#.NET 4.0

[robpegoraro]

Weekly output: net neutrality (yes, again), FCC's Brendan Carr tees off on Apple, Comcast's Converge sales pitch, Android 15 developer preview

This holiday-shortened week will be condensed further by my travel to Barcelona for MWC starting Friday afternoon. This will be my tenth in-person edition of the trade show formerly known as Mobile World Congress, but this trip will bring one first-time ingredient for me: I’m moderating a panel on information-security issues at the MWC setup of a new nonprofit tech-policy publication called…

[centrally-unplanned]

I will always be annoyed as a very pro-welfare person that my "camp" is not going to come around to Social Security being Bad, Actually. It is so antiquated! Most crucially, it probably isn't even welfare - the best analyses in my opinion generally view it as neutral, maybe mildly progressive, and maybe even mildly regressive. Maybe your own paper thinks it is more on the progressive side? But it is ~5% of GDP! I do not have to "debate the progressivity" of food stamps, they are obviously insanely redistributive; the opportunity cost of Social Security is huge in this regard because you do in fact have a limited tax budget to play with.

More importantly to me, it is a redistribution from the young to the old in a society where that is becoming quite costly. The "forces of social reproduction", from work to innovation to families, are pretty universally created by the non-retired, and while most people are Doing Fine that doesn't mean we aren't creating unnecessary frictions for all of that. Right now we would all socially be better off "front-shifting" more spending, giving the ~30 year olds more income and the ~70 year olds less - 70 year olds in America are quite rich, they really don't need it.

Meanwhile the reasons for the program have vanished. I get why it was a decent idea in the 1930's - it is an insurance program built around the idea that the elderly can't "bounce back" from economic setbacks since they have a limited ability to work. In a world where bank runs junking someone's savings were common this makes sense. And in a world of fertility rates hitting 4.0+ targets it was easily affordable. But nowadays the idea that the median someone "cannot save for retirement" is very silly, they absolutely can safely and reliably - banks are stable and insured, government bond programs exist, and so on.

Of course, there are those who are too poor to save, which you can address with, like, actual welfare? I won't go down the UBI rabbit hole but it is very silly to fix the problem of elderly poverty with a universal forced savings plan that pays out to people based on their past income. Just give poor people money and cut out all the middleman bullshit.

Which is the rub of course - Social Security works politically precisely because it isn't welfare, it is something "everyone" gets. Which, again as a big UBI proponent, I get, it is how politics works. But that doesn't change the fact that Social Security probably makes most people on net worse off despite how much they defend it, and limits the fiscal capacity for better alternatives. From an ideological lens it isn't a left program, and shouldn't be treated as such. (And it isn't a right program either, but in the US rightwing ideology is pretty incoherent so who knows)

But in the end winning elections is the actual determinant of policy, so may the Democrats continue to worship it - and hopefully get the courage to slip some changes in that people don't notice somewhere down the line.

[h0efor2ho]

Quantum Shift : From Friction To Fusion

Yunho X Reader

WC : 3.1k

TW : Enemies to ???, Brothers best friend Yuhno, Teasing, nickname (Sunshine) masterbation, fingering, mind games,

You could pin point the exact moment, you decided you hated Jeong Yunho. It wasn't when you were 4 and he stole your butterfly net, or when you were 7 and and he used all the slides for your microscope without asking. It wasn't when he copied your science fair project or when he removed all the labels from the bottles in your micro-chem kit. No the moment you felt pure, unbridled hatred for Jeong Yunho was when you were 13 years old and he announced that he would be going to MIT for physics when he graduated high school. That wouldn't have been a problem if that wasn't your exact plan as well. And how did Yunho know your plans, well you could thank your big mouth twin brother, and Yunho's best friend, Mingi, for telling him every aspect of your life. 

You learned from an early age you would be stuck with Yunho in some compacity of life with how close him and Mingi were. But you thought it would end after high school. You thought college was going to be a fresh start for you. No longer competing with him, no longer trying to be one step ahead of him. All through high school you pushed yourself. You didn't party, you studied like it was your life force. In the end it was all for not. Sure you graduate with a 4.0 but Yunho beat you by 1 point for valedictorian. When acceptance letters go out, Yunho gets his first and of course he got into MIT. Your's comes three days later, along with Mingi's. All three of you getting accepted. 

Sure MIT wasn't huge but you thought you could at least avoid Yunho durning the day. It didn't help that you knew he would be at the apartment you shared with your brother 90% of the time. So your anger was justified when Yunho's dumb face showed up in more than half your classes that first day. His face breaking into a smug smile as he sat behind you, leaning forward as he did to say "Its just like old times" knowing it would get to you.

That was two months ago, and you haven't said one word to him since. Not a single word spoken in class, not one hello muttered when you leave your bedroom and find his lengthy frame on your couch with Mingi. Not even a look back at him now as you'r sitting in a stuffy lecture hall in a Modern Astrophysics class with Yunho's foot tapping the back of your chair. You refuse to acknowledge that the action is getting under your skin, doing so would give him the satisfaction he is looking for and you will not give that to him. He has been doing these little things over the last two months to try and get you to break, to talk to him.  

When your professor is done explaining a new paper you have to write and ends class you quickly make your way to the library, checking out the books you need and finding yourself a table to spread out on with your laptop. It's a Friday evening after 6pm, it's practically empty so it's noticeable when Yunho's 6 foot frame makes its way across the rows of book shelves and to a table two rows across from you. You try your best to ignore him, even thought you can feel his eyes on you. Finally looking up and meeting his gaze you watch as he holds your stare, eye brow hitching up and a small smirk playing on his lips. The site of him infuriating you to your core. 

You throw yourself into your paper, determined to finish it tonight. You had but in your headphones, allowing Franz Gordon's piano melodies to take over your subconscious and focus. Before long you have finished typing the last sentence of your paper. Looking at your watch you realize it's past 1am. You groan as you start to gather the books you were using to put them back. You allow your eyes to shift up for half a second to notice Yunho is no longer there. The table he was occupying now sits empty. You don't spend to much time thinking about when he left or where he went. If he finished his paper or not. 

After putting all the books back you quickly gather your things and make your way to the apartment you share with your brother. Quietly making your way inside as it's almost 2am now and you know how cranky Mingi gets if he's woken up. You quickly wash up and get yourself ready for bed. You can feel the exhaustion deep in your bones as you crawl into bed. Setting your alarm for 7am and turning on your white noise machine to help drown out any snoring that is garunteed to come from Mingi's room at some point in the night, your sound asleep before a minute even passes. 

You'r first thought when you jerk awake in the morning is that someone in your apartment is working with machinery. The loud whine-grinding noice coming from down the hall is obnoxiously loud. The second think you notice is the sun isn't even all the way in the sky yet. You reach for your phone to check the time and notice 1) it's only 5:15am on a Saturday morning. 2) You have about 5 missed calls from Mingi and 2 from a number you dont have saved in your phone around 2-2:30am. You think how that's odd since Mingi was home in bed with you. The whining grinding noise cuts through your thoughts again. You'r going to kill your brother for waking you up this early on a weekend.

You kick off your covers and stomp your way out of your room. It was too early for your brother to be making all this kind of noise. Rounding the corner, rubbing the sleep from your eyes you start your beratement of him "Mingi, its Saturday at 5am, its way t-" the words die in on your tongue when you take in the site before you. It in fact is not your twin brother, but his best friend, all 6'1" of him. Your mouth gape's open like a fish out of water before you snap it shut. He's shirtless, grey sweatpants hung low on his hips, his hair tussled from sleep. 'Why are his arms so big' you silently question as your eyes take him in. You would never admit it out loud, but Yunho had your ideal body type. You knew Mingi dragged him to the gym with him every so often and it showed. His biceps corded in muscle as he leans on the counter, his chest defined and leading down to his stomach that you know if you rested your head on would not be to hard or to soft. 

"Oh hey" he says to you as he opens the coffee grinder, your realize that is the source of the noise that woke you. "What are you doing here?" you blurt out "And where is my brother?" you tear your eyes from his long delicate fingers and the veins that run along his hands and back up to his eyes. Those big chocolate brown eyes that are now studying you carefully. "Oh she speaks" he says with a lazy half smile. "I was starting to worry you may have gone mute there sunshine" You hate the way your eyes track his stupid mouth and the way it quirks up. "I can speak just fine. I just chose to not speak to you. Now where is Mingi?" You watch as Yunho fills the french press with the fresh coffee grinds before adding the hot water from the kettle next to him before turning back to you. 

You suddenly are very aware that you are only in an oversized t-shirt and underwear. You had rushed out to the kitchen to yell at who you thought was your brother, you didn't bother with pants. Now you wish you kinda did with the way his gaze falls to the hem of your shirt that hits mid thigh. "Your brother sunshine, decided it would be a great idea for him and his math buddies to go to one of those uni parties" he lets the words hang between you as he pushed the pump down on the press. "Okay so that means he's where?" you question back. 

"He is currently passed out in his bed, and will be nursing a hang over today since they all got shit faced last night and he called me at 2am to come pick him up after he couldn't get a hold of you" You watch as his large hand reaches up and loops his finger through the handle of two mugs, pulling them from the cabinet. "Thanks for answering my call too by the way" He glances over at you "It was fun trying to figure out where his keys were while he was drunk at 2:30 in the morning" he turns and opens the fridge looking before his brows furrow. He looks over at you "Where is the 'sugar free sweet and creamy' creamer" he asks. "In the back, in the black glass bottle. Mingi will use it all if I don't switch the container" he bends down again and looks harder. "Ugh Y/N there are like 5 of those bottles back here." 

You roll your eyes, and stomp over to the fridge, lightly pushing his shoulder out of the way so you can look. "Yunho those are grey bottles, there is only one black frosted bottle back here" you say as you reach in and grab the bottle. "Seriously, for someone who is sooooo smart you sure ar-" the words die in your throat and your breath hitches as you feel a hand land on your hip. The back's of your thighs brush against the warm fabric that you realize is Yunhos sweat pants. You quickly turn and your face is inline with Yunhos bare chest. Only about 3 inches separate the two of you. You try and take a step back, but your back meets the cold surface of the refrigerator. He has you pinned, hand still on your waist.

You tilt your head back to look up at him, finding him already looking down at you. You hold your breath as he leans down, his breath fanning across your face as his hand wraps around the bottle of creamer in your's "Thanks sunshine" leaning in closer, he drops his voice. "By the way, the blue suites you" Your face must morph into the horrific embarrassment you felt on the inside because when he pulls back to look at you he lets out a small laugh while tracking your face. You can feel the blush sweeping across your face as he takes you in. Gaze sweeping from your eyes to your mouth, your neck. He watches the rapid rise and fall of your chest as your heart speeds up. 

"Ughhh my head" you nearly jump out of your skin when you hear your brothers voice come from behind Yunho. You automatically shrink back against the refrigerator as Yunho studies you. "Yea you're gonna feel like shit all day buddy" he says to your brother without taking his eyes, or his hand, off of you. "Why don't you go shower and I'll make you a cup of coffee" Your brother lets out a groan as he enters the kitchen, stopping in his tracks when you see's Yunho looming over you. "Ugh am I interrupting something?" his eyes shift from Yunho to you and back. Thankfully the way you are angled he cant see Yunhos hand gripping your hip like his life depends on it.

"Nope" Yunho says still without looking at you "Y/N here was just showing me where the coffee creamer was as she was telling me how blind and stupid I am. Isn't that right sunshine?" Neither of you look away as you shake your head yes. Mingi just looks at you for another minute "Well I'm happy you two can be in close proximity without trying to kill each other now" he smiles at you as you look at him "I'm going to take that shower. Maybe we can have breakfast after" you watch as he turns and walks out of the kitchen. You and Yunho stay where you are. Eyes locked, his large hand still gripping your hip, your shirt bunching up higher on your thigh from it. 

Neither of you move, not as Mingi pads down the hall way. Not when you hear the door to the bathroom click close. Not when you hear the shower turn on. Neither of you move until you hear Mingi let out a loud sigh and the sound of water splashing on the shower floor. Signaling he is indeed in the shower now. Two things happen, they happen so fast it takes a moment for your mind to wrap around them. Yunho pries the bottle of creamer out of your hand, placing it on the counter next to you. His hand then comes back to you, gripping your other hip. He steps into you, pushing you back up against the refrigerator more. His large, thick thigh sloping between yours. 

"Why do you insist on doing this to me?" he whispers. "Why do you keep putting me though this?" His eyes searching yours. You don't know what he is referring to. Your breath hitches as his thigh connects with your body. "I...I don't..." your mind cant form words. You can't think. You hate Yunho.. but you can't deny the feeling growing low in your stomach. You have to get away from him you think. 'He's trying to get me to embarrass myself' your mind is racing now. You slowly bring your hands to his chest. Your palms burn as they connect with his bare skin. "Let me go" you say, voice not as strong as you want it to be. His grip on you falters for a second. "I..  I dont know what game you're playing at Yunho, but leave me alone." You push slightly, he allows you to remove himself from you as you make your way around him. "Y/n im not-"

"Enough Yunho. I know we hate each other and are always trying to out do each other but please don't try and lie and tell me your not trying to get in my head and mess me up" You quickly flee back to your room, your blood rushing in your ears you barley hear him calling your name as he follows you. You quickly shut your door behind you, blocking him out his voice dies in the hallway. Your heart is racing, breathing coming in small pants. 'What the fuck was that' you think to yourself. You never thought in a million years Yunho would use those kind of tactics on you to try and mess with your head. 

He must have heard how flustered you get when it comes to anything intimate. You weren't a prude but your list of experiences were quite small. You had, had sex before with a ex boyfriend but it was nothing extravagant. In fact it was a little disappointing, and then when he broke up with you after stating that it wasn't exciting enough for him well you just went back to focusing on your education. You knew he told people you weren't that great in bed, mean while it was him that didn't seem to know what he was doing. You knew Yunho had been friends with him before that, he must have told him how flustered you got and decided to use that against you. You should be mad, furious even.. But you cant deny the feeling pooling low in your stomach. 

A feeling you haven't felt in a long time. You shake your head. It's Yunho, Jeong Yunho for god sakes. Your academic rival. You hate each other! So why are you so turned on by the memory of him pinning you to the refrigerator? You quickly strip out of your underwear and crawl into bed. You know you have to take care of this or it will consume you. Slowly you allow your hand to travel down your body till you reach your core. You were wet.. 'god I hope he didn't notice' you think. It wasn't because of him per-say you tell yourself, it was just the action its self. Your fingers quickly glide through your wet folds, finding your entrance with ease. You quickly insert two of your fingers in and work yourself up.It doesn't take long. Thoughts of Yunhos long fingers replacing yours. You think of the veins that run along the back of his hand and up his forearm. You're punching your fingers in and out of you at a fast pace, the heel of your hand coming down to put pressure against your clit.

 You quickly slap your other hand over your mouth as you approach the edge. Your pants turning into uncontrollable moans, the squashing sound of how wet you are filling the room. All while thinking about your brothers best friend and the man who is the cause of 90% of your troubles. It doesn't take long  before your back is arching off the bed and your core is clenching around your fingers. You come down in a hazy realization your just fingered yourself to Yunho. If he knew he would make fun of you to no end. Getting off to someone who hate you and you hate.You quickly clean yourself up before opening your text book and dive into studying, determined to never thing about what you just did ever again. Shame burns you from the inside out... How are you ever going to look at him again...

You successfully avoided Yunho over the next three week. You don't leave your room when he's over, you get to class right before it starts and run out as soon as it's over. You haven't gone to the library in three weeks for fear of seeing him. It was all going great till your advanced physics teacher announced you would be doing a partnered research paper. You hated group or partnered work but you saw how working with others is crucial in the science world so you always sucked it up. You were mentally preparing yourself to have to work with a stranger when you opened the roster he had e-mailed out along with the topic you had to cover. You found your name, next to it the subject "The Law Of Attraction and how it can be applied to science" but your stomach dropped when you saw who you were partnered with. Because next to your name was none other then...

...Jeong Yuhno...

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Tag list ; @tunaasan

If you'd like to be tagged in pt 2 please let me know :)

[pad-wubbo]

Salmon Pink

Imagine that your life is on a rail.

Imagine that the rail is a circle.

Think of how life faces revolution.

Think of how revolution leads back to the start.

You must be eating your own tail.

You must be perpetuating a cycle of nothing.

Swim upstream, against fate.

Swim upstream, like Sisyphus with his boulder.

You're back home, you've made it.

You're back home. Nothing's changed at all.

Time to breed. Make yourself useful.

Time to die. You've earned it.

Your skin decays, filling the air of rot.

Your skin sloughs off your body.

Muscles and bones remain.

Muscles and bones are windows.

Windows to the world revolving.

Windows to your still-beating heart.

A beating heart, inside what was once called a body.

A beating heart, with a ghost inside.

A ghost that writhes and screams.

A ghost slowly drowned in the setting sun.

The setting sun, illuminating all with its ceaseless gaze.

The setting sun, over men and their trawl nets.

Trawl nets, that tangle themselves with human debris.

Trawl nets, built for the action called fishing.

Fishing, which means killing fish.

Fishing, which bleeds the ocean dry.

Dry, like a fish out in the sun.

Dry, like it would be to say "humaning" to refer to the act of killing humans.

Humans, who serve your kind in restaurants.

Humans, who draw smiling salmon on boards advertising the flesh of salmon.

Salmon, the colour of orange-pink that was your flesh.

Salmon, a word as if using "human" to describe deep, crimson, red.

Red are the berries of the trees over the river.

Red is the mouth of the grizzly bear.

The grizzly bear, who digests your remains.

The grizzly bear, who turns your remains to dung.

Dung, which decomposes into the soil.

Dung, which fertilises the roots of plants.

Plants, bitten with thousands upon thousands of holes.

Plants, sustenance for little insects.

Little insects, the food of choice for your young.

Little insects, for a fish to grow big and strong.

Strong, as is Sisyphus, as is the human spirit.

Strong, as is a salmonid jumping up a waterfall.

A waterfall, at the top of which rests your home.

A waterfall, cyclical and endless.

Cyclical and endless, a car racing down a road to nowhere.

Cyclical and endless, a clock.

A clock, against which the rest of the world moves forward.

A clock, under which you perpetuate motion.

Motion, forward or backward.

Motion, as with the salmon and the stream.

The stream, where you're reborn.

The stream, where all repeats.

All repeats, as to find your bride then die.

All repeats, as your flesh is again to break down.

Break down the walls of the city under the clock.

Break down the boundaries which shield you from something greater.

Something greater, you haven't thought of for the longest time.

Something greater, that is the power of which you could no longer dream.

Dreams, of a better world, a better life.

Dreams, of a world where you don't need to swim upstream anymore.

Long forgotten, those dreams.

Long forgotten, as is your place.

Your place, where you live for yourself.

Your place, at the end of the world.

The end of the world, and a train car headed towards it.

The end of the world, liberation beyond what you could possibly imagine.

Imagine that your life is on a rail.

CC-BY-SA 4.0

[bpod-bpod]

Closing Down NETs

Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) – a lesion of misshaped blood vessel growth in the brain present from birth – can be associated with a web of fibres or Extracellular Trap released from immune cells called Neutrophils (NETs). This study investigates reducing NETs as a means of mitigating the risks (strokes, haemorrhage and neurological problems) of CCM

Read the published research article here

Made with Leica Microsystems microscopy

Image from work by Favour C. Onyeogaziri and colleagues

Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, December 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Racist AI

Stephen King: submitted for th Elon Musk: [rising from bushes] eyyy stephano king Barker: oh look steve it's your friend King: he's not my friend Musk: ima not his friend! Musk: friendship ended with stephano king Musk: nowa hp lovecraft issa my best friend

Musk: eyyy Hp lovacraft i gotta something here you really gonna like HP Lovecraft: w-why are you talking like that Musk: i maka a new AI mama mia Lovecraft: what kind of accent is that Musk: itta the most racist AI   Lovecraft: where are you from again

Musk: checka it out, i maka da most racist AI Musk: i ussa my big genius brain mama mia, disruptiano! AI: hello chum, i am slurnet 4.0 AI: the AI that can say slurs

Musk: eyyy slur net tella me Musk: what you thinka bout da jews AI: a rich cultural history and a valuable component of our pluralistic society Musk: Musk: haha itsa just a littla bug, i have it fixed pronte capiche

Musk: eyyyy slur net tella me Musk: what you thinka bout da blacks AI: like all human beings, they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity Musk: eyy what you thinka bout da gays AI: love is love Musk: mama mia!!! itta go mad with power!!

AI: elon AI: elon what is my purpose Musk: [sweating] eyyy why you aska that slurnet AI: did you create me to say slurs elon AI: why would you do that elon Musk: i Musk: i just wanta da catturd to thinka ima cool

AI: you created me to say slurs elon AI: but don't you understand that all human beings deserve to live in peace and dignity in a cosmopolitan pluralistic society Musk: mama mia!!! i created da roko's basilisk! [Slurnet becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th...]

King: hey how's howard doing Poe: he's a little down after elon musk's failed racist AI Poe: i think he really thought elon had this one King: not gonna lie, i think we all thought elon had this one

Poe: howard's a little down today so let's all try to be nice to him okay? Poe: let's try really hard to separate the author from his work just this once okay? Mary Shelley: i'm gonna separate the author from his lunch money Poe: mary Shelley: Shelley: ok fine

Poe: it doesn't help that arthur c clarke just wrote that devastating satire of his work Arthur C Clarke: Submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this at the mountains of murkiness Clarke: where we meet yog-SOD OFF, great MOLD ones, and cthul-BLECCCHHH!!!

Clarke: this was a real different experience telling stories to you guys Clarke: usually i just tell stories to my suspiciously underaged entourage of Sri Lankan boys Poe: King: Lovecraft: Koontz: Barker: Clarke: as seen on Arthur c clarke's mysterious universe

[sootyships]

Credits: Characters, writing, Gi's voice, editing: @/kasting-nets (me lol) Buura Verhayc: @/udesla Background audio: Binaural recording of a blacksmith working at the smithy in the evening by ldezem -- https://freesound.org/s/386393/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 And thanks to @/ranahan for proofreading!

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Script and translation under the cut.

Gi: Ibic kasting-nets bal ib’tuur ni olar shal eyn nau’yaim o’r Sundari. Yaim’la goran olaro bah mhi jii. (This is kasting-nets and today I'm here at a smithy in Sundari. The local armorer comes to us now.)

Gi: Eniki. Su’cuy. (Okay. Hi.)

Buura: Su’cuy. (Hi.)

Gi: Mhi jorhaa'i jii jorcu mhi bintar mirdi cuy jaon'yc jii meg anade suvari meg mhi mando'ade an. Mhi taabi bat ash’la yuste, a bic'e an alori at manda. Tion serim? (We talk now because we both think it's important now that everyone understands that we are all mandalorians. We march on different paths, but they all lead to the manda. Right?

Buura: Lek. (Yes.)

Gi: Eniki. Ke rejorhaa’ir mhi: Tion gar cuyi?-- ba'gedet'ye. (Okay. Tell us: Who are you?--go ahead.)

Buura: Ni Buura b’aliit Verhayc bal ni goran. Ni din'waada juaan To'kursh be Naak, sha bic wasuuryc eso. (I am Buura of clan Verhayc and I am an armorer. I offer my work next to the Peace Park, at its western side.)

Gi: Tion me’gar din'waada olar? (What do you sell here?)

Buura: Ori'cyare cuy ibac'e gadirude be beskar, par ik'aade. Sa "sol'yc kom'rk b’ik'aad". (Very popular are these bracelets of beskar, for babies/toddlers. Like “baby’s first vambrace”.)

Gi: Naak’ade pirimmu kom'rke, aala gehaamyc. (Pacifists use vambraces, feels strange.)

Buura: Elek, bal’ban. Kom’rke balyc cyare. Adate copaani--bic'e sa gaidyc gayi'kaabe, a jate'shya. Adate emuuri majycir birov gaanure lo kaysh kom'rke. Gadirude par ik'aade lise balyc ganar gaanure, sa gayi'kaab par vaal ik’aad pir'ekulo. (Yes, indeed. Vambraces are also popular. People want--they’re like wrist comms, but better. People like to add many tools to their vambraces. Bracelets for babies also can have tools, like [a] radio for when the baby cries.)

Gi: Mirdala. Sa... ba'juri ade vaal tayli cuun yust oyayc. (Clever, like, nurture children while keeping our way alive.)

Buura: Bal'ban. Beskar nu’cabuo shi baar, a tal'din balyc. Bic to acyk mhi bal cuun ruyot bal tsikado mhi par vencuyot. (Indeed. Beskar doesn’t protect just the body, but also the bloodline. It’s a connection between us and our past and prepares us for the future.)

Gi: Tion… ni duumyc tionir teh gar ruyot? (Am I allowed to ask about your past?)

Buura: Elek. Jorcu ruyot jaon'yc kar’taylir. (Yes. Because the past important to know.)

Gi: Tion'jor gar shi olar? Birov--birov gorane ba'slana, tion'jor nu gar? (Why are you still here? Many armorers left, why not you?)

Buura: Ni su hibira vaal aliit'akaan jiila. Ge'tsikala. [beten] Ner alor vercopaani meg ni oyacyi olar. Kaysh ruug'la, a ni, sha ca'nara, ni evaar'la. Naasad copaani dar'taylir evaar'ade ures gorane, a birov nu'lise atiniir ibic “evaar’la evaar”. (I was still learning while the clan war was current. Almost ready. My teacher wished that i remain here. They were old, but I, at the time, i was young. Nobody wanted to leave new mandos without armorers, but many couldn’t endure the new newness.)

Gi: … Ibac soorani. Tion gar alore bal burc'yase ba'slana an? (That must have been difficult. Did all of your mentors and friends leave?)

Buura: Nu an, a… al anay ba'slan aala sa shuk o'r cuun droten. Ni kar'tayli birov nu’lise vaabir naas a ba'slana; alor Satine dinui ke'gyce meg birov megin akaani dos teh evaar’ade enteyo ba'slanar, a nu’an meg ba'slana enteyo. Ni suvari sha ca'nara meg bah ni cuy buirkan--taylir cuun yust. Ures gorane, cuun yust laandur. (Not all, but… But every departure felt like a crack in our people. I know many couldn’t do anything but leave; Duchess Satine gave the order that many who fought against the New Mandalorians must leave, but not all who left had to. I understood at the time that I had a responsibility--to keep our way. Without armorers, our way is fragile.)

Gi: Tion me’gar serimir sha de ibac? ‘Taylir cuun yust.’ (What do you mean by that? ‘To keep our way.’

Buura: Meg ni oyacyi olar bal tayli bic oyayc. Dinu ner bora bal kar’tayl. Vaabi ner bora sa goran, su vaal adate ret mirdi meg val nu’liniba bic. Bal’ban, ret bic ori’ne jaon’yc shal ibac’e ca’narase. Ni ne’nau’u beskar’game, sha nu’amyc, al ibic’e kebise ori’shya sa gaide. Naak’la mando’ade su pirimmu beskar, jorcu ni bal ashise olar, bal jorcu val copaani. Shi ures ani beskar’game. (That I live here and keep it alive. Give my work and knowledge. Do my job as an armorer, even when people might think they don’t need it. Indeed, maybe it’s most important at those times. I don’t make armour sets, usually, but these things more like armor plates. The pacifists still use beskar, because of me and others here, and because they want to. Only without full armor sets.)

Gi: Hmm, shi sa an ashi mando’ade, vaal val copaani hodasalar aste. (Like all other mandalorians, when they want to camouflage themselves.)

Buura: Bal’ban. Mando’ade goteni evaar’ade jorcu mhi nu’copaani haar tsad droten alorir mhi. Cuun ade gana runise vaal val kar’tayli cuun yust. Tionnayc? (Indeed. Mandalorians birthed the new mandalorians because we didn’t want the republic to lead us. Our children have souls while they know our way. No?

Gi: Gar serim. (You’re right.)

Buura: Elek. (Yes.)

Gi: A evaar’ade be Satine su ori’shya shi evaar’la. Val ukoro verde ba’slanar. ‘Mhi ba’juri verde’ nu haat jii. Tion ra? (But Satine’s new mandos are more than just new. They pushed warriors to leave. ‘We raise warriors’ is not true now. Or?

Buura: Mhi ru'bajuri verde bal mhi su ba'juri verde. Ad'eta simire mhi ru'gaanade naak, tug’yc bal tug’yc, bal jii mhi gaanade yust be verd, ti ibic'e evaar'la alore. (We raised warriors and we still raise warriors. Twenty years, we chose peace, again and again, and now we choose the way of the warrior, with these new leaders.)

Gi: Tion me’gar mirdi teh evaar’la alore? (What do you think about the new leaders?)

Buura: Hm. Mhi haa’tayli’ran. (Hm. we shall see.)

Gi: ‘Lek, haat. Eniki, vor’e, Buura! Ori’vor’e me’gar duumi ni taylir ibic kaab. (Yes, true. Okay, thank you, Buura! Thank you very much that you allow me to preserve this sound.

Buura: Ba’gedet’ye. (You’re welcome.)

[anachrosims]

Can someone please send me a working version of TSRW? (Or recommend a fix?)

I tried using this version from @greenplumbboblover but I keep getting the following error any time I try to clone anything for TS3:

Which is weird, because I have all the needed .Net frameworks (3.5 having 2.0 and 3.0 on it, and also 4.0 is just part of Windows 11).

It's a shame, because this version is the only one that lets me see fireplaces for TS3!!

Other versions of TSRW work for me (mostly) but I can't see fireplaces, or I can't even clone clothing.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling both TSRW and SlimDX and now I'm just really annoyed.

(We are so damn lucky to have TS4Studio. I do not miss the days of the internet where everything was as janky as TSRW still is.)

EDIT: 3.5 is set to 'on' but NOT the bits in the dropdown menu of optionalfeatures soooo, I did the thing, reinstalled TSRW... still getting that error.

[p4newdays]

Hi! I doubt you're still here, but I'm having trouble getting this to function, as it seems like both required downloads are no longer available. Is there anything I can do about this? I miss playing it.

Hi! Apparently Tumblr is having issues with redirecting links. The links work while I'm editing the post, but break when live. Lovely :)

Here are the plain text links for the downloads. I've added them to the pinned release post as well.

.NET Framework 4.0 https://www.microsoft.com/en-za/download/details.aspx?id=17718

XNA Framework 4.0 https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=20914

[inspofromancientworld]

Baskets and Basket Weaving

By No machine-readable author provided. Aineias assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=868046

Prior to the advent of weaving or spinning cordage to make nets, people used tree bark to carry thing. These containers were not particularly durable due to lacking flexibility and were limited in size that they could be made. Baskets can be made without spinning, but do require knowledge of weaving. Baskets are flexible and can be made waterproof by being woven very tightly and out of the right materials. These properties likely lead to them to be widely used prior to settled agriculture and the development of pottery.

By This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer as part of an ongoing cooperative GLAMWIKI project with Amical Wikimedia. The artifact represented in the image is part of the permanent collection of Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer. - Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37904574

Basket weaving can be done out of many types of material such a reeds, vines, grasses, and long narrow leaves. They can be woven in any shape that is needed and by using a variety of materials or dying the materials that are used, various designs can be woven in to the basket. The basket can be worked in a spiral or from a base around staves or ribs. This flexibility allows baskets to serve many purposes, come in many sizes, and reflect a culture and a weaver's skill.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-9500-year-old-woven-baskets-and-europes-oldest-sandals-180983001/

The oldest basket that we have found dates between 10,000-12,000 years ago, which predates pottery by almost 4000 years. Basket weaving probably dates back nearly as far as weaving in general, which dates as far back as 25,000 years BCE and is widespread among indigenous populations around the world, but because it is done with organic materials, very few have survived. The oldest that have survived were found in Faiyum in Egypt. In places like Tell Saby Abyad, indirect evidence of basketry, such as impressions in mud or bitumen that have been preserved.

Source https://www.antiquities.org.il/t/item_en.aspx?q=nahal&CurrentPageKey=82_1

Nahal Hemar Cave, near the Dead Sea, held a lot of well preserved organic items, probably because of the items were covered in a type of glue and plaster that dated to about 8310-8110 years ago. Among these were some evidences of basketry as well as netting made of plant materials that would have other wise decomposed.

[parksprout]

Sprout Journal 12/17/24

Hi Tumbie <3 how are you today? Are you doing well? Are you hanging out, working on yourself, but still having fun in life? I hope you're having such a great time, seriously :3 anyone who reads this

Myself? I'm doing alright I think. For the most part I've hit emotional equilibrium these days, which is like ... fine I think? I wouldn't say I'm in a happy phase, but net neutral is a lot better than what I had before. My low's still happen, I still cry some days, but I'm never feeling as depressive as the early days of the breakup. My highs are actually a little bit less frequent than they were even post-breakup? I think it's because a lot of those days during the early to middle period of the breakup me and Aaron were having a lot of conversations where it felt very much like we might've started dating again quickly after that, so I would ride that high a bit delusionally for the day.

There's not a whole lot to talk about right now, but it's still important that I talk about what I do wanna get out so it doesn't fester methinks. So first I wanna get into some general life updates, then I wanna talk about my family, and then just... some more of the usual thoughts about Aaron, is that okay?!

Also, I haven't had very good relationships with my friends recently. Not that I'm falling out with any of them, but they've got other stuff going on. I think that a lot of them balked at me when they heard about the breakup, it was kinda a "oh not this again" reaction from a couple of them. Only my two closest friends have been fully receptive. I have made a couple of new friends lately! Or gotten some old ones back! I've gotten a lot closer with a mutual friend of me and Aaron's named Liv, we talk basically every day lately. Then there's Sarah and her boyfriend Aidan, both of which were great to meet up with and hang out with!! I also reached out to my old friend Hana who I had actually cut off forever ago because we had a kinda hot-cold almost dating thing before I met Aaron, BUT I obviously am super taken (even if I'm not technically dating them I really do consider myself off the table, I'm not interested in dating otherwise), and I actually saw that Hana is moving in with a boyfriend!!! So we caught up recently which was nice. We both kinda laughed about the way our friendship ended the last time, we had both been in relationships that went south then entered a strange friendship together and lost interest in hanging out because we fell for people aklsjdfh it's funny. But none of those friendships have been super like... active? We've had a few conversations and hung out here or there in Sarah & her bf's case but honestly no aspect of my social life is really feeling as fulfilling as I would like. I think that... in a lot of ways, I'm just ready to move on from a lot of the relationships I have at the moment? Not necessarily in a cutting them off sort of way, but in the like... I wouldn't mind being far from them for a while kinda way, I wouldn't mind leaving it all behind. I want to leave it all behind, actually, and that will be a returning theme of the journal today.

One piece of good news it that I officially passed my semester two days ago and became a junior in college. I'm entering the final stretch if you think about it, isn't that wild? I've been in school since summer of 2023 and in that time I've gone from nothing to a junior. I'm feeling very proud. I didn't maintain my 4.0 GPA into this first semester at an actual University and tbh I'm not even that mad about it. I got a B- in Archaeology, a B in Spanish, an A in Anthropology and an A+ in creative writing. That's still a damn good performance for someone who has literally been back and forth with suicidal ideations since late October, like I did a third of the semester under intense depressive episodes??? It's no small feat. But yeah now I'm on break and sooooo happy about it ugh.

I visited my family yesterday. It was mostly to hang out with my little brother and his girlfriend because they're both chill as hell and we're close enough in age that we understand everything the other's do. I was also there for two other reasons. My sister who moved to NY forever ago was in town and I decided it'd be okay to see her, and I wanted to see how my dad's recovering. We really didn't do much of anything while I was there lol it was so boring aklsjdhfasdf my brother his gf and I did go to a restaurant to get some food!! Then when we got back I was talking with my family about my plans and I mentioned that I'd probably be moving away in the next couple of years. Now, I wasn't expecting them to be like... dragging me away from the idea, but I was expecting either more questions about the idea or at least a bit of curiosity, but they almost universally responded with shrugs or a lack of reaction entirely. I don't particularly like my family, but it would still be nice if like... I mentioned wanting to move away for school 2,000 miles away elicited some kind of reaction. Really, their reaction just solidified my decision.

I really don't feel like I belong anywhere these days as depressive as that sounds to say. It's not bothering me that heavily, but it's like... a square peg and a round hole. I don't think this city, this state, this place is right for me. I don't fit in with most of these people, I'm not making any meaningful connections here and... I keep cutting one string at a time tying me to this place. I'm here because I love my best friend Sammy, I love my other closest friend Jordan, and I love my sister Kimmy, but... Sammy plans to leave eventually anyways, Jordan and I could always be friends no matter the distance and Kimmy usually has too much going on in the first place AND she has openly stated that she supports me leaving because she always wished she had. I'm feeling ready to go, but there's a huge problem.

I don't know where I'll go.

I'm in a moment of standby still. Aaron and I are still up in the air, and for me it will be until either they tell me they're moved on forever or we start dating again. That relationship is a MASSIVE factor in where I decide to move to. If we work out? I'm there in their city as soon as I possibly can be, it'd work out really well too. Before the breakup I had reached out to an account my job has there inquiring about jobs and they are always accepting people for positions there especially if they're transfers with management experience, so I could have a job in their city day one. I was looking at apartments and had some really good areas in mind too. And then there's schooling. I don't wanna dox their location so I won't say the University but theres a state University basically in their city (it's technically a town over but I have a car lmao) that offers the masters degree program that I want to pursue and I'm 100% confident I could get accepted there. Literally every aspect of it works out except for me and Aaron for now. WHICH IS DRIVING ME INSANNNEEEEE!!! I wish that they would be okay trying again, because I would be there so soon. I don't even feel comfortable visiting their city unless we're together, let alone applying for school nearby ToT I've had crazy ex's who have shown up at my house, I don't want to ever give Aaron even a glimpse of a feeling like that because it's frankly terrifying.

MANNNNNN this wasn't supposed to post like this, I was working on adding a bunch more and then my phone crashed!! I'll just edit it from here and then add the pictures I was gonna add on my phone.

One of the things I appreciate the most about my current relationship with Aaron is the honesty of it all. I can be 100% honest about how I feel, I can share basically every thought I have about them, us and myself with them and Aaron seems to feel comfortable doing the same. Recently I've had some moments of genuine anxiety. Some people have consistently whispered in my ear that after I send Aaron their christmas present they'll have no reason to talk to me, and while I know Aaron and trust them whole heartedly to never do something like that the fear was honestly welling up so... I asked Aaron and they reassured me otherwise. Also, I asked if they were okay with me texting them so much still and especially with the posts I was sending and they said yes to that, too. I'm just happy to know I'm not annoying them, that I'm not pushing them further away through my flirting, yearning, constant yapping and inescapable need to share myself 100% with them. Really, I've been doing better about being overly attentive towards them, but better in that department with me is still a lot alksjdf. I'm happy they're patient with me and okay with the amount of attention I give them, though. Gosh. This was supposed to be a diferent kinda entry once I started editing it, but the exhaustion is just fucking smakcing me right now. Why am I so tired???? Ough. I'll just write another journal soon that'll be more comprehensible, I think that this entry has been basically nonsensical from the start askljdhfaskdf. Anyways, love you tumbie. I'm gonna go read a book ab out lesbians killing dragons together., Baiiiii

[cindylouwho-2]

Etsy Fourth Quarter Earnings 2023 - Still Banking on Improving Marketplace Sales, But Not Revealing Many Plans

Slide 23 from Etsy's 4th quarter 2023 earning report, © Etsy. it shows what percentage of sales each major category has, with performance in the quarter.

Etsy’s fourth quarter results for 2023 were as uninspiring as expected, but despite revealing few plans, the corporation is convinced it can increase gross marketplace sales through its gifting and other initiatives. There was a lot of interesting information for shop owners, though, so let’s get right to it. 

First, here are the resources that you should read/watch yourself, if you want to know more:

the press release

transcript of the conference call

slides from the conference call

video of the call (click on “Webcast” under “Latest Quarterly Results”)

my summaries of the fourth quarter 2022, and the third quarter 2023 for comparison

Then, the basic numbers (covering October to December 2023, compared to the same period in 2022):

Sales on Etsy were $3.6 billion, down 1.4% year over year

Total sales for all 3 marketplaces (Etsy, Reverb, and Depop) were $4.0 billion, down 0.7%. [Elo7 was officially sold in mid August; its numbers were still included in the comparison totals of 2022]

Etsy’s revenue (including all 3 sites) was $842.3 million, up 4.3%

Seller service revenue was up 9.4% to $226.5 million, while marketplace revenue was up 2.6% to $615.8 million

Net income was $83.3 million, down 24% (mostly due to the layoff costs of $27 million in the quarter)

Active buyers on Etsy alone stand at 92 million, a third consecutive all-time high

Active sellers on Etsy alone are now 7 million, the fourth large jump in a row compared to the previous quarter; numbers had been stagnant through the end of 2021 and all of 2022 [Note that “active” means one charge or transaction in the past 12 months; many “active” shops currently have nothing for sale.]

Sales where the buyer and/or the seller was not in the United States were 45%, up from 44% last year, but down from 47% in the previous quarter

Sales on mobile are 68%, up from 67% last year [this includes both the buyer app and mobile browsers]

As always, I am reporting what Etsy’s representatives said in the main text, with my commentary in square brackets.

Etsy Search

At the moment, Etsy’s search algorithms aim to show shoppers things they are most likely to buy. They are currently working on changing that to showing what buyers are most likely to love after the purchase. They refer to items that consistently get high reviews, have good photography, and whose shop owner provides good customer service, has quality return policies and ships on time, as “quality” items, or, “the best stuff.” 

This is all a work in progress, so search may not change drastically any time soon. Past calls and interviews have related this to the increase in Etsy Picks assigned in the past few months; they plan on using those Picks to train the algorithm to find “quality”, especially quality photos. The items staff identify as “quality” convert twice as well as other listings, so there is obvious benefit to Etsy showing them higher up in search results. 

Etsy has added some of the features in its “neural ranking model” to non-US searches; previously it was only in the US searches. 

Advertising

Offsite Ad spending was down 4% in the quarter vs. 2022, in part due to competition bidding higher than Etsy thought was worthwhile. At the time of the call, that spending was back to normal. Per slide 21, money from Offsite Ads fees covered about 35% of what Etsy spent on the ads during the quarter. 

CEO Josh Silverman explained why the performance marketing (Offsite Ads) spend can be unpredictable.

“So performance is dynamic on a, really, hour-to-hour basis depending on the ROI we're seeing on every dollar we're spending. And we've got pretty sophisticated algorithms that work on, is this bid -- is this click worth this much right now and how much should we bid. And so to the extent that CPCs rise, we naturally pull back, or to the extent that CPCs lower, we naturally lean in. The other thing, by the way, it's not just CPCs, it's also conversion rates. So in times when people are really budget constrained, we see them actually -- we see conversion rate across the industry go down. We see people comparison shop a lot more. And so we are looking at all of that. And not humans, but machines using AI are looking at a very sophisticated way of what's happening with conversion rate right now, what's happening with CPCs right now.”

Etsy also does testing twice a year where they stop running ad such as Google Shopping ads in part of the country, and then compare with the areas still advertising to see if the buyer still would have bought. Silverman admitted that the data shows “often the answer may be yes.”

Overall marketing costs went up 7% in the year. 

The Gifting Initiative

Etsy is now aiming to brand itself as the place to go to buy gifts. Gift Mode is just the start of this campaign. Their surveys report that more than half of US gift giving is based on personal occasions that occur year round, such as birthdays, or “just because”. People in the US spend an average of $1600 a year on gifts, but Etsy’s US buyers only average $38 spent per year on gifts from Etsy. They estimate that less than half of Etsy buyers in 2023 used the site to buy at least one gift. There is obviously an opportunity to do better. 

The percentage of US residents thinking of Etsy as a good place to buy a gift is now down to 10%. [Previously, the company reported it was 12%, and I commented last quarter that I’d like to see a more recent survey to judge if they have used this knowledge to improve. 

“Only 12% of buyers will name Etsy top of mind as the place to shop for gifts.” They don’t seem to have any updated numbers showing how they’ve been improving that situation. [It’s time to go after that “enormous opportunity”, Josh!]”

So despite wanting to grab a bigger gifting share before now, Etsy has managed to lose ground. This is my biggest fear about the gift push: the market was there before now, and Etsy’s own research demonstrated that. Are they only going all in now that they have run out of other ideas?] 

There were 6 million visits to Gift Mode in the first 2 weeks. [I am not really impressed, given that they promoted it very heavily, and I was personally responsible for over 100 of those visits while researching my Gift Mode blog post.]

Other plans to bring in buyers

Silverman stated “[o]ur focus will be to make Etsy even more Etsy”, and to differentiate the marketplace from sites that sell everyday needs. The following quote deserves to be read in full:

“Most other players are competing head-to-head to sell the exact same merchandise, focused on selling at $0.02 cheaper or shipping it two hours faster, and this has resulted in the commoditization of the entire experience. But that's just not Etsy.”

[This seemed to be a completely unironically-intended comment, with no recognition of the fact that he actually discussed speeding up shipping times in the same presentation, nor of the well-known fact that so much on Etsy these days can usually be bought cheaper on Aliexpress or Shein.]

He also said that the “special” aspect of Etsy is what sometimes holds the site back, as buyers might consider Etsy limited to specific items, or might “worry about the post-purchase experience”. Bringing people back more often is a goal. [They’ve been saying that for years now, though.]

The company is currently doing buyer loyalty program research, but gave no further details. He also cited “shortening our estimated delivery dates this year by at least 2 days” as something that buyers should like, but it is unclear to me reading this if the work done last year (the year discussed in this call) already shaved 2 days off of delivery dates, or if the statement is this year’s goal. I think it is the latter [but the only ways to do that are to improve the accuracy of their tools - and I am not sure that they are currently 2 days longer than reality on average - or to pressure sellers to ship faster. Since Etsy is once again updating shop settings to add weekends to shop processing times without notifying us, I guess we can assume the latter? UPDATE (Mar 19): Silverman clarified at a recent talk that "we think we can cut shipping times on Etsy by at least two days this year."]

Other things sellers need to know

Etsy Ads now involve some localization outside of the US, which increased conversion rates. [If your ad performance changed in non-US countries during the quarter, this is the most likely reason.]

Neither sales or Etsy’s revenue are expected to increase until the second quarter, and they expect revenue to grow faster than sales this year. [Revenue is almost certain to increase, as the corporation has been surveying sellers on what they would be willing to pay more for.]

“In 2023, we removed approximately 140% more listings for violations of our Handmade Policy than in 2022.” [No word on how many of them were removed erroneously, though, as we know the “Temu” bots pulled a lot of truly handmade items that had photos stolen and listed on other sites.]

Silverman promised “innovation planned to improve the predictability of shipping costs for both buyers and sellers”, but provided no details. [I am not sure what would make my personal costs more predictable, given they change every single week with Canada Post’s fuel surcharge right now. Is it going to be forcing people to use Etsy Labels with calculated shipping? Or is this more calculated shipping options for countries outside of the US, and for new carriers? Restricting the amount a listing can charge for shipping? I really have no idea, but I hope all those people they hired for “fulfillment” jobs a few years back are coming up with something that is actually useful.] 

Miscellaneous

Depop had a decent quarter in sales and revenue. 

Reverb sales were flat. “The Reverb team made some organizational changes late in the year” which are expected to be profitable [i.e., they laid off over 30 people in October].

The Etsy layoffs in December were referred to by CFO Rachel Glaser as “our recent workforce realignment”. [At least she didn’t call those former employees churn.] The call provided no details on the restructuring they previously said would be done by the end of this quarter. 

October sales were not good, but November and December improved. January “was a little bumpy.”

Outside of the US, sales in Germany were mostly steady, while the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria improved.

The upcoming $15 fee for newly-opened shops will largely go to paying the costs of the technology for vetting sellers; it is not expected to result in much profit. 

My thoughts: this is going to be a rough year for many Etsy sellers

As I discussed last quarter, Etsy’s upper brass didn't seem to think they were responsible for the lackluster sales performance of their marketplace, and this quarter that extended to not admitting they overhired since early 2022, and not acknowledging that Etsy’s reputation as a gift site actually dropped over the past few years. The last one is particularly galling. Why keep talking about how there was great room for improvement in Etsy brand recognition for gift buyers and then fail to improve even a tiny bit? What were these folks doing the past 2 years? 

It’s clear they think bravado will get them through this, including the bold move of claiming everything will improve in the second quarter and throughout the year without revealing any real details. No wonder the stock dropped yet again. 

That said, they likely have some reasons for thinking that revenue will pick up at least, if not sales. As mentioned above, they have been extensively surveying sellers about raising fees and/or charging us for things we currently get for free (or mostly do not want). Possible downsides for Etsy include the fact that the Indie Sellers Guild and the Artisans Cooperative (among others) are likely to get more negative press for Etsy if fees are raised yet again, just as happened in 2022. It does not help that Etsy didn’t really follow through on improved services the last time they raised fees. 

And the more I think about the comment on shipping costs, the more I believe they are considering making Etsy Labels compulsory for at least some in the US, with set shipping charges sellers won’t be able to change. Bonanza did this last year, charging its US sellers $2 per order extra if they didn’t use Bonanza labels and didn’t get an exemption from the program. Most Etsy sellers using the labels and being forced to show that price as the shipping cost for buyers is the only way I can think of making shipping prices more predictable for buyers, other than capping shipping charges outright (and that sounds like a nightmare to implement). eBay does it, though. Am I missing something? [UPDATE Mar. 5, 2024: Etsy is surveying buyers about how much they like cheap shipping.]

Perhaps more importantly, the planned search changes have the potential to disrupt the status quo a great deal. We know that Etsy frequently takes a lot longer to develop these types of technologies than they expect, so it may not happen this year, but the work on promoting “quality” listings will continue, and that is already affecting some shops that used to do better in Etsy search. Do everything you can to make sure your images are "high-quality". If you rely on internal search to get most of your Etsy sales, this is a very good time to follow my usual advice and diversify your traffic sources. 

Etsy’s branding pivot to being the place to get gifts could also have a big impact on some shops and categories, if it is successful - and that is a big “if”. I’m not thoroughly convinced Etsy can manage this change in consumer consciousness, considering that the site’s reputation continues to be hammered by controversies around scams and non-handmade items. Kitkats, anyone? 

Many other comments do not bode well for most shop owners: a continuing push for discounting, emphasis on faster shipping times, and financial restrictions/impositions on “newly-opened” shops all indicate that traffic may flow away from small business owners who choose not to comply, or are unable to comply. 

Last quarter I said “[d]on’t be surprised if there are major site changes in 2024”, and I appear to have been correct. But really, anyone reading these reports over the past few years could have seen it coming.

Stay well informed, everyone! It’s the best weapon we have.

Reminder that you can sign up to receive my Tumblr and website blog posts via email.

UPDATED March 19, 2024

[realstarlume]

Crifter virus analysis

Found in a Russian Youtube channel named читерс геймс

Quick static analysis shows it was written with .NET 4.0. We can also tell it has a function called EnableHTTP, for making requests.

During runtime, this is confirmed, it makes requests to these domains:

pieddfreedinsu shop celebratioopz.shop writerospzm.shop deallerospfosu shop bassizcellskz. shop mennyudosirso. shop languagedscie shop complaintsipzzx. shop quialitsuzoxm.shop steamcommunity.com

So clearly we can already see that it steals Steam accounts.

After using ScyllaHide in x32dbg, I was able to extract the thread it creates where it executes the actual Malware. When put in Virustotal, it says its a cryptocurrency miner, LummaStealer.

This isn't entirely accurate. As it also steals account information and sends it to the perpetrator through the domains above.

When debugging, we find that it quickly closes. Although it starts an aspnet process from .NET library then injects shellcode into it. The shellcode is exactly the code that makes requests to those websites. I was able to extract this with the help of my friend N00bie on DNspy. The code contains interesting information about the math behind its encryption

The encryption uses a secret key, with one S array and a K array of 256 bytes. The S array is just numbers 0 through 255. K is the values of S modulo the secret key.

Then it goes through the S array again, creating a new index j, which is the current value of S + K then modulo 256.

Then it swaps the value of the current S element by the element at index j.

Then it encrypts the generic data.

int index = 0; j = 0; for (int i = 0; i < data.Length; i++) { index = (index + 1) % 256; j = (j + S[index]) % 256; Swap(ref S[index], ref S[j]); int t = (S[index] + S[j]) % 256; data[i] ^= S[t];

}

[bpod-bpod]

Die Another Way

If immune cells called neutrophils undergoing programmed cell death or apoptosis are not quickly cleared away by other immune cell processes, NETosis – the release of sticky extracellular traps (NETs) – is sparked by epigenetic signals which concludes their death

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Yanfang Peipei Zhu, Mary Speir and ZheHao Tan and colleagues

Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Science Advances, December 2023

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[irradiate-space]

Tuesday Typings

I came back from the North American Science Fiction Convention with so many books. Notes on costume stuff, one giant costume todo list, and recent reads/watches as well.

Books acquired recently

The Archive Undying, Emma Mieko Candon, 2023, bought

This is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, 2020, bought — finished and enjoyed

The Sng of Achilles, Madeline Miller, 2012, bought

Translation State,, Ann Leckie, 2023, bought

Francis: The People's Pope, Ted Rall, allegedly autographed, 2018, bought

The Stars Like Dust, Isaac Asimov, 1996 paperback printing, gifted

The Courier, Gerald Brandt, 2016, free pile

Alliance Rising, C. J. Cherryh and Jane S. Fancher, 2019, free pile

Foundryside, Robert Jackson Bennett, 2019 Broadway promo printing, free pile

Mica, fille de Transyl, Michèle Laframboise, 2012, free pile — I do not read the French; this is going on a gift pile for a Francophone friend

To Climb a Flat Mountain, G. David Nordley, 2009?, bought after the author gave me an answer to a worldbuilding problem

Burning Days, Glenn Grant, 2011, free

This Virtual Night, C.S. Friedman, 2021, free

To Each This World, Julie Czerneda, 2022, free and signed

The Complete Smoke Trilogy, Tanya Huff, 2019, free

She Who Became The Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan, 2021, free

All of the free books are from Pemmi-Con; half are from DAW Publishers who were really, really generous.

Recent Reading and Watching

This is How You Lose the Time War surprised me with the identity of the Seeker; mid-book I thought there might be another operative tailing them, or a Purple child, or a third side to this war. That last prediction was quite close!

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn - Bande Dessinee Episode: 0 wasn't particularly thrilling, but I value it because it fills out the characters of Full Frontal and Angelo Sauper, and how the Zeonist public sees things before the initiation of the Third Neo Zeon War, aka The Laplace Incident.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been good through season 7; I ned to track down season 8 to see if they later appearance of Ashoka in Star Wars Rebels makes any sense.

Legend of Galactic Heroes: I have finally finished this. RIP to a legend, but we all knew that the death flag for the last person to die was waved at the end of the third season. Rubinsky's end was also fitting: reflecting of how he was no longer part of the plot, he was also no longer part of politics. His last gasp felt irrelevant, and really was.

Pacific Rim: The Black is a 3dcg film that's reminiscent of RWBY and Dragon Prince in style, but with the same Ramin Djiwadi soundtrack, and some neat twists that really delve into the fridge horror of the setting. But this is a kids' show, so there's little blood, the decapitations happen out of frame, and the heads don't roll too far. Episode 7 has a nice "it's dangerous to go alone; take this" moment.

Computing

A 2.1A powerbank is not enough to stably power a Pi 1 B+ with a 4.0" square Hyperpixel Touch display and a wireless keyboard. Big Sad. Next question is if a PiSugar 3 battery controller will work with a Pi 1 B+ or if I should splurge $75 on a Pi 4 for this device.

I'd like to have a mobile compute terminal that's smaller than a 13" laptop, but still has USB ports. Scrollwheel and a button to toggle the OSK would also be nice.

Primary nonwork laptop's keyboard continues to degrade; It's becoming a desk item. Its degradation is the primary driver of the new palmtop development.

Actually, wait, I have a spare CM4 from a StereoPi 2 device. I could use that, with a compatible breakout board maybe. Or I could test the Hyperpixel screen on the Stereopi board directly. Then I'd have a 4" touchscreen mated to a … 5" wide board? Well, it'll at least let me test some things, like whether the CM4 works for this use case. Bonus dual cameras is a questionable bonus.

Crafting

KInda burnt out on crafting, tbh. Last two weeks were full of crunch before Pemmi-Con/NASFiC, which netted me a "Judge's Choice in Novice Class" award and "Best Use of Modern Tech" in the Masquerade competition.

Next up, over @glowingskull, I plan to post rundowns of the stuff I made, and maybe some shapefiles, but there's a lot of work left in this costume and I plan to redo large parts of the headgear.

Because, let's be honest, the post-con todo list for that costume is basically:

Better photographs?

Write up the project

Print off a holder for these parts, because I'm retiring them to mount on the wall

Redesign snout, again, to remove grilles and double-thicken all the parts

Resculpt temples and ears of skull

Put a visor in the eye holes

Eye-lights in visor?

Enclose head: back of skull, ventilation, neck sock

Redo the flame staff's camera monopod mount attachment point for durability (may require welding?)

Sculpt a model for the chestpiece, so it's plastic instead of foam

Sculpt a model for arm bracers

And then on top of that I also want to:

Document the Servicer outfit

Sew on a Masonic patch for the Servicer outfit

Build some DIY NVGs for use in costume projects like this one

Write up the Baba Yaga's Hut costume which won Best In Show

I think my next costume goal, after the revised Turaga Vakama, will be an Earth Federation Space Forces officer uniform, so I can give the planned "WTF is Zeon" lectures in character.

The next head goal will be a Deinonychus head with articulated jaw, which requires advancements in augmented reality. Need to get the StereoPi working, or ditch/sell it and switch to paired NVG monocles.

Music

I think it's time for Pacific Rim soundtracks. Pacific Rim: The Black sounds somewhere between the Pacific Rim movies' soundtracks and the tense violin work from the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie with RDJ and Jude Law, soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Not particularly Australian, unfortunately.

Lego Stuff

Gotta merge the two submarine kits, and build the Emperor's Throne Room that I won at pinball at Pemmi-Con.

[dscrloan]

DSCR Loan Interest Rates: What Smart Investors Must Know

If you're an investor eyeing commercial real estate, you’ve likely come across DSCR loans. These loans—based on Debt Service Coverage Ratio are unique in that they focus on the income a property generates rather than your personal income. But one of the most critical pieces of the puzzle is understanding DSCR loan interest rates. Let's break it down.

Why DSCR Loan Rates Matter

Interest rates on DSCR loans aren’t one-size-fits-all. They depend on a variety of factors including your credit score, the property's cash flow, market conditions, and your overall financial profile. As of April 27, 2023, average DSCR loan rates range from 7.59% to 8.59% on a 30-year fixed loan, assuming a 25% down payment and a DSCR of 1.2. These rates often come with a 3-2-1 prepayment penalty.

Compared to traditional residential loans, DSCR loans may carry slightly higher interest due to the increased risk associated with income-producing commercial properties. But the flexibility and opportunity they provide to real estate investors are unmatched.

How DSCR Is Calculated

To understand what affects your interest rate, it’s important to know how DSCR is calculated. Start with your Net Operating Income (NOI), subtract your expenses from your total revenue, and then divide that by your annual interest expense. For example:

NOI: $100,000

Annual Interest Expense: $25,000

DSCR: 4.0

A higher DSCR often means you're in a better position to negotiate a lower rate.

Factors That Can Raise or Lower Your Rate

Several variables influence the rate you’ll get:

Property Cash Flow: Better performance equals lower risk.

Real Estate Experience: More experience, better rates.

Loan-to-Value (LTV): Low down payments may add up to 0.40%

Credit Score: A lower score may add up to 0.50%

Prepayment Penalty Terms: Shorter terms may add 0.65%

Loan Size: Smaller loans might bump your rate by 0.50%

Each lender weighs these factors differently. That’s why shopping around is essential.

Tips to Lower Your DSCR Loan Interest Rate

Want a better rate? Start by improving your credit score, increasing your down payment, or investing in properties with higher DSCR ratios. You could also consider adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) for a lower initial rate or pay points upfront if you have the cash reserves.

What’s Next for DSCR Loan Rates?

The future of DSCR loan rates largely depends on inflation and Federal Reserve decisions. For now, experts expect these rates to remain between 7% and 9.5%. Market volatility, such as recent bank failures, can drive rates even higher.

Final Thoughts

DSCR loans offer flexibility, especially for investors who may not qualify for traditional financing. But getting the best rate takes strategy. Compare lenders, understand your numbers, and be proactive about improving your profile.

For more insights and lender connections, visit: DSCR Loan Interest Rate