#Professional Trading Software

[movingthisblogcelestialtarot11]

what can indicate someone making a lot of money in their career?

Signs for making 💰

Sag sun—always working multiple jobs, having multiple interests. May be into stocks, trading, engineering, software engineering, marketing. May be into tourism.

Capricorn venus, Capricorn moon—Always working and grinding. Networks easily. But I notice with these placements they may go on to start a side job earlier than getting a full time job. That full time job may come later depending on aspects to the moon. Has a superseding reputation for their determination and professionalism.

For example capricorn moon aspecting saturn has had jobs come in later to their life. May not have had their first job until 20 and onward. They may have been working on a side hustle the entire time.

Jupiter 1h, Jupiter 10h—Success follows these individuals. Career opportunities opened themselves up to them. The more the native works on their mindset they become a manifesting success story! Though don’t be fooled these individuals have had to work on themselves immensely.

Venus asp jupiter—Cash flows in. Though with this placement the native can spend just as easily and create just as much as they lost. (Trine, sextile, conj.)

Venus 5h—makes money off of doing what they love! Most definitely has a side hustle alongside their job.

Aquarius, sun moon, rising—also can be known for their unique side hustles. May be into designing clothes of their own, making music, but there’s something so fleshed out and distinct about their side hustle people are attracted to. May have a blog, make music,

Gemini venus, sun, moon—very multifaceted in their skills. Almost everywhere and nowhere at once with how busy they are. Paired with Leo: they may have a high position in their community and attract a lot of people. It creates the perfect audience for them to sell to! May crochet or sell handmade items!

Leo sun, rising—Has a knack for presenting themselves in any community. Does well with meeting new people to gain new opportunities and experiences. Likable energy. Most likely to own a vlog, or a blog where they can talk and share their stories. Makes money off of being themselves. Very hardworking individuals and determined!

Scorpio rising—Works in silence, keeps their success limited to people who celebrate it. Highly successful, looked up to, and is intelligent with their finances. Knows how to save. They are a fixed sign so once they see something in their mind they will not stop until they manifest success!

Capricorn/saturn dom—knowing how to budget and is successful because of their ability to save money. Not just their job!

Libra moon/rising—May work in a job requiring long travels, be in a position where income is higher. They’re beauty and brains. Some men are construction workers with this placement and make a hell of a lot of money. If moon is in the 12h they’re more likely to travel long distances. Can become models, nurses, doctors.

Cancer 10h, libra moon, libra venus—Can work in home renovation, be a real estate agent. Makes a ton of money off of bringing in clients. If they have aspects to mercury, gemini, exalted mercury, they can talk anyone into buying a home or service.

Libra moon—may also know someone who offers them a higher paying job.

Saturn 3h—Very skilled individuals. Disciplined and goal oriented. Slow and steady wins the race. Takes their time to learn new skills in their career thus making them knowledgeable. Whereas their coworkers tend to gloss over—no these individuals tend to stay late hours and put in more effort. Had a huge chance of being recognized and moving up in their position.

Taurus 2h—Check where venus is placed. If making an aspect to jupiter, moon, the native can become financially successful. (Trine, sextile, conj)

Jupiter 2h—Controversial perspective but a lot of these natives feel as though they have enough money to get by. It just somehow comes in when they need it. Same for sag ruling 2h.

Virgo mercury, virgo 2h—Can be concerned with spending habits and analyze them. May budget a lot and try different methods for saving. Has a critical eye for finances. May make a monthly spreadsheet! Can be into nursing as well.

Venus 10h—If the benefic is positively aspected it’ll bring lots of success to the natives career. Chance to become widely known for their work. Their charm and interpersonal skills leas to success.

Aries sun—Competitive in the career field. Sun is exalted here so these natives truly want to be the best they can be. Authoritative, determined in their work. Grinds a lot. Similar to Capricorn but more extroverted. Passionate, enthusiastic, and it drives them to make great connections in their career.

Sun 6h—Brilliant ideas, determined and structured. Puts in energy to their work. Day to day activities yield long term results. Their determination is what really gets them there. Has a great relationship with their coworkers and bosses if positively aspected.

[cyberstudious]

✨ 📖 ✏️ studyblr masterpost jam ✏️ 📖 ✨

📌 what is this?

this is a masterpost jam, like a game jam or a hackathon or a writing challenge, but for creating masterposts! the goal is to share knowledge and resources, as well as connect with other cool folks on tumblr! this challenge was born out of the studyblr community, but anyone who loves learning is welcome to participate. each day, share a masterpost following the prompts below and tag your posts with the hashtag #studyblrmasterpostjam so we can all reblog them and share the love <3

🗓️ when is this happening?

the main challenge will run August 12th through August 18th, although you're welcome to participate on your own timeline :)

✨ everyone is encouraged to participate in whatever way is comfortable!

you don't have to be an academic or a professional! tell us about your special interest, a favorite hobby or craft, or something else that you like learning about!

even if you're a beginner, you still have a valuable perspective that's worth sharing (and writing posts for this challenge is a great way to do some research and learn!).

you don't have to do all of the days or share posts on the "right" day! pick and choose your faves if you want, combine things, and take as long as you need to put them together.

you don't have to make super long posts! if you have a single resource or tip to share, please do and we will appreciate it all the same <3

if you don't want to write any posts, you can still participate by reading posts that other people make and reblogging them so we can all learn from each other!

please feel free to interpret the prompts below in your own way and expand upon them! there are so many different topics out there and the questions I've written probably don't make sense for some of them, so take what makes sense and use the rest as inspiration!

✏️ prompts

[monday, august 12th] an intro to your topic or field of study

how would you describe this topic to someone who has never heard of it? what careers are available? what professional organizations/conferences are big? what journals do academics publish in? what are the big questions, goals, or challenges? what are the sub-fields/sub-topics/areas of specialization? what are some resources for learning about the field itself?

2. [tuesday, august 13th] books

textbooks, fiction that relates to the field, inspiring memoirs, biographies, art books, graphic novels, audiobooks… anything that you think is relevant to your topic and helpful!

3. [wednesday, august 14th] free resources

online things! resources that you might be able to get from your library! and and all ways to learn/study/practice that don't require money - feel free to get creative here and come up with some cool ideas beyond just links to websites!

4. [thursday, august 15th] notable figures

who has made important contributions to the field? is there anyone who made big contributions in the past that are now outdated or incorrect? who has done great things but been overlooked because of racism/sexism/ableism/etc.? who is making interesting contributions today? is there anyone in the field that you look up to? this is a great time to do some research if you don't already have some notable figures in mind!

5. [friday, august 16th] study tips

what are your favorite tips and ways to study this topic? are there lots of things you need to memorize or tricky concepts that are hard to understand at first? is there a skill that requires lots of practice? tell us about it and how you approach it!

6. [saturday, august 17th] tools of the trade

do you work with software? lab equipment? art supplies? your favorite pen and notebook? certain analysis frameworks or processes? tell us about them!

7. [sunday, august 18th] beginner's guide

what resources were most helpful when you were a beginner? what are the important concepts/techniques to start with? are there any prerequisite skills? also, include links to your previous masterposts!

remember to tag your posts with #studyblrmasterpostjam! if you want to participate, feel free to reblog this to spread the word. I'll see y'all on August 12th for the first masterpost!

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Lloyd Hansen

Summary: It's your first week on the job and you find yourself having to deal with a very angry higher up.

Warnings: Power imbalance, Yelling. Please let me know if I missed any.

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Part 1.5 (Lloyd's Perspective)

You'd survived your first week at the job. It was a nerve-wracking to find out you were the only woman working in the IT department outside of Mr. Pine's assistant. Thankfully the majority of your coworkers were friendly without being inappropriate or condescending. So far you were able to just sit at your desk and do you work.

There's a knock on your cubicle wall and you look up to see Johnny standing there.

“Hey, I need you to take a ticket for me,” he tells you. “I'd do it but I just got pinged by the security measures and that takes priority. Ticket is Hansen-4142. Thanks so much!” Before you can argue he's gone.

Shaking your head you check the ticket. Johnny's not wrong that security takes highest priority and it's not unheard of for technicians to trade tickets. Looking through things it's pretty straightforward. This Hansen person likely tried to update some of the office software and the update messed with their current settings. You get his office number, double check the building floor-plans so you don't get lost, and head up.

Getting off the elevator at his floor the atmosphere is incredibly tense. People are keeping their heads down and trying to make themselves as small as possible. As you get closer to Mr. Hansen's office, you start to understand why. His voice carries and he's clearly very, very angry.

By the time you're right outside his office you're visibly shaking. Part of you wants to run back to the safety of your cubicle and beg one of the bosses to choose someone else. But that wouldn't be professional. It's only your first week, you need to do this and prove yourself to be a good hire. Taking a breath to steady yourself, you knock on the door.

“Get in here!” Mr. Hansen barks.

You open the door, “hello, Mr. Hansen. I'm, um, I'm from IT to fix your computer?”

“Yeah, I figured that,” he bites back. “No one else would be dumb enough to knock on the damn door.”

You nod at his reasoning, “may, I...may I see your computer, Sir?”

He chortles, “It's about damn time the IT department hired someone who knows their place.”

He moves away from his desk and gestures for you to sit. Not wanting to be here any longer than you need, you immediately set about to working. No chit-chat, nothing to give him a reason to yell again. You find yourself getting into the zone, hunting down the needed files, ignoring everything extraneous, and making the changes that are needed.

You think you got everything so you get out of the chair, “please make sure everything is working correctly, Mr. Hansen?”

He gives you a skeptical look as he sits, “that was way too fast to have worked.” You lower your chin to your chest but don't protest. You hear him typing and clicking away for a minute or so. “Huh,” you hear from him. “You're a friggin' maestro.” His tone is more contemplative than anything.

“Do you need anything else, Sir?”

He looks up and seems surprised you're still there. “No. You may go back to the IT caverns.”

Not needing to be told twice you nod and head out. When you're back in the department you see Mr. Syverson and he calls you over.

“Where ya been? Was wantin' to ask you about some of the upcoming projects we got ya assigned to.”

“Oh, Johnny asked me to handle a ticket for him because a security issue came up.”

He freezes at that. “Was it with Hansen?”

“Um, yes, Sir.” You see his face turn red and you're worried you did something wrong.

He takes a breath, “you're not in trouble. You're gonna go finish out that ticket like you're supposed to and I'll talk to you about the projects tomorrow.” You nod and almost run to your cubicle. Behind you, Syverson yells, “Storm! My office! NOW!”

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Next

Tagging @alicedopey; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82 ; @peyton-warren @ronearoundblindly

[mariacallous]

These days, when Nicole Yelland receives a meeting request from someone she doesn’t already know, she conducts a multi-step background check before deciding whether to accept. Yelland, who works in public relations for a Detroit-based non-profit, says she’ll run the person’s information through Spokeo, a personal data aggregator that she pays a monthly subscription fee to use. If the contact claims to speak Spanish, Yelland says, she will casually test their ability to understand and translate trickier phrases. If something doesn’t quite seem right, she’ll ask the person to join a Microsoft Teams call—with their camera on.

If Yelland sounds paranoid, that’s because she is. In January, before she started her current non-profit role, Yelland says she got roped into an elaborate scam targeting job seekers. “Now, I do the whole verification rigamarole any time someone reaches out to me,” she tells WIRED.

Digital imposter scams aren’t new; messaging platforms, social media sites, and dating apps have long been rife with fakery. In a time when remote work and distributed teams have become commonplace, professional communications channels are no longer safe, either. The same artificial intelligence tools that tech companies promise will boost worker productivity are also making it easier for criminals and fraudsters to construct fake personas in seconds.

On LinkedIn, it can be hard to distinguish a slightly touched-up headshot of a real person from a too-polished, AI-generated facsimile. Deepfake videos are getting so good that longtime email scammers are pivoting to impersonating people on live video calls. According to the US Federal Trade Commission, reports of job and employment related scams nearly tripled from 2020 to 2024, and actual losses from those scams have increased from $90 million to $500 million.

Yelland says the scammers that approached her back in January were impersonating a real company, one with a legitimate product. The “hiring manager” she corresponded with over email also seemed legit, even sharing a slide deck outlining the responsibilities of the role they were advertising. But during the first video interview, Yelland says, the scammers refused to turn their cameras on during a Microsoft Teams meeting and made unusual requests for detailed personal information, including her driver’s license number. Realizing she’d been duped, Yelland slammed her laptop shut.

These kinds of schemes have become so widespread that AI startups have emerged promising to detect other AI-enabled deepfakes, including GetReal Labs, and Reality Defender. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also runs an identity-verification startup called Tools for Humanity, which makes eye-scanning devices that capture a person’s biometric data, create a unique identifier for their identity, and store that information on the blockchain. The whole idea behind it is proving “personhood,” or that someone is a real human. (Lots of people working on blockchain technology say that blockchain is the solution for identity verification.)

But some corporate professionals are turning instead to old-fashioned social engineering techniques to verify every fishy-seeming interaction they have. Welcome to the Age of Paranoia, when someone might ask you to send them an email while you’re mid-conversation on the phone, slide into your Instagram DMs to ensure the LinkedIn message you sent was really from you, or request you text a selfie with a timestamp, proving you are who you claim to be. Some colleagues say they even share code words with each other, so they have a way to ensure they’re not being misled if an encounter feels off.

“What’s funny is, the low-fi approach works,” says Daniel Goldman, a blockchain software engineer and former startup founder. Goldman says he began changing his own behavior after he heard a prominent figure in the crypto world had been convincingly deepfaked on a video call. “It put the fear of god in me,” he says. Afterwards, he warned his family and friends that even if they hear what they believe is his voice or see him on a video call asking for something concrete—like money or an internet password—they should hang up and email him first before doing anything.

Ken Schumacher, founder of the recruitment verification service Ropes, says he’s worked with hiring managers who ask job candidates rapid-fire questions about the city where they claim to live on their resume, such as their favorite coffee shops and places to hang out. If the applicant is actually based in that geographic region, Schumacher says, they should be able to respond quickly with accurate details.

Another verification tactic some people use, Schumacher says, is what he calls the “phone camera trick.” If someone suspects the person they’re talking to over video chat is being deceitful, they can ask them to hold up their phone camera to their laptop. The idea is to verify whether the individual may be running deepfake technology on their computer, obscuring their true identity or surroundings. But it’s safe to say this approach can also be off-putting: Honest job candidates may be hesitant to show off the inside of their homes or offices, or worry a hiring manager is trying to learn details about their personal lives.

“Everyone is on edge and wary of each other now,” Schumacher says.

While turning yourself into a human captcha may be a fairly effective approach to operational security, even the most paranoid admit these checks create an atmosphere of distrust before two parties have even had the chance to really connect. They can also be a huge time suck. “I feel like something’s gotta give,” Yelland says. “I’m wasting so much time at work just trying to figure out if people are real.”

Jessica Eise, an assistant professor studying climate change and social behavior at Indiana University-Bloomington, says that her research team has been forced to essentially become digital forensics experts, due to the amount of fraudsters who respond to ads for paid virtual surveys. (Scammers aren’t as interested in the unpaid surveys, unsurprisingly.) If the research project is federally funded, all of the online participants have to be over the age of 18 and living in the US.

“My team would check time stamps for when participants answered emails, and if the timing was suspicious, we could guess they might be in a different time zone,” Eise says. “Then we’d look for other clues we came to recognize, like certain formats of email address or incoherent demographic data.”

Eise says the amount of time her team spent screening people was “exorbitant,” and that they’ve now shrunk the size of the cohort for each study and have turned to “snowball sampling” or having recruiting people they know personally to join their studies. The researchers are also handing out more physical flyers to solicit participants in person. “We care a lot about making sure that our data has integrity, that we’re studying who we say we’re trying to study,” she says. “I don’t think there’s an easy solution to this.”

Barring any widespread technical solution, a little common sense can go a long way in spotting bad actors. Yelland shared with me the slide deck that she received as part of the fake job pitch. At first glance, it seemed like legit pitch, but when she looked at it again, a few details stood out. The job promised to pay substantially more than the average salary for a similar role in her location, and offered unlimited vacation time, generous paid parental leave, and fully-covered health care benefits. In today’s job environment, that might have been the biggest tipoff of all that it was a scam.

[ernmark]

I just stumbled across somebody saying how editing their own novel was too exhausting, and next time they'll run it through Grammerly instead.

For the love of writing, please do not trust AI to edit your work.

Listen. I get it. I am a writer, and I have worked as a professional editor. Writing is hard and editing is harder. There's a reason I did it for pay. Consequently, I also get that professional editors can be dearly expensive, and things like dyslexia can make it difficult to edit your own stuff.

Algorithms are not the solution to that.

Pay a newbie human editor. Trade favors with a friend. Beg an early birthday present from a sibling. I cannot stress enough how important it is that one of the editors be yourself, and at least one be somebody else.

Yourself, because you know what you intended to put on the page, and what is obviously counter to your intention.

The other person, because they're going to see the things that you can't notice. When you're reading your own writing, it's colored by what you expect to be on the page, and so your brain will frequently fill in missing words or make sense of things that don't actually parse well. They're also more likely to point out things that are outside your scope of knowledge.

Trust me, human editors are absolutely necessary for publishing.

If you convince yourself that you positively must run your work through an algorithm before submitting to an agent/publisher/self-pub site, do yourself and your readers a massive favor: get at least two sets of human eyeballs on your writing after the algorithm has done its work.

Because here's the thing:

AI draws from whatever data sets it's trained on, and those data sets famously aren't curated.

You cannot trust it to know whether that's an actual word or just a really common misspelling.

People break conventions of grammar to create a certain effect in the reader all the time. AI cannot be relied upon to know the difference between James Joyce and a bredlik and an actual coherent sentence, or which one is appropriate at any given part of the book.

AI picks up on patterns in its training data sets and imitates and magnifies those patterns-- especially bigotry, and particularly racism.

AI has also been known to lift entire passages wholesale. Listen to me: Plagiarism will end your career. And here's the awful thing-- if it's plagiarizing a source you aren't familiar with, there's a very good chance you wouldn't even know it's been done. This is another reason for other humans than yourself-- more people means a broader pool of knowledge and experience to draw from.

I know a writer who used this kind of software to help them find spelling mistakes, didn't realize that a setting had been turned on during an update, and had their entire work be turned into word salad-- and only found out when the editor at their publishing house called them on the phone and asked what the hell had happened to their latest book. And when I say 'their entire work', I'm not talking about their novel-- I'm talking about every single draft and document that the software had access to.

[sweet-potato-42]

I ramble about the scientists and engineers on qsmp (mike, pac, tubbo, ramon and aypierre) and about what i think they specialize in:

Pac to me is a bio chemist/ pharmacist. He knows how to make antidotes as he did in the happy pills arc. He is the one in the tazercraft duo who learned medicine and chem. This man however does not know the meaning of "ethical practices". he picked up some physics and engineering knowledge from being with mike

Mike feels like a phycisist with some knowledge in other fields. It lfeels like he knows theory very well and has the problem solving skills for it. He knows some engineering stuff, some chem from pac and some computer science stuff. This is what helps him be a sort of jack of all trades and build things like the game arenas with pac.

Tubbo and ramon are very similar to me in that they are both just mechanical engineers who know some other stuff. They are create mod experts making them especially good at mechanical engineering but htey also know some electrical stuff and maybe some computer science. They are both well versed in physics though not professionals as they can do shit like time machines or build the radio reciever. Tubbo in particular is also a logistics nerd which is what pushes him to make large interconnected systems and factories.

Aypierre feels like a robotics and software expert. He might also be a create mod user but the way he does it and his factories give a much more modern fancy robot vibe. He certainly approaches the mod in a more 1 project at a time way which is closer to working on computer science. He also always makes displays that show what the factory is producing. Other evidence for this is the ayrobot shit.

Im convinved these 5 have had intense joke arguments over whihc science or field is the best. Theyve done it several times. By now pac has given up on fighting since hes the only biologist.

i need more scinecy art and shit frm them. Especially for pac. I need fitpac moments where pac is just rambling about some complicated chem stuff and fit is like :)

[canmom]

more on art production ~under capitalism~

reading Who Owns This Sentence?, a very engaging and fiercely critical history of the concept of copyright, and it's pretty fire. there's all sorts of fascinating intricacies in the way the notion of IP formed around the world (albeit so far the narrative has mainly focused on Europe, and to a limited extent China), and the different ideologies that justified the types of monopolies that it granted. the last chapter i read skewers the idea that the ability to exploit copyright and patents is what motivates the writing of books and research/invention, and I'll try and pull out the shape of the argument tomorrow. so far I'm only up to the 18th century; I'm looking forward to the rest of their story of how copyright grew from the limited forms of that period into the monster it is today.

it's on libgen if you wanna read it! i feel like the authors would be hypocrites to object :p

it is making me think about the differences between the making of books and other media, from (since this has been rattling around my head lately) an economic angle...

writing books, at least in the case of fiction is usually done on a prospective, spec-work kind of basis (you write your novel with no guarantee it will get published unless you're already an established author under contract). admittedly, a lot of us probably read books by authors who managed to 'make it' as professional authors and write full time - but this is not a lucrative thing to do and to make it work you need truly exceptional luck to get a major hit, or to be extremely prolific in things people want to read.

the films and games of the types most of us play are, by contrast, generally made by teams of salaried people - and thus do rarely get made without the belief it will be profitable. if you went on about your 'monetisation model' when writing a book, people would look at you funny and rightly so, but it's one of the first questions that gets asked when pitching a game.

open source software is a notable comparison here. a lot of it is done for its own sake without any expectation of profit, taking untold hours, but large free software projects tend to sprout foundations, which take donations (typically from companies that use the software) to pay for full time developers. mozilla, notably, gets a huge part of its funding from google paying for their search engine to be the default in Firefox; this in turn drives development of not just Firefox itself but also the Rust programming language (as discussed in this very enlightening talk by Evan Czaplicki). Blender is rightly celebrated as one of the best open source projects for its incredibly fast development, but they do have an office in amsterdam and a number of full time devs.

what money buys in regards to creative works is not motivation, but time - time to work on a project, iterate and polish and all that. in societies where you have to buy food etc. to survive, your options for existence are basically:

work at a job

own capital

rely on someone else (e.g. a parent or partner)

rely on state benefits if you can get them

beg

steal

if you're working at a job, this takes up a lot of your time and energy. you can definitely make art anyway, loads of people do, but you're much more limited in how you can work at it compared to someone who doesn't have to work another job.

so again, what money buys in art is the means of subsistence for someone, freeing them to work fully on realising a project.

where does the money come from that lets people work full time on art? a few places.

one is selling copies of the work itself. what's remarkable is that, when nearly everything can be pirated without a great deal of effort, it is still possible to do this to some degree - though in many ways the ease of digital copying (or at least the fear if it) has forced new models for purely digital creations, which either trade on convenience (streaming services) or in the case of games, find some way to enforce scarcity like requiring connection to a central server and including 'in-app purchases', where you pay to have the software display that you are the nebulous owner of an imaginary thing, and display this to other players. anyway, whichever exact model, the idea is that you turn the IP into capital which you then use to manufacture a product like 'legal copies', 'subscriptions' or 'accounts with a rare skin unlocked'.

the second is using the work to promote some other, more profitable thing - merchandising, an original work, etc. this is the main way that something like anime makes money (for the production committee, if not the studio) - the anime is, economics-wise, effectively an ad for its own source manga, figurines, shirts etc. the reason why there is so much pro media chasing the tastes of otaku is partly because otaku spend a lot on merch. (though it's also because the doujin scene kind of feeds into 'pro' production)

the third is some kind of patronage relationship, notably government grants, but also academic funding bodies, or selling commissions, or subscriptions on a streaming platform/patreon etc.

grants are how most European animated films are funded, and they often open with the logos of a huge list of arts organisations in different countries. the more places you can get involved, the more funds you can pull on. now, instead of working out how to sell your creation to customers who might buy a copy, under this model you need to convince funding bodies that it fits their remit. requesting grants involves its own specialised language.

in general the issue with the audience patronage model is that it only really pays enough to live on if you're working on a pretty huge scale. a minority make a fortune; the vast majority get a pittance at most, and if they do 'make it', it takes years of persistence.

the fourth is, for physical media, to sell an original. this only works if you can accumulate enough prestige, and the idea is to operate on extreme scarcity. the brief fad of NFTs attempted to abstract the idea of 'owning' an original from the legal right to control the physical object to something completely nebulous. in practice this largely ended up just being a speculative bubble - but then again, a lot of the reason fine art is bought and sold for such eye watering sums is pretty much the same, it's an arbitrary holder of an investment.

the fifth is artworks which are kind of intrinsically scarce, like live performances. you can only fit so many people in the house. and in many cases people will pay to see something that can be copied in unique circumstances, like seeing a film at a cinema or festival - though this is a special case of selling copies.

the sixth is to sell advertising: turn your audience into the product, and your artwork into the bait on the hook.

the alternative to all of these options is unpaid volunteer work, like a collab project. the participants are limited to the time and energy they have left after taking care of survival. this can still lead to great things, but it tends to be more unstable by its nature. so many of these projects will lose steam or participants will flake and they'll not get finished - and that's fine! still, huge huge amounts of things already get created on this kind of hobby/indie/doujin basis, generally (tho not always) with no expectation of making enough money to sustain someone.

in every single one of these cases, the economic forces shape the types of artwork that will get made. different media are more or less demanding of labour, and that in turn shapes what types of projects are viable.

books can be written solo, and usually are - collaborations are not the norm there. the same goes for illustrations. on the other hand, if you want to make a hefty CRPG or an action game or a feature length movie, and you're trying to fit that project around your day job... i won't say it's impossible, I can think of some exceptional examples, but it won't be easy, and for many people it just won't be possible.

so, that's a survey of possibilities under the current regime. how vital is copyright really to this whole affair?

one thing that is strange to me is that there aren't a lot of open source games. there are some - i have memories of seeing Tux Racer, but a more recent example would be Barotrauma (which is open source but not free, and does not take contributions from outside the company). could it work? could you pay the salaries of, say, 10 devs on a 'pay what you can' model?

it feels like the only solution to all of this in the long run is some kind of UBI type of thing - that or a very generous art grants regime. if people were free to work on what they wanted and didn't need to be paid, you wouldn't have any reason for copyright. the creations could be publicly archived. but then the question i have is, what types of artwork would thrive in that kind of ecosystem?

I've barely talked about the book that inspired this, but i think it was worth the trouble to get the contours of this kind of analysis down outside my head...

[universalaigroup]

Universalaigroup.com review Trading Platform

When choosing a forex broker, traders look for security, reliability, and user experience. Nobody wants to risk their money with an unregulated or questionable platform. That’s why today, we’re taking a deep dive into universalaigroup.com reviews, analyzing its regulation, reputation, trading conditions, and user feedback.

A good broker isn’t just about flashy promises—it needs a strong foundation, proper licensing, positive trader reviews, and a seamless trading experience. So, does universalaigroup.com review check all the right boxes? Let’s find out. We’re going to break it down, step by step.

Universalaigroup.com Trading Platform: Versatility and Convenience

The trading platform offered by universalaigroup.com reviews includes a variety of options to suit different trading needs:

WebTrader Platform – A browser-based platform that allows users to trade without downloading software. This is a flexible option, ideal for those who prefer quick access from different devices.

Tablet Trader – Designed for tablets, this platform ensures smooth trading on larger touchscreens, making it convenient for traders who want mobility without compromising usability.

Mobile Trader – A smartphone-optimized platform, allowing users to trade on the go. This is particularly useful for those who want to monitor the market and execute trades anytime, anywhere.

Having multiple platform options like these indicates that universalaigroup.com review is catering to both professional and casual traders. A strong web-based and mobile infrastructure is a good sign of legitimacy because unreliable brokers often neglect user-friendly trading solutions. Would a broker that isn’t serious about its clients invest in such a well-rounded platform? We think not!

Universalaigroup.com: A Strong Foundation from the Start

One of the key indicators of a legitimate broker is the consistency between its establishment date and the date of domain registration. For universalaigroup.com reviews, the domain was purchased on December 7, 2020, while the company itself was officially established in 2022.

This alignment is crucial. Why? Because when a broker secures its domain well before launching, it shows a well-thought-out business plan rather than a hastily created operation. Scammers often set up domains at the last minute, trying to make a quick profit before disappearing. But here, we see a timeline that makes sense—the company took the time to prepare, build its infrastructure, and enter the market strategically.

Universalaigroup.com: Strong Regulatory Backing

One of the most important aspects when evaluating a broker’s legitimacy is its regulation. universalaigroup.com reviews operates under the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), a top-tier regulatory body known for its strict standards and investor protection measures.

The FCA license isn’t easy to obtain. It requires brokers to meet rigorous financial requirements, ensure fair trading conditions, and implement strict anti-money laundering measures. Only companies with a transparent business model and financial stability get this approval. And what does this tell us? A broker under FCA regulation isn’t just legal—it’s one of the most secure options in the industry.

Brokers without strong oversight often operate in the shadows, avoiding strict compliance rules. But universalaigroup.com review has passed the high standards of one of the toughest regulators. If there was ever a sign of trustworthiness in the forex world, this is it.

Universalaigroup.com: What Do Traders Say?

A broker’s reputation is best reflected in its user reviews. universalaigroup.com review has a Trustpilot rating of 3.9, with 6 reviews so far.

Now, let’s break it down. While a rating of 4.0 or higher is considered excellent in the trading industry, a 3.9 is still close and shows a generally positive sentiment. But what really matters is the number of reviews. Since there are only 6 reviews, the score isn’t fully representative yet. Why? Because early reviews can fluctuate significantly with just a few ratings.

Here’s the key takeaway: a developing broker with a near-4-star rating is a good sign. As more traders use the platform, we’ll get an even clearer picture. For now, this suggests that traders have had a mostly positive experience, which is a solid indicator of trustworthiness.

Is universalaigroup.com review a Legit Broker?

After thoroughly analyzing universalaigroup.com reviews, the evidence strongly points to its legitimacy. Let’s quickly recap why:

✅ Domain History Aligns with Legitimacy – The domain was purchased two years before the company’s official launch, signaling a well-planned business rather than a rushed scam. ✅ Regulated by FCA – One of the most respected financial regulators, ensuring transparency, security, and fair trading conditions. ✅ Decent Trustpilot Rating – With a 3.9-star score, the early feedback from users suggests a mostly positive trading experience. As more traders leave reviews, this will give us an even clearer picture. ✅ Multiple Trading Platforms – From WebTrader to Mobile and Tablet trading, the broker offers flexibility for different types of traders. ✅ Fast Deposits and Withdrawals – Transactions are instant or take just a few hours, with zero commission fees, which is a major plus. ✅ User-Friendly Support and App – The app is available on App Store with a solid 4.8-star rating, proving its reliability for mobile trading.

Would an unreliable broker go through the trouble of obtaining an FCA license, investing in user-friendly technology, and ensuring seamless payment options? We highly doubt it. universalaigroup.com review presents itself as a serious and trustworthy platform for traders looking for a regulated and flexible forex experience.

[bigprofitpulse]

BigProfitPulse.io Reviews Explore the Best Trading Conditions

The online trading world is dynamic and ever-evolving making it crucial to choose a reliable and efficient platform that provides traders with the best opportunities. BigProfitPulse.io reviews showcase why this platform stands out as a leader in the financial industry offering a combination of innovative tools competitive trading conditions and high-speed execution. With a diverse range of financial instruments and a user-friendly interface traders can seamlessly engage in trading without unnecessary hurdles. The ability to access real-time market prices and leverage personalized support ensures that every trader from beginners to professionals can optimize their strategies and achieve financial success.

BigProfitPulse.io Reviews Why Traders Choose Us

Traders are always in search of a platform that not only meets their expectations but also exceeds them. BigProfitPulse.io reviews highlight how this platform consistently delivers top-tier trading services ensuring that every trader has access to the best possible conditions. A major reason why traders trust BigProfitPulse.io is the platform’s commitment to transparency and efficiency. With instant order execution and competitive spreads traders can capitalize on opportunities without worrying about delays or hidden fees. Additionally the platform’s training programs provide users with invaluable insights helping them refine their skills and develop well-informed trading strategies. Whether you are just getting started or already an experienced trader BigProfitPulse.io has the tools and resources to support your journey.

BigProfitPulse.io A Cutting-Edge Trading Platform

One of the most discussed features in BigProfitPulse.io reviews is its cutting-edge trading platform which is designed to cater to traders of all levels. The web-based terminal allows users to analyze financial markets track real-time price movements and execute trades effortlessly from their browsers. There is no need for additional software installations or complicated setup procedures making it easier than ever to engage in global trading. Whether you are trading stocks foreign currencies or precious metals BigProfitPulse.io provides an advanced yet accessible trading environment. The platform is equipped with the latest tools for technical analysis ensuring that traders can make data-driven decisions with confidence.

BigProfitPulse.io Reviews Comprehensive Client Support

A key highlight in BigProfitPulse.io reviews is the comprehensive customer support that ensures traders receive assistance whenever they need it. The platform prides itself on offering professional support services with a team of knowledgeable experts available to answer questions resolve technical issues and provide valuable insights. Whether traders require help navigating the trading terminal understanding market trends or optimizing their trading strategies BigProfitPulse.io’s support team is always ready to assist. This level of commitment to customer service sets the platform apart making it a preferred choice for traders looking for reliability and security.

BigProfitPulse.io  Real-Time Liquidity and Instant Execution

Market conditions can change in an instant and traders need a platform that provides real-time liquidity and swift order execution. BigProfitPulse.io reviews emphasize how the platform ensures that trades are processed without delays allowing traders to take advantage of market fluctuations as they happen. The integration of interbank liquidity ensures that users get the best available prices maximizing their profitability. By eliminating execution lags and providing seamless order processing BigProfitPulse.io enhances the overall trading experience giving users a competitive edge in the financial markets.

BigProfitPulse.io Reviews Personalized Training for Traders

Education and continuous learning play a significant role in a trader’s success and BigProfitPulse.io reviews highlight how the platform offers personalized training programs to support users at every stage of their trading journey. Traders are matched with experienced tutors who provide insights into market movements risk management and profitable trading strategies. This hands-on approach helps traders develop confidence and refine their skills ensuring they can navigate financial markets with greater precision. The platform’s commitment to education makes it an ideal choice for both newcomers and seasoned professionals looking to expand their knowledge.

BigProfitPulse.io Reviews Secure and Fast Withdrawals

Security and convenience are top priorities for traders and BigProfitPulse.io reviews confirm that the platform provides a safe and efficient withdrawal process. Users can request fund withdrawals at any time knowing that transactions will be processed swiftly without unnecessary delays. The platform employs advanced security measures to protect user funds and personal data giving traders peace of mind while they focus on their trading activities. Whether traders are actively trading or cashing out their profits they can trust BigProfitPulse.io to handle their transactions smoothly and securely.

BigProfitPulse.io Getting Started is Easy

A major advantage noted in BigProfitPulse.io reviews is the simplicity of getting started on the platform. Registration is quick and straightforward allowing traders to create an account and begin trading within minutes. The low minimum deposit requirement makes it accessible to traders of all backgrounds whether they are testing the waters or fully committing to the trading lifestyle. The platform also provides personalized guidance during the onboarding process ensuring that new traders have all the necessary tools and knowledge to begin their journey with confidence.

BigProfitPulse.io The Advantages of Trading Here

Traders continue to choose BigProfitPulse.io for the numerous advantages it offers. BigProfitPulse.io reviews frequently mention the following key benefits

Competitive spreads and low trading commissions ensuring maximum profitability

Swift and hassle-free processing of withdrawal requests allowing traders to access their funds at any time

Timely updates on significant market events helping traders stay informed and make strategic decisions

Access to global financial markets enabling users to diversify their portfolios and explore multiple investment opportunities

Professional customer support dedicated to resolving issues and providing expert assistance

BigProfitPulse.io Reviews Your Path to Financial Success

Finding the right trading platform is essential for achieving success in the financial markets. BigProfitPulse.io reviews highlight how this platform combines advanced technology expert guidance and superior trading conditions to create an unparalleled trading experience. Whether you are an aspiring trader or a seasoned professional looking for a reliable partner BigProfitPulse.io provides all the tools and resources necessary for success. By choosing BigProfitPulse.io traders gain access to a secure transparent and innovative trading environment that empowers them to reach their financial goals.

[bowlofmie]

Thoughts on creating Art on the 3ds

Credentials:

3ds lover since 2011 and owner since 2013

Art student and art creator

Lover of digital art and technology from the 2010s

So recently I bought myself a 3ds XL which is super exciting! I’ve wanted one of these for a really long time and my hands have officially grown from small child size so the original 3ds is a bit uncomfortable for me to hold. I’ve gotta say, it’s kind of wild to go from a little kid to an adult with the 3ds still my main gaming system but I couldn’t be happier about it!

I bought my 3ds XL off of Goodwill Auctions and I spent a little over $120 on it, and that included physical copies of Mario Kart 7, Mario and Luigi Partners in Time, Super Mario 3D Land, and Yoshi’s Island DS, so a really good deal! I’ve been lurking on Facebook Marketplace and Mercari for a while, but I couldn’t find anything close to that good of a deal (at least nothing that wasn’t secretly a scam.) Best Christmas present I’ve gotten since my original 3ds back in 2013!

Anyways, I’ve been on break from art school because my partner unexpectedly passed away and I am not doing well with that. Gaming has been a big help for me in this time. Nintendogs and Animal Crossing have helped me feel a lot less lonely even though I am alone now. I still love art though, so I’ve been messing around with that on my 3ds since I always have it with me. I was actually playing a lot of Pokémon Art Academy with my little sisters the week before she passed, just in my free time. Now that I have a whole lot more free time, I’ve gotten through almost the entire game, and have played around with a bunch of other drawing software on the 3ds.

Essentially, here I want to do a mini personal retrospective on my history of doing art on the DS and go through and then later review all the different drawing programs on the 3ds on a different post

I did my first ever animations on Flipnote when I was little and it made animation seem like something I actually could do myself, instead of something that those grown professional artists did that somehow made entire worlds. I have a lot of fond memories of making Flipnotes with my friends and trading them around, making our own memes before we really knew what that was. This was on my DSi which I had before the 3ds. What a device!

In my animation class, which I did not end up getting to finish due to the aforementioned death of my partner, I did several first drafts and test animations on my 3ds instead of on the big Wacom tablets (much to the confusion of my professor. Sorry about that Professor!) I’m used to drawing and painting being things that fit in my hands instead of the huge 18 by 24 sketchbooks we had to use in figure drawing or the huge drawing tablets. They definitely have their uses, but they were really intimidating to me. Most of my art work over the past decade has been very small and very detailed instead of huge gestural drawings, and while I did have to get used to that eventually, I still have a preference for the handheld, which translates great into digital art on the 3ds!

(This acrylic painting I did in high school is 4 by 6, which is roughly the size of a 3ds xl.)

I used to do lots of doodles on the notes app on my childhood 3ds and also played around with Flipnote 3d, though I never got as into it as I did the DSi version when I was littler

Nowadays I like to do more detailed painterly things in Art Academy, cartoons in Pokémon Art Academy, and a lot of my doodles in Flipnote 3d. I love the small form factor and with the 3ds XL I find that it’s easier to make things that I’m actually happy with. I wish more traditional digital art applications had some of the features that the 3ds ones have, like sound effects, realistic features, and built in button control.

There’s a lot of options of ways and applications you can do art in on the 3ds and my hyperfixation on the 3ds is definitely fed by that fact. I’ll be going through and reviewing all of them from my perspective and once I’ve done that, I’ll add a link below.

Thank you for reading!

[cyberstudious]

Tools of the Trade for Learning Cybersecurity

I created this post for the Studyblr Masterpost Jam, check out the tag for more cool masterposts from folks in the studyblr community!

Cybersecurity professionals use a lot of different tools to get the job done. There are plenty of fancy and expensive tools that enterprise security teams use, but luckily there are also lots of brilliant people writing free and open-source software. In this post, I'm going to list some popular free tools that you can download right now to practice and learn with.

In my opinion, one of the most important tools you can learn how to use is a virtual machine. If you're not already familiar with Linux, this is a great way to learn. VMs are helpful for separating all your security tools from your everyday OS, isolating potentially malicious files, and just generally experimenting. You'll need to use something like VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation (Workstation Pro is now free for personal use, but they make you jump through hoops to download it).

Below is a list of some popular cybersecurity-focused Linux distributions that come with lots of tools pre-installed:

Kali is a popular distro that comes loaded with tools for penetration testing

REMnux is a distro built for malware analysis

honorable mention for FLARE-VM, which is not a VM on its own, but a set of scripts for setting up a malware analysis workstation & installing tools on a Windows VM.

SANS maintains several different distros that are used in their courses. You'll need to create an account to download them, but they're all free:

Slingshot is built for penetration testing

SIFT Workstation is a distro that comes with lots of tools for digital forensics

These distros can be kind of overwhelming if you don't know how to use most of the pre-installed software yet, so just starting with a regular Linux distribution and installing tools as you want to learn them is another good choice for learning.

Free Software

Wireshark: sniff packets and explore network protocols

Ghidra and the free version of IDA Pro are the top picks for reverse engineering

for digital forensics, check out Eric Zimmerman's tools - there are many different ones for exploring & analyzing different forensic artifacts

pwntools is a super useful Python library for solving binary exploitation CTF challenges

CyberChef is a tool that makes it easy to manipulate data - encryption & decryption, encoding & decoding, formatting, conversions… CyberChef gives you a lot to work with (and there's a web version - no installation required!).

Burp Suite is a handy tool for web security testing that has a free community edition

Metasploit is a popular penetration testing framework, check out Metasploitable if you want a target to practice with

SANS also has a list of free tools that's worth checking out.

Programming Languages

Knowing how to write code isn't a hard requirement for learning cybersecurity, but it's incredibly useful. Any programming language will do, especially since learning one will make it easy to pick up others, but these are some common ones that security folks use:

Python is quick to write, easy to learn, and since it's so popular, there are lots of helpful libraries out there.

PowerShell is useful for automating things in the Windows world. It's built on .NET, so you can practically dip into writing C# if you need a bit more power.

Go is a relatively new language, but it's popular and there are some security tools written in it.

Rust is another new-ish language that's designed for memory safety and it has a wonderful community. There's a bit of a steep learning curve, but learning Rust makes you understand how memory bugs work and I think that's neat.

If you want to get into reverse engineering or malware analysis, you'll want to have a good grasp of C and C++.

Other Tools for Cybersecurity

There are lots of things you'll need that aren't specific to cybersecurity, like:

a good system for taking notes, whether that's pen & paper or software-based. I recommend using something that lets you work in plain text or close to it.

general command line familiarity + basic knowledge of CLI text editors (nano is great, but what if you have to work with a system that only has vi?)

familiarity with git and docker will be helpful

There are countless scripts and programs out there, but the most important thing is understanding what your tools do and how they work. There is no magic "hack this system" or "solve this forensics case" button. Tools are great for speeding up the process, but you have to know what the process is. Definitely take some time to learn how to use them, but don't base your entire understanding of security on code that someone else wrote. That's how you end up as a "script kiddie", and your skills and knowledge will be limited.

Feel free to send me an ask if you have questions about any specific tool or something you found that I haven't listed. I have approximate knowledge of many things, and if I don't have an answer I can at least help point you in the right direction.

[rainedragon]

do you have any tips for scanning old magazines/catalogs? i'd like to help archive some of the publications i have, but i don't really know where to start ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ

i'm mostly concerned about binding (especially on glbs) and what scanner specifications to look at, but any other advice or resources would be appreciated too!

So, I'm not actually an archivist, I'm a web developer by trade. I own a relatively inexpensive flatbed printer/scanner, mostly because it was what I could go out to a physical store and buy for relatively cheap when I started out scanning old magazines and catalogs.

For anything that is staple bound, like a magazine, and can be put flat on a table while open, scanning is relatively easy. You just need a flatbed scanner that is bigger than the pages, and a book to put on top of the lid to keep it flat (don't use too heavy of a book or you will damage the scanner 1-2 magazines is usually good. Also, don't forget they are there, open the lid and fling them across the room). Line up a corner of the page on the corner of the scanner and you should be golden. Scan in photo mode if your scanner software has options. Ideally, for things like the GLB, you would either want a copy you can destroy (which I kind of think is what some of the 'latest magazines' scanning farms were doing in the 2010s) and to carefully unbind the whole thing and scan the pages flat (which I have no personal interest in doing because destroying books pains me and I'm not trying to digitize "clean" digital copies for any professional reason). OR, my understanding is you want something with a V-shaped cradle of some type that is specialized for scanning books, either as an actual scanner or a camera setup with software. The problem is last time I looked those were like 10K and up if you get a piece of specialized equipment.

I've vaguely dabbled with the idea of doing a very hacky version of a DIY build with boxes cut down to the right angle and some panes of glass and my DSLR for my pink house catalogs because they are too big but I never really got it fully figured out. I will admit, I haven't tried super hard. I kept getting reflections, and I had to worry about the glass scratching the pages, and I didn't feel like getting a proper light.... I know I should really try again, and try a little harder, but it's a lot and I have a lot of other stuff I need to do so it just keeps getting kicked down the road.

That said, if you want to get into trying a DIY build, there is a whole community of people who were doing that in the 2010s that have posted good info on types of glass and way more detailed suggestions than I can make here: https://diybookscanner.org/forum/index.php This box scanner is essentially what I was trying to set up and it theoretically should work, I'm pretty sure my whole issue is that I was trying to do it all quickly at like midnight one day and did not have the right lighting and didn't try too hard to fix that. Like... I could have tried a lot harder than I did https://www.instructables.com/Bargain-Price-Book-Scanner-From-A-Cardboard-Box/ (good pictures of one here: https://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1202)

And then I needed to take it apart because I needed the table back...

But yeah, if you don't want to invest thousands or destroy them, I would say try a cardboard box scanner for things like the GLB, see if you can get it to work for you?

And then for things that can go flat, a combo scanner/printer that is good enough for photographs will be more than good enough for the print resolution of most magazines and the scanner/printer combos are way cheaper than dedicated scanners because they think you are going to become an ink customer and buy printer ink, so they make it cheaper. But the joke is on them. My combo scanner printer has never had ink in it before. (Note: do read reviews and make sure it's not stupid enough to require it's ink to be full to scan. I wouldn't put it past some companies to add that to their software). If you are really passionate about this, there are a lot of people who are way more dedicated to archival book scanning who have developed all sorts of DIY solutions for speeding up the process, automating parts of it, etc, and searching for terms like DIY book scanner should get you in the right place on the internet.

[mariacallous]

American R&B singer Aliaune Thiam, professionally known as Akon, has long wanted to help Senegal, the country he grew up in. He started Akon Lighting Africa in 2014 to install cheap Chinese solar-powered lighting systems across the continent. He hoped to do something more significant for Senegal. But how to fund it?

The answer turned out to be the same one adopted by a growing number of governments and entrepreneurs: a mixture of cryptocurrency and urban planning. It’s a combination that offers the promise of development without any of the tricky details—and which tends to turn out to be little more than vaporware. There was Bitcoin City in El Salvador, but also Painted Rock in Nevada, Satoshi Island in Vanuatu, Cryptoland in Fiji, or the Crypto-Kingdom of Bitcointopia in Utah.

In 2018, Akon announced a new cryptocurrency, to be called “akoin.” Akoin would enable Africans to, as the singer put it at a launch event, “advance themselves independent of the government”—in some manner. Most importantly, akoin would fund the creation of Akon City, an advanced planned city to be built in Senegal. Akon announced akoin and Akon City at the Cannes Lions Festival in June 2018. Akon said in November of that year that he had “everything planned out” for the city. But both Akon City and the akoin token remained only ideas for many months.

Akon was interested by the promises of cryptocurrency—specifically, free money by some unclear mechanism—but he was not up on the details of its technical or financial issues: “I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out,” he said. The akoin team featured initial coin offering (ICO) entrepreneurs such as Lynn Liss of ICO Impact and Crystal Rose Pierce.

The akoin cryptocurrency was pre-sold in a 2019 crypto token offering called “token of appreciation.” Each dollar “donation” would give you up to four tokens which would convert to akoin.

Akoin had not launched in Senegal at the time, despite billboards across the country. The West African CFA franc is the only legal currency in Senegal; BCEAO, the central bank, warned that akoin could not be used as a currency in the country.

Akoin promised all manner of functionality—special akoin wallet software, direct exchange with other cryptocurrencies or with cellphone minutes, an application marketplace, various “building blocks for entrepreneurship.” None of this was ever implemented.

Akoin finally started trading on a crypto exchange in November 2020. The akoin token didn’t do anything or have any particular utility; it was just a crypto token that you could trade. Pre-sale buyers dumped their akoin immediately and the price crashed. That’s not unusual: As of 2022, 24 percent of new cryptos fell 90 percent or more in their first week.

Akon posted on social media in January 2020 that he had “finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal”—though he had previously claimed that construction had already started in March 2019. The new city would be built near the small town of Mbodiène, about 100 kilometers south of the capital, Dakar.

Akon City would be a “smart city” inspired by the futuristic African nation of Wakanda from the 2018 movie Black Panther. The city would feature boldly curved skyscrapers, shopping malls, music and movie studios, “eco-friendly” tourist resorts, and a parking garage for flying cars.

Akon claimed in August 2020 that $2 billion of the $6 billion needed to build Akon City had been secured. He laid the foundation stone for the city on Aug. 31, 2020, and said that construction would start “next year,” in 2021.

Construction did not start in 2021, to the disappointment of locals. It was not clear where the $6 billion needed to build Akon City would come from. A representative for KE International, the United States-based contractor for Akon City, told AFP that more than $4 billion had been secured, with Kenyan entrepreneur Julius Mwale as lead investor, and that construction would start in October 2021—but it did not.

By 2022, Akon told the BBC that construction was “100,000 percent moving.” He said the COVID-19 pandemic was partly to blame for the delays. Akon was surprised at the “thousands of studies” that had to be done before work could even commence.

Senegal’s Society for the Development and Promotion of Coasts and Tourist Zones (SAPCO) had claimed the land by eminent domain in 2009 before offering it to Akon City in 2020. By 2023, no building work had been done at the Akon City site—though Axiome Construction insisted that geotechnical studies and environmental assessments were still under way. By this time, according to the Guardian, the only construction was a youth center nearby in Mbodiène, paid for personally by Akon—and built upon the foundation stone that he had laid in 2020.

Senegal finally lost patience with the project. Akon had missed several payments to SAPCO, and in June of this year, SAPCO sent a formal notice to Akon warning that work had to start by the end of July or SAPCO might take back almost all of the land grant.

Akon had already been looking for other opportunities to place akoin. In April 2021, he started talking to Uganda about setting up an Akon City there as well. In January 2022, the Ugandan government allocated him one square mile in Mpunge, in the Mukono district—despite objections from the National Unity Platform party and protests from Mpunge residents wanting compensation, which could not be paid before 2025.

Akon said that Akon City, Uganda, might be completed by 2036. At a 2021 news conference, he evaded questions on what the new city would cost or how it would be funded. The Forum for Democratic Change party said that the Ugandan Akon City would never happen and accused the government of granting “sweetheart deals” to developers.

Akon City was tech solutionism that leveraged the political power of celebrity. Akon wanted to launch a large project and thought that cryptocurrency, the buzzword of 2018, might fund his dream. He thought that this one weird trick would do the job.

In this case, the miracle technology was crypto. These days, such  pushes by celebrities or entrepreneurs of new projects will typically use artificial intelligence—whatever that might mean in a particular case—as the marketing hook for a “smart city.

In his 2023 book Let Them Eat Crypto, Peter Howson of Northumbria University detailed how to head off solutionism-inspired blockchain projects that were heavy on publicity but light on the necessary bureaucratic work on the ground. His approach is broadly applicable to tech solutionism in general: Pay attention to the men behind the curtain. Howson has written recently on “smart city” plans as marketing for crypto tokens.

The Akon City plan was a worked example of speculative urbanization. A project is proposed with science-fiction concept drawings and a pitch aimed at tourists rather than locals; land is allocated; something might eventually be built, but it will bear little resemblance to the brochures. Christopher Marcinkoski of the University of Pennsylvania described Akon City as just one of many such initiatives, particularly in Africa, calling it “very much a real estate play.” The important output from such projects is local political capital—even as they never work out as advertised.

Cryptocurrency was an application of speculative urbanization to money—a high concept, a pitch to financial tourists, and the only end result being a token to speculate on and a tremendous amount of fraud. The Akon City project, however good Akon’s own intentions, seems functionally to have been merely the pitch for a crypto offering that failed—leaving an empty site, disappointed locals, and an embarrassed figurehead.

By 2024, akoin had been removed from the few crypto exchanges it had been listed on; it was effectively worthless. Akon sold short videos on Cameo—but he would not do requests related to cryptocurrency.

The speculative urbanization pitch rolls on. Actor Idris Elba has recently floated plans for an “environmentally friendly smart city” on Sherbro Island off Sierra Leone.

[smartskills590]

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[aeolianblues]

Okay, hands on table, I am Extremely New to the world of professional creative expression: writing, art, any kind of 'alternative' or creative career is extremely foreign to my household. Everyone worked more or less in an office, for as many generations as I or my parents even have witnessed. Dad a marketing guy since before I was born. Mum studying IT before she had us kids. Granddad worked in some bio-engineering factory. Grandma career teacher. Other granddad started a sugarcane refinement business or something, his brother had some breakthrough chemical engineering patents in the beginning of our industries post-Independence. I am a software developer by skill/trade. Girl to make matters worse, I'm Indian. I'm oversharing, I know, but we don't fucking do creative industries, and I have never known how to. So I've got no reference points for what's normal or how to go about things in this field or anything else. I've probably let a lot of opportunities that landed on my lap go because I didn't know how to recognise them for what they were. I am admittedly ridiculously blinkered in how I am able to think about what encompasses the concept of a 'career'. I am literally the most lost person out here, I don't know how I'm doing. Or what I'm doing. Or what I'm doing is even called. Eh :(

[sngl-led-auto-lights]

Why do some car manufacturers make it extremely difficult to change a headlight bulb, sometimes requiring a trip to the dealership?

Why Some Car Manufacturers Make Headlight Bulb Replacement Difficult Replacing headlight bulbs in modern vehicles can feel like navigating an engineering maze, often requiring specialized tools or dealership intervention. This complexity stems from design priorities, regulatory compliance, and advanced technology integration. Below are the key reasons and their implications:

Advanced Lighting Systems

Modern vehicles increasingly use adaptive headlights (e.g., auto-leveling, cornering beams) and integrated LED arrays or laser modules instead of traditional bulbs. These systems are tightly controlled by onboard computers and sensors. For example: Adaptive Headlights: Adjust brightness and direction based on steering input or road conditions. Even minor misalignment can disrupt the entire system, requiring recalibration with proprietary software.

Integrated LED/Laser Modules: Often soldered into sealed assemblies rather than using replaceable bulbs. Replacing them may necessitate swapping the entire headlight unit.

Engineering and Aesthetic Trade-offs

Manufacturers prioritize sleek, aerodynamic designs and compact packaging, which often result in tightly packed engine bays and headlight housings: Space Constraints: Headlights may be fused with grilles, fenders, or bumper components. Accessing the bulb might require removing the wheel well liner, battery, or air filter housing.

Proprietary Fasteners: Custom clips or screws demand specialized tools, discouraging DIY repairs.

Regulatory Compliance and Safety Standards

Strict homologation rules (e.g., SAE, ECE) mandate precise beam patterns, brightness, and alignment. To ensure compliance: Tamper-Proof Designs: Manufacturers discourage aftermarket modifications by sealing systems or using non-standard components. Non-OEM parts risk failing inspections or causing glare hazards.

Self-Leveling Requirements: Adaptive headlights must maintain proper alignment with the road, which can only be reset via dealership diagnostics.

Profit and Service Model

Dealerships and certified repair shops benefit from locked-in servicing: Software Dependencies: Adaptive systems require proprietary diagnostic tools (e.g., OEM scanners) to reset error codes or recalibrate sensors.

Warranty Control: Manufacturers may void warranties if non-certified technicians attempt repairs, steering owners to dealerships.

Safety and Durability Considerations

Sealed Assemblies: Protect sensitive electronics from moisture and dust, ensuring longevity and UV resistance.

Electrical Complexity: Modern bulbs (e.g., HID, LED) require precise voltage regulation. Incorrect handling can damage the vehicle’s electrical system or reduce bulb lifespan.

Key Takeaways Factor Impact on DIY Replacement Advanced Tech Requires calibration tools and software Regulatory Compliance Tamper-resistant designs Aesthetic Design Tight packaging limits access Service Incentives Encourages dealership dependency

Advice for Owners: Consult Manuals: Some models allow bulb access via hidden panels.

Invest in Professional Help: For adaptive or laser systems, dealerships ensure compliance and safety.

Avoid Aftermarket Modifications: Non-homologated parts risk fines or accidents.

While frustrating, these design choices reflect a balance between innovation, safety, and market dynamics. For complex systems, dealerships remain the safest (if pricier) option.