#aternative history

[noovorous]

Now, I don't plan on really writing it but I am amused by an idea for an alternate history setting in which some branch of broadly defined gnosticism (probably one with no ban on reproduction akin to Mandaeism) becomes the mainstream of christianity and world's most popular religion. It would be a delight to have a shallow/"orientalist" depiction of more "standard" christians by members of this faith. Something along the lines of:

"World's oldest doomsday cult, widely known for obsession with displayed bones of their martyrs, they worship the foul demiurge conflating him with the Most High Monad. Their most venerated figure analogous to John the Baptist, Greatest of Prophets is the born fatherless abomination Yeshua the Nazarene alongside his witch mother. Despite the common belief the cannibalism in their rituals is purely symbolic."

You get my vision? And then the POV characters can encounter those non-gnostic christians and be like: actually, they're not that bad, weird maybe but no worse than us.

[ibtk]

Book Review: OUTLAWED by Anna North (2021)

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Trigger warning for mental illness, homophobia, misogyny, and rape. Caution: there are vague spoilers ahead!)

In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. Like a lot of things, it didn’t happen all at once. First I had to get married.

“When someone believes in something,” Mama said, “you can’t just take it away. You have to give them something to replace it."

“We may be barren in body, dear Doctor, but we shall be fathers of many nations, fathers and mothers both. You see, when we found this land, I knew it was promised not just for us, but for the descendants of our minds and hearts, all those cast out of their homes and banished by their families, all those slandered and maligned, imprisoned and abused, for no crime but that God saw fit not to plant children in their wombs. I knew that we would build a nation of the dispossessed, where we would be not barren women, but kings.”

The eldest of a midwife's four daughters, and her mother's apprentice at that, seventeen-year-old Ada Magnusson is more scientifically-minded than most in the small town of Fairchild. Yet she's still subject to their superstitions, which are turned on Ada in full force when she fails to become pregnant after a year of marriage. Things go from bad to worse when an outbreak of the German measles results in three miscarriages. The people of Fairchild need someone to blame - and Ada has become their newest witch.

Ada's mom sends her off to a convent, the Sisters of the Holy Child, which is mostly populated by barren women like herself. It is here that Ada begins her life of crime, copying illicit books in the storeroom under the library in exchange for coins to spend on yet more books. Ada is determined to unlock the secrets of her "treacherous" body - to find out why some women are incapable of bearing children - so that she may save other unlucky women from ostracism, jail, or the gallows.

It's here that she learns of Mrs. Alice Schaeffer, a doctor studying infertility, and her call for research subjects in the west. But in place of Pagosa Springs, the Mother Superior gives Ada a choice: the habit or the Hole in the Wall. Ada chooses the latter, a notorious gang of outlaws led by the Kid, " a man tall as a pine tree and as strong as a grizzly bear, who once shot a deputy’s hat off his head while riding backward on his horse."

The Hole in the Wall Gang is not what Ada expected: a seven-member found family of "deviant" women (some of them queer, and arguably nonbinary), all cast off from society like Ada. Here Ada - christened "the Doctor" - finds a tenuous sort of kinship, even as she longs for Mrs. Schaeffer's promise of knowledge. But the Gang is always a few botched jobs away from starvation, even as the Kid's grand dreams threaten to steer them towards implosion.

The world created by Anna North in OUTLAWED is fascinating, at once both wholly familiar and eerily strange - almost like an Uncanny Valley of space and place. The book feels like historical fiction but is really alternative history: in this version of the American West, a Great Flu ravaged the country in the 1830s, killing 9 out of 10 men, women, and children.

The new Christianity that rose out of the wreckage celebrates fertility: women are encouraged to have as many children as possible, and doing so grants them "special" rights. For example, a woman may divorce her husband after having three children, and a woman with four children is practically unimpeachable. Premarital sex isn't necessarily a bad thing - but if you run around with a guy for long enough without becoming pregnant, your barrenness (not your promiscuity) will become the grist of rumor mills.

This obsession with BABIES! and women's bodies is all downsides, of course: being childfree is not a valid lifestyle choice, and women who don't have kids are branded as witches. And of course, abortion is illegal - even in cases of rape and incest.

OUTLAWED feels a bit like a Western spin on THE HANDMAID'S TALE, save for these little details; it's rather disconcerting, like everything is off by four or five degrees, and the ground is all wibbly wobbling under you. And I kind of love it. The setting is its own character.

I also adore the Hole in the Wall Gang - no surprise there! - the dynamics of which are messy and complex and wonderful. The Kid, Cassie, Elzy, Texas, Lo, News, Agnes Rose - if I was going to take on the white supremacist patriarchy, I'd want them by my side.

The big score - aka the Kid's plan to rob the Fiddleback bank and then use the proceeds to buy the whole gorram town - is as daring as it is full of holes, but damned if I wasn't rooting for it. And while it doesn't go down quite like in the Kid's imagination, the ending is so much more grounded and inspiring than I might have hoped for. (I started 2021 with a new RGB calendar, and January's quote seems apropos: "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.")

OUTLAWED is an odd, unexpected, thoughtful, heartfelt feminist tale about trying to make the world a better place - even as tries its damnedest to grind you down. So, like, the kind of story we need now more than ever.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3727120876

https://www.librarything.com/work/25210685/reviews/187450275

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Ladybug Puppet Show 9

Origins Part 1

“Hello everyone!” Luka greeted everyone in the classroom by saying hello. He was a little taken aback when everyone waved back and some stared at him.

“Ok, the goggles I kinda dig, too steampunk for my tastes, but they have their own charm” said Alya eyeing the newcomer. “But why are you dressed like a Ninja Turtle?”

“To get in character!” he explained, with a dramatic pose.

“And the Captain America toy shield?”

“I’m on a budget.”

“Ah”

“Besides, do you know how hard it is to find Carapace merchandise?”

“Tell me about it! He’s the best one… after Ladybug and Queen Bee, of course, so one would expect for him to be included in all stuff!”

“Are you still crushing on him, eh Chloe?”

“Well, duh, he’s still a fine piece of…”

“Kagami! Hi!” Adrien greeted his friend when he noticed she had arrived and was looking at Luka and Rose weirdly.

“Hello. A background extra told me you were here. Ready for some good old sword to sword combat?”

“I thought you guys had fencing until tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but we’re practicing for the Renaissance Fair with real swords and name calling.”

“Oh…kay”

“SO! We’re kind of in the middle of our Ladybug Show and Adrien is an important part of this.”

“But I’m not voicing anyone or anything”

“I thought you were Chat Noir?”

“Spoilers, but no, that’s Kim”

“Well, since we rewrote a bit to make the Keeper and the Narrator different people, we kinda wanted you to be the narrator”

“I can narrate” said Kagami flipping through the script that Marinette had lent her. “This sounds fun”

“Thanks but you are kind of… stoic.”

“I can do other emotions”

“Other than angry?”

Kagami cleared her throat and dramatically placed the script at an appropriate reading level. “A long time ago, in a land far away, lived Princess Tikki, she was cute as a peach, in a pineapple way…” Kagami stopped her dramatic reading for a second and reread that line in her head again several times “wait, isn’t this a song from that Disney movie?”

“Yeah, Marc is kind of obsessed with Disney and made us put that in”

“High School Musical and is a cinematic masterpiece and very few movies have managed to achieve what they have done”

“Let me guess, Teen Beach Movie, Descendants and Camp Rock?”

“No, Camp Rock sucks. All the others, yes.”

“Well, if we’re done lusting after Zac Efron…”

“Alya, please, we’ll never be done lusting after Zac Efron. Have you seen Nathaniel’s comic?”

“… well, I have, I’m not sure if I like the TroyxRyan aternate ending”

“What can I say? Lucas Grabeel is more to my tastes”

“Yeah, but you didn’t had to include the ‘wedding night’”

“It was a commission AND I told you not to keep swiping…”

“Hey, let’s focus on the important, Kagami can read!”

“… excuse me?”

“I mean, Kagami can be our narrator. She has a nice voice… and this would add some color to our whitewashed cast” said Marinette pointing to Luka, Mylene, Aurore and Chloe. Kim felt offended he wasn’t pointed.

“Oh. I’m glad you think like that, because we decided to make you our Keeper”

“WHAT? Why me??? I’m busy with the puppet making and stuff!” Marinette replied, pointing to the box that had the puppets inside, with a frog-like creature wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

“He only appears every other episode and gives cryptic advice that the heroes must decipher on their own, it will be a piece of cake”

“FINE!” Marinette agreed finally, just to stop thinking how on point they were being about Grandpa Chan character.

“Okay, let’s start, Narrator?”

“A long time ago, in a land far away, lived Princess Tikki, she was cute as a peach in a pineapple way, although she hardly speak…y. She was born in the Silver Miraculous Kingdom, based on the moon. Princess Tikki fell in love with ... Zefron.., a prince of earth, but because of evil Queen Grimhilde, earthlings and moonies started a war. As a last resort, Princess Tikki sacrificed herself and created the Miraculous, magic jewels that bestow extraordinary powers to those that hold them. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race.”

“As a descendant of Princess Tikki… wait, I thought she had sacrificed herself?”

“… she… huh… she left an egg behind. Go with the flow MariKeeper!”

“Tikki will kill me… AHEM! As a Descendant of Princess Tikki, my duty for eons has been to keep the Miraculous safe and sound, and to choose worthy individuals when times of great need arise. I am the Keeper.”

“But this idiot couldn’t even do this basic thing and ended up losing one of the Miraculous, that of the Butterfly”

“Hey, everything was fine until the fire nation attacked!”

“Wrong show, and you still lost the Butterfly and its current holder is now causing trouble”

“Shush you disembodied voice, I’m going to chose five teenagers with attitude to fight against the current holder”

“You’re going to try to recover the Miraculous by losing even more? Specifically the ones he’s currently after?”

“Don’t question the traditions of my people!”

“Boop boop. And so, The Keeper chose five teenagers to be the current team of Miraculous holders that would hopefully recover the Butterfly Miraculous and not destroy the world in the process.”

“Carapace!” yelled Luka, which startled everyone, even Juleka. “With the Power of the Turtle, Protection is my game!”

“Rena Rouge!” said Aurore, adding a flirty wink at the end. “Illusions are my passion, I am the Fox”

“Queen Bee!” added Chloe, glaring at Aurore. Now she wouldn’t be able to play herself as the flirty one. “I am Bee. I am Queen… seriously?”

“Go with the flow Chlo-Chlo!” Chloe rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry.

“Chat Noir!” yelled Kim as enthusiastically as he could. “I’m just a Cat, at night I rule, my ring is charged with energy, my claws are out, just watch and see!”

“Chat, the camera is on the other direction” Mylene read from the script. “Hi! I’m Ladybug, my power is Common Sense!”

“Miracuteam!” yelled the five of them at the same time.

“Miracuteam? If that’s how they want to be called…”

“Well Mister… err… Miss Narrator, I wanted ‘Queen Bee and her Fabulous Four’ but these peasants thought otherwise”

“Impudent fools!” added Rose in the hammiest tone she could muster. “Now the Butterfly is the one putting traps, and those fools fell for it. It’s only a matter of time until I get their Miraculous and conquer the world MWAHAHAHA… or get Ice Cream. My motives are vague at best.”

“No adlibbing Rose!... Although I liked the evil laugh. Ok, we’ll keep that.”

 -

And once Again, the day was saved thanks to a bunch of puppets controlled by some amateurs! Well, that's the Secret Origins of the Miraculous Team. Can you guess how many things Alya and Cia. are ripping off?

And yes, Marc is totally a Disney fanboy.

[tubal-facts]

FAQ: “Can I get pregnant after a bilateral salpingectomy?” - Complete removal of fallopian tubes

Bilateral salpingectomy as a contraceptive method is virtually 100% effective

Bilateral salpingectomy as a contraceptive sterilization method is virtually 100% effective at preventing pregnancy.

We are able to find one case of a viable post-bilateral-salpingectomy pregnancy in the medical literature. A second has been reported in a newspaper.

In the medical literature, there are a handful of other cases of spontaneous pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy, but they were nonviable ovarian ectopics or tubal ectopics in the stump.

The details on all of these cases are below. In all cases, the full texts contain surgical pictures showing that both fallopian tubes were completely removed.

Most of the cases below are from before bilateral salpingectomies were widely performed for the purpose of sterilization. It is possible that as more bilateral salpingectomies are performed, more cases of pregnancies could arise. Nevertheless, we estimate that bilateral salpingectomy prevents virtually all pregnancies.

Case 1 - January 1994 - Nonviable

"Pregnancy in the uterine horn after total salpingectomy." Rev Fr Gynecol Obstet. 1994 Jan;89(1):36-43. Cousin C, Letoquart JP, Leveque J, Massicot R, Grall JY, Mambrini A.

"The authors report a case of pregnancy of the uterine horn occurring after total salpingectomy." This is the first case we could find.

Case 2 - March 2005 - Nonviable (resolved spontaneously)

"Spontaneous pregnancy after bilateral salpingectomy." Fertil Steril. 2005 Mar;83(3):767-8. Bollapragada SS, Bandyopadhyay S, Serle E, Baird C.

A case report "[to] report a rare case of spontaneous pregnancy following bilateral salpingectomy" at a "[m]aternity unit at a district general hospital in the United Kingdom", in which a "healthy 38-year-old woman with a history of bilateral salpingectomy" was "diagnosed with a noncontinuing pregnancy that resolved spontaneously" - i.e. the pregnancy was nonviable and resolved itself. (The authors also note: "A MEDLINE search revealed that this is the first reported case of spontaneous pregnancy following bilateral salpingectomy in the English-language literature and possibly only the second in world literature." The full text of the above article from January 1994 is in French.)

Case 3 - 2007 - Nonviable (treated surgically; patient recovered normally)

"Tubal ectopic pregnancy following bilateral salphingectomies." Singapore Med .1 2007; 48(8):787-788. Joosoph J, Siow A. (PDF)

"A 31-year-old woman with one previous vaginal birth, one caesarean section and two previous ectopic pregnancies", who had previously undergone bilateral salpingectomies to treat her ectopic pregnancies, was found to be pregnant by a urine test. However, her "uterine cavity was empty". The pregnancy had occurred in a tiny remnant of one of her fallopian tubes that was not removed (possibly could not have been removed) during her prior surgeries. The patient underwent surgery to remove the mass and "recovered uneventfully after the surgery and was discharged the following day."

Case 4 - April 2008 - Viable (patient decided to terminate the pregnancy)

"Pregnancy following bilateral salpingectomy." Ugeskr Laeger. 2008 Apr 21;170(17):1437-8. Bang A.

"This report presents a rare case of spontaneous pregnancy following bilateral salpingectomy. A woman with a history of bilateral salpingectomy was admitted to hospital because of abdominal pain and positive urine HCG. Surprisingly, ultrasound confirmed a live intrauterine fetus. The pregnancy was unwanted, and the woman decided to terminate the pregnancy."

Case 5 - September 2014 - Nonviable (treated surgically; patient recovered normally)

"An Ovarian Pregnancy in a Patient with a History of Bilateral Salpingectomies: A Rare Case." Case Reports in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Volume 2015, Article ID 740376, 3 pages. Sadia Khandaker, Pranav Chitkara, Eric Cochran, and Jed Cutler.

"The patient is a 32-year-old [who had had 5 pregnancies in the past] [...] The patient had informed the emergency staff that she could not be pregnant, as she had both tubes previously removed. Despite this, a urine pregnancy test was ordered as part of the emergency room's routine lab work, and it was found to be positive. [...]

"The impression was a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and surgical intervention was recommended. The patient consented and laparoscopy was performed. Upon entry into the abdomen, 1000 milliliters of clotted and liquid blood was found. The stumps of both fallopian tubes were present [...]"

As explained in our full article on bilateral salpingectomy, it is not possible to remove the stumps of the tubes because these sections travel through the muscle of the uterus. For this reason, it is possible (through very rare) for a pregnancy to occur within these stumps. In this case, Fig. 2 within the article "confirms the diagnosis of an ovarian pregnancy."

Case 6 - May 2019 - Viable (live birth)

"Missouri woman gets pregnant after fallopian tubes removed" - The Kansas City Star, published May 27, 2019 by Andy Marso.

Unlike the cases above, this is not a medical paper. However, we wanted to publish the article anyway, so that you can read it and decide for yourself.

The article is credible in that both the patient and the author get several key details right, which these sorts of articles usually don't - for example: the difference between partial bilateral salpingectomy for tubal ligation and complete bilateral salpingectomy (which this patient underwent); the ovarian cancer risk reduction; the benefits of bilateral salpingectomy; the prior case reports of post-bilateral-salpingectomy pregnancies in the medical literature; and other details.

At the least, it seems that the patient really did have a bilateral salpingectomy (as opposed to a tubal ligation or a unilateral salpingectomy):

"Kough's medical records from Virginia, which she provided to The Star, indicate that the surgery was a success. They include not only the surgeon's notes but also a report from a pathologist who confirmed seeing Kough's fallopian tubes, outside her body, after they were removed.

"Still, Kough said that when Benjamin was born via planned cesarean section, the surgeons double-checked.

"'They said, 'No there's nothing there. The surgeon did everything correctly. There's no tubes,' Kough said.'"

The article itself hypothesizes that the stumps may not have been sealed properly:

A 2007 article published in the Singapore Medical Journal theorized that in some women who have both tubes removed [...] the area where the fallopian tube previously connected to the uterus may not completely close over. In very rare cases, an egg might travel through the space between the ovary and the uterus [...] and reach that opening [...]

This would nevertheless be considered a sterilization failure from a medical perspective.

Again, this is not a medical paper, and we will make an update to this page if this case is ever published in a medical journal. This is still an extremely recent case.

More information on bilateral salpingectomy for sterilization

[ao3feed-multifandom]

THG FF AWARDS (Categories update)

Hi, this are the THG Fanfiction Awards

So, I was thinking about a THG FF awards. People can subscribe their works or the one of the others and then there will be a Vote/poll.

IT WILL CONSIST IN TWO PARTS:

A)LONG-OS AND MULTICHAPTERED-FICS (AKA THG FANFICTIONS AWARDS)

B) ONE-SHOT, LESS THAN 12K FOR ALL THE CATEGORIES BUT SOULMATES AU THAT HAS TO BE LESS THAN 4K OF WORDS (AKA THG ONE-SHOT AWARDS)

These are the categories FOR the FIRST PART:

1-BEST CANON DIVERGENCE HUNGER GAMES FIC (only the event of the first book)

2-BEST CANON DIVERGENCE CF FIC

3-BEST CANON DIVERGENCE MJ FIC

4- BEST CANON DIVERGENCE THG FIC (covered time-Lines: Pre-thg that changes the course of the books OR from the pre-thg to mj or post-mj OR from hunger games to mj or post-mj with changes in all of the three books. If it changes the event of only the first book, the atter will be considered as 1- canon divergence hunger games fic.)

5-BEST ATERNATE UNIVERSE EVERLARK FIC

6-BEST AU HAYFFIE FIC

7-BEST AU GADGE FIC

8- BEST MODERN AU EVERLARK FIC

9- BEST MODERN AU HAYFFIE FIC

10- BEST MODERN AU GADGE FIC

11- BEST POST MJ EVERLARK FIC

12- BEST POST MJ HAYFFIE FIC

13- TOP THREE POST MJ CRACK SHIPS FIC (Johanna x Katniss, Gale x Johanna/Cressida/Annie/Enobaria, Annie/Johanna, Katniss/Haymitch, Delly x Tom, etc..) Threesome/Foursome are considered crack ships.

14- BEST DYSTOPIAN AU (POST-MJ or not)

15- TOP THREE ODESTA FICS (au, modern AU, etc..)

16- TOP THREE JONISS FICS (au, modern AU, etc..)

17- TOP THREE CLATO FICS (au, modern au, etc..)

18- TOP THREE EVERTHORNE FICS (au, modern au, post-mj, etc..)

19- TOP THREE CRACK SHIPS AU FICS (Au/Modern AU/Canon-divergence with a slightly change on the history itself, etc..)

20- BEST EVERLARK CHRISTMAS FIC

21- TOP THREE NON-EVERLARK CHRISTMAS FICS (all the Christmas fics about couples that aren’t Peeta x Katniss)

22- TOP THREE HOLIDAY FICS (all holidays BUT Christmas)

23- TOP THREE SOULMATES AU FIC (there will be a Podium. Position N.1, N.2, N.3).

This can have less words. Min. 4k words.!

24- TOP THREE HISTORICAL AU FIC (there will be a podium. Position N.1, N.2, N.3)

25- TOP THREE CANON EVENT FIC (Canon event pre-thg, Books told from other characters, Missing moments like the Victory Tour,etc..)

[blogwiseguy123world]

Global Customer Experience Monitoring Software Market  Analysis, Historic Data and forecast 2019-2023

Summary – A new market study, titled "Global Customer Experience Monitoring Software Market Report, History and Forecast 2014-2025, Breakdown Data by Companies, Key Regions, Types and Application" has been featured on WiseGuyReports.

This report studies the Customer Experience Monitoring Software market size by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.

Also read – https://www.einpresswire.com/article/527347442/customer-experience-monitoring-software-market-global-analysis-industry-growth-current-trends-and-forecast-till-2025

This report focuses on the global top players, covered

RADCOM Ltd. (Israel)

Aternity, Inc. (US)

Oracle Corporation (US)

RadioOpt GmbH (Germany)

BMC Software, Inc. (US)

Broadcom (US)

Comarch SA (Poland)

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (US)

Compuware Corporation (US)

CorrelSense, Inc. (US)

Nokia Siemens Networks Oy (Finland)

Dominion Digital, Inc. (US)

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (China)

IBM (US)

Inforonics Global Services, LLC (US)

Knoa Software, Inc. (US)

KoHorts IT Services, LLC (US)

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers

North America

Europe

China

Rest of Asia Pacific

Central & South America

Middle East & Africa

Market segment by Type, the product can be split into

Monitoring Platform

Web Performance Management Solution

Customer Analytics solution

Maturity Assessment Tool

Others

Market segment by Application, the market can be split into

Retail

Bank & Finance Institution

Hospital

Others

The study objectives of this report are:

To study and forecast the market size of Customer Experience Monitoring Software in global market.

To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.

To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.

To analyze and compare the market status and forecast among global major regions.

To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.

To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.

To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.

To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market

To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.

To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Customer Experience Monitoring Software are as follows:

History Year: 2014-2018

Base Year: 2018

Estimated Year: 2019

Forecast Year 2019 to 2025

For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2018 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

Key Stakeholders

Raw material suppliers

Distributors/traders/wholesalers/suppliers

Regulatory bodies, including government agencies and NGO

Commercial research & development (R&D) institutions

Importers and exporters

Government organizations, research organizations, and consulting firms

Trade associations and industry bodies

End-use industries

Available Customizations

With the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

Further breakdown of Customer Experience Monitoring Software market on basis of the key contributing countries.

Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players.

For more details - https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/4758374-global-customer-experience-monitoring-software-market-report-history

About Us:

Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.              

Contact Us:

NORAH TRENT                                                      

sales@wiseguyreports.com      

Ph: +162-825-80070 (US)                        

Ph: +44 2035002763 (UK)      

[probablyquestionablerpgideas]

A puzzle based on the subject in school you hate the most. Force yourself to study the subject so that you understand it enough to make a puzzle out of it that will stump (most of) your players. (Or if you detest history, you can make it in-game history and use this as a way to make yourself world build)

Aternately, you can focus the puzzle around a subject that one of your players knows well, but their character does not, or have the answers for the subject be so grossly inaccurate you make your player die a little on the inside.

[hellodelightfulbearbouquetme]

SummaryA new market study, titled “ Global Customer Experience Monitoring Software Market Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2025 ” has been featured on WiseGuyReports. This report studies the Customer Experience Monitoring Software market size by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredRADCOM Ltd. (Israel)Aternity, Inc. (US)Oracle Corporation (US)RadioOpt GmbH (Germany)BMC Software, Inc. (US)Broadcom (US)Comarch SA (Poland)Riverbed Technology, Inc. (US)Compuware Corporation (US)CorrelSense, Inc. (US)Nokia Siemens Networks Oy (Finland)Dominion Digital, Inc. (US)Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (China)IBM (US)Inforonics Global Services, LLC (US)Knoa Software, Inc. (US)KoHorts IT Services, LLC (US) Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversNorth AmericaEuropeChinaRest of Asia PacificCentral & South AmericaMiddle East & Africa Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoMonitoring PlatformWeb Performance Management SolutionCustomer Analytics solutionMaturity Assessment ToolOthers Market segment by Application, the market can be split intoRetailBank & Finance InstitutionHospitalOthers ALSO READ:https://www.whatech.com/market-research/it/659933-customer-experience-monitoring-software-market-and-its-future-outlook-and-trend-during-the-period-of-2020-2025  The study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Customer Experience Monitoring Software in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast among global major regions.To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Customer Experience Monitoring Software are as follows:History Year: 2014-2018Base Year: 2018Estimated Year: 2019Forecast Year 2019 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2018 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered. Key StakeholdersRaw material suppliersDistributors/traders/wholesalers/suppliersRegulatory bodies, including government agencies and NGOCommercial research & development (R&D) institutionsImporters and exportersGovernment organizations, research organizations, and consulting firmsTrade associations and industry bodiesEnd-use industries Available CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Further breakdown of Customer Experience Monitoring Software market on basis of the key contributing countries.Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players. FOR MORE DETAILS:https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/4758374-global-customer-experience-monitoring-software-market-report-history  About Us:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressivestatistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governmentsaround the globe. Contact Us:NORAH TRENT                                                      sales@wiseguyreports.com       Ph: +162-825-80070 (US)                          Ph: +44 203 500 2763 (UK)

[ericvanderburg]

Philip K. Dick, the Matrix, Aliens and Aternate History: My Conversation with Tessa B. Dick

http://dlvr.it/Qvcr15

[freespeechfandom-blog]

Opinions vs facts

Inspired by questions in which many readers shared their ‘unpopular opinions’ - I think this distinction could be useful to make, as most disagreements probably stem from mixing up the two.

***** An opinion is: “A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.” While a fact is: “A thing that is known or proved to be true.” So basically, an opinion is an unsubstantiated belief. We can probably add feelings into this mix, since feelings are inherently irrational, but often form the basis of people’s opinions - and it does fit into the definition. Other opinions can be more fact-based, formed on the basis of observations and real data - still an opinion, but an informed opinion.

Opinions are great because we are all different, and have different thoughts and reactions to the stimuli of the world. But opinions only work in the absence of facts - one person thinks the best series ever is lotr, another holds the opinion that it’s asoiaf. There is no universal scale of evaluating ‘best-series-ness’ so these will remain opinions, however many criteria or values are used to support them. Same with favorite protagonist, best genre, etc. all of these are subjective, and can’t be proven or disproven. This is the opinion people are entitled to.

Opinions don’t work however, if there are facts present. Because under the guise of ‘it’s just an opinion, and I’m entitled to it’ we enter dangerous territory. Holding an opinion that is contradictory to facts, observations, data, etc. is an insidious but really harmful misinterpretation of the word - because opinions were never intended to be a substitute for facts. And yet, we now have ‘aternative facts’ - opinions and beliefs that demand to be taken as a viable replacement for facts, despite the absurdity of that (and current politics are perhaps the best example for the harm caused by perpetrating personal opinions as an equal substitute for evidence).

****** So how is that relevant to fandoms and literature? Well, a while long ago, the books of Karen Chance came under fire from a blog for being racist. Not that the reader would have personally liked more PoC characters or any reasonable opinion like that, no, it was stated as a fact that her characters are white-washed and her books are racist. Even when she tried to explain in the comment section that she depicted historical Europe according to Europe’s history (omg right) she was attacked and bullied in responses. Naturally, I was appalled, but even then there were a few people who maintained that the reviewer is entitled to her opinion. Like, seriously, no - ‘opinions’ like these had better be backed up by evidence, because spreading around bullshit as fact is not cool.

It’s really inexplicable why some people aren’t satisfied with making substantiated complaints about things that are actually in the books, not just projected into them. Like KC’s books are really overwhelingly white, and none of her major secondary characters are PoC either, and she does write predominantly from a eurocentric point of view, with few acts or customs from other cultures. Perfectly valid, and even adding ‘And this is why I hate her books’ would have been perfectly fine. But to start frothing at the mouth and jump to the false conclusion that this makes her books discriminatory to PoC (despite her depicting PoC in equal positions of power and respect), or that she white-washes her characters (her historical characters are described historically accurately, all characters of African, Asian or other non-European descent are appropriately depicted) is just not true, and really made the reviewer look foolish and hateful. Because forming an opinion and complaining about things in the books is cool, but complaining about things that are not in the books that people project into them, or other claims that are easily dispeoven is solely on them really, and has no place being held up as fact.

***** So, with that little detour of topic, my point is that many people listed ‘unpolular opinions’ that are actually ‘unpopular facts’ (and as an extension it is unpopular to accept them as facts). And I think a lot of confusion arises from this. While nobody’s word choices are ever fully clear, it’s crucial to separate statements on the basis of fact and opinion - things that could be prefaced with ‘I think, I like, I prefer, I hate, etc.’ are opinions, expressions of subjectivity; while ‘because of this, this is, this shows, etc.’ are claims and statements framed as a fact.

I also think this is the reason many people feel hurt if somebody posts a different point of view, a counterargument or contradictory evidence to their claims. I already indicated that it is not meant as an attack on people’s feelings and opinions, and I don’t think I ever told anybody to think or like something. So perhaps the above opinion vs fact distinction could show that discursive posts don’t deny the feelings, thoughts or preferences of anybody, only address the claims, statements and facts.

So as an example: ‘I’m really uncomfortable with Mircea’s behavior’ or ‘I prefer Pritkin so I kinda forgive his mistakes more’ wasn’t really what was expressed, but would be perfectly all right opinions and feelings. Instead, we got claims like ‘Mircea had non-con sex with Cassie’ and this is why it was all wrong’ despite the fact that even KC explained why the TtD scene wasn’t coercey-rapey-noncon-ey. The best part of accepting facts is that people are still free to think, like and dislike; and doing so without taking it into fake news/projected headcanon territory would be a benefit instead - just like the eurocentrism complaint could have been perfectly valid if it wasn’t overdone and thus invalidated as unsubstantiated whitewashing allegations from a few people who went irrationally overboard in being determined to hate KC’s PoC characters.

And if anybody reads this and knows that this type of thinking does not apply to you, then it probably doesn’t, and this certainly isn’t aimed at you. Because thankfully, this isn’t a universal phenomenon in the fandom, and there are readers who also admit that C+P have just as many (if not more) noncon/dubcon scenes as C+M, or that Cassie is an unreliable narrator and not a perfect saint. It’s great to see that intellectual honesty, because sometimes it comes across as unsubstantiated opinions being circulated and held up as facts in an echo chamber, while any contradictory evidence is labeled an unpopular opinion, hate or lies, when it’s more often the other way around. So, in the spirit of median perspectives, equal standards and common sense, that’s all, and I hope this post helped to bring more clarity and understanding into the whole debate/attack/complaint/hate/allegations issue.