#Tech Services Discounts

[gsinfotechvispvtltd]

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

An end to the climate emergency is in our grasp

On June 20, I'm keynoting the LOCUS AWARDS in OAKLAND.

The problem with good news in the real world is that it's messy. Neat happy endings are for novels, not the real world, and that goes double for the climate emergency. But even though good climate news is complicated and nuanced, that doesn't mean it shouldn't buoy our spirits and fill our hearts with hope.

The big climate news this past week is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's clarion call about surging CO2 levels – the highest ever – amid a year that is on track to have the largest and most extreme series of weather events in human history:

https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/during-year-of-extremes-carbon-dioxide-levels-surge-faster-than-ever

This is genuinely alarming and you – like me – have probably experienced it as a kind of increase in your background radiation of climate anxiety. Perhaps you – like me – even experienced some acute, sit-bolt-upright-in-bed-at-2AM anxiety as a result. That's totally justifiable. This is very real, very bad news.

And yet…

The news isn't all bad, and even this terrible dispatch from the NOAA is best understood in context, which Bill McKibben provides in his latest newsletter post, "What You Want is an S Curve":

https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/what-you-want-is-an-s-curve

Financier and their critics should all be familiar with Stein's Law: "anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop." This is true outside of finance as well. One of the reasons that we're seeing such autophagic panic from the tech companies is that their period of explosive growth is at an end.

For years, they told themselves that they were experiencing double-digit annual growth because they were "creating value" and "innovating" but the majority of their growth was just a side-effect of the growth of the internet itself. When hundreds of millions of people get online every year, the dominant online services will, on average, gain hundreds of millions of new users.

But when you run out of people who don't have internet access, your growth is going to slow. How can it not? Indeed, at that point, the only ways to grow are to either poach users from your rivals (through the very expensive tactics of massive advertising and sales-support investments, on top of discounts and freebies as switching enticements), or to squeeze your own users for more.

That's why the number of laptops sold in America slowed down. It's why the number of cellphones sold in America slowed down. It's why the number of "smart home" gizmos slowed down.

Even the steepest hockey-stick-shaped exponential growth curve eventually levels off and becomes an S-curve, because anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop.

One way or another, the world's carbon emissions will eventually level off. Even if we drive ourselves to (or over) the brink of extinction and set up the conditions for wildfires that release all the carbon stored in all the Earth's plants, the amount of carbon we pump into the atmosphere has to level off.

Rendering the Earth incapable of sustaining human civilization (or life) is the ultimate carbon reduction method – but it's not my first choice.

That's where McKibben's latest newsletter comes in. He cites a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute, which shows a major reversal in our energy sources, a shift that will see our energy primarily provided by renewables, with minimal dependence on fossil fuels:

https://rmi.org/insight/the-cleantech-revolution/

The RMI team says that in this year or next, we'll have hit peak demand for fossil fuels (a fact that is consistent with NOAA's finding that we're emitting more CO2 than ever). The reason for this is that so much renewable energy is about to come online, and it is so goddamned cheap, that we are about to undergo a huge shift in our energy consumption patterns.

This past decade saw a 12-fold increase in solar capacity, a 180-fold increase in battery storage, and a 100-fold increase in EV sales. China is leading the world in a cleantech transition, with the EU in close second. Cleantech is surging in places where energy demand is also still growing, like India and Vietnam. Fossil fuel use has already peaked in Thailand, South Africa and every country in Latin America.

We're on the verge of solar constituting an absolute majority of all the world's energy generation. This year, batteries will overtake pumped hydro for energy storage. Every cleantech metric is growing the way that fossil fuels did in previous centuries: investment, patents, energy density, wind turbine rotor size. The price of solar is on track to halve (again) in the next decade.

In short, cleantech growth looks like the growth of other technologies that were once rarities and then became ubiquitous overnight: TV, cellphones, etc. That growth isn't merely being driven by the urgency of the climate emergency: it's primarily a factor of how fucking great cleantech is:

https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the_incredible_inefficiency_of_fossils.pdf

Fossil fuels suck. It's not just that they wreck the planet, or that their extraction is both politically and environmentally disastrous. They just aren't a good way to make energy. About a third of fossil fuel energy is wasted in production and transportation. A third! Another third is wasted turning fossil fuels into energy. Two thirds! The net energy efficiency of fossil fuels is about 37%.

Compare that with cleantech. EVs convert electricity to movement with 80-90% efficiency. Heat pumps are 300% efficient (the main fuel for your heat pump is the heat in the atmosphere, not the electricity it draws).

Cleantech is just getting started – it's still in the hockey-stick phase. That means those efficiency numbers are only going up. Rivian just figured out how to remove 1.6 miles of copper wire from each vehicle. That's just one rev – there's doubtless lots of room for more redesigns that will further dematerialize EVs:

https://insideevs.com/news/722265/rivian-r1s-r1t-wiring/

As McKibben points out, there's been a lot of justifiable concern that electrification will eventually use up all our available copper, but copper demand has remained flat even as electrification has soared – and this is why. We keep figuring out new ways to electrify with fewer materials:

https://www.chemanalyst.com/NewsAndDeals/NewsDetails/copper-wire-price-remains-stable-amidst-surplus-supply-and-expanding-mining-25416#:~:text=Global%20Copper%20wire%20Price%20Remains%20Stable%20Amidst%20Surplus%20Supply%20and%20Expanding%20Mining%20Activities

This is exactly what happened with previous iterations of tech. The material, energy and labor budgets of cars, buildings, furniture, etc all fell precipitously every time there was a new technique for manufacturing them. Renewables are at the start of that process. There's going to be a lot of this dematerialization in cleantech. Calculating the bill of materials for a planetary energy transition isn't a matter of multiplying the materials in current tech by the amount of new systems we'll need – as we create those new systems, we will constantly whittle down their materials.

What's more, global instability drives cleantech uptake. The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a surge in European renewables. The story that energy prices are rising due to renewables (or carbon taxes) is a total lie. Fossil fuels are getting much more expensive, thanks to both war and rampant, illegal price-fixing:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/an-oil-price-fixing-conspiracy-caused

If not for renewables, the incredible energy shocks of the recent years would be far more severe.

The renewables story is very good and it should bring you some comfort. But as McKibben points out, it's still not enough – yet. The examples of rapid tech uptake had big business on their side. America's living rooms filled with TV because America's largest businesses pulled out all the stops to convince everyone to buy a TV. By contrast, today's largest businesses – banks, oil companies and car companies – are working around the clock to stop cleantech adoption.

We're on track to double our use of renewables before the decade is over. But to hold to the (already recklessly high) targets from the Paris Accord, we need to triple our renewables usage. As McKibben says, the difference between doubling and tripling our renewables by 2030 is the difference between "survivable trouble" and something much scarier.

The US is experiencing a welcome surge in utility scale solar, but residential solar is stalling out as governments withdraw subsidies or even begin policies that actively restrict rooftop solar:

https://twitter.com/curious_founder/status/1798049929082097842?s=51

McKibben says the difference between where we are now and bringing back the push for home solar generation is the difference between "fast" and "faster" – that is the difference between tripling renewables by 2030 (survivable) and doubling (eek).

Capitalism stans who argue that we can survive the climate emergency with market tools will point to the good news on renewable and say that the market is the only way to transition to renewables. It's true that market forces are partly responsible for this fast transition. But the market is also the barrier to a faster (and thus survivable) transition. The oil companies, the banks who are so invested in fossil fuels, the petrostates who distort the world's politics – they're why we're not much farther along.

The climate emergency was never going to be neatly solved. We weren't going to get a neat novelistic climax that saw our problems sorted out in a single fell swoop. We're going to be fighting all the way to net zero, and after that, we'll still have decades of climate debt to pay down: fires, floods, habitat loss, zoonotic plagues, refugee crises.

But we should take our wins. Even if we're far from where we need to be on renewables, we're much farther along on renewables than we had any business hoping for, just a few years ago. The momentum is on our side. It's up to us to use that momentum and grow it. We're riding the hockey-stick, they're on that long, flat, static top of the S-curve. Their curve is leveling off and will start falling, ours will grow like crazy for the rest of our lives.

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/2024/06/12/s-curve/#anything-that-cant-go-on-forever-eventually-stops

[shamelest]

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[agirlandherkinks]

Hypnovisor: Beta Test (TGTF, Hypno)

James had always been a tech super-fan. The newest phone, newest headphones, shiniest laptop, he had to stay abreast of and on top of the current trends. So when he read about some fancy new VR company that wanted beta testers for a headset, provided for free (minus shipping), his vision blurred and he signed up before he even considered finishing reading the ad.

Three weeks of anticipation and waiting passed until his doorbell finally rung, accompanied by the corresponding buzz of an email notification on his phone. Scrambling from his couch he flung the apartment door open, and to his mild surprise saw that the postman was nowhere in site. There was just a nondescript cardboard box labelled "Fragile", which fortunately bore none of the expected dents and scratches one would associate with the postal service and delicate freight. Practically bouncing with undignified delight, James scooped his parcel up and dashed back inside, barely remembering to lock the door behind him.

The headset looked even better than he had imagined. Sleek plastic curves surrounded a central visor that was just translucent enough to see through, meaning you could walk around safely if you turned a program's opacity down. It fit beautifully when he tried it on, more comfortable than anything he'd ever worn. Wearing it felt wonderful and... right, somehow. His only complaint was that the black headset was decorated in hot pink highlights, although it still looked futuristic enough to sooth his fragile masculinity. His roommate and best friend Erik certainly agreed, interspersing James' insightful comments with appropriate "Ooh's" and "Aah's". Waiting for the battery to charge seemed to take a thousand years, although chatting with each other about what it could do replaced their boredom with swiftly growing excitement.

Two hours later, a soft buzz from the headset in the corner signified its charge was complete. Erik cheered, his sandy-blonde hair bouncing behind him, and even James couldn't suppress a soft whoop of excitement. Erik unplugged it and handed it to James with a flourish and a bow, who accepted it with a suitable stuffy speech. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but he was so giddy with anticipation he felt he could match Erik's goofiness for once. The advertisement had promised unmatched realism, a luxurious fit, and cutting-edge, groundbreaking technology. Normally James would have discounted claims like that as corporate claptrap, but the headset fit so well he actually believed the rest of it.

Booting up the headset brought a perky, relaxing jingle in his ears and wall of settings text in his vision. He would have read it, but between his own excitement and Erik's infectious enthusiasm he left the settings on default and skipped to the main menu. The feedback for the buttons was amazing, it felt just like he was pressing down on them whenever he touched one! Another little jingle sounded as he confirmed his choices, and a few games and applications bubbled up into his view, imposed over a hot pink background.

"So Erik, what do you think I should try," James asked. "We've got a music player, interior design app, some sorta idle monster game, and a few RPG's." "Surely try out the RPG's man! You've gotta see that high-definition you were yammering about when we called." Erik's voice came back surprisingly muffled, as if he was speaking down a long tunnel. "Bro, I can barely hear you, the noise-cancelling on this headset's insane! It's like I'm in a world of my own!" James took a deep breath, recovering a little of his composure. "Alright, an RPG it is. Fantasy, sci-fi, or modern day?" "Go fantasy! You know we've both got a thing for elf chiiiicks. Hell, with the kind of feedback you were telling me about, you might even get to grab her" Erik's distant voice sounded playful, with a ting of desire and jealousy. And it did make James hard, at the thought of getting to look and squeeze and fondle some busty elf bitch, made entirely to his wishes~

To James' horror a quiet moan escaped his lips, accompanied by faint hysterical laughter from his friend. Brushing it off angrily, he slammed the icon for 'Silverflame: A Magical Journey' (the button felt like thick moss to his touch). Instantly a soft flute begun to play in his ears, accompanied by the gentle lull of a harp and a quiet sparkling. James felt himself relax, all the tension draining out of his body. Erik must have noticed too, because James heard his laughter die down to be replaced with a slightly concerned silence. "Don't worry man," James said, "music's just really pretty..." He trailed off with a slight giggle, but heard Erik give an affirmative just before a silky, sultry voice started to speak.

"Welcome traveler, to the beautiful world of Silverflame. An untamed paradise where strange beasts roam the land, noble adventurers go forth in search of treasure, and the most wonderful magic [James shuddered] is woven. You are the latest brave, beautiful heroine [Heroine? Shouldn't I get to choose my character's gender first?] to step foot into this land. But first, tell us a bit about who you really are."

Pink sparkles rained across the screen, superimposing his view of a vibrant meadow with a series of stats. Physique, IQ, Wisdom, and Charisma, fairly standard stuff. And next to it, a human man with a blank, slightly happy expression on his face [...did he look familiar?]. James gasped, he looked just like a real person! Erik was suitably impressed by this information, and urged him to pick some stats so he can get to the body modification. "You can always change them later man, might as well pick a couple of stats now and get a move on. Sounds like you're not gonna get to pick your gender for a while, which kinda sucks. Buuut if we're being horny about this, you might as well go for a slut scaffold so you make less changes later." James chuckled at this, remembering the build they discussed one night while both sloshed beyond belief. For this game it would be high Physique and Charisma, low IQ and Wisdom. James touched the slider for Physique, and gasped as he felt himself feel... better than he had in a long time.

Not trusting his senses any more, and worrying about Erik being exposed to whatever was happening from the other side of the headset, James brushed off his concerned questions (which he could barely hear now, past the soothing, soothing, music) and suggested he went to the toilet, since he'd been holding it in since he got here. Erik grumbled at missing out, but mercifully left. James was actively sweating from what just went through his body, but couldn't muster the energy or concentration to feel the level of panic he knew he should be. The music was just so, so calming, that fear was harder to feel than usual. The prompt told him he still had to change two more stats, so he decided to turn down Wisdom. He gasped again and his vision went blurry, and when it cleared he felt a bit, fuzzier? In the head. But it wasn't too bad, in fact it was perfectly manageable. He felt even calmer now, so maybe changing another stats would make him feel better. Why not IQ? He tapped the slider.

He groaned as an immense pressure wrapped around his brain. Thoughts, aspirations, memories felt like they were melting from his head faster than they appeared. The pressure seemed like it lasted forever, but eventually it trailed off and he was left panting in his chair. It had felt, really good? Like, tots good, even. James giggled to himself. Something was different about him, but he couldn't think what. Oh well, it'll probably come to him later. He squealed in delight as he realized he could get a step closer to the body modification page, although he looked longingly at the IQ slider. He could come back to it later, for now it was time to make his super-hot elf slut a body!

James clapped to himself with delight as a cute little melody played, a shower of sparkles spiraled [spiraled...] across the screen, and the man on the side moved to the center of the screen. "Firstly", the sultry voice said, "choose what race you want to be." That was an easy choice. He clicked on the 'Elf' button, and shivered as he felt tingles run through his body, intensifying in his ears. Reaching up to touch them, he inhaled as he felt long, pointed tips. In fact, his whole body seemed a bit slimmer. This doesn't quite feel right... he thought. Oh I know! It must be making me an elf too! Maybe we'll be in a party together! Between the strange fuzziness and the pulsating heat in his groin, James quickly flicked to the next page and made his choices. Long, silver hair, gorgeous big purple eyes, and some giant perky lips. "Combination unlocked!" the narrator exclaimed, "+1 Charisma, -1 Wisdom!" James giggled again as the mental fog settled a little tighter around his brain and naughty thoughts about cute girls and boys filled his brain. Boys? Well I guess I've never minded swinging both ways... This felt natural to him, because of course he'd always been bisexual. Next screen!

"Choose your voice young heroine," the woman commanded. James felt a little strange, like her voice was echoing around his head. And why were the sparkles still there, spinning and spinning around the screen. He felt confused, but knew he had to obey that voice. He picked the sexiest combination for his own voice; high pitched, breathy, perky. "Combination unlocked! +1 Charisma, -1 Int." He moaned as that wonderful pressure wrapped his brain and his weekend plans changed to eyeing hunks at the beach. Girls were cool and all, but men had always been more interesting to him [and their pulsing, hard...].

"Now heroine, can you tell me: Are you a girl, or a boy?" The question sent shock waves through his brain. He was a he... right? Why did it feel like there was some longing, some need to acknowledge the woman in him... her? The fog, the music, the spirals, all the feelings he had been having, James could hardly think. Maybe he should think less. Being a girl sounded fun, it's just a character after all. And he needed to be sexy. "Wonderful choice young lady! Now, are you a dominatrix, a super-switch, or a bimbo slut?" Bimbo slut~ James giggled as the words echoed in her brain. She was a bit of a slut, now that she thought about it. It felt odd to pick it, but why not for funsies? "Bimbo slut selected! Wonderful choice, just wonderful. Hold still while your stats are adjusted, and then we'll begin on giving you the perfect, sexy body you've always wanted."

The spirals filled her view and began increasing in speed. James was taken aback at first, but quickly felt oddly calm and receptive to that sultry voice.

"Physique +1, Physique +1, Physique +1." James felt wonderful, like every ache and blemish in his body had faded away.

"Wisdom -1, Wisdom -1." Thinking was fuzzy, but Jamella felt so content she didn't care.

"Charisma +1, Charisma +1, Charisma +1, Charisma +1. Charisma +1." Jamella gasped as visions of sexy men, pecs and abs and juicy, throbbing cocks filled her mind. A desperate heat filled her, and she began touching her groin against her will to try and ease it.

"IQ -1." She moaned, feeling light.

"IQ-1." Empty. She was so, wonderfully empty.

"IQ -1." This was like, so much funsies! She didn't know what was going on, but everything felt so nice~

"IQ -1. Congratulations Ella, you now have the 'Bimbo Slut' build."

Ella giggled absently. Thinking was like, so hard, and she felt like, so hard~. The fun spirals had disappeared... But the nice lady was talking to her again! With great effort, she listened in. "Now that your mental changes are complete, it's time for the physical changes!" Ella rubbed her thighs together and cheered in excitement. She couldn't wait to have more fun! "Unless you choose so now, the process will be au-to-ma-tic [...why was she using such big words?]. You can choose to take over at any time, or wait until the end and adjust as you please [...please. That word felt funny in her brain]".

"No user input detected. Body adjustment commencing."

A nice shiver went through Ella's body as she felt her headset warm against her face. Looking at the boring young man she'd begun to customize (her reflection, of course), she couldn't wait to begin! She sighed happily as waves of pretty silver hair drifted into her view and cascaded down her back. It felt especially nice against her smooth, soft skin, and she couldn't help but gently shake her head to watch it sway. A cool feeling brought her attention to her face, and the alluring amethyst eyes now set in it. Her face itself became much more elegant [but cutesy, too!], and she puckered her lips as a lovely pressure made them swell and bulge out, giving her a sexy and kissable pout [the boys'll love this look! boys~]. She felt herself shrink a few centimeters, gulping as her Adam's apple disappeared into her body. In fact, her whole body had become even more slender, with narrow shoulders, adorably small hands [pretty purple nails!], and a tiny little waist. She gasped, then clasped her hands over her mouth in delight. Her voice was so high and cutesy! She couldn't stop herself from giving out tiny, high-pitched giggles, just to hear how cute she was!

"Basic body structure altered. Adjusting outfit in preparation for primary and secondary sexual characteristics."

Ella ooh'ed appreciatively as a stream of sparkles enveloped her body. And when they disappeared, she squealed in delight! Her drab t-shirt and denim shorts were gone! In their place was a beautiful silver mini-dress that shimmered like starlight when she moved. She frowned in vexation, though. The plunging chest and shoulder-less design was very pretty, but her chest was flat! [shouldn't I have tiddies? The boys won't like me like this...] And the way it clung to her waist and hips would have been sexy, but as it was there was barely any difference between them! Her ass wasn't nearly big enough to justify how the dress cut off barely past it, and with how tight the fabric was Ella could see how achingly hard she was [wait, why do I have a cock? I'm supposed to get cock! In my mouth, in my ass, in my tight little pussy~]. It wasn't right!

"Thank you for your patience sweetie. Optimal figure calculated. Prepare for adjustment of sexual characteristics."

Ella let out a moan as a wave of heat and pleasure washed over her. With how horny she was she could barely keep her eyes open, but she knew she wanted to watch herself become the sexy little [cum] slut she was meant to be [I want it... I want to be~]. The heat settled in her hips, her ass, and her chest, and she moaned again as the changes begun.

Her nipples grew first, more than doubling in size and stiffening through the soft fabric of her dress. Tentatively touching them induced a gasp of pleasure [so nice~] and sent her rocking backwards. The motion made her giggle, because in that time she'd grown a cute pair of B-cup breasts that jiggled when she rocked. Jiggle makes me giggle. I like giggling. I like jiggling. Ella nodded thoughtfully to herself, feeling very wise. Her boobies grew to C-cups. She jiggled some more. She giggled some more.

A tightness around her hips distracted Ella from her tiddies. They were growing! She groaned as fabric and flesh tightened around them, too euphoric to feel pain. Sliding her hands from her waist to her hips made her squeal happily. She had such a sexy hourglass figure, she knew any girl worth her money would be jealous [and the boys would wanna hold me and squeeze me and fuck me raw]. Thighs thickening dramatically in response to her growth, she slapped her ass in impatience. Why won't it get bigger already!

But get bigger it did, swelling out in response to her touch. She fell forward as sheer pleasure blanketed her mind and weakened her knees. Squishing her boobies against the ground made her feel even nicer, until she was panting and moaning for somebody to help, to hit her again and make her bigger~

A slap landed on her booty, and she groaned in delight as it and her thighs swelled again. More. More! I NEED MORE! She moaned in ecstasy as blow after blow landed, making her swell and grow and grow and swell and feel so gooooood! Her tits inflated to D, then E-cups [good for the boys. I can jiggle so well for them~]. Her hips widened and thighs thickened, until she looked ridiculously large compared to her waist [ridicu... ridic... really, really sexy...] And her ass kept growing, and growing, and growing and growing and growing and growing! Tighter! Around my cock! Cock... I... oh~ Too... too... much! Too much! I'm~ I'm!

OooOOoOoOOooOoOoooOOOOOHHH~

Ella screamed in delight as she came, just cumming and cumming and cumming her tiny little brain out.

"Wisdom -1. IQ -1. Charisma +1. Charisma +1."

She was desperate, humping against the ground as the flow of cum abated from her cock. Everything she had been was flowing out of her messy stupid brain, and everything that she should be was coming in. Boys... Cock... Need fuck... Breed~ I'm such a dumb little cum slut~ She giggled to herself.

"Final adjustment required."

Ella stood up shakily, the bottom of her dress a cum-soaked mess. She squealed with delight as the mental fog settled even tighter and she felt an intense heat in her groin. She could see the tops of nipples trying to break free from her dress, and could feel the air drift over her ass, which had mostly escaped the fabric in her growth. So sexy. Hehe~ Boy can take me~ Don't even need dress off~ Thinking hard... Her ass and hips had pulled up so much fabric that her cock was visible now, deflating and still leaking from her orgasm, but she gasped in pleasure as it began rising up again. And, as she felt something long and hard brush her booty [cock? Boys? Fuck?].

A pressure like hands on her shoulders forced her to her knees, and she whimpered in desire as she felt an unseen cock touch her cheek. At the same time, something began intensely stimulating her own. She reflexively opened her mouth in a moan, but was cut off as she felt the cock shove inside [Feels~ Feels!].

All thought stopped.

Her mind was blank, full of pleasure and desire and happiness. Her cock felt good like it never had before, and the dick in her mouth tasted wonderful~ This was what Ella was made for, what she was meant to be. Feeling good, feeling sexy, feeling a pleasant emptiness that could only be filled with cock. Her haze reached a crescendo. Dimly she was aware of her own cries of ecstasy, muffled by the cock fucking her mouth and mind, as she came harder than she even had before. And as she came, her dick shrunk with each spurt until it went inside her [inside me!]. The cock withdrew from her mouth, filling her with a desperate longing. Emma moaned for her unseen hero, then gasped as she felt him once more. And blinked in surprise as the pretty meadow and her sexy reflection disappeared.

She was kneeling on the floor of an unfamiliar room. Shaking off a little of her confusion [don't need know much anyways...], she gasped as the tell-tale smell of pre-cum filled her nose. There was a man standing in front of her!

Sandy-blonde hair. Body like a surfer hunk! Naked. With a massive, sexy cock, dripping with her saliva and it's own juices. Ella moaned in desire, falling on all fours. Visibly trembling with lust, he tenderly cupped her cheek and slowly moved behind her.

Touching her with his [cock!].

Ever so gently, on the edge of her [...pussy!!!!]

He rammed inside her, and she screamed as an absolute feeling of rightness, of sexiness and pleasure and single-minded happiness rushed through her [MORE! HARDER! COCKKKK~]. Riding his dick she felt herself go into a trance, with nothing, absolutely nothing, disturbing her feelings. Ever. This was right. Ella moaned and surrendered to herself, drifting away on her lover's cock and mindless pleasure.

[cl0ckworkpuppet]

time for my monthly mp3 player propaganda post!

yall. don't fucking stream music off of youtube or spotify. they pay their creators shit. the most generous estimate i could find was artists being paid $1 for every 200 streams (0.5¢ per stream), and unless you're listening to songs on an album thousands times in total, it helps tremendously more to just. buy their albums or subscribe to a patreon-like service for them

mp3 players are laughably inexpensive (you can get a decent one with bluetooth for like $40-50 and you can get away with even less if you forego some features), many of them are drag-and-drop, no ads, decent enough sound quality for the average person, unlimited skips, track selection, regular play and shuffle, playlists, being able to shut off your screen, and more importantly, ALL OF THIS IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT A SUBSCRIPTION. i've always been an avid hater of subscription models. there are some things where it's understandable, but you shouldn't lose access to basic QOL features just because you can't or won't fork over $10-15 a month.

"b-b-but $50 is so expensive!" WRONG. $50 (which is more than i've EVER spend on a single mp3 player) is the equivalent to 5 months on spotify premium without discounts. if you can afford that, it's worth investing into a device that can last you literal years if you get a good one and take good care of it

"but i don't wanna carry around another device!" fair enough, but these things are small enough to fit in tiny pockets (mine fits snugly in the watch pocket of my jeans) and are typically light enough to not be burdensome. if you can carry around your phone, you can carry around an mp3 player

"what if people think i'm weird for having outdated technology" let them. it's worth it in my opinion if it means i get to listen to music ad-free. the most I've ever gotten was "wooooah bro's got the dinosaur tech" and i just thought that was funny personally

"but what if the artist collapses without a constant stream of money!!! i'm not supporting the artist!!!!!" companies try to pay as little as they can get away with to artists. most of that money goes to the CEO and other higher-ups.

"but piracy is bad!" Piracy is a Crime. However, downloading youtube videos/audio for your own PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE and NOT REDISTRIBUTING THEM is legal (generally, in the US, check your laws, i am not a lawyer, not legal advice, blah blah blah). besides, i never said you had to pirate your music. in fact, i encourage you to buy the albums of and support your favourite artists in other ways. some artists might even provide links for people to download their songs for free in high quality anyway

not gonna link products just in case someone thinks i'm a shill. but literally just look up "mp3 player" on your search engine or shopping site of choice and find something that doesn't look like it'll fall apart if you breathe on it too hard

seriously guys. if you listen to music more than like a few hours a week, and you don't get all of your music from livestreams or radios (although mine can connect to AM/FM radio), consider investing in an mp3 player. i tried out using one regularly in fall of 2021, and I haven't looked back. don't let companies drain subscription money from you

[sirfrogsworth]

Adventures in Cooling

The 5-star rated HVAC repair service I used kind of depressed me.

It was almost... too good?

Like, they offer 24/7 service. They have a text message system that lets you know when the tech is coming. Every tech has their own custom van that serves as a giant advertisement. The entire process is documented with a tablet computer. Every serial number and model number must be photographed. He has to follow a diagnostic checklist. And an upsell checklist. And a repair checklist. He had so many checklists that at one point he pulled a card out of his wallet to make sure he didn't forget one of the steps. He had a poorly memorized speech for every upsell. You could tell he didn't have "his" tools, but the company's tools that he borrowed.

None of this was "bad" as far as a workflow. The service was flawless and nothing was forgotten. But you could tell that every detail was micromanaged and if the tech didn't follow the procedures to the letter, he would probably get some kind of demerit.

I felt sorry for my tech. He was in his 60s and clearly had a severe chronic knee injury. He walked slower than I do. He was quite monosyllabic and difficult to make conversation with. Not unpleasant, just not great at communicating.

At one point I asked him if I was a good candidate for a heat pump and he was like, "Everyone is."

End of advice.

Oh, and the uniform.

The uniform was very silly.

Every square inch of his shirt was meant to assure people they have a qualified technician. The one sleeve listed his certifications from some Alphabet Association that certifies such things. And then the other sleeve made sure to let me know my technician was drug tested and background checked.

The entire visit I kept trying to imagine how being stoned might negatively affect HVAC repair. I mean, if he was on a little cocaine perhaps we could have wrapped things up 30 minutes sooner. Marijuana might have helped him communicate. Opioids could make his knee feel better. I don't think shrooms would have been a good idea. If he hallucinated an angry fan monster in my A/C unit that could have been really awkward.

He was a terrible salesman—but for some reason, I fell for every upsell. Actually, I sold all of the upsells to myself in my head. I got a new filter and had him install it because I worried I would forget or I would install it improperly (not really possible, you just stick it in). But for the price I paid I could have bought 6 years worth of filters.

I just wanted everything sorted. I am so stressed and do not have the bandwidth to deal with A/C troubles. So I just said "yes" to everything. But the price kept inflating as we went along and every time it inflated he required a signature on his tablet.

This repair business had been corporatized to death and it made me miss all of my dad's friends from the old days who he would ask for favors. He always "knew a guy." He would trade car repairs for discounts on things we needed around the house. And they all worked for themselves and had their own tools and their own shitty truck and they all said, "There's your problem!" with the same masculine affect.

Their uniform was a flannel shirt and jeans and I bet some of them were high as fuck.

And this elderly gentlemen with the bum knee kept checking his checklist to make sure he checked every check because he feared managerial discipline.

He got to the sales pitch for the fluorescent dye. He was like, "Do you want this? You don't have to buy it." And I started selling it to myself in my head despite his assurance it wasn't really necessary. I worried if I had a big leak and I don't discover it until the middle of July, I would regret saying no in this moment. But then I realized he hated the dye injection process. And his poor salesmanship was mostly him not wanting his hands to be fucking radioactive yellow for the rest of the day. He tried wearing gloves to avoid it, but he still ended up with yellow hands and grumbled, "I really hate this stuff." Which was one of the few unrehearsed things he said to me the entire time.

Once the checklist was complete and the house was already starting to cool, he had one final sales pitch for me. He asked that I give his company a 5-star review and to make sure I mention his name. He told me that in July all of the techs with the most 5-star reviews will have their names put in a hat. And "the boss" will give one lucky employee a free vacation.

This vacation thing sounded like such a manipulation. And I'm sure "the boss" has instructed his techs to tell this tale of the free vacation so customers will be like, "Well, shit. I don't want this poor old guy with the shitty knee to miss out on that."

And it was then I realized just how this company got so many 5-star reviews.

Diabolical.

But the good news... my house is cold as heck.

And I keep shivering because I can't figure out the perfect setting on my thermostat. I guess I was used to the inefficiency and I will have to recalibrate.

[megumimania]

AOT LONDON BOY HCS PT 2

featuring: reiner, onyankopon, armin

a/n: this is part two of these hcs, part one is here! thanks for tuning in its kinda rushed my bad 😪, likes and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

ARMIN

-armin would be from islington or finchley maybe even south, but I don’t see him living in like bougie areas such as kensington or chelsea or like richmond

- him and eren went to the same primary and secondary together

-armin was literally his get out of jail free card because of his stellar reputation in academics

-he always gets free stuff from the corner shop or the chicken and chip shop

-doesn’t own a car, he either bikes or takes the tube because he cares about the environment and doesn’t want to add onto the extra pollution in london

-his dress sense is very casual like a t shirt, a pair of loose fitted trousers and some trainers but when he cant be bothered he’ll wear a tech fleece

-he has a very good sense of direction, like he knows the fastest routes for anything, like when eren and connie dragged him to carni (if you went this year im saur jealous 😩 but anyways) and it was time to get home armin found a quicker route that got them back pretty fast

-knows all the best secret spots in london for anything! which makes hanging out with him more fun because you experience a new part of london when you’re together

-he isnt a fan of eren’s scamming ways but when eren asks for help he always answers as long as he’s not a part of it

-london men i feel like are terrible with their feelings but armin is the exception, he would be very open with you about his feelings and such

-reads so much, you’ll catch him at hyde park or greenwich park reading till the sun sets

-he smokes cigarettes but he’s trying to cut it out for you

-his playlist would be very diverse since he’s been brought up in a multicultural area, like it would go from bashment, to rnb, drill to pop

-unlike his unserious counterparts *cough cough* eren and connie, he’s very loyal!

ONYANKOPON

-my ghanaian king, shoutout to my ghanaians!!

-he speaks twi so well that people forget he was brought up in the uk

-he would be from peckham or lewisham for suree, he’s deffo been dragged around by his mum round rye lane market on a saturday morning carrying that trolley with him

-he goes to a pentecostal church, he’s always leading youth service and helping out at church events.

-the aunties love him for this because he’s the perfect son that they don’t have and they just love him in general

-ony can cook and im being for real, so you guys never eat out unless ony wants to show you to a new niche restaurant somewhere

-he has snap but doesn’t have a bitmoji because he thinks it’s immature 😕 but eventually he caves and makes one because you ask him too

-hes always promoting his boys stuff whether that be music,

-he deffo went to an all boys secondary and then he went to a mixed sixth form after, he gives me those vibes

-he used to go to the library to link girls after school 😭 he had a big playboy phase but hes calmed down

-he used to be one of those people at stratford westfield trying to sell you magazines before you enter

-hes not stingy with his money, hes always spoiling the people he loves

-he has a bunch of caps and grills that he likes to rotate out weekly, he has great style

-he works in corporate london so its rare that you dont see him outside of a suit and tie but he always makes time for you

-ony is always holding your bag for dear life when you go to bait areas like oxford street or westfields or like the tourist spots because people be getting their shit stolen loool

-he loves late night tesco trips anything that he can do at night i.e late night walks, drives etc

-bossman is always giving him discounts on stuff because ony is loyal customer.

REINER

-look at that man and tell me he wouldnt be from essex tell me!! like thats pure dagenham material right there

-if you search up a typical person from essex, he would come up

-he probably owns those skintight chinos with those ugly polos with the church shoes

-he tries to downplay his accent a bit since sometimes its hard to understand him but when hes upset his accent comes through in full force

-always at spoons or at the club till early hours

-reiner gives me bricklayer vibes so thats what im gonna roll with

-when he comes home from work in summer hes like hot and sweaty but it makes his biceps glow so its kinda sexy idk

-has a bunch of tattoos, most of them are birthdays of family members and a picture of his grandma who passed away

-has a british bulldog called belle, the dog is fucking scary but reiner thinks the world of her and thinks she can do no wrong

-listens to mainly dnb, garage, techno

-downs pints at the pub like it’s nothing, he has a high alcohol tolerance

-proper geezer that’s all i have to say tbh!

[christina-sonikkukokoro3]

Bad news! The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is going to lose funding in the next few months! Please tell people in the US Congress to keep funding the program which I and millions of other Americans use to have discounted internet and phone service! You can do so by sending an email through this site: Save ACP - US Tech Future

[blockmenmakemecry]

HERES SOME MORE OF MY INSANE RAMBLINGS FOR THIS AU

Grian used to be apart of a smaller gang called Bad boys, the trio ending their small crime spree due to the injury and near death of Jimmy(whose code name was Tim/Timmy)

Impulse and skizz came as a duo having spent most of their lives together doing petty robbery (convenience stores/five finger discounts are a speciality of Impulses)

Skizz is very much the talker of the two, he would talk to ear off the cashier haphazardly waving the gun around while he talked to them asking them nicely to "be a sweetheart and put the money in the bag won't cha" or chatting to them about the rise in gas prices while Impulse was quick to discount the items they needed for the week

Scar or just Mr.Goodtimes as he was known before he joined GIGS was a seasoned hit man, hired to get rid of people if you had the cash to back it up. Sometimes he would take other things in trade for his services. Depending on what the target had done, some clients didn't pay at all.

Gigs has some extra crew members behind the scenes

Mumbo was hired to take care of the tech side of things, often listening in on their communicators to make sure they knew the layout of the heist locations and to update them should someone notify the police to their presence early.

Mumbo tried to join them for a heist in person but unfortunately the lanky mf is a bit too anxious for this line of work and sticks to staying on his side of the communicator

Gem has a background in medical having worked as a full time nurse in the ER before quitting and falling into the hands of GIGS

She was being over worked and underpaid so when she was offered a gig with GIGS through a mutual friend(pearl) she took it surprisingly quickly, they treated and paid her better anyways.

Pearl is a runner, shes constantly running around different jobs when she's needed. Something about not liking being tied down to a singular group.

Bdubs!!! Bdubs, cleo and Etho run the black market on guns and explosives.

Sometimes when making deals with them Grian swears he saw gunpowder on Bdubs face like hes been eating it. Mumbo often accompanies GIGS members to these trade deals, it still makes him anxious but he likes the trip out and getting to talk to them is always a nice change of pace.

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-Fi prompt from KemiKitty:

id enjoy hearing about concerts and ticket money if you want

Referencing my “how does this make money/how does this lose money” in this post.

Whoo! I actually really enjoy talking about money flow like this. Digging into examples like this helps with understanding the interconnectedness of the economic systems we inhabit, and with why things cost What They Do.

Disclaimer: I have not worked in this industry. I just majored in business, watch a lot of documentaries/video essays, and like to break down business and economic topics. When I got to performances, I try to figure these things out as an observer (dinner theater from watching Lindsey Sterling before she got super famous, more Traditional concerts at Staller Performing Arts center, Broadway shows) and asking questions of tour guides when at places like the Vienna Opera House.

Our Example: A moderately popular performer, in an enclosed performance space with a stage, fixed seating, and food service.

Let us consider a performer of middling popularity. They go on tours, but only in the lower 48 states, not yet internationally. They do single nights at an independent venue, which has either dinner tables or rows of audience seating. Let's say... 350 seats, in a middle-sized city, with $30/ticket on average, with wiggle room depending on seating, VIP passes, and discounts (groupons, senior, military, annual passes, etc).

So, who is getting paid, and who is paying?

Money coming into the venue, tied directly to this one event:

Tickets The people who came to this concert are paying for the tickets. 350 seats, at an average of $30/ticket, that's about $10,500. Most of this money does not go to the venue, but may pass through it, or leave a cut with it. (Depends on the ticketing software; we're saying this is an independent venue, not part of the ticketmaster situation, so it's a maybe.)

Food and drink The venue sells snacks, possibly full meals, if it's a dinner-and-show location. It may sell alcohol. It almost definitely sells drinks, maybe has vending machines if nothing else. If attendees cannot bring their own food and drink, and don't want to leave the building so they don't miss the show, then the venue can mark up the food they sell.

Merchandise Dependent on the type of merch and the venue, this may be a flat fee, where the performer puts down a few hundred dollars up front to set up a table for after the concert, or it might be taking a small cut of whatever is sold that night. They might not charge anything, but we'll include it as a likely avenue of income. I can see some kinder venues waiving the fee for newer, up-and-coming artists, but generally you can assume that the venue will take a cut.

Money flowing out of the venue, tied directly to this one event:

The Performer and their team The ticket costs will go primarily to the performer, their backup dancers/singers/band, their manager, and whatever fund they have for things other than wages, like a tour bus rental fee, the label, the driver, the night's post-concert laundry costs, and so on. The chances of all that money going to a single performer is very low; you can generally assume they have backup, management, additional costs, and someone pulling the strings. There are exceptions, like unaffiliated stand-up comedians or other, genuinely solo acts, but for the type of event I'm outlining, these are all contributing factors. Performers may bring their own lighting/sound techs. The venue also might provide their own. For a larger venue, I'd assume both are involved; one who knows the concert's program, and one who knows the venue's setup.

Venue staff The ushers, lighting/sound technicians, the bar staff, the cook, the janitor, security, and anyone else who is working night-of is getting paid. We can equate their pay to the money coming in from specifically the food and drink sales, along with tips for the waitstaff in particular. By this, I mean that the correlation is such that, should sales fall, the corresponding cut in costs is employee labor (the bar staff and cooks), rather than the performers (whose costs are calculated in relation to the money they bring in relating to the ticket sales).

Food and Drink Raw ingredients for the food, wholesale costs for the liquor, napkins, single-use straws, and so on.

Printed Programs Someone has to print the little booklet that tells you who's performing tonight, who's performing for the next few months, and anything else you need to know. If it's a big-name cultural center, they may even include some interviews! But ink is expensive, and that's a lot of paper.

Money coming into the venue, not connected to the specific event:

Advertising Does the venue have posters around for local businesses? For insurance companies? For upcoming events? Someone is paying them for that. Does the venue intersperse the pre-show music over the speakers with the occasional ad spot? Someone is paying them for that. Does the venue have ads in the program booklet? Someone is paying them for that. For a really, really large venue, the kind with dozens or hundreds of employees and massive lighting/sound setups, they are liable to get most of their income from advertising.

Government Grants and Private Donations Depending on the venue, they may donations or grants. This is more likely to apply to a university/community performing arts center than a for-profit dinner theater, but it's a possibility.

Merchandise The venue may have merch that is unrelated to the performance of the night. A historic or novelty location is most likely to have success with this, selling beer glasses with their logo or a t-shirt with 'home of the [band from several decades ago]' printed across the front.

Money flowing out of the venue, not connected to the specific event:

Administrative/Overhead Employees Management, bookkeeping, legal, marketing, and so on.

Utilities Electricity, water, sewage, gas, telecomm, and so on.

Taxes, Licenses, Fees Sales tax, property tax, liquor license, etc.

Mortgage or lease The venue's business owner is not necessarily the one to own the property outright. They may pay rent to a property owner, or mortgage to the bank.

Maintenance - Building Codes Any large building is going to need plumbers, glass techs, electricians, roofers, and so on coming by with regularity. (This part, I actually do know; I used to do repairs dispatching, and you'd be amazed how frequently a big box store needs someone to come by about the toilets.)

Maintenance - Venue Codes There are certain things that an entertainment venue needs to do that other businesses... don't. Namely, fire safety. It's a huge deal. Staying up to code can be expensive, especially if you need to get your backstage/wing curtains chemically treated again, which can be anywhere from one to five years, or the next time someone spills water on it. (That's the main reason open containers of liquids aren't allowed backstage.)

Marketing Just like people pay the venue to advertise, the venue pays for others to advertise it. This could be in the local newspaper or online, but if a given performer isn't someone semi-famous on tour that has a following, then something else needs to draw in a regular paying crowd.

Miscellaneous Overhead There is a lot of overhead for any business of moderate size that has its costs spread out over the year. This includes hiring an accountant for tax season, purchasing uniforms for employees, replacing cutlery and plates and furniture as it wears out or gets lost, repainting the walls every few years, office supplies when the printer for the programs wears out, and so on.

Is this everything? Almost definitely not.

But, hopefully, I've untangled a few things that you may not have considered before.

Those tickets and drinks you bought cover a lot more than just the performer!

...unless it's through ticketmaster, in which case it's probably just the monopoly.

----

If you enjoyed this post, please support me on ko-fi! You can also prompt me for a business/econ topic of your choice here.

[subdee]

Everyone pointing out that it’s suspicious how many AI tools are free, it’s because building a tech company these days 100% revolves around giving people your product for free/at an extreme discount until they forget how to function without it, then closing the jaws of the trap The easiest example of this is Uber operating on massive losses for a decade so they could offer their service at an unbelievably cheap rate long enough to train people not to call cabs anymore. A lot of young people coming up now don’t even know “calling a cab” is a thing Air BnB is another really classic example, they were the “cheap alternative to hotels” until they became a ubiquitous travel accommodation solution, then suddenly rooms started costing $400 a night. But the more abstract version is when you look at how google won the search engine wars and became the most popular way to look for things, even as the results started to turn into narrow, flawed garbage, barely anyone knows how to look for things without google anymore And most insidiously, how streaming trained people to stop buying real media and pirating things, so they can completely control our access to media as a subscription service So yes, obviously they’re hoping you’ll all feed your novels for data, but even more than that, they want you to turn AI into an inseparable part of your creative process, so when they eventually ask you to give them money you won’t know how to live without it It’s the “first one’s free” drug dealer model applied with the end goal of turning human creativity into a subscription service.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1661482673913872386.html

[sibyl-of-space]

The San Francisco tech scene is completely beyond satire. I'm in a discord server for game developers based in SF because even though I don't live in the bay area anymore it's still the closest hub for indie developers near me. I went to one of their meetups once, the talk itself was completely useless and I left about 30 mins in, but I did get two people to playtest my demo beforehand so it was still worthwhile. One of those things where you're in a sea of 50 people who annoy you and are able to find maybe one or two people who are cool to talk to.

Anyway, I just received a ping about their next meetup, which is-- I literally could not make up something more on the nose than this if I tried--

brought to you

by

✨ J.P. Morgan ✨

.

Actual quote from the event page:

Are you a developer looking to accept payments and monetize your users effectively? We are excited to announce this unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor and learn about how to monetize your payment flow for your gaming applications at scale. As you may be aware, the Apple App Store and other stores are now allowing outside payment methods within iPhone apps due to "anti-competitive" laws in the EU. As a result, if you are part of Apples small business program, you may be eligible for a discounted percentage fee on IAP instead of the normal 30% fee. We hope you can attend to explore these concepts and learn how you can save money on payment processing fees with J.P. Morgan Payments.

Food is sponsored by J.P. Morgan and drinks are available for purchase at the DNA Lounge bar. All proceeds from drink sales go directly to the venue which helps them keep the lights on, and also helps us continue to host events in their space. DNA Lounge is over 3,000 sqft and is the largest venue we've ever hosted our events at. Speakers will go on stage at 7:00pm. This is an all ages event, is open to the public and is a professional networking event for game developers, artists, students, indies, or really anyone interested in game development. ASL Interpretation services available upon request via email.

Speaker Lineup:

Alan Lee | Developer Relations at J.P. Morgan Payments

Enhance your Payment Experience with J.P Morgan’s Payment Developer Platform

In this session, The J.P Morgan Payments developer relations team will showcase how the Online Payments API allows you to seamlessly accept, process and settle payments from the large suite of supported payment methods. We’ll explore the extended capabilities like tools for fraud prevention, recurring payments and demonstrate how these features can help you improve authorization rates, secure transactions, and gain valuable insights into your payment flow.

so anyway if anybody needs me I will be basically anywhere except at this particular event

[mostlysignssomeportents]

No, “convenience” isn’t the problem

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in CHICAGO (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Using Amazon, or Twitter, or Facebook, or Google, or Doordash, or Uber doesn't make you lazy. Platform capitalism isn't enshittifying because you made the wrong shopping choices.

Remember, the reason these corporations were able to capture such substantial market-share is that the capital markets saw them as a bet that they could lose money for years, drive out competition, capture their markets, and then raise prices and abuse their workers and suppliers without fear of reprisal. Investors were chasing monopoly power, that is, companies that are too big to fail, too big to jail, and too big to care:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

The tactics that let a few startups into Big Tech are illegal under existing antitrust laws. It's illegal for large corporations to buy up smaller ones before they can grow to challenge their dominance. It's illegal for dominant companies to merge with each other. "Predatory pricing" (selling goods or services below cost to prevent competitors from entering the market, or to drive out existing competitors) is also illegal. It's illegal for a big business to use its power to bargain for preferential discounts from its suppliers. Large companies aren't allowed to collude to fix prices or payments.

But under successive administrations, from Jimmy Carter through to Donald Trump, corporations routinely broke these laws. They explicitly and implicitly colluded to keep those laws from being enforced, driving smaller businesses into the ground. Now, sociopaths are just as capable of starting small companies as they are of running monopolies, but that one store that's run by a colossal asshole isn't the threat to your wellbeing that, say, Walmart or Amazon is.

All of this took place against a backdrop of stagnating wages and skyrocketing housing, health, and education costs. In other words, even as the cost of operating a small business was going up (when Amazon gets a preferential discount from a key supplier, that supplier needs to make up the difference by gouging smaller, weaker retailers), Americans' disposable income was falling.

So long as the capital markets were willing to continue funding loss-making future monopolists, your neighbors were going to make the choice to shop "the wrong way." As small, local businesses lost those customers, the costs they had to charge to make up the difference would go up, making it harder and harder for you to afford to shop "the right way."

In other words: by allowing corporations to flout antimonopoly laws, we set the stage for monopolies. The fault lay with regulators and the corporate leaders and finance barons who captured them – not with "consumers" who made the wrong choices. What's more, as the biggest businesses' monopoly power grew, your ability to choose grew ever narrower: once every mom-and-pop restaurant in your area fires their delivery drivers and switches to Doordash, your choice to order delivery from a place that payrolls its drivers goes away.

Monopolists don't just have the advantage of nearly unlimited access to the capital markets – they also enjoy the easy coordination that comes from participating in a cartel. It's easy for five giant corporations to form conspiracies because five CEOs can fit around a single table, which means that some day, they will:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/18/cursed-are-the-sausagemakers/#how-the-parties-get-to-yes

By contrast, "consumers" are atomized – there are millions of us, we don't know each other, and we struggle to agree on a course of action and stick to it. For "consumers" to make a difference, we have to form institutions, like co-ops or buying clubs, or embark on coordinated campaigns, like boycotts. Both of these tactics have their place, but they are weak when compared to monopoly power.

Luckily, we're not just "consumers." We're also citizens who can exercise political power. That's hard work – but so is organizing a co-op or a boycott. The difference is, when we dog enforcers who wield the power of the state, and line up behind them when they start to do their jobs, we can make deep structural differences that go far beyond anything we can make happen as consumers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

We're not just "consumers" or "citizens" – we're also workers, and when workers come together in unions, they, too, can concentrate the diffuse, atomized power of the individual into a single, powerful entity that can hold the forces of capital in check:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all

And all of these things work together; when regulators do their jobs, they protect workers who are unionizing:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth

And strong labor power can force cartels to abandon their plans to rig the market so that every consumer choice makes them more powerful:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/01/how-the-writers-guild-sunk-ais-ship/

And when consumers can choose better, local, more ethical businesses at competitive rates, those choices can make a difference:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/10/view-a-sku/

Antimonopoly policy is the foundation for all forms of people-power. The very instant corporations become too big to fail, jail or care is the instant that "voting with your wallet" becomes a waste of time.

Sure, choose that small local grocery, but everything on their shelves is going to come from the consumer packaged-goods duopoly of Procter and Gamble and Unilever. Sure, hunt down that local brand of potato chips that you love instead of P&G or Unilever's brand, but if they become successful, either P&G or Unilever will buy them out, and issue a press release trumpeting the purchase, saying "We bought out this beloved independent brand and added it to our portfolio because we know that consumers value choice."

If you're going to devote yourself to solving the collective action problem to make people-power work against corporations, spend your precious time wisely. As Zephyr Teachout writes in Break 'Em Up, don't miss the protest march outside the Amazon warehouse because you spent two hours driving around looking for an independent stationery so you could buy the markers and cardboard to make your anti-Amazon sign without shopping on Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/29/break-em-up/#break-em-up

When blame corporate power on "laziness," we buy into the corporations' own story about how they came to dominate our lives: we just prefer them. This is how Google explains away its 90% market-share in search: we just chose Google. But we didn't, not really – Google spends tens of billions of dollars every single year buying up the search-box on every website, phone, and operating system:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Blaming "laziness" for corporate dominance also buys into the monopolists' claim that the only way to have convenient, easy-to-use services is to cede power to them. Facebook claims it's literally impossible for you to carry on social relations with the people that matter to you without also letting them spy on you. When we criticize people for wanting to hang out online with the people they love, we send the message that they need to choose loneliness and isolation, or they will be complicit in monopoly.

The problem with Google isn't that it lets you find things. The problem with Facebook isn't that it lets you talk to your friends. The problem with Uber isn't that it gets you from one place to another without having to stand on a corner waving your arm in the air. The problem with Amazon isn't that it makes it easy to locate a wide variety of products. We should stop telling people that they're wrong to want these things, because a) these things are good; and b) these things can be separated from the monopoly power of these corporate bullies:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/08/divisibility/#technognosticism

Remember the Napster Wars? The music labels had screwed over musicians and fans. 80 percent of all recorded music wasn't offered for sale, and the labels cooked the books to make it effectively impossible for musicians to earn out their advances. Napster didn't solve all of that (though they did offer $15/user/month to the labels for a license to their catalogs), but there were many ways in which it was vastly superior to the system it replaced.

The record labels responded by suing tens of thousands of people, mostly kids, but also dead people and babies and lots of other people. They demanded an end to online anonymity and a system of universal surveillance. They wanted every online space to algorithmically monitor everything a user posted and delete anything that might be a copyright infringement.

These were the problems with the music cartel: they suppressed the availability of music, screwed over musicians, carried on a campaign of indiscriminate legal terror, and lobbied effectively for a system of ubiquitous, far-reaching digital surveillance and control:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/02/nonbinary-families/#red-envelopes

You know what wasn't a problem with the record labels? The music. The music was fine. Great, even.

But some of the people who were outraged with the labels' outrageous actions decided the problem was the music. Their answer wasn't to merely demand better copyright laws or fairer treatment for musicians, but to demand that music fans stop listening to music from the labels. Somehow, they thought they could build a popular movement that you could only join by swearing off popular music.

That didn't work. It can't work. A popular movement that you can only join by boycotting popular music will always be unpopular. It's bad tactics.

When we blame "laziness" for tech monopolies, we send the message that our friends have to choose between life's joys and comforts, and a fair economic system that doesn't corrupt our politics, screw over workers, and destroy small, local businesses. This isn't true. It's a lie that monopolists tell to justify their abuse. When we repeat it, we do monopolists' work for them – and we chase away the people we need to recruit for the meaningful struggles to build worker power and political power.

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/2024/04/12/give-me-convenience/#or-give-me-death

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

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[originalcollectionartistry]

like your writing is so brilliant and I really enjoyed guess I waited too long and I noticed there’s been a SEVERE lack of unrequited love tech fics and I am a girl who likes all hurt and no comfort,,, what do I have to do to commission you to write one for tech where reader loves him but he doesn’t feel the same way/did in the past but has moved on,,, something like Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac,,,, this is really long I’ll stop talking now but I’ll literally pay u to write it cause I can’t write for shit and don’t have patience 😭😭🫶🫶🫶🫶

So Much for Love

Oh my dear! You don’t have to pay me at all! I do this for fun! I'm just glad I can give some joy to others! I will definitely try and emulate Silver Springs as best I can.

Alright so you are a waitress at Dexter's and the batch are some good customers that come whenever they're in Coruscant. You've been infatuated with Tech and he seemed receptive until something changed. You confront him and he breaks off whatever you had going on. It was never labelled but you're heartbroken. However, Tech is happy alone and with his brothers so you can't be too mad. So you mourn what could've been.

No content warning.

Word count: 2981

Enjoy!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

You had been screamed at, insulted, and had food thrown at you multiple times today. You were so close to breaking down and Dexter was not helping. He just saw everyone as friends and so dismissed your complaints of disrespect.

You finally had a lull between rushes and just leant against the counter. Your head hung in exhaustion wanting this day to be over. You hated being a waitress but it was the best job in the sector for you and your means. Your one light in your life, CT 9902 otherwise known as Tech, had been gone for the past 173 rotations. He had been keeping contact but it was sparse. His missions took priority and that made sense to you. It just hurt on days like this when you needed some comfort that he was gone for so long.

"Hey sweetheart! I need more caf!" a customer yelled, snapping their fingers.

Sighing deeply, you put on your best smile before heading over with a pot. You nodded your head and apologised for the wait before checking if he needed anything else.

You heard the doors open and a loud growl of affection before being lifted off your feet. You squealed in surprise and thrashed around until a giant clone set you back down.

"Wrecker! You scared the life out of me!" You scolded, before giving him a hug.

Hunter and Crosshair came in after with Echo following close behind. You greeted them with hugs and sat them down with cups of caf. You took their orders, giving them a small discount for their military service.

"Where's Tech? He's usually the first one demanding caf," you pointed out.

Hunter shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "Said something about needing to fix the airflow on the ship. I don't know anymore."

You made a noise of understanding before moving on to other customers. You figured Tech would come around at some point. If not the diner then your apartment. He usually always made time for you. You smiled as you remembered the first time they walked into the diner.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a slow day at Dex's. You were sitting in a booth, ordering more ingredients and the like as Dex seemed to not bother about ordering in shipments. You were getting frustrated about the holonet as it was either freezing or slow. You hated the service as Dex never paid his bills on time. Which is why he hired you in the first place; you were a stickler for things being on time and it frustrated you that Dex was more focused on customer service.

"Excuse me. Do you work here?" a voice called you out of your thoughts.

You looked up to see a tall man with goggles and a data pad staring at you. He seemed to be expecting something of you and you weren't sure what. You nodded a yes to his question and asked how you could help.

"Well me and my brothers were hoping for some food and caf. We finally have some shore leave and need proper nutrition. Rations can get rather tedious after a while."

You peered around to see four other men behind him, waiting patiently for you to seat them. You slowly realized they were clones on leave from the war and jumped into action. You shut your pad off and ran behind the counter.

"I'm so sorry men! I was distracted. Have a seat anywhere and I'll serve you up some fresh caf!"

The shortest one, wearing a red bandana waved you off and told you not to worry. They were used to cold caf apparently.

Shaking your head, you poured fresh caf into their mugs. "You guys protect us from battle droids. It's the very least I can do to offer fresh hot caf."

"Well then you offer more than most. Many consider clones to be less than others. We are practically second class citizens in the eyes of the Republic." The goggled one spoke up before sipping his mug.

You grimaced. You hated that clones were considered objects and not human beings. Yes they were clones of one man but they were still sentient beings.

"So can I grab your names for the order?"

"Names? Usually civilians refer to us by our numbers."

You smiled, shrugging coyly. "Well maybe I'm just different then other civvies."

One by one they told you their names. Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo and Crosshair. Tech was the one who approached you first. He was cute too. Yes they were all attractive but Tech intrigued you the most. So while they ate and drank their fill of caf and food, you flirted with Tech. You’d make little comments about his goggles, his intellect, his everything. Crosshairs seemed amused by this, teasing his brother relentlessly when they left. Hunter couldn’t help but smile as it wasn’t often they got interest from women; then again it wasn’t often they had shore leave.

Tech came to visit you on his own whenever Clone Force 99 had time off away from missions. He was curious and intrigued about you and your choice in him and not his brothers. He soon came to develop feelings for you and you for him. You messaged whenever he was away and made time for each other when he was in Coruscant. The Bad Batch became Dex’s favourite group of regulars as they ate almost everything and paid well.

You and Tech had never labelled what you had but it was clear to you both it was exclusive. You went as far as to say you were in love. Tech wouldn’t say that he was in love but rather he held “very intense emotion and high regard for you”. It made you smile that that was his way of saying I love you.

———————————————————————————————

Your shift finished and Tech still had not come to see you. Hunter gave you directions as to where they landed the ship as they continued on to 79’s.

You had a to go cup of hot caf and Tech’s favourite order in your hands as you approached the ship. It was silent save for the tinkering of Tech under the control panels. Setting the food down, you gently nudged his foot to let him know you were there. He slid from under the panel, glancing at you before returning to work. That was odd… he never not said anything to you when you came. It was always a “hello darling” or “one moment. I will be done soon.” Something!

You sat in the co pilot’s chair and waited. “I brought you food if you’re hungry. And hot caf,” you murmured.

“Thank you. That wasn’t necessary as I had some rations left over but I appreciate the thought.” Again, odd. He always loved it when you brought food to him. Much like all clones, Tech didn’t really like the ration bars but tolerated them as they were essential to a soldier’s survival.

Chewing your lip, you bounced your leg in anxiety. Did something happen? Was someone hurt? “Tech. Come out and talk to me please.” You urged. Something was wrong and you were going to find out what; no matter how upsetting the idea of confrontation was.

“In a moment. I’m almost done.”

“I’m serious Tech. It wasn’t like you to not come to the diner with your brothers. I was worried! You had been so sparse with your messages I’m scared something happened.”

Tech slid back out and sat up. Annoyance was clear on his face as you were interrupting his work, something he tolerated before. You recoiled slightly at the expression on his face. Something was wrong and it was affecting your relationship.

Tech then did the unexpected. He tried kick you out of the ship. He never did that! He always let you sit quietly while he tinkered around. Anger flooded your mind and red tinted your vision.

“No. I’m not leaving until you tell me what happened. What’s wrong? You never used to treat me like this. What’s changed?”

Sighing heavily, Tech sat across from you in his pilot’s seat. “I thought driving you away would be easier but I suppose your feelings are stronger than I calculated.”

Raising a brow, you urged him to continue as this was not like him. Nerves shot through you as the thought of him ending things became more a reality.

“I am… sorry. But I do not think our current relationship should continue.”

Tear pricked in your eyes. You cleared your throat to rid the tightness building. “Oh. Is there a reason why? Have I done something to upset you?”

“No. I just simply lost feelings for you. I realize now that I was just experiencing what Crosshair called a crush. It came and went and now I wish to end our relationship.”

Your heart broke. The man you loved never loved you back and now he was walking away. You grabbed the food and caf you brought and set it in your seat. You brought the food for him and now he could consider it a parting gift. You shared one more hug and you kissed his cheek. He gave you a pressed smile, letting you know he thought it was for the best and that physical contact wasn't going to be a thing as much anymore. You allowed some tears to fall as you let him know “You boys are always welcome at the diner. Regardless of our relationship status. See you later Tech.”

Watching you leave, Tech felt a sort of pull in his chest. Brushing it off, he went back to working on the air duct controls. The food you brought smelt so good though! It was one of the things about you he enjoyed. You always brought them all food and caf fresh from the diner. You brought his with a smile and a kiss on the cheek, not caring if he was covered in grease or oil.

Yes he will miss the connection he once felt but as much as it gave him discomfort to end things, he knew he wouldn't feel the same for you and so felt the most logical thing was to end your relationship.

Echo and Wrecker could see you leave the ship in tears as they came back to the Marauder. You walked in the opposite direction to them to avoid questions being asked. Also your apartment was the other way so that helped avoid Echo’s piercing gaze. They walked up the gangplank to see Tech putting his food away for later, an aura of normalcy around him.

“Why in Maker’s name is she crying? What did you do?” Echo asked Tech accusingly.

“I terminated our relationship. I did not expect her to cry at such a thing but I do not have any romantic feelings for her anymore. Why stay in a relationship if I don’t feel as she does?”

——————————————————————————————————

You ordered all the ice cream you could as you cried into your pillow. A holomovie played the background, some documentary about a band where the lead singer and guitarist dated and broke up. Maker that sounded so much like you and Tech. You mourned what could’ve been. Once the war was over you saw you two living in a small apartment or house somewhere far away from Coruscant. Where Tech was a mechanic and you stayed at home caring for what children you possibly could’ve had. Now that was all gone. Tech had felt something but it wasn’t love. An infatuation! Almost 2 years for an infatuation. You started to hate yourself for not recognizing it sooner.

“I suppose I looked at it with rose coloured glasses. Or goggles I guess.” You murmured.

Time casted a spell on you both. Yours was one of love and adoration. Tech’s spell was a short lived crush that faded with distance and time. You wanted Tech but you would not keep him in a relationship he didn’t want to be in. You messaged Dex asking for time off. You didn’t think you’d be able to focus on customers and which tables were yours.

A knock spurred you out of your reverie and had you crawling out of bed. Surprisingly, Crosshair was behind the door. A bag in one hand, the other on his hip. You opened the door and invited him inside.

“Tech told us. I told him a crush can develop into more if he let it but I guess he didn’t want the ‘distraction’” He held out the bag and you saw chocolate, candy and a bunch of booze. Out of all the Batch you expected Echo or Hunter to come console you but Crosshair was pleasant surprise.

The youngest clone was snarky, full of spite and humour but after hearing Tech blab on and on about the ins and outs of your relationship, he felt the need to come see if you were okay. And considering Hunter was getting his rocks off with a civilian and Echo and Wrecker were too drunk to coherently give you what you needed, the responsibility fell to Crosshair. You had become his favourite civvy.

You curled into Crosshair’s side as you watched a new holomovie. Some dumb horror that made the two of you laugh. You didn’t expect the sniper to be this soft but it was a pleasant surprise after your breakup with Tech. Remembering what he said, you burst into tears again, feeling Crosshair pull you closer.

“It’ll be alright doll. My brother may be the smartest but he can be the most oblivious. He doesn’t know what he just let go.”

Through hiccups and sobs you asked him what was wrong with you. “Why can’t he give it a chance? We were a thing for two years Cross! Was that all nothing? Did I make it out to be more than what it was?”

Moving his toothpick from one side to the other, he spoke slowly. “Nothing is wrong with you. Tech’s never had feelings for someone before so he doesn’t understand that definitively expressing your plan is needed throughout a relationship. It was... what you both wanted it to be. He’s just ignorant of this side of human emotion.”

Eventually Crosshair had to return to the ship, but made sure you felt okay enough to be alone. You hated how things went with you and Tech but you couldn’t change it. He didn’t want you and so you had to mourn and move on. Besides, it was heartache. Nothing you hadn’t handled before. So why did it hurt so much more now? Was it because you actually saw a future with Tech? Or was it because he never felt the same for you?

Finishing the ice cream and putting the chocolate and booze away, you curled into bed again, wanting nothing more than to go back in time and never fall in love with that handsome goggled clone. Perhaps you’d go to 79’s and pick up a different soldier to sleep with. But you missed Tech and his little tangents of whatever was on his mind.

Dex responded giving you the time off you asked for. You rarely asked for time off so he had no trouble giving it to you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Hunter stumbled back into the ship, he saw Crosshair giving Tech a hard time. Clearly something had happened between the two but Hunter was far too gone to even care. He continued to stumble into his bunk before Echo shouted for him. Groaning, he sat up and called out.

“What!?”

Echo yelled back “You might wanna hold Crosshair back! I think he's gonna kill Tech!”

Growling he moved into the cockpit to see Wrecker holding Crosshair and Echo shielding Tech. Tech was sitting in his seat, tinkering away while Crosshair looked like he was gonna tear him a new asshole.

Running a hand down his face, he groaned in exhaustion. “Alright men what’s going on? Why are we killing Tech?”

Wrecker looked sheepishly from Tech to Hunter. “Uhhh, Tech broke up with y/n and apparently she was pretty upset. Crosshair wants to teach Tech a lesson but I think he just wants to hit him.”

Hunter looked at Tech incredulously. “Fucking really? Why? I thought things were good!”

Shrugging, Tech continued tinkering, not stressed at all about the situation he put himself in. “I simply do not feel for her as she does for me. Why continue to lead her on if I don’t have feelings for her anymore?”

Smacking Tech up the head was the least Hunter could do in his inebriated state. He ordered Crosshair to bed and Wrecker and Echo to sober up.

“Tech, I know you think it’s logical but love isn’t. Did you at least let her down easy? Tell her you still care about her and her safety?”

Tech cocked his head to the side, confused. “I thought that was obvious. Why state it if it’s a known fact?”

Sighing, Hunter bid his brother goodnight. As he lay in his bunk, he sent you a message asking if you were okay. You responded with a no but you’d get better. You reiterated to Hunter that the boys were always welcome at Dex’s and you’d serve them with a smile. Hunter grimaced, fulling planning on teaching his brother a lesson on love; not as harshly as Crosshair but a firmly as possible.

While they were all soldiers and had little experience with love and relationships, Hunter knew basics. Don’t tell someone you love them if you don’t mean it. Let people down gently. Communicate and comprehend. Hunter knew Tech could be blunt so now it was the Batch’s job to make sure their favourite civvy was okay before the left for their next mission. Hopefully sooner than later as it was often they were sent away without notice.

——————————————————————————————————

I hope this is what you were hoping for! I don’t really listen to Fleetwood Mac so I had to listen to Silver Springs on repeat to really get the emotion.

Please let me know if this was what you envisioned Anon! If not I will rewrite as best I can with everything going on in my crazy life!

Feel free to send in more requests friends! I enjoy writing and hopefully bring a little joy in your lives!

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

WTNV quick rundown - 145 - The Veterans

Featuring the voice of Mark Gagliardi as as John Peters (you know, the farmer?)!

Read the rest of my rundowns here, including live show and novel rundowns.

Fake it till you make it. Mic it till you like it. Book it till you look it. Welcome to Night Vale.

More Veterans from the Blood/Space War have arrived, landing in John Peters (you know, the farmer?) field. This includes John's brother, James Peters as well as Admiral Junior Blais, Sergeant Dan Christensen and his twin brother Drew. They say that the galaxy is under threat by the ruthless Polonian armies of Star System Lacaille 9352 and that's what they're fighting the war about.

The Polonian's are three times the size of humans with hundreds of sharp teeth up and down their boneless limbs. They have only one eye which gives them bad depth perception but it also shoots lazers. They have already completely destroyed the planet of a species which only speaks via dance - two members of which accompany the human veterans and are allies to them in the war.

There is an extremely lackluster attempt at supporting the financial, emotional and physical burden these veterans carry.

Senior Strategic Advisor Jameson Archibald at the Intergalactic Military Headquarters admits that he still has no idea what the Blood/Space war is about and lost all the money he kept getting from the government and not using in an intergalatic war in a faulty tech start up. Donations from the Bake Sale and Sheriff's Secret Police are received gratefully but since the Polonian's are so close he decides that it's probably too late. He then rolls up a $100 and eats it like a Snickers bar.

The Polonian ships are now visible in the sky. Harrison Kip sends Cecil and e-mail stating that in 1993 he found crashed ships that look exactly like the ones in the sky which had corpses of creatures matching the Polonian's in them whilst out on an unrelated exhibition. He was then reprogrammed to forget it but seeing them has recovered some of the memories and he feels he can recover the rest. However, he is then reprogrammed again and forgets it all. Cecil is then also reprogrammed for talking about it.

Luckily it seems the army of Polonian ships simply vanishes anyway. There one moment, gone the next.

Weather: “No Good Day” by Windows to Sky

Dan and Drew were born in 1912, both became tax accountants, had wives and children, donated to the Old NV opera house and were avid sports fans - even starting the first ever semi-pro Sand Hockey league. Dan passed away in 1994 due to liver cancer and Drew died of a heart attack a week later. Despite this both men when they return look to be in their late 20's and are entirely unable to reconnect with their middle-aged grandchildren or get jobs due to being legally dead.

Junior Blais, who is 50, says he was born in 2022 (this episode was written in 2019) to Oliver and Linda Blais both of who say they don't plan on having children making him either an accident or dramatic change of heart. He was badly wounded and has many 3rd degree burns that require grafts but clearance for them in NV involves getting clearance in Red Mesa and it's taking forever.

Jim Peters was honourable discharged from service and is decorated with many chevrons and medals. John Peters tells us that his brother used to play catch with him and show him where to get discounts on sweets and drinks. John is now 60 and was only 15 when his brother left, Jim is 22. John wants his brother to stay but Jim says that The General has a plan that will work and that they need him. John makes an attempt to make him stay but knows it won't work. Jim dons his space suit and leaves, already haggard with the horrors of war.

Meanwhile the NV Scorpions, the wheelchair basketball team that Janice is captain of, won their semi-final game against Cactus Park HS. They will playing Pine Cliff Saturday afternoon. City Council says that win or lose they will hold a parade next Tuesday for the team which will feature a celebrity appearance by Lee Marvin who is turning 30 that week.

A large chunk of the moon is destroyed by the Polonians but City Council just plans to buy a new one.

Reprogramming is done by men in camo-suits using some kind of metal hat full of wires and such.

Stay tuned next for simultaneous panic and relief as you realize all of your emails are gone.  Good night , Night Vale. Good night.

Proverb: Develop your chi. Really work that chi hard. Get six-pack chi. Totally swole with chi. Roll up those sleeves and welcome people to the chi show.