#access control Los Angeles

[novakdoorsandgates]

Novak Doors And Gates

Address: 18430 Ventura Blvd #101. Tarzana, CA 91356

Phone: (323) 955-2251

Website: https://novakdoorsandgates.com/

Business email: admin@novakdoorsandgates.com

Hours: Sun - Thu: 7:30AM - 9PM | Fri : 7:30AM - 04:30PM | Sat - CLOSED

Payment: Cash, Checks, Credit Cards, Financing

Social: https://www.facebook.com/Novakdoorsandgates https://twitter.com/NovakDoorsGates https://www.yelp.com/biz/novak-doors-and-gates-tarzana-3 https://www.pinterest.com/Novakdoorsandgates/ https://www.instagram.com/novak.doors.and.gates/

[dandssecurity]

Purpose of Access Control Systems in Los Angeles and Glendale, CA

Obtaining speedy and requisite help during an emergency is essential. Unfortunately, the public numbers may fail, and the responses may not be as desired. This makes it necessary for residents and employees at various workplaces to use alarm monitoring services in Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA. It is interesting that the services connect all home and/or business alarm systems to a central monitoring point. The skilled and trained professionals at such stations receive alerts from individuals or business entities, verify them, and then dispatch help as and when required. ​ This kind of service has gained popularity lately, with more homeowners relying on it. Some of the specific components of the system need to be checked and informed about before deciding to go with it. The services ensure the following: -

Central Monitoring Station (CMS)—This facility is dedicated to receiving and monitoring alerts. Multiple trained professionals handle the facility who are knowledgeable enough to check the alerts and decide on their seriousness.

Verification—The primary task of setting up this system is to connect all the alarm systems in the hose/workplace to the central monitoring system. Once an alarm is triggered, the signal is forwarded to the CMA. The trained staff at the CMS are equipped to check and verify each alert, thus differentiating between false alerts and genuine ones.

Response- The trained personnel at the CMS may decide on a legitimate alert. They will take the initiative to dispatch the required service providers at the spot of trouble. The CMS may send firefighters, police, and/or other emergency service providers without failing the people in need. Connected Security Systems—Alarm monitoring may be done for several connected systems, with security alarms, burglar alarms, fire alarms, video surveillance systems, and even medical alerts directed to the CMS, which ensures immediate response and assistance as required.

There are multiple advantages of utilizing a centralized monitoring system to ensure the safety and security of the users. Some of the most appreciated benefits of such a monitoring system include the following: -

Improved Security- With 24/7 monitoring of the assorted systems, the users are happy to have their premises under constant surveillance, ensuring their protection regardless of whether the individuals are physically present within the property or not.

Speedy Response- The CMS is entrusted to immediately dispatch the required emergency services. This lessens damage and ensures protection as needed.

Deterring Crimes—Visible security systems such as CCTVs, alarm systems, and burglar alarms are sure to scare potential miscreants off. Constant monitoring can prevent all criminal activities, thus ensuring the prevention of crime to a great extent.

Insurance Benefits—Insurance companies are sure to be satisfied with protecting the concerned property when multiple security systems and a connection to the CMS are installed. As the possibility of potential crimes is lower, insurance companies are happy to provide premiums at a reduced rate.

Business entities are pleased to opt for access control systems in Los Angeles and Glendale, CA, that eliminate the need for physical keys. 

[seccamsla]

Take Control of Your Security with Access Control Installation Los Angeles

Looking for a smarter, safer way to manage who enters your property? If you're in the Los Angeles area, upgrading your security with a professional Access Control Installation Los Angeles service is the perfect solution.

Access control systems offer far more than just convenience. They give you real control — control over entry points, employee access, delivery schedules, and more. Whether you run a small business or manage a large facility, you deserve a security solution that works for you 24/7.

At Digital Surveillance, we provide cutting-edge access control systems tailored to your exact needs. From PIN and keycard entry to mobile app and biometric access, our systems are designed for today’s fast-moving world.

Our Access Control Services Include:

Smart door locks & electric strikes

Keycard & fob systems

Fingerprint & facial recognition access

Cloud-based access management

Seamless integration with CCTV systems

We’ve been installing advanced security systems across Los Angeles for over two decades, and we know what works.

🔐 Secure your doors. Simplify your access. Protect what matters most.

If you're searching for Access Control Installation Los Angeles, look no further. Let Digital Surveillance help you build a safer future — one door at a time.

[security-cameras-installation-la]

Secure Your Property with Professional Access Control Installation in Los Angeles

In a city as fast-paced and dynamic as Los Angeles, security is more than just an option — it’s a necessity. Whether you're a business owner, property manager, or homeowner, protecting your space starts with controlling who gets in and when. That’s where Access Control Installation Los Angeles services come in.

Gone are the days of traditional locks and keys. Modern access control systems offer keyless entry, real-time monitoring, remote management, and seamless integration with your existing security system. From keycard and fob systems to biometric and mobile app access, there's a solution for every type of building.

At Digital Surveillance, we specialize in advanced Access Control Installation in Los Angeles that’s customized to fit your specific needs. Whether you're looking to secure an office, apartment complex, warehouse, or retail space, our licensed technicians are here to design and install a system that works for you.

Why Choose Digital Surveillance?

24+ years of experience in commercial and residential security systems

Expert installation and reliable ongoing support

Integration with CCTV, alarms, and remote monitoring

Local and trusted team right here in Los Angeles

Don’t leave your property vulnerable. With professional Access Control Installation Los Angeles services, you get peace of mind, convenience, and complete control over your space.

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

This post is my attempt to track what’s going on with US politics. This post is constantly being updated so if you see this on your dash, check my blog (this post will be pinned) to see the latest version. If there’s anything I miss that you think should be included on this list, please let me know.

January-May 2025

June 2025

National News

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has a bleak message for us all [x]

Trump has asked Congress to cut funding for public broadcasting [x]

Trump wants to deny visas to foreign students coming to study at Harvard [x]

Trump has issued a travel ban for 12 countries [x]

White House revokes guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions [x]

Supreme Court allows DOGE to access Social Security data [x]

Pete Hegseth orders the removal of the name of the USS Harvey Milk [x]

RFK Jr has gotten rid of the CDC’s panel of vaccine experts [x]

Trump says he plans to phase out FEMA after 2025 hurricane season [x]

Trump says he's restoring the original Confederate names of several Army bases [x]

Trump is considering adding 36 more countries to travel ban [x]

Judge deems Trump's cuts to National Institutes of Health illegal [x]

The EPA is telling staff to stop policing oil and gas companies [x]

Trump is granting another extension on the TikTok ban [x]

Appeals court says Trump can keep control of California National Guard troops [x]

The Department of Veterans Affairs has said that VA doctors are now allowed to discriminate against patients based on political beliefs and marital status [x]

Federal judge indefinitely blocks Trump administration from cutting off Harvard’s ability to host foreign students [x]

Trump ordered strikes on Iran [x]

The Trump administration is trying to bring back asbestos [x]

White House to limit intelligence sharing with Congress [x]

The Sebate has voted on the big beautiful bill [x]

State News

Trump is cutting federal funding for California [x]

Trump deployed the National Guard after unrest in Los Angeles [x]

Democratic state politician and husband shot dead in targeted attack in Minnesota [x]

Louisiana's Ten Commandments law in public schools blocked by federal appeals court [x]

Other News

The legacy of DOGE [x]

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was handcuffed and forcibly removed during a news conference with Kristi Noem [x]

Trump has created a mobile phone company [x]

Trump has a fragrance [x]

July 2025

Alright I know that we’re all tired. We’re 5 months into this now and it can be really tempting to just check out. To be honest, I did that a lot in May. And what I realized from doing that is, yeah, checking out felt nice, but the bad things still kept happening.

Remember, Trump and his cronies want us to stop paying attention. Because if we’re not paying attention, then we’re not fighting back and they can keep getting away with destroying our country and enriching themselves in the process.

You don’t need to spend every waking second of your day thinking about the news. But what I do ask is that, if you see a story from a credible news source about the corruption or more cuts to programs or problems that are starting to reverberate out from previous actions, please share it. Don’t just look at it and move on. Share it.

Fighting back only works if we all do it together. Remember that our communities are our strength.

[misfitwashere]

ROBERT REICH

FEB 14

Friends,

I want to talk today about the media’s coverage of the Trump-Vance-Musk coup. 

I’m not referring to coverage by the bonkers right-wing media of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and its imitators. 

I’m referring to the U.S. mainstream media — The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, National Public Radio — and the mainstream media abroad, such as the BBC and The Guardian. 

By not calling it a coup, the mainstream media is failing to communicate the gravity of what is occurring. 

Yesterday’s opinion by The New York Times’ editorial board offers a pathetic example. It concedes that Trump and his top associates “are stress-testing the Constitution, and the nation, to a degree not seen since the Civil War” but then asks: “Are we in a constitutional crisis yet?” and answers that what Trump is doing “should be taken as a flashing warning sign.”

Warning sign? 

Elon Musk’s meddling into the machinery of government is a part of the coup. Musk and his muskrats have no legal right to break into the federal payments system or any of the other sensitive data systems they’re invading, for which they continue to gather computer code. 

This data is the lifeblood of our government. It is used to pay Social Security and Medicare. It measures inflation and jobs. Americans have entrusted our private information to professional civil servants who are bound by law to use it only for the purposes to which it is intended. In the wrong hands, without legal authority, it could be used to control or mislead Americans. 

By failing to use the term “coup,” the media have also underplayed the Trump-Vance-Musk regime’s freeze on practically all federal funding — suggesting this is a normal part of the pull-and-tug of politics. It is not. Congress has the sole authority to appropriate money. The freeze is illegal and unconstitutional. 

By not calling it a coup, the media have also permitted Americans to view the regime’s refusal to follow the orders of the federal courts as a political response, albeit an extreme one, to judicial rulings that are at odds with what a president wants.

There is nothing about the regime’s refusal to be bound by the courts that places it within the boundaries of acceptable politics. Our system of government gives the federal judiciary final say about whether actions of the executive are legal and constitutional. Refusal to be bound by federal court rulings shows how rogue this regime truly is. 

Earlier this week, a federal judge excoriated the regime for failing to comply with “the plain text” of an edict the judge issued last month to release billions of dollars in federal grants. Vice President JD Vance, presumably in response, declared that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

Vance graduated from the same law school I did. He knows he’s speaking out of his derriere. 

In sum, the regime’s disregard for laws and constitutional provisions surrounding access to private data, impoundment of funds appropriated by Congress, and refusal to be bound by judicial orders amount to a takeover of our democracy by a handful of men who have no legal authority to do so. 

If this is not a coup d’etat, I don’t know what is. 

The mainstream media must call this what it is. In doing so, they would not be “taking sides” in a political dispute. They would be accurately describing the dire emergency America now faces. 

Unless Americans see it and understand the whole of it for what it is rather than piecemeal stories that “flood the zone,” Americans cannot possibly respond to the whole of it. The regime is undertaking so many outrageous initiatives that the big picture cannot be seen without it being described clearly and simply. 

Unless Americans understand that this is indeed a coup that’s wildly illegal and fundamentally unconstitutional — not just because that happens to be the opinion of constitutional scholars or professors of law, or the views of Trump’s political opponents, but because it is objectively and in reality a coup — Americans cannot rise up as the clear majority we are, and demand that democracy be restored. 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)

Today (September 22), I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. Tonight, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.

Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through.

Why does Apple hate repair so much? It's not that they want to poison our water and bodies with microplastics; it's not that they want to hasten the day our coastal cities drown; it's not that they relish the human misery that accompanies every gram of conflict mineral. They aren't sadists. They're merely sociopathically greedy.

Tim Cook laid it out for his investors: when people can repair their devices, they don't buy new ones. When people don't buy new devices, Apple doesn't sell them new devices. It's that's simple:

https://www.inverse.com/article/52189-tim-cook-says-apple-faces-2-key-problems-in-surprising-shareholder-letter

So Apple does everything it can to monopolize repair. Not just because this lets the company gouge you on routine service, but because it lets them decide when your phone is beyond repair, so they can offer you a trade-in, ensuring both that you buy a new device and that the device you buy is another Apple.

There are so many tactics Apple gets to use to sabotage repair. For example, Apple engraves microscopic Apple logos on the subassemblies in its devices. This allows the company to enlist US Customs to seize and destroy refurbished parts that are harvested from dead phones by workers in the Pacific Rim:

https://repair.eu/news/apple-uses-trademark-law-to-strengthen-its-monopoly-on-repair/

Of course, the easiest way to prevent harvested components from entering the parts stream is to destroy as many old devices as possible. That's why Apple's so-called "recycling" program shreds any devices you turn over to them. When you trade in your old iPhone at an Apple Store, it is converted into immortal e-waste (no other major recycling program does this). The logic is straightforward: no parts, no repairs:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Shredding parts and cooking up bogus trademark claims is just for starters, though. For Apple, the true anti-repair innovation comes from the most pernicious US tech law: Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

DMCA 1201 is an "anti-circumvention" law. It bans the distribution of any tool that bypasses "an effective means of access control." That's all very abstract, but here's what it means: if a manufacturer sticks some Digital Rights Management (DRM) in its device, then anything you want to do that involves removing that DRM is now illegal – even if the thing itself is perfectly legal.

When Congress passed this stupid law in 1998, it had a very limited blast radius. Computers were still pretty expensive and DRM use was limited to a few narrow categories. In 1998, DMCA 1201 was mostly used to prevent you from de-regionalizing your DVD player to watch discs that had been released overseas but not in your own country.

But as we warned back then, computers were only going to get smaller and cheaper, and eventually, it would only cost manufacturers pennies to wrap their products – or even subassemblies in their products – in DRM. Congress was putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I, and it was bound to go off in Act III.

Welcome to Act III.

Today, it costs about a quarter to add a system-on-a-chip to even the tiniest parts. These SOCs can run DRM. Here's how that DRM works: when you put a new part in a device, the SOC and the device's main controller communicate with one another. They perform a cryptographic protocol: the part says, "Here's my serial number," and then the main controller prompts the user to enter a manufacturer-supplied secret code, and the master controller sends a signed version of this to the part, and the part and the system then recognize each other.

This process has many names, but because it was first used in the automotive sector, it's widely known as VIN-Locking (VIN stands for "vehicle identification number," the unique number given to every car by its manufacturer). VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer's own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer's rep keys in the unlock code:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

VIN locking is everywhere. It's how John Deere stops farmers from fixing their own tractors – something farmers have done literally since tractors were invented:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

It's in ventilators. Like mobile phones, ventilators are a grotesquely monopolized sector, controlled by a single company Medtronic, whose biggest claim to fame is effecting the world's largest tax inversion in order to manufacture the appearance that it is an Irish company and therefore largely untaxable. Medtronic used the resulting windfall to gobble up most of its competitors.

During lockdown, as hospitals scrambled to keep their desperately needed supply of ventilators running, Medtronic's VIN-locking became a lethal impediment. Med-techs who used donor parts from one ventilator to keep another running – say, transplanting a screen – couldn't get the device to recognize the part because all the world's civilian aircraft were grounded, meaning Medtronic's technicians couldn't swan into their hospitals to type in the unlock code and charge them hundreds of dollars.

The saving grace was an anonymous, former Medtronic repair tech, who built pirate boxes to generate unlock codes, using any housing they could lay hands on to use as a case: guitar pedals, clock radios, etc. This tech shipped these gadgets around the world, observing strict anonymity, because Article 6 of the EUCD also bans circumvention:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again

Of course, Apple is a huge fan of VIN-locking. In phones, VIN-locking is usually called "serializing" or "parts-pairing," but it's the same thing: a tiny subassembly gets its own microcontroller whose sole purpose is to prevent independent repair technicians from fixing your gadget. Parts-pairing lets Apple block repairs even when the technician uses new, Apple parts – but it also lets Apple block refurb parts and third party parts.

For many years, Apple was the senior partner and leading voice in blocking state Right to Repair bills, which it killed by the dozen, leading a coalition of monopolists, from Wahl (who boobytrap their hair-clippers with springs that cause their heads irreversibly decompose if you try to sharpen them at home) to John Deere (who reinvented tenant farming by making farmers tenants of their tractors, rather than their land).

But Apple's opposition to repair eventually became a problem for the company. It's bad optics, and both Apple customers and Apple employees are volubly displeased with the company's ecocidal conduct. But of course, Apple's management and shareholders hate repair and want to block it as much as possible.

But Apple knows how to Think Differently. It came up with a way to eat its cake and have it, too. The company embarked on a program of visibly support right to repair, while working behind the scenes to sabotage it.

Last year, Apple announced a repair program. It was hilarious. If you wanted to swap your phone's battery, all you had to do was let Apple put a $1200 hold on your credit card, and then wait while the company shipped you 80 pounds' worth of specialized tools, packed in two special Pelican cases:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Then, you swapped your battery, but you weren't done! After your battery was installed, you had to conference in an authorized Apple tech who would tell you what code to type into a laptop you tethered to the phone in order to pair it with your phone. Then all you had to do was lug those two 40-pound Pelican cases to a shipping depot and wait for Apple to take the hold off your card (less the $120 in parts and fees).

By contrast, independent repair outfits like iFixit will sell you all the tools you need to do your own battery swap – including the battery! for $32. The whole kit fits in a padded envelope:

https://www.ifixit.com/products/iphone-x-replacement-battery

But while Apple was able to make a showy announcement of its repair program and then hide the malicious compliance inside those giant Pelican cases, sabotaging right to repair legislation is a lot harder.

Not that they didn't try. When New York State passed the first general electronics right-to-repair bill in the country, someone convinced New York Governor Kathy Hochul to neuter it with last-minute modifications:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/weakened-right-to-repair-bill-is-signed-into-law-by-new-yorks-governor/

But that kind of trick only works once. When California's right to repair bill was introduced, it was clear that it was gonna pass. Rather than get run over by that train, Apple got on board, supporting the legislation, which passed unanimously:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/79902/apples-u-turn-tech-giant-finally-backs-repair-in-california

But Apple got the last laugh. Because while California's bill contains many useful clauses for the independent repair shops that keep your gadgets out of a landfill, it's a state law, and DMCA 1201 is federal. A state law can't simply legalize the conduct federal law prohibits. California's right to repair bill is a banger, but it has a weak spot: parts-pairing, the scourge of repair techs:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/69320/how-parts-pairing-kills-independent-repair

Every generation of Apple devices does more parts-pairing than the previous one, and the current models are so infested with paired parts as to be effectively unrepairable, except by Apple. It's so bad that iFixit has dropped its repairability score for the iPhone 14 from a 7 ("recommend") to a 4 (do not recommend):

https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropping-the-iphones-repairability-score-en

Parts-pairing is bullshit, and Apple are scum for using it, but they're hardly unique. Parts-pairing is at the core of the fuckery of inkjet printer companies, who use it to fence out third-party ink, so they can charge $9,600/gallon for ink that pennies to make:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Parts-pairing is also rampant in powered wheelchairs, a heavily monopolized sector whose predatory conduct is jaw-droppingly depraved:

https://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usp/stranded

But if turning phones into e-waste to eke out another billion-dollar stock buyback is indefensible, stranding people with disabilities for months at a time while they await repairs is so obviously wicked that the conscience recoils. That's why it was so great when Colorado passed the nation's first wheelchair right to repair bill last year:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair

California actually just passed two right to repair bills; the other one was SB-271, which mirrors Colorado's HB22-1031:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB271

This is big! It's momentum! It's a start!

But it can't be the end. When Bill Clinton signed DMCA 1201 into law 25 years ago, he loaded a gun and put it on the nation's mantlepiece and now it's Act III and we're all getting sprayed with bullets. Everything from ovens to insulin pumps, thermostats to lightbulbs, has used DMCA 1201 to limit repair, modification and improvement.

Congress needs to rid us of this scourge, to let us bring back all the benefits of interoperability. I explain how this all came to be – and what we should do about it – in my new Verso Books title, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

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

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

Image: Mitch Barrie (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daytona_Skeleton_AR-15_completed_rifle_%2817551907724%29.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

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kambanji (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kambanji/4135216486/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Rawpixel (modified) https://www.rawpixel.com/image/12438797/png-white-background

[felassan]

Game Informer:

"Cover Reveal – Dragon Age: The Veilguard by Wesley LeBlanc on Jun 09, 2024 at 02:00 PM This month, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (you read that right – Dreadwolf is no more) graces the cover of Game Informer. After years developing Baldur's Gate and its sequel early in its history, BioWare struck out to create its own fantasy RPG. That series began with Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. It was followed up with Dragon Age II in 2011, and then Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014. While the Dragon Age series' history has its ups and downs, fans have been patiently waiting for BioWare to return to the franchise, and 2024 is finally the year.  We visited BioWare's Edmonton, Canada, office for an exclusive look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including a look at its character creator, its prologue and opening missions, and more. We also spoke to many of the game's leads about the name change, the series' shift to real-time action combat, the various companions (and the relationships you can forge with them), and The Veilguard's hub location. You can learn about the titular Veilguard, Solas' role in the game, and so much more in our 12-page cover story for Dragon Age: The Veilguard."

"But there are plenty of other excellent reads within this issue of Game Informer! Some of us flew to Los Angeles, California, to attend Summer Game Fest and the not-E3 weekend's various other events to check out new games, interview developers, and more. Our previews section is jam-packed with new details about upcoming releases we can't wait for.  Brian Shea flew to Warsaw, Poland, to check out two upcoming releases – Frostpunk 2 and The Alters – and he came away excited about both. Jon Woodey went hands-on with Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming Dawntrail expansion (and spoke to director Naoki Yoshida, too), and as someone with 8,000 hours in the game, his words are the ones you'll want to read.  On the freelance front, Charlie Wacholz writes about how last year's Dave The Diver is one of the best game representations of the rewards and struggles of working in the food and beverage industry, and Grant Stoner spoke with Sony and Microsoft about the development of process and history of the companies' Adaptive and Access controllers. And for a lil' terror this summer, Ashley Bardhan spoke to several horror game developers about why the alluring town known as Silent Hill is a crucial location to Konami's horror masterpiece.  As always, you'll find an editor's note from editor-in-chief Matt Miller, reviews from various freelancers and staff editors, a Top 5 list (hint hint: dragons), and more. Here's a closer look at the cover:"

"Not a print subscriber yet but want this issue? Well, you're in luck! Subscribing today – or within the next few days – will net you a print copy of this issue! You can join the ranks of the Game Informer print subscribers through our new standalone print subscription! Just head here to sign up for either one or two years at a fraction of the cost of buying the issues individually! You can even gift a print subscription to your favorite gamer! SUBSCRIBE TO THE PRINT MAGAZINE You can also try to nab a Game Informer Gold version of the issue. Limited to a numbered print run per issue, this premium version of Game Informer isn't available for sale. To learn about places where you might be able to get a copy, check out our official Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, BlueSky, and Threads accounts and stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks. Click here to read more about Game Informer Gold. Print subscribers can expect their issues to arrive in the coming weeks. The digital edition launches June 18 for PC/Mac, iOS, and Google Play. Individual print copies will be available for purchase in the coming weeks at GameStop."

[source] <- they explain at the link how to read this issue.

aaah they have had a look at the character creator!!! I can't wait for this coverage.

[saywhat-politics]

"Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades... Will pay any amount."

A West Coast-based real estate mogul and Elon Musk fan named Keith Wasserman triggered a tidal wave of schadenfreude on social media after begging for "private firefighters" to come "protect our home" in the city as it's menaced by raging wildfires.

Los Angeles has been battling with several out-of-control fires this week, prompting evacuations. Well over a thousand structures have burned down already, and fires are expected to grow due to growing winds.

In a Wednesday tweet, Wasserman begged for help, asking if anybody had "access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades."

"Need to act fast here," he wrote. "All neighbors houses burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you."

[redfish-blu]

What The Fuck is BL/ind?: An entirely too in-depth explanation.

If you’re like me and the question of how BL/ind could even work has plagued you for years (because seriously, how?), then look no further. I present an arguably feasible proposal as to how one could perhaps take over the state of California and set up a functioning evil corporate dictatorship.

So: Danger Days is set in an alternate history/timeline of the United States, which isn’t actually the U.S anymore. I don’t even think it has a canon name. I call it the “Better Living Corporatocracy” (or corpocracy) because that’s objectively what the government structure is. It’s a state whose economic, judicial, and political system is controlled by corporate interests. I doubt this is what BLi would be calling their own operation. They’d probably call it something corny like Better Living State or something; but I digress.

In this alternate timeline, the only known nation state currently in operation is the BLi corpocracy. All other countries have disappeared from existence as far as anyone living in the former U.S knows. Working strictly within canon, the state of California has been annexed and is now an independent country governed by BLi with its main headquarters located in Los Angeles—now Battery City.

We have next to no information on when BLi’s complete isolation of California happened, but I believe it was sometime around 2012, due to a claim on the Better Living website that BLi “have been dedicated to a clean and structured lifestyle since the great fires of 2012…” (betterlivingindustries.com, accessible through the Wayback Machine). Presumably, there was some kind of massive civil unrest preceding this that had to do with the Helium and (at least the first) Analog wars.

Whatever happened, Better Living Industries is now ostensibly running an entirely self-sustaining country, which sees no economic interaction with any other nation due to unconfirmed yet possible isolationist policies and the purported total collapse of foreign societies. This means that BLi has to compensate for trade, exports, imports, labor, manufacturing, education, defense, etc. out of their own pocket with the resources already available to them at the time of their rise to power.

To their credit, BLi probably picked the best state to attempt this with. California’s population (roughly adjusted for time period accuracy) is 37 million, it’s the most populated state in the U.S. It also has the largest sub-national economy in the world and would rank number 4 internationally if it were its own country. It has a huge tech industry and an agricultural sector with one of the highest outputs on Earth, in addition to tourism, government, and public services, and energy sectors that are nothing to scoff at.

Admittedly not a bad jumping off point, but the abrupt switch to complete isolationism changes some things. Say goodbye to tourism, travel employment, imported goods, exported goods, and probably most of the government and public services. This means BLi would have to completely replace all of these sectors with internal alternatives. Luckily for them, California has a large manufacturing base that is highly specialized and includes electronics, food, clothing, transportation, metals, and biotechnology. So they have the resources available to sustain at least something on their own should all outside help disappear.

However, accounting for the major extended global crisis which resulted in at least three separate major conflicts, leading up to the complete dissolution of 100% of the world’s societies; we can safely assume that California took a large economic hit and experienced some kind of prolonged population decline or stagnation, so the quality of the aforementioned economy would not be up to scratch and neither would the remaining population. This would have to be compensated for as well in the restructuring of society in BLi’s image.

In keeping with the shift into an isolationist corporatocracy, BLi would likely implement an across the board policy of collectivization and industrialization. There would be no market competition with other entities, so that would mean they operate on a planned economy where supply, demand, and labor can be controlled by the state to fit their objectives without having to wait for capital to build up or rely on financing from outside the system (which doesn’t exist). The labor force would also probably be managed so that unemployment would be as low as humanly possible. I’d imagine encouraging people to have children would be a huge priority as well to try and recover the working population.

The trade-off, here, being that there would be absolutely no incentive structure aside from offering survival in a post apocalyptic scenario. I guess that would be enough for the first few years, but once people start dissenting, that whole structure goes out the window.

Which is where the propaganda machine against the Killjoys probably comes into play, giving people a reason to keep BLi around (protection, access to resources) along with the imperialist endeavor to expand out of Southern California and into the Zones by way of “cleansing,” which I’m pretty sure refers to both people and radiation, presumably so that BLi can attempt to colonize the rest of the former U.S and expand their industrial power.

Overall, 10/10 dystopian situation going on here. Would not recommend.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/place/California-state/California-since-c-1900.

https://globaledge.msu.edu/states/california/tradestats

[itspheenixbaby]

UA high in my mha dr

for much needed context on the city my dr is set in, read this post.

UA, or Ueyama Academy, was founded by businessman and pro hero Christian Ueyama in 1902. he was initially both experimenting on and training the first set of quirk users, but when quirks became a widespread phenomenon he opened UA as a school. since then, UA's have opened all around the world, some of the most iconic branches being tokyo, musutafu, new york city, los angeles, dubai, hong kong, cairo, london, lagos and paris.

years :

students finish their second to last year of high school, then transfer to UA.

studying at UA takes about four years

most students graduate at 18-19.

each year has two classes from each course.

both classes have twenty people in each.

campus :

ua is in the cities rural district, deep in the jungle.

ua has a shuttle straight to the building. its literally just a fancy school bus. you need a school card to access the bus.

ua has seven floors, the first floor is just regular compulsory classrooms, the library and the cafeteria, but the third floor and above is fully for specialized classes.

all five courses are in the dorms. ua isnt exactly a boarding school, but because of how intense the schedule and class work is most students decide to go into the dorms.

UA culture

theres some small/mid sized neighborhoods a couple miles from UA. students go there frequently because of the surfing culture, picturesque beaches and food.

the craziest shit happens at UA. think like greendale if they had money.

ua students are particularly impossible to control. which is why the student council, judiciary board and disciplinary committee are so essential.

after hours from 4:30pm to 9:30pm. students can train, practice and work on their personal projects at the school. because of the nature of UA, most students are present for after hours.

ua has an option sixth day of school for tutoring, practice and training. (pretty sure this is already normal in japan, but i dont think most ppl on tumblr are japanese so i felt like mentioning it)

rivalry between individual classes and whole courses. sometimes really intense prank wars.

events :

to end every semester we have a kick back on the school grounds. with live music (performed by the entertainment course), games and free food. plus a big ass cheese fountain (ib. hollywood arts)

culture day is held once a school year. its a half day, and during the school day everyone dresses up in their cultural uniforms. the second half of the day is a festival, with booths and events divided by nationality/ethnicity.

scavenger hunt around the campus after school. the items being hunted are made by the technology course and are often...colorful, so say the least.

a school wide fundraising event where staff and faculty auction items and services to other students, faculty, family, friends and strangers. most of the money goes to the school but participants get a fair cut of the value their item recieved.

four to five times in a semester every course has a day with no regular classes or no classes at all. just a day to develop whichever skill the student or their teachers think they need to work on in excruciating intensity. (and for hero course students hours of group physical exercise too. yay) marked as a test grade and heavily monitored.

in this universe musutafu celebrates carnaval, so UA students from every course can volunteer to help put together (and in some cases perform on) UA's carnaval floats. other than that, during canaval school is out.

the technology course has a tech fair every year. its not as mainstream as the sports festival but equally popular in its own field.

clubs :

most students are too busy after school doing course work/projects, and being at UA by itself looks good enough for a resume, so UA doesn't have much clubs.

student council (various class representatives and stellar students who represent the school internationally, plan events and solve school-wide issues)

ua newspaper. (relays announcements and shocking events. also spreads gossip and digs for controversy.)

disciplinary comitee. (disciplines misbehaving students, enforces rules & dress code.)

student judiciary board. (a council of students mediate fights and solve minor/major disputes. they also determine the form of detention a student gets. like a mini jury)

peer tutoring program. (teachers & students with high GPA tutor peers. tutoring students gets you extra credit)

extra funding committee. (finds ways to fund students personal projects unrelated to the school)

shut eye club (top secret club, actually deals in espionage and black market drug/ technology operations called in by other students and on occasion adults. centered around UA's interpolitics)

detention (not a club, but when students get detention they have to clean the entire school or waste their time on some other mundane task.)

uniform

UA is pretty lax on uniform regulations.

the standard uniform includes a short sleeve white button up top, and black bottoms.

depending on their course, students wear a different bow/tie color.

ua only allows accessories/ non black & white shoes matching course color.

courses

UA has five courses

no general course.

all courses are equally famed and competitive.

the daily schedule fluctuates from compulsory classes to specialized classes.

compulsory classes (japanese lit, social studies, arithmetics, etc.) are mixed course.

entertainment course / purple ties "the distractions"

generally obnoxious.

think of them as a mini hollywood arts.

trained to be idols, directors, actors and musicians.

pharmacy & healthcare course / blue ties "the fixers"

so stressed out.

patch up hero course students.

technology course / green ties "the helpers"

tech course students are annoyingly ambitious.

hardest to control.

assist hero course students.

practically live in their labs. never see the sun.

business & law course / yellow ties "the manipulators"

stereotyped as only caring about money (kinda true...)

think theyre better than the other courses.

heroics course / red ties "the stars"

stereotyped as entitled jocks.

most iconic course.

[dandssecurity]

Protect your property with advanced access control systems in Los Angeles and Glendale, CA. D & S Security also offers reliable alarm monitoring in Long Beach and LA.

[pineapplehazard]

9-1-1 - LA Becomes Human (DBH au)

(this is not a full-fledged story, just ideas)

Part 1 : The Buckleys

The Buckleys are the creators of Androids. Once the first androids they branded didn't look so much like humans but once they did, they decided the first human looking android should look like an adult version of their daughter Maddie. The male android was supposed to look like Daniel, but he got sick so they scrapped the idea.

Then as Maddie was fourteen, they lived away from everything, in a small Californian town, and Margaret was still very much affected by Daniel's death, so Philip created a child android looking like Daniel, except it came out with a 'printing default' over the left eye.

Even if the android was made for Margaret, she mostly ignores it and Maddie is the one interacting the most with him.

Maddie didn't like the idea of having a replacement for Daniel, so she gave him a new name : Evan (Based on his unique model EV400).

The android is programmed to act like a child, so she isn't surprised that he seems to seek her parents attention and looks sad when they don't give it to him, or when he seems interested by something new (like biking). She thinks it's part of the programs. But Evan starts to do things that can't be part of his programs, like voluntarily getting damaged, because he noticed Philip only really gives him attention when there's something to fix on him. Or he gets really mad at Maddie when he discovers they let him off during the football game he really wanted to see. And Maddie starts to wonder how much really is in his programs and how much is... new.

So at 16, Maddie starts to really learn about androids and their programmation in order to understand Evan.

Another thing about Evan, is that he doesn't know he's different from the rest of the Buckleys. Philip didn't connect him to internet (he only has access to books and to dvds) and the Buckleys (despite being their creators) do not own any other android in their house. So he thinks that they are just like him. Maddie realizes that when one day, he's looking at pictures of her on the wall and he asks when he will get his new body like she did.

Which is why, at 18, Maddie officially joins Cyberlife, to work on transferring Evan's memories and program in a new, teenage looking, body. There she meets and falls in live with Doug, a prodigy young programmer, who helps her (she's more of an engineer). Together they create Evan 2.0, even if Doug never directly interact with him.

Two years after that, Doug asks Maddie to marry him and to move in with him in Los Angeles and tired of being stuck with her parents, she accepts.

Maddie then slowly sees less and less of Evan as Doug becomes more controlling and violent.

While she is away, the situation deteriorates for Evan. Nothing works anymore to get his parents attention, when he breaks a part, he barely gets a sigh anymore. One day he decides to run away, but the second he meets civilisation, he's hit with the fact that there are android AND humans, and that a lot of humans do not like androids. He also realizes that he's different from the other androids he meets, they are always calm and don't seem to have emotions, whereas he's submerged by them.

With a distress call to Maddie, Evan learns more about their family and about the world. She affirms to him that he IS her brother and that nothing could change that. She also offers to build him a new, young adult body. It's stronger and is able to do more things than the previous ones. Soon after she transfers him, he leaves the states without giving her anymore news for a long time.

Maddie and Doug both get promoted in Cyberlife. When Maddie finally leaves him, she also decides to leave the company to be sure to not cross his path all the time. Instead she starts working in a small repair center in town.

At the same time, Evan travels across the United States. He took out his LED and since he's a unique model, no one can recognize him as an android because of his face. He has a cover story that he uses if he gets caught : he's a prototype police android who's undercover.

Once he got past his anger for the lies, Evan sends Maddie updates about his life and his new jobs or activities as he moves around the country.

Eventually, he settles once he meets Bobby, a recovering alcoholic, struggling with his grief, and who's a firefighter.

[zoeflake]

CALL IT BY ITS NAME: A COUP -and it's happening now.

An excerpt: "Here is a partial list of what is happening:

Elon Musk and a team of DOGE infiltrators have taken over the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by connecting non-government computer servers to the US personnel mainframe computers. They have reportedly seized private information about millions of federal employees. They have locked the senior managers of the OPM out of their agency’s computers. They have moved “sofa beds” into the OPM offices and put the offices into a “lockdown mode.” See Reuters, Exclusive: Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say.

The hostile takeover of OMP allowed Musk to send an unauthorized memo inviting millions of federal employees to resign in exchange for eight months of “non working paid employment.” [Two unions representing federal workers have filed a lawsuit challenging Trump's plan to reclassify and terminate hundreds of thousands of federal workers.]

Elon Musk and a team of DOGE infiltrators have attempted to seize control of the US Treasury payments system—the gateway through which ALL funds from the federal government flow. When a senior manager at the Treasury asked why Musk needed access to the highly sensitive system, the manager was immediately placed on leave. He chose to quit, instead. See The New Republic, Top Official to Quit as Musk Tries to Get Hands on Key Payment System

As of Friday evening, the Acting US Attorney for Washington, D.C., fired about 30 US Attorneys who prosecuted January 6 insurrectionists. See Politico, DOJ fires dozens of prosecutors who handled Jan. 6 cases. Think about that for a moment: The convicted felons who attacked the Capitol have been pardoned and the loyal servants of the Constitution who prosecuted them have been fired. That fact should outrage every American.

Also on Friday evening, the FBI told eight of its most senior leaders to resign or be fired on Monday. Those senior officials head divisions of the DOJ responsible for cybersecurity, national security, and criminal investigations. Senior FBI leaders ordered to retire, resign or be fired by Monday | CNN Politics

The FBI has fired dozens of agents who worked on investigations of January 6 insurrectionists and has asked for a list of every agent across the US who worked on the largest criminal investigation in the history of the FBI. That list will include hundreds—possibly thousands of FBI agents. The implication of the memo ordering the compilation of the list is that those agents may be fired. See Reuters, Trump's DOJ launches purge of Jan. 6 prosecutors, FBI agents.

Also on Friday, the FBI told the senior agents in charge of field offices in Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles to resign or be fired on Monday. Reuters.

Readers alerted me to postings on Facebook and elsewhere (that I cannot authenticate) claiming to be from current government employees describing an atmosphere of chaos and fear as DOGE infiltrators ominously demand lists of employees who are apparently “next” to be fired.

Dozens of government websites were taken offline on Friday, ostensibly to be scrubbed for references to diversity, gender, or human attributes that are not white, male, and Christian. The effort was brutish, clumsy, and ignorant. The Census Bureau website was offline as DOGE infiltrators attempted to remove references to the fact that America includes people who are not white male Christians. Websites relating to LGBTQ equality, women’s health, transgender issues, and scientific knowledge in general were taken down.

The Pentagon has advised NBC, NYT, NPR, and other mainstream media outlets that they would be “rotated out of the building (i.e., the Pentagon)” to make room for NYPost, Brietbart, and OANN. See @DefenseBaron.bsky.social.

And as all of the above is happening, Republicans in the Senate will vote to confirm a Director of National Intelligence with suspiciously warm views toward Putin and an FBI Director who published an “enemies list” that included dozens of politicians, journalists, military officers, and career government officials.

It is up to us to help spread the word."

[hometoursandotherstuff]

If only homes weren't so expensive today. This 1928, (reno'd in 1940), beauty couldn't even sell in Los Angeles, CA with a price reduction of $215K - it's out of control. 3bds, 3ba, $2.499M. This has happened before- if you buy when the market is high, when it goes back down and stabilizes again, you're stuck with a home that isn't worth what you paid.

The home has been upgraded, but still retains the 30s look.

Nice large living room. Even though beige is my least favorite color, I do like that it's not stark white.

Here's a nice feature- there's a little diagonal room off the living room, w/a book nook and bar.

Plus, this sun room for guests to wander into and gather.

There's a nice dining room that opens to the patio.

Love the pale green cabinets.

The primary bedroom is pretty large for an older home.

The en-suite has been remodeled, but what is this small high tub thing? A whirlpool bath, maybe?

The other 2 bds. are good sizes. One has access to the garden.

This bath has vintage fixtures and period style tile.

Two nice patios and a garden on a 5,223 sq ft lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2250-Bronson-Hill-Dr-Los-Angeles-CA-90068/20808206_zpid/

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ilana Berger at MMFA:

Right-wing media are trying to delegitimize climate change as a real and growing threat to the West Coast, just as that threat becomes most evident. Several unusual January wildfires have been burning in Los Angeles County since January 7. Despite the clear connection between global warming and the increasingly dry conditions that lead to fire hazards, right-wing media are following their familiar playbook and blaming what they call California’s “failed” policies for the ongoing crisis. 

Californians are struggling to control ongoing fires, as U.S. communities are ill-prepared for year-round extreme weather

The two largest fires, Palisades and Eaton, have collectively burned over 164,000 acres of Los Angeles County. Nearly 173,000 people are under evacuation warnings or orders in LA County, at least 25 people have died, and over 17,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. The Palisades fire was 19% contained and the Eaton fire was at 45% containment as of publication. [Los Angeles Times, 1/14/25; Cal Fire, accessed 1/15/25; ktla.com, 1/14/25; NBC Los Angeles, 1/14/25]  

Like in many other cities, LA’s municipal water system is not designed to handle multiple massive fires at once. Reports that the hydrants being used to put out the fires were running low spurred misinformation about water shortages due to a lack of reservoirs or related to California’s water policies that divert water from Northern California to Southern California. These rumors proved to be misleading: Even though there is enough water, there isn’t enough pressure to get water to go where firefights need it most. As the LAist has noted in the past, “Fire hydrants have also run dry in the case of other wildfires that spread to urban areas, including the 2017 Tubbs Fire, 2024’s Mountain Fire and 2023’s Maui wildfires.” [Media Matters, 1/10/25; The LAist, 1/9/25, 8/15/23]  

Forecasters were predicting more of the dry and intense Santa Ana winds that were fueling the fires. The winds, which typically occur during the colder months, are severely impeding efforts to contain the fires. NBC Los Angeles reported that “planes dumping water and retardant on impacted areas have been unable to take to the sky at times since the fires began because of the dangerous conditions presented by the winds.” On January 14 and 15, Los Angeles was expecting winds of up to 65 mph. As of January 14, the National Weather Service had declared red flag warnings, signaling “an increased risk of fire danger,” as well as  a “particularly dangerous situation” for parts of the area, which National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said is “one of the loudest ways that we can shout.” [National Weather Service, accessed 1/14/25, 1/14/25; NBC Los Angeles, 1/13/25; NPR, 1/8/25; Los Angeles Times, 1/13/25]  

U.S. communities and infrastructure are ill-prepared for the climate-fueled extreme weather events that are now happening year round. On X, CBS national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti posted, “American homes were built for an environment that no longer exists. This - like all of the disasters this century, from Florida to Hawaii - must be a call to action. This is the second time in one month Malibu was hit by fire.” Chad Hanson, a forest and fire ecologist and the president of the John Muir Project, told the Los Angeles Times, “The fact is that forest management is not stopping weather- and climate-driven fires.” Carlos Martín, an expert on housing adaptation and climate change, told Fast Company that cities are relying on the federal government because “the resources just aren’t there locally, and the damages are way more than anybody ever anticipated.” Martín said climate change mitigation and adaptation will be key in preparing for future disasters. “It’s like taking a pill to prevent the disease versus getting the disease treated afterwards. That’s the way we have to start thinking about these events: What we used to think of as individual crises [are now] chronic things,” he added. [Media Matters, 1/10/25; Twitter/X, 1/8/25; Los Angeles Times, 8/21/21; Fast Company, 1/11/25]

Right-wing media push the nonsense claim that climate change has nothing to do with the wildfires plaguing the LA area, despite ample evidence proving otherwise.