#gss training

[gss-training]

CompEx training at GSS Training focuses on providing essential training for working safely in explosive atmospheres. The courses cover installation, maintenance, and inspection of equipment in hazardous areas, ensuring compliance with industry standards. By completing CompEx training, participants gain the necessary knowledge and skills to work safely and effectively in potentially explosive environments. For more details, please visit the GSS Training website or contact their support team.

[ultram0th]

Sorry about the Delay in stories and the Silence!

Hey everyone!

I know that I was supposed to write a story for the GSS contest, and totally missed the deadline. My bad.

Unfortunately work has been crazy. I don't talk much about my job, but I'm having to attend some schools for it for the next month and a half; and since May, I've been doing hella training and distance learning for said schools. All of this is in addition to my current job duties.

My free time is nonexistent! Haha!

I will be back around September, hopefully with some story ideas and time to actually write them!

See you all then!

♡ UltraM0th

[whathorselegs]

Idk if this was obvious and it just didn't click for me, but I'm gonna talk about it anyways.

When I watched the anime, I never understood why the GSS aligned with The Sheep. Yes, they were both technically gangs, but one of them is a highly trained private security service gone rogue and the other is a group of scared kids with guns. It's not an alliance that makes much sense to me passed "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", meaning the Port Mafia. Which doesn't hold much strength to me, as they really don't seem any better equipped to take on the mafia after joining forces.

The Sheep were gaining a new source of protection. But the question I always had was what was the GSS gaining from The Sheep?

And I think after reading fifteen, I finally see what it is. It also makes the way The Sheep betrayed Chuuya make even more sense to me.

Because that's what the GSS supposedly gained, Chuuya's death.

Now this is just my interpretation of events, so bear with me. The obvious reason for The Sheep wanting Chuuya dead was because they thought he was joining the Port Mafia and thus betraying them. They knew they had no defence against Chuuya and you don't let a weapon like that fall into enemy hands, so you destroy it. There's also the personal grudge of having been- in their eyes- betrayed.

But now, I also think the GSS demanded Chuuya's death as part of their joining forces. After all, Chuuya had literally killed an entire squad and captain of their forces not long ago. That's an action that needs answering. Plus, the GSS need the security of knowing that The Sheep wouldn't just turn to Chuuya should he promise them shelter. They needed to secure The Sheep's loyalty.

So they demand Chuuya's death, they demand The Sheep are the one to do it. They get their revenge at no cost to themselves and ensure The Sheep's ties to their old leader are completely severed. They won't have to worry about descent in their ranks.

When Shirase says Chuuya can serve The Sheep one last time by dying, I think that's what he means. It also makes me wonder if that's why Shirase is specifically the one holding the knife, because he was the one closest to Chuuya.

He invited Chuuya into The Sheep, he was the one that fought for Chuuya's place there. In the arcade scene he says he's the one that's been pushing back against the rumours that Chuuya was a traitor. Shirase truly was Chuuya's first and last friend in The Sheep. Of course, he had to be his Judas too.

[bodybeyondstories]

Damage Control - 1

Olly and Amir start their new assignment as extension agents for the Center for Supernatural Sciences. Their first house call is for a couple who didn't realize their 'lifting and enhancing' underwear was very much literal, and the effects don't seem to be stopping.

original prompt

[ ball growth // dick growth ]

3905 words

Note: This idea is the confluence of a few things: wanting to bounce around more between sudden tf/growth ideas; wanting to dip back into the world of Just Ignore It, which you'll recognize from the opening scenes; and wanting to play around with tf writing ideas that are also ironic commentaries on the genre (a great example is Camp Friends on GSS). Also, you'll recognize Olly and Amir from a short prompt several months ago that I really enjoyed.

- - - - -

Olly grimaced as his muck boot squelched into an unexpectedly soft patch of earth.

“Did they have to send us to the middle of a swamp for our first assignment?” he complained. “Wasn't there supposed to be some onboarding process? An internship or something?”

“Be careful, this ecosystem is still recovering from a spacetime disturbance. Some spots might be shifting back to a previous state. It’s a–”

“Temporal ecotone, I skimmed the report.”

“Also, it’s a marsh with tree islands, if you want to be technical about it,” said Amir. “And all the associate agents are slammed with case loads, apparently. CSS just went through another round of budget cuts, they had to pull back on the training program.”

“What do you mean?” Olly's voice dripped with sarcasm. “I was thrilled to be the guinea pig for the innovative Co-Leadership Field Immersion Program.”

“There ya go!” exclaimed Amir, matching Olly's energy beat for beat. “We're officially Extension Agents for the Center for Supernatural Sciences.” He spread his arms wide, stepping dangerously close to the multicolored, iridescent sphere half buried in the humus.

“We're on damage control,” Olly quipped. “Fixing time holes and grabbing weird little orbs out of the muck.”

“It's better than a desk job,” Amir responded. He held up a thin translucent TemPad, surveying the area and lightly tapping the screen. The clearing formed a perfect circle around the sphere. Grasses, tree branches, and ephemeral flowers seemed to sway with the waves of green, purple, and gold linework flowing around its surface. “Besides, we're lucky to end up here after that beach incident. Which was your idea, by the way.”

“CSS deals with shit like that all the time,” Olly groaned. “That was experimental, on the ground training. Where else were we supposed to practice corporeal transformation magic?”

“We gave someone an ankle-length dick that ripped through his speedo.”

“Okay, well did he die?”

“He got a public indecency charge!”

“But we got that expunged because everyone ended up nude–” 

“Also our fault.”

“--so the legal team at CSS retroactively got a temporary nude beach permit. No harm no foul.”

“And the lifeguard we had to track down because his ass was inflating out of control?”

“Bubble butts are in. People love a dumpy.”

 “He was trapped in his car…”

“Okay,” Olly rolled his eyes. “True enough.”

“Not to mention we turned multiple people into 20 foot tall giants, one of whom proceeded to smash the life guard tower.” 

Olly sighed. He snapped on a pair of lavender gloves and bent down to pull the orb out of the muck. He gently brushed off some of the ground cover that had crept over it, giving it a hard yank when the ground cover fought back. “It was pretty hot though, right?”

Amir deadpanned a stare at his friend as he coaxed a semi-sentient vine into a small containment box. “It was,” he relented.

—

“I just mean there are cooler assignments than mysterious orb in a time swamp or novelty hat that causes fat asses,” said Olly, holding the door open for Amir.

“And we’ll work our way up,” said Amir. “But for now we’re on…damage control.”

The gas station convenience store was empty except for the cashier behind the counter. He gave a cheery wave, causing the wooden stool he was perched on to creak in complaint. Olly gave a cheerier wave back. 

“Howdy…Kes,” he said, reading the attendant’s nametag.

“Afternoon,” Kes responded. “You need a fill up?”

“No, just some snacks,” answered Amir.

“We were out in the Marshlands all day,” Olly added with a wink.

“By the looks of it, I imagine more for business than pleasure,” said Kes, gesturing to the university van parked out front.

“Tragically.” Olly rolled his eyes and mock fainted at the exhaustion of holding down a job.

 Kes chuckled, glancing around to pick out something the weary travelers might like. “Those cheese puffs are buy one get one. You won’t have to share.”

“These were recalled, weren’t they?” asked Amir, grabbing a bag of the neon orange exploded corn material.

“Technically they stopped production for some alleged…nonharmful cosmetic health impacts or whatever,” Kes shrugged, coming from behind the counter to chat it up with probably the afternoon’s only in-store visitors. “But we can still sell ‘em.”

“Then we’ll buy ‘em!” said Olly, grabbing two bags, eager to get back on the road.

“You sure?” asked Amir. “We could still look ar–”

He stopped short as Kes turned to head back to the counter and ring Olly up. Any consideration of the various kinds of health impacts of the snacks in that convenience store–recall or no–were launched out the window as Amir took notice of one of the juiciest bubble butts he had ever seen switching back and forth with the cashier’s spry walk across the store. Kes’s purple spandex shorts had a few deliberate aesthetic tears, yet his ass stretched the material to ridiculous proportions. Amir couldn’t imagine those bulbous buns fitting into any other kind of material.

“Amir!” said Olly, with the intonation that it was not the first, second, or third time he had tried to get his partner’s attention in the quiet store. “You sure you don’t want anything else?”

“Oh, uh, no, I’m good,” said Amir, visibly embarrassed.

“We finally out of those recalled cheesy poofs?” came a lighthearted voice from the back. “I hear they go straight to your hips.”

Kes rolled his eyes. “Then maybe you should try ‘em,” he called back. “That’s Zac, he’s allegedly in charge around here.”

“Only on paper,” said Zac, emerging from the storage room. Olly couldn’t help but notice that Zac didn’t quite reach the top of the doorframe but it felt like he stretched well beyond it, like an optical illusion being interpreted through some slightly higher dimension. He felt waves of some kind of temporal distortion that dissipated as soon as they appeared. He tried to remember offhand how to engage his Sight to do a closer scan, but was immediately distracted by the pipe snaking down Zac’s pant leg.

“Oh, sorry,” Zac chuckled, taking notice of the trouser snake threatening to flop out of his shorts. “These are an old pair…I guess.”

Olly made quick eye contact with Amir, who was also picking up on a mysterious ambient energy in the space. “You two haven’t heard about any…weird happenings around these parts have you?” Amir asked the pair.

“What, like Bigfoot here?” Kes quipped, pointing his thumb to his manager’s sandals. They looked massive, big enough that they had to have been special ordered. Yet his toes still noticeably extended past the edge.

“I, uh,” Amir laughed nervously, trying to refocus. He had managed to recall how to switch to his Sight, but it didn’t seem to work. “We’re extension agents with CSS,” he continued. He briefly removed his glasses, trying to surreptitiously squint between Zac and Kes. “Patching up that spacetime disturbance out in the Marshlands.” He put his glasses back on with a professional smile.

“Oh, that business,” said Zac. “Haven’t heard a peep from there in months, I don’t think.”

“All kinds of weird stuff happens out here,” Kes shrugged. “We’re used to it, I guess.”

“Maybe we could swap stories some time,” said Olly, not to Kes but to Zac, who he eyed with a mix of lust and analytical curiosity. Amir wondered if he was also having trouble switching on his Sight beyond the veil of energy in the convenience store.

“Maybe,” Kes answered, a smile flickering across his face. “But there must be all kinds of wackiness keeping you busy back in the city.”

Amir’s Sight may have been malfunctioning, but he definitely picked up on the dimensional subsonics in Kes’s voice, carrying with them the feeling of a slightly discordant tune. Before he could follow that question mark, Olly’s TemPad started emitted an insistent ding.

“Speak of the devil,” he said to Amir. “We got a situation back in town.”

—

“There was something…off in that gas station, don’t you think?”

“I guess, but there’s a lot of weird stuff out there,” Olly responded, as they pulled in front of a squat, brick apartment building in the city. “And in there, apparently.”

CSS had gotten a call through their hotline about a potential out of control transformation event and relayed the location to the duo. Details were scarce, but from the looks of things, the situation was still contained within the walls of this cozy apartment.

“I don’t know, I can’t get my mind off of it,” said Amir, as they climbed up the exterior stairs. “I tried to do a quick metaphysical scan, but something kept blocking me.”

“Maybe they had a ward against the Sight. You can just get those online these days. They have subscription services.”

“Yeah, but it was something else. Like I was being redirected, or like something was covering its tracks in real time or–”

“I think we’re here,” Olly interrupted.

“Unit…317?” Amir said, tapping on his TemPad to verify.

“...Definitely,” confirmed Olly, standing in front of the door. “You can tell by the–”

“Ughh!” Amir had a very sensitive nose, which, to his chagrin, came in handy fairly often in their line of work. But even someone with nasal passages sealed shut by a gnarly seasonal cold would get a good whiff of the telltale dank mixture of musk, sweat, and cum that was emanating several feet past the entrance to 317. “They should’ve warned us,” he groaned.

“We should’ve seen it coming,” Olly smirked. “They’re not exactly setting us up for success, are they?” He gave the door a few sharp raps to announce their presence.

“If it’s this bad, there might be a pheromonal component to whatever this incident is,” said Amir, eyes narrowing. “Gloves on, masks on.”

Olly was snapping his translucent lavender face mask over his ears as the door opened, releasing a wave of musk that threatened to bowl them over physically. On the other side of the threshold was a demure, slim man who looked to be in his mid twenties. He appeared to be on the tail end of a marathon of exhaustion and anxiety, managing a weak smile that said he had paused his nervous breakdown just to come greet his guests. Under a mop of curly hair, he was clad in nothing but a sleeveless crop top and a thong with a very oversized and even more so overstuffed pouch.

“Hi,” he smiled, relief breaking across his face. “You must be the emergency response, I’m–”

“Kyle, I assume?” said Olly. His eyes were laser focused on the strained pouch that bobbed between the man’s legs, themselves positioned wide just to accommodate the size of his package. Oblivious to the outstretched hand that he did not reciprocate, Olly kneeled down to eye level with his crotch. His bulge looked comical. One would assume he had stuffed a couple pairs of crew socks in a novelty pouch if not for the unmistakable shape of a sizable cockhead and an even more disproportionate set of balls threatening to spill out the sides. “Well, that’s not so bad, all things considered. We’ve seen much worse. By the sound of it, it seemed like–”

He was cut off by a low, rumbling groan from the next room. In the silence that followed, the three could hear a slow rhythm of squelching starting to build.

“Uh, I’m Gil, actually” the man muttered. “That’s Kyle,” he added, gesturing down the hall as his face flushed with foreboding. “Sounds like he’s getting started again.” He sighed, flexing his hands and rotating his wrists, as if in preparation for some dextrous task.

“Hi, Gil!” said Amir. In place of Olly, he shook Gil’s hand, still extended in the air. “I’m Amir and my enthusiastic friend here is Olly. We’re from CSS. How about you introduce us to Kyle?”

The smell only grew in intensity as Gil led them through the apartment, trying to explain the situation to the best of his ability. “We got this underwear as a joke, ya know? They were supposed to ‘lift and enhance’ or whatever…” Gil said. “And there are all these like, gay urban legends about them.” Amir hmm’ed along to confirm he was listening, while getting an eyeful of Gil’s perky, round posterior. “But we didn’t think they would do…this to us.” 

The sight in the bedroom at the back of the unit was hard to comprehend at first. The air was heavy with spunk, as were the sheets of their king size bed, soaked through with what looked like multiple layers of unending jizz, pooling and oozing across the hardwood floor. It was almost as if a Dionysian sex party of historic magnitude had just taken place in the cozy bedroom and the dozens and dozens of horny denizens had snuck out, leaving only Kyle splayed across the bed, still wriggling in pleasure among gallons of cum.

“Mmmmm heh behh,” he muttered, taking notice of Gil through half lidded eyes.

“Babe, your mouth is full,” said Gil. He gingerly sat on the side of the bed, cradling his partner’s sticky, matted head.

“...Oh,” mumbled Kyle, as if suddenly realizing that his jaw was overextended by the beer can thick two foot tube of flesh that began at his crotch and ended between his lips. “Hey babe,” he repeated, briefly and reluctantly removing his collarbone cock from his exhausted mouth. A river of precum continued to drool from his huge slit onto his chin. He lapped it up eagerly, one hand holding up the weight of his dick while the other caressed an ungodly set of balls. His sack looked heavy, soccer ball sized testes resting on the sheets, too massive to allow his legs to lay comfortably flat. “Did you bring some extra hands?” he asked, perking up at the sight of Olly and Amir, standing rapt in the doorway. “You always know how to help. I’m so pent up…it’s been so long since I’ve cum…like…”

“Around fifteen minutes,” said Gil, giving his partner a gentle kiss on the forehead. “They’re from CSS. Remember you called about our…emergency?”

“Oh right,” said Kyle. “Because of the…the briefs…right?”

“Mmhm! They’re gonna help us figure out what’s wrong.”

“What’s…wrong…” Kyle’s eyes drifted from Gil to Olly to Amir, who was frantically tapping notes into his TemPad as his partner stared in fascination. Finally they settled on the massive cockhead hovering just above his lips, its siren call becoming irresistible. “Wait, wait,” he said, with a moment of clarity through a fog of unrelenting lust. “What…happened…what’s happening to me??”

“We’re here to find out,” said Olly, approaching the bed with awe.

“What did we do?” Kyle wrestled his prodigious cock out of the way to get a better look at the wildly oversized cum factory churning away, radiating heat between his legs. “I…I’m a freak!”

“Oh, don’t say that! You look incredible, really.”

“Yeah, you can probably still walk for now, so that’s good,” said Amir from across the room, carefully inspecting the cum soaked underwear that had once fit Kyle’s gargantuan bait and tackle. “...Sorry,” he added, taking note of Olly’s death stare. “The question is why you’re having such a strong reaction. Have you consumed any unusual, magical, or elicit substances in the past 48 hours?”

“We’re not cops,” Olly added with a helpful smile.

“I don’t…know…” Kyle stammered. “I don’t think so?”

“Do you have any other pairs of these?” Amir asked, holding up the briefs.

“Just the ones I’m wearing,” said Gil.

“Hmm can I see the tag?”

Gil thought for a second, then shrugged and whipped off his thong. His own comically large member and orange sized balls flopped down between his legs, still dwarfed in comparison to Kyle’s behemoth. While relieved to be rid of the constricting pouch, he was suddenly all the more self-conscious to have his embarrassingly large junk on display to the two extension agents. “Hope you don’t mind,” he said. “They’re kind of the only thing that…fits, right now.”

“It’s so…big,” Kyle muttered, not at his partner but with eyes wide in terror at a pair of nuts that had already left soccer balls behind. “So full…please, you have to help. I think it’s…starting.” He moaned, head rolling back onto his shoulders as his balls churned and swelled, taking up more and more space on the ruined bed.

“Shit, it’s happening again,” said Gil. “We have to get him off before they get too big.”

“This isn’t already too big?” Olly asked, his eyes alight with glee.

“We’ve seen much worse.” Gil climbed on top of his partner and began stroking the length of Kyle’s shaft with both hands. “God, you’re massive,” he muttered.

“Mmhm?” Kyle purred. His dick sprung to attention, sending globs of precum through the air. It twitched with every heartbeat, huge vein pulsing along the ridge. 

“So fucking huge,” Gil reiterated. He reached around to massage Kyle’s balls as they inexorably inflated, coming to rival watermelons attached to his crotch. He gave them a hard squeeze, eliciting a gasp of pleasure. Kyle’s entire body tensed, his dick spurting more pre from the neverending well of his sack. Gil’s hands were pushed apart as Kyle’s dick swelled even further, his face a contortion of pleasure and pain.

“Wait, I…I can’t…” Kyle looked up in dismay as the head of his dick reached eye level and continued beyond, now out of reach of his eagerly waiting lips.

“You’re gonna make me work for it, huh?” Gil mocked. He climbed onto his lover, parked his bubble butt on top of Kyle’s face, and proceeded to lap up the faucet of precum before trying to fit the glans into his mouth. They both ate gleefully, Kyle moaning between Gil’s perfect cheeks and stroking the length of his footlong.

“I think I’ve got it!” Amir declared, barely garnering Olly’s attention. “There’s a sigil stitched into the waistband, which, from the looks of it, is supposed to cause the lifting and enhancing, but only enough to fill the pouch.”

“...Okay,” said Olly, reluctantly remembering he was at work. “But…”

“But! Kyle’s pair has a break in the circle right here, probably due to a malfunction in the machine causing a float stitch. So reading the broken sigil, the spell should still cause expansion...”

“Well yeah we’ve got that,” said Olly.

“But enough to fill any…available…space…” Amir trailed off, looking with mounting concern at the ball sack that now covered most of the bed, complimented by the tower of cock that was forcing Gil to kneel rather than sit comfortably on his lover’s face. “Oh.”

“Much worse,” Gil reminded, urgently working to get his partner off before his bean bag chair nutsack threatened to crush them all against the walls.

“Okay!” said Olly. “Okay. We know the problem, and it’s an easy one because we’ve certainly dealt with plenty of sigils. We just remove it and destroy it, and we should be good. Right?”

“Sort of…” said Amir.

“Sort of??” asked Olly.

“Saht uh?” mumbled Kyle.

“The growth would stop, but I don’t know if it would…reverse…”

“Isn’t that…like…your entire job?” Gil asked.

“Well shrinking is admittedly not our forte,” Amir offered.

“We’re new,” added Olly, with an upbeat smile.

“But I have a theory!” exclaimed Amir.

“We’ve got a plan!” Olly reassured.

“If we get Gil’s pair onto Kyle and then get him to cum, it might reset the spell, bringing Kyle back to a manageable size.”

Kyle and Gil exchanged a lengthy look, then reluctantly paused their fornication to put this new plan into action. It took all four of them to hoist Kyle’s monstrous sack over the edge of the bed.  It settled on the floor with a thud, his feet still dangling on either side. He could practically use it as his personal fleshy couch, which was quickly becoming a reality with the rate of expansion. 

Getting the briefs over his feet and up most of his legs was the easy part. Olly grabbed his hands and guided him into a standing position, narrowly avoiding being taken out by the baseball bat schlong that swung wide under its own momentum.

“Okay, I think if we just get the pouch under his balls and the waistband all the way up, the spell should acti…vate…” Amir trailed off at the sight of the latest complication, and his biggest weakness. As he should’ve realized when he met Gil, the ‘lifting and enhancing’ didn’t just apply to genitals. As Kyle stood up, he was followed by a pair of ass cheeks that were two jiggly globes of unbelievable proportions comically ballooning from his lower back. “I, uh…”

“It’s not that bad, is it?” asked Kyle, trying to turn around to see the hemispheres hovering behind him.

“It’s…much worse,” Amir muttered.

“Hey!” snapped Olly. “Focus! We’re almost there.”

They struggled to pull the waistband over Kyle’s mountainous cheeks. Amir didn’t want to think about what would happen if they snapped and the sigil broke mid-spell, but as Kyle’s ass wobbled and shook with increasing mass, Amir was losing any ability to think at all.

Gil kept Kyle occupied by slowly ministrating on his cock head. He knew just how to slow his partner down and prolong his pleasure, even if he was wrestling over a yardstick of dong. 

When the waistband fell into place with a loud snap, the energy in the room shifted. Kyle’s balls tensed up in anticipation of orgasmic release, his legs struggling to remain upright. With one final, monumental pulse, his dick lurched forward, giving a wet, heavy slap to Gil’s cheek and knocking him to the floor.

“Oh fuck,” whispered Kyle through ragged breaths. “Sorry, babe, I…I…”

The first jet of cum shot through the window and smacked into some unsuspecting neighbor’s windshield. The rest managed to stay inside, knocking pictures off the walls, plants off of shelves, and ruining any hope that Kyle and Gil may have had in getting their security deposit back. It went on for an eternity, Kyle howling in pleasure as Olly, Amir, and a very dazed Gil took cover behind a dresser, trying to avoid any head on exposure to the cum cannon shooting wildly around the room. Kyle lost himself in orgasmic bliss, his dick a furnace of firepower that he could scarcely control, his brain burning inside out as he shot rope after rope of unending jizz.

Finally, the torrent turned to a gush and the series of thuds against the walls turned to sporadic splats. When all was said and done, the others peeked out from behind the dresser to find Kyle passed out on the floor. An 8 inch softie hung out of his briefs, the pouch stuffed with a pair of nuts that more resembled mangoes than melons. His ass was still nothing short of colossal, not that Amir was complaining.

“Well,” said Gil, surveying the thick splatters of spunk that seemed to coat every available surface. “Thanks…I guess.”

“No problem!” Olly clapped him on the shoulder. His face became an image of regret at the squelching sound his hand made against Gil’s jizz-covered delt.

“And remember,” said Amir, “it’s always better to get handmade magical items. You never know what can go wrong with this mass produced stuff.”

Gil sighed at his sleeping partner. “I’m starting to figure that out.”

[knockyasocksoff2022]

Theory: Poe was the leader of Gelhart Security Services before his defeat to Ranpo and subsequent isolation.

(A/N: sorry if the grammar is terrible or the theory doesn’t make sense i just had this thought really suddenly and wanted to post it)

So I was reading the Dazai, Chuuya Age Fifteen Light Novel yesterday and something about GSS was mentioned that they didn’t mention in the anime (understandably).

Randou says on page 56: “Mn . . . Brr . . . The currently leader of GSS is a cold calculating skill user.They say he has close ties to the Guild, a top secret North American organisation.”

The book also says, on an earlier page (48) that the drill instructor is an actual soldiers so the members were highly trained fighters.

You may be thinking, “Wait, but that doesn’t sound like Poe-kun at all?”, but I think a lot of people forget he’s a trained sniper. The only question is: how?

The connection to the guild and trained fighters could be two people, either Poe or Twain. However, Twain is hardly cold and calculating, and Poe is the only guild member fluent in Japanese which could be from extensive studying of it because of his crush on I mean rivalry with Ranpo. Or it could be from time spent in Japan, after all he would have needed t communicate with Ranpo in order to challenge him. (And I don’t think Asagiri would give such a cool backstory to such a minor character, sorry Mark.)

It all makes sense. During 15!Arc, Poe would have been 20, and when he was 22 he met Ranpo to challenge him and was then defeated. It was never said where the challenge took place, but given Ranpo attachment to Fukuzawa and the agency as well as inaptitiude for travel (lack of navigation skills) I doubt he would have been in America for any reason, especially since the agency was so new. (It’s true that he could have flown there to accept a challenge that piqued his interested but let’s keep in mind that the agency salary isn’t that much and plane tickets as well as travel in general are expensive.) 

Another thing is that Ranpo is pretty unaware of things around him, even small things like how to use the train (I know I keep using that example, I’m sorry. It’s just the easiest one) So, I doubt he’d have knowledge of things going on abroad, much less knowledge of Poe to call him over to Japan for a challange.

If the challenge took place in Japan where the two just stumbled upon each other, the question is: Why is Poe in Japan in the first place?

I think that he ran away from his adopted home when he was a teen (assuming his early life follows irl Poe’s and his parents died/abandoned him) and went to Japan just to get as far away as he could. (Maybe he was offered a position in Order of The Clock Tower because his adopted parents and him lived in England for four years). He had connections to the Guild, but maybe wasn’t fully part of it yet, or maybe he wanted military experience before he joined an organisation like that (I can’t imagine why, because before the whole book thing it seemed like a country club for skill users.) 

But for whatever reason, Poe joined GSS as a legitimate security officer where he learnt to shoot. He was more healthy then (before his six-year isolation) and even learnt to fight a little, but was a far better marksman than fighter. 

The GSS men did crime jobs on the side for extra cash. Then the subsidies for GSS were cut off and they went full criminal. Somehow, maybe through a job or Poe volunteering the information, they figured out that Poe had a skill. He became important to the company.  And he’s smart so when it came time for a change in leadership they picked him, despite his young age, he has an ability and they respected that.

We’ve seen him be cold and calculating, especially when trying to trap people in his novels or scheme against Ranpo (at first, now he’s just a softie). He dedicated almost a decade to Ranpo’s defeat, so we see his determination and cunning (even if it’s no match for Ranpo’s deductive skills).

The GSS were pirates, nothing too complex and they had no big plans (like Fyodor’s mission to eradicate skill users), they just wanted to steal. So it makes send that someone who maybe isn’t a crazy genius brilliant strategist was leading them.

All in all it makes perfect sense that Poe led up the GSS for a bit.

After GSS’s defeat to Soukoku it probably disbanded, any members not part of that mission who left alive scattered, including Poe. After the fall of his organisation he was left wandering, and out of desperation or boredom he took Ranpo’s challange and after his defeat went, sulking, back to America where he officially joined the Guild, hoping Fitzgerald’s resources could help him defeat Ranpo once and for all.

[ryanfrogz]

Trains Down South, 10/23/24: The Score (part 3)

Okay, no more distractions. On to my actual goal.

This was my first target. GSSX 604 is an ALCo HH660 dating back to 1940. Right next to it is GSSX 9004, an ALCo S4 from '53, and hiding in the weeds behind that is a teeny tiny Plymouth switcher. All three were previously used at nearby Gopher State Scrap & Metal and gradually retired throughout the 2000s in favor of more modern locomotives which are easier to service. The scrapyard currently uses a SW-type diesel switcher.

9004 has a pretty funny story: after a fire in the cab, it was sold to GSS&M for scrap. Rather than cutting it up, they repaired the locomotive and used it for another decade until it got sidelined. This type of thing just doesn't happen anymore!

After my business in Mankato was over with, I drove west to New Ulm. My target here was NUQX 2004, an ALCo S2 which worked for the New Ulm Quartzite Quarry. Very little information on this locomotive is available online. It arrived there in 2004 and was used to load hoppers with ballast & rock for other uses until rail service was discontinued, maybe around 2010. The quarry is isolated from the national rail grid, only accessible via a historic swing bridge which is also out of service. I sent the quarry an email asking if they would let me in to get some ground-level pictures, but I haven't heard back. :(

When most people think of vintage locomotives in New Ulm, they think of the twin GP9s that served a defunct co-op on the edge of town. I visited them earlier in the summer, and that adventure will get its own post eventually. Since I was in the area, I couldn't just not stop by again. Both are being sold for the ludicrous price of $80,000: a locomotive like this in perfect condition averages about a third of that, but these have been sitting around for a while and need some work. There's a reason nobody's bought them yet...

I found this Kansas City Southern geep idling in the New Ulm yard while leaving town. KCS power seems rather out of place in south-central Minnesota, but it's not entirely unexpected after CP took them over. Right next the yard is a big, beautiful, antique grain elevator, and the golden hour sunlight made for some wonderful photography!

[dr-futbol-blog]

No Man's Land, Pt. 11

Sheppard, McKay, Ronon and Michael escape the hive in a wraith transport vessel presumably with Michael at the helm, and they evade fire sent out from the hive. Being that they are in a wraith vessel escaping from a hive and headed toward the Daedalus they are currently in the no man's land between the two ships, in danger of being shot by both of them. Sheppard had wanted to get in contact with the Daedalus as soon as possible and it seems as though McKay has been able to manage that, possibly having created the opposite of the patch that had allowed them to reroute their communications from Atlantis to the hive via the Daedalus previously. The Daedalus, however, is not expecting communications from the wraith and hence are suspicious of why one of their vessels is trying to hail them.

Kleinman: I have a contact, sir. A single wraith ship, possibly a transport. It just left the hive and is on a course for us. It's broadcasting a comm on our frequencies. Caldwell: What the hell do they want? Zelenka: Maybe they want to surrender. Caldwell: Not likely. Let's hear it.

Lorne, Zelenka and the rest of the crew of the Orion had joined the Daedalus because the wraith had managed to blow it up, the Ancient warship a very short joy for the Lanteans. Because Sheppard and McKay seemed to have repaired their relationship on the ship, it is of course concerning that they begin the season by blowing the ship up, and given what takes place later on in the season, there may be some symbolism in this. But more than anything it is about restoring the status quo, of making sure that the Lanteans do not become overpowered in the early part of the season. Currently Sheppard and McKay are on a smaller ship, a stealthier ship, one that is flying under the radar. They do not want to surrender, and they have no intention of giving up.

Sheppard: This is Colonel John Sheppard. Authentication code Alpha Seven Tango Three. Please respond. Caldwell: Open a channel.

This is pretty fascinating, as this is the third reference to Tango in the context of the NATO alphabet on the show. Sheppard's personal identification code seems to be A7T3. A7 is probably a part of a genuine code for base commander, A is for Air Force headquarters and 7 is for military education and training. The Tango Three, however, is curious because T has no meaning in the GSS. I had discussed the very well-known book ...And Tango Makes Three (2005) by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson previously, which was controversial and would have been a part of the popular discourse when the episode aired, and also during the previous season when the two other references to Tango had been made. One of the authors of the book, Richardson, had previously written the book Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (but Were Afraid They'd Ask) which, as we may recall, is lampooning the title of the same book that McKay had been lampooning when he made the reference to "Everything you ever wanted to know about wraith technology but were afraid to ask!" in the previous episode.

The ...And Tango book is about gay penguins who adopt a child together, based on a real life couple of gay penguins, celebrities of their time, from the New York Zoo that adopted a child together, which has no bearing on this particular scene apart from it being Sheppard's personal authentication code here. The endgame for Sheppard and McKay, which they never got to play out because they ran out of show too soon, was for them to adopt a child or children -- most likely the son that was given birth to by McKay and who was named after Sheppard which symbolically established McKay as the mother and Sheppard as the father of this particular child.

I want to emphasize that Teyla is a great character and the show would not have been what it is without her, so this has nothing to do with disliking the character whatsoever -- but purely based on narrative concerns, her character arc was largely finished when she finally got closure on Michael in The Prodigal (S05E14), and they had established already in the previous season in Quarantine (S04E13) that in the event that Teyla were to die, her son would be taken care of. He would have a family on Atlantis.

This is not wishful thinking on the part of the fans, this actual foreshadowing, this is a very obvious Chekov's Gun. They had been laying down the groundwork for Sheppard and McKay, the two of them in particular, the two men whose home was Atlantis and whose family were each other, both of whom had expressed wanting to have kids one day, when all is said and done to get to have that. With each other. Whether or not you think it necessitates a romantic relationship is up to you, but narratively that is where things were heading, and they had been heading there since the very early part of the first season.

And I will get back to why Sheppard makes this face later but his actual heart was breaking for the entirety of the fifth season so there is a reason for it. But the brief look that McKay gives him from the corner of his eye here, that is everything. This is to say that making Sheppard's personal authentication code Tango Three is not on accident, it is foreshadowing. These two grey-clad gay penguins were always going to have a child together.

So anyway, the thing is, it is not coincidental that they have been making pretty obvious references to this particular book because the book was doing the same thing that the show had intended to do, which was to influence the way that the general public views same-sex relationships, to make the general public more amenable and accepting of same-sex relationships. Due to their connections with the Air Force they were not able to maintext this narrative but they were still very much doing it, just like they had been doing it with Carter and O'Neill, albeit for less (or less acutely) political reasons.

There was an actual culture war raging during this time and trenches had been dug, sides were being taken. Educating and influencing the public to accept same-sex marriage and gay adoption had taken a lot of time and effort from countless of people, gay and straight, and ending DADT was very much a part of that project. To keep the show on the air they needed new viewers, they needed to bring in the viewers from SG-1 when the series would close at the end of this season, so they started the season off with a pretty woman smiling at Sheppard. But this is to show that they were not abandoning the core story of the show because that was always the story.

Caldwell: Colonel Sheppard. We'd written you off. Sheppard: Don't get all emotional on me now! Look, I've got McKay, Ronon and Michael aboard a wraith transport. Caldwell: Michael? Sheppard: Yes, sir. And he's got a plan I think you're gonna like. But it probably won't be long before they start shooting at us. Kleinman: Hive just opened fire on the transport, sir. Caldwell: Beam them directly to the bridge.

This is lampshaded by Caldwell making a reference to having written Sheppard off, which may also allude to viewers thinking that the show had written them off, had written off their relationship. They had given up hope that he might still be alive, they had very much thought that he had died and they had mourned him, even though Weir had decidedly told them that this was not the time for mourning, the time for mourning would come only if and when they averted this disaster.

Sheppard gives Caldwell a glib response about not getting emotional on him and that is on brand for him: use sarcasm to lessen the emotional impact of moments. However, even though he is not upset to hear that they had thought he was dead and he was not actually thinking that Caldwell was getting emotional on him, he is telling himself not to get emotional at the same time. We had seen him overwhelmed with a rush of emotion upon seeing McKay again, and he had likely been affected by their inability to show each other their feelings when they were not alone, both of them having to bottle up those emotions for later. We shortly get to hear what Sheppard sounds like when he is talking to McKay where other people cannot hear him, and he sounds very different to how he sounds when they are in a position to be overheard.

Note that now that Sheppard is not talking to an enemy and is talking to someone who knows how much McKay means to him so that he does not have to hide it from him, he mentions McKay's name first. He has McKay -- and the others. He also needed to mention McKay first because he wants to make sure that McKay is beamed to safety, that they know McKay is there with him because he knows that they too think that McKay is important.

Sheppard: Colonel. Caldwell: Colonel, you said something about a plan? Michael: I've disabled their jamming code, but it's only a matter of time before they realise. Sheppard: All you have to do is send over a nuke. Caldwell: We deployed all our warheads in the first attack. Kleinman: The hive is launching darts, sir.

The whole lot of them are beamed on the bridge of the Daedalus and we get a snapshot of how they had been in the cockpit of the transport vessel before being beamed, Sheppard quickly rounding to face Caldwell knowing that they are under a time element. Note the way McKay is standing behind Sheppard as they are beamed, drawing his hands back as they appear on the bridge.

Because Michael has his hand as though resting on the console it had been resting on previously but he is standing behind Sheppard and McKay where he had been facing the window previously, it means that they were not beamed in the exact same configuration as they had been, only that their bodies had been in these positions when they were beamed. This suggests that the receiving vessel decides where to dump the people it beams onboard, and we may recall the very odd position McKay had been as they were beamed aboard from the Aurora in Aurora (S02E09). McKay was looking up and had his hands up as though touching someone even though he and Sheppard appeared on the bridge standing next to each other. It is possible that Sheppard had now been standing behind McKay with McKay handling the comms in front of him which is where we had last seen them, or he was doing something else with his hands at the time. What is real curious is the way Sheppard turns around almost a full 360 degrees to face Caldwell, seeming to want to see McKay before anything else.

It seems as though Michael had accomplished what McKay had been trying to do previously with Hermiod which was to disable their jamming codes, and this tells us -- even though he has the home court advantage -- that Michael is a fairly intelligent being, even if we do not know whether he is exceptional for a wraith. He seems sincerely willing to help the humans out here to the point of destroying his own ship, the ship of his queen and probably his family to save his own bacon, which also tells us something about his will to keep living. But even though the plan is the same as what Sheppard had at the start of the previous season and which Caldwell had been about to execute back when McKay and Ronon had been onboard the ship at the end of the previous season, they are unable to carry it out because they had emptied their entire battery on the hive already. They had shot their load. It had been a good plan but they had to think of something else and quickly.

Caldwell: Open up those bays, all batteries! Cap that off!

They unload on the hive but take a few heavy hits themselves, and once more we see sparks and men flying all over the bridge as homage to Star Trek, because it would simply not be a space battle if sparks and men were not flying all over the place. What we may note is that Sheppard and McKay, although they do not speak a single word, seem to be working together and moving at the same time. They both first duck at the same time and then, as Sheppard climbs on the chair of the helm and seems to start steering the ship (and we may recall his alternate self in Before I Sleep (S01E15) having boasted that he can fly anything, so why not a space ship that probably resembles an ocean liner than any flightcraft he has flown previously -- his probable past as a test pilot facilitates this), McKay moves to fix something at the same time. It is as though they have a wordless accord that they both need to do something now to get them out of this mess and so they do. It is not the fact that both of them get to work that is unusual but the way they both know at the same time what they need to do as though one or both of them had been told to do this. And make no mistake: they are both trying to save the other, they are trying to save each other.

Caldwell: Report! Kleinman: The plan worked, sir. The concentrated fire on the bays created a number of secondary explosions. They've stopped firing. Sheppard: Nice work, Colonel. Caldwell: Fortunately a draw's a win for our side. Ship's status? Kleinman: Shields completely depleted, and we're venting atmosphere. Caldwell: Seal off all affected decks. Kleinman: Yes, sir, but that last blast took out our life support and the back-ups aren't responding. As of right now, we're shallow breathing. Dex: Meaning? McKay: Meaning that in a little under nine hours, we're all gonna suffocate.

They make it out of the frying pan but then find themselves in the fire, as the immediate problem of the hive firing on them is taken care of but they take enough fire to severely damage the ship and especially its life support, not able to scrub the existing air to remove carbon dioxide to prevent hypoxia -- which is something that McKay had done successfully when he had been on the bottom of the ocean in Grace Under Pressure (S02E14). McKay had been running diagnostics and he is able to tell them exactly how much air they have left, and both he and Sheppard seem to understand precisely how much trouble they are in.

We see McKay looking at Sheppard, exchange a glance with him as he is answering Ronon's question. Then we see Ronon looking at Sheppard, Caldwell looking at Sheppard and Sheppard looking at one of them from the corner of his eye -- it is difficult to say whom. But he then looks away, keeps his eyes fixed in the front window and we see him blink, which is something that we have seen Sheppard do only when he is very afraid and trying to keep it together. It is when he is near his breaking point that Sheppard blinks, and he seems to be there now. He had originally left the bridge of the Daedalus to go save McKay, and he had almost succeeded. But now it seemed like he had only brought him here to die. We see Sheppard snap his mouth shut which indicates that he immediately started conserving air because if they only had nine hours left, he wanted to stretch that out. He wanted McKay to have as much of his air as he could spare. He was not going to breathe any more than was absolutely necessary because he was damned if he was going to lose McKay now that he had only just found him again.

Continued in Pt. 12

[insectfem]

"German shepherds are bred to be violent and bite people but they're the good cop dogs so we ignore that" and I OOP-

No but this is so real lol. I remember reading about how Jewish people were traumatized by German shepherds used by the Nazis to attack them. But nobody's calling for the extermination of GSs 🙄

German Shephards are literally terrifying. they're way bigger than pits, and the GSs ive met were more violent and angry than the pits😭 also

3397 over a 32 year period is 106 bites a year. where as the sweet baby german shephards have 400 a year. hmmm. . . so one of these dogs is regularly bought as a protection dog, then neglected and improperly trained. and one actually is bred and trained to bite, clamp, and not let go, and has 4 times the attacks, and is used to terrorize black men . . . let's kill all of the first one!!

I don't want all pits to die. i don't want all german shephards to die. i don't want shih tzus to die even though they bite kids 1-3 more than any. i just want people to take care of the animals they get. that's the whole issue. people neglecting and not training their animals. and people leaving their kids with animals unmonitored. my childhood pit didn't maul my face off because my parents taught me how to treat an animal, and watched me when i didn't know. people be letting their kids poke dogs in the eye and grab their tail and get surprised when the dog doesn't like it. most of the anti pit articles go "children are just sooo curious." watch your kids. raise them properly. don't neglect your dog. no dog is naturally a "nanny dog" you gotta train your dog for babies too. you can't just expect a dog to like a random human you put in front of it. especially a loud human that's hitting and pulling and poking.

and at the end of the day . . . wanting an entire breed of dog to die is WEIRD. wanting innocent animals to die because of your dog racism is fucking weird. going "erm 13% and 50%" makes you sound racist too. yall are fuckin weirdooosssss

[disasterhag]

I usually am an adopt don't shop person when it comes to animals and am not a person who cares if they are purebred. But my cousin who is a breeder wanted someone in the family to take one of the last litter so he and his wife can see the offspring of their dogs grow up.

I was um encouraged to be that person. I have a well documented history of taking in animals that need homes but my husband asserted that with 3 cats and a dog, we had enough. Surprisingly, he came round to the idea.

I have never had a puppy. My dog, I got him when he was a year and a half. I've had kittens and knew how to train them but this is different, this is a puppy. You have to be quite intense with their training.

And while my dog has German Shepherd in him, he's mixed with some unknown. This will be a purebred GSD.

What I know from experience with Chief:

They're super smart and catch on quick to training.

Training is meant to be a positive experience but idk man GSs are like super into it more than others

S. H. E. D. D. I. N. G.

Protective of loved ones.

Baby proof your entire home.

Need to be given jobs or tasks because they are working dogs and like to contribute to the family.

They will make up their own. For example, when he decides it's about time for bed, he herds us all to bed. He runs after my husband and the mower 'helping'.

Puzzles are a must and you will be outsmarted

You will tire yourself out before this dog

Smell ALL THE THINGS

This is a warning to my mutuals that there will be gradually more and more puppy posts.

[gss-training]

The OPITO course at GSS Training focuses on providing essential safety and technical training for the oil and gas industry. This course covers a variety of topics, including offshore emergency response, safety procedures, and competency assurance. By completing an OPITO course at GSS Training, participants gain the skills and knowledge needed to enhance safety and performance in the oil and gas sector. For more details, visit the GSS Training website or contact their support team. https://www.gss-training.com/courselist/OPITO

[talloakhospitality]

Quarterly Operational Audits: A Roadmap for Talloak Hospitality

In the fast-paced world of hospitality, operational efficiency is the backbone of customer satisfaction and business success. With guest expectations constantly evolving and competition rising, it becomes imperative for hospitality businesses to stay on top of their game. One powerful tool that supports this goal is the quarterly operational audit. At Talloak Hospitality, one of the leading hospitality consultants in India, we help resorts, hotels, and other properties streamline their operations through rigorous, data-driven audits that reveal both strengths and growth opportunities.

This comprehensive blog explores the roadmap to effective quarterly operational audits and why they are indispensable for hospitality excellence.

What is a Quarterly Operational Audit?

A quarterly operational audit is a structured, periodic review of an organization’s key operations, carried out every three months. In the hospitality industry, these audits assess the efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance of all departments — from front desk and housekeeping to F&B (Food and Beverage), HR, and finance.

The primary goal is to measure performance, identify inefficiencies, and leverage findings for continuous improvement. For resorts and hotels in India aiming to deliver world-class guest experiences, these audits are more than just a best practice — they’re a strategic necessity.

Why Quarterly and Not Annually?

Unlike annual audits that often come too late to rectify issues within the year, quarterly audits offer the agility and real-time insights needed to stay competitive. Hospitality is a dynamic sector, and waiting a full year to evaluate operations can mean lost revenue, declining guest satisfaction, and operational blind spots.

At Talloak Hospitality, we encourage quarterly audits to:

Provide timely performance insights

Identify and resolve problems before they escalate

Promote a culture of accountability

Drive year-round operational excellence

Key Areas Covered in a Quarterly Operational Audit

As resort consultants in India with extensive experience in operational strategy, we recommend breaking down audits into department-specific modules. Here’s a look at what’s typically covered:

1. Front Office Operations

Guest check-in/check-out efficiency

Reservation accuracy and response time

Staff grooming, training, and professionalism

Guest feedback tracking

2. Housekeeping & Maintenance

Cleanliness standards and turnaround time

Linen management and room readiness

Inventory control of cleaning supplies

Preventive maintenance schedules and execution

3. Food & Beverage

Menu performance and item profitability

Food safety, hygiene, and storage

Service quality and guest satisfaction

Procurement and wastage control

4. Sales and Marketing

Revenue generation across segments

OTA (Online Travel Agency) and direct bookings analysis

Social media engagement and brand positioning

Campaign ROI measurement

5. Human Resources

Staff attrition rates and reasons

Training and development programs

Compliance with labor laws and internal policies

Employee engagement and productivity

6. Finance and Accounts

Budget vs. actual financial analysis

Cost control measures and leakages

Vendor payment cycles

Taxation and statutory compliance

Each of these departments contributes to the overall guest experience and business success, and operational audits ensure that every cog in the wheel runs smoothly.

Measuring Performance Across Departments

One of the central pillars of quarterly audits is performance measurement. For Talloak Hospitality, this isn’t just about numbers — it’s about aligning performance with the broader vision of service excellence.

We deploy KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for each department, such as:

Room Occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR)

Guest Satisfaction Score (GSS)

Employee Retention Rate

Table Turnover Rate in F&B

Housekeeping turnaround time per room

Marketing ROI per channel

Tracking these metrics quarterly allows for better forecasting, real-time correction, and more informed decision-making.

Using Audit Data to Make Improvements

Collecting data is just the first step. The real value lies in interpreting this data to make meaningful changes. Here’s how we at Talloak Hospitality guide resorts and hotels through this process:

1. Trend Analysis

Audit reports from previous quarters are compared to identify trends — whether positive or negative. For instance, a steady increase in linen costs could signal inefficiency or pilferage.

2. Root Cause Identification

If an issue is flagged (e.g., low guest satisfaction in F&B), we conduct root cause analysis — is it a training issue, quality issue, or service lag?

3. Strategic Recommendations

Based on findings, we offer actionable steps such as upgrading POS systems, revising SOPs, or revamping marketing strategies.

4. Training and Capacity Building

Where needed, we organize training workshops for staff — from soft skills to crisis management — to elevate standards across the board.

5. Follow-Up & Reevaluation

Post-correction, we schedule mini-audits or check-ins to see if implemented measures have yielded results, ensuring a feedback loop for continuous improvement.

The Talloak Advantage in Operational Auditing

As premier hospitality consultants in India, Talloak Hospitality brings a data-driven, practical, and people-oriented approach to quarterly audits. Our team includes former GMs, chefs, finance heads, and marketing strategists, giving us a 360-degree understanding of resort operations.

Here’s what sets us apart:

Customized audit frameworks

Deep industry benchmarking

Action-oriented reporting

Seamless implementation support

Emphasis on both guest satisfaction and profitability

Our clients — boutique resorts, eco-stays, wellness retreats, and urban hotels — rely on us not just for reporting but for sustainable operational growth.

Common Audit Challenges and How We Overcome Them

Resistance to Change

Many teams see audits as punitive. We focus on building a coaching culture, emphasizing learning and improvement over blame.

Data Inconsistency

Hotels often lack centralized data systems. We help implement or streamline PMS (Property Management Systems) to ensure accurate, real-time information flow.

Time Constraints

Operational heads are often busy. Our audit modules are designed to be time-efficient yet thorough, respecting your day-to-day needs.

Case Example: Resort Turnaround with Quarterly Audits

One of our client resorts in South India was experiencing inconsistent guest reviews and rising costs. Our quarterly audits over two cycles uncovered:

Food cost leakage due to poor inventory controls

Inconsistent room cleaning due to staff scheduling issues

Ineffective digital campaigns with low ROI

Post-audit, we helped:

Implement inventory software

Restructure housekeeping shifts

Optimize the digital marketing funnel

The result? A 17% rise in guest satisfaction, 12% improvement in cost-efficiency, and 24% increase in repeat bookings over six months.

Why Resorts Must Invest in Operational Audits

For hospitality brands looking to scale, standardize, or pivot, quarterly audits offer a roadmap grounded in reality. In today’s market, guesswork isn’t a strategy. Audits convert operational chaos into clarity.

Especially for resort operators in India, where seasonal demand, workforce fluctuation, and supply chain variations are common, regular audits create predictability and control.

Conclusion: Continuous Improvement Is the New Luxury

In the hospitality industry, guest expectations evolve faster than ever. Quarterly operational audits empower you to not only keep up but lead the curve.

By partnering with seasoned resort consultants in India like Talloak Hospitality, your property gains a dedicated lens into what’s working and what’s not — across departments, teams, and strategies. Whether you're running a boutique getaway or a large resort chain, this roadmap ensures your operations remain agile, accountable, and aligned with your brand promise.

Because in hospitality, excellence isn’t a one-time event — it’s a quarterly commitment.

[skyfallights]

Europe Advanced CO2 Sensor Market Size Accelerating Smart Air Quality Monitoring Across Industries

The Europe Advanced CO2 Sensor Market Size is undergoing significant transformation, driven by growing environmental awareness, stringent emission regulations, and the rapid adoption of smart building technologies. As air quality becomes a core component of public health and energy efficiency initiatives, CO2 sensors are increasingly deployed in HVAC systems, industrial automation, automotive environments, and urban infrastructure across Europe.

According to Market Size Research Future, the European advanced CO2 sensor Market Size is expected to reach USD 321.7 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.30% from 2023 to 2030. This growth is underpinned by strong regulatory frameworks such as the EU Green Deal, alongside accelerating demand for indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions across the commercial and residential sectors.

Market Size Overview

Advanced CO2 sensors are critical for real-time monitoring and control of indoor and outdoor carbon dioxide levels. These sensors help maintain optimal air quality, improve occupant health, and reduce energy consumption in buildings by controlling ventilation systems more precisely. In industrial settings, CO2 sensors support safety, process efficiency, and emission control.

With rising integration into smart devices and cloud-based building management systems, advanced CO2 sensors are at the forefront of Europe’s transition toward sustainable urban ecosystems and climate-conscious industrial operations.

Key Market Size Drivers

1. Stringent Environmental Regulations

European legislation, including directives on air quality and carbon neutrality, is mandating the deployment of monitoring systems in public and private infrastructure. Countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands are leading in compliance-driven adoption.

2. Smart Building and HVAC Integration

CO2 sensors play a pivotal role in energy-efficient HVAC systems. Demand is increasing in smart homes, office buildings, and educational institutions to optimize ventilation based on occupancy and CO2 levels.

3. Rising Health Awareness Post-COVID-19

The pandemic highlighted the importance of indoor air quality. CO2 levels are being used as a proxy for adequate ventilation, especially in classrooms, hospitals, and public buildings.

4. Automotive and Transportation Sector Adoption

CO2 sensors are being incorporated into electric vehicles (EVs), trains, and aircraft to monitor cabin air quality, ensuring a safer and more comfortable passenger experience.

Market Size Segmentation

By Sensor Type:

Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR)

Photoacoustic Sensors

Electrochemical Sensors

Others

By Application:

Industrial

Commercial

Residential

Healthcare

Transportation

Agriculture

By Country:

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Rest of Europe

Regional Insights

Germany

Germany dominates the European Market Size due to its leadership in industrial automation, smart buildings, and air quality standards. The government’s focus on environmental sustainability accelerates sensor adoption in commercial real estate and manufacturing.

France

France is advancing smart city initiatives, driving the deployment of CO2 sensors in public transport, urban monitoring systems, and energy-efficient housing projects.

United Kingdom

Post-Brexit, the UK has introduced independent climate goals and green construction codes, supporting strong demand for CO2 sensors across residential and commercial sectors.

Competitive Landscape

Leading manufacturers are focusing on compact, low-power, and high-sensitivity CO2 sensors with integrated connectivity (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN). Key players include:

Sensirion AG

Amphenol Advanced Sensors

Vaisala Oyj

Siemens AG

Honeywell International Inc.

Figaro Engineering Inc.

Senseair AB

GSS Ltd. (Gas Sensing Solutions)

These companies are leveraging partnerships with HVAC integrators, building automation firms, and OEMs to expand their reach in the European market.

Opportunities and Challenges

Opportunities:

Integration with IoT-based environmental monitoring systems

Use in green building certification programs (e.g., BREEAM, LEED)

CO2 sensing in agriculture for climate control in greenhouses

Expansion in smart city infrastructure

Challenges:

High cost of advanced sensor modules

Calibration complexities in varying environmental conditions

Data privacy concerns with cloud-connected sensor networks

Conclusion

The Europe Advanced CO2 Sensor Market Size is a cornerstone of the region’s shift toward sustainable, health-conscious, and digitally connected environments. From smart HVAC systems to emission-regulated industrial zones, the deployment of CO2 sensors enhances energy efficiency, health safety, and regulatory compliance.

As environmental and digital agendas converge, stakeholders who invest in innovative, integrated sensor technologies will shape the future of air quality management across Europe.

Trending Report Highlights

Explore more region-specific Market Size insights across sensors, displays, and memory technologies:

DRAM Market Size (Japan)

DRAM Market Size (Germany)

DRAM Market Size (France)

E-Paper Display Market Size (Japan)

E-Paper Display Market Size (Germany)

E-Paper Display Market Size (France)

People Counting System Market Size (Japan)

People Counting System Market Size (Germany)

People Counting System Market Size (France)

[ethanblogger]

Worried about taxes?  BDGA GSS  Accounting Services Make Sure You Are Compliant and Confident

It can feel like a rain cloud is coming as tax season comes around.  But don't worry!  When you have BDGA GSS  Accounting Services on your side, you can be sure that you will be ready for tax season.  Let's talk about how our services can help you feel safe instead of worried about taxes.

Understanding Tax Stress

What is the fear of taxes?

When you think about doing your taxes, you get that knot in your stomach.  The stress of getting it right can be too much for both people and businesses.  And let's be honest, no one wants to go through an audit!  But why does this happen?

The Fear of Not Knowing

It can be scary not knowing what will happen.  It's like looking down from the edge of a diving board into the deep end.  Will you sink or swim?  You won't just jump in with BDGA GSS ; there will be a lifeguard on duty!

Signs that you are worried about taxes

Sleepless Nights: Are you tossing and turning?  Yes, that's a sign!

Panic Attacks: Do you feel your heart race when you think about your taxes?  You're not the only one.

Avoidance:  Are you putting off doing your taxes like it's a root canal?  Completely normal.

Why should you choose BDGA GSS  for your accounting needs?

Our Group of Experts

We are proud at BDGA GSS  to have a team that knows everything there is to know about tax legislation.  We are like your personal tax GPS; we'll help you navigate the complicated world of tax laws so you don't make any mistakes.

Custom Solutions for Everyone

We offer personalised services that meet your specific needs, whether you're a freelancer or a business.  It's like having a suit made exactly for you; it fits better!  Our accountants will take the time to learn about your finances and design a plan that works for you.

No More Doubting Compliance

You can relax knowing that your taxes are in good hands with our specialists on your side.  We review every detail twice to make sure we are following the most recent tax laws.  You can take risks knowing that we are there for you, like a safety nett.

Pay attention to what matters.

Why spend hours worrying about paperwork when you can let the experts handle it?  We take care of the details so you can do what you do best.  It's like having an extra set of hands, except these hands are trained accountants!

What to Expect with BDGA GSS : The First Meeting

Let's talk!

We start our process with a polite conversation.  We want to learn more about you, your business, and your tax issues.  Think of it like a coffee date, but instead of talking about the current news, we'll speak about money!

Preparing Taxes: The Hard Work

We will start getting your taxes ready as soon as we get all the information.  We'll get all the paperwork we need, look over your finances, and make sure your tax return is correct.

Help that never ends

We're Here for You: Our team is here to help you even after tax season is finished.  If you have questions regarding your return or need help with next year's taxes, just give us a call.

The end

Don't let tax season get the best of you.

Tax time doesn't have to be stressful with BDGA GSS  Accounting Services.  Our team is committed to making sure you feel safe and follow the rules at all times.  So, why not jump in?  Let us help you get through tax season without any problems!

Don't be afraid of tax season.  You can do it like an expert with the correct help!

Written by BDGA GSS

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How Efficient Finance and Accounting Operations Drive Business Growth

Introduction

Finance and accounting operations are the backbone of any business, regardless of its size or industry. From managing payroll and tracking expenses to ensuring regulatory compliance, these processes directly influence a company’s ability to make sound decisions and scale efficiently.

Yet, many organizations—especially mid-sized and growing firms—find themselves overwhelmed by the increasing complexity of financial tasks. In this article, we examine how optimizing your finance and accounting operations can unlock significant growth potential and why outsourcing may be the most effective move for achieving sustainable success.

The Role of Finance in Strategic Decision-Making

In today’s fast-paced business world, finance isn’t just about crunching numbers. It plays a pivotal role in:

Budget forecasting

Cash flow management

Investment planning

Risk assessment

Profitability analysis

Accurate financial data empowers leadership teams to make timely and well-informed decisions. If your finance operations are fragmented or outdated, it becomes nearly impossible to access real-time insights, let alone stay competitive.

Why Accounting Operations Must Be Streamlined

Accounting operations include everything from bookkeeping and reconciliations to tax filings and audit preparation. When managed properly, they ensure that your business:

Stays compliant with regulatory standards

Maintains transparent records for investors and stakeholders

Avoids costly financial errors or penalties

But let’s face it—managing accounting operations in-house can be both time-consuming and error-prone. Manual processes, disconnected software systems, and limited staff bandwidth can lead to delays, inconsistencies, and even financial loss.

Common Pain Points in Finance & Accounting Operations

Here are some challenges most growing businesses face:

Scattered Financial Data Financial information stored across multiple spreadsheets or tools increases the risk of errors and makes reporting a nightmare.

Lack of Skilled Professionals Recruiting and retaining skilled accountants is costly, and training internal teams takes time that most businesses can’t spare.

Inefficient Processes Without automation, tasks like invoicing, reconciliation, or payroll processing take longer and drain valuable resources.

Compliance Risks Tax laws, audit standards, and local regulations are constantly evolving. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines and reputational damage.

The Case for Outsourcing Finance and Accounting Functions

Many businesses are now turning to outsourcing partners like BDGA GSS to manage their finance and accounting operations more efficiently. Here's why:

Cost Savings You avoid the overhead costs of hiring full-time staff or investing in expensive software infrastructure.

Access to Experts Partnering with specialists ensures that your books are handled by professionals who are up to date with the latest accounting standards and regulations.

Scalability As your business grows, your finance operations can scale with it, without the need for restructuring internal teams.

Focus on Core Business Freeing up internal resources allows your team to focus on strategic growth, innovation, and customer service rather than back-office tasks.

What to Look for in a Finance & Accounting Outsourcing Partner

If you're considering outsourcing, choose a partner that:

Offers end-to-end finance and accounting solutions

Has proven experience across industries and geographies

Maintains strict data security and confidentiality protocols

Provides customized reporting and real-time insights

Uses modern cloud-based tools and automation

BDGA GSS specializes in delivering seamless finance and accounting operations tailored to your business needs. Whether it's managing your general ledger or ensuring smooth payroll compliance, we become an extension of your internal team.

Future Trends in Finance & Accounting

As businesses move towards digital transformation, expect to see:

Increased automation with AI and machine learning handling repetitive tasks

Cloud-based accounting systems offering real-time access and collaboration

Data-driven decision-making powered by predictive analytics

Integrated financial dashboards for a consolidated view of performance metrics

Staying ahead of these trends requires agility and, often, expert guidance from external partners who live and breathe finance.

Conclusion

Robust finance and accounting operations are not a luxury—they are a necessity. Whether you're looking to reduce inefficiencies, improve financial accuracy, or enable faster decision-making, optimizing these functions is essential.Outsourcing to a trusted partner like BDGA GSS ensures your business gets the strategic financial support it needs to thrive in an increasingly competitive market. From compliance to clarity, we help you navigate the complexities of finance while keeping your business future-ready.

Blogged by: BDGAGSS

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GSS completes training of field officers ahead of quarterly Labour Force Survey - Nsemkeka

GSS completes training of field officers ahead of quarterly Labour Force Survey – Nsemkeka The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has completed a national training programme for 40 field teams ahead of the start of data collection for the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). The QLFS is a new survey that will provide regular data on employment, multidimensional poverty, and food insecurity in…