#Amazon AWS Community

[jcmarchi]

Ericsson and AWS bet on AI to create self-healing networks

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/ericsson-and-aws-bet-on-ai-to-create-self-healing-networks/

Ericsson and AWS bet on AI to create self-healing networks

Ericsson’s Cognitive Network Solutions has joined forces with AWS to develop AI technologies for self-healing mobile networks.

Behind every text message and video call lies a complex system that telecom companies spend billions maintaining. This partnership between Ericsson and AWS aims to make those networks not just smarter, but virtually self-sufficient.

Jean-Christophe Laneri, VP and Head of Cognitive Network Solutions at Ericsson, said: “This collaboration marks a pivotal milestone in network optimisation technology.

“AWS’ global infrastructure and AI, alongside Ericsson’s unique cross-domain telecom experience and insights, will assist communication service providers in adapting to changing business conditions with predictable costs and enhanced operational efficiency.”

When the internet stops working at home, the first port of call for most is the “off and on again” approach: replug connections and restart the router. If that fails, call customer service. Using agentic AI, this partnership aims to automate the identification of problems, test solutions, and fix issues before you even notice. However, rather than just a home connection, the aim is to use agentic AI to do this on the massive scale of telecom networks serving potentially millions of people.

Fabio Cerone, General Manager of the EMEA Telco Business Unit at AWS, explained: “By working together, AWS and Ericsson will help telecommunications providers automate complex operations, reduce costs, and deliver better experiences for their customers. We are delivering solutions that create business value today while building toward autonomous networks.”

The technology works through something called RAN automation applications, or “rApps” in industry speak. These are sophisticated tools that can learn to manage different aspects of a network. The breakthrough comes from how these tools can now work together using agentic AI to improve networks, similar to colleagues collaborating on a project.

While the technology is undeniably complex, the potential benefits for everyday mobile users are straightforward. Networks that can anticipate problems and heal themselves could mean fewer dropped calls, more consistent data speeds, and better coverage in challenging areas.

For instance, imagine you’re at a football match with 50,000 other fans all trying to use their phones. Today’s networks often buckle under such pressure. However, a smarter and more autonomous network might recognise the gathering crowd early, automatically redirect resources, and maintain service quality without requiring engineers to intervene.

While traditional networks follow precise programmed instructions, the new approach tells the network what outcome is desired – like “ensure video streaming works well in this area” – and the AI figures out how to make that happen, adjusting to changing conditions in real-time.

While terms like “intent-based networks” and “autonomous management systems” might sound like science fiction, they represent a fundamental shift in how essential services are delivered. As 5G networks continue expanding and 6G looms on the horizon, the sheer complexity of managing these systems has outgrown traditional approaches.

Mobile operators are under tremendous pressure to improve service while reducing costs; seemingly contradictory goals. Autonomous networks offer a potential solution by allowing companies to do more with less human intervention.

As our dependence on reliable connectivity grows – supporting everything from remote healthcare to education and emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles – the stakes for network performance continue to rise. The partnership between these tech giants to create self-healing mobile networks signals recognition that AI isn’t just a buzzword but a necessary evolution for critical infrastructure.

See also: NVIDIA helps Germany lead Europe’s AI manufacturing race

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

[jadeannbyrne]

Of Midnight Oil and Modern Marvels: Jade's Fuel-Filled Odyssey

In the quiet hours of the night, beneath the fluorescent glow of the gas station canopy, my story intertwines with the hum of the American heartland. As a nocturnal guardian of the pumps during my college years, I shared whispers and laughter with the ghosts of Route 66, all while my heart pledged allegiance to the noble colors of Royal Dutch Shell. “Wij zijn meer dan vrienden, we zijn familie,”…

[gleecus-techlabs-blogs]

Cloud computing solutions are vital to the digital transformation of small and medium businesses in today’s scenario. AWS provides cloud-based resources like servers, databases, software, and storage. It is the world’s most comprehensive cloud offering 200+ fully featured services from globally distributed data centers. As an infrastructure operations management service, AWS Managed Service allows access and management of Amazon cloud tools from a centralized point. 

[justalittlesolarpunk]

There is hope. I promise. Young people just won their case against the state of Montana. Ecuadoreans braved escalating political violence to vote against oil drilling in the Amazon. Brazilian deforestation is down by enormous amounts since Lula took office. They’ve invented hydropanels that synthesise pure water from the air. People are farming in solar parks. A ship just launched for its maiden voyage using rigid sails designed to mimic wind turbine blades. EV sales are taking off, and, more crucially, cities are re-assessing their very relationship with the car. By the 2024 Olympics the river Seine will be safe for people to swim in again. More and more people are replacing their gas boilers with heat pumps. Solarpunks are growing crops in their back garden and distributing them to their neighbours. Great tracts of land are being given back to nature. Young people are channelling their energies into meaningful careers. Pilots are leaving the aviation industry. Yes, the world is dark and terrible and full of awful dangers that keep you up at night, but we are a huge movement that grows every day in numbers and power. Your small actions matter. Our collective triumphs are increasing. Things are going to get harder, extreme weather will be more common, but with ingenuity, resilience and crucially, COMMUNITY, we can build an equitable world on this strange, tired old planet. See you in the future.

[evilminji]

You know what I never see explored?

"Not on MY watch!" Superfan Dash Baxter. The young, limnal, quarterback built like a tank and willing to hit like one.

Because let's be real here. Imagine that scenario: Dash, heading to practice with his Bros. His best friends. The team. When? Oh shit! It's PHANTOM! Best day EVER right?

Except it's NOT.

Somethings wrong. He's not as graceful as he usually is. There is no clever comebacks. He looks beat up, man. What HAPPENED? Everyone looks confused when Dash looks around. But before he can call up to him?

Phantom is Shot Out Of The SKY.

Hits the football field HARD. The entire team is already running. Full sprint. It's those fucking GIW. Already driving onto the field and tearing it up. Jumping out, weapons primed.

Phantom's not... oh god, he's not getting up.

He looks hurt. Really hurt. Those bastards are closing in.

Dash's team? Has his back. They're also fans. Friends of his. Not a single one hesitates. They put their BACKS into it and welcome these sick fucks to Tackle Practice. With a follow up of "Taste Your Own Teeth". Amity special, coach would be proud.

But Dash... fuck, he can't wail on these guys AND protect Phantom at the same time. Kwan tells him to go. Throws him his keys. His car is least shit. Dash owes him SO many pizzas for this. First pick on movies for LIFE, man.

It hurts to leave his team behind. His best friend. But Dash has to GO. He can already hear the Fentons closing in. He grabs Phantom, his HERO, and runs for his life.

Barely manages to peel out of there in time. Floors it. Calls Paulina, obviously. She and Star are doing a spa day thing. She picks up because she KNOWS he wouldn't bother her if it wasn't serious. And-!

Oh...

Oh fuck.

In the rear view mirror. The Fentons and GIW just screeched onto the road behind him. Closing distance FAST. What does he do? Paulina he can't... he WON'T hand Phantom over!

And of course she understands. For God's sake, she in LOVE with the guy. He's never heard her sound so scared and furious. They'll get phantom over her twice dead body. She and Star are making some sort of noises, chanting, and...?

Giant Amazons with swords? GHOST Amazons. Suddenly in the road, jumping over his car to attack the cars behind him. Paulina what the FUCK?? She been talking to her Abuela, APPARENTLY. Who's friends aunt's "roomate" was particularly good at communicating with the dead. So OBVIOUSLY Paulina got her to send notes and studied them in secret.

Gotta be able to speak to you future husband's family in their native language. You win brownie points. Gives her a step up. "Not the point"? It's kind of a point! Giant warrior women! Who-?

Paulina made friends while practicing.

Of course she did. Why is he even REMOTELY surprised she chose the giant terrifying Amazons to be beasties with? He's know her for years. He should know better by now.

.....he feels small asking. Hates that his voice shakes. But... but what do they DO, 'Lina?

What he hates even more is the little shake in his childhood friends voice, even though she's trying to sound certain and strong. What they Do? What they DO is Dash drives his ass the her house, gets in her BETTER car, which she is going to load up, and they leave Amity.

She has LOADS of money. All sorts of jewelry. They're very last season. Frankly, she.. she can't WAIT to pawn them if they have too. They just have to drive. Get Phantom as far away from those freaks as possible. Get help.

And? It could go so many ways from there? Paulina LOVES Phantom. How will she reconcile that with her views on Fenton? How will Dash? Seperated from their roles as "the popular ones" and "the crazy people's son". Knowing that... that Danny likes her TOO.

But she's been AWFUL to him. She said so much. DID so much.

Do the even? LIKE each other? Or just the IDEA of each other? The person they made up in their heads.

They're afraid, tired, on the run. But free from school, the expectations of others, the baked in histories of a small town. Who ARE they as people? Do they like each other? COULD they?

I want to believe that Paulina really means it. That no one is at their best in middle and high school. They say and do stupid, mean, shallow shit. Because the world presses and presses and tells them it's all they are worth. Because they don't know who they ARE yet. Because she is a child. Not yet eighteen.

And Danny isn't perfect either. He saw a pretty, pretty face and got distracted by it. Didn't see how HARD she works. How smart she is. How ambitious and brilliant at reading people.

Are they trying to get to an Embassy? To Paulina's extended Family to the south, who would most certainly take them in, and would gladly fight gods for them? Or is this a crossover? Are they going towards other Heros? Older ones?

Is Paulina planning to pull a Lois Lane and Cause Problems On Purpose? Is Dash HAUNTED by "oh fuck, Wes was right." And now knows he's gonna have just... just WALK UP TO THEM. Broad ass daylight. Like "hello, I clearly know your secret identity! Please don't kill me!"?

Whatever the plan? Danny is in the back row of Paulina's once nice, now beat to hell car, bleeding irresistibly damaging acidic ecto-blood all over the seats. Wrapped up like a mummy. Texting Tucker.

The live tweets from Amity are... An Event. A Spectacle for the ages. His parents KNOW now, have speed run their grief STRAIGHT to RAGE, directed that rage at the GIW, and gone to WAR. Once a Fenton, always a Fenton. Jazz was right. "Anti-ghost" sentience testing once a week DID pay off.

Was it a pain in the ass? Absolutely. But results don't lie. He clearly passed. Is clearly sentient, emotional, and their son. All in hard numbers they ran themselves. Will it stop them attack FULL ghosts? Jazz has no idea. But it sure did convince them to put the GIW in a hole and fill it with concrete.

Danny's getting reports of "you SHOT MY BABY!" Being shouted in public. Sam has decided to channel her frustration at being unable to help him into Full Goth Dramatic Shit Stirring. Non-waterproof mascara, disheveled hair. Clutching a picture of him. Dramatic howling and weeping in the arms of her parents.

Apparently now that he's presumed DEAD, the Mansons ALWAYS loved him. Like a SON to them. A sweet, innocent child. Their daughters friend! The GIW are monsters and child killers, they decry.

And the Red Huntress is... Oh, yikes. Yeah he should call her. Val is one more bad thing happening from her villian origin story. At least she... PROBABLY... has killed anyone yet. Note to self: when Danny can actually move torso again, buy Valerie soothing anti-stress...everything. All the things. She responds to stress by punching. Deliver from safe, non-punchable distance.

All in all? My Dash? Needs more Dash! Give the popular kids a chance to prove they aren't just cardboard cut outs! That they can grow beyond the roles high-school and society has pushed them into! Give them some trauma! Why only Danny? Spread the psychic damage!

@stealingyourbones @hdgnj @the-witchhunter @nerdpoe

[moregraceful]

Hello everyone, yesterday afternoon I escorted Keats to the great compost buffet in the sky. I'm doing extremely bad about it all but I know it was the right decision because he was suffering a lot in a terrible and quick-moving illness. My friends, my community, the staff at the ICU, and my support system at the PHP have been amazing throughout this short but awful process.

I am currently planning a collage of sorts to memorialize my little dumpster dog and I want to offer you all one last opportunity to hurl your most inspired insults at him so that I can include them in the collage. Yesterday I read all my screenshots of notes and replies you left on photos of him, and enjoying all the beautifully evocative ways you have described him over the years. Please enjoy these photos of him in various stages of his life and do your absolute worst in the replies of this post or my inbox.

I also have a request, only if you have the means and motivation -- I am hoping to rally some friends and family to help clear out the Amazon wishlist of the shelter, SVACA, that pulled him out of the (literal) gutter 8 years ago. They saved him and he saved me, so maybe I can bring a little bit of that back to them. It is linked on this page or can be found Amazon here.

I feel insane for organizing what is effectively a wake, or a celebration of life, for my zooted lil physics problem on Tumblr of all places, but you all have been incredibly funny, overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and unbelievably supportive about him from the day I brought him home all the way from when I told you he was in the ER on Thursday. So I wanted to offer you all one last chance to drop a couple hot takes about him. Do your worst. Love you all 💙

[fellshish]

warning: small rant incoming, neil talk, no graphic SA talk though

“good omens fans only care about their blorbos, how can you even think about your show right now when there are real victims” WE’VE known for months, and WE spent months pressuring amazon to either kick neil off the production or not produce s3 at all!!! WE did that!!!!! so don’t tell us we don’t care about victims or about women’s safety when we put effort into doing something that ACTUALLY helps keep people safe.

“there is no ethical way to enjoy his work. this is just too important.” obviously, we should all avoid giving financial support to neil wherever we can. and i understand that people want to see him punished, but who ACTUALLY benefits from all of us abandoning this show and our fan communities? who? do his victims know or care that there are still good omens fans out there? or is this just a demand for virtue signalling, to show everyone WE’RE one of the good ones by burning all our books and quitting our favorite shows cold turkey?

“you’ll find new things to care about” yknow, i did that the last time something i loved turned out to be created by a terrible person. it left a massive hole in my heart for years. i wasn’t the same. nothing made me equally as happy. until i found good omens, ironically enough. so what do i do? keep cyclically punishing myself for daring to love things while not knowing their creators are bad people?

no one benefits from my misery. me giving up on something i love, something that was co-created by so many people, has zero effect on that monster. nor does it do anything to help his victims. all it does is make me unhappy.

as a final note, from personal experience, i’m willing to bet at least half of these people love something that was created by someone awful, and find a way to rationalize it to themselves because THEIR situation is somehow very different.

sorry for the rant. i hope you’re feeling better! 💕

💜 glad you got this out of your system. i think people will have a really hard time finding an unproblematic piece of art with a morally perfect creator. i hope we’ve long abandoned that type of (self) policing

[mutant-distraction]

Graham Smith

"Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fl ~

The latest launch of the aging Atlas V Centaur rockets was awe inspiring. At 7:01, the ignition was switched on and the 5 SRB's (solid Rocket Boosters kicked in at ignition to get the Amazon Kuiper communications satellites into orbit. These satellites will rival the Starlink satellites of SpaceX.

To date this was the heaviest launch ever for the Atlas of which there are about 15 more flights before the history books close forever on the Atlas Centaur.

Orange Flames are the main engines burning Liquid Oxygen & a special purified kerosene. White flames are from the solid rocket paste used in the SRBs

Nikon D-500 Nikon 105 mm Macro

1/8000, F/16, ISO 100 Clear glass filter (only) NO ND filters"

[pendantaudio]

Tilly's Trans Tuesdays episode 108: It's time to talk about a topic that's literally uncomfortable! Tucking and binding can be awful but also amazing, so let's talk about what they are and why we do (or don't) utilize them. Localization producer and comic creator Liam Coballes joins us to discuss the cosplay community and how rocks are cool. Math is hard!

Hosted by Tilly Bridges and Susan Bridges. Sound mixing by Jillian Morgan. Available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Samsung Podcasts, and more!

[thebisexualwreckoning]

Confessions from a fandom insider; or how people will do anything to believe rich white men who pretend to be 'nice guys' over survivors just because said white guy tweeted 'gay rights' or 'women matter'

Aka: a post revealing the reactions of the good omens fandom when the orignal allegations against Neil gaiman came out.

***Edit: someone pointed out to me referring to those who gaiman assaulted as victims emphasizes gaiman's control over them and keeps them in a state of powerlessness and asked me to refer to them as survivors to emphasize their healing instead of keeping them in the same space that they were under gaiman. I will edit the post to reflect the correct language but for clarity's sake and because I believe in holding myself to the same standard I would others, I'm staying accountable for using harmful language and taking note of the fact that I was wrong and am so sorry for referring to these women as victims when they are in fact survivors

***Edit edit because I forgot this is Tumblr: by referring to these women as survivors I don't mean to erase the experience of those who didn't survive or mean to participate in a society that is uncomfortable with allowing people to be victims so that it can pretend we don't need changing on a structural level. No I don't support the idea that a person needs to be a survivor and is required to be resilient or whatever the fuck else for their trauma to be valid. I am still keeping my previous edits however because a. These women survived. That is factually correct. And b. This post is not about those that did not survive but rather about these specific women. So I will use language tailored to these specific women.

Post under cut

I've been a long time member of fandom communities on the internet. So I'm in general familiar with fandom drama and how people react when their favourite authors get exposed as being awful people. I was there when terf lady was exposed and as you can guess, I was there when the allegations against Neil gaiman came out.

Now, I'm not ashamed to admit I was a fan of certain gaiman made media. I enjoyed the adaptations of good omens, sandman, and dead boy detectives but that was mostly it. We ran in the same circles and I reblogged fanart on Tumblr and went about my merry way. So I was adjacent to the gaiman fandom when all this went down. And my god it was hell opening up under their feet. People were denying the allegations, finding strawman reasons for why gaiman couldn't possibly be a predator or have sexually assaulted those women. They were genuinely running smear campaigns.

People were talking about how the reporter is actually a terf and this was all a smear campaign against gaiman by conservatives who wanted to destroy 'the only genuinely non-disingenuous ally the queer community has'. Nobody was talking about why this behaviour might have been exactly the reason scarlett might have gone to a terf in the first place (note: I am not defending terfs. As a trans person I condemn all terfs and this is not in any way meant to be taken as a pro terf post).

There was more discourse about what this meant for good omens s3 rather than how gaiman must have completely ruined the lives of the survivors. it was some of the most unsympathetic self absorbed behaviour I have seen in fandom in all my years in fandom spaces. People were using neurodivergence as an excuse for both why they couldn't give up the material and for gaiman. People called it an anti bdsm campaign (note: this post is NOT anti bdsm or autistic people who don't understand social cues).

For a fandom that had modelled itself after having an accepting and diverse community that most of all supported women's rights, it was surprising to see people so quickly turn against survivors just because it went against their viewpoint of their favourite author. These very same people who would go to bat against amazon for cancelling their favourite show about white gays would not do the same for actual real life breathing women who aren't fictional characters they can read fanfic about.

What's my point with all this? Im talking about a bigger fandom wide trend about forming parasocial relationships with creators of media, especially when they espouse liberal ideology. gaiman's entire shtick was that he was this approachable goofy dad-like figure who openly supported a marginalised community leading many vulnerable people to think that he was that guy in real life. People searching for any form of connection found it when he lovebombed them before revealing his true colours

This doesn't mean we should be forever paranoid of any public figure we come across on the internet but should learn to form firm boundaries as people and fandom with the knowledge that this person could always be revealed to have been bad actually. And we should do this in a way that doesn't shatter our whole worldviews. If giving up his creations is uncomfortable to the point of making you sick then you need to seek out therapy for these parasocial dynamics you form.

Having to rearrange your world view to accept that the persona gaiman created (because at the end of the day interacting with fans is a part of his job, a part he abused, but still a job for which he uses a persona and not the real person he is) is not real or that your favourite show might be cancelled might hurt you but I ask that you explore those feelings in private instead of coming online and yelling about it to the point it overshadows the voices of the victims.

Because this is not normal behaviour. Gaiman sees vulnerable fans as people to exploit and perpetuating fan culture surrounding his work just opens the doors to more people falling prey to his insidious charm. Please, think why you feel the need to defend him instead of the survivors, people we should actually empower.

Because it's always about believing survivors isnt it? Well, at least until it's someone you know (who being cancelled will result in you being sad)

[leonkennedybreedingkink]

SIT, STAY

jimmy & curly mouthwashing

tags: i wanted to preface this with oral response buttons being an actual mid-tech AAC technique. actual people communicate this way and it’s not disrespectful. the tulpar isn’t gonna have expensive eye gaze machines, especially not for space amazon. ableism, jimmy being jimmy, pain medication’s being denied, post-crash dynamics.

“How are you feeling, Curly?” Jimmy asks, amiable as always as he strolls into the med bay.

I’m in fucking pain, thanks for asking. Curly leans over and smacks one of the many buttons surrounding him, groaning loudly at the shock of pain up his arm. The air fucking hurts, the floor fucking hurts. Curly fucking hurts.

“I’m fine, Captain Jimmy.” the button, programmed by Jimmy, replies unctuously.

“That’s good, bud, I’m glad to hear!” Jimmy says exaggeratedly, leaning down and patting Curly on the head like a dog. “You don’t need your pain meds, do you?”

Fuck you. “I’m fine, Captain Jimmy.”

“Good, you’re making progress!” Jimmy ignores Curly’s pained rumble at the clap on his shoulder.

Fuck you. “I’m fine, Captain Jimmy.” Fuck you. “I’m fine, Captain Jimmy.” Fuck you. “You’re so handsome, captain, do you work out?”

Jimmy chuckles, a hand to his tattletale heart. “Aw, thanks, Curly, you’ve looked better, yourself.”

Curly glares up at his friend, eye drying out.

Jimmy clicks his tongue and plucks the eye drops from his pants pocket, reaching over and dripping the saline onto his eye. “Can’t have you losing your other eye, captain. You’ll want to see this.”

[mltshphq]

A Timeline and History of MLKSHK, MLTSHP

👋 Hi, I’m Brad Choate. Here’s a recollection of my involvement with MLKSHK and MLTSHP over the years. The following is pieced together from bits of email, Twitter, TypePad, Tumblr, database records, and aging neurons.

A timeline of mlkshk.com

Domain registration - 4/13/2008

Initial commit from Andre - 3/13/2010

First commit from Ivan - 10/1/2010

AWS database created - 10/20/2010

First posted file (“farrrrrt bird”) - 10/27/2010

First users created (82) - 10/28/2010

Opens to limited audience - 10/28/2010

First TypePad blog post - 12/29/2010

Opens to wider audience via invites, waitlist - ~1/4/2011

First comment - 1/11/2011

Opens to general public - ~4/26/2011

First commit from Mark - 5/19/2011

Shutdown announcement - 5/1/2014

Andre is hired at Slack - ?

Shutdown averted? - 6/18/2014

Shutdown averted announcement - 6/30/2014

First commit from Brad - 8/3/2014

Good Web Bundle promotion - 11/19/2014

Subscription woes - 5/20/2015

More subscription woes - 7/9/2015

Subscriptions restored (delaying another imminent shutdown) - 3/24/2016

Final shutdown announcement - 2/22/2017

Enters read-only mode - 3/31/2017

Waxy.org post about MLKSHK’s closure - 4/13/2017

Closes - 5/1/2017

Lifespan from 10/27/2010 - 2,379 days, or 6 years, 6 months, 5 days.

Lifespan extended 3 years from 5/1/2014 shutdown announcement.

A timeline of mltshp.com

Continuation community assembles itself… on Facebook?! - 11/3/2016

mltshp.com domain registration date - 3/9/2017

Initial commit to Github by Brad - 3/17/2017

Fundraising - 3/24/2017

Gettin things done - 3/31/2017

MLKSHK user login support - 4/30/2017

GIF to Video feature - 5/9/2017

First Tumblr blog post and launch - 5/16/2017

Dropped Google Analytics - 5/10/2019

2019 State of the SHP - 8/29/2019

Site search introduced - 9/3/2019

4th birthday - 5/16/2021

Fastly CDN switch(back) - 12/22/2022

6th birthday - 5/16/2023

Happy 7th Birthday - 5/16/2024

Lifespan to date (as of this writing on 12/24/2024): 2,780 days, or 7 years, 7 months, 9 days.

Some personal history

I joined MLKSHK by invitation on January 6, 2011 as a regular user. I found MLKSHK to be a breath of fresh air compared to your typical social media site (which still holds true today). After the shutdown announcement in 2014, I tried to offer help and reached out again around July 2014 after the announcement that the site would not be closing. I had met Andre once before, but mostly knew of him through colleagues at Six Apart. Andre took me up on the volunteer help… remember, by this time he wasn’t running MLKSHK as a business, so the ~3 years that follow are maintaining the site as a hobby, particularly since it was still losing money.

Initially, I helped with site performance issues, including some query optimizations. As time passed, it became clear that the site was still in danger of closing due to the cost of services it was incurring, which was not offset enough by subscriptions. So Andre and I went through a cost assessment process and we identified a number of things that could be done. Switching away from Fastly to a cheaper CDN (KeyCDN at the time) shaved CDN operational costs by 66% (Fastly charges 12 cents per gigabyte of transfer and KeyCDN charges 4 cents) so we started there, since it was the easiest change to make and had the most impact.

I also helped with the site’s participation in the “Good Web Bundle” promotion which brought in a few subscribers and returning members. The following year (2015), we had to rebuild subscriptions from scratch since both Tugboat and Amazon payments had to be retired, and we replaced those with Stripe. Alas, the site was still just not able to sustain itself as it was, and a decision was made to close for good in 2017.

Before that happened, the MLKSHK community began a conversation with Andre to transition the site to a community-run operation. I wasn’t involved in discussions, so don’t have insight into the choice behind creating a new domain and brand instead of adopting MLKSHK outright (I suspect Andre just preferred a clean break). Andre agreed to share all data and source code to the transition team. I helped with transitioning the source code for MLKSHK; cleaning it up for the basis of the MLTSHP repository to become an open source project.

It was decided that it would be best to make MLTSHP more closed in nature… so much of MLKSHK was open to free users, even some allowance for post creation. The plan was to relaunch with a membership requirement, but also with two price plans - the regular $24/year membership (plus an option to specify any amount over $24/year if the member wants to), and a new $3/year membership which effectively was the same level of service that was provided for free registered users before. While posting was being restricted to members, we wanted to keep certain things open for all: our “Popular” page, and individual post links which can be shared anywhere.

There would be some downtime between MLKSHK’s closure and the launch of MLTSHP. We aimed to keep that downtime low, but it gave us some time to make some larger changes that would make for a more sustainable and cost-efficient service.

Switching off of Amazon AWS for web server and database service was a big one. I had wanted to do this for MLKSHK as early as 2014, but we never did. I took a snapshot of AWS expenses from January 2017 and costs for that month were $400 (just RDS + S3 + EC2 and outbound data transfer to our CDN). We switched these to use Linode. For CDN service, KeyCDN was more cost effective than Fastly was, but we decided to switch to using Cloudflare for CDN since it wouldn’t cost anything (ironically, MLTSHP has since switched back to Fastly after receiving an offer to operate at no cost). The only remaining AWS feature MLTSHP is using is S3 for block storage. There are some cheaper S3-compatible services available, but the potential savings have never justified the task of a migration. Operational costs today are less than half of what we were spending for AWS alone, and we pay nothing for CDN service.

We also set up a real deployment process, utilizing Buildkite (they offer a free account for us to use), making it easier to test and deploy community-led changes. This also included utilizing Docker which also makes it easier for contributors to run their own copy of the site locally for development.

Ahead of MLTSHP’s launch, a service was built that would transcode GIF images (a popular, but heavy file format) to video formats that those would serve instead of the original GIF file. This was a cost-saving measure, since popular GIFs lead to a lot of traffic, so the smaller the better.

Another must-have for relaunch was a process that would migrate a user’s MLKSHK data when they signed into MLTSHP. This required us to load all the MLKSHK data into the MLTSHP database (in a separate set of tables) and we also had permission from Andre to make a wholesale copy of the MLKSHK S3 bucket to MLTSHP’s S3 bucket so all images were preserved.

And we also had a full rebranding to do. Replacing all site design and assets so that it was different, but retaining the spirit of the original site.

There have been a lot of changes to the site since that time. We’ve added site-wide search, responsive design so the site works well for mobile devices, support for light and dark mode, an alt text field so images can be described, and many other things. Big feature releases are few and far between, but the site is stable which is a great feature.

Our Github repo has had 412 commits from 26 different contributors. There’s still a lot of stuff to do (patches welcome)! But the most important feature we’ve developed is a self-sustainable community. We don’t have to worry about closing.

[a-doubleh-x]

Why I like Chaggie

Hey! My last casual ship review did pretty well, so here I am with another! Needless to say, but thank you all for the interactions, I appreciate it very much 🥰

Last time I talked about Charlastor, a notorious controversial ship and today I'll talk about a surprisingly controversial ship: Chaggie. Why do people dislike this ship? I'll go a bit into it on the second half of this post, but first I'll talk on the positive I see in this cute couple.

First of all, as a guy in his late twenties who's been on at least one relationship, I will say that I appreciate a relation that's mostly based on comfort and support. Some people might think that's boring or not quite the basis of romance, but I think quite the opposite. Johnathan Decker, a licensed couples therapist on youtube (you might know him from Cinema Therapy) often talks about how safety and mutual understanding are the basis of any lasting relationship.

At the start of the Amazon series, Charlie and Vaggie have been together for 3 years, which is evident in many of their day to day interactions. They're comfortable with each other, they rely on each other and best of all, they still coo every now and then over how adorable the other is.

That is not to say the relationship is without conflict, which in my opinion as a writer it's the lifeblood of any good story. Vaggie is clearly quite codependent of Charlie, which is why a large portion of her self worth is based on being useful to her. However, I think the two of them do a decent job of talking through the problems this brings sometimes, such as episode 3.

I think it's cool that the relationship seems to work despite their rocky moments. Charlie most likely thinks a person like Vaggie is a breath of fresh air in Hell, she's selfless, loyal and dedicated. That's probably the reason why she has so much patience with her, a feeling that I'm certain is mutual. Vaggie is clearly very aware of how silly and idealistic Charlie is, in fact she often tries to nudge her to be careful with her attitude. And even though she may not agree with everything, she still always supports her without appearing judgemental, which I think speaks volumes of her character.

Now, let's talk about the shortcomings in the face of the audience. Some people think there's not enough substance in canon to be sold on the couple, which I think is a valid opinion. Some people argue that Chaggie's relationship is boring and not quite as interesting to watch as Charlastor, which I don't entirely agree with. Some people plain dislike or hate Vaggie because they think she's just a naggy chick who is an awful partner to Charlie in every way, which I *definitely* don't agree with.

My opinion falls in a more moderate standpoint. I think, even in the series, their relationship isn't boring, but it could've been presented better. While I said earlier that I think conflict is good in a story, I think a problem in the series that's probably unintentional is that most of the story beats with Charlie and Vaggie are negative.

In episode 3, they have a fight over their lack of communication. In episode 6, Vaggie puts her own secret status as a fallen angel over Charlie, which harms her later. And in episode 7, Charlie spends most of the episode mad at Vaggie and they make up offscreen, which is something unilaterally most fans believe was a mistake.

To the showrunner's credit, there are some positive major story beats. There's Charlie's trust fall on Vaggie, which was cute. There's their beautiful duet in episode 8. And there's them fighting alongside each other in the final battle.

Unfortunately, the fact their arc is a bit wonky and doesn't have a proper buildup makes it so that the climax (the duet) may feel a bit unearned. I don't want to make this whole post about the series because I could spend all day talking about it, so I'll just say for now that i underdtand why some people aren't sold on the ship.

I will say. Some fans have some very beautiful, gorgeous pictures of this ship. There's this great comic made by squids-and-fruitcake that's been running around about Charlie giving Vaggie a gift for Christmas (here's a youtube link in case you want to watch a dub, I couldn't find the original)

I think it's a great example of why this relationship works: they love each other. They may not completely understand each other's circumstances, but they try every day and are still together because of their mutual effort.

Charlie herself, as Hell's number 1 laughingstock can really use the support and the fact that Vaggie supports her even though she doesn't have all the answers means a lot to her. She brings her stability, peace and affection, all things she lacked until she met her.

Vaggie, on the other hand, who was plunged against her will into a pit of violence and cynicism also needs Charlie's perspective. She loves the fact that she cares about something bigger than herself, that she wants to help damned people like her, which given her circumstances I think it's something she also needs in a fundamental level.

That haz bin my review for today! What do you think? Do you like Chaggie? Do you think it could've been written better? What's your favorite interaction between them? Let me hear your thoughts! It's been fun to put my thoughts down for casual reviews, I hadn't done it before, so expect more in the future while I'm still working on the next chapter of my fanfic.

I think I already have an idea about what my next Hazbin post is going to be about (hint: it has to do with Angel Dust). Thank you again for all the love, hope to see you all soon!

[matthewbw]

I wish I took more pics of my purposeful fun!

It seems I got have more fun with this when I was younger than now. Now I just have an accident and clean up. Back then I enjoyed the moments I got to relax and just let it happen. So I think I’ll start sharing a few of those.

The most recent was a few years ago when I was living alone in a new luxury apartment community. One where your Amazon packages were delivered to the front desk. And one girl that worked that desk was cute.

It was a Saturday morning and I woke up wet. I rolled over and my phone notification said I had a package at the front desk. I got up and just slipped off the wet diaper and tossed it in the trash. I put on a pair of briefs and jeans and a tee and made my way to get my package.

On the way the there the urge hit me. Both morning 1 and 2. This whole thing would only be about 10 minutes so I held it. When I got the desk it was the cute girl that morning.

“Hi Matt!” She said. “Hi! I think there’s a package here for me.” I said. “Oh yeah! I’ll get it hold on.”

As she went in the back the urge hit me hard and I didn’t know if I’d make it back. “Here you go!” She said and looked at me. “Is everything ok?” She asked. “Yeah just a little hungover. Went out last night hahaha!” I said. “Oh yeah! Been there hope you had fun at least! Get some rest now!”

I left and took the outside longest walk cuz I knew I wasn’t making it. I got to the door of my building and made my last pass. No one was around. So I just relaxed and let nature do its thing. When I was done I scanned my fob and waddled to the elevator. I went to my place and inside dropped the packed and immediately cleaned up in the bathroom.

It felt good but was an awful mess to clean. Then again only my undies were ruined the jeans just needed a wash for the smell and wetness. So I tossed the briefs in my diaper pail and showered.

To this day I don’t think I was ever caught but living there I had lots of fun with this. It was near a train station so I had lots of opportunities. I’ll tell more of those later tho.

[amonsteronmaplestreet]

My book is out!

On the side of an old abandoned building, in an old abandoned shopping center, there is a Mouth. It's a human mouth; and one that's big enough to drive a car through. It stands open and unmoving, teeth and tongue exposed to the world. The first people to find it are a bunch of teenagers, among them the Dowel brothers: Freddie and Simon. They're just kids, and the thing about kids is that they're curious and they're reckless. It's not long before the brothers find themselves in the center of a terrible tragedy. Word spreads. Tempers flare. Fingers are pointed and bonds are broken. In the wake of an awful loss, a community grows sick, and Simon's life begins to crumble apart. And through it all, the Mouth remains open and unmoving, hungry and waiting. It calls, and one day soon, it will be answered.

Amazon

Smashwords

[beardedmrbean]

March 12 (UPI) -- A coalition of the world's biggest corporate energy users signed a pledge Wednesday in Houston to support a tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

Founding signatories include tech giants Google, Amazon and Meta as well as Occidental, Dow, Allseas and OSGE.

The World Nuclear Association brought the companies together to make the pledge to support the nuclear energy goal.

It marks the first time companies outside the nuclear sector have come together across industries to push for concerted, robust nuclear power expansion to meet future global energy demand.

The pledge initiative was led by Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General of the World Nuclear Association.

"The unprecedented support announced today by some of the world's most influential companies to at least triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 sends a clear signal to accelerate policy, finance and regulatory changes that enable the rapid expansion of nuclear power," he said.

"Google will continue to work alongside our partners to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies that can provide the around-the-clock clean energy necessary to meet growing electricity demand around the world," Google's Lucia Tian said.

Anti-nuclear power organizations like environmental activist group Greenpeace oppose the expansion of nuclear power, advocating sustainable solar and wind power instead.

"Nuclear reactors are inherently unsafe. Meltdowns like the ones in Fukushima or Chernobyl released enormous amounts of radiation into the surrounding communities, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate. Many of them may never come back. If the industry's current track record is any indication, we can expect a major meltdown about once per decade," Greenpeace said in a statement.

Greenpeace asserted that nuclear plants are not only more dangerous but are more expensive and take longer to build when what the world needs are fast, affordable and environmentally sustainable solutions.

"As global economies expand, the need for a reliable, clean, and resilient energy supply is paramount. Nuclear energy, with its ability to provide continuous power, can help meet this rising demand," Meta's Urvi Parekh said.

Amazon Web Services said in October it will invest $500 million in small nuclear reactors to generate electricity needed for expanding tech services, including artificial intelligence. It's part of Amazon's zero-carbon emissions effort.

"Accelerating nuclear energy development will be critical to strengthening our nation's security, meeting future energy demands, and addressing climate change. Amazon supports the World Nuclear Association's pledge, and is proud to have invested more than $1 billion over the last year in nuclear energy projects and technologies, which is part of our broader Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040," AWS Head of Americas Energy and Water Brandon Oyer said.

"It will be a lot harder to address environmental concerns while facilitating economic development in the world without the reliable, 24/7 base load power nuclear energy provides," Urenco Chief Commercial Officer Laurent Odeh said in a statement. "This support from large energy users is another sign for governments to enable new nuclear projects so we can accelerate construction and meet the energy needs of both industry and the public."