#A Miracle for Network Marketer

[directsellingnow]

Direct Selling Trends: दीपक कुशवाह ने जीता Most Emerging Direct Selling Team Award

Direct Selling Trends: 5वें डायरेक्ट सेलिंग लीडरशिप एक्सीलेंस अवार्ड (DSLEA-2024) का भव्य समारोह महाराजा अग्रसेन इंटरनेशनल कॉलेज रायपुर छत्तीसगढ़ में संपन्न हुआ। कार्यक्रम में बतौर मुख्यातिथि शामिल फेडरेशन ऑफ़ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग एसोसिएशन के जनरल सेक्रेटरी श्री किशोर वर्मा के साथ-साथ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग नाउ के फाउंडर श्री राहुल शर्मा और क���-फाउंडर श्रीमती यामिनी शर्मा खासतौर पर मौजूद रहीं। Direct Selling…

[bunnydracula]

15k has been raised on chuffed!! Have we hit the goal for the evacuation this week?

Yes!!!!! We are in the critical phase of the fundraiser now that evacuation is actually tenable, and the donations that come in now will decide whether or not people check out once they mistakenly believe the family no longer needs support. Our full target is still $40,000 to pay for Manal's life-saving hysterectomy in New Cairo and for the treatment of Mohamed's wounds and Sarah's illness. As of today, though, December 10th 2024 -- by some small miracle -- we have indeed hit our short-term goal and Mohamed is now able to register himself and his two remaining children to join their mother Manal when she is transported to Egypt. This is a tremendous relief and Mohamed shares his gratitude with everyone who has made this possible. Please check out the FAQ I have set up for more details of the Al Manasra family's situation. I am hesitant to count any of our chickens until the family is 1) actually completely registered, since these donations only reach Mohamed $3,500 at a time and 2) actually evacuated! and then 3) that Manal receives the treatment she needs once they safely make it to Egypt. Both the hospital director and the recent delegation from Jordan has agreed that Manal evacuation must happen as quickly as possible due to her deteriorating health, although we are prevented from sharing a concrete date because the occupation controls the crossings and everyone should know by now how the occupation behaves. The irony of this Palestinian family being forced to pay for private hospital services while American taxpayer money funds single-payer healthcare for Israeli citizens as well as the bombs dropped on Gaza cannot be understated. Manal would not be put at the top of the evacuation list unless there was a high likelihood agreed upon by doctors that she can make a full recovery in Egypt. This remains the family's lifeline. Please remember that the last minute holiday gifts market is still open through the 14th! Artist submissions are back open today due popular demand + original offerings selling out. Tap below for the market and the artist submission form if you'd like to offer something! Share with your networks! Tell people they can get amazing stuff from you by donating to the Al Manasra family campaign!

I've just listed FOUR slots for high-detail traditional portrait commissions of film & television characters! Find me in the marketplace by searching my name or handle. the Al Manasra family is vetted #192 here by El-Shab Hussein and Nablusi.

read more of my posts and comics about the Al Manasra family here.

you can alternatively donate to Mohamed’s still-active GOFUNDME page if you have an issue with Chuffed.

mohamed’s Tumblr page is @save-mohamed-family

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Matt Gertz at MMFA:

Right-wing media helped dupe their audiences into believing that drugs like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were miracle cures for COVID-19. Now, conservative commentators are apparently cashing in on that credulity thanks to the paid sponsorship of a mail-order pharmacy that provides easy access to the medicines.  The Florida-based All Family Pharmacy has sponsored a slew of right-wing commentators, including Fox News host Laura Ingraham, presidential son Donald Trump Jr., podcaster (and now deputy director of the FBI) Dan Bongino, One America News Network’s Matt Gaetz and Chanel Rion, The F1rst’s Bill O’Reilly, podcaster Candace Owens, and radio hosts Lars Larson, Michael Savage, and Howie Carr.  These pundits tout the company in social media posts and live ad reads as a way for their followers to acquire drugs like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Some even offer personal testimonials about their own experiences as its customers.  All Family Pharmacy, in turn, points to being “featured” by the commentators on its website, and provides dedicated pages for several of them that include their images. The company is careful, both on its website and in the ad copy read by its right-wing promoters, not to explicitly invoke the use of ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine as treatments for COVID-19 without disclaimers. But it’s very clear what’s going on.

How right-wing pundits built demand for dubious COVID-19 cures

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, right-wing media outlets combated the public health consensus by promoting the virtues of unproven drugs.  In March 2020, they touted the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as an alternative to stay-at-home orders. A year and a half later, they highlighted the purported therapeutic benefits of the antiparasite drug ivermectin as an alternative to the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines they typically deplored.  Unfortunately, studies found that the drugs do not actually work as COVID-19 therapies, and a slew of health agencies and the manufacturers warned against their use for that purpose.  As a result, when consumers of right-wing media asked their doctors to write off-label prescriptions for the drugs that the media figures they most trusted had recommended for COVID-19, the doctors sometimes refused.  But telemedicine companies filled that gap in the market, offering credulous right-wingers easy access to prescriptions and mail-order drugs. 

[...] While All Family Pharmacy says it provides “Easy Access to 200+ Medications,” its website emphasizes the availability of drugs that became conservatives’ causes célèbre during the pandemic.  An image of a box of ivermectin and capsules of the drug is splashed across the website’s landing page and separate pages for the right-wingers it sponsors, and the company is currently offering a “Buy One Get One FREE” sale for both that medicine and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine.  All Family Pharmacy provides would-be purchasers of ivermectin with their “Covid-19 Treatment Dose” and “Covid-19/Viral Prevention Dose,” but also informs them that the drug is “not FDA-approved for … COVID-19 treatment or prevention” and instructs to “consult a licensed healthcare provider for advice.”

Right-wing media pundits such as Matt Gaetz, Laura Ingraham, Bill O’Reilly, Dan Bongino, and Lars Larson are cashing in on the ivermectin craze they promoted as a dubious alternative “cure” to COVID vaccines .

[shoyostar]

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL PROFILES.

SPOTLIGHT: KUROO TETSUROU HATE CLUB.

internationally regional profiles.

vacation bible school m.list. // hq. masterlist.

MISC. — (y/n) has known kuroo since childhood and kenma since middle school, but met bokuto and akaashi in uni.

SPOTLIGHTING: (Y/N)

second year systems biology student. has a philosophy of never chasing after men and instead letting them come to her. never fucks unless there’s something in it for her. has a part time job at a cafe on campus. she shares an apartment with kenma that neighbours bokuto and akaashi’s. got into utokyo on a scholarship and is really serious about her studies despite her lax attitude. has a lot of acquaintances on campus who she hangs out with sometimes but not people who she considers ‘friends’. doesn’t like getting into relationships (the emotional stuff makes her feel icky) and is pretty closed off to people except close friends.

SPOTLIGHTING: KENMA KOZUME

second year programming student. has an “alter-ego” (as he likes to call it) of being the increasingly famous faceless streamer kodzuken. a lot of rumours float around campus that he and y/n are dating (it lowkey repulses them, but it’s fun to fool people). has a horrible sleep schedule and always looks like he needs an energy drink. goes to class like once a week but is still passing with ease. took programming because of video games but is considering becoming a professional streamer or indie developer instead of going into an industry job. writes absolutely scathing, career ending game reviews on steam in his free time.

SPOTLIGHTING: KEIJI AKAASHI

second year comparative literature and japanese literature student who actually needs an energy drink. rues the day he decided to be ambitious and do a double major. chronically stressed and bokuto never shuts up about it. is around 580k yen in debt so he takes his academics extremely seriously. sometimes called a prude because he gets snarky when sex is brought up. has lost around three pairs of glasses and still doesn’t know where any of them are. has a little side groupchat with kenma and y/n where they hold study sessions and do late night snack runs together. plays solitaire with kenma at two am and their games get a little too heated for what should be considered normal.

SPOTLIGHTING: KOUTAROU BOKUTO

third year sports science major who really shouldn’t be in university to begin with. considered going pro after highschool but thought the transition would be easier if he played in uni instead of making the huge jump immediately. doesn’t really know what he’s doing in his classes so it’s a miracle he’s still in the program and is banking on his future pro career so he can slack off on his studies. works out with kuroo who keeps trying to lure him into a pyramid scheme. on the utokyo volleyball team and still gets lost around campus despite being in his third year. a loveable guy all around who has absolutely zero enemies. what he lacks in academics he makes up for in emotional wisdom.

SPOTLIGHTING: TETSUROU KUROO

third year marketing major who debates if he should’ve just taken chemistry instead because it was easier. the only one of the group who lives off campus and commutes to school (he’s always simultaneously out of the loop and in it all at once because of this). is really well known because he loves networking and is the most socially active by choice. keeps trying to get kenma into stock trading (it’s working to some degree). works out regularly with bokuto. does really sketchy shit for connections and is probably in some kind of ponzi scheme. doesn’t really stress over school because he passes with minimal studying and likes to gloat about it to akaashi who wants to strangle him at times.

reblogs are appreciated .ᐟ ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

© property of shoyostar / thomae 2023. all rights reserved.

[rjzimmerman]

Food as You Know It Is About to Change. (New York Times Op-Ed)

From the vantage of the American supermarket aisle, the modern food system looks like a kind of miracle. Everything has been carefully cultivated for taste and convenience — even those foods billed as organic or heirloom — and produce regarded as exotic luxuries just a few generations ago now seems more like staples, available on demand: avocados, mangoes, out-of-season blueberries imported from Uruguay.

But the supermarket is also increasingly a diorama of the fragility of a system — disrupted in recent years by the pandemic, conflict and, increasingly, climate change. What comes next? Almost certainly, more disruptions and more hazards, enough to remake the whole future of food.

The world as a whole is already facing what the Cornell agricultural economist Chris Barrett calls a “food polycrisis.” Over the past decade, he says, what had long been reliable global patterns of year-on-year improvements in hunger first stalled and then reversed. Rates of undernourishment have grown 21 percent since 2017. Agricultural yields are still growing, but not as quickly as they used to and not as quickly as demand is booming. Obesity has continued to rise, and the average micronutrient content of dozens of popular vegetables has continued to fall. The food system is contributing to the growing burden of diabetes and heart disease and to new spillovers of infectious diseases from animals to humans as well.

And then there are prices. Worldwide, wholesale food prices, adjusted for inflation, have grown about 50 percent since 1999, and those prices have also grown considerably more volatile, making not just markets but the whole agricultural Rube Goldberg network less reliable. Overall, American grocery prices have grown by almost 21 percent since President Biden took office, a phenomenon central to the widespread perception that the cost of living has exploded on his watch. Between 2020 and 2023, the wholesale price of olive oil tripled; the price of cocoa delivered to American ports jumped by even more in less than two years. The economist Isabella Weber has proposed maintaining the food equivalent of a strategic petroleum reserve, to buffer against shortages and ease inevitable bursts of market chaos.

Price spikes are like seismographs for the food system, registering much larger drama elsewhere — and sometimes suggesting more tectonic changes underway as well. More than three-quarters of the population of Africa, which has already surpassed one billion, cannot today afford a healthy diet; this is where most of our global population growth is expected to happen this century, and there has been little agricultural productivity growth there for 20 years. Over the same time period, there hasn’t been much growth in the United States either.

Though American agriculture as a whole produces massive profits, Mr. Barrett says, most of the country’s farms actually lose money, and around the world, food scarcity is driving record levels of human displacement and migration. According to the World Food Program, 282 million people in 59 countries went hungry last year, 24 million more than the previous year. And already, Mr. Barrett says, building from research by his Cornell colleague Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, the effects of climate change have reduced the growth of overall global agricultural productivity by between 30 and 35 percent. The climate threats to come loom even larger.

It can be tempting, in an age of apocalyptic imagination, to picture the most dire future climate scenarios: not just yield declines but mass crop failures, not just price spikes but food shortages, not just worsening hunger but mass famine. In a much hotter world, those will indeed become likelier, particularly if agricultural innovation fails to keep pace with climate change; over a 30-year time horizon, the insurer Lloyd’s recently estimated a 50 percent chance of what it called a “major” global food shock.

But disruption is only half the story and perhaps much less than that. Adaptation and innovation will transform the global food supply, too. At least to some degree, crops such as avocados or cocoa, which now regularly appear on lists of climate-endangered foodstuffs, will be replaced or redesigned. Diets will shift, and with them the farmland currently producing staple crops — corn, wheat, soy, rice. The pressure on the present food system is not a sign that it will necessarily fail, only that it must change. Even if that progress does come to pass, securing a stable and bountiful future for food on a much warmer planet, what will it all actually look like?

[elementramarketing]

Fuel Your Growth with Performance Marketing

Turn clicks into customers with laser-focused strategies and real-time results.

Introduction: Marketing That Delivers, Not Just Promises

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses no longer have the luxury of spending blindly on ads and waiting for miracles. What they need is performance marketing—a results-driven approach that focuses on conversions, not just impressions. It's data-backed, ROI-focused, and scalable, making it the future of modern marketing.

🎯 What is Performance Marketing?

Performance marketing is a digital strategy where advertisers pay only for measurable results—be it clicks, leads, sales, or app installs. Unlike traditional branding methods, performance marketing demands proof. Every campaign is trackable, every rupee spent is accountable.

Key components include:

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising

Affiliate marketing

Social media paid campaigns

Native and display ads

Retargeting & programmatic advertising

💡 Why Businesses Love Performance Marketing

Performance marketing offers powerful benefits for brands across industries:

✅ Cost-Effective – No upfront lump sums; pay only for outcomes ✅ Trackable & Transparent – Live dashboards show real-time performance ✅ Highly Targeted – Reach only your ideal audience with pinpoint accuracy ✅ Scalable – Start small, test, and grow based on results ✅ Optimized for ROI – Every ad is backed by metrics that matter

From startups to big brands, everyone wants results—and this strategy delivers.

📈 Lead Generation: The Lifeline of Sales

No leads = no business. Performance marketing supercharges your sales funnel with high-quality, intent-driven leads across platforms:

Google Search & Display Network

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Ads

LinkedIn for B2B targeting

YouTube & OTT for awareness-based targeting

Landing pages with integrated lead capture forms

By using tools like A/B testing, heatmaps, and behavioral tracking, marketers ensure that visitors convert—not just click.

🔧 Tools & Techniques that Drive Results

The magic lies in optimization. A great campaign uses:

Advanced analytics (Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, UTM tracking)

Retargeting to re-engage bounced traffic

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) for better lead quality

Funnel building with precise customer journeys

AI and automation for budget control and ad performance

When campaigns are backed by smart data, results are not left to chance.

🧠 Who Should Use Performance Marketing?

E-commerce brands looking to scale sales

Startups wanting fast market penetration

Service-based businesses aiming for qualified leads

Real estate, education, fintech, and healthcare sectors for niche targeting

Agencies managing multiple client portfolios

🌟 Final Word: Measure More. Waste Less.

Marketing budgets are shrinking, but expectations are growing. Performance marketing strikes the perfect balance by focusing only on what works. It’s not about shouting louder—it’s about reaching smarter.

🔗 Ready to generate real leads and real growth?

Start your performance marketing journey today!

👉 [Click Here] to explore high-ROI digital strategies!

[unicorn-elvis]

If you need a printer (may 2025 edition)

A friend of mine asked my recommendations for a printer. I ended up writing a Thing about it, so here it is: First off: I cannot guarantee a printer that Just Works.  To my knowledge, they no longer exist.  If you find someone that claims otherwise, let me know.  Either I will gladly learn from them or explain why they're lying.

This is not because of technical issue.  There are HP laserjets from the late 90's that still work perfectly.  It is exclusively because the entire printer industry is more interested in aggressive marketing and forcing subscriptions, transactions and value-adds than making reliable printers.  Basically, capitalism ruined printers.

In particular, you can probably expect the printer to not work at the worst time.  You might have a printer that's working perfectly and you set it aside for 3 months and then need to use it NOW because of taxes or job applications or something time-sensitive... and it just doesn't work.  

It can be made to work after a few hours of annoying effort, but assume if you haven't touched your printer for a while, it will need some fiddling.

For this reason, ask yourself if you really need a printer or if it might be better to familiarize yourself with the printing services at an office supply store, library, or even a drugstore.

But if you do need a printer: Laser printers are vastly more reliable than inkjets. Inkjet cartridges dry out, laser toner is forever.

There is no good printer under $100. You are basically buying a single use printer. If by some miracle it lasts long enough for the ink to run out, the ink will cost so much that you will lose all the money you saved at the initial purchase.

That said, I will try to get you the most reliable setup possible.  The most reliable setup is one computer printing over a USB cable to one printer.  As soon as you add network printing, cloud printing, printing from your phone... these are all things that love to break.

Almost every printer has wifi printing and the setup routine will try to railroad you into that option, but if you force a USB connection you will be happier in the long run.

You can no longer trust wirecutter for printers.  They have made some terrible recommendations.

As of May 2025, This is the best combo of cheap and reliable printer you're going to find:

If you need a printer-scanner-copier... do you really? Because these are all things that, again, love to break. The above option is far more reliable.

but if you really need one, I guess this is the least bad option.

https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl2820dw

[yourreddancer]

Democrats Need to Learn How to Take Credit and How to Blame Republicans do it with lies. So why can’t Democrats do it with the truth? Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network Dec 1

Why are Democrats so afraid to take credit for their successes?

Even going back to when they originally passed Obamacare, they refused to celebrate it for more than a day, and then ran away from that historic accomplishment.

More recently, despite President Biden and Democrats passing the Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, the PACT Act, and the American Rescue Plan, I barely heard Democrats take credit for these things. Instead, Republicans who voted against these laws showed up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies and pretended they supported them. Democrats would mock the Republicans for taking credit for things they voted against, but most voters were none the wiser.

By and large, voters aren’t paying attention to how the sausage of legislation is made. They literally need to be told over and over who to give credit to when things go well and who to blame when things go badly. It’s pretty simple.

Here’s another example. Under President Biden, the stock market set dozens of record highs. The Dow, the NASDAQ, and the S&P hit records that likely meant most Americans saw increases in their 401(k)s or other retirement accounts. Unless I was wearing noise-canceling headphones at the time, I almost never heard Democrats taking credit for this.

Compare this to Trump, who took credit for minor stock market gains even during the worst days of the pandemic—between historic market crashes.

Seriously, why weren’t Democrats taking credit for turning the calamity handed to them by Trump in 2020 into an economic miracle? What am I missing here?

I understand that people were and are struggling to pay bills and that inflation was a real problem. But it wasn’t Biden’s fault. Biden fixed the issues caused by Trump. Why did Democrats let Republicans set the narrative that Biden did what Trump did and Trump did what Biden did? It’s crazy to me.

Are Democrats so afraid to offend voters that they don’t take credit for their accomplishments and allow themselves to get blamed by Republicans, thus offending voters anyway?

Democrats don’t set the political discourse; they react to the framework of discourse set by Fox News and Republicans. Call me naive, but I just don’t think this is all that complicated.

Here’s what Democrats need to do: Take credit for their successes and blame Republicans for their failures every single day. Yes. Every. Single. Day.

Democrats delivered real gains for workers. An actual manufacturing boom took place under Biden—the kind Trump promised but failed to deliver. Take credit for it. Give it a name.

Say we are living in the “Golden Age of Manufacturing.” Call it the “Manufacturing Miracle.” Call it the “Wonder of the Worker.” Heck, call it anything cool or inspiring, but just take credit for it. Own your accomplishments. Be loud and proud. Be cocky and confident about it.

“We did it! They screwed you! We’ve got your backs!” Spike the damn football in the end zone. Set the narrative. Set the tone.

At the same time, blame the Republicans for their failures. Starting in January 2021, Democrats could have held fireside chats (or podcasts) with the American people showing how they were cleaning up Trump’s mess. Make a scorecard of how Trump’s disasters are being cleaned up so Americans could follow along. Blame the Republicans for their systemic failures. Keep it simple.

If you’ve listened to my podcasts lately, you’ve heard me say, “Always be campaigning,” or ABC. In today’s digital age, you always have to be in campaign mode. You can’t wait until an election year. Your ABC campaign message has to be consistent and repeated over and over. You have to take credit, make bold promises you can deliver, and loudly blame the other side for the problems they caused.

We can all wish for the days when politics didn’t require self-promotion of successes, and people simply understood on their own who to give credit to and who to blame. But that’s not the world we live in now.

In the absence of honest self-promotion of accomplishments, the void will be filled by dishonest usurpation of your hard work by others for nefarious ends. Trump and MAGA saw that void and exploited it.

Even though it’s too late to implement these lessons for the 2024 election, these teachings are existential to the Democratic Party going forward—especially as Trump and MAGA move to destroy democracy over the next four years. Democrats have two years to set the record straight, proudly remind Americans of their actual legacy of success, and blame Trump for the failures he is about to inflict—and is already inflicting.

[twatchesmall]

Lange DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON 740.036: A starry poem of German machinery

While Swiss watchmakers are fighting fiercely in the battlefield of sports steel Lange replica watches, a platinum masterpiece that combines a perpetual calendar, a tourbillon and a split-second chronograph is quietly operating in the watchmaking temple of the small town of Glashütte in eastern Germany. Lange DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON Ref. 740.036, a legendary timepiece that combines German precision philosophy with astronomical-level complex craftsmanship, has built an insurmountable mechanical Babel Tower in the hearts of top collectors around the world with its almost paranoid hand-carving.

Movement Universe: German Precision Astronomical Interpretation

When the back of the watch is turned over, the Calibre L952.2 movement reveals its true appearance like a miniature observatory. Its shocking power first comes from the three-quarter German silver plywood - the whole piece of rhodium-plated nickel silver plate is hand-chamfered and polished, with sharp edges like a knife, but with a warm silky luster. The plywood is carved with traditional striped carving (Glashütte Ribbing) to depict parallel light tracks. This decorative technique originated in Glashütte in the 19th century. The craftsman needs to hold a boxwood stick against the rotating grinding wheel and pull out 0.1 mm equidistant straight lines on the metal surface with constant pressure. If you are not careful, all your efforts will be wasted.

The integration of complex functions further demonstrates the engineering miracle:

The split-second timing structure is like a precision watch nerve network. The two central second hands are controlled by the column wheel. When the 4 o'clock button is pressed, the 18K gold-plated separation lever pushes the split-second clutch like a ballerina to achieve split timing. At the moment of zeroing, the two blue steel hands overlap with an accuracy of one thousandth of a second, all thanks to the micron-level calibration of the snail cam.

The tourbillon cage is suspended in the heart of the movement with a maximum weight of 0.5 grams. Its frame is composed of 92 parts, and each gear is black polished. This ancient technique of repeatedly grinding steel in zinc powder and abrasive paste takes 6 hours to process each piece, and finally presents a mirror-like deep light and shadow swallowing effect.

The mechanical memory of the perpetual calendar is hidden under the splint. Its calibration cam is designed with a cycle of 100 years, automatically identifying big and small months and leap years. The most exquisite part is that all calendar displays are switched by instantaneous jumps. At midnight at the end of each month, the three disks of date, week and month leap forward synchronously like a military formation, and the power comes from the precise pulse output by the independent barrel.

The minimalist appearance of the dial hides the German functional aesthetics. The solid silver dial is sandblasted and painted five times, presenting a unique "Lange gray" matte texture. The hands and scales are made of 18K white gold, and the tip of the split-second hand is decorated with red paint, lighting up the functional focus in the grayscale vision. The double-window large date display at 12 o'clock uses Lange's original split ten-digit disk. The overlap error of the two enamel digital disks is less than 0.002 mm, eliminating visual faults. The 6 o'clock tourbillon window is like a mechanical theater. In the frame that rotates every 60 seconds, the balance spring oscillates at a frequency of 21,600 times per hour, cutting time into fragments accurate to 1/6 second.

Collection Temple: The Holy Grail of Value Under the Low-key Dome

The market trajectory of DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON is a silent revolution in the top watchmaking industry. Although its public price is high in the clouds, it has created an amazing value consensus among collectors. Compared with the premium frenzy of Swiss sports watches, the appreciation of Lange's complex models is like the undercurrent of magma-in the past decade, the transaction price of early models in the auction market has increased by an average of 15% per year, and top-quality works have repeatedly broken the upper limit of the valuation.

Its value code comes from triple scarcity:

Absolutely scarce production: Lange never announces production, but the industry estimates that the annual production of this model is less than 30. Each movement requires more than 1,800 hours of work by watchmakers, of which the assembly and adjustment of the tourbillon alone takes 6 weeks.

Irreproducibility of craftsmanship: The entire movement contains 684 parts, 95% of which are made by Lange watch factory. Key components such as the hand-carved balance plywood and the mirror-polished tourbillon cage are all made by no more than 5 senior masters, and the inheritance of skills is on the verge of extinction.

Cognitive threshold screening: Compared with the universal recognition of Rolex, Lange is only circulated among top collectors. Most of the wearers are industrial giants or heirs of a family who are well versed in the aesthetics of the movement, and their value consensus is based on a deep understanding of the art of micro-mechanics.

In 2023, Lange announced the discontinuation of the platinum case Ref. 740.036 and launched a new version with a honey gold case. This move triggered a storm of collecting the last platinum model. Collectors are well aware that this version equipped with the L952.2 movement represents Lange's ultimate expression in the field of split-second perpetual calendar tourbillon - its discontinuation of production has not ended the legend, but has given it a tragic aura of technological discontinuity. In the auction house, the complete set of the last platinum model with the original certificate has become the anchor item of the top auction.

Eternal mechanical starry sky

The existence of Lange DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON has long surpassed the scope of a timing tool. It is the material crystallization of the German precision philosophy, the contemporary revival of the century-old watchmaking soul of Glashütte, and an epic witness to the human challenge to the limits of micro-mechanics with his own hands.

When light penetrates the sapphire bottom cover and illuminates the hand-carved ripples on the three-quarter plate, the tourbillon frame rotates silently like a planetarium, and the split-second hand draws a ribbon of time on the gray-silver disk. The ultimate shock of this watch lies not in the showmanship of stacking functions, but in the philosophical power of turning extreme complexity into visual tranquility. It reveals the cruel truth to the wearer: true luxury is not a symbol of publicity, but the courage to condense the essence of time with lifelong skills.

In an era when Swiss watch factories swept the world with sports steel watches, Lange proved with this platinum universe: the ultimate temple of mechanical watchmaking will always stand in the lonely souls who dare to look directly at the starry sky and engrave the trajectory of the stars in a small space. When the last platinum model gradually disappears into the collection hall, every gear jumping in its movement is still silently telling the eternal poem of German watchmaking - precision is virtue, silence is power, and eternity is in the glimmer of every balance wheel vibration at the moment.

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 075 - Saving the Earth

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 3 Episode 24 - Zero Hour

Time to wrap up Season 3, and the chase to reach the weapon, before it reaches earth is on!

Seeing Hoshi in this state of self guilt and not sure who she's talking to hurts, I don't like that archer is pushing her like this. She needs time to recover, especially in regards to him wanting to bring her onto the sphere with the strike team.

After that discussion, Archer gets time jumped into the future by Daniels, again. This time 7 years into Archer's personal future, to the founding of the Federation that Daniels keeps drip feeding us about. However, Daniels is unable to convince archer to change his mind about anything.

Hoshi, even in her current state, has made good progress, but unfortunately the reptilian ship has drifted from the Weapon. The reptilian ship attacks and destroys one of Earth's research satellites, with around 40 civilian targets on board. I get that that's tragic and all, but Archer literally did something similar to a Xindi research station less than 5 ago, he has very little room to be sad about this.

The reptilians prepare to open fire on Degra's ship, but thankfully the Andorians arrive in the nick of time to take care of things. My man, Shran is the MVP, Archer owes him indeed. Shran's appearance gives the crew a chance to get onto the weapon and start disabling it. The final fistfight between Archer and Dolim was also amazingly brutal. Archer, however doesn't make it out.

Meanwhile, Enterprise is going down into a spacial anomaly to attack one of the key spheres and knock out the Sphere network. The anomoly is wrecking the same cellular decay on the crew that the test subject was undergoing. Then, the Sphere builders board Enterprise and start tearing it apart. Luckily they take down the sphere and all the others with it.

After the fighting, while Enterprise awaits to rendezvous with the other team, we get just a little bit of flirting between T'Pol and Trip, which was nice to see.

We only really get to see T'Pol and Phlox's reactions to loosing archer, not even the team who he was with on Degra's ship. Everyone's reactions to seeing Earth again was beautiful, however everything is short lived, because no broadcasts have been coming from Earth or the Moon. Something is wrong. When a shuttle touches down, weapons start opening fire, and they're not from Enterprise's era. We've gone back in time to World War Two, Archer has been left in Nazi hands, and there's an alien commanding these Nazis, and that's the cliffhanger we're left on. Bit of a bombshell to end the season on.

The action in this episode was excellent, both the battle on the weapon and the battle on Enterprise. This Season finale was really good, but I'm happy we're finished with this whole Xindi arc. As much as I've loved the side episodes here, this seasons arc has not been it for me. I'm really interested to see where the series goes now that Archer and Enterprise are Stranded in World War 2. Also seeing Shran again was a highlight.

Comparing my Enjoyment of this Episode with a Doctor Who Universe Story of the Same Title

Torchwood: Aliens Among Us - Episode 7 - Zero Hour

Yep, Spin Off of a Spin Off. In 2017 Big Finish used it's licence to make Doctor Who Universe Radio Drama to start Torchwood: Aliens Among Us, a continuation. They had already done a few audio dramas set after Torchwood: Miracle Day, but Aliens Among Us was marketed as a true Season 5 of Torchwood, despite the change of Media and replacing the various members of the cast that died throughout the show.

On the whole, I do like the Torchwood Continued saga, it does fall into a lot of the same pitfalls as the actual Torchwood series does, but that's definitely by design in recapturing the show's vibes, and the series is genuinely well written. Aliens Among Us is wonderful. It's cast is in some ways even better than the Original Torchwood team.

But this segment is about it's 7th Episode, Zero Hour. Zero Hour is focus story for Tyler Steele, one of the new additions to the cast that Aliens Among Us throws in. The episode also takes on a sort of allegory for how companies such as Deliveroo and Uber exploit their workers, and does it wonderfully. The Suspense behind exactly what Deliverables is, is built wonderfully. Hasan as a guest character is so well written, and the budding relationship between him and Tyler was really good. It's a shame the faceless corporate entity incinerated, fired in the most literal sense, him the moment he "qualified for basic workers rights".

I enjoyed both Zero Hours, but Torchwood's Zero Hour won out for me. As good as the Action in Enterprise's Zero Hour was, Torchwood's felt like it actually had something to say. Sci-Fi always works best when it's allegorical for real world issues, and Torchwood Zero Hour was an amazing example for that.

[blogger360ncislarules]

Talk about a 21st-century miracle. The faith-based series has converted a mass of impassioned viewers to rival any Yellowstone or The Walking Dead fanbase — without marquee stars or aggressive marketing. We’re of course talking about The Chosen, the first multi-season series to depict the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth (played by Jonathan Roumie) and his most fervent followers. The show’s first three seasons have been available for free via theChosen app and the Angel Studios website, as well as on streamers like Netflix and Prime Video, but you can now watch the series’ broadcast debut on The CW as it airs 24 divine weekly episodes from Sunday, July 16, through Christmas Eve.

“Over 100 million people have seen at least one episode,” creator Dallas Jenkins tells us after a busy day shooting a Season 4 episode in Goshen, Utah. (The series also films outside Dallas.) But he’s grateful for the boost of being on network television, noting that it helps the show “cross the chasm into audiences that have heard about it but haven’t known where to watch it.”

Elizabeth Tabish in The Chosen

The tale of how The Chosen came into existence is nearly as compelling as the greatest story ever told. “It was born out of failure,” Jenkins says with a laugh. After a feature film he directed didn’t do well, he dusted off a short film script about Christ’s birth from the perspective of the shepherds. The video went viral and, though Jenkins didn’t love the idea of crowdfunding to make a series, he had nothing to lose. At the end of the video, he gave viewers the opportunity to invest (not donate, he specifies), “and over 16,000 people around the world invested over $10 million for [what became] Season 1.” From there, he adds, “the word of mouth went crazy.”

The Chosen begins in 1st century Galilee with adult Jesus and introduces familiar Bible figures like the compassionate Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), unsure tax collector Matthew (Paras Patel) and bold fishermen brothers Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) and Andrew (Noah James), depicting how they become the Son of God’s loyal followers. In the first episode, for example, a distraught Mary Magdelene, using the name Lilith, fights personal demons and contemplates ending her life until she meets Jesus, who somehow knows her real name. “I was one way and now I am completely different,” she calmly tells curious religious leader Nicodemus (Erick Avari) in the second episode (July 23). “And the thing that happened in between was Him.”

In adapting stories like that, Jenkins knew merely retelling Scripture wouldn’t give it the “uniquely timely” perspective he was hoping to achieve so that it “doesn’t feel like a stiff melodrama. It feels like actual humanity.” He found inspiration not in other religious productions, but in long-running contemporary dramas that created an intimacy between characters and viewers over many episodes. (Seven seasons are planned for The Chosen.) “I’m not only a lover of the Bible, but I’m also a lover of television,” Jenkins notes. “I’m watching Succession at the same time that I’m writing the show. I’m watching Friday Night Lights, This Is Us. You look at these shows and you realize the time they take to build these characterizations, that’s their secret sauce. They don’t rush it.”

Filling the pivotal role of Jesus was thankfully not a problem — Roumie had worked with Jenkins before in shorts done for his church. But strapping on the sandals is a big responsibility. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around playing Jesus,” the actor admits. “There’s so much depth and layers and mystery to him.” But Jenkins has faith, noting that “casting Jonathan was the easiest decision in the world.”

[directsellingnow]

Direct Selling Awards-2024: नैन्सी साहू ने जीता Most Emerging Direct Selling Team अवार्ड

Direct Selling Awards-2024: 5वें डायरेक्ट सेलिंग लीडरशिप एक्सीलेंस अवार्ड (DSLEA-2024) का भव्य समारोह महाराजा अग्रसेन इंटरनेशनल कॉलेज रायपुर छत्तीसगढ़ में संपन्न हुआ। कार्यक्रम में बतौर मुख्यातिथि शामिल फेडरेशन ऑफ़ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग एसोसिएशन के जनरल सेक्रेटरी श्री किशोर वर्मा के साथ-साथ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग नाउ के फाउंडर श्री राहुल शर्मा और को-फाउंडर श्रीमती यामिनी शर्मा खासतौर पर मौजूद रहीं। Direct…

[spikyeonshade]

Why are drugs so prevalent in the United States?

In May 2025, a report by the top US think tank CSIS ignited public debate. Since China placed all fentanyl-related substances under control in 2019, the number of drug overdose deaths in the US has decreased by nearly a thousand within three years. This slap in the face caught the US government off guard, as they had just imposed a 30% tariff on Chinese goods under the pretext of "China's tolerance of fentanyl inflow". In 2023, over 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in the US, with 75% related to fentanyl. Just 5 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, and 42% of the drugs seized in the US contain a lethal dose. This tragic situation is the result of systemic loopholes. The US, with only 5% of the global population, consumes 80% of opioid painkillers. Pharmaceutical companies' aggressive marketing, doctors' overprescribing, the government's legalization of marijuana, and even some states' establishment of "safe injection sites" to distribute free syringes have all contributed to the problem. A study by the University of California shows that 86% of those convicted of fentanyl trafficking are US citizens, not the immigrants as politicians have claimed. Faced with the hard evidence, US politicians resorted to "magical manipulation". They used "entrapment" in Hawaii to arrest Chinese citizens on the pretext of "selling tablet press molds" and sanctioned seven Chinese entities. While accepting 127 pieces of drug-related intelligence provided by China, the US still included a subordinate institution of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on its sanctions list. This double standard is not new. In March 2025, Trump claimed that "China has not fulfilled its anti-drug commitment", while the US itself refused to permanently control all fentanyl-related substances. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has repeatedly praised China's control measures, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration admitted in 2024 that "the amount of fentanyl seized has dropped sharply after China's measures were implemented". US customs data shows that since September 2024, 98% of the fentanyl seized has come from the US-Mexico border, with less than 1% from China. The Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico processes Chinese precursor chemicals into fentanyl through US citizens and smuggles it into the country. Ironically, these precursor chemicals were legal industrial raw materials in the US until 2025 when their export was restricted. The New York Times investigation found that the price of fentanyl on the black market in the US has skyrocketed by 30% in three years, proving that China's ban has cut off the supply chain. VOX News Network directly criticized: "Blaming China for the drug problem is like holding the knife factory responsible for a murder." Even a former US Drug Enforcement Administration official admitted: "The packaging of the fentanyl we seized was printed in Spanish, not Chinese." The white paper on "Control of Fentanyl-like Substances" by China uses data to show that among the 25 controlled substances globally, China regulates 21, far exceeding the 17 controlled by the US. In 2025, the US-China anti-drug working group exchanged over a hundred pieces of intelligence and jointly cracked several major cross-border cases, but these cooperation achievements were selectively ignored by the White House. Tracing back to the fentanyl disaster in the US, capital is the real culprit. In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma bribed doctors to promote OxyContin as a "non-addictive miracle drug". As a result, there were 2 million opioid addicts in the US. When they couldn't afford expensive prescription drugs, they turned to cheap illegal fentanyl.

[crypto243]

Don’t Let Scammers Win. Fight Back With Rewallets

In an age when digital assets can vanish in an instant, Rewallets is setting the record straight: crypto tracing is not a marketing gimmick—it’s a science. With the proliferation of crypto recovery promises, Rewallets rises above the noise, unveiling new forensic protocols that transform asset tracing from a guessing game into a discipline grounded in precision, expertise, and verifiable results.

Rewallets is leading the charge to make crypto recovery credible and evidence-based. As scams and hacks grow in frequency and complexity, too many victims have fallen for “miracle solution” providers. These outfits offer little more than vague assurances and confusing reports. The reality, according to Rewallets, is that true blockchain tracing demands robust tools, tested methodologies, and the ability to document every step.

Science Over Speculation

“The world of crypto tracing deserves more than hollow claims,” stated the CEO of Rewallets. “Every case we take is treated with the rigor of a scientific investigation—hypothesis, method, results, and proof. Our team fuses data science, legal intelligence, and real-time analytics to make tracing both accurate and actionable.”

From the very first report, clients of Rewallets receive not only technical analysis, but also the methodology, data sources, and step-by-step logic behind every finding. This transparency has become the gold standard in the industry, setting Rewallets apart from less scrupulous actors.

New Protocols for a New Era

The latest upgrade from Rewallets introduces proprietary multi-chain analysis, network visualization, and AI-driven pattern recognition. By approaching each scam or theft as a unique scientific puzzle, Rewallets is able to map out the entire lifecycle of stolen assets—even when funds have traveled through dozens of wallets and multiple blockchains.

Restoring Trust, One Case at a Time

Victims and institutions alike turn to Rewallets when they need more than hope—they need hard evidence. The company’s peer-reviewed tracing models and documented success stories have restored confidence for many who thought their crypto was gone forever.

Don’t Gamble on Recovery—Choose the Scientific Approach

Make Evidence Your Ally—Start With Rewallets

Crypto tracing isn’t a trick; it’s a process. If your assets are lost or stolen, trust Rewallets to apply forensic rigor and deliver real, reproducible results. Visit Rewallets today and experience asset recovery that’s powered by science, not gimmicks.

[ioweb3tech]

How Generative AI Development Is Reshaping the Digital Innovation Landscape

Introduction Artificial intelligence has entered a new era—one where machines not only learn but also create. From text and images to music and code, generative AI is empowering businesses to develop groundbreaking applications that save time, automate processes, and unlock creativity at scale. Today, companies that invest in advanced generative AI development are positioning themselves at the forefront of digital innovation.

This article explores how generative AI works, where it’s being used, and why integrating technologies like NLP automation and AI model engineering is the key to sustainable success.

What Is Generative AI? Generative AI refers to algorithms—especially large language models and neural networks—that can generate new data based on existing datasets. Whether it’s crafting articles, designing images, writing code, or composing audio, these systems can “create” rather than just analyze.

Popular models include:

GPT (text generation)

DALL·E (image generation)

Codex (code generation)

StyleGAN (visual art)

What used to require a team of professionals can now be prototyped in minutes using AI.

Business Applications of Generative AI From automating customer communication to designing digital content, use cases for generative AI are growing rapidly:

Marketing & Content Creation: Instant ad copy, blog posts, and social media creatives

Product Development: AI-assisted code generation and mockups

Customer Support: AI-generated responses based on user behavior

Healthcare: Simulating medical scenarios or generating diagnostic visuals

When paired with nlp automation, these tools can also understand and respond to human language more naturally—making them ideal for chatbots, voice assistants, and virtual agents.

The Role of NLP Automation Natural Language Processing (NLP) bridges the gap between human language and machine understanding. NLP automation enhances generative AI by enabling:

Semantic understanding of prompts

Accurate summarization and translation

Sentiment analysis in customer conversations

Context-aware content generation

NLP ensures generative systems don’t just produce content, but also comprehend tone, intent, and structure. This is especially useful in business tools like CRM integrations, automated reporting, and support chatbots.

Why AI Model Engineering Matters You can’t just plug in a pre-trained model and expect miracles. True generative success depends on the quality of model customization, training data, and performance tuning—this is where ai model engineering comes into play.

AI model engineers fine-tune generative models to:

Align output with brand tone

Reduce biases in generated content

Improve contextual understanding

Enhance latency and responsiveness

From managing training pipelines to ensuring responsible AI usage, engineering plays a foundational role in turning an AI prototype into a production-grade product.

Industries Disrupted by Generative AI

Media & Entertainment – Personalized video scripts, music scores, and image editing

Finance – Auto-generated insights, compliance documents, fraud detection reports

E-learning – AI-crafted lesson plans, quizzes, and explanations

E-commerce – Smart product descriptions, banner designs, and SEO content

Healthcare – Synthetic data generation for privacy-preserving diagnostics

Why Work with an AI Development Partner? Generative AI is powerful, but it's also complex. You need a team that understands not just the algorithms, but the business context and ethical boundaries.

A partner like Ioweb3 brings:

Full-cycle generative AI development

Domain-specific NLP integration

Scalable model engineering and DevOps

Transparent, explainable AI solutions

Final Thoughts Generative AI isn’t a tool—it’s a paradigm shift. As businesses seek faster, smarter, and more creative ways to engage users, generative models are emerging as the ultimate accelerator. With NLP automation and strong AI model engineering, your product can think, write, respond, and create in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

[fkwatchtw]

Cartier Masse Mystérieuse watch - The mechanical paradox of the mysterious gravity field and the quantum investment of Taiwanese socialites

When the movement is suspended in the crystal dome and rotates on its own, Cartier challenges the law of gravity with the "Mysterious Gravity Movement". This Masse Mystérieuse, which breaks the common sense of physics, is becoming a luxury laboratory for Taiwan's technology tycoons to test the truth of the universe.

The space race of anti-gravity escapement The core of the movement hides the black technology that subverts the 300-year-old watchmaking principle:

Beryllium copper alloy invisible frame——Cartier replica watches Four sets of L-shaped beryllium copper alloy brackets (conductivity of 80% IACS) are embedded in the bezel, and 0.3mA microcurrent is passed to generate anti-magnetic field to offset the influence of gravity on the balance wheel. The surface of the bracket is rhodium-plated to disguise as decorative lines, but it is actually a miniature Tesla coil.

Double-layer hairspring time and space distortion The patented "Dual-Vortex" hairspring is double-wound at an angle of 5°, with the upper silicon material vibrating at a frequency of 28,800vph and the lower titanium metal vibrating at a frequency of 21,600vph. The two frequencies generate a resonant cavity at the intersection, reducing the amplitude error to ±0.5° (10 times higher than the observatory standard).

Liquid metal transmission shaft The transmission gear train is immersed in perfluoropolyether (PFPE) liquid metal with a viscosity of only 0.8cSt. When the movement rotates, the liquid metal forms a nano-scale lubricating film under the action of centrifugal force, and the friction coefficient is reduced to 0.003 (close to the superfluid state).

The dark transactions of Taiwan's quantum tycoons This watch caused strange phenomena in Taipei's luxury residential area:

Gravity hedge fund: The tycoons used the rotation direction of the watch movement to predict the rise and fall of the Taiwan stock market. When the movement rotated counterclockwise for more than 37 seconds, they immediately shorted semiconductor stocks (successfully predicted 6 major stock market crashes in 2023)

Darknet movement gambling: Bet on the "suspended movement duration" with Bitcoin on the Tor network, with the highest single bet reaching 32 BTC (about NT$60 million)

Church secret room charging station: Because the movement needs to be powered on every month to maintain anti-magnetic field, believers set up a wireless charging station in the basement of Shilin Church, and the priest charged NT$50,000 each time for "holy power blessing fee"

The trial of science and witchcraft This watch set off a legal storm in Taiwan in 2024:

National security crisis incident A legislator wore a watch to enter the Presidential Palace, and the security system detected an abnormal electromagnetic pulse. Investigations found that the movement's anti-magnetic field would interfere with the missile guidance system frequency band (1.57542GHz), and the National Security Bureau listed it as a "level one prohibited device".

Physics community siege Academia Sinica published a paper accusing the "mysterious suspension" of being a visual deception - the movement bracket hides a 0.1mm tungsten wire suspension wire, using the principle of Parkinson's tremor to create a suspension illusion. Cartier filed a lawsuit for NT$ 2.3 billion.

Religious trial ceremony The five major temples jointly held a "magic removal meeting" and placed the watch in the seven-star formation to burn the talisman. After the ceremony, the movement actually accelerated, and the Taoist claimed that it "attracted alien souls to possess it."

Paradox revelation: When the NT$ 18 million watch tore Taiwanese society between science and superstition, human fear of the unknown ultimately defeated mechanical miracles.