#however I am not allowed to post any pictures of finds or excavations on the internet as per the digging permits. so you will have to

[tunathena]

First day of archaeology and I found some sherds!! However I did also immediately get sunburnt. Some other people were digging out an area of plants and stones and found a whole load of turnip-looking things also. And of course there were butterflies and other insects all over which was pretty cool. There was also a fair bit of goat pop on the site despite there being a fence to keep the goats out….. hm.

Anyway then I got highly sugary iced cappuccino which was surprisingly nice (I don’t normally like coffee) and I am going to have food soon (PLEASE I am so hungry. I need to figure out whether people are going out or I need to cook)

[stuckonlevelone]

Long Post: A Look Back At...

I absolutely love Mega Man. Out of the countless games that I've played, the Mega Man series has without a doubt contained some of my favorites.

Unlike many other popular franchises, Mega Man has seen several variations of himself over the years. There's been Classic, X, Star Force, Battle Network, Legends, and Zero. These versions of the Blue Bomber have all allowed Capcom to experiment with different art styles, stories, and gameplay elements.

However, despite these different Mega Men, the core gameplay remained relatively the same. Challenging 2D side scrollers that ultimately lead to a boss that will grant you with a new power.

Now, that's fine. As I said, I love the Mega Man games and am always looking for great side scrollers to play. Mega Man 11 was a wonderful return to the core series. It modernized and expanded both it's gameplay and graphics to make it accessable to new generations of fans.

But, one of these spinoffs has always stuck out more to me than the rest. One of these truly deserves a second chance at life: 

Mega Man Legends.

The Legends series (consisting of 2 games) broke the mold of Mega Man in every sense. No longer was he traversing a 2 dimensional plane. The Blue Bomber was now blasting enemies away and kicking cans (y'all can't tell me you didn't spend a lot of time kicking it around) in a beautifully styled and interesting 3D world.

The Story

Yes. The classic games and X have stories. Yes, the X story is interesting. However, the Legends games took a narrative and made a much more in depth story.

To keep this post from being a novel, I’ll just provide the basic information (for those who have never played).

The world has flooded and resources are limited. Vast lands have now become islands that run on refractor energy. These refractors can be found in ancient ruins (often below the surface) that are excavated by Diggers. You are Mega Man: a Digger that is joined by his Spotter (someone who helps the Diggers navigate the ruins) Roll, Roll’s grandfather Barrell, and a little monkey named Data. Together you use your ship, the Flutter, to get to these ruins.

Many Diggers dream of finding THE MOTHERLODE, a supposed source of infinite power that can end the need for the search for energy. 

However, of course where there is good, there is also evil. Pirates also exist that try to steal treasures for their own selfish desires. Here you have the lovable trio of the Bonne Family. 

Despite the Bonne’s thought, there are much bigger threats lurking in the world. 

Gameplay

As stated before, this time Mega Man was exploring a (semi) 3D open world. There were several towns, open fields, and dark ruins to explore. The game also introduced a lock on system. This system would end up becoming a staple in many future 3D games such as Zelda.

In both Legends games, you would often complete story line quests in the towns which would lead you to gain the ability to gain ruin keys. Sometimes it would be retrieving an artifact, other times it would be defending a city from robot ducks flying large ships!

While I have to admit, the ruins in both games look similar aesthetically, the layouts and puzzles were often diverse. The ruins would be littered with Reaverbots and the end of each ruin would have a boss battle. I always enjoyed the boss battles in both Legends games. The designs and tactics of these bosses were always unique! 

In addition, not only were you able to upgrade your buster, but you could also research and unlock new weapons to use in battle (machine gun, landmines, rocket launcher, etc). You were even able to gain Jet Skates to help you traverse the lands quicker.

This ability to upgrade equipment took the place of Mega Man gaining new abilities after defeating a boss in previous games. It added a more rpg element to Mega Man. 

The Characters

Whether it was Roll, Tron ( MISS TRON!!!), Teisel, Glyde, Data, Barrell, or Mega Man, there were characters for everyone to love. Not only did the world feel fleshed out, but so did those who occupied it. You were able to easily understand what drove this quirky cast of characters and it only takes the first few minutes of playing to see why they are so great. They all worked so well together and played off of each other amazingly. 

Who couldn’t love the Bonne family antics and arguing, Tron’s crush on Mega (and jealousy of Roll), or even the lovable dancing monkey Data who helped you save the game. Aside from a driving story, there was also humor.

What really helped bring these wonderfully designed characters to life though: the PERFECT voice acting. The actresses and actors truly brought charisma, humor, and life to these characters.

The Future

With all do respect to my favorite Italian plumber, I have often thought about how a man with a mustache and overalls has become such an icon (and remained so) and other characters like Mega Man are continuously fading into the background over time. 

The answer of course is how Mario has been handled by Nintendo. 

I am a teacher and love connecting with my students through video games. Every year I find that a vast majority of my students have never even heard of Mega Man...but when I show them a picture of him, they think he is “really awesome”. Others have said “OH I”VE SEEN HIM IN SMASH BROS!”.

This isn’t a new revelation by any means. It’s been long understood that Capcom has not always handled Mega Man the way long time fans have wanted. Mario has continuously pushed boundaries in his series and Nintendo makes damn sure you know his face. 

In my humble opinion, the Legends series was Mega Man’s boundary pushing game. It brought with it new life, design, and deeper story. His creator Keiji Inafune has even stated that Legends was his favorite series. 

For those that don’t know, Mega Man Legends 3 was cancelled in 2011. Leaving the story unfinished.

Keiji Inafune also left Capcom to create his new studio Comcept. A promised spiritual successor to Legends called Red Ash was Kickstarted (and apparently had some shady dealings behind the scenes), however no current information has been shared about the game in a long, long time. 

Mega Man Legends deserves a revival. It has the action, adventure, style, and story to thrive in 2019. It is an elaborate world full of forgotten potential.

Maybe...one day...fans new and old will get just that. Capcom has released collections for Mega Man and Mega Man X. 

Maybe...we will see a Mega Man Legends HD Collection.

And maybe the Legends series can get a proper ending in a third installment.

#GETMEOFFTHEMOON

#BRINGBACKTHELEGENDS

[katerbees]

Mummy Trouble pt 3

Pt 1: https://katerbees.tumblr.com/post/166628564690/mummy-trouble-sherlolly-halloween Pt 2: https://katerbees.tumblr.com/post/166662829240/mummy-trouble-ch-2

Sherlock and Molly go to the Tomb to investigate the break in, or was it in fact a break out?

This one goes fluff, plot, fluff. 

Ch 3

Molly sat her weekend bag down on the bed and grabbed a loose flowing long skirt, white blouse, and sensible shoes. She couldn’t believe they were going to enter a Tomb that was thousands of years old. And it had only recently been discovered. She and Sherlock were going to be some of the first people to be allowed in. 

Molly beamed as she took her outfit to the bathroom to change. As she did so she noticed Sherlock had already stripped into his boxer briefs. Molly tried not to stare. The man had no shame. Such good shape. How. He doesn’t even work out. Genetics? No. Mycroft was prone to weight gain. Stop staring.“

Molly,” Sherlock looked up at her, fiddling with his pants and belt.

I’ve been caught. So much for playing it cool. 

“Could you please check to see if there’s a coffee maker in the bathroom.” He put the slacks on; a cotton blend. 

“Of course.” Molly forced out. Nope. He didn’t even notice. Of course he didn’t. Bollocks. Get it together Molly. You are a grown woman. A doctor. You have seen Sherlock indisposed before. She walked  into the bathroom, found a coffee maker and prepped it. She changed into her warm weather clothing and exited, “Coffee’s ready Sherlock.”

“Thank you.” Sherlock, still shirtless, brushed past her and into the bathroom. Molly’s cheeks flared. He had to be doing this on purpose. Prat. 

“Coffee, Molly?” his smooth voice called from behind her, holding a take-away cup and holding the small carafe. 

“No thanks. Hurry up and put a shirt on, we haven’t got all day.” Molly quipped as she began to pack her backpack.

“Coffee is important Molly. Unless you’d rather I track down some cocaine. It would work much faster.”

“Nope. Drink that coffee Sherlock, but put a damn shirt on.” Molly put her backpack over her shoulders. 

 “I don’t want to spill coffee on it. I only packed two shirts.”

“I’ll be in the lobby.”

Had she turned around she would have seen a huge grin on Sherlock’s face.

----------

A taxi took them across the Nile to the Valley of the Kings. Dr. Najjar was waiting for them. A security checkpoint with two armed guards had been placed 25 feet in front of the tomb. The entrance to the tomb was guarded by another security officer. 

“Dr. Najjar.” Sherlock greeted. “was this security in place during the incident?”

“Prior to the break in, there was only a guard at the entrance. Now we have  additional security out here, badge checks here and at the door. Only authorized museum staff and Antiquities staff are allowed in. So far only 6 people.  Myself, Dr. Rahal, and our support staff.” Dr. Najjar walked up to the checkpoint, handed his badge to the guard, then handed him two more and spoke to the guard in Arabic. The guard looked at Sherlock and Molly, looked at the two badges and nodded at them to continue.

“Here you go, security badges for the two of you to have access to the tomb while the investigation is underway.”

“How many guards were assigned to the door of the tomb?” Sherlock asked as they covered the expanse between the checkpoint and the entrance. 

“Two. The one who was on duty that night swears he only left his post once to relieve himself and was only gone for two minutes. He didn’t hear anything unusual from out here. And there is no way someone could have done what was done in two minutes.”

“Indeed.” Sherlock responded raising his eyebrows.They reached the last security guard and their badges were investigated. The guard took his time, studying each pass, surely showing off since the project director was here, Sherlock thought. He returned their badges to them. 

Dr. Najjar distributed headlamps to Sherlock and Molly and they entered the tomb.What first struck Molly was how cold it felt all of a sudden. The air outside had been at least 100 degrees, yet in the Tomb she was downright chilly. The air was musty and smelled old. It also had a smell that she recognized yet couldn’t quite put her finger on for now. It also smelled like old paper.

Sherlock was making mental notes on how much time it took them to reach the inner chamber from the front door and how much noise their footfalls were making.As they approached the inner part of the tomb, they noticed a light coming from inside.

“Ah, Dr. Rahal must already be here.” Dr. Najjar said to them.The three of them entered the chamber. It was 15 feet by 12 feet. The walls were covered in hieroglyphics. Many pictures still had coloring to them since they had been so well preserved from the elements. Looking away from the walls, Sherlock observed there was crime tape surrounding certain parts of it, tables had been set up for preserving evidence and sorting artifacts, and in the middle of the room was the sarcophagus with a square cordoned off in front of it. Markings were drawn in the dirt on the ground. 

Sherlock moved his gaze to a woman sitting at one of the tables, cataloging evidence. She was in her early 40’s, well dressed, and comfortable in this environment. She had not seemed disturbed at all when they entered the room, nor did she seem ill at ease even though a crime had been committed here a few nights ago.Dr. Najjar cleared his throat. “Dr. Rahal, the investigators have arrived.” 

Dr. Rahal turned her head. “Hello.” She leaned heavily onto the table as she got up, reaching for a solid black cane that had been blending in with the dark tomb. She walked over to greet them. “I am Dr. Heba Rahal. Forensic archaeologist and Senior Director of Excavation on this project.” She stuck her hand out to greet Molly.

“Dr. Molly Hooper, Forensic Pathologist”  Molly shook her hand, “And of course, this Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective.” Molly gestured to the man at her side.

“Dr. Rahal.” Sherlock gave a small nod and shook her hand. 

“I am cataloging the small pieces we found on chest #4 at the moment. I look forward to you all getting to the bottom of this so I can move on to more exciting things than cataloging a deceased person’s rock collection.” She gave them a smile. “Everything that I really can’t wait to get my hand on is currently considered evidence.” Dr. Rahal gestured to the center of the room.

Sherlock moved over to the edge of the police tape. Mollly Followed.“Doctors. What language is this?” Sherlock inquired.

“Coptic.” Dr. Rahal responded. “Clearly it wasn’t there when we discovered the Tomb, we found it the morning of the suspected break in. Or if you believe the local gossip, the break out, “She rolled her eyes.

“What does it say?” Molly asked.

“Beloved. Renew. Rise.” Dr. Najjar responded, standing in the doorway. “It’s quite unsettling. And disrespectful. They vandalized a tomb and a location of extreme historical significance.”

Sherlock was studying the writing with a magnifying glass. 

“Right well the writing itself is an issue. But has anyone else inspected the body yet? I’ve seen the report on the tissue samples but I would like to investigate them for myself.” Molly asserted.“

Not yet, we wanted to leave everything as close to how we found it once we realized the scope of what had happened.” Dr. Rahal responded, moving back to sit down. “I took the tissue samples myself, however it was my husband who did the labwork on them. We frequently collaborate on projects such as this.”

Molly chewed on her lip. She would need to see the samples herself to really believe it, and even then there was a potential chain of custody issue that would need to be investigated. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Dr. Najjar’s voice cut through Molly’s thought pattern. She looked around in confusion. Sherlock was wiping away the Coptic writing, tearing down the police tape.

“I’ve seen all I need to. In order to make any progress I need Molly to examine the body and I need to interview the guards. Everything else is a waste of time and a distraction.” He quickly said as he erased the remnants of the last word.

“That could have been a message!” Dr. Najjar yelled without thinking.

“From a mummy?” Sherlock gestured to the sarcophagus. “A 3000 year old Mummy. It got up and wrote us a note. How thoughtful. Come now Doctor. You are a man of science. There is no way you believe that this corpse has actually come to life. That some writing on the floor raised it from the dead. No.” Sherlock moved to be closer to the body. “This is the work of a person . The writing is a ruse. The mummy is a distraction. We just need to figure out what from.” Sherlock was eye to eye with the sarcophagus now, fingers steepled and eyeing it intently.

“Of course Mr. Holmes. However, the tissue samples don’t lie.” Dr. Rahal responded from her cataloging station.Sherlock didn’t respond to that. He wasn’t sure how someone had slipped living samples into the hospital, and he wasn’t about to accuse her husband yet without even meeting the man. 

“Indeed.”He turned back to Dr. Najjar. “When can Molly see the body?”

“We can have our team assemble here tomorrow morning and move the body to the morgue at the hospital.” 

“Really? It can’t be any sooner?” Sherlock questioned.

“Well Mr. Holmes, as you have so illustriously pointed out, It’s not like it’s going anywhere any time soon is it?” Dr. Najjar responded. Proud of his witty comeback, he turned and moved to leave. “I’ll be outside when you are ready to leave.” Sherlock took one last sweeping look around the tomb and followed him.

Molly was still studying the sarcophagus when Dr. Rahal spoke.“It’s so wonderful meeting another female scientist. And another forensic specialist.” She smiled at Molly,. 

Molly turned and returned the gesture.“Yes. It’s definitely a male-dominated field. This is all so interesting. How often do you find new tombs?” 

“Complete intact ones are rare. This is only my third tomb, and the first one I’ve been the director of. Of course with my luck, it’s got the haunted Mummy that we’ve heard all about from Hollywood.” She gave a small laugh.

“Well, I’m sure Sherlock will figure it out quickly. Honestly, he’s probably already got it figured out and just needs to confirm one or two things. He’s the best at these sorts of things.” Molly reassured her.

“I hope so. I want to get back to cataloging and get to the exciting parts of the tomb.”   

“I’m sure we will have you elbow deep in tomb in no time! I’m going to go ahead and head on out. It was great to meet you.Always a pleasure to meet another lady who hangs out with dead bodies all day.” The women smiled at each other and returned to their respective jobs.

----------------------

Sherlock and Molly were sitting at one of the restaurant’s hotels. Molly was enjoying her curry while Sherlock had only ordered tea.

“Are you sure you don’t want any? This is delicious.” Molly asked while scarfing down her food.

“I never eat while I’m on a case.” Sherlock reminded her.

“I think you’re secretly just a picky eater and won’t eat because they don’t have any chips.” Molly replied.

“Hmm. Well, the mystery will remain alive for another night I suppose.“ He responded dryly.

“Any theories?” Molly asked between bites

“5. However none can be confirmed until you perform your autopsy tomorrow. Start with tissue samples to confirm they match the ones that were submitted with the report and then go from there.”

“Got it. Are one of those theories that a mummy has been brought back from the dead by some cryptic Coptic writing and a spell?” Molly asked, giving him a teasing smile.

“Oh Molly. If I thought it was that, would I let you examine the crazed mummy’s body?” Sherlock winked at her.

Was he flirting? What. What was that.

“Huh. I suppose not. A dead pathologist isn’t very useful” Molly replied.

“Not at all.” Sherlock responded.

Maybe not. 

They returned to their room on the thirteenth floor.

“Alright, so I think it would be much more comfortable for the two of us if you slept on the couch.” Molly said, trying to really sell it to him.

Sherlock screwed up his face, “How the hell would a couch be more comfortable than that?” he gestured to the beautiful fluffy bed, covered in bamboo linens. 

“I didn’t mean physically.” Molly responded, carrying pillows and a blanket over to the couch.

“No. No one is sleeping on that abomination.” Sherlock responded, unpacking his toiletries.

“I don’t want to sleep in bed with you!” Molly yelled across the room as Sherlock walked into the bathroom.

“Oh Molly.” Sherlock responded with an almost wicked grin, “lying does not suit you.”

She felt her face catching on fire. This man. Why. Why did I think this was a good idea.

She marched into the bathroom. “It’s one night, just sleep on the damn couch.” Sherlock was brushing his teeth. He rolled his eyes at her. Molly found herself struck at how human Sherlock Holmes looked. In the bathroom. Brushing his teeth. Molly started to swoon a bit. She used to have daydreams that she and Sherlock lived together and would do fun things together, but also the nice normal boring things about a relationship. Things like brushing your teeth together at night and falling asleep next to each other. She snapped out of it. Brat. Brat brat brat.

He rinsed his mouth out. “You feel free to sleep on that torture decide masquerading as a sleeper, however I will not feel sorry for you one bit when you spend the rest of the trip complaining about how your back and shoulders hurt.” He dried his face on the towel and took off his shirt.

Molly shoved him out the bathroom , shut the door, and began to get ready for bed. She dressed in one of her old Uni t-shirts and some cotton shorts.  She took out her contacts, brushed her teeth, and headed to the occupied bed. Sherlock was thumbing through his phone, paying her no attention.She grabbed a book and her glasses on her way to bed, got under the covers, and turned on her reading light.  Don’t look at him. Maintain your eyes on this book.“

Molly” Sherlock said softly in that deep smooth voice.

Oh God.“Hmm?” 

“Read to me.” He asked. He had put his phone away and was laying facing her. His curls spilling into his face, his mouth relaxed.

Shit.“It’s not exactly high literature Sherlock.” Molly responded. “It’s a beach book. An easy read for vacations.”

“We’re kind of on vacation”

Molly laughed. He could be so normal sometimes.“I guess we are.”

“Please.” He asked again. 

“Why would you want me to read this to you?” Molly asked, daring herself to look at him.

“My mind races all day long. Sometimes I don’t sleep for days because it won’t let me. If I have something to focus on, like your voice, it helps me to calm down.”

Molly smiled. She had never noticed that, but now that she remembered, on occasion she had audio books playing while she was at Sherlock’s flat while he was detoxing. He would always fall asleep whenever she played them. She thought it was because he hated the books she listened to. But now it made more sense.

“Ok.” Molly began to read the book out loud, Sherlock fell asleep within minutes and it took every ounce of control for her to not run her fingers through his hair so she could just once know what it would feel like. Don’t be a creep Molly. Go to sleep. But there was no one there to help her take her mind off the fact that she was in fact lying in bed with a man that she had been in love with for years. 

She tossed and turned. She rolled over onto her side to check the time on her phone. She sighed and put it face down. At that moment, she felt Sherlock’s arm flail over her. Molly felt her face getting warm. And the rest of her. She could feel the heat of Sherlock’s body very near to her. He was like a human furnace. Calm down Molly! Oh well. Might as well enjoy it. She wasn’t a creep if she wasn’t the one going around touching a sleeping person.  Molly fell asleep at last, savoring the weight of Sherlock’s arm on her body. Little did she know that Sherlock had been waiting the entire time for her to roll over.

@holidaysat221b

[megamikethomson]

My position on Ethereum, ProgPoW, and the ASIC Question

I feel constrained to compose. As PoW Cryptographic money mining is an extraordinary energy of mine(You can peruse my story how I began here). I've gone through hours, days, months, keeping an eye on my Cryptomining ranch came up short on my carport. I'd sit, turn on Iheart Radio to '80s/90's great stone, at that point start my work on the ranch. After work I would get back home to change settings, restart slammed apparatuses, and play with them. Perpetually looking for that tricky brilliant hash to watt proportion. I'd go through hours on my ends of the week fixing or critical thinking grieved rigs. At my normal everyday employment, I would spend lunch hours dedicated to finding the best Profiles alteration for AMD RX GPUs or a few stunts/tips others may have found.

Innosilicon A10 ETHMaster

I tell loved ones, new colleagues, individuals I've quite recently met at the bar, and lady friends that I'm cryptomining. "What's that?" in this way, I'd pull out my telephone give them pictures, recordings, or in person show them my ranch. I'd state "It's essentially a huge amount of illustrations card, PCs, that comprehends a calculation supporting a decentralized system and I acquire cash" They are completely dazed. "Stunning, that is astonishing". They ask me a wide range of inquiries and I'd fold into anecdotes about everything.

I take to online discussions or disunities helping other people who are new to the space with settings, issues, what the best GPU to mine Ethereum or other PoW digital forms of money with.

My own Ethereum Mining Ranch, shutdown starting at 2020

This is a result of those collaborations and my own drive, that I am strikingly enthusiastic about Ethereum and PoW mining. Since it was Ethereum that onboarded me over into the cryptomining circle in mid 2017 when I dropped out in 2014 due to cryptos being exclusively overwhelmed by ASICs. In the event that Ethereum was only a PoS coin or another ASIC coin, I never would have even annoyed. Ethereum PoW GPU mining allowed me to take an interest in the environment and offer it with others. My energy lies with PCs, innovation, and hands-on with the equipment. Having the option to GPU mine cryptographic money again was energizing. It wasn't simply me. Numerous new individuals who never knew about Ethereum, Bitcoin, or even manufactured a PC were going out purchasing up GPUs and making their first-historically speaking attack into the cryptosphere.

Does anybody here know somebody who stated: "definitely, I went out to BestBuy, or purchased parts on Innosilicon A10 ETHMaster and constructed an ASIC and it was enjoyable!"? Far-fetched. ASICs ranches are one of a kind, I'll address that later, there are not many, and far between that are at-home ASIC excavators. It's incredibly exceptional. Individuals appear to have overlooked that BTC was once GPU mineable. Go Reddit and see the network discussions that inside around GPU mining, the custom apparatuses they fabricate, others assisting with issues, it's a one of a kind network that I love. These exist basically in light of PoW and all the more significantly due to Ethereum.

Reddit has numerous posts like this with individuals redoing there ETH-hash rigs

Not being completely benevolent here, however I'm not hesitant to state it, ProgPoW would legitimately profit me, my inclinations, and my interest in GPU mining. I'm a solid supporter of ProgPoW, I've composed two articles looking at GPUs in ProgPoW. I'm a solid supporter of any GPU mineable coin. Just due to what it intends to me. Fortunately we have many nowadays, yet none with the weight or name acknowledgment of Ethereum.

Keeping GPU diggers in Ethereum's biological system is for Ethereum's eventual benefits over the long haul. Nonetheless, us excavators ought not feel that they are owed anything by Ethereum 1.0 Dev group. We partake in the Ethereum Eco-framework, similarly as the Dapps, Speculators, and others do. We essentially requested to be tuned in to, and we were. So what was the deal?

At this point, everybody in the Ethereum people group, the two diggers and financial specialists, are drained and tired of hearing the ProgPoW banter. As of February 29th, banter thundered again as ProgPoW was placed into an adequate state and would be remembered for a HF. As of Walk, 6 it was concluded that no move would be made. That would be acknowledged however not put into a HF. The main thing concurred between the gatherings was to not cause a chain split.

The dread is ProgPoW is quarrelsome with the (non-digger) network it chances a Hardfork wherein two Eth 1.0 chains will exist. Subsequently unleashing destruction on the DeFi and shrewd agreements related with it. Brain you, a Chain split can possibly happen if the excavators decide to mine that chain, and overpowering help was for ProgPoW by Ethereum GPU diggers.

ProgPoW has experienced such a lot of investigation, reviews, various Dev calls, in the course of recent years more than any EIP. It was affirmed in 2019, and fit to be actualized and we're whacked with "The Ethereum Community(not the Ethereum digger network) doesn't need it."

The mid 2019 ECH opinion assortment is never again legitimate. It has been about a year since that slant assortment happened and things have changed. The people group has met up to boisterously show contradict for reasons recorded in my experts/cons list. - James Hudson

I get the assumption that numerous financial specialists, designers, and GPU excavators neglect to comprehend PoW ASICs and the job they play in digital money biological system. I need to make this understood, PoW ASICs are not "the trouble maker." It's an altogether one of a kind environment contrasted with GPU mining. At the point when you have " Innosilicon A10 ETHMaster on the system," the biological system is going to gradually change from at-home diggers to huge modern scale measured excavators. This movements who turns out to be really put into Crypto ventures, since it will never again be preferences of me, individuals I tell, or others.

Littler, brought together, and huge amounts of capital contributed

The Environment ASICs favor is Enormous Scope organizations, typically fired up by a solitary person or young lady, who has an enthusiasm for digital money simply like numerous GPU excavators such as myself. They have representatives and are a communitarian venture exertion. These are normally monstrous ranches, costly, and take requests of greatness to run. The ranches are 100+ ASIC units, incorporated in modest electric areas, and are making 5 years or more ventures. They request ASICs in enormous amounts from Bitmain, Innosilicon and other ASIC fabricate. These ranches are organizations that are run expertly.

Being brief here, GPU-mining, as we as a whole know, is far harder to oversee. GPUs have more issues and harder to convey for an enormous scope. Numerous homesteads basically stay away from GPU mining because of the measure of cerebral pains that come related with it. GPU-Mining is best done for littler scopes. These are regularly done amateurishly at-home, in a carport, or shed.

Case of only a little expert business BTC ASIC mining farm.Damned on the off chance that you do, Condemned on the off chance that you don't.

This is the place the issue lies as of now Ethereum PoW. The recommendation is to remain on Eth-hash with ASICs, with a transition to Eth 2.0 at some point later. Just bigger homesteads will support that hazard to arrangement ASICs. That as well as it's a considerably greater hazard because of the potential hazard EoL Eth 1.0 sooner rather than later once PoS gets completely sent. I can't anticipate anybody, like the littler BTC ranch above, ready to face that challenge to help Eth 1.0 system with huge scaled sent ASICs. This would leave most of the system exclusively in the hands of a rare sorts of people who can convey Eth-hash ASICs surpassing the little to medium size GPU ranches. This prompts further bring together the system. As we saw with XMR ASIC fork, various chains split to help ASICs. It's absolutely my theory however when Eth 2.0 PoS hardfork happens it's possible they will need to keep the Eth 1.0 chain alive. At that point a conflicts HF won't be about little PoW to PoW change.

Why right currently is special circumstance for ETH

We have a special circumstance to thoroughly evade any chain split if the move is made soon. The Bitmain E3 and the Innosilicon A10 will tumble off the system in the coming a very long time because of DAG size. This makes a circumstance where the significant greater part of the mining hashrate will be originating from GPUs. On the off chance that ProgPoW is actualized for the current year the danger of a chain split will be low to none. On the off chance that no move is made for this present year. GPU's will appreciate a short tranquil time at that point we're left with Bitmain and Innosilicon, alongside others, discharging all the more remarkable ASICs for Eth-hash. With those ASICs just arriving in the hand of a couple of monstrous ranches that can manage the cost of the amounts required for requests and dangers it gives. No-activity viably murders any PoW change and any at-home GPU excavators will gradually leave the system.

Ben DiFrancesco proposed a trade off. Keep ProgPoW dynamic in the back pocket of Eth 1.0 and trigger it should it be required. This nullifies a significant truth that keeping Eth-hash, which as of now has ASICs on the system, there won't be any GPU diggers left to switch over to ProgPoW. Also what is this dubious time to switch be chosen? At present time there are an expected 60% GPU mining on the Ethereum connect with 40% originating from Eth-hash ASICs dependent on Kristy-Leigh Minehan research(cited in Dev call). At present time this isn't an issue yet In the event that no-move is made Eth-hash ASICs, which are unmistakably more productive than GPUs at present, will basically assume control over most of the system hashrate in the coming years. GPU excavators wouldn't return to Ethereum, it isn't so basic, many were busted by 2017-2018 run, scarcely any stayed, and informal exchange is that Eth is all Innosilicon A10 ETHMaster  now.

While I'm baffled about the entire improvement, Go, No-Go, of PoW change we confronted this previous year. ProgPoW isn't completely dead, as James Hudson has said.

This is by all accounts the split: The mining hash power on Ethereum casted a ballot overwhelmingly for ProgPoW yet they aren't discussing it freely a lot, other than these folks. As of late there have likewise been a few advocates on GitHub, as well. (CoinDesk)

I truly entreat the GPU mining network to meet up. ProgPoW EIP has been affirmed however won't be incorporated into a future Hardfork as of this time. Micheal Carter otherwise known as BitsbeTripping

[thefeedpost]

Great deals of glamour and also great deals of glam however exists money in being a regional social networks celebrity? We went excavating!

46 minutes ago

Nikita Coetzee

Aqeelah Harron Ally (Photo: Abdul Malick Ally)

Johannesburg – At some point in this article I will walk you through what happened when I tried to post on Instagram like an influencer for a day. But for now, let me tell you why I decided to write this feature. 

A few weeks ago, if you had asked me what an influencer is, I would have probably just have said: “It’s someone who’s popular on social media”. 

But then I watched Netflix’s Fyre Festival documentary and that all changed. 

I’ll give you a quick rundown if you haven’t seen it (spoilers up ahead so be careful). 

Fyre Festival was a failed music festival founded by Billy McFarland. It was advertised as a luxury experience on a deserted island in the Bahamas. To get the word out about the event, Billy got some of the world’s most recognised influencers to take part in an advertisement and later share posts about the festival on their social media pages. This was all it took, and scores of people flocked to the Fyre Festival website to fork out thousands on tickets, not knowing that everything being sold to them – the island, the chalets, the yachts – was nothing but a mere dream. 

I was in awe. I had clearly underestimated the power influencers have in society today. Think about it – have you ever gone out and purchased an item because a popular YouTuber listed it as one of their favourites?

Or maybe you’ve noticed a number of Instagram models seem to be partying at a cool new spot, so you just had to check it out for yourself. 

I decided to delve into the world of the influencer to find out what goes on behind-the-scenes of those pretty pictures, captivating videos, and most importantly, if you can actually make money from this in South Africa. Here’s what I discovered. 

The power of the influencer 

Before we go any further, let’s break down exactly what an influencer is. Influencer Marketing Hub calls it: “an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others”, while DIY Marketers explains it as: “anyone who can cause a reaction or impacts the way people feel and think about things.” 

Both of these explanations come from a new type of marketing company that has surfaced with the rise of social media – influencer marketing. Basically, companies have realised just how powerful influencers are, leading them to hire these social media stars to market their brands. 

Pieter Groenewald, CEO of one such company in SA called The Salt, explains exactly how it works. “The reason why it came around is because brands are battling to penetrate tribes.”

In this case a “tribe” refers to a certain market or group that a company is targeting with their product. 

He goes on to say: “Individuals belong to a tribe. Brands are sitting outside those tribes and they try shouting in with their messages. Then they realised there may be a way to penetrate a tribe through people who already belong to those tribes, and that’s where influencer marketing started.” 

According to Pieter, there’s more than one type of influencer – micro influencers, which in the South African market means you’ve got a following of between 10 000 and 200 000, and macro influencers which are individuals who have soared above the 200 000 mark. Nano influencer refers to the everyday person who may not have a large social media following.

Now that we have an idea of what an influencer is. Let’s follow it up with a very popular question I keep hearing. How do I become one? 

For this, I had to go straight to the source. I spoke to two of SA’s most sort after influencers – Grant Hinds, a gaming expert with a big YouTube following, and Aqeelah Harron Ally, a popular fashion, lifestyle and beauty blogger. 

This is what I asked them: 

What does it take? 

What I expected to hear was that you just have to be good at taking pictures or recording and editing videos. I assumed it also helped a little if you were already popular IRL. So I was quite surprised when both Grant and Aqeelah referred to what they do in the same way an entrepreneur would talk about their company. 

“It’s building a business,” Grant explains.  “There’s this old cliché that you’re a brand and essentially that’s the truth, and all brands need to have a business strategy,” he stressed this point with a lot of passion. 

Aqeelah also tells me about the importance of “having a strategy”. ” It’s definitely something you need to work at all the time.” 

Both Grant and Aqeelah have spent close to a decade perfecting their brands. It is for this reason that they are able to rely solely on their jobs as influencers for their income. 

Can you make money from it?

My mother always told me it was rude to ask people about their salaries. So you can imagine how awkward it was for me to bring up this topic. But this was important research that had to be done. Sorry, mother. 

I’ll let Aqeelah give you the answer to that. “This is what I do full-time and it’s been what I’ve been doing full-time for three years now. The reason I stopped by previous job as a copywriter is because I was earning more from my blog.” 

The fashionista tells me that she has just secured another branding deal with Canal Walk mall in Cape Town which will take care of her expenses for the rest of the year. Whatever she makes on the side will be an added bonus.

As for Grant, he too says he’s making a living from his online presence and he’s quite happy.

In terms of how much an influencer can make, they both say it’s hard to estimate because it varies from person to person. “It’s a tough one to ask cause it depends on the brand and it depends on the influencer,” Grant explains. 

Aqeelah does, however, tell me about pricing systems that some influencers choose to follow. “Some people say you should charge 10 percent of your following, so if your following is 50 000 you could charge R5000 for your Instagram post. And then other people say you should be charging based on the amount of likes you get. So if you get 1000 likes you should be charging R1000. That’s R1 per like.” She believes in the 10 percent rule. 

Pieter also gives me a rough estimate of how much someone with a following of around 50 000 can make. “It can range from $100 (R1 450 at current exchange rate) to up to possibly $2000 (R29 000 at current exchange rate) for a proper YouTube video.”  

Is it easy to become an influencer?

I recall Grant chuckling a bit when these words slipped from my mouth. The short answer is no. 

The day I decided to be an influencer 

I excel at many things in life. Social media is not one of them. However, I’d be lying if I told you I have not fantasized about what it would be like to live the life of a social media influencer.

Which is why I decided I would give it a go for 24 hours. My Instagram account would be the test subject, popular Instagrammer Chloe Sandberg would be my Mr. Miyagi, and I would take on the role of Daniel. 

Chloe has got over 17 000 Instagram followers. She is a model and an aspiring beauty queen. I handed over my phone, allowing her to critique my Instagram account. 

Her feedback was as follows: “You need to stay up-to-date, girl. Your last selfie was the 14th of August 2016.”

I’ll admit, I’ve been slacking in the selfie department. 

She told me that in order to build a following and get more likes on my posts I would have to start sharing more often, making sure that my pictures were high quality. I was also advised to keep the snaps creative and give people a glimpse into my life and what I get up to on a daily basis. My bio needed some work too. 

WATCH: A POPULAR MODEL GAVE ME ADVICE ON HOW TO GET MORE LIKES ON INSTAGRAM

The results

So with these tips in mind, I set out to capture the perfect picture. My goal was to see if, within 24 hours, I would get more likes and interaction on the new pictures than I have with previous ones. 

THIS WOULD BE THE CONTROL PICTURE:

It’s my most liked picture on Instagram so far, with 66 likes that was garnered over a period of about two weeks. Sad, I know. 

AFTER APPLYING ALL THE TIPS I GOT FROM CHLOE, THIS WAS THE OUTCOME:

In a period of 24 hours I had 61 likes. Fewer than my most-liked picture, but taking into consideration that it happened within a shorter time-frame, I’ll count that as a win. 

So am I famous now? No. 

To be honest, I did not expect a few hours to make a difference in my social media standing. And it didn’t.

But I must say I have a new-found respect for people who are able to share beautiful OOTD (Outfit Of The Day) images every single day. It’s hard work. I took over 160 pictures before I got what I thought was the perfect shot.

Besides dealing with odd stares from the people around me as I ventured into gardens and climbed on top of tables, I also had to deal with the added stress of finding the perfect lighting and coming up with different poses, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. 

Though I may not choose to venture into the world of the influencer anytime soon, If you’re thinking about it, here’s some parting advice from Grant: “Firstly, define why you’re doing it. If it’s to be a successful business, that’s fine, go ahead, but then be serious about approaching it as a business.”

(Photos: Grant Hinds/Abdul Malick Ally/Pexels)

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[blanccanvasfilm-blog]

STATEMENT OF INTENT:

In the beginning, there wasn’t really any intention. For I was lost.

The only logical place I could think to begin; my beginnings.

“Hidden Homeless” 2016 Solihull College, Foundation Art and Design End of Year Show

https://blanccanvasfilm.tumblr.com/post/174351284211/hiddenhomeless

I initially found it hard to produce a statement of intent, to establish, let alone extend my practice, when upon reflection, there wasn’t any specific practice that sprang to mind. I felt a mental block, as an artist, poet; person. I felt as though I couldn’t make decisions I had faith in, believed I could achieve. 

I turned to MindView, a software that I was given through DSA. Due to my mental illness, I struggle to keep track of all my thoughts. I often scrawl notes onto pieces of paper that I’m bound to lose, or I write them into my memo pad on my phone, but even then its difficult to keep notes coherent. I find this software beneficial as I can visually organise my thoughts and did this to try and begin generating ideas.    

I had initially thought about returning to previous bodies of work for inspiration, methods and materials I was familiar with, or enjoyed.  Maybe textiles, catharsis through the creation of a huge and intricate blanket of mixed material and embroidery, entailing stories and secrets and truths I’d want to keep hidden and close; a comforter of discomfort. Art has always been the only language in which i am able to fluently translate my emotion. Poetry, potentially the biggest form for me. 

“Submerged; A Series.” 2017

Various Locations.  https://blanccanvasfilm.tumblr.com/post/174351272806/submergedseries2017

This in mind, I considered potentially taking my poetry more seriously, looking at publishing or showcasing them professionally, hosting my own free mic poetry evening or producing a small zine. 

However, more than anything I was most specifically drawn back to my sculpture and installation work, wanting to explore avenues of Auto-Destructive art through public sculpture, demonstration or performance perhaps. 

So many thoughts came to mind, but truthfully, all I really wanted was to produce a huge installation of a life size tree, sculpted from air dry clay.  

Perhaps I could take said Tree on a tour around the country, leaving it in specified spots, giving it its own social media page and announcing which city it would be in next, and where. Inviting audiences to come and destroy the sculpture, to contribute to its deterioration in some way. The disintegration of nature under mans influence, allowing humans to interact and destroy my proposed months of hard labour, in an act of both defiance and submission.

In partaking in the destruction, audiences would both acknowledge and protest the damaging effect humans have on nature, and of course, submit to the knowledge they are a part of that. I wanted to create a travelling public sculpture of a tree; so huge and realistic, it would be guaranteed gain the attention of the media, maybe even spark a campaign inspiring thousands, millions even, to defend what nature we have left.  

But as often happens with my mental illness, I lose focus, or rather it shifts, rapidly. I become disheartened, blinded by sheer lack of faith in, well, me. 

I all too often anticipate negative events before their occurrence, deterring me from even trying, again. Wanting to sculpt but not bothering for fear of the cost, premeditating transportation issues as I cycle my daily commute to university; wanting to host my own poetry night, yet not wanting to pursue that, as the anxiety of embarrassment overwhelmed, what happens should nobody turn up? 

Plagued by these doubts, I decided I would begin with taking pictures, documenting trees, recording the differences between interesting bark types, in various species, and even the differences that exist within the same species. To recreate a realistic tree, I needed to research the qualities of the real tree.

But to do that, I needed to be able to take really good photographs, to master the Nikon D5500 DSLR my boyfriend had agreed to let me borrow for the duration of my project, and found myself eager to learn. 

The strangest thing is, I hadn’t even considered photography as being a specific avenue i’d be interested in, despite it being something I often do, albeit as an amateur. I remember taking one specific photograph, that of a simple hand written sign stating ‘Blanc Canvas” and all prior intentions were lost. 

I began to develop this infatuation with photography, a love affair from which I constantly craved more. 

A statement of intent i not applicable in my work, because my intent is ever changing, but the pathway to the outcome is always important.

So this, in a vague sense, is my statement of intent, written in past tense, a long way down from the starting line. If I had written one at the time, had I not struggled so much to voice the ideas I had initially, I would have stated that I had intended to seek out past endeavours and write them a new story in the present. That I wanted to create a community brought together through shared interest, in nature, art, or both.

What I couldn’t have told you was just how far from the truth this intent actually was.  I also couldn’t have told you that the excavated method I’d end up re-immersing myself within would be Stop Motion through photography. I couldn’t have told you I’d lose interest in the trees and gain a fascination with faces.  In this blog, I will document the process I undertook as I attempted to learn photography, and develop that photography, in a way that could also express my emotion; (and although unforeseen, my grief). 

[investigation-unit-24452]

24 September 2017 (Log 1)

                                                                                                          ɥʎɐɔıuʇɥns 3

                                                                                                24 September 2017

                                                                                         Investigation Unit 24452

                                                                                      Ryverdam Lake, Kentucky

                                                                                                                    Log 01

 My Unit’s research encompasses a minor pioneer planet, regarded as Earth, translating to Soil in the Galactic Government’s native tongue, we, a collection of scientists, explorers, and soldiers alike are attempting this assignment to study this planet and to see if it is suitable to join our government.

 We frequently mine the soil and grass properties of the planet since the unit was so fertile of such things. However, this visit tells otherwise. Numerous hotspots of the dirt excavating have been compromised by colonies of the Human species. Though other beings have taken down trees and made differences in the planet, Hominids seemed to have the most impact.

 These creatures are the dominant beings, and as such take-up the majority of the land, some have begun to live out in the enormous bodies of aquatic. Humans have studied the other co-speciesism of the Earth, helping us with this research.

 This is not the first visit to this place relating with Humans, as we holiday to see them often to exam their value. Earth is a beautiful environment, hosting quite a few climates. Could become a great location for resorts and inns for a numbering of species, tourist spot planets always are successful- if the place has differing environments or something interesting of itself.

 Earth is a goldmine of endless potentials, but so are the creatures occupying upon it. All populations, the planet, this part of the solar system is new, created by when the Government sprung a strike upon a smaller group. With this exposition, created this area of the fast solar lands was born. This has been one of the fastest evolution progression we had studied, stars, planets, beings and then food chains all establishing in short zillions of years.

 For the progression of their species, they have learned and safely executed space travel rather late. It was one of the first many breakthroughs of my species, the ___.

 The ___ has been a proud member of the Galactic Government, even on the Citadel’s councilmen court. Our race is known for breeding possibilities, strength, and knowledge. We are regularly in war and clashes with other races, nevertheless, we do not savagely slaughter. Our species are known for their courteous rules, compassion, and no unnecessary carnage.

 Our political power has developed since our kind was accepted to the table during our renaissance stage.

 We were assigned to once again to see the human’s evolution; I was produced for this task. There were three sub-genres of us, ɥʎɐɔıuʇɥns, ɹnqǝןןɐ, and ɟnןʌns.

 My kind, the ɥʎɐɔıuʇɥns, was created to study romantic and breeding traditions. As such, I must survey the young of their species, studying everything from the domestic habits of this Earth.

 ɹnqǝןןɐ are to study the habits and workings of labor on this planet, to learn every piece of how these creatures function their rank of life.

 ɟnןʌns are learning of the social structure and overall behaviors of their kind, to see how they behave and treat their fellow humans.

 Seven of each was created, and directed across the countries. We were fashioned to mask and veneer our true appearances, for this ability it had to be placed within our genetic material. We were not created by breeding, as an alternative,  genetically molded in laboratory glassware in a lab remote from the colony units.

 Once in the neonate period, we were given to couples who signed to rear each of us. We advanced sooner than other offspring as to haste the process and begin the real assignments. My chosen couple was companions incapable to birth real children, they insured me to understand my mission and socially develop.

 They entitled me H, I do enjoy the handle. I have been sending them progress reports before my official log began when I found a mate to study.

 My location assigned was Ryverdam Lake, Kentucky, United States. I have been staying here for a month using the World Wide Web to learn about the species’ customs for finding partners.  What I have gathered was quite unexpected; there are multiple ways to conduct finding a mate.

 One I have found was interacting upon this World Wide Web; several have wedded (This culture’s soul bonding) due to this platform. I have created a membership on a network categorized as an Online Dating Service; these Web pages promise to find me a mate that suits me.

 The Web page has interrogated me on topics of my private life when asking about hobbies and interests, I took a moment to think of what I did in my childhood, as adolescence was consumed educating myself on Earth.

 One memory I recalled was recreating significant history of our combatants and conflicts in my educational institution, looking what this is similar to Earth, finding it is close to Painting, I also added writing since Hobbies is what one does in their spare time, since when not examining this civilization I write progress reports and logs to my administrators.

 For my stature, I put my disguised height, 5 foot 10 inches, 177 cm, as my actual height is 8 foot or 243.84 centimeters- that is a very improbable height in the class.

 The photographs were of my masked self, and the rest I put common answers.

 The age I placed was twenty-seven, gender male, hair black, eyes brown. For my summary, I explained I was looking for a life partner and the rest I used samples I found on search engines.

 I had spent the last twenty-four hours refreshing the page, awaiting a message. I did not know how long this took; it seemed like a mating dance for digital users- just sat and wait.

 After the twenty-fifth hour, my inbox informed me of one new message, presenting me the message and portrait of the female who responded.

 Sept 13, 10:34 pm, Her: Hey! You looked really nice, I never do this, you’re older and so out of my league but hey, why not? I’m in Ryverdam too! I know my profile says eighteen, but I’m actually seventeen, I just wanted to warn you, I go to Dill High, I like writing too, and I hope you reply!

 I took a moment, searched for the correct way to respond, and finally conducted my response in a timely manner. This was my first possible mate.

 Sept 13, 10:56 pm, H: Hello, from your profile you seem pleasant. Your age is still an appropriate stage of development for romantic interaction. Is Dill High a good educational department? Why did you put false information on your self-summary?

 Sept 13, 11:15 pm Her: Oh wow, you spell really good you’re making me feel bad about my writing skills hah! Dill High’s fine, full of people I don’t like, you know? And because the oldest you can be is 18, but I’m sick of guys my age.

 This continued, I inquired questions. She responded each with apparently authentic answers and then asked me a few.

 Sept 14, 12:34 am Her: So, you like painting right? Do you have any paintings I can see? : )

 Sept 14, 12:40 am H: No, I do not have any of my childhood pieces; I have only just relocated from my native land to this town. I neither have supplies nor any photographs of these paintings.

 Sept 14, 12:43 am Her: Aw! Whys that? Didn’t your parents take pictures of them? Why not buy more supplies?

 I did not know how I should answer; however, I was told by my sources that human females sought after honesty, so I told the truth.

 Sept 14, 12:49 am H: I am an alien, and supplies of that were not necessary. My parenteral unit could not have these, as the educational system owned the honored pieces for our warriors.

 Sept 14, 12:51 am Her: hey hey don’t post that in these things! The FBI looks over these chats

 Sept 14, 12:51 am Her: And if they know you’re an illegal immigrant they’ll deport you

 I was taken back for that reaction, I quickly defined the word alien; it also contains to illegitimate immigrants. Perhaps, it was best she assumed I was human.

 The conversation sustained for the next ten days, I wondered how speaking over this platform would allow me to have her as a mate.

 When searching, you are supposed to better understand each other and go to an outing. When I found was past due to purpose an outing with the romantic interest, I investigated apposite locations, and what places parallel in this colony.

 I suggested the Roller Skating establishment, a few blocks from her educational building. She agreed to four-thirty in the afternoon.

 Now the official customs begin, tomorrow we will be meeting for our first gathering.

 Regards, ɥʎɐɔıuʇ