#Total Cost of Ownership

[govindhtech]

AMD Ryzen AI PRO Processor with Integrated TCO Advantages

Ryzen AI PRO Processor TCO Benefits

Ryzen AI PRO TCO-Optimized Processor. Since Microsoft implemented AI into Windows 11 Copilot+ PC, PC AI use has increased. In two years, the NPU went from unsupported and unknown to integrated into first-party and third-party programs. AI PCs and Copilot+ PCs from commercial OEMs are expected to become more affordable and accessible in 2025, making local AI assistance more affordable.

Assessing AMD as a Commercial AI PC Partner

Business clients get accurate performance and efficiency with the AMD Ryzen AI PRO 300 Series CPU line. Signal65, an independent third-party research agency, found that when it examined AMD and competing systems in performance, efficiency, and TCO.

Signal65 analyst Ryan Shrout discusses AMD PRO Technologies and how its manageability, business-ready, and security capabilities fulfil IT demands before comparing AMD to other systems.

Signal65 examined software configurations that resembled corporate PC installations instead than commodity operating system images, which are rarely used in commercial environments. Second, rather than using top-line, single-application benchmark findings, the organisation undertook a complicated total cost of ownership (TCO) study based on multitasking to estimate daily activities.

IT can remotely access equipment on or off the corporate network, modify BIOS settings, and apply scheduled patches and updates with the new cloud management solution. IT professionals may remotely inspect a user's screen and fix devices in bulk.

2025 will be a big year for corporate AI. There is a big market potential as firms plan AI projects, switch to Windows 11, and go through the post-pandemic refresh cycle. Corporate buyers may employ new AI capabilities to give end users a great experience while fulfilling TCO criteria. AMD offers unmatched performance and features for the price. AMD collaborates with industry partners on anything from laptops to mobile workstations.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and its acceptance and consequences on the IT sector are difficult enough without having to worry about the trade-off between better software performance and future capabilities you'll regret not buying. Business owners are not asked to choose by AMD Ryzen AI PRO Series CPUs. Instead, they offer performance, security, manageability, and AI at affordable costs.

AMD PRO Technologies

Enterprise-grade stability, dependability, security, and management secure your company.

Designed for Business Today

Get 18 months of software stability, 24 months of availability, and an upgraded platform certification approach for all AMD Ryzen PRO CPUs to ensure enterprise-grade quality and long-term stability.

An analysis of AMD PRO security and the AMD framework for reliable, secure, and controlling business systems.

Features for Data Defence

Provide a multilayered security architecture to protect your firm from modern cyberthreats 24/7.

The AMD Secure Processor

This sophisticated security processor checks code before execution to protect data and applications. The AMD Ryzen processor's “Zen 4” design prioritises security measures to protect your system from sophisticated attacks and unauthorised applications.

AMD Shadow Stack

For control-flow defence, Shadow Stack compares the regular program stack to a hardware-stored duplicate. Windows 11's AMD security features include Microsoft Hardware Enforced Stack Protection.

Secure Boot AMD Platform

With the rise of firmware-level remote assaults, platform safe boot was devised to protect against them. AMD Secure Boot maintains trust from BIOS to OS Bootloader.

Microsoft Pluton Security Processor

Latest AMD CPUs have Microsoft Pluton for next-generation security like BitLocker and Trusted Platform Module 2.0 for Windows Hello.

AMD Memory Guard

AMD Memory Guard2 is the first CPU series to fully encrypt system memory in real time. Windows Secured-Core PCs with AMD PRO processors have this enabled by default.

[manaljh-blog]

The Critical Lessons and Costs of GenAI Experiments

When businesses first embraced Generative AI (GenAI), the promise was enticing: Machines creating human-like content, automating tedious tasks, and even generating innovative ideas. Continue reading The Critical Lessons and Costs of GenAI Experiments

[signalhrm]

Understanding the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of HRMS Management Software 

Human resource management software enhances the HR processes, thereby enhancing employee experience, and increasing overall efficiency. Since organizations are embracing HRMS, it is essential to know the total cost of ownership going further than the initial investment.  

What is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?

The total cost of ownership includes all the direct and indirect expenses related to obtaining, implementing, utilizing, and maintaining HRMS software throughout its lifecycle. It includes several other components apart from the upfront subscription and licensing charges. 

Implementation Expenses: Includes costs related to data migration, training, deployment, and software customization. 

Integration Expenses: Expenses related to integrating HRMS with existing systems such as time and attendance tracking, and payroll. 

Operational Expenses: Costs related to technical support, software updates, user licenses, and maintenance. 

Expansion and Scalability Expenses: Charges that incur when organizations need to scale the software as the business expands. 

Security Expenses: Expenses related to reinforcing security such as compliance audits and data protection protocols. 

Vendor Management: Expenses associated with vendor relationship management such as SLAs, contract negotiations, and vendor migration. 

Factors that impact TCO Analysis

Deployment Mode: HRMS software has different deployment models such as cloud-based, on-premises, and hybrid with different resource requirements and costs. 

Customization Needs: At times, businesses need to personalize the HRMS software according to their business processes, which affects the implementation expenses. 

Adoption and Training: The users need to be trained to use the HRMS software optimally. 

Software Updates: Regular HRMS updates, patches, and support services are necessary and add up to the continuous operational charges.   

Conclusion: Organizations need to consider all the charges (direct and indirect) related to HRMS acquisition, implementation, and maintenance. This helps them to make informed decisions and optimize HRMS usage to derive the maximum value out of the investment.  

[youryurigoddess]

Anyone has £260,000 to spare?

Looks like Mary, better known to general public as Crowley’s Bentley from Good Omens, was put on sale — this time for real.

And the advertisement is full of anecdotes up to December 2024, including the filming of the show, as well as interior and exterior photos that might be helpful for artists and writers; definitely worth reading if you’re a Good Omens fan!

Vehicle description and photo gallery

(As published by the seller, Jeremy Marshall-Roberts)

“Mary is a 1934 Derby Bentley Thrupp & Maberley bodied Coupe. BLE 430 – B 96 BN. Two were made but the other one has not been seen since WW11, so she is unique. She is also the only Bentley in the world to have been blown up twice on screen. She was owned by Speed King Donald Campbell in the early fifties.

I acquired her in 2009, to go with my 1947 Mark VI. Since then the engine has been completely re-built, including a new head and block, with a new clutch put in at the same time. She has also been re-wired, new kingpins, total brake overhaul, new radiator and fuel pump with suspension and one shot lubrication system overhauled. Also had the speedometer and rev.counter serviced in 2018. She runs superbly and has just had her annual service at AB Classics, who specialise in pre-war Bentleys & Rolls Royces. (He also looks after my 1936 25/30 RR.

She is currently insured for £295,000 and I will be looking for an offer around £265,000.”

History

“Ordered for Jack Odling in September 1934. One of two 3 ½ lt Coupes made by Thrupp & Maberley. The other one has not been seen for several decades and presumed lost during World War 2. Not much early history but owned by Speed King Donald Campbell in the early 1950’s. We have a photograph of the car at that time being offered for sale, with silver wheel discs. His ownership is acknowledged by all the relevant history available in various publications and agreed with both Bentley Drivers Club & Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club records.

She went through three owners from October 1954 to October 1961. Next piece of history is she was acquired by a Mr Silk of Romford in 1973 and underwent extensive professional restoration up to 1994, with a mechanical overhaul in 1994. She was back on the road in 1998. She was then purchased from P & A Wood by Andrew Smith in August 2001. He kept her until early 2008 when he sold her to Brian Classic as he did not wish to re-wire her. I bought her from Brian Classic in April 2009 with money left to me by my late Mother, Mary. We only just made the 100 miles home with many electrical problems. I am glad to say that Brian Classic eventually made a substantial contribution to the re-wiring by Jeremy Padgett.

The following year going into the RREC Concours the heating nearly went into the red so back to Jeremy Padgett to sort out. Result was a complete engine re-build by Ristes, also replaced the radiator core and new clutch plate. Finally back on the road in May 2012. Very expensive period. However, she is now in superb condition, being regularly serviced by AB Classics. More recently the carburettors have been re-built. Following an accident on set in 2017 she was sent to Steve Penny at Penny Vintage to restore the damaged door. Sadly this was one of his last jobs before retiring. What a superb craftsman he is, he made a fabulous job of restoring her. Needless to say she still looks superb. I have owned and enjoyed classic cars since 1969 and Mary must be my ultimate car.”

TV & Film work

“Whilst paying the engine re-build bills, I asked my accountant if I could offset costs against my regular income as a Wine & Hamper merchant. I then started www.classicbentleycarhire.co.uk as I was already doing the occasional wedding with Mabel, my 1947 Mark VI. In January 2014 I received a phone call from a TV film service company, TLO Film Services. Would I be interested in bringing Mary down to Taplow near Maidenhead to appear in the Endeavour series of Inspector Morse on Saturday and Sunday in early February. I duly arrived at an old warehouse complex by the Thames where this episode was being made. I was shown where to park and told to go and have lunch. Having been shown where to go I sat down and found the running order for the day’s scenes. Half way down was a scene called ‘Bang goes the Bentley’. Quite put me off my lunch. I found the TLO guy fairly shortly afterwards who explained that my car would be put somewhere near a series of pyrotechnic effects and no, they could not afford to really blow it up. I then went for a ride in Morse’s black Jaguar.

As soon as it got dark, I was asked to position Mary near a set of what can only be described as bamboo firework gadgets. Just managed to get into place, despite the heavy mud. The storyline is that a schoolboy drops a match into the fuel tank and up she goes. The young actor pretended to light a match having opened the outer fuel flap. CGI provided the spark and the pyrotecnic machines burst into life. There was a shot of the boy running to join the others with a big burst of flames in the background lighting up the quadrangle. All done in one shot. The next day the boys were being driven down the street by the ‘baddie’. Mary was stationery with lights going round 360o and a certain amount of pushing up and down on the bumper to simulate movement. The schoolboy actors, who were heavily chaperoned, were thrilled to discover they were in an 80 year old car. And that was it. Drove home the 120 miles to Lincolnshire. Kept in touch with TLO and used Mabel in another episode of Endeavour and a friends XK140 in the Outcast in 2015.

I had sold our business in 2014 to a very nice Italian couple to take it on to the next stage. Apart from old age creeping up, we had run out of space. The business struggled on that year and then I found a near perfect industrial building in Bourne. It moved in August 2015, leaving me with my old premises where I can, if everything was perfect, stash up to 17 cars. Should explain that our old premises are in the back garden of our home. I had bought a little 18’ cruiser to do up when the call came. ‘Jeremy, I am looking for a 1926 Derby Bentley, preferably black. Can you find me one please.’ I explained that they were not invented until 1933 and that mine was made in 1934 and is grey and black and has not changed since Endeavour three years earlier. Half an hour later phone goes again, ‘Can you bring your car down for production to have a look at in Ealing early next week’.

Production were delighted with Mary, especially after a bit of a run round Ealing. At this point no-one would tell me what it was all about, apart from the fact that this was ‘The Big One’. Two days later phone goes again, she is going to be Crowley’s Bentley in ‘Good Omens’ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. My wife quickly ordered the book and read it. The Bentley was mentioned almost 80 times. Can I please take her to a specialist body maker for her cab to be replicated for studio scenes. Can I find an interior etc. I phoned Hew at The Real Car Company, who was a tremend ous help. A complete set of instruments and a steering wheel duly arrived.

Next, I was asked if I could take the car to Wokingham to be copied. Absolutely staggered to discover they wanted the car at Rushton’s Farm, where I lived from 1957 to 1963. Father’s chicken sheds had been converted into industrial units. A half hour drop off turned into four hours, as I took an old photograph album to show the current owners. The farmhouse had been separated from the rest of the farm by this time. A real trip down memory lane for me. Looking for a Derby body, seats etc., Hew recommended talking to Bob Petersen. He was stripping down a Thrupp & Maberley saloon to make one of his famous specials, so that was purchased complete with dash, seats etc., so Mary could be well and truly replicated. Even changed the indicator switch, so that both were identical. By this time the cast list had leaked out on the Internet. David Tennant and Michael Sheen are the main stars with others being added on a daily basis. I met many people, but mainly worked with these two, especially David. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet. Very hardworking, but happily chats to everyone. I got Mary back from the farm in September, ready to start filming. The first scene was near Marlow for a two day shoot where I started to meet the cast and crew.

Trying to teach David how to drive Mary was a bit of a struggle. Most people in their forties haven’t a clue about cars without syncromesh on all gears, and David normally drives an automatic! However, Rob, the stunt driver, did know how to drive Mary and quickly picked up the fact that the clutch cannot be depressed for any length of time. The main problem with David and Rob changing over was about six inches in height. Don’t think the seat had been moved so much for years, with a gentle application of oil on the runners and avoidance of catching the carpet. During this period Mary used the registration NIATRUC, Curtain spelt backwards (the subject is the end of the world). The Morris Minor had SID RAT, TARDIS spelt backwards. David was an earlier Dr Who! Being the grandad on set meant that I was well looked after by everyone, who made sure I had Mary in the right place and usually a radio as well. There is a lot of hanging about on set then a burst of activity. Some shots are repeated over a dozen times to get differing angles and eventually sort out which take will be used. Within a few days I was getting the hang of it, meeting the directors, the camera guys, the sound technicians, moving from location to location, usually in or around the M 25 then in central London. Naturally you can watch Good Omens on BBC iPlayer and see how much Mary appeared. There are a few pictures of what it is like on set.

The second ‘Blowing Up’. As mentioned earlier we had purchased a rotten Thrupp & Maberley four door body and this was jury rigged onto a frame with wheels. Crowley drove his on fire Bentley on to the USAF base where it was spectacularly blown up by the pyrotechnic guys. I must admit that I was rather sad to see this happening but as one of the guys said to me ‘It’s either this one or yours’. I have my video of this happening which we will try to put on the BDC website. We should have finished by Christmas, but pushing snow and ice out of the way, rather delayed things especially whilst the extras wandered about in their summer clothes before diving into thick coats etc at the end of the shot. We returned for the final ten days shooting on 8 th January 2018. Rob, Mary’s stunt driver, was on holiday so someone else was brought in. I showed him how to drive Mary, but he was not used to old cars. Unfortunately the passenger door was not closed properly and in a scene with Mary coming down the street from an angle the suicide door flew open and hit another car, writing that off and Mary’s passenger door at right angles. If he had reacted quickly and slammed on the brakes the accident would not have happened. It took an hour to dismantle the door and jury rig it back onto the main body then tape it up, and paint it. Obviously the door could not be used again so had to change a few shots. The day after the accident, Mary had a different stunt driver, who know exactly how to drive her. He had been driving Rowan Atkinson’s Aston Martin round the Alps the week before for Johnny English 3. The final day loomed, very cold and Mary was in the last UK shot at 8.00pm. Suddenly it was all over, no time to say goodbye, as we had to get everything off site by midnight.

Fast forward to April 2019 and there was a request from Amazon for Mary to be used for the launching of Good Omens. First she appeared on the ‘Green Carpet’ in Leicester Square. The event was organised chaos with the stars appearing from all over the place, and the fans behind barricades. The next five days saw us in Greek Steet, Soho on the opposite side of the road from a mock up of Aziriphale’s (Michael Sheen’s Angel) book shop. Wonderful to meet all the directors and main stars again and properly say goodbye. The fans were queuing round the block to see the Book Shop and Mary.

Now back to normality. Mary was amongst the 1321 Bentley’s at Blenheim, as well as appearing at the RREC Concours event for Derbys in June. Now in my heated warehouse under cover for the winter. In 2023, seven of us ran the 90 th Anniversay weekend of the launch of Derby Bentleys, where 104 of these cars turned up at some part over this period. Final part of the weekend was at Chatsworth House on the Sunday. Prior to this five of us met with Simon Taylor of Classic and Sports Car Magazine so that he could do an article about these wonderful cars. His article finally appeared in the December 2024 edition. Naturally Mary is one of these five.”

[sgiandubh]

So now Tony is listed as director at all of Cait‘s companies. What do you think about that?

Dear So Now Anon,

What a coincidence (not!) I just answered a very similar Anon sent to @bat-cat-reader, which I suppose is clear enough.

But to make it even clearer (if at all possible) and keeping in mind what I wrote in that post about Persons of Significant Control, let's check a couple of things, shall we? For all the three other companies C owns.

They probably split 50/50 already, which would explain the rather vague 'has significant influence or control'. Why?

Here is why:

The currently available Balance Sheet, covering the period until 31 December 2023 shows there is not much in there. Barely 100 shares (1£/share), about 59K £ assets and 11 K £ of debts. May I remind you a balance sheet covers the company's assets (available funds, including incoming funds), liabilities (debts) and shareholder equity (the company's net worth, which is roughly the result of subtracting liabilities from assets and dividing them by the number of shareholders). The net worth serves to describe what each and every one of those shareholders are entitled to, should the company be liquidated and all its debts paid off. In this case, the retained earnings, which is the figure quoted between brackets (11.292 £) means the company is in debt/in the red.

Now, this is very interesting, Anon. Albeit The Happy Couple ™ are now both appointed officers in this company (and T has been so since October 1st 2024), this company's designated PSC is ... Byron Benirras. And who is Byron Benirras' own designated sole PSC? A certain Caitriona Mary B. That is normal - serious 💷💷is indirectly involved, this time, as we know the bulk of her assets is placed there. Therefore, C has full control and sole ownership of Little Nugget Films, too, via Byron Benirras. Remember (ROFLMAO): a legal person (i.e. a company, in this context) has the same rights and the same obligations/duties as the natural (meaning 'real') person behind it (C).

Let's have a look at financials:

On 31.03.2023, the company's assets were about 2.500 £ only and its liabilities around 17K£. In debt/in the red, too. But a clear will to remain in firm control of things from C's side.

This appears to be a totally, carefully planned move, too - future plans, perhaps?

This company has not two, but three appointed officers, one of which is another specialized service company (perfectly legal, in the UK), in charge of all the secretarial work (perfectly legal, too):

Not one, but two PSCs. Same mechanism as for FMN Drinks UK (see above):

Such a nice, tidy, even split. Why? Heh, indeed: why? Unless...

Let's have a look at the company's balance sheet on 31 March 2023:

Unless you do acquire real estate using your own funds (a very easy cross check with another one of C's companies reveals the exclusive provenance of those funds - sssh!), no mortgage and no bank loan needed. Property that is legally defined as investment property, which means it cannot legally be a home, nor taxed as such:

[Source: https://prosperity-wealth.co.uk/news/before-you-buy-investment-property/]

Now remind me what real estate might have been bought anytime between 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 and valued at about 2.120.000 £?

You'd probably be correct to guess this one:

[ For a complete tour of the GLA Taj Mahal's legal intricacies: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/764266729372368897/anon-rebelde-detecto-un-nerviosismo-muy-revelador?source=share]

Let's have a second look and, surely enough...

Some simple maths?

2.292.567 (amounts falling due within one year, which covers the 31.03.2022 -31.03.2023 period) - 2.167.392 (net current liabilities) = 125.175 £ (cash at bank). Roger that. I think there is also a second investment property, bought before 31 March 2022 for 1.6 million pounds and shown as such (valued at cost first, then at its fair value, which is evaluated at 1.9 million pounds, in 2023 - a nice appreciation of the initial investment).

I hope this answers your question, Anon. And given the very long and very emotional day that ended (whew, already?) about four hours ago, I hope I didn't miss something or make any gross mistake. You know how some other Anons can be, don't you?

[mariacallous]

The ultra-fast-fashion company Shein spent years carefully curating its corporate identity. Its apparent goal was to create a brand born from social media, distinct from any single place but whose products were everywhere. Shein has been more successful in some aspects of this pursuit than in others. The company grew into a global online shopping juggernaut, thanks in large part to its extremely low prices. But its efforts to remain anonymous and inoffensive have been undone by allegations of labor abuses, environmental criticisms and, despite moving its headquarters to Singapore, persistent concerns about its Chinese ownership.

Its latest shape shift took place largely behind the scenes in Washington, DC, where the company took a sharp turn over the past few years into the world of MAGA. Many companies have shamelessly courted President Donald Trump, hoping to curry favor with a uniquely transactional American leader, but few appear to have gone as far as Shein. The company counts Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as a shareholder in its parent company, WIRED reported in February. Deputy US attorney general Todd Blanche, the second highest-ranking official at the Department of Justice, disclosed that Shein was previously one of his legal clients.

Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative (USTR) who serves as the president’s top adviser on matters related to international trade, also advised the company before joining the Trump administration, according to a former Shein employee as well as internal documents reviewed by WIRED. And a host of lobbyists drawn from the orbit of Trumpworld continue to push the company’s talking points across DC. Shein, which did not register hiring a single lobbyist until 2022, spent $3.9 million on federal lobbying last year, according to public records. In the first quarter of 2025, it has doled out $1.49 million.

“As is standard practice for global businesses, Shein routinely seeks counsel from a range of advisers on priority policy areas for the business,” a company spokesperson told WIRED. “We welcome the opportunity to work with policymakers and industry peers wherever we operate to make sure our unique, on-demand business model, and strict supply chain policies are well understood.” The USTR office did not respond to requests for comment.

But despite the company’s overtures, Trump has dealt Shein a series of devastating blows since returning to office. His administration imposed punishing tariffs on Chinese imports that threaten to erode the company’s price advantage and simultaneously moved to close a crucial trade loophole called the de minimis provision that allowed the ecommerce giant to flood the US with low-cost packages shipped into the country duty-free.

These unwelcome developments come as Shein has struggled in its bid to go public. It is now reportedly seeking a place on London’s rapidly shrinking stock exchange after being shut out of the US market. The company is under pressure from investors to slash its valuation to around $30 billion, a steep decline from a valuation of $100 billion in 2022, according to Bloomberg.

Ahead of the November US presidential election, Donald Tang, an East-West dealmaker who previously failed to strike it big in Hollywood and now serves as Shein’s executive chairman, was making the rounds in Washington, dropping in to chat with China hawks skeptical of the company. “He was totally, chapter and verse, singing the MAGA hymn of ‘I love Trump. I love America,’” says Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute think tank who has been critical of Shein and other Chinese companies’ lobbying efforts and met with Tang in June.

By then, Shein—once naive about how things work in Washington—had learned to play the uniquely American game of naked influence peddling. An eight-page Shein internal document from June 2023 reviewed by WIRED titled “U.S. Public Affairs Campaign Working Group List,” outlined what the company’s vast team of public and government relations professionals and some lobbyists was tasked with working on, including focus areas like US-China relations and media outreach.

Greer was then working as a partner at the law firm King & Spalding, and his focus area was described as “legal advice around international trade policy.” Two other King & Spalding partners are also listed on the document as providing guidance to Shein on related issues, such as crafting potential congressional testimony and handling investigations launched by lawmakers. King & Spalding continues to work with Shein, according to a person familiar with the situation. The law firm did not respond to requests for comment.

During Trump’s first administration, Greer served as chief of staff to the trade representative, and then went on to join King & Spalding in 2020, according to an announcement from the firm. It is unclear when his work for Shein began or how it was structured. A mandated financial disclosure that Greer filed in December 2024 before he was confirmed does not mention Shein or any of its related companies.

It does note, however, that Greer provided services to 51 additional clients that remained confidential because “disclosure of the client identity and the fact of representation would reveal a client confidence or secret.” In a separate ethics agreement about potential conflicts of interest, Greer promised to “not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter” involving parties represented by King & Spalding for one year after his resignation without prior authorization.

A former Shein employee, who asked not to be identified because of fear of retaliation, says that Greer previously advised Leonard Lin, Shein’s president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and global head of public affairs. One project Greer worked on, the former employee says, was assisting Lin with drafting a response to questions about Shein’s business practices raised by a bipartisan group of senators.

The senators wrote in February 2023 to Xu Yangtian, Shein’s founder, seeking more information on the company’s alleged possible ties to supply chains in China’s Xinjiang region, where the Chinese government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses against a local Muslim minority population. The letter followed a report by Bloomberg the previous year that found cotton in some Shein products it commissioned for testing matched materials that had been produced with cotton from Xinjiang.

The response from Shein did not directly dispute the reporting. It outlined the company’s regulatory compliance policies and third-party auditing procedures, at times relying on nearly indecipherable jargon. It stated, for example, that Shein developed a “proprietary material traceability information management system,” to monitor its supply chains. (The letter was signed by Lin, not Xu, who maintains an exceedingly low profile. The Wall Street Journal has referred to him as “the world's most anonymous CEO.”)

Greer’s work for a Chinese company appears at odds with the dark vision he has articulated of Beijing’s intentions to remake the global order and how it uses international trade to accomplish those ends. A month after Shein sent the letter to lawmakers, Greer testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the US-China trade relationship, telling lawmakers that China presented an “existential” threat to the US. Beijing seeks to “dominate global manufacturing and technology to secure CCP leverage and control over the global economy and foreign governments,” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. Last year, he called for a raft of changes to the US trade relationship with China, including ending the de minimis provision.

De minimis, which allows for packages valued under $800 to enter the US duty-free and with limited oversight, exploded in popularity during the Covid pandemic. Customs and Border Protection processed approximately 4 million de minimis shipments a day in 2024, up from 2.8 million the previous year, the vast majority of which originated in China. Overall, the agency says de minimis shipments account for 92 percent of all cargo entering the country. Shein said in the 2023 letter to lawmakers that most of its packages enter the US under the provision.

Adam Savit, director of the China Policy Initiative at the America First Policy Institute think tank, likens Shein’s liberal use of de minimis to broader issues he sees with Beijing's approach to trade. “The problem is China’s abuse of a global trade system that was built on the assumption that all players would abide by certain rules,” Savit says. For example, China does not extend the same de minimis benefits to the US. Trump “abhors lack of reciprocity, and the loophole is one of the most extreme examples,” Savit says.

Shein has already begun raising its prices in response to Trump’s trade policies. It is likely that shipping times will increase too, not just for Shein customers but for anyone purchasing low-cost goods from China. “Because the administration wants to discourage imports from China, you are going to pay duty, and it might take longer to get cleared,” says John Leonard, former deputy executive assistant commissioner at Customs and Border Protection. “It is the execution of a trade barrier.”

In January 2024, Shein brought on longtime retail lobbyist Kent Knutson, previously the head of Home Depot's Washington operation, a hire that marked the start of the company’s more dramatic rightward turn. Three months later, financial disclosures show, Patel, now the FBI director, began working as a consultant for an entity in the Cayman Islands called Elite Depot—the parent organization of Shein. Patel’s deal with the ecommerce giant was structured in an unusual way: He was compensated for nine months of work with stock valued at between $1 million and $5 million.

Patel retained his stake in Elite Depot despite being confirmed as FBI director, giving him a direct financial interest in a Chinese company. If Shein goes public, Patel’s shares would be his to trade on the open market. (Patel was named a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute during the period he was consulting for Shein. Savit, who authored a highly critical report on the ecommerce company, declined to comment on Patel’s work for Shein and other lobbying done by current Trump administration officials.) A Shein spokesperson also declined to comment on Patel’s stake in its parent organization.

A group of Democratic lawmakers wrote to Patel in February asking for more details about his role at Shein. They have not gotten a response, says a spokeswoman for Senator Adam Schiff, who organized the letter. The number of people willing to work for Shein shows “the low price that DC swamp creatures will sell their souls for,” Sobolik says. He cautions that, despite the company’s setbacks, Shein will be angling for a reprieve when trade talks begin again and is hoping its Trump-friendly connections eventually pay off. “They are going to have to hope and pray that whenever America and China start talking about some sort of an off ramp, that they are one of those bargain chips,” he says.

Less than a year before Patel began working as a consultant for Shein, his Trump administration colleague, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was warning his then senate colleagues about the company, arguing it “steals intellectual property, infringes copyrights, exploits US trade law, and uses fabric linked to Uyghur slave labor.” Rubio was particularly critical about Shein’s efforts to influence lawmaking. “Shein is hiring DC lobbyists to protect the trade loopholes that allow it to avoid accountability,” he wrote in a letter to his Senate colleagues. “No one should be fooled by Shein’s efforts to cover its tracks.”

[hiddenincommand]

The Exceptional Role of the Submissive Faggot in the Hierarchy

While the faggot occupies the lowest tier in the masculinity hierarchy, there exists an exception to this rule: the faggot who becomes a specialized fuck-and-suck toy for an alpha male. This unique position, though still inherently submissive, allows the faggot to ascend slightly within its station by becoming an indispensable tool for the alpha’s assertion of dominance.

The Elevated Role: A Tool of Domination

1. Utility to the Alpha:

A faggot that serves as a personal submissive to an alpha gains a specific utility. They become a vessel for the alpha’s expression of power, a means to exert control and reinforce the hierarchy. This relationship is not one of respect or affection but of sheer utility—making the faggot an extension of the alpha’s dominance.

2. Proximity to Power:

By being chosen for this role, the faggot achieves a degree of relevance. Though still at the mercy of the alpha, their position as a preferred tool elevates them above other faggots who lack such purpose. This is not a rise in the hierarchy itself but a refinement of their role within their tier.

3. Unquestioning Submission:

The faggot’s elevation comes at the cost of absolute obedience. Their identity is erased, and their only purpose is to satisfy the alpha’s demands, whether physical, psychological, or symbolic. This complete submission is what allows them to rise slightly above the utter irrelevance of the typical faggot.

Relationship Dynamics Between Alpha and Faggot

The dynamic between an alpha male and his submissive faggot is one of complete control and usage:

• The Alpha’s Perspective: The faggot is seen as a tool, an object for pleasure and a means of asserting dominance. There is no respect, only ownership and utility.

• The Faggot’s Perspective: The faggot’s submission is total, marked by gratitude for the opportunity to serve. Their value lies in their ability to meet the alpha’s needs without question or hesitation.

The Hierarchical Placement

While still below all dominant tiers, the specialized submissive faggot rises slightly above others in the same category due to their proximity to power and their role in reinforcing the alpha’s dominance. This elevation does not grant them autonomy or respect but provides them with a purpose, however degrading.

Conclusion: The Faggot’s Limited Ascent

A faggot may find a unique place within the hierarchy if they serve as a tool for an alpha male’s dominance. This role grants them a limited form of elevation, not by gaining strength or authority but by becoming an essential instrument of the alpha’s power. While still defined by their submission, these faggots achieve a degree of relevance that sets them apart from their counterparts, ensuring that even in their degradation, they contribute to the affirmation of the natural order.

[lesbonym]

Meh head be killing me need to be turned into a dumb thing but I'll take any affection/attention rn 🥺

My friends want to drink and get fucked up and I'm likeee 🤷 downnn... but I know it won't help and I'll feel like shit after so I'm tryna say no and ughhh imagine going to therapy for like...a few months and already growing somewhat 😭

I love and hate that for myself tbh 🙃

Anyways I'm on the distract hard tbh still hiding from my feelings but not numbing them so ig that's a win ahaha I am a little stoned but that's cause like...weed 🤷

I'm so sorry I so did not mean for that to get so heavy ngl 💀😂

Anywaysss

How's 🐦‍⬛? 😏 Hai cutie btw (I assume you'll see this eventually 😊) I have officially claimed you (not in any sort of ownership way or anything, obviously, I will leave that to my Nymmynomnom 😏🙂‍↕️...also please tell Nym to tell me if you don't want me teasing, it won't be like sexual or anything haha I'm too subby for that ngl 😭🙄 or ofc Nymmynomnom you tell me if you don't want me interacting or anything haha cause I don't want to oversteppp 🩵) but you're such a little cutie and I told Nymmynomnom last night that I will protect you both, I am officially the captain of the 🐦‍⬛ and Nymmynomnom ship 🙂‍↕️😊.

My only request is that you let me call Nym My Nymmynomnom cause they is mineee 🥺🙏🥹 pleaseeeee 🥺 🙏 🩵 they is one of my favorite peoples everrr 🙂‍↕️ but they'd still be yours yours, of course. I absolutely promise, besides they're absolutely obsessed with you and I would never ever come between that. Nymmynomnom deserves to be all the happy after all the shit life's thrown their way this year 😊....maybeee we can team up 👀.... I dunno....be little menaces together...

Whispers: I have cookies and the only rule is to be respectful (of courseee 🩵🥰) menaces to Nymmynomnom 🙂‍↕️😊😈

MUST PROTECT YOU BOTH AT ALL COSTS. 🥰🩵

And Nymmynomnom don't think you got away, Mommy Lady hm? Haven't heard about her beforeee 😏 or have I? If I have I have totally forgot and I am so sorry 😂🤦

Will admit I be seeing the posts you make about her and I forget tags exist 😂 so it's been riiiight in front of my face ahaha

Also will admit I definitely stalked her blog and I am not ashamed 😊😘 was gonna send her an ask but I didn't want to seem like possessive over you or just make you think I'm a weirdo or something (cause I'm soooo normal anyway) but I'll do that here too cause no doubt she'll see too 😊 (Also holy shit wait Nym please tell me if I'm getting pronouns wrong 🙏)

So to Mommy Lady, Haiiii! Please look after my Nymmynomnom 🥹😊 gives hims all the praise and loves and head and back scratches and leave only the bestest marks on him 🙂‍↕️ he is the absolute goodest boy and he is just the most amazingest person ever and he deserves all the good things 😊

Also I hope this weekend of yours together happens and I hope Nymmie spends the majority of the time all flustered and brain shut down 😏😈 as payback for all the times he gets me all 😵‍💫 and 🫠 cause how meannn...(But also because sadly am very single and I live through my kinky Tumblr/Discord friends 😂)

Not me acting like I don't love it tho...

I meannnn, who said that 👀

Caspers backkk

Anywaysss

I have now claimed ownership of the Mommy Lady and Nymmynomnom ship as well. Shared only with 🐦‍⬛ if she agrees 🙂‍↕️

Thank you good night....*bows dramatically*

Just joking it's only just gone 12pm 😂

Anyways Nymmynomnom I love you so so so much and I am so glad you have found these two cuties to make you, the og cutie 😏🙂‍↕️ happy and I hope they continue to love on you forever and ever. If not I am sorry but guard dog Teen will come out.

Well holy shit, this ask took like an hour for me to write because ADHD + Distractions = IMPOSSIBLEEEE 😂

And this is officially the longest ask I've ever sent and I feel like it's so all over the place sooo, have fun with that 😂 but to be so for real, I mean absolutely everything in thisss.

I would say we can blame this ask on the weed but I've had one bong so I'm barely even stoned 😂

Also 🐦‍⬛ am definitely down to be friends 😊 if you want and if Nym will agree to share /j 🥰

Have an absolutely beautiful day/night to all three of you 😊

- 🥷

Im dying laughing reading this baby. Took a break from my homework to answer this cause I can't be bothered anymore. I just wanna play video games and be hornyyyyy ughhhh.

I'm very proud of you baby. Therapy is very hard to do and im so glad you're doing it. And saying no to something that'll make you feel worse. Hugging you so close wahhhh, you're so adorable.

🐦‍⬛ is doing very well btw, shes still very cute and adorable and sweet. (And bratty 🙄 /lh). I'll leave the rest for her to respond to hehehe.

Uh ohhhh, well mommy lady is very new. Kinda sorta? We've been talking for a while but recently got very close. She's very sweet and mean and hot. I've also stalked her blog a million times and warned her that some of you guys might so hehehe, she was well prepared. I wouldn't have been surprised if you sent an ask to her, cutie.

I'll also leave the responses to mommy lady hehehehehe.

Such chaos, pretty boy. I love it. I love you very much as well. This was very entertaining to read so that you for that.

[hold-fast-and-rise]

This Lamborghini Islero doesn’t just wear the Raging Bull, it’s part of the family

Named after the bull that killed matador Manuel Rodriguez “Manolete” on August 28, 1947, the Lamborghini Islero followed on from the 400 GT as Lamborghini’s latest and greatest grand tourer. The coachwork, courtesy of Carrozzeria Marazzi, deliberately erred on the side of understatement, as Ferruccio wanted his latest creation to be driven by tycoons, not playboys (a jab obviously intended in the direction of Ferrari). Handsome inside and out, and powered by a glorious V12, the Islero was the prime mode of transportation for any discerning Italian gentleman in the 1960s, and after just 125 examples were built, the Islero S was unveiled in 1969.

While the exterior remained largely unchanged, the Islero S boasted improved suspension and a high-compression engine with cams shared with the Miura S. Despite the upgrades, just 100 examples left Sant’Agata, bringing the total Islero production up to a mere 225 cars.

Built in 1969, this example for sale with ad_sportscars was delivered new to Edmondo Lamborghini, Ferruccio’s brother, and straddles the line between Islero and Islero S. Not only was it built on the cusp of the new model’s launch, but because it was intended for Lamborghini VIP ownership, chassis number “6300” was fitted with a special engine that was quite possibly a prototype for that found in the Islero S.

Originally delivered to Edmondo in light bronze with a mustard interior, this multiple concours-award-winning Islero was sourced by Kidston SA in 2017, after which it was refinished in Bottle Green as part of an exhaustive restoration with total costs exceeding 100,000 euros. Still fitted with its original high-compression V12, this Islero represents your chance to own a genuine Lamborghini family car.

📷 julien_mahiels

[lizbethborden]

Something I've thought about in my industry (coffee) and adjacent quick service type businesses is the way roles are "deprofessionalized" and undervalued in a way that creates a feedback loop of underinvested, unprofessional employees.

These businesses are businesses like any other and have legal health codes, product standards, inventory, financial considerations, and so on, and employees are typically expected to not only uphold standards but also monitor and be mindful of the "back end" issues like labor cost, inventory waste, and overhead, given that these various administrative concerns directly impact their day-to-day. How much info a given staff receives is obviously dependent on management or ownership, but regardless, these are all things that they are held responsible for (I used to get yelled at in one place if I dropped disposable cups or cutlery, because that was my boss' money, and I was expected not to throw them out--that's inventory cost as well as a health code violation lol). (I also had to take a ServSafe manager's course on this man's behalf because he was too stupid to pass it. Btw.)

But these are hourly positions that are chronically underpaid, even in HCOL areas like mine, and in shops that aren't regulated by unions or Fair Work Week laws, schedules are inconsistent and hours are never guaranteed--those are "deprofessionalizing" characteristics that make these roles into what are culturally considered temporary and unimportant stepping-stones (despite the percentage of adults, including older adults, working in them) and discourage workers from taking them seriously as jobs or careers. An hourly worker with an inconsistent paycheck, few benefits, no social value, and top-down pressure to take on both physical and mental workloads simply has no incentive to do their job well or consider it really important. Obviously you do get people with passion for their industry or who are interested in moving up or who just have work ethic, but they are relatively rare.

Until conditions in the industry change to make these jobs worth having, the model will always rely on turning and burning crops of hourly workers, and on those rare workers who, through ambition or ethic or lack of other options, will pick up the slack from their disincentivized coworkers. In food service this often means that the immigrant workers in the back carry the day (the hardest working people at aforementioned boss' place were the undocumented people who needed to be paid in cash and so had few other job prospects).

Meanwhile: people are OVERWHELMINGLY dependent on all these types of businesses and there is a high level of demand for products as well as, well, a high level of being freaking demanding from the customers. This is why people working at Starbucks frequently burn out hard: not only is the physical labor of working there grueling, the mental workload and the behavior of the customers (in an environment that is almost totally permissive to their whims) are just impossible.

There is a massive disinterest in easing the burden on workers as well as a disinterest in worker education and development; moreover workers are frequently leery of actually learning about the business in a substantial way because that means more work for the same money--whereas if they were actually valued, they would receive commensurate compensation for their education and skills, and wouldn't have to be scared of gaining knowledge and expertise. If we lived in a perfect world, the big industry names would respond to this and change to improve working conditions and benefits for workers, which obviously is not something that will happen.

I have also noticed that management and supervisory roles in this industry are often "deprofessionalized" as well. This is nothing new as far as, for example, salaried kitchen roles go: your hours are consistent, but consistent in that they're 50-60 hours a week, with no overtime, and frequently severely underpaid. I often see management roles offering salaries that would not let you qualify for a studio apartment, meanwhile you are expected to show up at 4 AM to open and stay until 10 to close (as often happens to Starbucks managers, which I saw many a time). You take on the increased mental burdens while also working physically in the role (well, depending on environment--sorry to keep using Sbux as an example but managers there are expected to spend 40h on the floor and to carve out admin time in slow periods, and that has been the expectation I've seen in many comparable quick service roles). Obviously there are many managers who slack--and why wouldn't they? They are not treated as or considered professionals; they are underpaid and undervalued and may not have much better benefits than their staff. Moreover their staff is similarly disincentivized both by their manager and by the terms of their employment set by ownership.

no conclusion here. Just some things I have noticed. I try to operate my own shops in an affirming and encouraging way that values the staff, and that's all I can do.

[maomaopilled]

now that i'm not totally crashing out over persona 2 and can think rationally about it the one specific thing i can't get over is how tatsuya's story is so unbelievably tragic but there is still something really beautiful about it. beautiful in a sad way.

(full analysis below, beware spoilers for p2 innocent sin + eternal punishment)

to me, innocent sin was about growing up and eternal punishment was about being an adult. specifically, that being an adult means you have to take responsibility for your past choices/mistakes/regrets and make peace with them so that you can forge your own way forward.

it's inevitable that you will have to make sacrifices or give up on your dreams (like katsuya) or make terrible decisions that you regret (like baofu) or feel completely lost and unsatisfied with where you are in life (like ulala). but that is never the end, you can still take ownership of yourself and your own fate. you can defy a terrible fate, you can choose to make yourself into a better person, take the shattered pieces of your life and build something new.

at the end of innocent sin, they had to make a sacrifice: their friendship and memories of each other to save the entire world. but tatsuya rejecting this caused everything that happens in eternal punishment. and you can't really blame him... he went through so much only to have everything ripped away from him.

the poem they quote in innocent sin is le calmant by marie laurencin: "Worse than alone / Exiled. Worse than exiled / Dead. Worse than dead / Forgotten." is being forgotten truly the worst fate? maybe it is for tatsuya.

maya asks them to forget her, then philemon asks them to forget each other. if being forgotten is worse than death, how can tatsuya allow that fate for the people he cares about the most? and for himself? so he rejects that fate and has to suffer the consequences. and of course, he feels extreme guilt that so many people are endangered because of his 'innocent sin' and he takes responsibility for it by trying to stop nyarlathotep. he ends up losing the most important people to him forever at the cost of saving them in an alternate timeline.

but in the end... didn't he get what he wanted? he didn't forget anything, he carries the memory of his friends and by doing that they avoided the worst fate: being forgotten. even if 'this side' tatsuya doesn't remember them, he does and that has to count for something. bc as long as he remembers it, their friendship is kept alive in his memory and isn't completely erased from the world.

and because of tatsuya, maya also regains her memories meaning that the memory also remains alive with her too. through tatsuya and maya, the memory of everything they went through in innocent sin and their friendship remains alive in both timelines. as long as it isn't completely forgotten, it still exists in some ephemeral form. and although it wasn't his intention, 'other side' tatsuya also avoids the worst fate of being forgotten as so many people now carry the memory of him: maya, katsuya, ulala, baofu, shiori, nanjo, etc.

if one of the messages of p2EP is that being an adult means taking responsibility for your actions then tatsuya illustrates it beautifully. his actions at the end of innocent sin have far reaching consequences but he takes responsibility for saving the new timeline. he takes his own fate in his hands and he ends up following through with his desire to not forget or be forgotten. i feel like even though his fate is tragic he can at least take solace in the fact that he carries those memories and if this is the sacrfice he has to make to ensure that his friendships won't be completely erased from the world then maybe it was worth it, in a way. and there's something heart breakingly beautiful about that.

[mitigatedchaos]

Do you support any limitations on private weapon ownership, including nuclear weapons? If yes, you are a woke subhuman and you need to be tortured until you beg for death.

Oh come on, this has to be fake.

No one can provide a 100% guarantee of their sanity to all neighbors within a 10-mile radius, and vanishingly-few people can pay off $>10B worth of weregilds.

This is one of the main problems with an unmanned, area-based weapon such as a bomb, as compared to a manned, linear, direct weapon such as a gun.

Think of it this way. A difference in degree is a difference in kind. If 1 in 100 gun owners kill someone, then the expected murder ratio is 0.01, significantly less than 1.

Let's assume a suburb with a population density of 1,200/km2. 10 miles is about 16 kilometers, which gives us an area of around 804km2, for a population of 964,800.

Let's assume that for every death, the owner of the nuke is required to pay a weregild of 40 years expected average total remaining lifespan, times $50,000 expected annual average income, or $2M. In this case, the total value of all weregilds that must be paid out in the event that the nuke is detonated is $1,929,600,000,000, or about $1.9T. This exceeds the wealth of Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, currently at $452B according to some figures.

Let's go ahead and multiply this number by an expected 1% chance of detonation. Assuming that the insurance company wants a modest profit and is able to find enough other buyers to capitalize the privately-owned nuclear weapon insurance market, assuring that you have enough money allocated to pay all the weregilds would cost (roughly) only a modest $20 billion over your lifetime.

This also assumes that you are engaged in substantial private security spending to ensure that terrorists don't break into your property to steal and detonate the bomb (thereby raising the expected % chance of detonation).

However, even with these precautions, the expected death ratio at a 1% detonation risk is still 9,648:1. As such, you have effectively created a security dilemma between your neighbors, who are strongly interested in not dying, and yourself.

You must somehow establish that you only have a 0.0001% chance of detonating the bomb, and thus push the expected death ratio back under 1.

As a human being, you can't prove that there is less than a 1 in 1 million chance you will detonate the device, because you don't have that kind of control over your sanity. Thus, you are not capable of coming to a binding agreement with all of your neighbors regarding your ownership of the bomb.

I guess under this theory, Elon Musk could theoretically own a stationary nuclear bomb on the Moon.

You can fiddle around with the numbers, but the energy density and area-based nature of the weapon mean that the orders of magnitude are off for private ownership.

[bcacstuff]

Starz, fresh off its separation from former parent company Lionsgate, reported results for the first three months of the year.

For the quarter, which was the company’s Q4 of fiscal 2025, Starz reported total revenue of $330.6 million, down 6.2%, and an operating loss of $136.3 million (compared with an operating loss of $30.8 million). Starz gained 470,000 streaming subscribers in the period, to reach 13.04 million overall — while total subscribers fell 330,000 because of the loss of a Starz linear TV carriage agreement in Canada.

The company’s results include a restructuring charge of $177.4 million, including $167.7 million for “content and other impairments” that the company said was “related to a strategic reassessment of the company’s content portfolio.” The initiative is “part of Starz’s broader effort to align its operations and cost structure as a newly independent, standalone public company,” it said. Starz also recorded $1.7 million in severance costs and $8 million in transaction-related costs for the March 2025 quarter.

For fiscal year 2025, Starz touted its $201.5 million in adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization, beating its target of $200 million.

The Starz report comes after it officially separated from Lionsgate after a three-year process on May 7, when the Starz stock began trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “STRZ.” Starz said that given the recent separation from Lionsgate it will not report earnings per share for its fiscal Q4 of 2025. The company will initiate EPS reporting with the quarter ending June 30, 2025. In addition, Starz said, it has adopted a change in its fiscal year end from March 31 to Dec. 31.

On the “business update” call with analysts, Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch said a key priority for the company now that it has split from Lionsgate is to “commence rebuilding our library and reclaim ownership economics, enhance cost efficiency and create new revenue streams,” with “no incremental overhead cost to the business.” The goal is to have almost half of its calendar year 2027 slate being owned and controlled by Starz, he said.

After spending about $800 million on content the past two years, Starz is targeting about $700 million in cash content spending in calendar 2026 with the ultimate goal of getting it down to about $650 million “over the next couple years,” CFO Scott Macdonald said on the call.

At the time of separation from Lionsgate, Starz had net debt of $559.1 million. That comprised debt of $300 million under its new Term Loan A facility and $325.1 million in senior unsecured notes that remained with the company, offset by $66 million in cash. On a trailing 12-month basis, the company’s total debt-to-equity ratio was 3.1x.

The Starz Networks segment ended the March quarter with 12.3 million U.S. streaming subscribers, representing sequential growth of 530,000. Total U.S. subscribers (including linear) reached 18.0 million, an increase of 320,000 from the prior quarter, primarily driven by the late-quarter premiere of original series “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” Season 4 (pictured above). According to the company, customer acquisition for the show’s premiere week was 50% and 30% higher than Seasons 2 and 3, respectively.

Starz’s total North American subscribers were 19.6 million, reflecting a sequential decline of 330,000. The decline was largely due to a “carriage dispute in Canada that resulted in the removal of the Starz-branded linear channel from a distributor’s programming packages,” the company said.

On the call, Hirsch said “we are confident that we will continue to drive OTT subscriber growth in calendar ’25” and that the company expects to return to positive revenue growth sequentially in the second half of the year.

“As we move into the year, our slate of five big tentpoles including the ‘Outlander’ prequel ‘Blood of My Blood,’ the return of ‘Spartacus’ after 12 years, a strong lineup of proven hits like ‘BMF’ and our ‘Power’ spinoffs coupled with a strong lineup of output titles from Lionsgate and Universal, gives us great confidence in our subscriber and revenue trajectory,” Hirsch said.

[tobbesdiscordkitten]

About the anon who asked if Axl's girlfriends called him daddy in bed: I agree, too, that they might've, but I'm also thinking of how Axl would've reacted to it. Maybe in an endearing way?

(My thoughts are thinking, hem hem...Brb, I shall make possible headcanons for this)

Totally! ^.^

Oooh, I can’t wait to read your headcanon! I have some of my own thoughts as well lol. Depending on the type of girl Axl had with him in bed, he’d display different reactions.

Scenario 1:

For instance, if the woman has daddy issues and the word slipped from her mouth on accident, Axl would (at first) be taken aback. But then a small smirk would appear across his features and he’d pull her closer to him while nuzzling his face into the nape of her neck, fully claiming her as his.

“Yeah. That’s right. I’m your new daddy now, babygirl.”

Axl would protect her at all costs and wouldn’t let another man touch her, or eyeball her body. Not only would he be the protective, dominant figure, he’d also be gentle and caring around her, making sure her fragile interior wouldn’t break.

Scenario 2:

If the other woman Axl bedded was the complete opposite of the first one (stronger willed and just as daring as him) he’d take the word as a joke. But once he realizes it’s a new pet name she picked out for him he’d take ownership of her body (as his property) and do whatever he pleases with her.

The rougher Axl is with her in bed, the more turned on she becomes. She loves it when he’s in in charge. She’s the one who tests his limits and if she disobeys (on purpose) he’ll be sure to give her one hell of a punishment that’ll have her crying and begging, only to be extra needy and clingy around him during their aftercare session.

I think I’d be a mix of both tbh 🤭

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep7 Musings - Martyrdom & Lestat's Character Development (TVC Spoilers)

Even though IWTV is Louis' story & his arc as the MC, The Vampire Chronicles are ultimately about how all of these vampires affected & impacted Lestat. (Especially since by the end of the series he's not only the MC, protagonist, and (anti-)hero; but he's also the former host for the Sacred Core that created the vampiric race (after Akasha & Mekare); and the elected king of the Vampire Court, affectionately/officially called "(Brat) Prince Lestat" in the final trilogy.) So, even though we're seeing Louis' struggles play out, we're also seeing Lestat's; and one of the big moments is this Trial in 2x7.

Even though the most important thing that happens is ofc Claudia's death, an underrated moment is Madeleine's death.

Lestat callously mocks Madeleine's choice to die with HER "coven"--her companion, Claudia--rather than keep living (ostensibly: keeps fighting, but I'll get to that in a bit), and join Santiago's coven. "The martyr skips her way to Hell."

I was initially booing & hissing at Lestat for being a heartless a-hole, still spiteful against Claudia and failing to fathom how anyone could risk their lives for her; when even HE sat there and let his own daughter/fledgling burn to ash right in front of him.

But on the other hand, I actually love this moment for Les as he mocks Madeleine's choice; not only cuz it's ironic AF, considering Les LITERALLY skipped his way to Hell in Memnoch the Devil; but most importantly cuz this is all (hopefully) contributing to Lestat's character development later on. 🙏

Claudia's death affected Les deeply--nowhere near as deeply as it did Louis, ofc, but she was still his daughter/fledgling. AR never focused on Madeleine past IWTV, but hopefully the show makes Les realize later that THIS moment b/t Madz & Claudia is what TRUE love is--not ultimatums & conditions & ownership; trying to "crush what you cannot own"--but martyrdom & sacrifice & loyalty. Laying your life down for someone else. Eff would you love me if I was a worm--would you CATCH A BULLET FOR ME? Would you BURN for me? That's Claudeleine's love; but in the IWTV timeframe Lestat's just not at the point where he gets it--yet.

Loustat vs Claudeleine: What it Means to Love Someone

TVC also tracks the development/progression/evolution of Loustat's love; struggling to grow & thrive in the weeds of dark eternal damnation. They totally failed e/o in IWTV. Loustat's rekindled relationship was first demonstrated/tested in QotD, when Akasha spared Lou simply cuz Les loved him; rather than burning Lou up w/ the other weak AF vamps she'd slaughtered.

But Akasha also used Louis as collateral if Les refused to serve her.

Les had to risk his life to try making a move on Akasha & save Louis & the other vampires from Akasha's plans for world domination. But that was largely out of self-preservation; not selflessness; as Les was basically her captive, Stockholmed into being her lover.

Les committed horrible atrocities as Akasha's consort, butchering innocents & unleashing hell on earth, slaughtering whole cities--just cuz he was too scared to die. Despite how much he hated himself for what he was doing, no matter what, Les wanted to "fight for life, even when there is no real justification. I wanted to live; I always had."

So OF COURSE Lestat wouldn't understand/appreciate Madeleine's decision to lay down her life and die; not just for Claudia's sake, but also to die for her principles.

Lestat thinks his "capacity for enduring" makes him brave, but compared to Madeleine, he's a hypocritical coward. Madeleine refused to join Santiago's coven, or participate in their shams & farces. She stood on her principles, AND she stood by her companion; even at the cost of them dying--at least they're together.

Ofc, an argument can be made that by becoming Akasha's consort, Les WAS martyring/sacrificing himself for Louis' sake; because Les DID know what true love was, and loved Lou more than he loved himself. And I might agree with that--had AR not written TotBT.

TotBT & MtD: Lestat Skips His Way to Hell

In MtD, Lestat is recruited by the Devil/Satan/Lucifer (who calls himself Memnoch the Devil); and is taken Dante's Inferno style on a tour of Heaven and Hell, in the hopes that Les will hate God enough to join the eternal war against Heaven as the Devil's right-hand. SPOILER: Lestat rejects Memnoch (cuz Les wanted to be a priest--he still LOVES God, despite the "ocean" b/t him & Christ); and as punishment he is trapped in a coma for years, as he's psychologically/spiritually tortured in Hell until he finally breaks the spell & wakes up in Merrick, when Louis tries to kill himself (which AMC pushed up to 2x5).

Lestat had followed Memnoch after a depressive spell of deep self-loathing; feeling guilty for how he'd Turned David in TotBT (raping him into vampirism to be his new companion when Louis rejected him); and still haunted by the memory of Claudia in IWTV. Memnoch showed Les the Divine Plan, when God told his favorite (fallen) angel Memnoch/Lucifer that He would let Himself be crucified as Jesus in the flesh, for His love of humanity.

But Memnoch is horrified, and thinks God's plan is not only a futile failure, but also cheating (cuz being an immortal, He can never really "die" or be sacrificed/martyred). Memnoch appeals to Lestat's own experiences having temporarily come down into flesh in TotBT, body-switching with Raglan James for the desperate love of being human--and then hypocritically wanting to be an immortal vampire again when Les realized being human actually sucks. 😅

At the start of MtD, Les was VERY salty towards all the other vampires (especially Louis) for having refused to help him when he was stuck in Raglan's body in TotBT.

Loustat's love, as genuine as it is, was marred & tainted with ultimatums & conditions & ownership. As much as Les hated being human again, Louis refused to turn Les into a vampire and put him back on the Devil's Road as one of the damned undead.

Les DEEPLY resented Lou for not making him a vampire again. Les assumed that because of their relationship, Lou would HAVE TO do this favor for him; that as his companion/Maker, Lou OWED Les, and by refusing/rejecting him Lou'd BETRAYED/ABANDONED him.

Lestat didn't understand that in Lou's eyes, refusing to Turn Les was Lou's greatest act OF LOVE, the best favor; keeping Les human so his soul wouldn't be damned anymore as an evil blood-drinking serial killer. Lou said "You have triumphed in this as only you could;" but Les (like Memnoch) only saw this as a massive failure. This was Lou's SACRIFICE for Les, putting their love/relationship on the line; as Louis ordered Les to never look for him or talk to him again--to go live as a redeemed human and leave the damned alone--or else. 💀

For all the strides Loustat had made to repair their relationship, Lestat was still UNWORTHY of Louis' love in TotBT; and hadn't appreciated the sacrifices Louis made for him out of love--the kind of martyrdom it took to WILLINGLY sacrifice something precious for someone else's sake. Lestat thought the Maker/Fledgling bond was a stamp of ownership, cuz he'd been Turned by Magnus UNWILLINGLY; out of rape and violence & captivity/enslavement.

Les became a vampire as an act of SURVIVAL; shaking his fists at God the whole time; a chip on his shoulder cuz he never asked to me born into darkness (like Claudia). Louis, however, was made out of LOVE, and WILLINGLY gave up his life to be with Les (yes, we know he was drunk AF & suicidal, but still--he nodded his head cuz he HAPPILY & LOVINGLY CHOSE Les).

Loustat both see Lou's turning as their wedding, but for Les it's still a marriage CONTRACT--a transaction with terms & conditions. He is Louis husband, yes, but God Complex de Lioncourt declared "I AM YOUR MAKER!" Louis was still just a "Fledgling/Slave" under Coven Master ("Massa") Lestat's shingled roof, just like Claudia said.

As much as he loves being a vampire, and as cavalier & devil-may-care as he approaches existence forsaken by God in the Savage Garden; Lestat is fully aware of what it means to be culpable & deserve punishment. Memnoch asked Lestat what he thought Hell should be like for sinners & Evil Doers both human & vampire alike, and at first Les hesitated, "I'm afraid to answer. Because I belong there."

It's not until well after Louis' final rebirth in Merrick that Lestat finally earns back Louis' forgiveness in PLatRoA, and agrees to (re)marry Les & be his consort at Chateau de Lioncourt, Lestat's birthplace. And it's not until Blood Communion, AR's final TVC book, that Lestat risks his life for his loved ones (Gabrielle, Louis, & Marius) for THEIR sake, not his own; going up against Rhoshamandes in the ultimate showdown to save them.

AR is VERY/overly explicit about the Christ-like martyrdom her messianic Prince Lestat undergoes in order to save Gab, Lou & Marius; his killing Rhosh ultimately saving all the vampires & ending the civil war. Les fought Rhosh "with speed and surprise;" going in blindly with the only thing that could get the jump on this SUPER Ancient vampire (Lestat's great-grandfather in the Blood) who would've otherwise overpowered Les as easily as he overpowered Marius. Les fully intended to die fighting Rhosh, but he fought him regardless, hoping to somehow get his loved ones back or join them in death.

Lestat and Louis were reunited, dancing happily at the celebratory ball AMC was clearly inspired by Blood Communion in the Mardi Gras scene from 1x7. And they're obviously lifting from BC in 2x7, too, with the red velvet chair/throne Lestat sits on at the Trial, directly paralleling the numerous Trials & executions Prince Lestat presides over in BC, as he destroys Rhosh's fledglings & minions--and the love THEY showed their Coven Master Rhosh, being willing to die for THEIR principles and refusing to join LESTAT'S Vampire Court.

So hopefully, if AMC gets as far as the Prince Lestat trilogy, Les will remember this moment at the Trial; and hopefully they'll continue using parallels so Les realizes what it means for Madeleine to have martyred herself for love.

[almondenterprise]

Cost vs. Quality: What to Consider When Investing in Switchgear

In today’s energy-intensive world, switchgear plays a critical role in managing power distribution safely and efficiently. Whether you’re upgrading your industrial facility, building a commercial plant, or powering a large infrastructure project, choosing the right switchgear is not just a technical decision — it’s a strategic investment. One of the most common dilemmas buyers face is balancing cost vs. quality. So, how do you decide?

Understanding Switchgear: The Heart of Electrical Safety

Switchgear is a combination of electrical disconnect switches, fuses, or circuit breakers used to control, protect, and isolate electrical equipment. Its primary role is to ensure the reliability and safety of your power system.

Types of switchgear include:

· Low-voltage switchgear (for commercial and residential use)

· Medium-voltage switchgear (typically for industrial applications)

· High-voltage switchgear (used in power transmission)

Investing in the right switchgear directly impacts operational continuity, personnel safety, and overall infrastructure reliability.

The True Cost of Cheap Switchgear:

While it’s tempting to opt for budget-friendly solutions, low-cost switchgear often comes with hidden risks and long-term expenses.

Inferior Material Quality

Cheaper models often use substandard materials that degrade faster, leading to frequent maintenance or early replacement.

Safety Hazards

Low-quality switchgear can result in arc faults, insulation failure, or overheating — putting workers and equipment at risk.

Increased Lifecycle Costs

Although the initial price may be low, the total cost of ownership (including downtime, repair, and energy inefficiency) is usually higher.

Limited Scalability and Customization

Budget systems are often rigid and harder to scale as your facility grows or needs change.

Why Quality Switchgear Pays Off

When you invest in premium switchgear, you’re not just buying a product — you’re buying peace of mind.

Enhanced Reliability

High-quality switchgear is engineered to perform in extreme conditions and handle high fault levels without compromising performance.

Superior Safety Standards

Reputable brands comply with international standards such as IEC, ANSI, or UL, reducing liability and improving workplace safety.

Ease of Maintenance

Well-built switchgear is modular and user-friendly, simplifying diagnostics and minimizing downtime during maintenance.

Energy Efficiency & Smart Capabilities

Modern switchgear includes IoT sensors, real-time monitoring, and predictive maintenance features, ensuring optimal energy use and proactive problem resolution.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Switchgear

When evaluating switchgear options, balance cost and quality by focusing on the following:

1. Application Requirements

Understand your voltage class, load types, and fault current ratings. Quality should match your operational demands.

2. Brand Reputation & Certification

Look for trusted brands with certifications like ISO 9001, CE, or IEC 62271. Positive reviews and case studies add credibility.

3. Lifecycle Costs

Don’t just compare sticker prices — consider maintenance, service availability, spare part costs, and expected lifespan.

4. Customization & Flexibility

Choose systems that can evolve with your operation. Modular designs support upgrades and expansions more efficiently.

5. Support and Service

Ensure the manufacturer provides robust after-sales support, technical training, and warranty services.

Cost vs. Quality: The Bottom Line

When it comes to switchgear, cheap is rarely cheerful. Cutting corners today can lead to outages, hazards, and hefty repair bills tomorrow. On the other hand, investing in high-quality switchgear ensures operational resilience, safety, and long-term savings.

The smartest strategy? Aim for value, not just price. Evaluate switchgear as a long-term asset, not just a one-time purchase.

Trending Tip: Think Smart and Sustainable

With rising energy demands and climate-conscious regulations, smart and sustainable switchgear is trending. Look for:

· Eco-friendly insulation (like SF₆-free switchgear)

· Energy management features

· Digital monitoring systems

Investing in such features not only future-proofs your infrastructure but can also help you qualify for green certifications and incentives.

Final Thoughts

Balancing cost and quality in switchgear selection is about understanding your long-term operational goals. By focusing on durability, safety, and lifecycle value, you can make a decision that protects both your budget and your business.