#SOW Spend Analytics

[isfjmel-phleg]

Young Justice 1998 AU where everything's the same but Grant Emerson joined YJ instead of the Titans

He's recruited by Secret, after his story is among those that she hears from Red Tornado when she first comes to the cave.

She finds Grant on the run from the law (basically where he is when he's recruited in Titans 1999) and scares away his would-be captors.

Tim will later do some hacking and erase Grant's criminal record.

He's instrumental in destroying the DEO "orphanage" and plays a part in the intended bombing incident at the church.

He and Bart have some unresolved issues, much to the rest of the group's confusion, and initally spend a lot of time snarking at each other. Cissie doesn't know what this is about, but she's protective of Bart, so she and Grant don't initially get along either.

Grant and Kon, meanwhile, hit it off and bond over the commonalities of their backgrounds. So Kon is kind of stuck in the middle with two friends who have beef with each other, and it can be awkward.

Grant gets along well with Secret too. They both have mysterious origins tied to labs and a lot of angst, and they're comfortable around each other because his explosive powers aren't any danger to her.

He gets along well enough with Cassie (who is too distracted by her crush on Kon and friendship with Cissie to notice him much) and has a variable relationship with Tim, whom he's a bit too similar to in some ways (they're both anxiously analytical) and whose authority he sometimes resents.

He doesn't have a parent or official guardian to represent him at the parent/teacher conference, so Martian Manhunter, who of course is among the JLA when they come to interrogate YJ, steps in as his primary genetic "father." Having two telepaths at the initial "parent/teacher conference" creates some complications.

During the campout, he would prefer to take "dare" but knows the dangers of this for him and reluctantly takes "truth" instead. Tim asks him...something, I don't know what. Maybe his greatest fear.

When asked if he would give up being a superhero, his immediate answer is yes. His powers are a burden, and he hasn't had a moment's peace since they manifested.

Having nowhere else to go, he lives at the cave (and later the former hotel headquarters), along with Secret. They end up keeping each other company most of the time when the others aren't around.

He joins Tim and Bart in their search for Secret when she is recaptured by the DEO and is very adamant about coming to her rescue. The destruction to Mt. Rushmore is his accidental doing, provoked by Match-as-Kon.

His presence on the team adds to the media's vitriol against Young Justice--this team harbors multiple criminals, including the archer who almost killed a man and the boy who destroyed Atlanta and has been sowing further destruction ever since his running from justice!

Dan Dunbar is one of Grant's most vocal critics, comparing the boy's out-of-hand explosions unfavorably to the more contained and controlled methods that he and TNT used to use. Unlike this delinquent Damage, Dyna-Mite was supervised, which of course made all the difference.

Grant's experience in Secret's abyss is of course traumatizing. He can't help thinking back to that time that mysterious man in his dreams suggested that he might not live a long time.

It turns out that he has at least some degree of immunity to Empress's mind control powers, possibly because of his latent telepathic powers.

He's the only one on the team to suspect that something's off when Kon is replaced with Match, but he isn't sure enough to report his suspicion to anyone.

During Sins of Youth, he conflicts with most of his teammates about the need for a cure for their aging up since he finds he prefers the control and confidence that came with his new adulthood. The main question of his arc in this event is whether it's right to take a permanent shortcut to growing up instead of living through every moment of a difficult adolescence.

As in Titans 1999, Grant has to appear at his uncle's arraignment and returns distraught. But here he doesn't have Roy to get involved. Instead, Kon and Bart try to cheer him up by taking him to do something recreational (possibly camping, as in the original version of this story) while Young Justice is taking their post-Sins of Youth break. A late-night conversation ends up on the topic of fathers: Kon never had one (unless you count Westfield, which he doesn't), Bart never knew his (and hasn't realized yet that Max is his father-figure), and Grant...lets it slip how his foster father treated him.

Kon, who can relate, reacts with alarm. Bart, who has experience addressing this sort of thing, knows what to do: tell trusted adults and get his friend help. So after a very emotional conversation, they bring Grant back to Red Tornado and possibly the JLA and report the incident. Consequently, Grant takes a temporary leave of absence.

Even though he's not on the team for a while, the narrative sticks with him, even if it's only checking in on him now and then. He is traveling, concentrating on his civilian identity--but his powers are hard to escape, they're constantly developing, and he finds out at some point that the JLA have put some kind of covert supervision on him in case of accidents, like they don't trust him to maintain control. He finds this insulting.

Meanwhile, while the others are having adventures at the Olympics and in space etc., they're dealing with his absence. Kon is left with some feelings that he's not ready to process (what happened to Grant isn't so different from what has happened to him--was he abused too? by Knockout? by even his beloved, recently deceased Tana? if so, what does he do with that?). Bart was just finally starting to recover his old friendship with Grant, and now he's gone. Secret is saddened to lose him, and this will contribute to her grief when Tim and Bart leave much later.

When war breaks out and it's all hands on deck, Grant rejoins the team in #35, and everyone is thrilled to see each other again...but then it's decided by the authorities that Grant won't work with YJ. His skills are too useful to be wasted on rescue ops, and besides, he's too dangerous to be rescuing anybody--what if he accidentally explodes at the wrong moment?

Grant's teammates are indignant (particularly Kon, who is angry that he wasn't also considered too useful for anything but fighting), especially when Grant agrees without a fuss to take a combat role without them.

And Grant really would rather be with his friends, but his feelings of being more comfortable in a warzone because he considers himself a weapon are returning. He parts with the team on less pleasant terms and ends up working with the JSA/a version of the Freedom Fighters. He starts to wonder whether he really wants to return to YJ or if he "should" be on the JSA permanently out of obligation to his father's legacy.

So he's not there for the Apokolips incident but feels pretty guilty about not being there for the others when he hears what happened.

In this continuity, Cassie talks Grant (not Ray, who is with the Titans!) into officially rejoining full-time in order to lure Bart back to the team. Grant accepts, albeit with some confliction about what he really wants to do with his life.

Secret seems to be avoiding him now. Kon, who is still trying to ignore the issues that Grant's leave brought up for him, doesn't seem comfortable around him either. Anita doesn't have a lot of patience for him. That leaves him mostly with Slo-bo.

In the World Without Young Justice scenario, he was never subject to experimentation but grew up raised by his biological parents. He either never developed powers or has much more restrained and easily controlled powers, so he never became Damage. Unlike with his teammates, Grant Pratt leads a stable, appealing life, and it's hard for Impulse to convince him to join him as Damage.

Grant runs for team leader, citing his excellent leadership skills as an adult. Cassie is still the one elected, of course.

He saves Anita and Tim from the explosion in the hut in which Anita's father dies; he absorbs the energy and deflects it before it can properly explode.

Considering how the media has treated him in the past, he's not sold on the idea of being on a reality show, and there's some conflict over this. Maybe he threatens to leave again and reveals that the JSA or the Freedom Fighters have made him offers to join them.

He refuses when Greta asks him to help break her father out of prison. Accidentally letting his uncle out of prison that one time caused nothing but trouble and guilt, and he's never doing that again.

There's some major cathartic incident late in the series that addresses his struggling to figure out what he wants out of life and his insecurities about relationships with the team. Things probably get messy, but the series ends with him still committed to the team and confident in his friendships and active in trying to talk Secret down. He's considering finding a long-term mentor and cutting back on hero work to concentrate on his education (he's missed a lot of high school and needs to get a diploma or GED before he can go on to studying biology or physics in college) and on his personal life (building civilian relationships! trying to connect with his genetic relatives and his "brother"! trying to lead as normal a life as possible!).

After the events of Graduation Day, he declines to join the new Titans team with most of the others, and that's when the Freedom Fighters get him, and it goes from there.

[kirankumar166]

SAP Fieldglass And Ariba

SAP Fieldglass and Ariba: Transforming Procurement and Workforce Management

In today’s complex business environment, companies constantly look for ways to streamline processes, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. SAP’s business software suite provides robust solutions, and two standouts are SAP Fieldglass and SAP Ariba. These platforms play critical roles in managing two fundamental areas of modern businesses: external workforces and procurement.

What is SAP Fieldglass?

SAP Fieldglass is a cloud-based Vendor Management System (VMS) designed to help organizations manage their external workforce. This includes contingent workers like:

Contractors

Freelancers

Consultants

Temporary staff

Services providers delivered through Statements of Work (SOW)

SAP Fieldglass offers a centralized platform for:

Sourcing and Procurement: Finding, onboarding, and managing external talent.

Compliance: Ensuring adherence to regulations, policies, and contracts.

Workforce Analytics: Gaining insights into workforce trends, spending, and performance.

Invoice and Payment Management: Streamlining the invoicing and payment process for external work.

What is SAP Ariba?

SAP Ariba is a cloud-based procurement solution that manages the entire purchasing lifecycle within an organization. It’s a comprehensive suite of tools that cover:

Sourcing and Contract Management: Finding suppliers, negotiating contracts, and managing supplier relationships.

Procure-to-Pay (P2P): Automating the entire process, from creating purchase requisitions to processing invoices and payments.

Supplier Network: Connecting buyers and suppliers on a vast digital network, promoting collaboration and transparency.

How Do SAP Fieldglass and SAP Ariba Work Together?

The real power lies in the integration of SAP Fieldglass and SAP Ariba. This seamless integration creates a unified workflow, maximizing efficiencies across workforce management and procurement:

Data Synchronization: Master data, like supplier information and cost centers, can be synchronized between the two systems, eliminating redundancies and errors.

Process Automation: When a worker is sourced through Fieldglass, necessary procurement processes, such as purchase order generation and invoice management, can trigger automatically in Ariba.

Spend Visibility: Offers a holistic view of internal and external workforce spending, enabling better cost-control decisions.

Enhanced Compliance: Ensures that external workforce engagement and related procurement activities adhere to company policies and regulations

Benefits of Using SAP Fieldglass and SAP Ariba

Companies leveraging both SAP Fieldglass and Ariba unlock numerous advantages:

Reduced Costs: Streamlining processes and gaining visibility into spending leads to significant cost savings.

Improved Efficiency: Automated workflows and centralized platforms eliminate manual tasks and bottlenecks.

Enhanced Agility: Organizations can quickly adapt to changing workforce needs and procurement demands.

Risk Mitigation: Stronger compliance and better visibility into supplier performance reduce risks.

Competitive Advantage: Optimizing workforce and procurement grants a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Conclusion

SAP Fieldglass and SAP Ariba are potent solutions within SAP’s business software suite. Used individually, they provide powerful tools to optimize workforce management and procurement practices. Integrated, they create a synergistic effect, leading to unparalleled efficiency, cost savings, and business agility. As organizations seek a competitive advantage in today’s economy, deploying these SAP solutions is an intelligent way to drive success.

You can find more information about  SAP ARIBA in this  SAP ARIBA Link

 

Conclusion:

Unogeeks is the No.1 IT Training Institute for SAP  Training. Anyone Disagree? Please drop in a comment

You can check out our other latest blogs on  SAP ARIBA here – SAP  ARIBA Blogs

You can check out our Best In Class SAP ARIBA Details here – SAP ARIBA Training

Follow & Connect with us:

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For Training inquiries:

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Mail us at: info@unogeeks.com

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[kirnakumar155]

SAP Ariba and Fieldglass

SAP Ariba and Fieldglass: Optimizing Procurement and Workforce Management

Within the ever-evolving world of enterprise software, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass are powerful tools designed to streamline business operations. While both solutions fall under the SAP umbrella, they serve distinct purposes within a company’s overall strategy.

Understanding SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba is a cloud-based procurement platform that revolutionizes how businesses manage their spending. Let’s break down its core functions:

Sourcing and Procurement: Ariba helps companies discover new suppliers, negotiate contracts effectively, and automate the purchase-to-pay process.

Supplier Management: It centralizes supplier information, simplifies onboarding, facilitates risk management, and ensures compliance throughout the supplier lifecycle.

Spend Analysis: Ariba delivers insightful analytics on spending patterns, revealing potential cost savings and optimization areas.

In essence, SAP Ariba is all about optimizing the flow of goods, services, and financial transactions within an organization and its network of suppliers.

Understanding SAP Fieldglass

SAP Fieldglass, on the other hand, is a Vendor Management System (VMS) dedicated to managing external workforces. Consider its essential capabilities:

Contingent Workforce Management: Fieldglass streamlines the sourcing, hiring, onboarding, and management of contingent workers, including temporary staff, freelancers, and contractors.

Services Procurement: The platform enables efficient management of services procurement processes, from defining Statements of Work (SOWs) to tracking project deliverables and payments.

Simply put, SAP Fieldglass brings order and control to the often complex world of non-employee workforces, a critical aspect of modern businesses.

The Power of Integration: Ariba and Fieldglass Working Together

The actual value of SAP Ariba and Fieldglass emerges when they are integrated. Here’s how they complement each other:

Master Data Synchronization: Seamlessly sharing supplier information between Ariba and Fieldglass eliminates redundancies and ensures data consistency across both platforms.

Procurement Efficiency: With integrated workflows, requisitions for services or temporary labor can flow directly from Fieldglass to Ariba, expediting the sourcing and purchase order creation processes.

Workforce Spend Visibility: Fieldglass data on contingent labor and services spending integrate with Ariba’s analytics, providing a comprehensive view of total enterprise expenditures.

Contract Management: Contracts created in SAP Ariba can be linked to corresponding Statements of Work (SOWs) in Fieldglass, ensuring compliance and tracking project-related costs.

The Bigger Picture

Integrating SAP Ariba and Fieldglass enables businesses to achieve a holistic approach to procurement and workforce management. This unified strategy leads to the following:

Reduced costs through better sourcing, negotiated rates, and minimized administrative overhead.

Improved compliance with company policies, regulations, and contractual obligations.

Enhanced decision-making is supported by comprehensive insights into goods/services spending and workforce-related costs.

If you’re exploring ways to enhance efficiency and gain greater control over your organization’s spending and external workforce, SAP Ariba and Fieldglass’s combined power is worth considering.

You can find more information about  SAP ARIBA in this  SAP ARIBA Link

 

Conclusion:

Unogeeks is the No.1 IT Training Institute for SAP  Training. Anyone Disagree? Please drop in a comment

You can check out our other latest blogs on  SAP ARIBA here – SAP  ARIBA Blogs

You can check out our Best In Class SAP ARIBA Details here – SAP ARIBA Training

Follow & Connect with us:

———————————-

For Training inquiries:

Call/Whatsapp: +91 73960 33555

Mail us at: info@unogeeks.com

Our Website ➜ https://unogeeks.com

Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unogeeks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnogeeksSoftwareTrainingInstitute

Twitter: https://twitter.com/unogeek

[altiosai]

The Evolving Landscape of Workforce and Project Spend Management The landscape of workforce and project spend management is undergoing significant transformations. An increasing reliance on contingent workers and the escalating complexity of project spends have revealed that traditional systems are often not fully equipped to handle these changes. We have built AltiosForce as a response to these evolving needs, designed to bridge gaps left by previous solutions. This article aims to explore this evolution, examining various competitive alternatives, their strengths and shortcomings in managing SOW spend, and how AltiosForce addresses these challenges.

The Shift in Workforce Dynamics The workforce today is vastly different from what it was a decade ago. Businesses are increasingly depending on contingent workers – freelancers, contractors, and consultants – leading to a more complex workforce structure. This shift demands more agile and comprehensive management systems.

Traditional Tools and Their Limitations As we delve into traditional tools, it’s essential to acknowledge their strengths while also recognizing their limitations in the context of SOW spend management.

Excel Workbooks: The Familiar Choice Strengths: Excel’s widespread use is attributed to its familiarity and flexibility. It allows users to create custom solutions for various data needs. Limitations: Excel struggles with complex SOW and services spend data, leading to fragmented insights. Its scalability and security features are inadequate for large-scale, sensitive data management. DIY BI Projects: PowerBI, BOBJ, and Tableau Strengths: Known for robust customization and advanced analytics capabilities, these tools offer extensive data analysis. Limitations: They often require significant implementation time and expertise. Understanding the problem space and designing an effective solution is a complex and costly endeavor. Traditional Procurement Systems: SAP Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer, iValua Strengths: These established platforms are renowned for their comprehensive procurement functionalities. Limitations: They often lack integration with project and workforce data, leading to a fragmented view of operations and spend. CWM/VMS Solutions: SAP Fieldglass, DCR Workforce, Beeline, Magnit Strengths: Effective for managing contingent and variable workforces, offering robust functionalities for vendor management. Limitations: These systems may lack integration with project management data and do not provide detailed visibility into employees assigned to specific projects. Project Management Tools: Monday.com, MS Project, Asana Strengths: Excellent for organizing tasks, tracking project progress, and enhancing team collaboration. Limitations: They do not integrate project management with detailed insights into SOW and workforce costs, leading to a lack of comprehensive spend management. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) Strengths: Operational support and efficiency in managing vendor relationships and contingent staffing. Limitations: MSPs often obscure data, lacking direct visibility into SOW spend and facing challenges in integrating data with other business systems. AltiosForce: A Response to Evolving Needs AltiosForce was developed as a solution to the limitations of these traditional tools. Let’s explore how it addresses specific challenges:

Comprehensive Data Integration: Unlike traditional tools, AltiosForce integrates data across multiple systems, providing a unified view of SOW and services spend. Enhanced Visibility and Analytics: It offers in-depth insights into both contingent and permanent workforce expenses. User-Friendly and Tailored Solution: Designed specifically for SOW spend management, AltiosForce presents a more adaptable and comprehensive platform. Direct SOW Spend Management: Offering direct and comprehensive management, it enhances data accuracy and strategic insights.

For More info https://blogs.altios.ai/2024/02/06/the-evolving-landscape-of-workforce-and-project-spend-management/

[lalsingh228-blog]

Agritech Platform Market May Set New Growth Story

Advance Market Analytics published a new research publication on "Agritech Platform Market Insights, to 2028" with 232 pages and enriched with self-explained Tables and charts in presentable format. In the Study you will find new evolving Trends, Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities generated by targeting market associated stakeholders. The growth of the Agritech Platform market was mainly driven by the increasing R&D spending across the world.

Get Free Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Research @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/183865-global-agritech-platform-market Some of the key players profiled in the study are: CropX (Israel), Arable (United States), Gamaya (Switzerland), Agro-star (India), Waycool (India), Ninja Cart (India), Cropsafe (United Kingdom), Farmlink (India), Machine Eye (United Kingdom), CropIn (India), Intello Labs (India). Scope of the Report of Agritech Platform Agritech Platforms provide farmers with smart agricultural solutions using a variety of current technology. The agritech platform assists farmers in determining the best sowing times, tracking the health of their crops throughout their cycle, identifying moisture patterns in crops, identifying nutrient movement and behaviour, and predicting when and where crops require protection products, all while operating in a variety of field conditions. Farmers can also use the agritech platform to market their produce at a profit. Crop identification and estimation utilizing remote sensing technologies, advising services for farmers, post-harvest intelligence for farmers, connecting farmers to the market, and giving financial access to farmers are all part of the digital agricultural platform. The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below: by Type (Bio tech and Chemicals, Analytics, Sensors, Mobility, Others), Application (Yield Monitoring, Variable Rate Application, Field Mapping, Soil Monitoring, Crop Scouting, Other), Agricultural Technology (Agricultural Drone, Satellite Photography And Sensors, Iot-Based Sensor Networks, Phase Tracking, Weather Forecasting, Other), Component (Solution, Services) Market Trends: Increasing Popularity About Digital Agritech Platform

Opportunities: Higher Investment In Sophisticated Agriculture Technology

Government Favorable Incentives For Development Of Agriculture Sector

Market Drivers: Increasing Agriculture Sector In Develop Regions Region Included are: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Oceania, South America, Middle East & Africa Country Level Break-Up: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc. Have Any Questions Regarding Global Agritech Platform Market Report, Ask Our Experts@ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/183865-global-agritech-platform-market Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Agritech Platform Market:

Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Agritech Platform market

Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary – the basic information of the Agritech Platform Market.

Chapter 3: Displayingthe Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges & Opportunities of the Agritech Platform

Chapter 4: Presenting the Agritech Platform Market Factor Analysis, Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.

Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region/Country 2015-2020

Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Agritech Platform market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile

Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by Manufacturers/Company with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions (2023-2028)

Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source finally, Agritech Platform Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies. Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/183865-global-agritech-platform-market Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Middle East, Africa, Europe or LATAM, Southeast Asia. Contact US : Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager) AMA Research & Media LLP Unit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJ New Jersey USA – 08837 Phone: +1 201 565 3262, +44 161 818 8166 sales@advancemarketanalytics.com

[elsa16744]

Embracing Economic Downturns: Unleashing Innovation through Digital Solutions

 Introduction:

In the face of economic downturns and recession, businesses often find themselves grappling with uncertainty and challenges. However, history has proven time and again that crises can also act as catalysts for innovation. In this blog post, we will explore how economic downturns provide an opportunity for embracing digital solutions and fostering innovation to navigate through the storm and emerge stronger on the other side.

The Impact of Economic Downturns Economic downturns, characterized by declining economic activity and lower consumer spending, can have a profound impact on businesses across industries. The pressure to cut costs, reduced revenue streams, and workforce constraints can make survival seem like an uphill battle.

Digital Solutions: The Game-Changer Amidst economic turbulence, digital solutions emerge as a game-changer for businesses seeking a competitive edge. Harnessing the power of technology can streamline processes, optimize operations, and enable remote working - transforming the way companies function.

The Rise of Innovation During Recession History has shown that economic recessions have been the breeding ground for innovative ideas and transformative businesses. Companies that dare to think outside the box and adapt swiftly to changing market demands are the ones that thrive even during the toughest times.

Agile Business Models One key lesson from past economic downturns is the importance of adopting agile business models. Embracing digital solutions empowers businesses to pivot their strategies, diversify revenue streams, and identify emerging market opportunities.

Embracing Digital Transformation As businesses weather economic downturns, digital transformation becomes more than just an option - it becomes a necessity. From data analytics to artificial intelligence, businesses can leverage these technologies to gain valuable insights, optimize decision-making, and foster innovation.

Reimagining Customer Engagement In the face of an economic recession, customer preferences may shift drastically. With the aid of digital solutions, businesses can enhance customer engagement through personalized experiences, better communication, and tailored offerings.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing During challenging economic times, collaboration and knowledge sharing become invaluable. Embracing digital platforms for virtual collaborations can foster partnerships, enhance problem-solving, and facilitate the exchange of innovative ideas.

Conclusion: Economic downturns may seem daunting, but they also present an opportunity for growth and transformation. By embracing digital solutions and focusing on innovation, businesses can not only survive but thrive in the face of economic recessions. Let us remember that every crisis brings with it the seeds of opportunity, waiting to be sowed and nurtured by forward-thinking individuals and organizations.

Source:- https://www.sganalytics.com/blog/economic-downturns-and-the-opportunity-for-innovation/

[rajeshwaria]

Innovations & Trends in ICT Procurement for the Future

Originally Published on: Spendedge | Media, ICT, and Entertainment Resources

• ICT procurement professionals must actively pursue chances that are on the horizon that will probably be more lucrative for their role in the mid- to long-term, moving beyond the normal vanilla (read cost containment and risk mitigation).

• The use of fixed cost OpEx solutions is accelerating due to the continued growth of cloud services and improved cloud computing security, which is assisting businesses in increasing the predictability of their IT spending.

• ICTs can be crucial to the effectiveness of efforts to combat climate change, yet this can be a burdensome duty.

• However, ICT businesses have the opportunity to excel in social and environmental sustainability in addition to maximising profits by sowing the seeds of "green thinking" and integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) into the supply chain.

Driving business excellence with ICT procurement innovations and being current

A compelling argument in favour of single-window procurement:

• Better supply-side visibility enables CPOs in charge of ICT infrastructure to capture and significantly cut spending outside the bounds of regular corporate guidelines, increasing their net operating income.

• It should be possible to control unforeseen spending through the use of centralised ICT procurement programmes and supporting tools, as well as to collect buy analytics and make sure procurement specialists always have access to deep and accurate information.

Discussions about consumption-based pricing should be reframed:

• Accessing IT infrastructure and applications via the Internet on an on-demand basis ("cloud computing") is becoming the new normal in ICT procurement.

• According to a Q4 2022 poll, about 70% of all decision-makers intend to switch from old business software to cloud-based solutions or move their workloads from on-premises datacenters to the cloud.

• Importantly, end users of the public cloud are expected to spend $550 billion globally in 2023, up from $450 billion in 2022.

Lifecycle evaluation redefines environmental impact:

• An ICT product has a significant environmental impact at every stage of its lifecycle, including mineral extraction, production, storage, transit, usage, and disposal.

• ICTs are viewed as a key component of the "climate change mitigation" jigsaw, to the point where the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has created a universally accepted methodology to assess the influence of ICTs on climate change over the course of their goods and services' lifetimes.

• Every step of the ICT procurement process must therefore incorporate a lifetime perspective on the environmental impact of such assets if an organisation wants to remain competitive in five years.

Obtain the best rates via increasing standardisation and consolidation:

• Despite common belief, an online ICT procurement procedure accomplishes far more than simply shortening the buying period.

• In order to make more educated judgements, CPOs can use ICT in procurement to find helpful information in huge data sets on previous purchases, buying frequency, quantity, pricing, vendor performance, and supplier obligations.

• Additionally, by drastically de-intermediating the ecology of purchases, procurement teams can reduce expenses by at least 10% to 15%.

Stop overspending and utilise ICT budgets as efficiently as possible:

• Businesses can escape the long-term service contract lock-ins connected with traditional ICT procurement spend by migrating to OpEx models.

• Since the cloud service provider is responsible for maintaining servers, computers, and databases, ICT firms can get them to scale up and down the cloud infrastructure as necessary to handle workloads.

• Costs aside, cloud-based systems guarantee authorised users have immediate access to online services regardless of where they are, what device they are using, or what time of day or night it is.

Green supply chain practises should be integrated at every stage:

• The ICT industry must work to reduce the usage of virgin materials while increasing the usable lifespan of assets by up to 100% in a circular economy!

• The practise of intentional obsolescence of ICT assets, such as the end of software support, is being observed by a growing number of stakeholders.

• Additionally, it is critical that ICT procurement organisations assess the environmental impact of an ICT asset at every stage, from manufacture through recycling or disposal, from a mid- to long-term perspective.

Why Choose SpendEdge?

• Our experts help ICT players monitor suppliers' sustainability practises and make sure that supply chain participants evaluate actions with an eye towards "lifecycle assessment" when taking the environmental impact of products into account.

• Sustainable ICT procurement is the industry's catchphrase now and in the future, and being green is the new measure of financial success.

• Knowing this, we offer solutions that enable ICTs to include sustainability into every stage of the supply chain for their goods while being economically viable.

Success stories: SpendEdge's market intelligence enables ICT procurement clients to save money and achieve strategic goals

• With an annual revenue of close to $80 million and a staff of 600, our client is a market leader in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) products and services with more than two decades of experience.

• The study examines over 25 new and current suppliers based on factors including their international IT relationships, hardware and infrastructure offerings, service platforms, and years of expertise.

• One of the suppliers that made the study's shortlist has signed a contract with the customer.

For help with your supply chain, get in touch with us.

[lasignoramain]

Aere Perennius

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warning: No Warnings Apply

Pairing: Beidou/Ningguang

Characters: Ningguang, Beidou, Keqing

Additional Tags: Mentioned Ganyu, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, One Shot, Romance, Soft Ningguang, at least towards children, beidou’s a smug little shit, as she should be, kind of sexual implications at the end, it’s more saucy than sexual, just a little spice, this could’ve been slowburn but i don’t have the energy for that srry, Not Beta Read, we die like timmie’s birds, kind of a character study of ningguang, bcus she owns my ass

Summary: Never has Beidou ever said Ningguang's name in all their time they've known each other. Not that it mattered to Ningguang— the pirate's choice to refrain from ever referring to Ningguang with her name was perfectly fine to her. After all, even if Beidou was her soulmate, nothing about their relationship would change. What is between her and Beidou is purely business.

Unless Ningguang lets Beidou past all of the walls she's built around her heart, but it's not like that could ever happen, right?

... Right?

Word Count: 2434

Read under the bar, or on AO3! Feedback always appreciated!

Liyue, the city of contracts. A beautiful place full of merchants selling their wares, children playing near the harbor, the sound of a storyteller weaving his own world as he speaks, captivating his audience. The Millileth standing valiantly at their posts— some of them, at least. Liyue is so peaceful that many of the military forces stationed around the city dare to slack off.

If they shirk their duties for too long, however, another guard might whisper to them as a warning, "Be careful, the Tianquan might be watching you! Who knows what she might do if she sees the Millileth not taking their duties seriously?!"

That gets them to straighten quickly. Ningguang always chuckles when they don't notice her playing with a few children in Liyue's harbor, promising them sweet treats in return for any rumors they've heard recently. The sight of the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing gleefully entertaining the children of her city always brings a smile to the older generation's lips, and Ningguang benefits in more ways than one.

She learns of every secret there is from her eyes and ears, and also further earns the trust of the people of Liyue.

Hearing some of the youngest children refer to her as "jiejie Ningguang" is heartwarming, as well. Not that she'll ever admit that to anyone, no matter if they're in her inner circle or otherwise. That's something only Ningguang will ever know, and she will take it to her grave, lest someone tries to use it as blackmail against her.

At that, a certain smug captain comes to mind.

"Jiejie," Beidou had teased Ningguang under her breath once, while they were deep into a game of Liyue Millennial. It'd taken the Tianquan by surprise, though she quickly regained her composure, smoothly gaining yet another victory against the Captain of the Crux. "Damn, I really thought that tactic would work in my favor. You're truly unperturbed by everything, eh, jiejie?"

"I am interested in your ability to read people so easily, Captain. Such a skill would be of use to me," Ningguang deflected with ease, though her eye did twitch at Beidou referring to her as jiejie yet again.

Which Beidou noticed, of course. Thereafter, whenever they were in the Jade Chamber, Beidou would refer to her as "jiejie of Liyue's Qixing."

(The first time Ganyu heard Beidou call Ningguang jiejie, she looked as if all of the blood had drained from her body, and she would faint on the spot.)

(When Keqing was present for one of their meetings, the speed at which the tip of her blade was pointed at Beidou's throat was impressive.)

Never has Beidou ever said Ningguang's name in all their time they've known each other. Not that it matters to Ningguang— the pirate's choice to refrain from ever referring to Ningguang with her name is perfectly fine to her. After all, even if Beidou is her soulmate, nothing about their relationship would change. What is between her and Beidou is purely business.

They barely get along, too— Beidou's blatant disregard for the rules that Ningguang has so painstakingly put into place for the well-being of Liyue's citizens always rubs the Tianquan the wrong way. She's learned that nothing will persuade Beidou to act in Ningguang's best interest in that regard, however, so she's adapted in order to keep their relationship— and its transactions— as stable as possible.

Whenever Beidou has something to report, she comes to the Jade Chamber, raring and ready to go for yet another game of Liyue Millennial against Ningguang. She also brings a hefty sum of Mora for the fines that need paid for— even though she brings Ningguang worthwhile information, the Tianquan isn't about to play favorites and reduce the cost of Beidou's rule-breaking streak.

So they converse in the colorless rooms of the Jade Chamber, names never uttered.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before, jiejie," Beidou jabbed another time as she placed a few cards down on the Liyue Millennial board and took two to replace them, "except for when you're surrounded by the little ones by the harbor."

Ningguang hummed, watching Beidou's every move with an analytical gaze. "I've surely smiled once or twice while you've been in my presence—"

"I meant a genuine smile, jiejie. Not those ones you've practiced for diplomats and business partners," Beidou interrupted, clicking her tongue when she gets a bad die roll. "Those smiles never reach your eyes. They don't soften like they do when one of those rascals tugs on your qipao and asks you, 'how was work, jiejie?'" She increased the pitch of her voice while moving her pieces on the board. "I swear, they're your only soft spot. Everywhere else, your aura is completely different."

With one brow raised, Ningguang leaned forward. "And what is my aura everywhere else, exactly?"

Lips pursed in thought, Beidou grabbed another die and rolled it. "You still hold that same elegance when you're at the harbor, but it's... colder. You're careful, calculating— just like you are right now. Though," Beidou grinned, "I'm starting to think I'm getting through to you. Sometimes, a few seconds after I call you jiejie, your eyes soften and your lips quirk just a little bit, like you're thinking about those kids. When I get you to smile for real, I'll call that a win."

Beidou lost that game of Liyue Millennial as well, and she'd gifted Ningguang an antique vase— "Someone else in the crew said it was aquamarine, and I remember you mentioning that the rest of your vases are supposed to be blue. Thought this one of a kind antique would fit in nicely with the rest of your things." While she'd scoffed at the time, Ningguang keeps the vase on a bookshelf in her main office. Whenever Beidou visits for their meetings, she looks at it and smiles. Something in that reaction warms something in Ningguang, as well.

During her next visit to Liyue Harbor, she'd realized that Beidou was right— the children who refer to her as their big sister might catch a genuine quirk of her lips, or even a giggle at their silly antics. The way their eyes sparkle like the stars when they manage to bring Ningguang the smallest ounce of joy...

If only they knew how warm Ningguang feels inside to see how happy they are to see her. When they get upset after she doesn't visit for too long for their tastes, the puff of their cheeks while they pout, "Where have you been, jiejie Ningguang," while the youngest ones wrap around Ningguang's legs.

"I'm not letting go!" As if she must take them to the Jade Chamber with her, so that she'll never be away from them for too long ever again. It's a part of her schedule to visit the children by the harbor, but the occasional addition to her calendar impedes on her time to spend her hard-earned Mora on the kids she adores so much.

She's informed her circle that meeting with the children takes a higher priority than they'd think— after all, her little ducklings keep Ningguang at the top of everything that occurs in Liyue. Without them, she wouldn't be half as successful as she is today.

 "You have a soft spot for those little rascals at the harbor, don't you, jiejie?"

 "Who wouldn't? Their innocence is quite charming. I give them sweets, and they—"

 "Oh, bull. Don't use the transactional benefits as an excuse; you love those kids, and they love you. That's why they don't want to let you go. To them, you're family."

Family.

Hm.

Ningguang had brushed the comment off, deflecting by asking Beidou to continue her report for that meeting, but she could feel her cheeks warm at the thought of every child that's clung to her, every little sibling who grins up at her while their arms are wrapped around her waist. Holding her in a tight embrace, hoping that, this time, their jiejie stays for good this time.

Ah, Beidou. Putting these sort of thoughts into Ningguang's mind— what a terrible woman.

But the ache in Ningguang's heart for those children who love her so may be even worse than the seeds sowed by Captain Beidou, whose right eye glows with more wisdom and mirth than she lets on, even in Ningguang's grayscale world.

Month's into their partnership— where they've learned to tolerate each other, poke fun at each other— curiosity claws at Ningguang's mind. A woman like Beidou must have met her soulmate by now, in all of her travels—

"I haven't."

Ningguang raises a brow, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Truly? That comes as a surprise, to me. You've gone to almost every corner of Teyvat, yet not a single flash of color from any man or woman uttering your name?"

Beidou shakes her head with an amused smile. She leans forward, rolling one of the many die involved in Liyue Millennium, before moving onto the next. "Perhaps my soulmate is a stubborn one. Someone who would rather have their name spoken first before their own."

At that, a puff of laughter escapes from Ningguang's lips. "Is that so? A shame, then— I presume your soulmate's beauty would be quite breathtaking with the colors that the people of Liyue have described to me for years," she replies, watching as Beidou moves one piece upon another, rough, calloused hands making sure not to jostle the board. "Still, wouldn't you be considered stubborn as well?"

A wicked grin graces Beidou's lips as she looks up at Ningguang. "Of course. Don't you know that pirates are the most stubborn folk out there, jiejie?"

Suppressing the need to roll her eyes, Ningguang leans forward to start her turn when Beidou leans back. "I suppose I'm starting to learn, thanks to certain company," she murmurs, glancing up at Beidou while two die roll.

"You're welcome, then," the captain responds, bowing gracefully just as Ningguang's dice land.

High numbers. Not optimal, but she'll be able to bounce back if her next roll is low.

When it isn't, Beidou whistles. "Uh oh. Things aren't looking to good for you this time around. Would be a shame if I finally won this game of yours," she chuckles, carefully watching Ningguang for any signs of irritation.

"It certainly would be a shame; though, don't put all your eggs in one basket," Ningguang replies coolly, continuing her turn while strategizing how she would bounce back and claim victory once more.

But it wouldn't be fun if you're the only one who wins, a voice in the back of Ningguang's head whispers. What would happen if you let Beidou win? She's certainly improved at Liyue Millennium compared to the first time you asked her to play against you. Make it look effortless, planned by the Archons that you were meant to lose today.

Tempting. Perhaps, in the shock of her victory, Beidou would finally say Ningguang's name—

 As if.

Still, as the game continues, Ningguang's turns seem bent on keeping her in the clutches of misfortune. Beidou's barely ahead of Ningguang, however, since the Tianquan never lets something as silly as "bad luck" hold her back. Even if she's meant to lose, Ningguang will still put up a fight.

It's a close game full of tension, and the sharp jabs at each other eventually dwindle, as both participants hone all their focus into strategizing, grasping victory at the last turn—

"AH! I—"

She won.

Beidou jumps up from her seat with a whoop, hollering and cheering. Ningguang's stupefied, analyzing the entire game in her head to figure out just where it all went wrong.

"How about that?! I won against the Tianquan! Honestly, Ningguang—"

 See?

Ningguang guessed that Beidou's hair was dark brown, but nothing could've prepared her for the color of her eye. A deep ruby that almost seemed like it was sparkling in Beidou's current glee, her gold earring jingling as she pumps her fist in the air. The red of her eye was tied in with the rest of her outfit— red eyepatch, red qipao dress with gold and black accents. Even the claymore leaning on the wall matched her outfit—

"—I really thought you made this game impossible to win against you—"

Scanning the rest of her office, Ningguang notes that everything was as she requested to a T, the cedar wood, and the vase from Beidou is an aquamarine color with an iridescent shine. The screens behind Ningguang's desk are painted with emerald and gold—

"Ningguang?"

Right.

"My felicitations," Ningguang stands from her chair, walking around the large table to stand in front of Beidou. "It seems it wasn't in the cards for me to gain yet another victory against you," she leans in, a smile on her lips as she whispers, "Beidou."

She watches as Beidou's eyes widen, pupils shrinking at the sudden change from black and white to an explosion of color; though, the only thing she sees at first is Ningguang. Her gazes flickers from Ningguang's eyes to her hair to her lips— that gets a laugh from the Tianquan— before Beidou closes the space between them, stopping just before their lips touch.

"Can I...?"

The realization of it all hits Ningguang like a wave yet again, and the pieces all start to click together. There was no need for her to continue amusing Beidou with games of Liyue Millennial, to speak of trivial matters, casual talk when what they were supposed to have should've been simply business. Something transactional— Mora passing from one hand, while information passes from another.

Yet, just as Ningguang had with the children at the harbor, she'd softened. While Beidou is one to disregard the rules, never would she stab the Tianquan behind the back, not when the people hold them both in high regards.

Still, Ningguang smirks, lifting her hand to cover Beidou's mouth with two fingers. "Careful, Captain Beidou. Don't let one small victory get to your head. Perhaps the next time you manage to win against me."

Ningguang is glad that she refrained from wearing her gloves, as she watches— feels— Beidou's tongue press and push her fingers apart, grinning like the cat that got the canary. Her face warms too quickly for Ningguang to suppress the embarrassment and compose herself.

"I'd count that," Beidou starts as she pulls away from Ningguang's hand, "as a victory."

When Keqing passes Ningguang's office silently and sees the Tianquan and the Captain of the Crux embracing each other tightly, she rolls her eyes before walking past.

 "Finally."

[ask-the-clergy-bc]

Hiya! So in your opinion what do you think it would take for the Papas and Cardinal Copia to open up and be vulnerable with a S/O? Would it need time and trust, maybe an event which caused them to have an epiphany, or maybe they get caught at a bad time and need some comfort? Thank you!

I accidentally made this into a giant character introspection, whooooooooooops! 

Ooooooooooooooooh boy, this is gonna be a long one so sit down! There’s no easy answer for me to give without a thesis sooooooooooooooooooooo-

Papa’s and Copia - What it Takes to have them be Truly Vulnerable with an S/O

Character flaw and reflection time! I will warn you these men are all far from perfect! 

There’s definitely a LOT of elements and circumstances for each of these Antipopes, so I will try my best to sum it up without letting it get too big! Trust will be the key word in opening them all up! 

A super short answer for this would be a small chart. From easiest to hardest to open up genuinely to an S/O (regardless of the situation), it would look something like this. 

Papa Nihil

Papa I

Cardinal Copia

Papa II

Papa III

Keeping this in mind is actually really important as a lot of it has to play into each personality and life experiences. Even then, this is a super tight race! They all don’t blindly trust and they all have a level of mystery they NEED to keep about them. So it’s a huge mix of their jobs as Papas and who they are deep down. 

There is a reason such things like Prime Movers exist/ Having courtesans and harem members rather than proper spouses. A Papa could easily be compromised by a spouse. With either a partner using them to manipulate the Church, or straight up betraying them. A Papa has to be alert, smart, and VERY VERY sure when choosing a lifelong mate. They have to be able to know without a doubt that they can count on their partner with their very lives and the lives of others. 

THEN there are so many personal factors and circumstances that come into play! It’s safe to say that all of them are emotionally guarded in some way, shape, or form. That comes with the territory of being a Hell Blooded man of power. You don’t know who REALLY loves you, who’s using you, or who wants something. On top of that, the emotional burdens of their work, their faith, personal fears, and the expectations put on them. 

It can be VERY hard to gauge what really clicks for each of them to trust someone. So, as asked, we will take a look into each of them! :)

Papa Nihil:

If you caught him in his younger years, he might have been more trusting with a serious partner. Not out of naivety or blind love, but out of arrogance. Arrogance that a partner could not hurt him even if they betrayed him. Nihil had an ego to him and felt on top of the world- being Papa and nothing to stop him. Not even a broken heart! To him, the worst thing that could happen with an S/O would be heartbreak, and he refused to believe that was anything that could break him! Well… it ended up happening with Sister Imperator. So after she left, he understood the consequences of his actions and what that would actually feel like. It’s not something he’s too keen to feel again. 

As he got older, he hardened. The only one who has really ever seen his softer, vulnerable side has been Imperator. She’s the only one he remotely trusts in the deepest sense, and even then- he has doubted her motives with the introduction of Copia! Nihil learned the hard way that putting your trust in the wrong people can have serious consequences to your life. 

That all being said, two things really work with getting Nihil to be open to you with his feelings. First would be his “test”- not something he purposely does to make his S/O jump through hoops, mind you. Consider it an observation period where he sees how serious a relationship can be with you. Nihil doesn’t mind flings, and as Grand Papa, has a willing harem at his disposal. The first months or years with a single partner is him learning about them. This goes from seeing how serious YOU are, your intentions and sincerity, how well you both click, and how close you end up being. That, and making sure you aren’t just using him. Granted, he doesn’t mind the occasional arm candy or someone who just wants to have fun. Those are just the partners he doesn’t put extra effort into when it comes to emotions or deeper mental intimacy.

The second is just plain old time. If you two become serious, and stick by each other through thick and thin- you will learn about him. Nihil will slowly disclose more and more to you. Don’t go crazy, because the Grand Papa is always watching for any hints of betrayal (nothing personal, it comes with the job.) So the more you are trustworthy, the more he shares. There will be a few tough subjects to crack with him, like his relationship with Imperator and his sons. But the more you mutually talk and grow together, the more things work out. I will warn you, no matter how much he trusts you he IS a stubborn old goat and some information HAS to be pried from him- simply because HE WILL NOT ADMIT ANYTHING TO HIMSELF SOMETIMES. 

Papa I:

Papa can be very open and trusting with a serious partner, that typically is not the problem. Granted, he’s very analytical so his own feelings are something he tries to approach logically. But that’s not the problem. The hurtle would just be you both getting to be a serious couple in the first place. As to him there is a vast difference between a sexual/romantic fling, casual companionship, and the workings of a true mate ship. The last of which is riddled with pitfalls due to his place as Papa and carrier of his bloodline. 

Papa tends to let his sense of duty rule over almost every aspect of his life. He is one of the ‘purest’ followers of Lucifer, and it shows in everything he does! Because of that, he has not typically sat down to consider companionship past his carnal needs and having someone to spend time with. Typically anything deeper would mean something equivalent to our idea of marriage- and with “marriage” to a Papa brings up the topic of possible heirs brought on by the Ministry. When a Papa is heavily involved with someone beyond their casual lovers, the idea of heirs is ALWAYS discussed. The Bloodline HAS to be continued. Depending on the sex of the partner, questions will be asked such as- can the partner become a prime mover? If possible are they SUITABLE? If they can’t have children will they interfere in possible heirs being made? In short, Papa equates “Serious” partners to this duty to sow the seeds of the bloodline’s future. 

That being said, Papa would actually prefer a partner he could be open with. The trick is that he has to snap himself out of thinking just for the family and ministry’s sake. Which is self admittedly a difficult feat for him, because he’s always in work and faith mode. That’s just who he is. The other just has to do with how he treats others. 

Typically Papa is much more interested in what you, his partner, is feeling. This comes with YEARS of thinking of everyone but himself. Papa has had to consider his flock, the will of the high clergy, the will of his father, the wants and needs of his brothers, and those he considers friends or in need of his guidance. Papa knows how to take care of himself, so HIS feelings are almost inconsequential. Papa much rather let you talk and share how you are than consider himself. It typically just takes a bit of asking and prodding on your part to get him to open up if you two have been close for a long time. Being honest and to the point also helps, as it gives him a moment to collect his thoughts and express himself thoroughly. 

Papa II:

Being emotionally vulnerable for Papa II is very difficult. Not because he CHOOSES to be a ‘wounded bitter old man.’ Even though he is very much that AND a known grouch and perfectionist; Papa just doesn’t know HOW to be. Papa does have emotions and he does feel them very deeply when he’s not trying to tough it out. But Papa has never been GOOD at expressing his feelings, even as a child. It’s not something he was in touch with, and not very comfortable for him to think about. Unlike III, Papa II just cannot seem to find it in himself to express his true feelings. Granted, he could put it into words as he is very eloquent. But… it’s difficult. 

On top of that, Papa has never been one to let his weaknesses appear. Emotions are often embraced by Lucifer, as expressing them. But to Papa, these are his weak points and he prides himself too much in keeping all his weaknesses guarded. Papa has crafted himself to cover his vulnerabilities in such a way that they play to his strengths! For his emotions and true feelings, he detaches from them; giving him the ability to lead with a critical and objective mind not bogged down by empathy. As a Papa, this makes him an excellent and analytical leader. As a lover, this often bites him in the ass- especially in pursuing any SERIOUS life time commitments. Something he wasn’t keen on doing in the first place. 

Papa is very aware of how ‘spouses’ work for the Bloodline. Bonding with a potential mate has always been in the interest of furthering the family, not personal fulfillment. He’s tried VERY hard to keep it that way. And like his father, he is painfully aware of those who would manipulate his feelings. And if we were being honest? The idea of genuinely falling in love scares the absolute shit out of Papa. The idea of being so vulnerable to a person who could crush your very soul, the soul of a demon blooded Antipope, is not something to take lightly! And it’s NOT like he has had any good role models to show how true love should operate… 

To win him over, it would be a good idea to show HIM your vulnerable side first. Kinda like when a cat shows you its belly as a sign of trust. LEt him see the ugly side of you, the insecure- but slowly. Don’t hit him all at once with everything. You have to let Papa come to you. It might take a lot of time this way, but it’s a start- there is a reason he feels more comfortable with submission. It makes him feel so much more secure. Also showing your dedication and love through action and not words will be HUGE! Showing him you can be trusted, that you have a good head on your shoulders, and that you have his best interests at heart. Alternatively, if something life altering should happen to him, you supporting him is the ultimate display of your dependability. If you try to force him at any point he will pull back out of reflex. It’s one of the few times he lets your roles be reversed. 

Papa III: 

Many would accuse his older brother, Emeritus the II, of being the hardest to make vulnerable- yet many are surprised that it is actually him! But Papa has spent years weaving a huge web around himself. Papa has so many masks and layers to him out of fear that sometimes even he doesn’t know what part of him is genuine or not. He learned from an early age that he was the most emotional, and most likely to get hurt. And let me tell you something, Emeritus the Third is NOT a man who likes the feeling of being hurt emotionally. It’s practically unbearable for him. He already deals with a lot of emotional burdens from feeling as though he were the ‘weak’ one of the Bloodline. Truth be told, he hasn’t had the best relationship with his father, either. 

What’s worse? As much as he likes to talk about himself, Papa does NOT like talking about his true issues and anxieties. Papa usually deflects in such subtle ways that those close to him THINK he is being vulnerable, when in truth he is being superficial. So when you hear him complain about how the Ministry treats him, or a minor insecurity brought on by an argument with his brother- you are only scratching the surface. And even if he loves you, Papa does not want you to see that ugly, miserable side of him. He doesn’t even want to acknowledge it himself. If he can barely stand these horrible sides to himself, how does he expect you to stay and accept him? 

For Papa III, the key factor would be time and patience. But this is further made difficult with his fleeting interests and inability to commit. The natural way to his vulnerable side is by never leaving his side, assuming he doesn’t forcibly push you away. For example, one of the few who know him deeply is Omega and his eldest brother, Papa I. That’s because they have been around his entire life. Either you would have to be the same, or be there in a huge moment of weakness to have him even remotely come clean. 

The best (or in his case, worse) would be you being there at his absolute lowest point. When he’s so far gone in his emotions that he can’t even muster up the energy to put on a show. When he can’t bring himself to be Papa, to be charming- hell even RUDE AND ANGRY. The best example would be like if you were around after he was stripped of the Ghost Project and made a fool out of publically. That was such a horrible time for him and everyone around him. But if you are there with unconditional love and he SEES that you love him through every facet of his identity, he will want to stick close and loyal to you. It will take MORE time, but little by little Papa ends up baring his soul to you. He’d be lying if he said he still wasn’t afraid to confide in you, least you up and leave...  

Cardinal Copia/Papa IV:

Copia has struggled with trust nearly his whole life, and ALL of his career in the High Ministry. If we are being honest, as welcoming and loving as the church is, the upper clergy is full of deceit and cutthroat tactics. It’s as competitive and dangerous as any monarchy or noble circles. That’s because within it there is a LOT more at stake. Ministry members have vanished or been found dead thanks to inner politics, and Copia has his share of close calls. He’s had to learn to trust no one but yourself, and never EVER let your guard down too much.

Unfortunately, this does bleed into his personal life. Copia has had his share of bed mates and even lovers that have stuck around longer than anticipated. But long term commitments have been very few and far between. And to be honest, he HAS been burned before. From those who sought to betray him to partners who just DIDN’T LIKE who he really was underneath. Copia has buried that hurt and tried to use it as a reminder of why he needs to keep himself until he makes it to the top. Then NO ONE could hurt him the way they could when he was a mere Ministry member.

Copia has always been really cautious around lovers to the point of paranoia. Where he adamantly refused to let himself be weak at any point! He is always good to them, but is just plain scared of letting his guard down. But the difference between Copia and the rest of the Papas is that Copia CRAVES intimate connection like you wouldn’t believe. Sometimes he desperately wants that stability and trust with another person without fear of repercussion. Copia often feels like he can never have it, and it’s one of the few things he wants almost as bad as the Papacy. But he’s never had time or a chance to- far too much to do and too much to risk!

One of the biggest ways Copia ends up calming down around you and actually opening up is if you have been there for the long run. Especially if you two were some type of couple or close BEFORE he was ever chosen for the Ghost project. Copia needs that undying support and consistency to really warm up to you. If you’ve unconditionally been there from the beginning and have not changed since his Papacy, Copia is nothing but loyal to you in return. Copia is a very good actor, but he will still be skittish and reluctant to talk too much. You just have to be patient with him as he gets comfortable. I promise, he wants nothing more than to trust you completely.

[astrology-with-charu]

Aquarius Season Focus & Source Of Our Next Growth Cycle - For each sign

This Aquarius season (20.1-19.2) with the 24 January New Moon, we are sowing seeds for next 20 years of material gains through the Aquarius part of our chart as the Saturn Jupiter will start new 20 year cycle of our material growth in December 2020 in Aquarius as well. A new age will start of gainfulness & prominence of Aquarius nature! Now this season we take a few bold steps towards it! Walk surely & uniquely towards abundance.

(FYI I am typing this on my very shattered iPad screen & it was in cover when it fell - take care of your devices during this week)

Check where Aquarius sits in your birth chart that’s where you would be initiating in a new bold way & that’s what you would be leveraging to create next 20 year of growth cycle & gainfulness starting December 2020. This year with Saturn briefly touching this area of your life between 21 May-1 Jul you would find initial foundations being laid down. This season you will see yourself planting seeds in this direction.

Link to overview video - https://youtu.be/-F-O2hGFE1g

Check for your rising / sun / moon sign your suggested paths to abundance & social contribution -

Bookmark this article here for future reference

http://emailabuddy.com/blog/?p=875

#Aries - Network, Being an influencer, having a tribe of people working together towards a common cause of humanitarian, social & economic impact, being the nerve center of an influential network, your ability to bring people together in an inspiring way for a common worthy cause, public events or a platform launch or spreading innovative thoughts ideas to a common set of like minded people through a platform that leverages on high tech, AI, big data etc, big wealth through stand alone businesses where you leverage online presence to create a network or bring together talented people in some ways, bringing a great idea or innovation to the world which helps socially & brings gains to you, unique vision & dream which comes suddenly & progresses suddenly like something unlocks after thinking through for a while, friends / elder brother/ sibling / mentor / spouse’s children / nieces / nephews working & supporting in some ways in your unique vision of the world where you contribute significantly to the society

#Taurus - Career in innovation, new progressive technical fields, network head or distribution head or using your networking skills to lead, your career position or title & style of leadership, being a mentor / coach / inspiring head of a firm or group who brings people together through social ideals, Career growth by playing an important social role through your position, sudden opportunities & shifts, rebel against old form of authority or structure of doing business leading to new unique career path, following through on your ideals using your position, professing through career groups or leadership groups, creating a unique reputation & place in the world, unique style of parenthood, progressive parent, being like a friend or father figure as a leader, fame as a leader or General popularity in your profession

#Gemini - Media, publishing, travel, connecting people sharing higher progressive knowledge, always growing expanding learning, education, using technology or recent progressive innovations in education or publications of impact, promoting diversity, shift in religion & belief system - spreading higher knowledge of a religion or belief system, sharing your higher mind, traveling globally to spread information or for a humanitarian cause working with multi cultural multi national teams or networks or using technology to reach out globally, being mentor or getting Teachers & mentors together to enhance awareness, practical progressive philosophy - speaking your radical progressive thoughts & ideals challenging old thinking changing it in gainful manner, making information knowledge globally available rather than being property of a few elite

#Cancer - merging talents & resources to be more, financial mergers, sexual freedom, creating innovative ways of healing, unique ways of handling crisis, learning to handle your upheavals practically objectively through your spiritual awakening & using that to heal others, for social humanitarian benefit, using your depth or loss or fears or addictions or shadow side as your power or learnings - channeling the same into research, solutions, healing, occult topics, metaphysics, astrology that benefits others, psychology, knowledge & objective understanding of death, breaking free from outdated patterns or addictions blocking your power, money from other sources -debt /taxation /insurance /spouse’s money /inheritance. Getting sponsorship or loans for unique ventures possibly involving sexuality / spirituality / metaphysics / oil industry / investment / finance. Death of old self & rebirth of a powerful phenomenon which comes suddenly & swiftly and changes everything!

#Leo - marriage, partnership, client management, mentoring, organising events culturally, socially or for humanitarian causes, coaching, counselling, having an audience, group shows, group contracts, working in partnership with like minded, creative, progressive people with unique ideas & technically adept who are preferably your friends or your spouse or cohabitating with you, doing events to promote creative progressive ideas, your ability to handle & connect with others intellectually while staying emotionally separate or while staying objective, keeping personal emotions a bit at bay when partnering with clients or business partner, staying practical & objective in partnerships & while when counselling

#Virgo - health routines & work environment, innovative progressive solution to health issues & physical well being, serving humanitarian causes through practical means, creating technical services or progressive scientific ways to help those in need or those abused or suffering, creating a network of innovative progressive workers or skilled teams, creating a team of technical SMEs who can innovate or create a platform to help many socially or service people in health / diet industry through tech platforms & AI, progressive alternative medical healing methods especially involving body’s circulatory system (heart, blood, veins, body electric wiring), setting up innovative franchises with unique employee program - creating a unique & fair franchise in terms of people management or union benefits or employee benefits, volunteering or humanitarian work or project, acupuncture, homeopathy

#Libra - your passions & creativity - your hobbies involving gadgets, technology, computer games, fun social networking, festivals, fun, enjoyment, bringing people together for fun, arts (possibly digital), humanitarian efforts done out of love or with the one you love, your creative kids or you catering to your child’s creativity or creativity of child within you, karmic gains enlightenment, luck in game of chance - lottery / stock market but please go with a plan & don’t bet the farm - Aquarius energy is best leveraged with a plan & use of technology and analytical skills well (trading through algos etc). Offbeat lovers, insights on love and sharing them with others through a platform. Knowing, understanding children and sharing ideas the same using social network or innovative concepts on how to promote creativity in children, daring to do things differently involving love, arts or children

#Scorpio - home, property, real estate, country of origin, your soul, your emotional foundations, roots, heritage, parents, home based business or real estate business or green city projects or Creative gardening, socially responsible building, innovative real estate, innovative ways to feel emotionally secure & comfortable or ability to help people feel secure in themselves by understanding their pain & insecurity, having practical innovative ways to handle emotional life, parental heritage or property, parenthood, your solid emotional strength & EQ. Potential sudden relocation, using home as base for social causes or for business or group work, living in a progressive community, installing new technology at home & use of most recent gadgets for home based networking, investing in high tech or progressive fixed assets which contribute to your ability to network like electronics or conferencing facilities at home etc, leveraging your ability to see through security needs of people to create innovate solutions around it - emotionally, psychologically or physically through real estate business or home solutions

#Sagittarius - Media ,marketing, Communication & commercial negotiation skills creating self made wealth based on your ability to quickly learning new information or skills and then conveying tangible ideas, selling, convincing people on unique & progressive ideas leveraging your brilliant & unconventional mind. Immense courage to build something on basis of your communication skills and power of your mind, leveraging all resources available to you in your immediate environment e.g. your coworkers, acquaintances, friends giving them fair share but not clinging with it too much - needing own space & time, reading & learning about future trends & progressive topics, using devices which are state of art especially for communication, interesting short trips, intellectual & fast comprehension of subject at hand, radically free thinking leading to original ideas / writing / media work / sales process. Very busy, lots of calls conferences - create ways to release mental overload though you thrive in action

#Capricorn - Creating resources & assets of material value leveraging networks and causes or common theme of social of humanitarian impact, innovation in monetary ideas, Innovation in diets, philanthropy, financial abundance through network, technology & revolutionary new ideas, investing in new technology or through new technology, spending on the next big idea - futuristic scheme like a space program or new innovation or a social platform or digital currency after careful thinking and analysis, investing in or reaping benefits from stocks, investing in a friend or social cause or philanthropy. Sudden swings in earnings as they come from unique sources. Being part of large cooperative funds. More you network, more assets in shape of monetary gains & valuable skills you would accumulate

#Aquarius - Your external identity, how and as what you show up to the world as, your leadership style, your career & external image including appearance, your social contribution as a leader of a network of people, following your intuition to a new path where you know you will make an impact socially and would be gainful, basing your life path on your innate talents of innovation / unique ideas / networking / ability to bring people together & becoming more by uplifting the whole platform of people and not just yourself, progressive thinking on lines of new technology, being open to the world about who you are & not hiding your contributions anymore, desire to follow your hearts desire, very stimulating time with imagination of mind revved up throwing sudden new ideas, keeping your heart free not getting bogged by negative emotions, staying objective & rational as you normally are, not exhausting vitality by going in alone taking your group & tapping into your network of friends / supporters / mentors / influencers, making impact - standing out for the causes that are true to who you are

#Pisces - Spiritual awakening / journey, contributing spiritually to a society, alternative healing methods, breaking old structure suddenly due to a download or sudden awakening, sudden development while you are travelling or in a foreign country or sleeping or relaxing away from the crowd, meditation, psychic work, charity work without attaching your name to it - in hospitals, in field of healing, for mental health, in prisons or for those in need, doing it like your karmic duty & helping humanity in ways not previously seen or understood by others, being a blessing to others, discovering your hidden take to & knowledge suddenly in a moment of peace or in meditation and using it for helping larger set of people, past life memory, karmic times, experiences guided by your guides & angels, enabling group of people to connect with their own inner wisdoms, confronting their demons or fears, connecting with their angels & guides through innovative healing methods

Our e-coordinates 👩‍💻

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[thebalkanwitch]

Virgo Season ♍ • Virgos are much more than cleaning, organizing grammar Nazis. They are the healers of the zodiac, with exceptional attention to detail and they are always down to help others. • As we shift from fiery Leo season to earthy Virgo, this change in energy will be palpable. More focus on our day-to-day activities, and a desire to prepare ourselves for harvest season. The time to reap what we sow is coming and the Fall/Winter is going to be rough! • Virgo is represented by The Hermit in Tarot and it’s fitting that we will feel the urge to spend some quiet time with ourselves. Self-care, walks in nature, cleansing our spaces, focusing on our mental and physical health becomes a priority. Remember, Virgo is ruled by Mercury so we are shifting from heart to mind. • This cerebral tendency will bring focus to our professional life. Leo season was fun but with the arrival of Virgo season, it truly feels like summer is over and it’s back to work, not that this is a bad thing! Personally, I prefer autumn to summer; it’s when I truly feel the most alive, but to each their own 🤷‍♀️ • If this is not the case for you, and you’re feeling a bit down, try to stay grounded, and focus on learning or being productive. There may be a project that you’ve been wanting to work on, or even something new that you wanted to try. This is the perfect time to do that! • I understand that this may be difficult for everyone, especially if you thrive in the summer heat but try to remember that even though the Leo invincibility cloak we all had may be gone, ask yourself, did you really need it in the first place or was it just a placebo? Everyone has a talent and skill, use this time to discover it or perfect it. •  Themes: Reconnect with nature, Cleanse, Mind-Body Connection Keywords: Analytical, Grounding, Studies • • • #thebalkanwitch #virgo #virgoseason #virgospread #♍ #witch #shtriga #witchblr #witchesofinstagram #witchessociety #pagansofinstagram #magick #magjik #tarot #tarotspread #allmydecks2020 #witchesrunes #pendulum #candlemagic #crystals #thehermit #cleanse #witchyart #witchaesthetic #zodiacart #astrologyart #magicart https://www.instagram.com/p/CESc2VjncgZ/?igshid=4o3auqrtyx63

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic: 19 Mar 2020 (Marie Newman ousts Dan Lipinski, Radicalized radio documentary, African Whatsapp modders, Imagineering in a Box, Data is the New Toxic Waste, a fair covid bailout, Fox News is a death cult, food supply chains are healthy, magic for coronavirus)

Today's links

The worst Democrat in Congress just lost his job: Dan Lipinski primaried by the amazing Marie Newman.

Canada Reads documentary on Radicalized: The Great Canadian Book debate is indefinitely postponed, but here's an hour on my book!

Africa's Facebook modders are world leaders: Technological self-determination through adversarial interoperability.

Imagineering in a Box: Interdisciplinary theme park design lessons from Khan Academy and Disney.

Data is the New Toxic Waste: It was never "the new oil."

How to structure a fair covid bailout: Stimulus, not private jets.

Fox News is a suicide cult: Telling your elderly viewers to perform tribal loyalty by engaging in high-risk behaviors is a career-limiting move.

Grocery supply chains are resilient: One less thing to worry about.

Magic in the time of coronavirus: Never let a good crisis go to waste, card-trick edition.

This day in history: 2010, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

The worst Democrat in Congress just lost his job (permalink)

Congress's worst Democrat is Dan Lipinski, a corrupt, anti-abortion, corporatist, gunhumping asshole in a safe seat that he inherited from his father in 2004, who handed it to him after nominations had closed, bypassing the semblance of democracy.

https://theintercept.com/2018/01/29/dan-lipinski-illinois-3rd-district-marie-newman/

He's a homophobic bigot who opposed the $15 minimum wage and allowed the rail-barons who fund his campaign to dismantle safety regulations.

He was primaried by Marie Newman (I'm a donor!) whose campaign was vicious sabotaged by the DNC.

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/26/dccc-blacklist-marie-newman-dan-lipinski/

Despite this, Marie Newman successfully primaried this piece of shit.

Like AOC's seat, Newman's is a very safe one, meaning she's all but guaranteed to go to Congress in November.

Canada Reads documentary on Radicalized (permalink)

The Canada Reads national book prize is indefinitely postponed, thanks to covid. In lieu of the televised debates originally scheduled for this week, the CBC is airing one-hour specials on each book, including mine, Radicalized.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-6-canada-reads/clip/15766247-canada-reads-2020-special-episode-radicalized-by-cory-doctorow

If you're jonesing for The Great Canadian Book Debate, you can fill the gap with the whole series:

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-6-canada-reads

Africa's Facebook modders are world leaders (permalink)

In most of Africa, the most popular app by far is WhatsApp, and unofficial WhatsApp mods – including one that started life as a Syrian alternative at the height of its civil war – are offering local tools for local contexts.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/03/african-whatsapp-modders-are-masters-worldwide-adversarial-interoperability

"Nothing about us without us" has been a rallying cry for many movements, most recently the disability rights movement. Coders working for a Silicon Valley Big Tech firm shouldn't have the last work on how apps work for people half a world away.

The big WhatsApp mods accommodate lots of local needs: larger groups and filesizes, better privacy protection, multiple accounts on a single device.

But it's also hard to find reliable mods, because FB used legal threats to shut down the largest, most popular one.

Ironically, this has driven peer-to-peer app sharing, where people you trust will directly send the app from their phone to yours, assuring you that they haven't detected any spyware. That's just great.

What would be even better is if local coders could dismantle FB's digital colonialism and market their improved apps directly, come out of the shadows without fear of retaliation by distant juggernauts who want to capture "the next billion users" and own their digital lives.

The history of Adversarial Interoperability is full of users modifying their tools to improve them. Before John Deere was a monopolistic copyright troll, it used to send engineers out to farms to collect and integrate farmers' mods into its products.

https://securityledger.com/2019/03/opinion-my-grandfathers-john-deere-would-support-our-right-to-repair/

Every human being should have the right of technological self-determination: the right to decide which tools they use, and to change how those tools work to suit their own needs.

Imagineering in a Box (permalink)

Imagineering in a Box is a joint project from Khan Academy, Pixar and Disney Imagineering. It's a series of interactive lessons and lectures on designing themed spaces, rides to go in those spaces, and animatronics to go in those rides.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hass-storytelling/imagineering-in-a-box

It's interdisciplinary: land design is meant to be undertaken with physical materials, ride design uses art and math, and animatronic design is robotics – mechanical engineering and software development.

Data is the New Toxic Waste (permalink)

In a new article for Kaspersky, I argue that data was never "the new oil" – instead, it was always the new toxic waste: "pluripotent, immortal – and impossible to contain."

https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/secure-futures-magazine/data-new-toxic-waste/34184/

Data breaches are inevitable (any data you collect will probably leak; any data you retain will definitely leak) and cumulative (your company's data breach can be combined with each subsequent attack to revictimize your customers). Identity thieves benefit enormously from cheap storage, and they collect, store and recombine every scrap of leaked data. Merging multiple data sets allows for reidentification of "anonymized" data, and it's impossible to predict which sets will leak in the future.

These nondeterministic harms have so far protected data-collectors from liability, but that can't last. Toxic waste also has nondeterministic harms (we never know which bit of effluent will kill which person), but we still punish firms that leak it.

Waiting until the laws change to purge your data is a bad bet – by then, it may be too late. All the data your company collects and retains represents an unquantifiable, potentially unlimited source of downstream liability.

What's more, you probably aren't doing anything useful with it. The companies that make the most grandiose claims about data analytics are either selling analytics or data (or both). These claims are sales literature, not peer-reviewed citations to empirical research.

Data is cheap to collect and store – if you don't have to pay for the chaos it sows when it leaks. And some day, we will make data-hoarders pay.

How to structure a fair covid bailout (permalink)

It's a foregone conclusions that there will be a bailout. My first worry is that it will be inflationary, because production has ground to a halt. More dollars chasing fewer goods — not good.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/18/diy-tp/#covid-stimulus

But there's another risk, which is that it will just go to the finance sector, who will use it to buy private jets and political influence, repeating the 2008 pattern.

https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/how-to-structure-the-coronavirus

Financialization is how the economy got so fragile in the first place. Leveraged buyouts, debt-loading, payoffs for layoffs, looting corporate cash reserves, selling assets and spiking executive competition made companies brittle. As Matt Stoller writes, financialization's goal "is to eliminate production in favor of scalable profitable things like brands, patents, and tax loopholes, because producers – engineers, artists, workers – are cost centers."

Bush/Obama had huge leverage over corporations during their bailout, but they squandered it by making companies subservient to finance, instead of public priorities, workers' rights, or a fair deal for customers.

We must not repeat that blunder. Any company that gets a covid bailout should:

be permanently banned from buybacks, and banned from dividends for 5 years. Companies need to restore their financial cushions.

have their share price zeroed. Shareholders aren't getting a bailout. They "took the risk and upside, they should get the downside too."

have limits on executive comp. Tax dollars shouldn't make execs who presided over failure into millionaires.

a ban on lobbying, limits on PR – you can't spend public handouts to lobby for more public handouts

no M&A activity for 5 years. We're bailing you out so you can run a productive business, not become an acquisition target.

This crisis is different than 2008. It's worse. Let's not make the response worse, as well.

(Image: Bernie Durfee, CC BY-SA)

Fox News is a suicide cult (permalink)

Throughout the crisis, Fox News has been dutifully fulfilling its role as a state new organ for the Trump admin. When Trump's narrative was "no big deal," the network engaged in denial and urged its viewers to engage in high-risk conduct to perform their tribal loyalty.

TV news viewers are much older than the median American. Fox viewers are much older than the median TV new viewer. Old people are at the highest risk of covid complications. Linear increases in patient age yield exponential increases in mortality.

Fox has since changed its orthodoxy to match the president's new narrative. But it's too late. Many viewers will cling to their original denial in order to protect themselves from feeling like dupes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/on-fox-news-suddenly-a-very-different-tune-about-the-coronavirus/2020/03/16/7a7637cc-678f-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html

Others are already incubating – and passing on the virus.

Fox News just murdered a substantial portion of its viewership.

https://ritholtz.com/2020/03/foxnews-clearpresentdanger/

But don't get smug. The Fox viewers' risky conduct will have spread the virus further, infecting people far beyond the circle of denialists.

And their cases and the cases of those they infected will contribute to the overwhelming of the health-care system.

People who have car-wrecks or burst appendices or complex births or other emergency hospitalizations will die as a result.

Fox didn't cause the pandemic, and its viewers aren't solely responsible for its spread. But their ideology and conduct made it much, much worse.

Grocery supply chains are resilient (permalink)

If you – like me – have been worried about empty US grocery shelves, it appears that you can rest easy (or easier).

US food distributors' warehouses are at 200-500% nominal, comparable to pre-Thanksgiving.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/18/817920400/empty-grocery-shelves-are-alarming-but-theyre-not-permanent

They saw this coming and stocked up.

Food production is also still very healthy.

The shortages appear temporary, driven by logistics bottlenecks that will ease with time, assuming the labor force for grocers/warehousers/shippers remains healthy and available.

(Image: Lyza, CC BY-SA)

Magic in the time of coronavirus (permalink)

I really dote on the "social magic" of Andy at The Jerx, a one-on-one style of conjuring and mentalism that often plays out over weeks and months. He's been doing a series of performing tricks during coronavirus, and the latest instalment is great.

http://www.thejerx.com/blog/2020/3/19/magic-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-part-3

"I have this trick I'm working on but I've run out of people to perform it on in person. Can you hop on Skype for a few minutes?"

This implies that you could do the trick in person, and you can use it to do something you couldn't do in person.

"The window of the Skype frame makes switching and ditching and that sort of thing incredibly easy. You don't need a pocket index, you can have stuff just sitting on your computer desk off frame."

This day in history (permalink)

#10yrsago Peter Watts found guilty www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=1186

#10yrsago Icelandic Pirates soar: citizenship for Snowden? https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/03/icelandic-pirate-partys-rapid-rise-may-result-in-citizenship-for-snowden/

#1yrago Uber used spyware to surveil and poach drivers from Australian rival service Gocatch https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-18/uber-used-secret-spyware-to-try-and-crush-australian-start-up/10901120

#1yrago Kickstarter employees want to unionize under OPEIU and have formed Kickstarter United to make that happen https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/19/18254995/kickstarter-unionizing-union-representation-inclusivity-transparency-tech-us-crowdfunding

#1yrago The European Copyright Directive: What Is It, and Why Has It Drawn More Controversy Than Any Other Directive In EU History? https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/03/european-copyright-directive-what-it-and-why-has-it-drawn-more-controversy-any

#1yrago Matt Taibbi finally makes sense of the Pentagon's trillions in off-books "budgetary irregularities" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/pentagon-budget-mystery-807276/

#1yrago New Zealand's domestic spies, obsessed with illegally surveilling environmental activists, missed a heavily armed right-wing terrorist https://consortiumnews.com/2019/03/15/misguided-spying-and-the-new-zealand-massacre/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Disney Parks Blog (https://disneyparks.disney.go.com), Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/).

Currently writing: I've just finished rewrites on a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I've also just completed "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel next.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/16/the-masque-of-the-red-death-and-punch-brothers-punch/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757531

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583

[kirankumar166]

Ariba Services Procurement

Simplifying Services Procurement with SAP Ariba

In today’s fast-paced business environment, streamlining procurement processes is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. For service procurement, SAP Ariba offers a powerful suite of solutions designed to optimize efficiency, transparency, and cost savings.

What is Services Procurement?

Services procurement encompasses the sourcing, contracting, and payment processes for non-physical goods and services. This can include a wide range of requirements, such as:

Consulting

IT services

Legal services

Marketing and advertising

Maintenance and repair

Temporary staffing

Travel and logistics

Challenges of Traditional Services Procurement

Traditional services procurement often faces several hurdles:

Lack of Visibility: Tracking spending across diverse service categories can be problematic, leading to fragmented data and limited insights.

Maverick Spending: Procuring services outside established channels can result in higher costs and compliance issues.

Complex Contract Management: The lifecycle management of service contracts can be cumbersome and prone to errors.

Inefficient Invoice Processing: Manual handling of service invoices increases the chance of errors and delayed payments, impacting vendor relationships.

How SAP Ariba Transforms Services Procurement

SAP Ariba provides a cloud-based solution to address these challenges and drive value across the services procurement process:

Centralized Platform: Ariba is a single platform that manages all your service procurement needs. This creates a consolidated view of service spending and enhances collaboration.

Guided Buying: The intuitive interface guides users through the service procurement process, ensuring compliance and reducing off-contract spending.

Supplier Discovery and Qualification: Ariba’s robust supplier network helps you find and qualify new service providers, expanding your sourcing options and facilitating competitive bids.

Streamlined Contracting: Ariba offers e-signature capabilities and tools to efficiently create, negotiate, and manage service contracts.

Efficient Invoicing and Reconciliation: Automated invoice processing and three-way matching reduce errors, expedite payments, and improve supplier relationships.

Data-Driven Insights: Detailed analytics and reporting on services spend empower you to make informed decisions for better cost savings and process improvements.

Key Features of Ariba Services Procurement

Simplified Procurement of Services: Enables streamlined ordering and invoicing processes without needing service sheets.

Service Master Agreements: Establish standardized pre-negotiated terms and streamline contracting.

Statement of Work (SOW) Management: Create and manage detailed SOWs outlining the scope of work, deliverables, and timelines, ensuring project alignment.

Contingent Workforce Management: Source, manage, and track temporary labor within the Ariba platform.

Benefits of Using SAP Ariba for Services Procurement

Cost Savings: Reduce maverick spending, optimize supplier selection, and negotiate better rates.

Efficiency: Automate processes, reduce manual tasks, and shorten procurement cycle times.

Compliance: Enforce policies and mitigate risks with greater control over spending.

Visibility: Gain comprehensive spend visibility across service categories.

Supplier Collaboration Improve communication and strengthen partnerships with suppliers.

Getting Started with SAP Ariba

If you want to optimize the procurement of your services, SAP Ariba offers a compelling solution. Partnering with experienced SAP Ariba consultants can help you tailor the implementation process to your specific business needs, ensuring.

You can find more information about  SAP ARIBA in this  SAP ARIBA Link

 

Conclusion:

Unogeeks is the No.1 IT Training Institute for SAP  Training. Anyone Disagree? Please drop in a comment

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[foamyphilosophy]

My Paracosm

"A paracosm is a detailed imaginary world. Paracosms are thought generally to originate in childhood and to have one or numerous creators. The creator of a paracosm has a complex and deeply felt relationship with this subjective universe, which may incorporate real-world or imaginary characters and conventions. Commonly having its own geography, history, and language, it is an experience that is often developed during childhood and continues over a long period of time, months or even years, as a sophisticated reality that can last into adulthood."

I have had one that continues to this day as a a 24 year old man. I had no idea this was an actual thing, I thought it was just normal to create an imaginary universe in your free time. After learning that this is apparently a unique thing I wanted to share a peek into my universe.

It is a land parallel to our own, similar to how Heaven, and Hell exist in tandem with Earth but rest in different realities. I called it Dagorn. Time even ran differently while Adam and Eve existed on Earth without care and Lucifer existed in Heaven not yet fallen hundreds of years pass for each day that passes on Earth. Dagorn held all the magical and mythical creatures we know today. This was also the birth places of The First Ones. Beings that are the byproduct of creation. With each new element of the universe is made so too do the First Ones get born.

The first was a pair of Twins because their existence is intricately tied together. Yin and Yang. Yin looks like a woman dressed in a black formal dress like a womans business suit, with long white hair and red eyes. She's very cold and analytical and is the byproduct of Time's creation. Yang is a man with a white formal suit, with black hair and blue eyes and is very expressive compared to his sister and is the byproduct of Reality. Although they are the eldest and Yin's vast and seemingly endless knowledge and Yangs grounded realism neither of them rule over the other First's they leave that to Volcan the First of the Sun.

Volcan was made with the first star and Volcan's form is difficult to describe. He made the first Phoenix to represent him. He too has a Human shape but every hundred years he "dies" in a very dramatic way (with a lot of fire which typically reduces his room or the room he is in to ash) and rises from the ash in a new body the shape and gender are entirely random. To date he has been a woman 10 times ironically enough despite how long he has existed. Ironically I thought of this before I even knew about Doctor Who but included the firey explosion after witnessing it.

My two favorites, my first favorite was Anarchy the first of Chaos who was a town to the First of War, Pain. Anarchy true to her nature enjoyed pranking people and using her power to sow a little chaos into society. She looked like a woman with long wild red hair, sharp teeth and yellow pupils and the whites of her eyes were black. She could alter reality to a certain degree but couldn't outright change the universe. She was basically a really powerful summoner. She had desperately wanted people to enjoy her company and be respected but her nature was too unstable for many people to trust. Eventually Lucifer decided to take matters into his own hands and decided it was best to just kill her. He convinced her he needed her for a special mission and eager to show she could actually be helpful agreed. It was then he tried stabbing her in the heart and leaving the building she was in to burn to the ground. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you look at it) she managed to survive and was simply in a magical coma reliving her worst moments. Her rage and spite got her to dig herself out of her unmarked grave and tried getting revenge by destroying every form of authority and attempted to destroy Heaven. Recruiting Mepheles (First of Fear) Sun Wu Kong (first of Anger) Miser (first of Sadness) and Pain (First of War) It took The forces of Heaven, Hell and the other good First Ones to take her down. Even then they failed. Putting her soul in her ring, and her spirit in her journal, her body turned to stone and waits for her "pieces" to reunite.

My second Favorite is Cannibal, called Cannie for short, she is the First of Hunger. She resembles an elven woman with wavey blood red hair and typically dresses like a Duke and is oddly skinny despite her affiliation with hunger. She came into existence during the first famine when the First of Destruction Hexus ravaged the land. The more force of nature First simply appear but the more personal First gain form from the first to experience it. Such is the case for Cannibal. When her village was being ravaged, and she was on the verge of starvation she was caught under rubble when trying to steal some food in the chaos. As she started to succumb to her injuries the last thought that crossed her mind was dying while starving. It was at that moment she was reborn as a First and her first action was to use her power to maul and eat Hexus, he escaped but barely. Earning her the name. Her power is similar to Alucard in Hellsing. In fact that is a huge inspiration for her. She lives in near eternal hunger and all living creatures become a part of her after being consumed. She holds the power to summon those she has eaten in the past and has a personal army loyal to her and will let her eat them if the succumb to sickness or crippling injury so they can serve her loyally as a part of her. She is the patron of Revenants, Zombies, and and Vampires. She is also one of the few people that seem themselves as a friend of Anarchy, lives among mortal beings instead of her own and she owns a mountain side castle ran by the undead that willingly serve her. Despite her destructive nature and what she represents she spends as much power as she can to help the world and is considered one of the Seven Pillars of Balance (the heroic First Ones)

I honestly could go on and on but I have struggled to turn this world into a cohesive story. It's such a fleshed out universe for me but maybe the detail is what makes it hard for me to create a story. I could spend chapters upon chapters doing world building but this was a peak into my brain world.

[parkwestpubs]

Benefits Of Fun Activity Books For Children

If you are relatively new to parenting and are wondering what would be the best method of introducing the concept of learning to your kids, the answer is simple. Activity books make learning fun without the children not even realizing it, half of the time. Some of the best children's fun activity books come with puzzles and stickers which makes them even more interesting for the kids. Whether it's coloring or collecting stickers, children learn a lot more than basic academic stuff like alphabets and numbers. They can be a great source of enhancing Hand eye coordination, sense of spatial awareness and developing similar such aspects. Some of the biggest perks of using activity books are mentioned below. 

Improvement of Concentration and Enhanced Attention Span:  If you observe you will notice that while your child refuses to sir for even an hour when it comes to studying, they can spend hours drawing, painting and playing. Activity books are an excellent source for improving your children's concentration and attention span. Since they feel they are playing rather than learning, they concentrate and pay attention a lot more than they would have during traditional learning. 

Improved Critical Thinking and Analytical Skills:  Critical thinking and analysis are two very important aspects of human cognition. And the sooner you sow the seeds, the better they grow. When your child is solving a puzzle or dealing with problems including mazes, they are forced to think of a solution along with all the necessary steps to reach the final goal. Early learning books can become a key to your children's development as they stimulate your children's minds to think critically and analyze a situation to the best of their abilities. 

Enhanced Motor Functions:  Hand- eye coordination and sense of spatial awareness are very crucial during the developing stage of any human being. An individual's efficiency depends largely on their motor performances. Actions like holding a pen or a pencil steadily and using a pair of scissors are a lot more difficult than you think. By practicing to color within the outline your kid learns to hold the crayons steadily as well as get neater and precise in the tasks. Similarly while collecting stickers, when they paste them by judging the space required by each sticky piece, they are developing a concrete idea for space and positions. 

Fun Time With Kids:  Lastly, activity books present you with an opportunity to spend quality time with your kids that is both entertaining and educational. As they enjoy and learn, you get to see your bundle of joy grow into the individual you always wanted them to be!