·Kart Race (Main) or "Lowrider": You Baby - The Turtles
·Kart Race (Beta): Baba Hya - Lafayette Afro Rock Band
·General Store "Yum Yum Market": Cover Girl - Gabriele Ducros
·Hair Saloon (Poor) "The Final Cut": Punky Dragster - Tele Music
·Hair Saloon (Rich) "Old Bullworth Vale": Dance Feeling - Tele Music
·Clothing Store (Poor) "Worn In Used Clothing": Disco Revisited - Tele Music
·Clothing Store (Rich) "Aquaberry Outlet" (*After The Release!): Now That Is Jazz - Charlie's Bistro Ensemble
·Janitor's Room: Lonesome Heart Swing - Dennis Caplinger
·Carnival Ambience "Billy Crane's Traveling Carnival": Golden Brown - Stranglers
·Box Club Ambience "Glass Jaw Boxing Club": Icy Nation - Tele Music
·Preppie's Hideout Beach "Lighthouse" (*After The Release!): With My Maker I Am One - Chill Coffehouse Drip
·Dragon's Wing Comic Store (*After The Release!): Daniel Loves Singing - C. Allocco
·Nerd's Hideout "Dragon's Wing Comic Store" (Under): Soaring Song - Tele Music
·Jock's Hideout "Jock's Clubhouse": Grand Theft Auto (Song) - Craig Conner
·Monkey Fling (Menu): it reresemble Super Mario World Overworld theme
·Future Street Racer (Main): The Doom - Shadow The Hedgehog 2005 Game
★ Xmas Themes
Holiday themes features various artists, this list is based on the ones made by Shawn lee itself for his album "A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats form Santa's Bag", The original composers is on the song description.
·Balls of Snow: Carol of the Bells - Mykola Leontovych
·Miracle on Bullworth St.: Jingle Bells - James Lord Pierpont
·Rudy the Red Nosed Santa: O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) - John Francis Wade & Frederick Oakeley
·Nutcrackin': Deck The Halls - Thomas Oliphant, Little Dummer Boy - Katherine Kennicott Davis, Harry Simeone & Henry Onorati
·Bike Shop (Xmas) "Shiny Bikes": Let it Snow! - Gary Hoey (Dean Martin is the original composer) (Most famous by Frank Sinatra)
·Clothing Store (Poor) (Xmas) "Worn In"/Clothing Store (Rich) (Xmas) "Aquaberry": Jingle Bells (Dan The Automator) - Dean Martin, *the Aquaberry outlet uses a different tone in jazz
·Janitor's Room (Xmas)/Hair Saloon (Poor)(Xmas) "The Final Cut": Up On The House Top (Ho, Ho, Ho) - Gene Autry
·Dragon's Wing Comic Store (Xmas)/Hair Saloon (Rich)(Xmas)"Old Bullworth Vale": We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Traditional English (Britain) Folk Song
·Xmas Tree: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy - Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovski
\The General Store "Yum Yum Market" reuses a song collage of various themes as Deck the Halls, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Jingle Bells in that order on looping.*
★ Classes
·Music classes features American Folk and American March Songs since the game takes place in USA
Class 1: Turkey In The Straw
Class 2: Masterpiece Fanfare
Class 3: She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
Class 4: Liberty Bell March (also known as "Monty Python Theme")
Class 5: The Washington Post March (also sounds similar to "Willian Tell Act" by Charlie Chaplin)
·English Class: Piéces de Clavecin en concert; La Timide - Jean-Philippe Rameau
·Art Class: Come With the Night (Drum Patterns) - Sugar Stick (also resembles "Test Area - Broadcast" or "Serpent Magique - Tangerine Dream")
·Photography Class/BMX Park (*After The Release!): Automatic - Shawn Lee & AM (for observation, the Bike Park and Photography theme are slightly different, not the same)
·Biology: Dara Factor One - Weather Report Music, Heist in Helsinki (*After The Release!) - Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
\Geography class uses a medley of characteristic instruments and sounds of world nations*
★ Cliques & Boss fights
·Vendetta Non-Clique: Ode To Billie Joe - Lou Donaldson
·Vendetta Bullies: Skin Therapy - Mr. Dibbs, And on the Sixth Day - Pat Williams
·Vendetta Nerds/Stronghold Assault (Nerd Boss Fight): Casio VL-1 Tone (Sampler), Da Da Da - Trio (not only the song but the nerds cliques itself looks heavy inspired by the movie Revenge of the Nerds, some themes would also fit for Nerds in particular "Burning Down The House by Talking Heads")
·Vendetta Preppies: Billie Jean - Michael Jackson, Whip it - Devo
·Vendetta Greasers: Play For Today - The Cure, Private Idaho - B-52's, Disorder - Joy Division
·Vendetta Jocks: Amen, Brother - The Winstons, Drums Away - The Simon Song (Drums Intro), The Assembly Line - Commodores (this one use one of the most famous samples in music the "Amen Break" by Winstons as initially mentioned)
·Vendetta Dropouts/Townie Challenge: Tédio - Biquíni Cavadão, I Love Rock 'N Roll - The Arrows (Original Composers) *the guitar riff and bass pattern is extremely similar to "Pretty Fly by Offspring" but the song "Tédio" is alot older and still more accurate to the townies theme
·Russell in the Hole: Firestarter (Drum Patterns) - Prodigy, Devotion (Voice of Paradise) - Ten City
·Dishonorable Fight: Eye of the Tiger, Burning Heart - both by Survivor
·Fighting Johnny Vincent: Boogie Woodie - The Beach Boys, Caldonia Boogie - Louis Jordan (also covered by James Brown) *this song line is also referred as "The Walking Bass" featured in many Classic Rock songs
·The Big Game (Jock Boss Fight): Just Like Heaven, A Forest - The Cure, Harmonia - Dino
·Showdown at the Plant: Headhunter - Front 242, Are You Red..Y - The Clash
·Final Showdown: Underwater March - Klaus Badelt, 2001 NBA Ultimate Player (Film Score) *God of War (2018) Game also has a similar tone in "Spartan Rage" overture by Bear McCreary
★... Uncertain? ...Suggestions
·Bully Main Theme (Running Theme): Maniac - Michael Sembello, the synthesizer effect looks an interpolation of the xylophone effect used in the game.
·Overworld (Walking Theme) - The Phantom of the Opera Motion Picture Overture (this also resambles "echoes" by pink floyd but that peculiar melody is more predominant in this theme), Let's Ge Started (Bass Only) - Black Eyed Peas, it looks heavily inspired by Dario Argento movies (as the overall soundtrack).
·Here's to you Ms. Philips/Last Minute Shopping/Cook's Crush/Discretion Assured/Finding Johnny Vincent/Revenge on Mr. Burton "Part 1" (The Search): Sounds similar to "Tenant - Siouxsie And The Banshees", people often confuse this theme to "Cheating Time" but the track is named "Here's to you Ms. Philips" as does the mission, it also resembles a Giorgio Gaslini piece an italian jazz pianist or the american compositor Henry Mancini the creator of Pink Panther iconic theme.
·Panty Raid/Galloway Away/Cheating Time (Stealth): Love Theme From "The Godfather" or "Speak Softly, Love" or just The Godfather Theme from Nino Rota a renowned italian composer, written by Larry Kusik, also resembles the song "Hey by Pixies".
·Comic Klepto: Where’d You Go - Fort Minor e Jonah Matranga (interpolation), also resembles Gramatik, Transplants, Flobots or X-Ecutiornes style of song.
·Funhouse Fun/ Funhouse (Ambience): Carnival of the Animals; Introduction and Royal March of the Lion ("Marche Royale du Lions") - Camille Saint-Saëns (interpolation)
·Funhouse Graveyard "Carnival Funhouse Graveyard" (Unused/Beta): Lux Aeterna - Clint Mansell & Kronos Quartet; Requiem For A Killer Movie Score
·Shop Class "Auto Repair Shop": Sounds similar to Star Guitar - Chemical Brothers, Cities in the Dust - Siouxie And The Banshees
·Math Class (Beta): Sounds similar to Nightmare on Elm Street Theme
·Gym Class/Lockpicking/Jocks Challenge: Sounds similar to "Resucitó" an old catholic song
·Bike Shop "Shiny Bikes": Sounds similar to Billy Club - Junkie XL, Horndog - Overseer
·Greaser's Hideout/Greaser's Challenge "Blue Balls Pool House" "Tattoo Parlor" & "The Happy Mullet": Sounds similar to In-Cut Overdrive - Tomonori Sawada; Sega Rally 2006 Game
·Townies/Dropouts Hideout "Dropout Hangout": Sounds similar to Babel - Covenant
★ Still Missing... Unknown?
·Chemistry Class: although i can't find a matching song it doesn't sound like music per se
·Math Class (Main): definitely a funky/soul tune, unfortunately i couldn't find a corresponding song for it
·Nut Shots: resembles Gradius songs a game by Konami or AiAce Combat a Namco Game
I REALLY LOVE BUNNIES, THEY'RE SO NICE!
I Hope you like it 😎👍

submitted by igorcarbex16 to bully [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 16:10 chuckhustmyre [TH] 100 CEMETERY (Part Two of Two) by Chuck Hustmyre

When the old man got within range, John kicked at him with his good leg, but the old timer was quick, much quicker than he looked. He ducked to his right, side stepping John's lashing foot, then darted in and touched the tip of the prod to John's leg. Fire--that's what it felt like. White hot fire. A jolt went through John's body that made his eyeballs hurt. And just like that, the old man slipped in again and jabbed him in the stomach. Then, as John rolled onto his belly, the tip touched his back.
John curled into a ball and hugged his knees to his chest.
"Get through that door, boy," the old man said. "Move it, now!" Like herding an ornery animal.
And like an animal, John Burke responded, lifting himself onto all fours and crawling toward the exit. Halfway across the floor, the old man jammed the cattle prod against John's ass. He cried out and scampered through the door.
As soon they were out of the room, the old man clicked his cheek a couple of times like he was calling a dog. "Get on your feet, like a good boy." John struggled to his feet as the door closed behind him and the bolts slammed into place. He stood at one end of a narrow passage, dark, except for a single bulb hanging from the ceiling at the far end. Again, John felt the prod touch his back.
"Get!" the old man said.
John limped toward the light.
The passage emptied into a windowless room, low ceilinged and big. The old man forced him into a chute--a cattle chute. Horizontal steel poles on each side formed a walkway barely wide enough for a man's shoulders. The poles were stacked four high, the top pole about five feet off the ground. Every six or eight feet stood a vertical brace.
The old man closed and locked a sliding wooden door behind them, then bent and slipped between two of the horizontal poles. Outside the chute, he prodded John to keep him moving. As John walked toward the end, the old man thumped him two or three times with the prod but didn't shock him.
Suddenly, an overpowering stench hit John and his feet stopped moving. He looked to the right, toward the source of the smell, and saw a stainless steel table, on top of which lay a man's lifeless body. He was on his belly with his head turned and John could see the face of the man who'd been goaded out of the room just before him. The white-haired old lady stood beside the table gripping an electric carving knife in one latexed hand, while with her other gloved hand she pressed the man's leg firmly against the table. Bile gurgled up into John's throat as the old lady thumbed the switch on the carving knife and sliced a hunk of meat from the back of the dead man's thigh.
John spewed vomit and dropped to his knees. "Get up, boy," he heard from behind him as the prod juiced his lower back. John screamed in pain as he staggered to his feet. "Move it," the old man said. With legs like jelly, John stumbled forward.
The cut he'd worked into the leather belt was just to the right of the steel loop through which the handcuffs ran. Only an eighth of an inch of leather remained. Using his body, John shielded his hands from the old man's view while he tugged on the handcuffs and hobbled along.
The sides of the chute closed in on him as he reached the end. Near panic, John tried to turn around, but before he could the old man slid a gate closed behind him that penned him in.
Trapped.
From the corner of his eye, John watched the old man. Saw him step towards a workbench against the wall, fifteen feet away, and toss the cattle prod onto it. He pulled a ballpeen hammer down from a wall above the bench. It had a big stainless steel head with a foot long wooden handle. The old man turned and walked toward John with a casual, bored look on his face, just another day in the slaughterhouse.
Bent as far forward as he could, John thrust his hips back and jerked his cuffed hands forward, but the leather belt held. Behind him he heard the old man's shoes scrape the cement floor. Desperate, John twisted his hands to the right. The leather still held. Just an eighth of an inch between a chance for escape and a hammer to the back of the head.
A shoe scuff on the floor. Afraid to look, John stared at his hands. He groaned as he thrust his hips to the right and jerked his hands to the left. The leather tore and the belt pulled free from his waist.
"Where you think you're going?" the old man said.
John ducked and heard the top pole ring as the ballpeen hammer glanced off of it. With the belt still dangling from his handcuffs, John doubled over and stepped between the two middle poles on his left side. To his right the old man cursed him and swung the hammer between the bars. The hammer thumped into John's right hip but he didn't stop. Once through the bars he ran--hobbled on his painful ankle--toward the wall, trying to put as much distance between him and the old man as possible.
"Momma, momma, he got loose!"
"Catch him quick 'fore he gets away," the old lady screamed.
John Burke was lost. He didn't know where he was our how to get out. He turned, saw the old man race around the end of the chute, hammer cocked over his shoulder. John's back was to the wall. Wildly, he glanced around for something he could use. There was nothing.
To his left, twenty feet away was the corner of the room and a closed door.
The old man saw John looking. "You'll never get out." But he slowed down, approaching cautiously, angling toward the door to cut off John's only escape route.
The old man looked nervous about the door. John broke and ran. Waves of pain shot up his leg from his swollen ankle but he ignored it. The old man lunged toward the door to intercept. John tried to stop and start, throw a fake at the old man, but his ankle folded and he hit the floor.
The old man dropped to one knee beside him and raised the hammer over his head. "Got you!"
But as the killer blow came down, John shifted slightly to the side and the hammer struck the cement beside his head, sending tiny chips flying into his face. He lashed out with his good foot, missed the old man's head but caught him in the ribs. As the old man grunted and toppled over, John got to his feet and struggled to the door.
Locked.
John twisted the knob and screamed in rage. The old man stood up. Mounted on the wall next to the door was a gray metal circuit box, the handle protruding from its side angled up in the on position. An electrical shut off.
"Get him, poppy," the old woman screamed from the other side of the room. A nice old couple who called each other momma and poppy.
John grabbed the handle with both hands, shot a glance at the old man, saw him bearing down, and pulled.
Lights out. Total darkness.
Just in time John ducked. He heard the old man grunt as the hammer dug into the drywall. With his manacled hands, John shoved the old man, then ran along the wall to his left. Moving through the dark it felt like a mile. The old lady screamed.
Cuffed hands out in front with the torn leather belt dangling from them, John ran into the wall and turned right. He had no idea where to go or what to do. Just knew he had to put as much distance as he could between him and the old man. At the next corner he turned right again. Just up ahead he heard the old lady. "Poppy, I can't see."
He slowed down, tried to catch his breath. Then the lights came on. Poppy must have gotten to the switch. John found himself next to the stainless steel butchering table, and face-to-face with the old lady. With the power on, her electric carving knife started buzzing.
"I got him, poppy!" she said and chopped at him with the knife.
John jerked his head back as the humming blade passed less than an inch from his eyes.
"Momma!" the old man screamed.
John looked across the big room at the old man by the door. Hammer swinging from his hand, he started to run towards them but had to go around the cattle chute. The old lady again cut at John but this time he managed to catch her wrist in his hands. As he kicked her in the shin he heard one of his bare toes crack, but she loosened her grip on the knife and he was able to jerk it out of her hand.
The old man rounded the end of the chute and howled in rage as he saw them struggling. Momma clawed at John's eyes with both hands, but he managed to close them just as her nails raked his face. Carving knife in hand, he slashed at the old lady. The vibrating blade ripped into the side of her neck and cut across her throat. She gurgled up a foul smelling blast of air from her open trachea that made John gag. With her eyes wide open, the old lady looked stunned as her knees folded and she collapsed to the ground.
John Burke turned and the old man was right on top of him, screaming, swinging the hammer at his head. As John raised the carving knife, the hammer snapped the blade off and knocked it from his hand. The old man lunged closer, grabbed him by the throat with his left hand and raised the hammer again.
John threw an awkward jab with his shackled hands and hit the old man in the face with just enough force to stun him into losing his grip on John's neck. Then with a two-handed uppercut to the gut, this one with a little more behind it, he doubled the old man over, then ran for the door.
Standing in front of the door, he jerked down the power switch and again shrouded the room in darkness. He raised his good leg and kicked the wooden door as hard as he could. It gave just a little. Behind him he heard the old man crying, and something else--things being knocked over, things hitting the floor, the sounds of searching.
As John kicked again, his bad ankle screamed in pain, yet still the door held. He caught his breath, raised his good leg and managed one more kick. This time the knob splintered off and the door flew open. Stairs led up.
Behind him, a two-count metallic click echoed through the room. The unmistakable sound of a shell being chambered. A shotgun.
Fighting back the pain, John loped up the stairs as the shotgun blasted behind him. Upstairs he found himself in an empty kitchen. He moved down a short hallway that opened into a room he recognized, the den of the old lady's house. It was dark outside and only a few lights were on inside the house.
Footsteps on the cellar stairs.
Frantically, John looked around, seeing the big bay windows, but no door to the outside. He knocked the dead telephone to the ground, snatched up the end table, and heaved it through one of the windows.
Outside the air was warm and muggy, the ground soft like after a rain. Naked, except for the handcuffs and leather belt hanging from them, John staggered toward the woods just beyond the house. As he reached the first trees he heard another shotgun blast behind him, heard glass shatter, heard pellets tearing through the trees to his right.
Into the trees, getting some of them between him and the house in case the old man ripped off another shot.
"Murderer! I'll kill you," the old timer yelled through the trees. Almost funny, a minute ago the old man trying to bash his brains in with a hammer but still had the nerve to call him a murderer. Not to mention the sweet old lady carving a man like a Christmas turkey.
John turned forty-five degrees to the right. Choosing a zig-zag over a straight line. A minute later he heard another shot, then the pellets ripped into the branches off to his left. A frustration shot. The old man had guessed he'd turn but he'd guessed the wrong way.
He'd gotten out of shape. Just a few minutes into the woods he was puffing like a steam train, a stitch like a knife twisting into his side. John could feel his ankle starting to swell. Time for the zag so he turned left, crossed through what he guessed was fifty or sixty yards of woods, then suddenly burst into a clearing--the cemetery. The high three-quarter moon cast short, dark shadows from the tombstones. Blackness in a sea of night.
Something crashed through the brush behind him in the distance, followed by bark of a big dog. John had trouble as he stepped over the low spiked fence that surrounded the graveyard. For a second he had to put all of his weight on his bad leg and came close to impaling himself.
John remembered another fence, a six-foot iron one that spanned the front of the property, the half-inch thick bars thrust at the sky like black spears. If it circled the whole property, how the hell was he going to get out?
The barking grew louder.
As he limped between the gravestones, John heard the old man cursing in the distance, farther away than the dog, but getting closer. Terror's icy hand gripped John Burke's heart. His feet stopped moving and he dropped down onto a soft, moist patch of earth and leaned his back against a marble slab that marked someone's final resting place, someone whose troubles were over for good. John put his head into his hands as despair washed over him.
He wasn't going to get away. Not on a bad ankle. Not with his hands cuffed. Not from a madman with a dog and shotgun. A madman who kept humans like cattle, who beat men to death with a hammer, whose wife ran a human butcher shop. They were close, the old man and his dog. John could hear the dog tearing through the underbrush just inside the woods, just beyond the cemetery fence. In a minute it would all be over. He wondered if Gail would ever find out what happened to him? To die like this, in a bone yard, victim to a crazy old man and his even crazier wife.
Fear, despair, hopelessness--these feelings surged through John as a sob racked his body so hard it bounced his back off the marble tombstone and shot a bolt of pain down his spine. Then, as if cleansed by fire, those feelings melted like snow, replaced by something new, by something better, by something that fueled him--Rage.
Perched in front of the grave next to him was a thick marble urn, holding a bouquet of long dead flowers. John rolled to it, grabbed the urn in both hands, and dumped out the withered flora. He felt the comforting weight of the urn, heavy enough to crush a dog's skull, or a man's.
He wasn't going to make it easy. If they were going to kill him, they'd have to work for it. The headstones were too small to hide behind unless he crouched down and John didn't want to crouch down and hide. He was through hiding, besides, his ankle couldn't take much crouching. Better to let the dog see him, try to get rid of the mutt before the old man made it out of the woods.
The underbrush got quiet. The dog was out of the woods. No more barking. The moonlight and the shadows played tricks on John's eyes. A glimpse of movement at the fence then nothing. He strained his eyes, willing them to see through the darkness but it was his ears that responded, picking up the quick thumping of padded feet on the wet grass. The sound coming from his left. John raised the urn and turned, then heard it behind him, much closer. A throaty growl. He tried to spin around but the furry beast hit him in the back.
Claws raked his bare shoulder blades as he slammed face first into the ground and the marble urn flew from his hands, useless. Sharp teeth gripped the back of his head and shook it like the stuffed head of a doll. His scalp tore--he actually felt it--as the dog growled and bit harder.
"Get him, boy!" the old man shouted from somewhere near the edge of the woods.
John used his good left leg to push into the ground and roll. The dog tightened its grip on John's head and tried to roll with him but John used his arms to topple the German Shepherd off of him. As the brute tried to regain his feet, John kept rolling until he was on top with the dog pinned under him. The canine's jaws sprung open, looking for something to bite as John grabbed the animal's big head, one hand on each side, and forced the handcuff chain and part of the leather belt into the back of its mouth.
With his naked body pressing down on the dog, John forced the Shepherd's head back. The handcuff chain cut into the roof of the dog's mouth as John pushed back harder and harder. The beast's nails ripped at John's chest and thighs, but still he forced the big head back until the dog's agonized yelping was cut short by a loud crack, like the dry snap of a rotten branch, as its neck broke and body went limp.
John rolled off of the dead dog and struggled to his feet. The old man yelled, "Did you get him, Butch? Did you get him?" John turned toward the sound of the man's voice and saw him stumble out of the woods, just on the other side of the fence, shotgun held across his chest. The old man's eyes locked on the animal lying on the ground. "Butch!" he cried, voice cracked with emotion Then he raised his shotgun.
John dropped behind a headstone just as a blast ripped through the air. Pellets smacked into the other side of the stone. Then, as the double click of a new shell being racked into the chamber echoed across the graveyard, John scrambled away on all fours, keeping his head below the top of the tombstones.
By the time he reached the cemetery fence, John could barely move. His breath came in ragged gasps; his chest, shoulders, and thighs were on fire; and the back of his neck felt wet and sticky. He lifted his cuffed hands over his head and wiped at his neck. His palms came away covered with blood, blood that looked almost black in the moonlight.
One foot got tangled going over the fence and John fell, landing with a thud on the other side. Behind him, fifty yards at most, he could hear the old man's quick shuffle coming across the cemetery. The old man mumbling and cursing to himself. Once John got into the tree line he felt a little safer, something between him and muzzle of that shotgun. But the going was slow. Much tougher than before. He started to feel dizzy. The dog had torn him up and he knew he was bleeding badly.
He'd made it this far but knew there was no way he could make it all the way back home, at least not tonight. Too tired and too hurt. But with the dog dead, all he had to do was shake the old man off his trail, then hole up somewhere until daylight. In the morning he would parallel the road just inside the trees to keep out of sight. His house was only two miles away. He would make it even if he had to crawl on his hands and knees the whole way.
He ran into the fence. Six feet tall, made of pointed wrought iron bars, no more than ten inches apart. Impossible to slip between them. The bars braced by two thin rectangular, iron beams that ran the length of the fence. One, a foot from the ground; the other, a foot from the top.
John hadn't gained any distance on the old man. He could hear his thrashing back in the trees, his slow, steady pace, his mumbling punctuated by curses.
There was only one way to get out and that was over the fence. John set his feet on the bottom support and grabbed the top crossbar with both hands, but with his wrists cuffed he couldn't spread his hands out. He couldn't climb.
He managed to pull himself up so his chin was over the top of the fence and then swung his good leg up. It didn't go high enough. Arms straining, he swung it up harder and managed to hook his heel on the top support, between two of the bars. That's when he lost his grip.
John fell but his foot stayed. He heard his ankle crack and he screamed. Caught between the two vertical bars and the horizontal support, his bare foot was wedged in tight and he hung upside down, naked, like a stuck pig being bled in a slaughterhouse.
The old man stepped out from the trees, shotgun held across his chest like a soldier. Fifteen feet from John, he raised it to his shoulder and grinned as he pulled the trigger. CLICK.
"Goddamit!" He racked the pump, took aim, and pulled the trigger again. Another empty click. This time he slammed the pump back and stared into the open chamber. "Son of a bitch," he mumbled, then grabbed the barrel in a two handed grip.
He swung it like a baseball bat at John's head and all John Burke could do was close his eyes. Just before the wooden stock crashed into his skull, he heard himself say, "Gail."
* * *
Gail Burke was on the toilet, in the middle of peeing, when the doorbell rang. "John," she heard herself say. "God, please let it be John." She pulled on her jeans and ran to the door, didn't even flush. But it wasn't John. It was a man, old but distinguished looking in a dark suit with a pale blue tie draped in front of a starched white shirt. She glanced behind him and saw a van parked in her driveway. Not a minivan, but a full-sized, white work van, windowless except for the driver and passenger doors. No name on the side.
"Can I help you?" she asked, losing hope her caller had anything to do with John.
He raised his hands slightly and she noticed they held a round plastic container. Rubbermaid, or Tupperware, with a lid on it. "Yes," she said.
"Mrs. Burke?"
Gail nodded.
My name is Muller, Frank Muller. He nodded to the right. "I live on Cemetery Road."
She gave him a brief smile.
"I've read about your...your husband's disappearance in the paper."
At first she'd had a lot of visitors like this. Well-wishers, sympathizers, but it had been two weeks and people had stopped coming by. Mostly, she guessed they thought John's disappearance maybe wasn't so mysterious after all. Middle-aged man, married for a dozen years, suddenly takes off. Maybe found a young girl. No mystery there. But she knew that wasn't what he'd done. Something terrible had happened. She could feel it.
"Thank you," was all she could think of to say.
He raised his hands again. "I've brought you something. Chili, my wife's secret recipe."
She looked at the container. The two-gallon size. That's a lot of chili, she thought. She caught a whiff of it as he slipped one hand under the container and lifted part of the lid with the other. He said, "Chock full of beef and beans. Put some meat on your bones."
Gail felt her face flush. Her jeans hung loosely on her hips. She'd lost ten pounds since John disappeared and hadn't had it to spare to begin with. "Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr..." She couldn't even remember the gentleman's name.
"Muller," he said.
"Of course," she said quickly. "Thank you again, Mr. Muller." Gail reached for the container. "To be honest I haven't felt much like cooking and that smells delicious. Please tell Mrs. Muller that I said--"
Mr. Muller shook his head. "Buried her recently."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
As she took the chili from him, he forced a smile. "I made it but it's her recipe so if it's good she gets the credit." He laughed a more genuine laugh. "And if it's bad, I'll take the blame."
She felt the heat through the plastic. They said goodbye and Gail Burke went inside to eat a bowl of Mrs. Muller's secret recipe. She felt her stomach growl with hunger. If it tasted as good as it smelled, maybe she'd have two bowls.
THE END

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2023.05.31 16:08 chuckhustmyre [TH] 100 CEMETERY (Part One) by Chuck Hustmyre

Evil often wears a mask.
John Burke felt his tendon tear. It happened just past the DEAD END sign, an instant after his foot struck the edge of the pothole. His right ankle folded and he went down hard--real hard--on the rough asphalt road.
Mid-summer morning, just outside New Orleans. Nylon jogging shorts and a tank top were no protection against road rash. His right knee hit first, then his hands. The pebble-studded pavement devoured the skin on both then bit into his hip, but he barely felt the hip. Maybe the shorts helped, or maybe by then John was in too much pain to notice.
He lay in the street--thank God cars were rare on Cemetery Road--bleeding, clutching his leg. Everything forgotten except his pain. He could see his ankle already starting to swell, turning purple along the inside. When he tried to flex it a white hot bolt of pain shot up his leg.
This is bad, John thought. Really bad. Doctor Van Dykes, surgery, months of physical therapy...
First thing--get off the street. John rolled onto his left side and had to stop and catch his breath as a wave of nausea washed over him. As the blood ran from his hands and knee where the road had carved away hunks of meat, he watched bright crimson drops splash onto the asphalt.
Hundred-year-old oaks overhung Cemetery Road, their branches draped in gray beards of Spanish moss that shaded the street. A quarter-mile past the DEAD END sign, the road bridged over the Chinchuba River, a slow-paced tributary no more than a couple dozen yards wide. Some mornings, mist drifted off the water's surface and into the woods on both sides of the road, giving the place a surreal look.
A perfect place to jog--run--John Burke didn't like using the "J" word. Jogging was what people did on weekends as they watched their bellies grow. John was a runner. At least four times a week with half-a-dozen races a year.
The nearest house--the only house on Cemetery Road--stood at the end, half a mile away, next to the graveyard for which the road was named. Maybe, just maybe, he could limp there, borrow a phone, call Gail. John looked at his watch, just 7:15. His wife didn't leave until eight. If he could get to a telephone she could pick him up and drive him straight to Doctor Van Dykes' office.
The trip was torture. Taking short hops on his left leg, he could make it only ten or fifteen feet before he had to rest. To rest John had to drop his right foot down and put a little weight on it and that sent waves of pain shooting up his leg. Behind him, he saw a trail of blood like red tears on the ground.
At the end of the road, the pavement gave way to a gravel driveway flanked on either side by two white stone columns. A six-foot, spiked, wrought-iron fence disappeared into the woods on either side. Hinged inside the columns gaped a pair of wrought iron gates. Mounted on the left hand column was a brass plaque with the number 100 etched in black. 100 Cemetery Road.
John paused at the top of the driveway and leaned against one of the gates to catch his breath. The drive descended at a slight grade, curved to the right, then vanished into the woods. He'd run past the driveway hundreds of times but had never actually seen the house or the cemetery. There was always something slightly unsettling about the look of it, something that made him pick up his pace as he ran past.
After a deep breath, he started hopping down the gravel drive, using trees along the way as resting points. The house was a hundred yards past the gate. A big two-story, clapboard construction, that looked run down, almost seedy. It had suffered years of wood rot and badly needed a coat of paint.
The gravel path ended at a two-car garage attached to the right side of the house. Left of the house, on the other side, past a stand of trees, John caught a glimpse of the cemetery. He could just make out a low iron fence and a few gray tombstones.
A wooden porch with a decayed railing spanned the front of the house. The front door was solid wood, without windows.
He leaned against the frame and knocked. A minute passed. John knocked again, this time pounding with the bottom of his fist. At least another half minute went by before he heard slippers shuffling on the floor just inside. The door opened just a crack and a white haired old lady peered out. "Yes," she said, suspicion in her voice.
John held up his right leg, showing his bloody knee and black and blue ankle. Exhausted, he didn't have time to mince words. "I'm hurt. Can I use your phone?"
The old lady looked down at John's leg. A look of concern washed over her face as she threw open the door. "Come in. Oh, my goodness, come in."
John stretched his arms across the doorjamb as he hobbled inside the threshold. "If I can just use the phone, my wife will come pick me up."
"What on earth happened?" she said, leading him through the foyer.
"Twisted my ankle in a pothole."
"Oh, my word," she said, turning to look. "Is it very bad?"
"I think so."
"Come sit down. Let me get you something."
The foyer floor was tile, but he wanted to be careful. "I don't want to get blood on anything."
She shook her head. "Don't be silly. Blood washes right out." The old lady stepped toward John and took hold of his left arm, letting him lean some of his weight on her.
In the den, John was relieved to see a wooden floor. As he dropped onto the sofa, he nodded toward a telephone on an end table. "If I can just use the phone..."
A strange look flashed across the old lady's face, but was gone in an instant as she nodded toward the telephone. "That one doesn't work." She pointed toward a door that looked like it led into the kitchen. "You stay put. I'll call somebody for you in just a second, but first let me get you some water."
John tried to protest, but she was determined. While she was gone, he eyed the room. The den was big, with six bay windows overlooking the woods behind the house. The room was filled with old-fashioned furniture and had a cavernous fireplace at one end, but it also had a worn look, and a smell. A smell John always associated with old age, with his grandfather's house in the last few years before he died.
Next to the dead telephone was a framed black and white photo of a pretty young woman in a riding outfit, posing at what looked like the front gate of a ranch. It was the old lady, much younger and much thinner.
When she came back carrying a tall glass of ice water in one hand, John still had both hands clutching his swelling ankle. He jabbed an elbow toward the photo, more for something to say than anything else. "Is that you?"
She nodded. "My father owned the Rocking R ranch.
The name was familiar. One of the biggest meat suppliers in the state. "Owned?" He stressed the past tense.
She nodded. "After Daddy died, we had to sell. Rising interest rates and the drop in beef prices, we got just pennies on the dollar." She sounded bitter.
For a second she stood quiet and John used the lull to introduce himself and explain how he'd hurt his ankle.
She handed him the glass. "I may have seen you jogging before. Looked like somebody was chasing you."
John thanked her and smiled at the image that popped into his head of this nice old lady lurking in the woods close enough to see the road. As he took a long sip from the glass, he noticed a slightly bitter taste that reminded him why he drank bottled. "You live here alone?"
"No. My husband and I are retired. For forty years we owned Muller and Son funeral home."
"That's where we had the service for my father," John said.
"I'm sorry." She patted his shoulder. "When did he pass?"
He had to think for a second. Time flies. "Two years this past spring," he slurred.
She stared at him with a look of compassion. "Our son would have handled that. We sold the business to him four years ago."
John's head began to spin. The glass slipped from his fingers as he crumpled to the floor. Darkness.
* * *
John Burke cracked his eyes and saw blinding lights. Then felt thumping. Someone was thumping on his chest. He opened his eyes all the way. White light, bright white light. Flat on his back, he tried to raise his hand to shield his eyes but his arm wouldn't move--at least not far. Just a couple inches then something held it. Same thing happened when he tried to use his other hand.
John felt a cold hard floor beneath him--the rough surface of cement--as he rolled onto his side. There was something wrong with his hands. They were trapped at his waist as he tried again to shield his eyes from the blinding light.
More thumping, this time on his left shoulder. He blinked several times to clear his vision. His eyes focused on a bearded, bare-chested, fat man, squatting on the floor next to him. A pair of steel handcuffs clamped on the big man's wrists were fastened to a belt encircling his waist.
"You okay?" the man said.
John just stared at him, realizing the man wasn't just bare-chested, he was completely naked.
"I said, are you okay?" the bearded man asked again.
"Where am I?" John's head felt like it was going to split open.
The naked fat man shrugged. "I don't know."
John looked down at himself and saw that he too was bare-assed, his own wrists handcuffed and bound to his waist by a two-inch wide leather belt. Using his elbow and good knee, John started to snake away from his new acquaintance.
"You can't get away," the man said.
Get away from where?
The pain in his ankle made him stop. He looked around, saw he was in a room maybe thirty feet by thirty feet. Besides him and the fat man, there were four other men in the room. All naked, all handcuffed and belted.
The bearded man hadn't moved. "It's not me you got to be afraid of." He pointed toward the room's only door. "It's the old man."
* * *
The old man had been in four times to bring food. Slop was more like it. He came into the room carrying the thick brown paste in a couple of five-gallon buckets. The stuff tasted like it had a lot of lard in it.
"How long have you been here?" John asked.
The bearded man--Skeeter he called himself--just shrugged. "The old man always keeps the lights on so we can't tell the difference between day and night."
Along one wall was a chest-high trough into which their keeper poured the paste. A second trough along the adjacent wall held water. Like animals, the men stood in front of the troughs, stuck their faces into them, and slurped.
Like everyone else, everything of John's had been taken from him while he was unconscious: shorts, shirt, socks, shoes, and most important, his watch. In addition to belted handcuffs, the other men wore leg irons, essentially a pair of oversized, stainless steel cuffs with a foot-and-a-half of chain between them. But John had been spared that, probably due to the size of his swollen ankle.
Skeeter didn't know why he was here, why any of them were here. "I was just hitchhiking"
"Hitchhiking?"
He nodded. "On the interstate."
"The old man was driving a van. Pulled over and gave me a ride. After a few minutes he reaches into a cooler between the seats and hands me a beer. I'm talking about a sealed up beer. Popped the top on it myself. I took couple of sips, remember thinking it tasted kind of funny, like it got spoiled. Next thing I know I wake up here--like this." Skeeter tugged at his handcuffs, rattling the chain looped through the belt.
During the next several feedings John got pretty much the same story from three of the other four men. All hitchhikers, all picked up by the old man. The fourth guy, the one the others said had been here the longest, didn't talk. Just leaned against the wall in a stupor.
"Something in the food," Skeeter said.
"What do you mean?"
Skeeter patted his gut. "I didn't have this when I got here." He nodded toward the food trough. "And it makes you tired all the time."
* * *
Feedings. That's the only way John Burke had of marking the passage of time. Seemed like they were spaced out evenly, several hours apart, figured maybe three times a day. It was after the seventh feeding that the old man came and took away the guy who wouldn't talk--the sleepy guy.
He came in wearing a full-length plastic apron and carrying an electric cattle prod. He used the prod to shock the sleepy guy in the ass and wake him up, then delivered a couple more jabs to drive him from the room. Just after the door closed behind them, John heard the two bolts shoved into place.
"What the hell was that about?" he asked Skeeter.
"That's the third one I've seen him take."
"Do they come back?"
Skeeter shook his head.
"Where do they go?"
"I don't know. But...I'm afraid my turn's coming."
"I want to get out of here," John said, "and that looks like the only way out."
"Bad as this place is, I got a feeling what's on the other side of that door is a lot worse."
Hungry as he was, John barely ate. A couple things he'd noticed, the other four men were flabby and they slept a lot, especially after a feeding. The food--slop they called it--had to be the reason. The thick brown paste made everyone fat and sleepy. Something in it, some type of sedative, and maybe something else, something that made you want more. John couldn't remember ever being so hungry. Still, he only took a mouthful at each feeding.
And while the others slept, John worked. The leather belt around his waist was buckled at the back and secured with a small padlock. The handcuffs ran through a stainless steel ring in front. He'd tested the steel parts, the buckle, the lock, and the ring, but didn't think there was any hope of attacking them; the only weak spot was the leather itself.
So as soon as the others filled their bellies and nodded off, John would hobble to the drinking trough. He'd found a slightly rough edge at one corner and had begun scraping the belt against it. The belt was thick and the leather tough. The going was slow, but at least it was something. And something was better than nothing.
* * *
Just after the twenty-ninth feeding, that's when the old man came and took Skeeter away. He'd taken two more since that first one, and two new ones had come in. They came in one at a time, three feedings apart, and just like he imagined it had happened to him, the old man dragged them unconscious into the room and left them. They'd each awakened, naked, shackled, and groggy.
Then it was Skeeter's turn. He must have known because as soon as he heard the bolts slip back his face turned white. He backed himself into one of the far corners, trying to put as much distance between himself and the door as he could.
Skeeter had told John he used to be a wrestler, high school and college, back before the drugs and the booze, back before he'd hit the road. Since then he'd ridden his thumb, crisscrossing the country in search of a good time. Skeeter put up the best fight John had seen from any of them, but the belt, the handcuffs, the leg irons, and the cattle prod were just too much. One two-minute round was all the former wrestler had in him. After that, he was lying on the floor in a puddle of his own urine, a blubbering pile of flabby flesh covered in scarlet welts.
The old man grabbed the chain between Skeeter's ankles and dragged him through the door. Helpless, John just watched. The most terrifying thing was the old man's lack of emotion. No spark of evil in those eyes, just the look of a tired man trying to get through another day.
By the thirty-fifth feeding--John figured eleven or twelve days since he arrived--he had managed to saw through almost the entire two-inch leather belt, just an eighth of an inch remained.
Only one other of the original five who were in the room when John woke up was left. The old man came in, wearing his black plastic apron, and carrying the prod. In a minute it was over. He'd prodded the man through the door on hands and knees, the poor bastard doing everything he could to keep from getting shocked. This time only one bolt clicked into place.
For what seemed like an hour John sat in the middle of the room and watched the door, his stomach twisted with fear. Just as exhaustion overtook him and his head started to nod, the bolt shot open and the old man swept back into the room, wielding the cattle prod like a sword. John slid backward against the far wall as the old man's eyes fixed on him. But there was no hatred in them, nor malice as he strode toward John, waving the tip of the prod in a "come here" motion. As the cool wall pressed against John's back, he felt his bladder let go, felt the warm liquid spill down his thighs.
I'm going to die.
(to be continued...)

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2023.05.31 16:07 --5- Complete Transcript of Rahul Gandhi's address in America today

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzr1u7fdqAQ
Note: Rough transcript was taken from Youtube, edited heavily by me. Transcript is very close to complete, although there may be some minuscule parts which were incoherent and hence not part of it.

Transcript

Brothers and sisters, friends and I don't see the children who sang but, where are they, yeah I'd like to welcome all of you and thank all of you for coming here and also thank the wonderful children for the song they sang it was sung very movingly and very well.
Some months ago, we started a walk from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Prior to walking, we were finding that the normal tools that we used to use for politics, conversations like this public meetings was simply not working anymore. All the instruments that we needed to do politics in India - they were controlled by the BJP and the RSS. You know people are threatened, this is (important?) people, agencies are used on people. So, we were also finding that in some way it had become quite difficult to act politically and that's why we decided to walk from southernmost tip of India to Srinagar.
When we started, I thought okay. After five or six days, we realized that actually walking four thousand kilometers is not an easy thing you know and and I had an old knee injury that started to act-up. So I said now I’m in real trouble because there's no choice - one has to walk and I'm having quite a lot of pain then quite a surprising thing happened just I started noticing that after walking 25 kilometers - 25 kilometers is more than half a marathon - after walking three weeks every day 25 kilometers I suddenly felt one afternoon that it's strange that I'm not feeling tired at all. I get up in the morning six o'clock - we used to start and we used to end walking at about 7.30-8 in the evening. I was like, this is very strange - I'm not feeling tired at all, What is this? then I started asking people around if they are feeling tired, everybody is saying it's very strange that they're not feeling tired as well.
So I started to think about it and I realized that actually what was going on was that it was not us who were walking, it was India that was walking with us, right, and the large mass of people who are coming from all religions, all communities, everybody, kids - they were creating an atmosphere of love and affection where nobody was feeling tired. Almost as if, everybody was walking together, helping each other, and that's where we came up with the idea - Nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholi (We opened a shop of love amidst the market of hate).
[Applause]welcome welcome[Music][Applause][Music][Applause][Music]
[Commotion in the back of the conference]
See, the interesting thing about us, about the congress party, is we have affection towards everybody - if someone wants to come, and say something - regardless of what they're saying, we're happy to listen to it. We are not going to get angry, we're not going to get aggressive, we'll nicely listen to it. In fact, we'll be affectionate to them we'll be loving to them because that's our nature.
So, we found that when everybody started walking together - completely different type of energy started coming and I noticed that the government tried everything. [I mean, they tried all their might in stopping the yatra. They used police - but it didn't work - but the effect of Yatra was constantly rising. Why it happened was because you all helped us.] Not only in India, Bharat Jodo is an idea that is in all your hearts. And, it is about respecting each other and being affectionate to each other, it is about being not being violent towards each other, not being arrogant. I can see my Sikh Brothers here. Your Guru nanakji - his entire life was about this only. That, be humble, right, be humble, be affectionate and we walked nothing compared to Guru Nanakji. I read somewhere that Guru nanakji had gone all the way to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, he had gone to Thailand, he head gone to Sri Lanka. So, these Giants were doing Bharat Jodo much before we were born, right? And I can say the same for my friends from Karnataka - Basavanaji, friends from Kerala - Narayana Guruji.
Yeah so every state in India has had these Giants everywhere. I mean and every single one of them said listen to each other, be respectful - not just of your own religion, not just of your own language, not just of your own culture - but be respectful towards all cultures, all religions, all languages because they are in fact the same. And, the assault that is taking place in India - it's taking place on our way of life. Sam Petrodaji said that he grew up with all people living happily - different languages, different religions and that is what is being attacked. Also, the tradition in India and again something like GurunanakJi, Basavanaji, Gandhiji emphasized that not to be under the impression that you know everything that the world is too big too complicated for any one person to think that he understands everything and he knows everything. And so really that is the disease that Sam outlined that that is the disease that we have a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced that they know everything. In fact I think they think maybe they know even more than God. They could they could sit down with God and have a conversation and explain to him you know about what is going on and of course our prime minister is one such specimen.
[Applause]
I think I think if you if you sat Modiji down next to God Modiji would start explaining to God how the universe works. And, God would get confused that what have I created. So these are these are funny things but but really this is what is going on we have a group of people you know who understand everything. They can speak to scientists and explain science to them. They can you know speak to historians and explain history to them. They can explain Warfare to the Army and flying to the Air Force. Whatever they want, they can you know and at the heart of it is mediocrity. That they actually don't understand anything because because in life you cannot understand anything if you are not ready to listen. That's something the biggest - lesson I learned from Bharat Jodo yatra that there is something to learn from everybody. We are much older than those children but I can guarantee you they can teach us all how to sing. I was looking at them and I was thinking you know I can't sing like that. It's impossible, so when you look at another person, you have to appreciate that they have an experience, they have a life, they have seen things and maybe you can learn a lot from them. Maybe if you open your ears, you will listen to them and learn from them. And that is actually the Indian tradition. If you look if you look at our country, you will find that our country has the ability to absorb any idea that comes. India has never rejected any idea. Everybody who has come to India - has been received with open arms and their ideas have been absorbed in India. And that is the India that we like - India that respects the rest of the world, India that is humble, India that listens, India that is affectionate.
And that is the India that you represent. You would not be here if you do not if you did not agree with these values. If you if you believed in anger, hatred, arrogance - you'd be sitting in a BJP meeting. And, I would be doing Mann ki Baat.
[Applause]
Thank you very much for holding up the Indian flag in America. Showing the American people, what it means to be Indian, respecting them, respecting their culture, learning from them and also allowing them to learn from you. You make us all proud. And, when we think of our country, you're all our ambassadors. When America says Indian people are extremely intelligent, Indian people or masters of IT, Indian people are respectful - all these ideas that have come, they've come because of you and because of your actions and your behaviors. So I thank you very much for that.
I came here this morning, Sam organized the flight - I arrived after 16 hours of flying - 6.30 in the morning - I thought I'd be tired but I'm not tired at all because of the energy that you have given me. Thank you.
[After a break]
They've asked me to answer your questions. See that that also would not happen in a BJP meeting.
Question 1 - So I would like to ask you two questions - regarding this woman bill that has been uh you know in the court for almost more than half a century, so when the Congress comes in power - bill about woman's reservation rights - so that bill has been there for more than a quarter Century. So as a congress leader, what are your thoughts on it and how are you gonna deal with it? That's my first question. The second question is - In India, it's very hard for a woman - as a safety issue - so what are we going to you know offer our next generation of the girls in India. Thank you.
Rahul Gandhi - So on the women's reservation Bill - we are committed to that. We wanted to pass it in the last government but some of our allies were not too happy with it and they didn't give us the support for that bill. But I'm confident when we come to power we'll pass that bill. I think part of the answer to your second question lies in the first question itself. If we empower women, if we involve women in the political system, if we give women space in the governance of the country, if we give women space in the businesses of the country, we will automatically make them safer. So I think involving them in politics, involving them in business, involving them in running the country are the way to give them power. Thank you.
Question 2 - Hello Rahul ji, my name is Pugal. I'm the president of indo-american society for science, reason and free-thought. I also represent tamils who live in Bay Area. On behalf of our people and on behalf of people who believe in science, reason and free-thought, I would like to point out the we are honored, humbled and most truly, proud of your journey about opening up the shops of Love on the streets of hate all over the India. Tamils have long tradition of harboring Brotherhood mindset throughout their civilization - three thousand years ago our forefathers said
[Speaks in Tamil]
[Applause]
Translation - All human beings are created equal and every town is our town, everybody is our relative.
To us, India is like European Union with each state having its own language, its own tradition, its own festivals, its own Cuisine, dress code, way of living etc etc. They are all different, yet we live under one country called India therefore it is deeply saddening to us when someone from the Union Government try to impose one language one culture, one tradition, one religion, one school Etc. Recognizing this diversity to make a robust country, our beloved leader - the Dravidian icon former Chief Minister proclaimed, both in Parliament and in public forums, [Speaks in tamil] which means autonomous rule at the state level and federal rule at the union level.
Dear Rahulji, you have studied in America and you have traveled within United States extensively and you know much better than anyone else in this room that America is the best example of federalism. Each state has its own Constitution. It's one Supreme Court apart from federal laws. Whereas in India, congress party did have its own share of problems in the past but the times have changed the new thinking has emerged and you are the epitome of the new thinking. You are they new Hope and the streets of hate in India - my question to you is that like United States of America what's your thought on making India as a true United States of India. Thank you[Applause]
Rahul Gandhi - If you read our constitution, the definition of India in the constitution is a union of states and within our constitution is the idea that the languages, cultures, histories of each one of our states has to be protected under the union. So what you're talking about, is already incorporated in our constitution, it's already there. The BJP and the RSS are attacking that idea that you mentioned and also the constitution of India. That is fact now. For me personally, I understand that the Tamil language is more than a language to Tamil people, right? It is not just a language, it is their history, it is their culture, it is their way of life and I will never ever allow Tamil language to be threatened. [Applause]
Threatening the Tamil language is to threaten the idea of India just like threatening Bengali or threatening kannada or threatening Hindi or threatening Punjabi are all attacks on India. So our strength unlike many other countries, our strength comes from our diversity, our strength comes from accepting that we are all different, but we can work together and that is an idea that I'm sure you and the congress party are protecting. Thank you.
Question 3 - Hello Rahulji, I am Ganapathy. We welcome you here. We wholeheartedly thank you for taking up the fight against the fascism. So this rise of fascism is not a mere coincidence - and we believe in the social and the economic equality in the society and the inequality actually creates a conducive environment for fascism to emerge. So my question is like what is the plan of the Indian National Congress to improve the economic and the social inequality which creates this condition for fascism in the Indian subcontinent and also at the global level.
Rahul Gandhi - One of the things that we are suggesting is when we were in government we had carried out a caste census and the idea behind the caste senses was to take an x-ray of Indian Society - to find out what are the exact demographics of our country, what are the different communities, what are the different costs, how many people in each community, how many people in each caste, because without understanding our demographics and without understanding who is who, it is very difficult to distribute wealth, distribute power effectively.
So that was one idea that we had and we've been putting pressure on the BJP to release the caste census, the numbers and they are of course not doing it and we'll continue to apply pressure and if we come to power we will do that but we are committed as the congress party to make India a fair place and we understand deeply that India today in terms of its treatment of dalits, tribals, poor people, minorities is not a fair place. And, there are many many things that can be done - there is the Nyay scheme that we had which was aimed at providing a minimum income to all Indians, there are ideas like MNREGA. I think an increase in public education, increase in public health care - I thinkthese are all things that can be done to make India a much more equal and fair place. Thank you.
Question 4 - Rahulji, now the parliament Lok Sabha seats are increasing to 888 - what's your take on it? There's a proposal that you know Modiji is actually working on- it is going to be entirely based on population. It is going to tilt you know the orientation towards the highly popular states getting more and more Lion Share of the revenues and everything - so it's going to change everything you know - minorities are going to get even more depressed, you know majorities are going to be you know making everybody vulnerable - so what's your take on it?
Rahul Gandhi - Exactly how they're thinking about doingit - but I think one has to be very very carefully - when one change changes the representative structure of a country. So I'd be quite interested in understanding exactly how they've comeup with the number 800 [sic] and what are the criteria that they're using - these things should not be done flippantly. India is a conversation, India is a negotiation between its languages, between its people, between its histories and cultures and that negotiation has to be fair - meaning all parts of India, all the states of India should feel that there is fairness in the process of negotiation. If I see exactly how they are coming up with 800 and what is the design then I would be able to answer whether I agree with the number 800 but I haven't seen the way they're calculating it [Inaudible audio in the background], but it depends how they how the ratios change- yeah it is currently based on the population but you'll have to see how the ratios change.
I think the Parliament House - these are the distractions - the real issues in India are unemployment, price rise, spread of anger and hatred , crumbling education system, price of Education, price of Health Care - these are the real issues. BJP can't really discuss them, so then they have to do the whole skepter thing, you know lying down and doing all that aren't you happy I'm not lying down? Thank you.
Question 5 - Rahulji, Thank you so much for coming all the way here. I think this is something which we were starving for as Muslims from the Bay Area. We all want to thank you for your time and for your efforts in coming all the way here. As you know that you know Muslims have the security threat today like it was never before. The way we see today, like whenever we call and talk to anybody, it's like what's going on. There are so many different laws which are getting implemented which were not even implemented earlier - if it is just about the security it's okay, but then if it goes on and they are putting Muslim kids in the jails for the crime they have not committed - what strategy will you adopt or what hope are you giving to Indian Muslims which is going to change the whole thing back to the point where we were and get back to the normal stream to develop India the the best way?
Rahul Gandhi - For me to explain that is the line - Nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholi (We opened a shop of love amidst the market of hate) - that is the best way I can say it which is that it is felt most strongly by the Muslim Community. Okay, because it is done most directly to them but in fact it is being done to all minorities - I can guarantee you that the same way you're feeling attacked, I can guarantee you my Sikh brothers are feeling the same thing, I can guarantee you my Christian brothers are feeling the same, I can guarantee you, the dalit community is feeling the same thing tribal communities feeling the same thing right - in fact anybody who is poor in India today - when he looks at the extreme wealth that a limited number of people have, in some way, he feels the same thing that you feel that what is going on? How is it that these five people have lakhs of crores and I have nothing to eat? So, you feel it most because it is directed at you most aggressively but it is a phenomena that is taking place against everybody in India right and you cannot cut hatred with hatred. It's impossible. You know that. You can only cut hatred with love and affection.
I was surprised at how easy it was to erase hatred in India. I was shocked. I didn't imagine that [speaks in hindi] - walking from one place to another could make such a great difference. I didn't imagine it. Indian people, as you yourself have said, they don't believe in this stuff, they don't believe in hating each other, they don't believe in killing each other. This is a small group of people who have got control of the system, who've got control of the media and who are fully supported by you know - big money. But this is not the large mass of Indian people - I can guarantee you. I walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, I can guarantee you there are more people who believe in love and affection than hatred - millions and millions more.
So, don't be pessimistic. Also, I'd like to point out another thing. This happens periodically in India. What is happening for example to the Muslim Community in India today - happened to the dalit community in the 80s. If you went up to them in the 80s - what is happening with the Muslims is what was happening with the Dalits. So, periodically, this type of stuff happens and we have to challenge it, we have to fight it and we have to fight it with affection and not fight it with hatred. We will do that. Thank you.
Question 6 - Welcome Rahul sir and thank you so much for your win in Karnataka. You've made a lot of people very very happy. We've literally cried tears of joy - so thank you. My question for you would be that we have a lot of students who helped out here today - we really feel passionately for your cause and which is our cause now but what would you say to us if we want to go back to India - we want to represent our country - but we see how the athletes, the youth, the wrestlers there in recent times are being treated, it's very undignified - we feel very discouraged. So, what would you say to us to kind of bring the sense of wanting to go back out there for our country?
Rahul Gandhi - Please realize that there's a huge distortion - India is not what the media shows - the media likes to show you a particular narrative - it likes to promote a particular narrative that is actually not what is going on in India. It was very clear to me in the yatra that it's in the media's interest to project these things. It helps the BJP. So, don't think that everything you see in the media is the truth and as a young person, your country needs you - your skills and your energy will be very useful to your country. So if you feel like going back, do go back and help out. Thank you.
Concluding remarks - You are all ambassadors of a particular vision of our country - you believe in humility, you believe in respect, you believe in being affectionate to each other - so do not answer with anger and hatred - with love and affection, show them that you are not like them [Applause] you should support the ideas that will defeat the BJP. Thank you very much.

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2023.05.31 16:04 robins4life Sharing my break up journey and my advice for those of you who are hopeless

I was with my ex for 5 years, from the end of high school to the end of college. We were what most would consider the perfect couple - we had the same interests, same sense of humour, same political views and same life goals. We clicked from the moment we met. The beginning of our relationship was the stereotypical exciting teenage romance, which slowly developed into a more grown up type of relationship. We had been through almost anything someone our age could go through together and this only made us stronger as a couple. All of our friends and family thought it was "a matter of when not if" we get married. We had discussed our futures together in considerable detail, pretty much everything was planned around us spending our lives together.
That's why when she broke up with me around 2 months ago, I was absolutely distraught and empty inside. I couldn't see the purpose in living anymore. I was convinced that she was the love of my life and I was willing to do anything to win her back. I put her on an unhealthy pedestal and refused to accept her for her flaws or shortcomings. I spent about a week crying my eyes out and shutting myself off from other people. Everything around me reminded me of her. When you've been so close with someone for so long everything in your life starts to become intertwined and associated with the other person. I had been through break ups when I was younger, but this being my first "grown up" relationship rendered my previous experience useless. One of the hardest aspects of the break up for me was the fact that the split up wasn't because of cheating or anything malicious - she had just grown to become someone who wasn't compatible with me and maybe thought the "grass was greener".
I spent the next few weeks on this subreddit and ExNoContact endlessly trying to find solace in posts that were similar to my situation. The harsh reality is that none of our break up experiences are comparable. You may find someone sharing their (positive) experience of reconciliation, but you have to avoid the trap of clinging onto false hope. I've been in that situation and I know just how comforting the false hope can be. However, you won't be able to move on with your life until you can learn to let go of it. Luckily or unluckily for me, my false hope of reconciliation was shattered when my ex reached out to me and told me that there was absolutely zero chance of us getting back together.
After speaking to my ex, I decided to open up to my friends and family and initiate no contact. Although she specifically asked me not to block her on social media, I realised that I could never move on if I still had 'remnants' of our relationship reminding me of her . I put all of the things that reminded me of her (which I should add is a lot) into a box and hid it on a shelf far from reach. Although I was making 'progress' on the surface, I still missed her and loved her deeply.
There were a few things that I read on this subreddit that helped make the healing process easier, including writing a journal. Whenever I felt like my thoughts and feelings were consuming me, I would write down everything I was feeling and read it back to myself. This helped to rationalise my feelings. I also wrote a long list of of all the things that I disliked about my ex and all of the times that she treated me badly. Every time I thought of a new one, I would add it to the list. This helped to humanise her and destroy the false perception of perfection that I had of her. However, the one thing that really helped me the most was simply changing my routine. I used to be someone who could sleep in for hours. Instead, I started waking up at 6am and getting on with my day as early as possible. I also changed the times that I would eat lunch and dinner. Slowly and slowly this routine change helped to steer my focus away from thinking of my ex. It definitely wasn't an overnight process and it's still ongoing now, but getting your mind to readjust to things other than losing your ex really does make things easier.
Exactly a month after the breakup one of my friends found my ex on Hinge. This was a huge setback for me and reopened the wounds that had slowly started to heal. I felt as if I was back at square one. For around a week I was back to my old ways - spending all day feeling sorry for myself and wishing she would come back. The worst part of it all was that the first photo on her profile was a picture I took of her on our last date before breaking up, yikes. When we last spoke she insisted that the last thing on her mind was trying to find someone else. I felt betrayed all over again. Luckily I have amazing friends in my life who pulled me out of this mess. They sat me down and told me simply that this was a blessing in disguise, I'm finally free to live my life without clinging onto her. They were right. Although I was in deep pain, I decided at that moment that I wasn't going to let my ex hold me back.
After going through the lowest of the low of the breakup, things slowly got better. I spent as much time as possible around my friends. I also had my final exams of postgrad school which gave me something else to stress about (in a good way). It was a slow but steady process of improvement. I lost a lot of my identity because of the breakup, but I'm regaining it day by day. I couldn't even listen to music for the first 6 weeks. Now? I'm listening to new music and loving it like I used to. I've always been a big eater. I lost my appetite completely after the breakup. Since it happened, I was losing around a kg per week which is extremely unhealthy and probably on the borderline of an eating disorder. But my appetite has finally come back, and I enjoy food again like I used to.
Around the 7th week, my friends insisted that I should try talking to other girls. Not to jump into a rebound relationship, but to show myself that I'm capable of meeting someone new. This was one of the biggest thoughts I had to grapple with. I was convinced that I would never meet anyone like her again. I didn't think I was worthy enough of love again. I went on a couple of very casual first dates with a couple of girls from my school and had a lot of fun. My ex had serious trust issues and didn't really let me have female friends that weren't also her friends so it was nice to get to know new people. I'm still speaking to those girls but I'm keeping things very light and not putting any expectations on myself or the situation. I'm not saying that you should jump straight into meeting new people as soon as I did, in fact I would say that the longer you can spend learning to love yourself the better. However, because my confidence had taken such a huge hit by the breakup I really needed to prove to myself that I was capable of doing it.
I'm now on week 8 and really didn't think I could make it this far. I went from being at one of the lowest points in my life to feeling even more positive, confident and optimistic about my life than when I was with my ex. In a very strange way, I sort of wish I could thank my ex for giving me the wake up call that I clearly needed. I still think about her a lot, there's no point in pretending that everything is better as it's simply not true. I miss her companionship and laughing with her. But that's ok. I've learnt to accept that missing her is normal and even though I'm far better off without her, I will always remember my time with her fondly.
This has been a very long post so I appreciate if any of you actually read all of it through. Each time I browsed this sub I told myself that I would post on here when I started feeling like myself again, and that day has finally come. I promise to each and every one of you that things will get better. Your healing process won't be the same as mine, it could take much longer or even less time. The process isn't linear either. I still have bad moments here and there and anything could happen tomorrow. But the real first step of moving on from a breakup happens when YOU decide to change your mindset. It's when you stop letting the breakup determine your life. It's hard to hear, I know. The "time is the greatest healer" cliche annoyed me at the start but it's really true. That being said, there are things that you can do to make the pain hurt less. For me, these were:

Writing a journal with all of your thoughts and feelings
Writing a list of your ex's flaws and every time they wronged you
Writing a list of things that you can now pursue/do in your life that your ex would've held you back from
Spend as much time as you can around your friends and family, don't be afraid to open up to them
Watch your comfort TV show/movie, but only if it doesn't remind you of them. My ex hates Seinfeld which is one of my favourite shows. Naturally, I ended up rewatching it twice during this entire period
Avoid contacting them and if possible block them on social media - this one really depends on your circumstances but speaking to my ex and seeing her on social media only ever made me feel worse
Avoid places/objects that remind you of them - at some point you're going to have to reclaim these memories, but you'll know when you're ready to do so
Avoid spending too much time on this sub - as comforting as it is trying to find people with similar circumstances to you, it's only going to make you think about the situation more
Force yourself out of the house - the idea of spending the day in bed away from the world seems comforting but it will only let your thoughts stir up. If you're outside keeping yourself busy, you have no choice but to think about other things
Find new music to listen to that doesn't remind you of your relationship - music has always been one of the most important parts of my life. I associate songs with periods in my life, which means there is a ton of music that reminds me of my ex. But I've really enjoyed listening to new music and associating new memories with it

My DMs are always open if you need someone to talk to. I had some great conversations with other people on this sub when I was at my lowest so I hope I can give back what some of you gave me

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