#Buy my business in Illinois

[arquiregroup]

How to Assess and Enhance the Value of Your Business with Arquire Group

Introduction:

Determining the true value of your business is a critical step, especially when considering a sale or planning for future growth. Whether you own a service-oriented company or operate in a variety of other industries, understanding and enhancing your business's value is key. Arquire Group specializes in boosting the value of businesses prior to sale, focusing on preserving your legacy while maximizing returns. This guide will walk you through the essential steps on how to assess and increase your business value, drawing on the expertise of Arquire Group.

Understanding Business Valuation:

Business valuation is a complex process influenced by various factors, including market conditions, asset values, and earning potential. For service-oriented businesses, the approach to valuation can vary significantly from those in manufacturing or retail due to their unique operational models and asset types.

Key Steps to Value Your Business with Arquire Group:

1. Comprehensive Department Reviews

- Evaluate Operations: We start by conducting thorough reviews of all departments within your business to assess operational efficiency and identify areas for improvement.

- Benchmark Performance: Comparing your business processes and performance against industry standards helps highlight strengths and areas for enhancement.

2. Optimizing Staff Expenses

- Analyze Staffing Needs: Efficient staff management is crucial. We look at your current staffing to ensure that every role is justified and adds value to the business.

- Training and Development: Investing in staff training can significantly increase productivity and business value.

3. Aligning Business Processes

- Streamline Operations: Simplifying and standardizing processes across the board can lead to significant cost savings and improve service delivery.

- Technology Integration: Leveraging technology to automate processes and enhance service quality is another crucial aspect of increasing business value.

4. Asset Management

- Asset Evaluation: Understanding the real value of your physical and intangible assets is essential. This includes everything from real estate and equipment to patents and brand recognition.

- Asset Optimization: Ensuring that all assets are being used efficiently and contribute positively to the business’s bottom line.

Valuation Methods to Consider:

- Earnings Multiplier: This method adjusts future profits against cash flow that could be invested at the current interest rate over the same period.

- Market Valuation: Comparing your business to similar ones that have recently sold can provide a ballpark figure for your valuation.

- Asset-Based Valuations: This approach totals up all the investments in the company.

Enhancing Business Value with Arquire Group:

Arquire Group is dedicated to not only assessing but significantly enhancing the value of your business. By focusing on core areas such as operational efficiency, cost management, and strategic alignment, we help you prepare your business for a successful sale or growth phase.

- Personalized Strategies: Each business is unique, and our strategies are tailored to meet specific needs and goals.

- Long-term Planning: We focus on sustainable growth and value enhancement, ensuring your business is set up for success long after our consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How long does a business valuation take?

   - Typically, a comprehensive business valuation can take several weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the business and the accuracy of the information provided.

2. Why is it important to value my business?

   - Understanding your business’s worth can help you make informed decisions about selling, merging, or growing your business. It’s also essential for strategic planning and securing investments.

3. Can Arquire Group help with businesses outside the service sector?

   - Yes, while our core expertise is in the service sector, our adaptable approach allows us to work with a wide range of industries effectively.

Conclusion:

Valuing your business accurately is essential for any owner looking to sell, expand, or simply understand their company's market standing better. Arquire Group provides expert guidance and strategic advice to help you maximize your business's value. By focusing on comprehensive reviews, optimizing expenses, and aligning processes, we ensure that your business is positioned for success, respecting your legacy while maximizing returns. Contact Arquire Group today to learn more about how we can help enhance your business's value.

[is-this-even-relatable]

Danny runs an Infinite Realms shop. Curiosities from every dimension, any culturally significant item lost to time, and some cheap china. He’s got it all~

____________________

NEW FIC IDEA JUST DROPPED

Ok so i’ve been steeped in the dpxdc for many a year now. I've seen a bit of everything. I want to combine some of those ideas with a bit of my own headcanon and see what takes shape.

____________________

Danny, half dead and half alive, one of the rarest species in existence, grown up yet still so young considering his immortality, powerful sovereign of an infinite dimension of beings from every possible world and universe, decides to settle somewhere and take it slow. After all, he's got eternity to do so.

So he finds a dimension he thought could only exist in comic books, and thought to himself, Now this, this is a nice place to settle. He loves how many heroes there are in this world, heck there are even aliens! Yet there are many heroes for a reason. With so many dark forces in the universe, it had to produce many bright beacons of hope to balance the encroaching evil. That is another reason why he chose this particular dimension, and this particular city. There was just so much negative energy, too much, in fact, that the heroes in this city, Gotham, could not keep up. He hoped that over the next century or however long he remained in this dimension, that his presence would provide a much-needed balm to the area, and that the sickly dark fingers of cosmic corruption would lessen. If not, well, he could always take a more direct approach. After all, he had the power of infinite universes backing him, one measly dimension’s worth of corruption against him would be like a minnow trying to catch a shark.

With a little bit of time travel shenanigans (thanks, Clockwork!), Danny soon has a perfectly legal identity as one Daniel James Fenton-Phantom, 30 years old (he figures he can pass as such, even though he stopped aging around 25), from a random town in bumfuck Illinois (sue him, it’s familiar). And after a bit of researching, Danny chooses a small street in the rougher side of the city. Not too big to be deemed as suspicious for buying practically the whole block, and out of the way enough to not attract too much attention. He spends a couple weeks getting used to the energy in this new dimension and setting up his haunt. He cleaned up what he was now referring to as “his street” in his head, and got rid of the debris, trash and general wear from the buildings. He hired some locals to renovate one, an old apartment that he was planning on renting out and staying in. He also chose a smaller building, somewhat tucked away in the corner, to use as his own personal store. The rest he leased out for cheap to small and struggling local businesses. He figured it’s the least he could do after already occupying so much space.

Several days later, and voila, his home was set.

[priestessamy]

It's here! It's out! You can buy it!

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing has officially released!

For those who haven't heard me going on and on about this, It's being published by Bella Books, who have a particular focus on sapphic literature. There's some really fun representation including a trans protagonist, and despite being urban fantasy it's pretty warm and sweet.

Harper Zeale is finally taking up the family business—hunting supernatural threats. One of her first jobs is to solve the murder of a girl at Malcolm-Baptiste College, a small school in central Illinois. It’s obvious the killer was a werewolf, but Esther Talbot—the only werewolf around—is a harmless puppy who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Without any leads to follow, Harper enlists the help of Esther and her friends in the search for the killer. All she has to do is keep them all alive, keep her dangerous instincts in check, and keep a lid on her foolish crush.

I'm really proud of this thing. It feels like a ton of work has gone into it, and folks seem pretty hyped about it.

If you would like to preview it first, Bella Books has the full first chapter available for free so you can get a feel for the vibe. And if it does strike your fancy, it's available for purchase through pretty much any major retailer, up to and including everything from Amazon to Thriftbooks.

Please please please, if this sounds like your kinda thing, give it a try, and maybe pass this along to your mutuals. I would really appreciate it!

[Shoutout to Djarn for their amazing picrew that I used for these hasty creations of my girls.]

[hometoursandotherstuff]

It’s dark, and it needs work. But, it’s got some great features, and the real estate ad says it can possibly be used for a business (noooooo, not an office!). This 1900 Victorian is located in Macomb, Illinois, has 3bd. 2.5ba, and is listed for only $107K. Give it a look. 

The first thing we see as we enter is beautiful original wood & floors. I would like to see what’s under that carpet and the wood wall looks like it’s been stripped and re-stained, so it needs some sealer.

You can just see a glimpse of the beautiful ceiling millwork.

Wow, gorgeous fireplace. Also, the carpet really matches the wallpaper. It could stay awhile.

Look at the fabulous floors. Love that. 

Windows w/original wood- look at that dental crown molding! I don’t think that the tiny corbels are original, though.

Gold ceiling, medallion and beautiful chandelier. Love the door and columns. It’s dark, but there’s some lovely millwork on the right.

Another original door, ceiling beams, and a cool light fixture. Love the walls, too. Must be the dining room.

You can see that gorgeous fireplace from here and look at the size of the crown molding.

Wow, the windows in the turret out front. Look at the beautifully detailed crown molding. 

Hmmm...looks like a picnic bench up there. Don’t like the kitchen, it’s a dated reno, but it’s not urgent. It’s still a useable kitchen for now. Plus, the appliances are new.

This bathroom has been painted over, and it would look great with reproduction Victorian plumbing fixtures.

There’s a lot of wallpaper in this house. Some of it should be removed, which is a lot of work.

The hall to the bedrooms still has the original gas light fixture on the wall. 

Not lovin’ the shower, but the pedestal sink is cool. 

This bd. needs some sprucing up.

Bd. set up as a family room. Loving all the original doors.

Why do they keep it so dark? Open the shades. Looks like a nice new floor in here.

Is that a grapevine? I LOVE grapevines. My grandparents had one and I couldn’t get enough of those sweet Concord grapes. 

Nice little porch on the back.

Large yard with a garage.

Oh, how can you resist this? Look at how pretty she is. I hope an office doesn’t buy it, it needs to stay a house.

https://www.century21.com/property/501-n-lafayette-street-macomb-il-61455-C2182973690

[viceroywrites]

(art from veluv_art on picrew)- i love writing but have very little drawing skills so this is all i got 🥺

introducing my gravity falls oc/self-insert, (dr.) cecilia dela rosa

headcanons and backstory drabble ahead

age when she first met stan: 27 - current age: 58

fun facts about her:

her hair is graying so she decided to lean into it and dye her front bangs gray and keep the rest black with strands of gray

filipino-american

has two older sisters - experienced a lot of competition and comparisons between her and her sisters

lowkey almost dropped out of med school and thought about becoming a mortician

shameless hcs between her and stan:

she fell for stan bc of his humor and his recklessness - he helps her let her hair down and live a little and she keeps him in check

if stan hadn't made the decision for her, she would've totally bailed him out of jail

kept and wore a gold chain that stan left at her apartment for months after he left

lectures him about drinking pit soda all the time... but has a stash hidden in her office

right back where we started from & come on eileen are their songs

nicknames: cilia, cil, angel (stan kept making the joke that she fell from heaven the night she bandaged him up)

-

stan had just been driven out of idaho after yet another scam and was going by hal forester at the time still.

stan had gotten a bit too drunk at a bar downtown, got into a fight with someone. cecilia, in her first year of med school, just so happened to be walking back to her apartment after a night out with friends when stan was kicked out of the bar, with a few bruises and gnarly cut across his cheek.

cecilia rushed to help him out, insisting they go to a hospital. not wanting to get caught and have to leave illinois already, stan protested going to the hospital. perplexed but stubborn, cecilia said in a huff that she had medical supplies to bandage him up back at her place but insisted on no funny business.

stan wasn't one to say no to the free offer.. especially to a pretty lady.

the two ended up hitting it off that night & stan, as a thank you, insisted on buying cecilia dinner - that dinner being a chicago hot dog stand. that dinner quickly turned into a friendship.

their hot dog stand dinners slowly became dates & after stan pulled the classic move at her apartment while watching a scary movie and putting his arm around her, she returned the gesture by snuggling up to him.

stan began to open up about his past and trouble with the law. surprisingly, cecilia had a relaxed reaction, wanting more than anything to help stan gain some stability back in his life.

"why don't you get a job as a bouncer? you got the muscles for it." cecilia commented with a playful grin, squeezing his bicep.

stan was practically on cloud nine from the praise but shrugged, "can't, toots. moment they do a background check, i'm done for."

cecilia gave him a deadpan look, "you think any of the seedy dive bars around the college are gonna do that? they're probably doing illegal shit themselves."

stan blinks before pulling her in by the cheeks into a kiss, "cilia, baby, you're a genius!"

"well, i am in med school."

stan ends up landing a job as a bouncer for a bit and things were looking up. until one day, the law catches up to him. on the way to work one day, stan spots a police car in front of the bar and overhears them questioning the owner outside, a wanted poster of him in hand.

stan books it in the opposite direction. his survival mode is on and he knows he needs to split town. and quick. packing his bags and loading his car, he realizes he has to leave cecilia behind. he hurriedly scrawls out a note on the back of a receipt and stops by her apartment, dropping it into her mailbox as well as a reminder of him.

cecilia comes back to her apartment after class, checking her mail to see the note.

'hey angel,

i had to skip town, cops showed up at the bar and i can't afford to get caught and end up in jail... again. i'm really sorry to do this to ya but thanks for believing in me and giving a nobody like me a chance.

you're gonna do great things and you got a whole future ahead of ya. i don't wanna drag you into this mess.

thanks for everything, maybe someday we'll meet again.

stan.'

cecilia's heartbroken, holding the note and a photo the two of them had taken during a fancy dinner she treated them to in celebration of his new job.

despite the heartbreak, she finishes med school, gets married... then divorced and decides to move out to west for a change of scenery.

cecilia works at a local hospital a few miles out from gravity falls - they end up reuniting after stan throws his back out while helping mabel and dipper with their suitcases when they came back to visit for the summer.

stan reluctantly agrees to go after much pestering from his brother who is baffled by the fact that stan has not had a check up in years.

as he's waiting, having changed into those uncomfortable paper gowns, cecilia blinks at the name on the chart, in disbelief - a name from her past. it must be a different stan pines... right? she thinks to herself as she heads over to the patient room.

she knocks on the door and hears a gruff voice that's unmistakable, "yeah i'm decent."

she opens the door and blinks as she's greeted to the man who had left her behind years ago. "stanley pines?" she questions, trying to remain professional.

"yeah that's me, doc." stan says, not recognizing her at first, "listen, i haven't been to a doctor in ages. pretty much, i threw my back out and it's not getting any better."

"mind if i take a look?" cecilia asks, sliding on her gloves as she makes her way around to stan's back. her hand trails down his back, pressing down softly before hitting the tender spot that causes him to hiss.

"yup, that's it." stan mutters and cecilia can't help but laugh, throwing caution into the wind, "you know you've had this issue with your back since you were in your 30s."

"right? i swear no doctor has said anything about it!" stan complains but pauses, "wait how do you know that?"

"long time no see, stan. not sure you recognize me after all these years... does the name cecilia ring a bell?" cecilia grins, taking a seat on the stool before wheeling over to the computer.

it takes a second before stan realizes who's in front of him. "cecilia? cecilia from chicago?" he says in disbelief.

"that's me - though i go by dr. dela rosa nowadays." cecilia chuckles, typing things down into his chart.

"god, it's been so long..." stan chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck, "hey.. i'm sorry for ditching you back then. i-"

"you don't have to explain yourself, stan. i was upset but i understood the position you were in. i'm... just glad you're alive and well.." cecilia sighs with a sad smile.

"ah jeez, cilia... sorry if i scared you. a lot's happened since we last saw each other.." stan admits.

"well... i'd love to catch up." cecilia says, pausing before turning to face stan, "take me out to dinner and i'll consider forgiving you."

stan blinks at her forwardness before breaking into a huge grin, "i know just the place, you got yourself a deal!"

stan ends up taking her to greasy's dinner where he catches her up on his life - reuniting with his brother, dipper and mabel, his travels on the stan o war II.

(sorry if this is cringe - i'm a sucker for rekindled romance)

[aprocessionofthoughts]

An Offer

part 3 of TFR ao3

The next morning Jazz wakes up to the smell of bacon. She frowns in confusion. Why would her parents be cooking?

Then she remembers. They’re in Gotham. Their parents left them behind. The kind librarian, Barbara, took them in. Jazz opens her eyes, sitting up and nudging Danny awake. He grumbles for a moment before freezing. Probably realizing like she did where exactly it is they are. 

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

“Morning.” Danny replied with his eyes still closed. 

Jazz sighed. “Come on. It smells like she’s getting breakfast made. And we still need to see about buying tickets.” “I could fly us.” Danny said through a yawn.

“Have you ever flown that far?” Danny didn’t respond.

“Do you even know in which direction Amity is?”

Danny huffed. “Fine. I just didn’t want you to have to spend your money.” he mumbled.

“Danny, look at me.” she waited till he did so. “Money isn’t important. What matters is making sure that we’re safe. So, if I have to spend some of my money buying us tickets home, then that is perfectly okay. Got it?” 

He didn’t really look reassured, but he nodded. Jazz didn’t push it.

“Come on. You wouldn’t want to eat a cold breakfast.”

—----

 Barbara had just finished setting the table when the kids walked in.

“Good morning! Did you guys sleep alright?”

“Yes, thank you.” The girl, Jazz said.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“It was no problem. I hope you guys are okay with eggs and bacon. If not, I’ve got cereal.

“This is good thanks.” Jazz said.

Barbara waited for them to start eating before speaking again.

“Where are you guys from?” 

“We’re from a small town in Illinois.” Jazz said.

“Are you both in school?”

“Yeah, Jazz is about to graduate, and I’m a sophomore.”

“Are you planning on going to college, Jazz?”

“I’m still looking at my options.”

“What about you, Danny, what do you do when you’re not in school?”

“I, umm… I just hang out with my friends.”

They talked for a bit longer before Barbara set down her fork.

“Look, Jazz, Danny, If your parents are… being difficult you could stay here.”

They both stiffened. “Our parents are fine. They’re just busy.” Jazz said.

“Still,”Barbara responded, “if they’re really busy I know people who could help you, places you could stay. I have a friend, who I think went through something similar. And I’d like to help, if you’ll let me.”

“Look, we’re fine.” Danny said.

“I understand.” Barbara sighed.

They sat in silence, fiddling with their silverware. Barbara tried to think of what to say next. If she insisted too much, they’d push her away. She needed to be patient, let them know that they could trust her.

“Thank you for the food and for letting us stay, but we need to purchase some bus tickets back home.” Jass finally said, setting her fork down.

“Of course. Let me take the dishes to the kitchen and then I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Barbara smiled trying to keep the resignation of her face. 

—

Later after she’d cleaned up breakfast she went to the living room and pulled out her laptop.

“What town are you guys from?” she said while pulling up the bus travel website.

“There’s no bus stop at home, but I think there’s one in Wellsburg. It’s about an hour from home, but we can call a friend to pick us up from there.”

She nodded, clicked a few more buttons then handed over her computer. “Here, you can fill in the rest of the information and then I can print your tickets off.”

“Thanks.” Jazz said, then turned to look at her brother. “Can you get my credit card from my bag?”

“There's no need. I can pay.” Barbara said.

“Oh no, you already let us stay. We couldn’t possibly let you buy tickets as well. Jazz said, waving her off.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just some bus tickets.”

Jazz hesitated before handing the computer back. 

Barbara smiled at her, trying to be reassuring. The siblings were glancing at each other and shuffling uncomfortably. She wouldn’t be surprised if they weren't used to people helping them. She just hoped they’d let her keep helping.

She looked back down at the computer. “You have two hours before you need to be at the station. Is there anything you’d like to do? I've got some board games.”

Jazz looked at Danny.

“Sure,” he shrugged, “why not.”

—

Barbara stared as the bus left then pulled out her phone and started trying to find more info on the kids. She’d seen their last name when she printed off the tickets so it shouldn’t be too hard to find the basics.

If she wanted them to be safe she’d have to try and find some proof of neglect. At least Jazz had accepted to put Barbara’s number in her phone. Barbara had reassured her that they could call her whenever, and that she’d always be willing to help them. She’d just have to hope that they’d be okay in the meantime.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Fighting the privacy wars, state by state

In 2021, Apple updated its mobile OS so that users could opt out of app tracking with one click. More than 96% opted out, costing Facebook $10b in one year. The kicker? Even if you opted out, Apple continued to spy on you, just as invasively as Facebook had, as part of its competing targeted ad product:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/23/state-of-play/#patchwork

The fact that Apple — a company that has blanketed the world with anti-surveillance billboards — engaged in deceptive, pervasive surveillance reveals the bankruptcy of “letting the market decide” what privacy protections you should have.

When you walk into a grocery store, you know that the FDA is on the job, making sure that the food you buy doesn’t kill you — but no one stops the grocery store from tracking literally every step you take, every eye movement you make (no, really!) and selling that to all comers:

https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/02/16/forget-milk-and-eggs-supermarkets-are-having-a-fire-sale-on-data-about-you

America’s decision to let the private sector self-regulate commercial surveillance is a grotesque failure of duty on the part of Congress, which has consistently failed to pass comprehensive privacy legislation. There are lots of reasons for this, but the most important is that American cops and spies are totally reliant on commercial surveillance brokers, and they fight like hell against any privacy legislation:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#axciom

The private sector’s unregulated privacy free-for-all means that cops don’t need to get warrants to spy on you — they can just buy the data on the open market for pennies:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#ppp

The last Congressional session almost passed a halfway decent (but still deeply flawed) federal privacy law, but then they didn’t. Basically, Congress only passes laws that can be sandwiched into 1,000-page must-pass bills and most of the good stuff that gets through only does so because some bought-and-paid-for Congressjerks are too busy complaining about “woke librarians” to read the bills before they come up for a vote.

The catastrophic failure to protect Americans’ privacy has sent human rights groups hunting for other means to accomplish the same end. On the federal level, there’s the newly reinvigorated FTC, under the visionary, muscular leadership of Lina Khan, the best Commission chair in a generation. She’s hard at work on rules to limit commercial surveillance:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/12/regulatory-uncapture/#conscious-uncoupling

But FTC regs take time to pass, and it can be hard for ordinary individuals to trigger their enforcement, which might leave you at the mercy of your local officials when your privacy is invaded. What we really need is a privacy law with a “private right of action” — the right to go to court on your own:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/01/you-should-have-right-sue-companies-violate-your-privacy

The business lobby hates private right of action, and they trick low-information voters into opposing them with lies about “ambulance chasers” who sue innocent fast-food outlets for millions because they serve coffee that’s too hot:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/12/hot-coffee/#mcgeico

With Congress deadlocked and privacy harms spiraling, pro-privacy groups have turned to the states, as Alfred Ng writes for Politico:

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/22/statehouses-privacy-law-cybersecurity-00083775

The best provisions of the failed federal privacy law have been introduced as state legislation in Massachusetts and Illinois, and there are amendments to Indiana’s existing state privacy law — 16 states in all are working on or have some kind of privacy law. This means businesses must live with the dread “patchwork of laws,” which serves the business lobby right: they must do business in potentially radically different ways in different states, and small missteps could cost them millions, in true fuck-around-and-find-out fashion.

As Ng writes, these laws don’t have to pass in every state. America’s historically contingent, lopsided state lines mean that some states are so populous that whatever rules they pass end up going nationwide (the ACLU’s Kade Crockford uses the example of California Prop 65 warnings showing up on canned goods in NY).

As Congress descends further into self-parody, the temptation to treat the federal government as damage and route around it only mounts. It’s a powerful, but imperfect strategy. On the negative side, it takes a lot of resources to introduce legislation into multiple states, and to win legislative fights in each.

Think of the incredible fuckery that the coalition of Apple, John Deere, Wahl, and other monopolists got up to defeat dozens of state Right to Repair laws, even snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in New York state, neutering the incredible state electronics repair law before it reached the governor’s desk:

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/02/17/more-details-on-how-tech-lobbyists-lobotomized-nys-right-to-repair-law-with-governor-kathy-hochuls-help/

Indeed, the business lobby loves lobbying statehouses, treating them as the Feds’ farm-leagues, filled with naive, easily hoodwinked rubes. Organizations like ALEC use their endless corporate funding to get state legislation that piles farce upon tragedy, like the laws banning municipal fiber networks:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/15/useful-idiotsuseful-idiots/#unrequited-love

The right has always had hooks in state legislatures, but they really opened up the sluice gates in the runup to the 2010 census, when a GOP strategist called Thomas Hofeller started pitching Republican operatives on a plan called REDMAP, to capture state legislatures in time for a post-2010 census mass-redistricting that would neutralize the votes of Black and brown people and deliver permanent rule by an openly white nationalist Republican party that could lose every popular vote and still hold power.

Of course, that’s not how they talked about it in public. Though the racial dimension of GOP gerrymandering were visible to anyone on the ground, Hofeller maintained a veneer of plausible deniability on the new REDMAP districts, leaving the racist intent of GOP redistricting as a he-said/she-said matter of conjecture:

https://www.klfy.com/national/late-gop-redistricting-gurus-files-hint-at-partisan-motives/

That is, until 2018, when Satan summoned Hofeller back to hell, leaving his personal effects in the hands of his estranged anarchist daughter, Stephanie, who dumped all her old man’s files online, including the powerpoint slides he delivered to his GOP colleagues where he basically said, “Hey kids, let’s do an illegal racism!”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pked4v/the-anarchist-daughter-of-the-gops-gerrymandering-mastermind-just-dumped-all-his-maps-and-files-on-google-drive

Sometimes, laws that turn on intent are difficult to enforce because they require knowledge of the accused’s state of mind. But there are so many would-be supervillains who just can’t stop themselves from monologing, and worse, putting it in writing.

As bad as state politics can be, they’re still winnable battlefields. Last year saw a profound win on Right to Repair in Colorado, where a wheelchair repair bill, HB22–1031, made history:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair

That win helped inspire Rebecca Giblin and I when we were writing Chokepoint Capitalism, our book about how Big Tech and Big Content rip off creative workers, and what to do about it.

https://chokepointcapitalism.com

Many readers have noted that the first half of the book — where were unpack the scams of streaming, news advertising, ebooks and audiobooks, and other creative fields — is incredibly enraging.

But if you find yourself struggling to concentrate on the book because of a persistent, high-pitched whining noise that you suspect might be a rage-induced incipient aneurysm, keep reading! The second half of the book is full of detailed, shovel-ready policy proposals to get artists paid, including a state legislative proposal that works from the same playbook as these state privacy laws.

If your creative work entitles you to receive royalties, your contract will typically include the right to audit your royalty statements. If you do audit your royalties, you will often find “discrepancies.” We cite one LA firm that has performed tens of thousands of record contract audits over decades, and in every instance except one, the errors they discovered were in the labels’ favor.

This is a hell of a head-scratcher. I can only assume that some kind of extremely vexing, highly localized probability storm has taken up permanent residence over the Big Three labels’ accounting departments, making life hell for their CPAs, and my heart goes out to them.

Anyway: if you find one of these errors and you tell your label or publisher or studio, “Hey, you stole my money, cough up!” they will pat you on the head and say, “Oh, you artists are adorable but you can’t do math. You’re mistaken, we don’t owe you anything. But because we’re good natured slobs, we’ll offer you, say, half of what you think we owe you, which is good, because you can’t afford to sue us. And all you need to do to get that money is to sign this non-disclosure agreement, meaning you can’t tell anyone else about the money we’re stealing from them.

“Oh, and one more thing: your accountant has to promise never to audit us again.” As Caldwell-Kelly said when we talked about this on Trashfuture, this is like the accused murderer telling the forensics team, “Dig anywhere you’d like in my garden, just not in that corner, I’m very sentimental about it.”

https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/e/amazon-billing-amazon-for-amazon-feat-cory-doctorow-and-rebecca-giblin/

Now, contracts are a matter of state law, and nearly every entertainment industry contract is signed in one of four jurisdictions: NY, CA, TN (Nashville), and WA (games companies and Amazon). If we amended the state laws in one or more of these to say, “NDAs can’t be enforced when they pertain to wage theft arising from omissions or misstatements on royalties,” we could pour money into the pockets of creative workers all over the world.

Yes, the entertainment giants will fight like hell against this, and yes, they have a lot of juice in their state legislatures. But they’re also incredibly greedy and reckless, and prone to such breathtaking and brazen acts of wage theft that they lurch from crisis to crisis, and at each of these crises, there is a space to pass a law to address these very public failings.

For example, in 2022, the Writers Guild of America — one of the best, most principled, most solidaristic and unified unions in Hollywood — wrested $42 million from Netflix, which the company had stolen from its writers:

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/wga-wins-42-million-arbitration-netflix-1235333822/

Netflix isn’t alone in these massive acts of wage theft, and this is certainly not the only way Netflix is stealing from creative workers. There’s never just one ant: if Netflix cooked the books for writers, they’re definitely cooking it for other workers. That means there will be more scandals, and when they break, we can demand more than a bandaid fix for one crime — we can demand modest-but-critical legislative action to fix contracts and prevent this kind of wage-theft in the future.

The state legislatures aren’t an intrinsically better battlefield for just fights, but they are an alternative to Congress, and there is space to make things happen in just some of the 50 state houses that can ripple out over the whole country — for good and bad.

[Image ID: Blind justice, holding aloft a set of unbalanced scales; in the lower scale is a map of the USA showing the state lines; in the higher scale rests the capitol building.]

[hetastates]

Midwest Monday!

How each (Midwestern) state responds to scam calls

Illinois: Abruptly hanging up the phone. He doesn’t have time, patience, energy, or will to deal with this. As a kid he might have played along, giving a fake name like "Mr. Hugh Wang-Kerr"; as a teen he would have made threats to the spammer, but as an adult he likes to keep the line free for business opportunities and ladies in strapless dresses (for some reason, though, they never keep the line free for him…)

Indiana: Specifically answers to say "what do you want" and hangs up. Sometimes does this while driving. It’s quite concerning to those who share the road with her. Everyone wonders why she picks up if she knows she’s going to be hanging up within two seconds, but nobody has ever asked her directly why she does this. Indiana's response to scammers is an enigma and— INDI KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!

Iowa: WHAT? HUH?! He'll call you back, he says — and by that he means meet him at the Flying J later if you have something to say to him. He might be a strapping and toned young man — the type you’d think is attractive until you get close enough to smell that True Farmer Boy Whiff — but he’s an old boomer in terms of technology. He owns a LG 5450 for "business calls" and an iPhone 5 because his friends begged him to get a real phone, yet his monthly screen time is about forty two seconds.

Kansas: How do these people keep getting her number? She once took her grievances directly to the cell phone tower, but that wasn’t resolved the way she wanted it to be resolved. Kansas has a very communal way of fixing her scam call woes: If there’s anyone around her in the vicinity, she’s all up in their face. "Hey, do you know anything about how to get rid of these dang calls? Is there, like, a button I press or somethin'?" Oklahoma once told her to chuck it into a tornado. They haven’t spoken as of late.

Michigan: Are you calling about getting your car fixed by him? He’s told you a thousand times, these new cars and their computers have got to go. Oh, you’re not? Well, why are you bothering him? "We've called you about your car's extended warranty—" Oh have you? Have you now? Nah. He’s not buying it. Get off the line right this second or else he'll reach so far under your hood that you’ll be seeing via LIDAR until Teslas are reliable.

Minnesota: Poor Minnesota, easily flustered and not one to Karen around. Half the time, she’s not sure if it’s a scam call of if it’s genuine, and she doesn’t want to be too quick to judge. She'll sit there on the line for a couple of minutes to really gauge the situation, adding in a few "uh-huhs" and "mmms" until the time is right. Then — ope! There’s someone at the door! — or, — ope! My casserole is ready". Half the time, it’s not even a lie!

Missouri: The good thing about Missouri is that he likes good, cheap, reliable things — cell phones included. He has a Sonim XP8, meaning that every time a scammer (and this extends to tax collectors, insurance agents, and Oklahoma — "Seriously, Okie, go bother someone else!" —) gives him a ring, he just throws his phone at the nearest wall and picks it up after it’s stopped ringing. Concerned? Don’t be. The Sonim is designed for that type of treatment. There’s no point in buying something if you can’t huck it.

Nebraska: When she got her first scam call, Nebraska was quite surprised — she was under the impression that this sort of thing would never happen to her! She ushered over Minnesota, who begged her to be kind (oh, Minnesota — the trouble you go through), but Nebraska had heard too much about funny responses to scammers and wanted to try some out on her own. From inventing fake and morbid businesses to pretending to be in the mafia, Nebraska has demonstrated quite the creative streak when it comes to answering scam calls.

North Dakota: He doesn’t give much thought to the matter. He barely answers these calls. Sometimes it’s a one word "no" or a two word "go away", but NoDak works in silence when it comes to scam calls. Why give it time or energy?

Ohio: Aww, yeah! It’s his time to shine! He acts as though he’s in a Broadway musical or an award-winning Hollywood hit. He doesn’t want the fame and fortune that this career demands — no, he just wants the feeling of pride and superiority he gets from completely destroying the competition. He’s mustered up some quite imaginative responses to scam calls, and has concerned quite a few of the callers. His insurance company isn’t too happy with him, because he took it a step further and started doing it to them, too. Good thing they’ve got a lawyer…

South Dakota: Like Ohio and Nebraska, he has quite the enthusiasm to answer in funny and offbeat ways, but unfortunately, he’s got a brother to the north to put some sense into him. "No, SoDak, don’t answer the phone." "No, you’re not being stupid today." Dang it, NoDak, why do you have to steal his thunder? Can’t a state do anything fun? Saying funny things to scam callers isn’t even illegal this time!

Wisconsin: What's that? Wisconsin, pick up the phone! Or is she busy again, screaming over some sports game. What game could she even be this enthusiastic over? Does she even have any major sports teams? Regardless, that phone is not getting answered in a timely manner. Does she even hear it? Wisconsin? Wisconsin, we've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty! Wisconsin! Wisconsin! Nothing. Damn.

[phanamu]

I'm having a highly self-indulgent writing day so I'ma post a thing I just wrote about some OCs I got rattling around.

Peer beneath the read more if you're curious.

Have you heard? There's a new shop in Elmerton.

It's on the corner of 31st and Ocean Avenue, you know, where the old jewelry store used to be? It was bought up recently by a single mom with two kids. Sweet lady, very pretty, Greek. Goes by "Faye" or something, though I don't think that's how it's spelled. Don't ask me to even try with their last name, all I got was that it started with a K.

Anyway, this shop, it's called The Serpent's Nest. I think it earns its name on account of all the snake details in their decorating, especially the wallpaper. It sells occult stuff. You know: crystals, incense, bells-books-and-candles. She uses the old display cases to show statues and burners and cards and stuff instead of jewelry and she turned the bay window into a reading nook for people to try before they buy.

Not that kitschy kid stuff either I'm talking at least three double-sided bookshelves worth of spellbooks and junk written by people who take it serious. The ones that tell you what to do when the sixth moon is in the house of whatever, like they got in the Skulk and Lurk. The kind of stuff that would make most people ask what she does every month outside October if she wasn't setting up shop next to the most haunted town in Illinois.

Oh, and she's got a massive herb and spice section along the left wall and a fridge at the back so that she can make that crunchy health-nut money, too -- almost everything homegrown and homemade, apparently, or else sourced local. She said she had a garden or greenhouse on the roof of the building she keeps tended, along with a couple of those big boxy beehives beekeepers got. I guess they own the building and live on the upper floor.

Anyway, I got a really nice pomegranate honey for my granddad there, and she let me put up a flyer for his yarn stall at the Farmer's Market on the board she's got next to the door. Showed up the Wednesday after, too, and actually bought something. Like I said, sweet lady.

She doesn't dispense drugs, far as I know, but she's apparently working on getting a pharmaceutical license. Getting in on that holistic medicine business too, I guess, though she was pretty quick to tell a guy that his eczema problem is probably better taken care of at a doctor's than anything she's got. Pretty sure she was letting him down gently, but you know. Classy.

Yeah yeah I know I sound half in-love but if you'd seen her you'd get it. She's got that classic dark lady witchy thing going with the long purple dresses and the smoky eyeshadow and bold brown lipstick. She keeps her black hair tied back in this scarf up-do thing and she has curls and waves my sister would kill for. I know her eyes are brown but I swear that they look gold in the right light. Whole family has that, actually. And she's got this little smile like she knows something you don't but you can find out if you pay attention.

Some people get all the charisma, I tell you. Must be great for business. Well, when she's behind the counter, anyway. Sometimes it's one of her kids instead. Day and night, those two.

The older one is built like an Amazon and dresses like she either just got back from beating the hell out of a punching bag at the local gym or like she just got out from under a car that needed a tune-up. She works that whole atheleisure style with a long braid and extra grease stains. Maybe a leather jacket. Killer smile, must be another family thing, though hers made me feel a little bit like she knew she could crush me like a soda can if I crossed her and it's lucky for me that she's in a good mood today. Pretty, but intimidating, y'know?

Name's Diana, if I heard her mom right, though they were speaking Greek at the time so that's just a guess. I pity the guy who tries to hit on her mom while she's in earshot.

The other kid? Man. That one is... Well, they look like their mom? Except. Shorter and sharper. And more dark, like, dressing for your funeral but there's an MCR concert later kind of dark. You know how some people in that scene do. They didn't tie their hair back so it was just curl city like a cross between a Gothic dandelion and a sheep from hell, add some silver jewelry. Their eyeliner had wings clean enough to slice a man but they're also flat as a board so I mean. Hard to tell if they're a boy or girl.

Hey, I'm not saying that to be mean! They look like the kind of person that either likes confusing people, collects knives, or both. They were professional enough behind the counter -- not your typical glass-eyed Daria wannabe -- but they had this way of staring into your soul like they were debating how hard it'd be to pick you out from between their teeth if you took too long to get your change out of your pocket. Not sure if I ever actually saw them blink while I was working that out.

I only got some of their name because their sister wrangled them into something like a human shape when they had their shift change. Still speaking Greek, mind, so it was either Andre or Andrea. Something like that. Wasn't like I really had room to ask for clarification when they were up the stairs so quickly. Barely even heard their footsteps hit the ground.

I think the both of them are going to Casper High next semester. I tried to give their mom a heads up about our whole ghost thing, mention how Phantom pretty much called dibs on our airspace. She didn't seem too worried, but hey. The new people rarely do.

Anyway, it'll be nice to have a fresh source of ghost gear that doesn't have the name Fenton on it, even if it is a little old school. Assuming any of it works, I think those three are going to do pretty well for themselves around here. Can hardly do worse than the old mayor, right?

So. Wanna go?

[lailakotori]

neat! Thanks.

fluff with maybe Snake owner reader? And dark. Or whoever you think is best!

Headcanons Snake owner!Reader | Illinois x GN!Reader

Finally I’m return to acttive this accout.

Thank you for your request while I’m burn out, It’s very help full. If anyone gonna asked that Did I open a request? The final answer is I’m always open no matter what even if i stop being writer or what you want to call.

Summary: Headcanon Snake owner!Reader meet Illinois

TW: Fluff, Stranger to Lover, Mention a lot of snakes.

Your first meet is in the forest, you camping with your baby anaconda. While you chill, some other travelers scream out loud making you uptight before you stand up and walk to that sound. You meet Illinois and his friend who see Mexican Black KingSnake. So you help and lead them to the road, Illinois flirts you how greets your help or whatever, you annoy him.

But it seems destiny wants you to bind him.

When you came back from the Holidays, You go to the snake museum and meet Illinois who talk with Dr.iplier.

“Come on, Let’s have some lunch”

“Go first, I need to meet Y/n. I want thier help”

“But I know about snake too!”

“You’re adventurer not snake caretaker”

“Ok, you’re right. But-”

“No means no, Illinois. Stop acting like a child”

When you join their chat, Illinois is surprise and happy to see you. You help Dr.iplier about make the snake clam while Illinois being such a casanova at you.

He will visit you after the adventure. Tell everything he saw or whatever he thinks it’s cool to make you impress. If he saw some snake’s eggs, He will make sure first that the mother or father will stay treat, If not he take them in bag and give them to you.

At first, He just sees you as a friend. But every time he’s near you, in his heart wants your reaction to him. Until he realize when sees you talk with Dr.iplier, you can make docter smile slightly, It’s make Illinois jelose little bit. And made him clear that’s he starts fall in love at you.

So he try hard.

He still being such a flirt but in tone serious. For other he’s playful but you? Very seriose. Look at those eyes, Listen his heartbeat, Please take his love.

Every Adventure, Illinois will calls a phone to you and ask about snakes or how to avoid them. Even if he know how to.

Illinois will buy food and drinks for you while you busy.

If you have to adventure, He will go with you no matter what.

Illinois finds out that You and Dr.iplier are best friends since college. Both of you meet in same class and talk about nerd things, that’s why Docter smile or not annoy you.

When you hurt from an accident, Illinois gonna recover and ask in soft tone about your scar. After that he’s not let’s you out the camp until you’re fine.

If your legs hurt, He carries you as royal.

He’s not a snake person but He tries to understand why you love them as a child.

He confesses his love by taking you to have some holidays and says short sentences like ‘I love you, Y/n’ or ‘I got my eyes on you’.

Then you and he become a partner, as a lover and worker same time.

He calls you ‘Mama/Dada snake’ or ‘My legacy’

you and he prefer to have a love language like Quality time and Acts of service because both of you are hard workers.

You and Illinois live the same house, He surprises that you have our own snake but also didn’t mind. To be honest he adore them like his own child.

Both of you love to have a date at camping in forest or the museum.

In my opinion, You and him don’t want to have kid or adopted. Both of you are too busy to takecare.

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION MAGAZINE : FEBRUARY 1999

DM BLONDE AMBITIONS Is everybody beneath Debra McMichael?

Transcript Below!!!

How many of us are Melrose Place fans? Heather Locklear, one of the stars of the show, portrays Amanda Woodward–the beautiful but dangerous blonde who has schemed and connived her way to the top. Several seasons ago, Amanda purchased the apartment complex Melrose Place and found it an unlimited source of lovers, enemies and potential clients for her advertising business. Amanda is extremely demanding and when anyone crosses her there’s hell to pay. 

Maybe the producers of the series were thinking of Debra McMichael when they created the character of Amanda Woodward. 

A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Debra grew up with three brothers and a sister in what she calls an average family. Her mother was a nurse and her father worked in a foundry and in her free time the high school cheerleader liked to ride horses on their 10-acre spread. But she dreamed of a career in television and movies. 

“Growing up, my parents were very protective, and they didn’t even want me to become a cheerleader,” Debra revealed on a telephone interview. “But I snuck out and did it anyway, and there wasn’t much they could do about itt. From there, I got involved in beauty pageants because I thought it would be fun to dress up in beautiful gowns.”

Debra went on to become Miss Illinois America and Miss Texas USA. In 1985 while on a Chicago flight Debra met the mother of her future husband, then-Chicago Bears football star Steve McMichael. After meeting on a blind date, the two hit it off and eventually married. It must have been like winning the lottery for the Southern belle. In her own words, their lifestyle was like “the Super Bowl every year.” Money May not buy happiness, but it certainly helped Debra open a few doors. 

The beauty made certain that wherever Steve went, she was a star as well. As a result of their marriage, Debra was featured on ESPN and HBO, numerous sports talk  programs and Oprah Winfrey’s show on two occasions. In addition, Debra appeared in half a dozen television commercials, two of country singing star George Strait’s music videos and landed roles in films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre IV.

“My second appearance on Oprah was the best,” Debra recalls. “The topic was ‘How do you handle your mate being a sex symbol.’ Well, Steve was the NFL star, but I was the one who was the sex symbol on the show.” 

When Steve entered World Championship Wrestling, it wasn’t long before Debra accompanied him. The woman who came from Tuscaloosa with the dream of making it in show business must have fallen in love with the bright lights and the big city. After all, she was turning more heads than her husband. 

In the South is where Debra also first met Jeff Jarrett. Without much hesitation, McMichael quickly cast aside her husband for a successful business relationship with Jarrett. Her marriage to Steve deteriorated and they soon divorced. Debra followed her protege to the World Wrestling Federation within a year. 

After debuting on RAW, McMichael quickly asserted her power. Proving she was adobe the gyrations of Val Venis when she resisted his advances–something other “ladies” would jump at–Debra turned the table and played Val! While the former beauty queen pretended to be interested in him, Venus left himself wide open to an attack by Jarrett. Other women superstars are no threat to Debra either. After Terri Runnels confronted McMichael over what she had done, the business woman simply shrugged it off like a fly. Once McMichael gets a reaction out of someone–male or female–they’re little more than pawns in her game. In the big picture, the beauty knows that all who cross her will have to pay a price down the road. 

Jarrett’s recent battle with Al Snow is another example of how Debra combines intelligence and beauty. After learning that Head had an eye for the ladies–and Debra in particular–McMichael did everything to take advantage of the situation. Soon Head was completely out of the fight, thanks to a shrewd strategy and her provocative attire. Debra knows what men want and using that to her advantage is just one of her many skills. 

McMichael is equally clever in her business dealings. According to sources, proper to signing a contract with the Federation Debra made it clear that she would be the only one controlling her business dealings. Thanks to her connections in both entertainment and business, she seems to have dirt on anyone who dares to challenge her. But one wonders what might happen if this beauty queen ever hinges for more. Would she cast aside Jarrett, like her former husband, to further her own career?

After all, Amanda has no problem deceiving her long-time clients for the prospect of power and wealth on Melrose Place. Why would Debra do Otherwise?

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Debra McMichael debuted alongside long-time client Jeff Jarrett on the October 19 RAW from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During Harrett’s bout with Steve Blackman, Al Snow attempted to attack the former Intercontinental Champion, but McMichael served as a beautiful distraction! With Snow and Head completely out of the fight, Debra’s protege was free to lay Al out with his guitar!

On the November 1 Sunday Night HEAT from Austin, Texas, the former beauty pageant winner turned the tables on Val Venis–feigning interest in the adult film star’s gyrations, but actually leaving him wide open to an attack by Jarrett! When Terri Runnels confronted Debra about her actions, the business woman could not have cared less about what Terri had to say! This beauty uses everyone, male and female, to get what she wants! Debra once again showed her lethal mix of brains and beauty on the November 9 RAW from Dallas, Texas during Al Snow’s match. Originally slated to be Snow vs. Tiger Ali, The rich Indian offered up Babu as Al’s opponent instead! During the bout, McMichael appeared at ringside and held Head in her arms, playing up to “their” interest in  beautiful women. Once again, with Head out of the match, Tiger Ali took advantage of the situation, sneaking back into the ring and scoring the win over the J.O.B. Squad leader.

[nickgerlich]

On A Roll

One of the joys of getting older is reminiscing about the days of my youth, reeling in the years and relishing all the fond memories. While things probably get distorted just a tad, it’s fun to ponder how much better things were in the good old days. If that isn’t a formula for nostalgia, then I don’t know what is.

I have many recollections of my family either traveling down US 41 from Chicago to Kentucky, my mother’s home state, or down US 66 to points west. Those were great days before the interstate, which, while it beckoned us with unfettered access to high-speed travel, could not have produced a more banal result if the federal government wanted to. Those old roads, even though most were four-lanes by the 60s, still had intersections at-grade and small towns to dissect. This is where life happened, where real people lived.

I miss those days. And real people don’t live by the overpass.

One of my most vivid—and recurring—memories is of when we would pull in to the familiar white building with the pitched blue roof. Stuckey’s was to gas, snacks, and restrooms then as Buc-ee’s is today. Oh, and if you have never experienced a Buc-ee’s, you must. That’s a whole separate blog right there.

The diamond in the rough at Stuckey’s was always their self-branded candies, most notably the pecan log roll. My mother especially loved these. If sin were edible and came wrapped in clear cellophane, this would be it. They’re that good.

Stuckey’s was founded in 1937 by Sylvester Stuckey. It all started as just an innocent pecan stand, but blossomed into a full roadside business. The company grew exponentially, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, when Americans were taking road trips with great fervor. Stuckey’s peaked in the early-1970s at 368 stores in more than 30 states. They even owned more than 4000 billboards across the nation to promote themselves.

But the seeds of their eventual demise had been planted back in 1964, when they merged with Pet Milk Company, a move designed to provide access to the cash needed to fuel that growth. As in many stories of family businesses sold to large corporations, Stuckey’s lost its sense of direction as just another division under a corporate umbrella. The number of stores started to decline. In 1977, Sylvester passed away, about the same time that Illinois Central Industries bought Pet Milk. They then shuttered scores of Stuckey’s stores, nearly killing the business in the process.

In 1984, Bill Stuckey, son of Sylvester, bought back the company to try to bring about a turnaround, but the company languished for decades until his daughter, Stephanie, bought the company in 2019. By then, Stuckey’s was down to only 13 original locations, and they were licensed entities not owned by the company.

Now this is where it gets good. Stephanie, who is now nearing her 58th birthday, an attorney, and former Georgia legislator, took the pecan—I mean bull—by the horns and decided she would revive the company by focusing on its core strength, candy. In just a few years she has grown the chain to 65 licensed Stuckey’s outlets as well as a couple of hundred other retailers, and…drumroll, please…seen sales grow from $2 million annually to $14 million.

Not bad for such a short time. She did so by buying a couple of pecan companies and doubling down on production of their candies, especially their signature pecan log roll. Today, Stephanie is an icon among businesswomen, and hustles her brand deep in the trenches of retail.

If she sleeps at all, I would be surprised. I follow her on social media, and am amazed at how far and wide she travels to promote the Stuckey’s brand, not to mention appear at a growing list of speaking engagements. The company’s success is the result of her tireless efforts, as well as clear thinking. She’s not in the retail business, even though she works it. No, she is in the candy business, committed to also being the face of her namesake brand.

And at the core is the fact that inside those cellophane wrappers is a tasty serving of nostalgia. You know, that warm fuzzy feeling you get when your mind goes back to an earlier time and place.

She is quick to boast that her grandfather’s company pre-dated Buc-ee’s, Love’s, Flying J, and all the big modern travel centers. But she is wise not to try to compete with them, because they would crush her. Instead, she wants to sell to them and anyone else along the way. In a recent podcast episode out of Atlanta, Stephanie told her story one more time, and in succinct fashion. It’s a story she loves to tell, and has gotten it down to the point that it could be an elevator speech. I encourage you to give a quick listen.

Meanwhile, when I see those familiar log rolls at retail, I am whisked back to the 60s, when we were taking those family trips. I have also been to four of those original stores, the best of which is no doubt the one in Hattiesburg Mississippi (pictured above), a busy shop and gas station that just so happens to be on my route to Florida.

There is much to be said about figuring out who you really are, your strengths, your limitations. That’s the essence of strategy. But it is sheer genius when you leverage the intangible, in this case nostalgia. You can’t put a price on those feelings, but you can sure see them on the bottom line. And in the smile on Stephanie’s face.

Dr “I’ll Let You Debate How To Say Pecan” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[ectoplasmbender]

Hello! Here's a snippet of one of my chapter drafts from my upcoming fic if anyone is curious 😊

Vlad Masters was not handsome exactly, but he was stately and elegant looking. His long silver hair was tied back in a neat ponytail and his beard was well-groomed. His suit was obviously expensive, but also tasteful and not flashy like one may expect of a billionaire. Sam figured he must have been about fifty, but looked to be in very good shape for a man of his age. His posture was impeccable.

"Ah, what a great honor it is to meet you, Samantha." He smiled, extending a hand. Sam shook it, surprised by how cold it was.

"Just Sam is fine." She corrected politely. "And the real honor is that someone as esteemed as yourself took interest in my paper." Sam added, years of her mother's high society training kicking in.

Vlad waved his hand dismissively, chuckling.

"You don't need to flatter me, dear. I'm just some rich jerk at the end of the day." His grey eyes twinkled with mirth, his smile a touch mischevious. His self-deprecation immediately won some points with her. "And anyway, I've had a keen interest in the Amity Park situation for years."

"Really?" Sam asked, curiosity piqued. "Aren't you from Wisconsin?" She asked, already knowing the answer. She had looked the man up the second he had contacted her about her paper. Apparently he was a huge Cheesehead and had unsuccessfully tried to buy the Green Bay Packers a number of times. She tried unsuccessfully to imagine this polished and distinguished man doing something so kooky.

"I am." He answered immediately. "But I went to school in Illinois." That was true too, Sam remember reading that he had graduated from business school in Chicago.

"DePaul, right?" Sam asked automatically, wincing as she realized her faux pas.

"Ahh so you've done you're research. Clever girl." He said good-naturedly. "Don't worry, I understand completely. And yes I did attend DePaul, but before that I went to University of Illinois Chicago."

"Really? I didn't know that." Sam said. She couldn't recall reading anything about that online.

"Ah, well I didn't finish my schooling there due to some health problems at the time. I ended up changing career interests anyway. " he waved a hand impassively.

"What were you studying originally?" Sam asked, interested in this new information.

"Biology." He answered, picking at a non-existent stain on his jacket. "My real interest though was ecto-biology, but that was obviously fringe at the time. So any research I did in that field was merely my own passion project. That's how I met the Fentons, you know."

Sam's heart stopped at the words.

"You knew the Fentons?" She asked, bewildered. He nodded, taking a sip from his champagne.

"Yes. They were...strange to be sure, but my impression was that they were far more brilliant than their peers and professors ever gave them credit for. Especially Maddie."

"Is that why you're so interested in Amity?" Sam asked. That made a lot of sense, if he had known the Fentons once.

"Yes, of course what happened to your town was a horrible tragedy. But as you know, no one can afford to be so invested in every single tragedy that happens throughout the years. But I feel I owe it to my former colleagues to help...clean up their legacy." He said.

Sam, being an activist with a bleeding heart, disagreed somewhat with that sentiment. But she supposed it was still a noble goal to help redeem his former's classmates reputations.

"Were you close with them?" Sam asked.

Vlad's eyes glinted.

"Once perhaps. But I hadn't talked to them in many, many years before their deaths." He said. "It's one of my regrets that we never reconnected before then."

"Truthfully..." Sam began. "I'm surprised that you miss them so much. They're not exactly remembered very fondly."

Vlad looked distant for a moment, lost in some kind of memory.

"Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes horrible, terrible mistakes. But none of us deserve to be defined by our worst moments." He said.

Sam was surprised by this man. He was not what she had expected at all. Her faith in this project and his intentions had grown signficantly during the conversation. He really seemed to care about Amity Park.

"Mr. Masters, I have to admit I was ready to dislike you." Sam said sheepishly. "I've been around a lot of so-called philanthropists, and most of them have just been men with too much money making empty promises out of boredom." Vlad studied her.

"And I'm not?" He asked slyly. Sam shook her head.

"I don't think you are." She said sincerely. Vlad studied her for a long moment.

"It was a very well-written paper, Sam." He said at long last. "That is not flattery. It really did move me." Sam was speechless at this praise, not knowing how to respond. She had published her paper mostly for herself, but the thought that it had genuinely moved someone was beyond her. Especially this influential, powerful person who had the ability to actually make a difference.

[annaphoenix1994]

Masterlist:

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossom - a symbol of life, hope, and new beginnings. 

"Are you sure you're alright with this, Michael?" Mia asked as he was dropping her and Ella off at the airport to secure a flight back to Illinois to meet with her brother.

"No, I'm not sure. I don't like letting you go like this." He admitted.

"Then why aren't you going with us?"

"Because, I figured you needed time with your brother and no worry of me leering over you all the time."

"But you don't," Mia furrowed her brows. "Okay, maybe a little, but this isn't like you to just let us go off alone."

"Believe me, I hate it, but I was talking to your brother and he said that it was good for you to spend some time away."

"What are you going to do while I'm gone? You know this week is going to go by so slow."

"Well, I was going to go and work with Simon at the ranch nextdoor. Said he had some fencing to put up. And I can get stuff done around the house-"

"Oh, you mean the stuff I've been asking you to fix ever since we moved in?" She chuckled.

"Yeah," He nodded, smirking. "Figured I'd need something to do to keep me busy while you're away."

"As long as you're not seeking female company to occupy your time..."

"Not a chance."

"If you say so. I'm glad you decided to talk to me more about everything. It-It makes me feel better."

"I know," Michael nodded, sneaking a glance at the time on the dash of the truck. "You don't want to miss your flight." He frowned.

"I'll only be gone a few days, Michael. I'll call you every day - morning and night."

"You better." He chuckled, getting out of the driver's seat to help Mia and Ella out of the truck.

"I promise we'll stay out of trouble." She smiled, referring to she and John.

"It's not John I'm worried about," He chuckled. "You and your little mini-me is what I'm worried about."

"We'll stay out of trouble, Michael. I promise."

"Okay. Make sure to call me when you get there. I love you."

"I love you too."

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

"I'm really surprised he let you come here with Ella by yourself," Big John chuckled, helping Mia with the luggage once finally arriving at their house. "I guess he took my advice after all."

"Believe me, it was like pulling teeth to get him to say yes the first time," Mia nodded. "It took a lot of coaxing and explaining why nothing was going to happen again."

John shrugged, "He's just being protective. Things haven't been easy here."

"What do you mean?"

"We almost lost the house." John huffed, now lighting his alakazam, which is what he used to explain his weed when Ella would ask him what he was smoking.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how to tell you, especially with it being a sensitive subject for him to hear. I didn't want to tell you over the phone and I'm damn glad I didn't have to break the news to him."

"Okay, how did you end up not losing it?"

"Well, your old friend Laurie tried to buy the land the house sits on. Apparently, since the house was tied to the murders in 1968, it has been owned by the bank until we bought it. She tried to get on with the big guns and run, but was voted out. Turns out she's the talk of the town, but not in a good way."

"As she deserves." Mia scoffed.

"Her poor granddaughter has it rough. Saw her at the hospital where she works now to go and see LJ. I can tell she doesn't like being picked out of a crowd."

"You think I should drop by and speak to her? The granddaughter?"

"If you feel like that's what's right," Big John shrugged. "I just don't want something to happen again."

"Me either. I don't think anything would happen... I think Laurie learned her lesson the last time."

"I don't know about that."

"And why not?"

"Because if she would've known better, she wouldn't have arranged what she did the first time."

"You're right."

"We'll talk about all of this later. You don't need to be worrying your first day back in town," John shook his head. "You wanna go out to the store later and pick up some stuff?"

"Sure! What about a movie night tonight? Does that sound good, baby?" Mia asked Ella, watching her smile nervously as she looked up at her uncle.

"She's a spitting image of you, Mia." John complimented.

"She is, but she gets a lot of her behavior from Michael."

"I hope you mean that in a good way." He chuckled.

"I do. She's just really patient and quiet, not a killer in the making." 

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

"Mommy? Can we get this?" Ella asked, holding up a box of macaroni and cheese as she pushed the cart and John walking alongside her as they had been thoroughly shopping throughout the grocery store.

"You're just wanting mac and cheese tonight?"

"Well, with popcorn..."

"Okay."

"And ice cream!"

"What is your fascination with ice cream, honey?" Mia giggled.

"Daddy lets me have it when you're not home."

Mia and John shared a look, Mia cocking her brow, "Ah hah, no wonder you like when I work late."

"Because daddy says that I'm not supposed to have it and he lets me because it's good."

"Mhm, so does he also tell you to keep it a secret from me?"

"...Yeah."

John laughed at Mia's expression as well as Ella's answer.

"It's not so much a secret when you tell on yourself, you know that, right?" Mia chuckled.

"Is it?" Ella asked, watching her mother tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear before doing the same to Ella, laughing at her answer. "Yes, it is. But we'll get some ice cream for tonight - just for you and me. How's that?"

"Really?"

"Yep! When we get close to the end of our shopping trip, we'll go pick out your favorite kind, okay?"

Ella nodded, tucking her lips together in anxiousness as she was beyond excited to pick out her favorite flavor, although she really wished her father was there with them as she truly did not understand as to why he chose not to come with them.

"How many times has he called you since you've been here?" John teased.

"Well, I called him once we landed because he was a nervous wreck, but he texted me saying he was going next door to help the neighbor build a fence, but I know he's probably been worried sick."

"I know he is. That's just how Michael is, although I'm sure you know that."

"I've known that since the moment I met him." Mia smiled.

"Good. I think I have everything I need here, do you?"

"Yeah, I think so. I just need a couple of more things for my coffee and I'll take Ella with me to pick out her ice cream."

"Okay, I'll go ahead and make my way towards the front."

"Okay, I'll meet you there."

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

"Frank, have you ever heard of a vegetable?" Laurie teased, holding up a can of Libby's green beans before playfully tossing it to him.

"Oh, I have," Frank chuckled in surprise as he caught the can she tossed. He wouldn't admit it too soon, but his heart skipped when he saw Laurie again for the first time. She looked genuinely refreshed - happy, even. He was glad to see that she had seemed to move on, but he knew she couldn't truly let Michael go. He couldn't blame her, but he knew that things needed to come to an end eventually. "I like mixing them with meat for the guys at the station. It's kind of like a...a meatloaf in a way." He explained.

Laurie laughed, grimacing, "That sounds disgusting, but I'll take your word for it."

Frank took notice of the flush in her cheeks. He just hoped she didn't notice the flush in his, "I, erm, I like your hair." He complimented.

"Oh, thank you. I, uh, just kind of chopped it off one day. But someone else fixed it."

"I see that," He chuckled. "You look nice, Laurie."

"You too, Frank," She nodded, beginning to walk alongside Frank as he pushed his cart down the aisle of candy, contemplating on if he wanted to grab a bag of circus peanuts or not. "So, how've you been?"

He shrugged, "I've been okay. I finally bought me a guitar to drown out the silence on my off days and my niece got me a Rosetta Stone, so I'm learning Japanese. Not like I need to, but it's something fun. Shatsu o nakushita." He said, looking down in brief embarrassment as he heard Laurie laugh.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I lost my shirt...or hat. I can't remember."

"Okay," Laurie laughed. "So that's what you've been up to after these past couple of years?"

"Yeah, I've been really wanting to see some cherry blossoms. I heard they're beautiful this time of year."

"Aren't they a spring flower?"

"Yes, but they are still grown here. I think you'd like them. They represent strength."

Laurie couldn't help but look down, briefly remembering the horror she has experienced, although much of it was due to her own temptations. "Y-Yeah, I think I would."

"Good." Frank smiled at Laurie, even though she didn't see it as her back was turned as she was the first in line at the register.

"I bought a house. Somewhere closer to the inside of town with Allyson,"

"That's good. I'm glad you two decided to stick together."

"Me too. You know, she's actually seeing someone now. You might know him: Corey Cunningham."

"Yeah! Yeah, I do know him! He's a good kid! I'm glad to see someone is looking out for her. They'd make a good couple."

"I think so, too," Laurie nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart!" She said, looking down at the beautiful little blonde-headed girl at her feet who had snuck between her and the front of Frank's cart to sneak a candy bar.

"Ella! Come here!" She heard a woman say. The woman sounded very soft and genuine, not angry. Laurie paid this no mind as she truly wasn't expecting who she was about to see.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. She gets too excited when I let her have her way for once." The woman said, Laurie still not looking her way yet.

"She's fine. I can totally understand." Laurie replied, removing her card from the machine, her face falling like a deer in headlights at the woman before her.

Mia.

'Oh, shit...' Laurie thought, her words trapping themselves in her throat.

The women locked eyes, one of them glaring like a lioness about to fight for her cub, the other looking as if she saw a ghost. "Forget I even addressed you appropriately." Mia growled, referring to when she called Laurie 'ma'am.'

Laurie didn't reply. All she could do was sit in fright as she had truly no words to say. As if a brief montage of the pain and carnage she inflicted on not only herself, but Mia and everyone else involved. She knew better than to try to finish the deliberate mission she started, but she was also one to not give up, either. She then began to panic, grabbing her two bags of groceries before exiting the store, leaving Frank a confused mess  behind. He knew of the story between Mia and Laurie, but he had never actually seen Mia in the flesh.

Flashing a weak and awkward smile, Frank took in her features before him. She was beautiful, but he could tell by the scar on her face that it wasn't an accident as to what happened to her. Mia huffed, picking up Ella before making her way to the other check-out lane to meet with John. "You alright?" He asked her. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, proceeding to put her items on the automatic belt to be rang up, desperately trying to put the encounter behind her. Yep, I'm definitely taking a hit of the alakazam tonight she thought. Once outside, Mia had offered to load the groceries into the trunk while John helped Ella into her car seat. 

Mia couldn't help but have a distinct feeling in her bones, her body telling her that she was being watched, which was a normal and welcoming feeling to her considering her relationship with Michael, but this was a different type of feeling...it was unwelcome. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she looked to her left, seeing Laurie standing at her vehicle - phone in hand - aiming at her - either filming her or taking a photo of her. Mia scoffed, slamming the trunk of the car shut before storming towards her, jerking the phone out of her hands and throwing it onto the pavement, using her foot to crush the phone beneath it. "That was destruction of personal property. Assault is next, are you ready for that?" Mia warned. 

Laurie shook her head, taking a step back from her, now intimidated by Mia's behavior. "N-No, I- Why are you back here?" She forced the words out of her mouth. 

"Because I have family here. Why are you in my business?" Mia scoffed. 

In an instant, Laurie immediately regretted what she had done, knowing that if she would have just left it alone, Mia would have been on her way, but yet again, she had to poke the bear...

And she was lucky it wasn't Michael this time. 

"I-I'm sorry, I... I don't want any trouble." 

"Lady, you go looking for trouble," Mia scoffed in disbelief. "If you don't want any trouble with me, then I suggest you mind your business. Stay away from me and my daughter." She warned, shaking her index finger at her, not caring that Laurie's eyes were filling with tears as she watched Mia rush to the car, absorbing the harsh glares from not only John, but the nearby townsfolk around her, knowing that each one of them were remembering her as "Crazy Strode" - the woman who managed to kill anyone close to her, the woman who provoked Michael Myers and triggered his rampage in Haddonfield - according to the local legend. 

Sitting in the driver's seat of her truck, Laurie continued to look ahead, pondering in her thoughts at what she had done. "Am I the monster all along?" She said to herself. Now startled, she wiped the stray tears from her cheeks as she looked towards her passenger window, seeing Frank on the other side, concern plastered all over his face. "Are you okay?" He asked her, his eyes sympathetic. 

"Yeah." She forced an answer, keeping her eye contact with him broken. 

"I would like to see those cherry blossoms sometime. I'd think you would like them, too." 

"I think so, too," She sniffled. "I'm sorry for, uh, what you saw back there." 

"I understand, Laurie." 

"I like your face-" She blurted. "I mean, I like seeing your face..."

Frank chuckled, "I like seeing you, too." 

"Would you want to come by and visit Allyson and I? The house is beautiful and I'm sure she'd like to see you. And you can bring those cherry blossoms if you'd like." She smiled. 

"I'd like that." 

[tamaraozzienorthernilrealtors]

Fed Rate Cuts: Sell Your Home Faster and For More in 2024! Here's How

Fed Rate Cuts: Sell Your Home Faster and For More in 2024! Here's How https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTHpDB9-DfI The Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate cuts could bring in more serious buyers and create competition for your home. Here’s a tip: when buyers can afford more, bidding wars become more common, and that could mean your home sells for even more than you expect. Ready to take advantage of this market shift? Contact us today! 🔗 Stay Connected With Us. 👉 Facebook: https://ift.tt/FZmTgcD 👉 Instagram: https://ift.tt/WnpGsYV 👉 Tiktok: https://ift.tt/EvoxXcL 👉 Linkedin (Tamara): https://ift.tt/aGQmr21 👉 Linkedin (Ozzie): https://ift.tt/LrWR1iJ 👉 Website: https://ift.tt/cI1gvGS 📩 For Business Inquiries: Tamarabermanrealtor@gmail.com ☎️ Contact Us: 📱 Tamara: (815) 790-0835 📱 Ozzie: (815) 347-2843 ============================= 🎬 Recommended Playlists 👉 Homes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx5YSpQE6JQ_hXVzC_yQBN-fxuEF76or8 👉 Homes Selling Tips & Advice https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx5YSpQE6JQ9O7qSrJeMvWym1Ri0KYS-p 🎬 WATCH OUR OTHER VIDEOS: 👉 Discover Brookside Meadows: M/I Homes' Best-Kept Secret in Marengo, IL | New Home Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeYYnTHsdgs 👉 Ultimate Comfort and Style: Tour 20616 Beth Court in Marengo, IL!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5tE_OcHnw 👉 You Won't Believe What's Inside This Custom Home in Marengo, IL! | Tamara & Ozzie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjVW1nnZ03c 👉 Exploring Huntley, Illinois: The Ultimate Community Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7b5p0TqIGU 👉 3 Tips To Help You Sell Your Home Immediately https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CEMD46JMQI ============================= ✅ About Tamara and Ozzie Northern Illinois Real Estate. Hi! We are Tamara Berman and Ozzie Martinez, McHenry County area specialists. We make selling your home a smooth experience. Serving McHenry County and Northern Illinois, we know the area and what it takes to sell a home. We’re now adding more content for Empty Nesters and fellow Baby Boomers. Tamara's Story: "My true joy is working with people I connect with. The ever-evolving real estate industry keeps every day exciting. I thrive on challenges and finding innovative solutions." Join us and meet Ozzie, who brings intelligence, creativity, and humor to our team. Together, we're navigating real estate and cherishing the people we meet. Subscribe for multiple videos every week and stay connected! ☑️ Legally required licensing information: Century 21 New Heritage 11802 Main St. Huntley IL 60142 847-669-9555 Illinois Lic # 475.178891 For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: OzzieAMartinez@gmail.com 🔔 Ready to sell your home effortlessly? Subscribe for top real estate buying & selling tips, property tours, market updates, and expert analysis! https://www.youtube.com/@tamaraozzienorthernilrealtors/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= #RealEstateTips #MortgageRates #FedRateCuts #SellYourHome #EmptyNesterHomes #IllinoisRealEstate #HomeSelling2024 #HomeBuyerTips #RateCutsBenefits #CrystalLakeRealEstate ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information we provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and our YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Tamara and Ozzie Northern Illinois Real Estate. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube channel is provided. © Tamara and Ozzie Northern Illinois Real Estate via Moving to Illinois with Tamara & Ozzie https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsxJCexscWIJEFcD8myJr4A September 11, 2024 at 02:15AM

[monriatitans]

Finished a Book! Mini-Review: "Laziness Does Not Exist"

"Laziness Does Not Exist" by Devon Price, Ph.D.

I finished this on the 24th, but didn’t get to share/review it until now. This is the second book I can remember that was able to get me hooked, and annoyed when I had to put it down. This book had me reevaluating my life, which was the point, so, well done there. One would think the title of the book explains the contents of it, but it actually goes deeper: we need to be lazy sometimes. Why? To combat the Laziness Lie, as Dr. Devon calls it. Which is:

Deep down I'm lazy and worthless.

I must work incredibly hard, all the time, to overcome my inner laziness.

My worth is earned through my productivity.

Work is the center of life.

Anyone who isn’t accomplished and driven is immoral.

All bullshit. And it goes back to the time of slavery in the US, too. Shocker. The Laziness Lie and capitalism go together so damn well, it has people thinking human beings need to earn their keep to be allowed to survive. It's easy to dismiss the homeless when you believe it's their own fault, never mind the fact most everyone is one paycheck, one bankrupting illness, from being homeless themselves. Once we stop looking at ourselves as expendable robots, and start being human, we’ll make a better society. Everyone has needs. Needs don't make us weak. Lacking empathy and compassion does. EVERYONE needs to read this book. Those in power, especially.

—

DR. DEVON PRICE is a social psychologist, writer, and professor at Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Their work has appeared in Slate, Business Insider, The Financial Times, HuffPost, and Psychology Today, and on NPR and PBS. They live in Chicago, Illinois.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I completed a book on The Neverending Reading List! See the entire list here! Interested in the book? Snag it real quick here! Like what you see and want to know when there's more? Click here to subscribe for updates and/or hit the Follow button! Enjoy what I do? Please consider supporting via Buy Me a Coffee! For more about MonriaTitans, click here! Watch MonriaTitans on Twitch, YouTube, and Rumble!

—