#car hub central

[mechanicguides]

Car Parts & Mechanic Guides: The Roadmap to Automotive Expertise

In the intricate world of automotive maintenance and repair, two essential components stand out as the keys to unlocking automotive expertise: understanding car parts and having access to reliable mechanic guides. Whether you're an amateur car enthusiast or a seasoned mechanic, the knowledge of your vehicle's components and the guidance provided by mechanic manuals are indispensable. This article explores the importance of knowing your car inside and out and the vital role played by best oil in ensuring efficient maintenance and repairs.

Deconstructing the Car's Anatomy: To navigate the realm of car maintenance effectively, one must first unravel the complex anatomy of an automobile. A car is a symphony of various components, including the engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, electrical systems, and more. Understanding how these parts function and interact is fundamental for diagnosing issues, making informed decisions when replacing parts, and ensuring the vehicle's longevity. Knowledge of car parts transforms you from a passive driver to an empowered car owner.

Mechanic Guides: The Masterpieces of Automotive Instruction: Mechanic guides serve as the holy grails of automotive knowledge. These comprehensive manuals are designed to provide step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting tips, and valuable insights into car maintenance and repairs. They cater to a broad spectrum of skill levels, offering guidance on basic tasks like oil changes and brake pad replacements, as well as advanced procedures such as engine rebuilds. Access to these guides empowers individuals to take control of their vehicle's health, potentially saving money on costly professional services and ensuring that their cars operate at peak performance.

Economic Efficiency and Self-Assurance: In an era where financial prudence is essential, possessing knowledge about car parts and relying on mechanic guides can lead to significant cost savings. DIY enthusiasts can enjoy substantial reductions in maintenance and repair expenses by handling tasks themselves. On the other hand, those who prefer to seek professional help can do so with confidence, armed with knowledge about what services are required and what constitutes fair pricing. This knowledge empowers car owners to make informed decisions and maintain control over their automotive investments.

Safety and Peace of Mind: Beyond financial considerations, understanding car parts and having access to reliable mechanic guides contribute to safety and peace of mind. A well-maintained vehicle is less likely to experience sudden breakdowns, reducing the risk of accidents and ensuring that drivers and passengers reach their destinations safely. Furthermore, knowledge of car parts enables individuals to identify potential issues early, preventing minor concerns from escalating into major problems while on the road.

Environmental Responsibility: In an age of growing environmental awareness, proficiency in car parts knowledge can also lead to more eco-friendly choices. Understanding your vehicle's intricacies allows you to make informed decisions about maintenance and upgrades that can improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. This not only benefits the environment but also lowers fuel costs and minimizes your carbon footprint, aligning your automotive choices with a more sustainable future.

In conclusion, car parts knowledge and mechanic guides are the cornerstones of automotive expertise. Whether you're driven by the desire to save money, enhance safety, reduce your environmental impact, or simply gain a deeper understanding of your vehicle, these resources empower you to make informed decisions and embark on a journey of automotive mastery. So, the next time you encounter a mysterious noise under the hood or a warning light on your dashboard, remember that with the right knowledge and guidance, the road ahead is paved with confidence and automotive proficiency.

Car Parts & Mechanic Guides - Car Hub Central

[armed-with-a-waffle-iron]

Sports Team Logos for DC Comics Cities

Used Photopea and took some liberties with the names.

Fictional Etymology

The Knights⚾️: The Knights initially attributed their name to Gotham's history as an English colony though the double entendre was not lost on them, especially since the infamous "Gotham Nights" have become synonymous with the crime capital.

The Meteors🏈⚾️: Alliteration 🤷‍♀️.

The Spartans🏐: Gateway City possesses the largest collection of Greek artefacts outside of Greece and have a reputation for producing gold-medal-winning Olympians, inspiring the name of Gateway's Pro Volleyball team; the "Spartans".

The Sab-Cats⚽️: The Sab-Cats are a NWSL team born out of a social initiative by community centres in Star City using sport to keep youths away from crime. Recently turned professional, the team honours its mutual aid roots by adopting the Anarchist symbol of the "Sab-Cat".

The Velocity🏈: Keystone City has long been a hub of transport manufacturing, from automobiles to aircraft. The Velocity began as an amateur factory workers' football team in the 1940s, with its name referring to the cars these workers assembled.

The Cheetahs🏈: Initially named the "Central City Cougars", after the wildcat historically present in Missouri, the NFL team more recently renamed itself after the speedy African Cheetah in honour of its then residential speedster, the second Flash, following the first Crisis.

The Cosmos🏀: Before its destruction, Coast City was known along the West Coast as a melting pot of diversity, and its former NBA team derived its name, "Cosmos", from the word "Cosmopolitans".

The Bloodhounds⚾️: Before harmful radiation, Blüdhaven was plagued with corruption, often enabled by its police force. Some suspect strings were pulled for this former MLB team to adopt a blue kit and a common police dog as a mascot. Maybe it's a coincidence?

[king-crawler]

Haunted Dreams

AKA. a very short & spooky Wreck-It Ralph oneshot i wrote in 1 day 870 words -- [Ao3 Link]

Game Central Station isn’t a scary place during the day. 

The hub is always bustling with characters, people from all sorts of games, all kinds of different eras. A place for everyone to congregate and travel. Pretty noisy too, always filled with 8-bit chatter. Can’t forget the Sonic PSA that’s on loop for hours and hours… That thing is practically ingrained into everyone’s heads by this point. But Game Central Station gets dark at night- dark… and unusually quiet. The power strip lays behind the shadows of cabinets after the sun goes down, casting it in darkness. By this time, everyone is usually settled back at their own games, at least those who decide to sleep. Not Clyde though, as ghosts don’t tend to sleep.

It was a late night at Tappers. He went less so for the drinks because of non-corporeality and such, more so for the company. He makes his way back to Pac-Man, floating past the empty outlet, which unfortunately always has to be passed by on the way back. Unlike the other terminals, this one lacks any of the usual scrolling LEDs overhead… no game. An abandoned venue… During quarter hours the empty socket is actually quite a beautiful sight, albeit bittersweet. Broad rays of sunlight would shine down through the slits- ‘God rays’ as some call them, something treated with reverence by everyone. But almost as if to balance it out, after sunset it becomes an abyss. No… It’s darker.

Not just in terms of absent lighting, but… it feels threatening somehow. Not even the ambient orange glow of Clyde’s spectral form could provide any comfort near that looming archway. Not after what had happened there… After all, it had only been a year since the incident. 

Like echoes in his mind, he remembered the vases of flowers around the entryway in memoriam as people grieved. Many people actually had a chance to talk to the racers of RoadBlasters, congratulating them, welcoming them to the arcade. It was common courtesy to do so whenever somebody new got plugged in, but this instance was only for one night. The residents of Pac-Man were especially on edge after it happened. Their game was briefly unplugged and replugged the same day so it could be moved next to Fix-it Felix Jr; to fill that new empty space. It was an extra scare for sure, thankfully nobody was inside. But now, they live their day-to-day lives knowing they share a plug with what used to be…

Clyde regretfully glanced at the skidmarks on the tiled floor. The others made a solid effort to scrub it away, but you could still make them out if you knew where to look. He didn’t like thinking about it, he frequently hovered past and shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind. But this time it felt… different. Like tonight the void was beckoning him. Suddenly, he heard… something. A sound that was strange and faint at first… the rhythm of rickety creaking and whining. Is it getting louder..? 

…

In an instant, his semiphysical form was instilled with paralyzing dread. That’s impossible. 

An unplugged outlet can’t have a train car. It’s by design, it’s supposed to travel through the cord. And yet… there it was, idly rattling down the track. Terribly rusted and scratched up, appearing to be mere moments from falling apart. And there, on the far end of the train car, was a pale figure enshrouded in darkness. It sat hunched over, its face turned away.

A chilling, staticy feeling filled the dead air between them, or maybe that was just Clyde getting lightheaded. Everything about this felt terribly wrong, like he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to. Like if he someday remembered this, something bad would happen. As much as he wished he could, he simply couldn't pull himself to look away, or even blink- not on the offchance that whatever was inexplicably happening might cease to exist on second glance. 

The train whined as it docked at the station. After a moment of silence that felt like hours, the figure’s head began to slowly turn, its face overshadowed in pitch darkness by the rim of its helmet. That damn helmet. Even if it was only his name being circulated, nobody could forget what he looked like, even if they wanted to, thanks to the recurring nightmares. The awful, unforgettable sound of his voice being butchered and bitcrushed, cars being torn apart into an unrecognizable jumble of code and colors… They could only watch.

It was only now that Clyde realized everyone deemed Turbo to be dead for their own sakes. They couldn't bring themselves to imagine what might have happened to him otherwise. It was too much. The thought he could’ve turned into something else. 

In a daze, Clyde arrived back in the ghost pen, the other ghosts off somewhere else in the Pac-maze. Suited him- they always acted like he was the underling anyways. He took the isolation as an opportunity to do something he hadn’t done in a long time. Sleep. If he did, maybe he could convince himself that what he saw tonight was nothing but a bad dream. 

Just as everyone else had.

[blazehedgehog]

This is a stand in ask that I lost. It was about Sonic Frontiers. It was a four-part ask written kind of smugly about the open zone areas of Sonic Frontiers, and how all the random clutter (springs, dash panels, etc.) and high level of scripting/railroading doesn't fit in very well with open world design. They suggested Sega would have to go back to the drawing board and really change the design for whatever follows next.

So I wanted to redo this ask because I feel like I had a pretty good response.

I opened this ask jokingly calling the anon out for sounding a little snooty, because it used some big words. But my main opener was: Haven't you played Super Mario Odyssey? Each level in Super Mario Odyssey is effectively its own little open world, particularly something like Tostarena.

it's this huge area dotted with a town, ruins, and other landmarks, with big stretches of empty space between them. The landmarks are where the traditional gameplay is -- platforming challenges, enemies, puzzles, and so on, and you have to traverse across the desert to reach them.

I also think about Jak & Daxter, maybe one of the first open world platformers ever, and how it has kind of a hub-and-spoke system. Generally you are working out of a base, like a workshop or a village or something, with roads that lead out of, around, and back into that base area (or to other buildings that act sort of like self-contained dungeons).

Each "road" takes the place of a level. Now, there's nothing keeping you on the road, which is part of the fun, since you can cross between roads, go around obstacles, and so on. But roads are definitely setup to guide you through a space like a level would.

And as someone who plays a lot of it, I think in the context of Fortnite, which is this huge island covered in a spiderweb of roads and pathways leading to, from, and around POIs (Points of Interest).

It's a system that drives all good open world design, and was kind pioneered in Disneyland all the way back in the 1950's. Disney didn't call them "points of interest", he called them "weenies" -- big iconic areas that you can see from long distances that are interesting enough to make you want to explore them, while also helping you stay oriented in the overall space.

So take this screenshot of the current Fortnite map:

My car is parked at a crossroads. Directly ahead of me and a little to the left is a shack where Gwenpool is roaming around. Further in the distance is the POI of "Reckless Railways", which houses the map's Grand Central Station, where the train rolls through and restocks its supplies. Further beyond that are the snowy mountains and the massive Grand Glacier hotel. To the far left, on the edge of the image, is the forge at Dr. Doom's castle.

Roads are meant for traveling quickly down. They lead you to points of interest, where you slow down and comb through an area carefully. And, obviously, there's all kinds of little landmarks dotted all over the place between major POIs, encouraging you to get off the road and go exploring. Gas stations and ruins and little shacks and stuff.

It's extremely easy to adapt these concepts to a Sonic game, which is what's so baffling about Sonic Frontiers being such an incoherent mess.

Roads should be your boost Sonic zones. It can't be a random collection of junk, it can't be something you unlock as a means of "fast travel." There has to be an identifiable road, a series of pathways leading you around the island. You put grind rails and boost pads and dash rings along this road. This is where players are supposed to go fast. Roads = travel.

These roads will lead you to points of interest and other landmarks. A POI, like in Super Mario Odyssey, is where puzzles, platforming, and exploration are mostly done. I do not mean "four stone buildings" like in Sonic Frontiers. I mean a place that feels like a place. A location that feels like it has character. Personality. Something you work your way through, absorb, and conquer. Again, like Odyssey.

And then you stash little secrets and landmarks off the beaten path for players who want to go offroading.

2-3 islands per game, 2-3 biomes per island. You can have specific race or time trial missions to and from different landmarks, you can have POI exploration missions, you can have missions to change the state of these POIs like blowing up power plants or unlocking gates. Maybe Eggman has a giant pipe he's using to pump toxic chemicals into the water, so you have to turn off the pump and then you get to run down the inside of the empty pipe like an F-Zero GX track.

It's easy to design this game. You don't even need cyberspace levels. Heck, remember GTA5? Most missions had bronze, silver, and gold medals. You can still have a ranking system in an open world game.

Look, I even drew art of this concept, what, four years ago? five?

Somebody should pay me a livable wage for this kind of stuff

[stephensmithuk]

The Lost Special

CW for discussion of sexual abuse and capital punishment.

Originally published in The Strand in 1898, i.e. during the hiatus years, this would be collected with a bunch of other Doyle stories in the Round the Fire Stories collection released in 1898. Doyle continued to have stories regularly published during the hiatus.

The London and West Coast Railway Company is fictitious; the company that operated the line discussed in this route was the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), the biggest revenue earner of the period due to the sheer size of its operations. It would become part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1922 during "Grouping" i.e. the merger of British railway companies into four major ones. The LNWR name came back as the London Northwestern Railway brand of West Midlands Trains in 2017, operating commuter and semi-fast services from Euston. That franchise is due to operate until 2026, at which point, considering the likely result of the upcoming election, it will be nationalised. What happens to the name after that remains to be seen.

Liverpool Central refers to two stations. The one here is the six-platform "High Level" station, opened in 1874 as the headquarters of the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) and offering services to Manchester Central, London St. Pancras or even Harwich for the ferry services to the Netherlands. The CLC remained independent after Grouping

There was also, slightly to the North West. the 1892-opened "Low Level" station, that was underground, opened by the Mersey Railway, but with staircase access to the High Level one and provision for a through railway connection left to that station if it was decided to join the two lines. This operated local trains towards Birkenhead using the world's second underground railway after London. This also stayed its own operation after Grouping in 1922; both companies would become part of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

In 1966, the Beeching Axe saw the High Level station have nearly all its services diverted to Liverpool Lime Street, with only those to Gateacre still calling there. BR wanted to stop those entirely, but local opposition prevented that. With no need for six platforms, two become a car park and the station ended up with just one functional platform in 1970, ending up in rather a state of decay. It shut entirely in 1972 and was demolished, the Gateacre services going, along with the whole North Liverpool Extension Line.

The Low Level station, however, still very busy, would have better fortunes - it would become the centre piece of the new Merseyrail network. The station was renovated, the two lines were linked and today Liverpool Central is one of the busiest stations in the UK outside of Greater London. However, the eastern part of the planned loop, including services to Gateacre, fell victim to budget cuts in the late 1970s.

Rochdale is a town in the Greater Manchester area - at the time it was a textiles hub, but that very much declined from the 1950s and the place has acquired a bad reputation. In 2012, a child sex abuse ring involving British Pakistanis "grooming" white girls was convicted in a high-profile trial and the resulting public reaction was, to put it mildly, racially-tinged. It also came out that the town's deceased former MP (who had in fact been knighted), one Cyril Smith, was a paedophile.

"Specials" refer to trains arranged outside the usual timetable, often in connection with some event. These included football excursions (or FOOTEX in BR parlance) carrying fans to away games around the country. In the hooligan-heavy 1970s and 1980s, BR would use older carriages due to the frequency of them getting damaged by drunken supporters, the whole thing becoming a policing headache. Others included various enthusiast-oriented journeys and "Merrymaker" mystery trips, usually to a seaside destination.

The main companies do not really do these today in anything like the numbers they used to, but various private companies have stepped in, including a West Coast Railways Company oddly enough, that provides the rolling stock, locomotives and drivers for the Jacobite tourist service from Fort William to Mailaig. These charter trains can be found operating multiple times a week, being sold through various different companies. Most use heritage rolling stock with vintage steam or diesel engines involved, with a variety of types catering to your tastes, although a big wallet is generally needed. Like at least £100 for standard class without dining and even then the schedule might not be the most convenient; these trains are planned around the regular services and you might have a long wait sitting in sidings for the next bit of your path to be clear.

In any event, the special train would have cost around £5,412 adjusted for inflation. However, a cursory glance suggests it would actually cost far more to do that today - hence the high prices modern "specials" charge passengers.

Signal boxes were required to log the details of trains passing through - the type could be identified by various lights arranged on the front and later the specific service by four-character codes. Today this is done electronically and monitored at larger control centres - older boxes have generally closed, with some being transported to heritage railways for their use. I would assume that the stations not mentioned did not have their own signal box.

In terms of the stations mentioned here, these were on the 1830-opened Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first intercity railway in the world.

This route is today part of the City Line in the Merseytravel Network - trains are today operated by Northern or TransPenine Express. It was electrified in 2015. For each station in turn...

St Helens Junction: Still open.

Collins Green: Closed 1951.

Earlestown: Still open, despite being listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching Report.

Newton-le-Willows: Still open. Even had a Motorail terminal for a while, but this is long gone.

Kenyon Junction: Closed to passengers 1961, shut entirely 1963. Various locals have called for reopening it.

Barton Moss, closed 1929.

Parliamentary trains are those which railway companies had a legal obligation to operate - basically to provide cheap services for workers. This could mean one train per day on a route. Some did the bare minimum, some did a lot more. With this requirement no longer around, the term has evolved to mean services run at the legal minimum, even as low as one train a week, because it's cheaper to do that rather than go through a closure process. In some cases, the route would be used for engineering work diversions and so it is needed to keep up driver familarity. Current examples include Pilning, which has two trains a week on a Saturday. The most notable is Teeside Airport, which is meant to serve the airport of that name that operates four to six passenger flights a day, but is a fifteen-minute walk away, so getting a bus is much more preferred. This got one train westbound a week until May 2022, when its platform was deemed unsafe and Teeside International Airport refuses to pay for repairs.

Railway companies had their own police forces; these would later come under the British Transport Police.

Many mines and industrial planets had connections to the national network for transporting goods like coal or clay; BR even developed a "Merry-Go-Round" system allowing hoppers to be filled up and emptied while moving at a very slow speed to save time on shunting; newer versions are still in use, despite the coal market having massively declined. Mines would have their own engines - the nationalised National Coal Board kept steam locomotives going until 1982, 14 years after BR stopped using them, with some of their former engines now featuring on preserved lines.

The Vistula river runs through central Poland, including Warsaw.

Many mines would be closed once their seams were worked out to the point of it being now longer economical to run; some are now tourist attractions, at least in limited sections.

France used the guillotine for capital punishment until the abolition of that in 1977. It would also be extensively used, in a slightly different form in the German states, including extensively by the Nazis, until 1966, when East Germany switched to shooting people in the back of the head.

New Caledonia is a French territory in the Southern Pacific that was used as a penal colony at the time; it is currently in a state of political turmoil in a row over expanding the franchise to cover more recent arrivals, something opposed by indigenous groups seeking independence. The proposal has been suspended at time of writing due to France's upcoming elections.

[lightsaber-dorphin]

Jedi Order Bureaucratic Structure

I’ve been working for a while on worldbuilding the inner workings of the Jedi Order. Below is a flowchart of the administrative bodies, their duties, and any other admin bodies they oversee. More details on each below the cut.

These are different groups involved in running the Jedi Order. For different roles within the Jedi, see my Jedi Order Corps and Subdivisions.

High Council: (Finance, bylaws, PR, major trials)

Determines the budget(s)

Relations with the Senate

Only body that can expel members

Librarian's Assembly: (Ensures knowledge is available to Jedi)

Fund academic researchers (many Jedi researchers work directly for the assembly)

Archives: (Run the Archives & research)

Host academic conferences

Protect important artifacts

Run basically directly by the Librarian's Assembly

Department of Classes: (Adult education)

Organize all classes that aren't geneds

Set criteria for certifications/ degrees

Help members get degrees from external organizations

Council of Reassignment: (Oversees transfers & is Jedi CPS)

New Initiate paperwork

Transfers between corps and/or branches

Helps members leave the Order

Checks the CoFK when necessary

Padawanship paperwork filed here (crèchemasters sign off, padawan signs off, check master for red flags/ not allowed to take apprentice, sometimes mind healer signs off)

Council of Justice: (Attourneys & internal justice system)

Try & punish cases committed by Jedi & internal to the Jedi Order

Mediate interpersonal disputes

Lawyers for the Order

Cannot expel members

Council of Outreach: (Manages outposts & patrols)

Assigns Jedi to satellite locations or watchfolk posts

Hires other outpost staff

Ships supplies to & from outposts

Tracks the locations of missions & sends Vanguards to areas that haven't been visited recently

Council of Temple Maintenance: (Oversees internal services and temple upkeep)

In charge of the cleaning droids

Coordinates trash & recycling with Coruscant government

Has the occasional member who can do specialized maintenance (ex. plumber, electrician)

Volunteers sign up to fix things

Hires outside contractors when there isn't a Jedi with the necessary skills

Assigns Jedi to living quarters

Interior decor

Delegates chores such as taking out the trash, mopping, dusting, etc.

Padawans and initiates are often assigned these chores as punishments

Kitchenmasters: (Mess halls)

Make & serve food in the mess halls

Label the food with which species can eat it

Order food supplies

Supervise initiate clans helping in the kitchens

Quartermasters: (Distribute supplies & manage finances)

Bulk-order supplies for the Order

Provide mission allotments

Desk operators help members pick up supplies

Accounting

Transport Office: (Run the hangar bay & speeder pool)

Responsible for the Order's vehicles

Mechanics

Vehicles are checked in & out like a library for cars & ships

Hire external staff when there aren't enough Jedi

Temple Guard: (Security & emergency response)

Guard against exterior threats to the temple

Security during criminal situations

Really good at sensing danger to temple inhabitants

First responders (fire & police-- MedCorp handles EMS)

Change lightbulbs and smoke detector batteries

Odd jobs on behalf of the CoTM

Uses the lore by Adsecula in "Nameless"

Council of Reconciliation: (Central hub of Jedi outreach & diplomacy)

All aid requests go through them

Sets mission objectives

Approve or deny aid/ mission requests

Reviews behavior of Jedi on missions when there are issues

Mission Consignment: (Assign Jedi to approved missions)

Desk jockeys

Not officially divided by type of mission/ Jedi role needed, but missions will be passed to people who are more familiar with the experts required

Organizes specifics for missions such as transportation and housing

Council of First Knowledge: (Runs Initiate & Padawan dorms, clans, & childhood education)

Initiate clans members live together with their crèchemasters rotating out night shifts

Padawans & Senior Initiates live in individual rooms in designated halls with some crèchemasters living in each hall

Department of Seekers: (Regulates conduct of Seekers)

Create regulates for what Seekers can & cannot do & how they should act

Investigate reported misconduct by Seekers

Crèche: (Organizes care for Initiates)

Sort Initiates into clans

Run events/ field trips/ etc.

Set educational standards

see my post about Living Quarters in the Jedi Temple

Department of Primary Classes: (Classroom education for younglings)

Standard elementary school operation stuff

Provides the general education classes all Jedi take as younglings

Circle of Healers: (Sets certification requirements)

Certified to train medical professionals for a variety of degrees

Determines when Jedi have fulfilled requirements for medical certifications

Sets the qualifications for Force-specific medical degrees

Halls of Healing: (Healthcare within the Order & internal outreach)

Like a local hospital but also has general practitioners

IRB: (Reviews research for ethical concerns)

Institutional Review Board

"Under FDA regulations, an Institutional Review Board is group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. In accordance with FDA regulations, an IRB has the authority to approve, require modifications in (to secure approval), or disapprove research. This group review serves an important role in the protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects."

IRB for the entire Order, not just the MedCorps

[diabolus1exmachina]

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring Superleggera 

The Disco Volante is a two-seater Gran Turismo. It is based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione coupé with its front-central mounted 4.7 litre V8 engine and a transaxle rear drive with unmodified specifications. Each unit, of which the construction requires 4,000 hours of manual work.The present Disco Volante celebrates the myth of the 1952 style icon. The new design briefing required to blend ingredients as innovation, emotion and aerodynamic properties into a timeless and essential shape.During the development stage, Head of Design Louis de Fabribeckers and his team cooperated with the engineers on an almost daily basis. “We focused on the preservation of the design essence. – says de Fabribeckers – Once the design frozen, we had to understand the manufacturing problems and solve them right away without compromising the design.”In consistency with the car’s design philosophy the interior has a ‘science fiction’ feel to it. Part of this ‘spaceship’ atmosphere was created by elements like the red LED interior light profiles. Also, aeronautics has been the inspiration for parts like the dashboard, instruments and seat adjustment lever.The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione chassis was chosen for its light and rigid structure and its outstanding dynamic properties. Therefore it forms the perfect basis for the coach-built bodywork of the Disco Volante, integrally conserving the rolling chassis and drive train.The Alfa Romeo 8C’s steel space-frame and other structural elements were retained to guarantee torsion stiffness, high performance and the quality standard. The frame members and the central carbon cell remained unchanged. Elements of the underpinning and the body, such as the engine bay and firewall, the windscreen and cowl, the a-pillar and the locks and hinges have been retained too, just as the dashboard and instruments, the pedals and the steering wheel. Parts like doorframes, the roof frame and the c-pillar have been modified to match with the new shape.The layout of a front-central mounted engine, a transaxle transmission and rear-wheel drive offers an optimal weight distribution of 49-51% between the front and rear axles. To ensure excellent handling the front and rear double-wishbone suspension scheme is combined with hub carriers of forged aluminium and additional trailing arms for the rear suspension.The lightweight and compact 4.7 litre V8 engine delivers 450HP and 480Nm peak torque. It is coupled with a six-speed sequential transaxle gearbox with electronic control and paddle-shift gear selection. Together with a limited-slip differential and a state-of-the-art braking system with large diameter, ventilated discs a precise, dynamic and proactive drive is ensured. The Disco Volante can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4,2 seconds and has a top speed of about 290 km/h (181 mph).

All new and modified components of the Disco Volante have been CAD designed. In this process, which covers feasibility, safety, homologation, aerodynamics and structural analysis, the most advanced IT tools and simulation techniques have been used.

Since torsion stiffness and noise reduction are of critical importance, special attention has been paid to the under-body structure and its elements, like the tubular frames supporting the rear wings and bumper, and the roll bar joining the c-pillars. Other complex design issues were the tailgate hinges, the 3d-cambered door window, and the front wheel covers.

The Disco Volante was then submitted to a CFD aerodynamic study to enhance the airflow and ensure optimal downforce in the rear section. After that, FEM calculations were run to assess resistance and rigidity of all parts subject to homologation.

Touring Superleggera is synonymous with the manufacture of lightweight bodywork. The weight advantage of aluminium is one of the assets of Touring Superleggera’s construction methods. Nowadays however, the craft of hand-beating aluminium panels is combined with the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). For the Disco Volante, Touring decided to use this combination of aluminium and CFRP. This has been the result of a study conducted to define optimal use of materials for the bodywork in terms of weight, resistance, precision, finish and quality, and ease of repair in case of damage.

The CFRP is used for specific components like the front bumper and grille, the bonnet, the skirts, the boot lid and the integrated rear-window frame. The bonnet and the boot lid are sandwich-built with Nomex filler in-between to obtain a better stiffness/weight ratio and to dampen vibration and noise.

The aluminium panels are hand-beaten using an epoxy mould. Since the inner frames of most parts of the bodywork are made of CFRP, this requires gluing of aluminium on carbon fibre. This technique adds to the rigidity as the glue has structural properties.

The body panels are pre-assembled on a laser measurement platform using a jig. This ensures that the strict tolerance required is respected. After adjustment, the panels are either welded or glued. The body-in-white is then used to preassemble and fit all trim components, brightware and moulding.

[aloneandforsakenbyfateandbyman]

The death of Internet forums is so tragic bc really what it did was bring in a new era of surveillance + narcissism.

What I mean by that is for us older Millennials/ Gen X, we grew up in an era where you could impersonally post on the internet yet connect to people in a deeper way.

There were forums on every subject and hobby: history, culture, cars, true crime, sewing, dance, art, film, travel, fashion, gore, cities, food, mental illness, moms, gardening, emos, you name it.

Everything anyone could be interested in had a specific forum dedicated to it with nerds who knew their shit. And these dorks would message other dorks about aspie subjects without having to reveal their face and name.

As the internet grew, it also fell prey to capitalism and now we’re in a sort of cyber oligarchy where a few sites reign supreme. The official word is that forums died bc of “low search visibility,” as if by accident yet that’s not true.

Forums died bc corporations mercilessly slaughtered them for low-quality cesspools such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok etc. These apps are very heavily based on narcissism and government surveillance. You have to login and signup to everything now, and are being constantly tracked.

Instead of having a personality, we are repeatedly inundated with 10 sec videos of teenagers dancing to Abba or dogs rolling over. We don’t bond over shared knowledge, we bond over poorly made memes and videos of pink haired Americans eating food.

The internet wasn’t a high IQ hub of interaction to begin with, but it was still at a much higher level in the early 2000s. They completely rekked everyone’s attention span.

Every forum has been replaced with bland Reddit which always appears on every search engine, and it’s total cuck central. Everything on there is heavily censored, everyone posts such low quality and boring content and it’s like they’ve all been chemically castrated and are bottoms.

I miss when I could hide behind a screen and just LARP as a 40 year old man with erectile dysfunction who collected erotica and read BDSM novels. I hate that They completely destroyed weird forum culture just to lobotomize a new generation of Zoomers who don’t even know what torrents are

[ijustwanttoreadfanfiction]

Friendly Sex - Chapter 7 - The Unknown Part II

This was going to be the beginning of Chapter 8 but it would have interrupted the overall flow. So, gentle reader, please accept this cutscene smutty offering.

Chapters warnings: MDI (18+ only), pwp, smoking, p in v sex, dom/sub undertones, slightly mean!Eddie, doggystyle, rough sex, spanking, vaginal spanking, choking, use of the word slut, masturbation, overstimulation, explicit smut, explicit language, all sexual interaction is consensual.

________________________________________________________

You awake in a daze, feeling overly warm and confined, a heavy weight slung across your stomach. Eddie is wrapped around you like a Boa Constrictor, your back pressed snugly to his chest, light snores tickling your neck.

Lifting your head slightly you glance at the illuminated alarm clock 0245, so much for 5 minutes you snort internally.

You shift trying to get comfortable again, but now you're awake you realize how thirsty you are and that you definitely need a pee. You gingerly slip out from Eddie's arm, his snores continuing interrupted as you pull on your panties and what you think might be Eddie's shirt, your own lost to the recesses of the darkness. 

It's like navigating a field of landmines as you creep across the cluttered bedroom floor, stubbing your toe several times, silently cursing in pain.

Ducking into the bathroom you notice the rest of the trailer is still dimly lit, having left everything on in your haste to get to bed. After relieving yourself you splash some cold water on your face and neck, stealing a quick spray of Eddie's deodorant for good measure before moving back into the main living area.

It takes you three tries to find the right cupboard with the glasses, pouring yourself a large cup of water, leaning against the sink as you drink. 

You spy Eddie's pack of cigarettes and lighter in the key bowl by the front door, picking it up and slipping out to the awning covered porch, perching on a grubby broken down sofa.

It was a chilly night, but it felt refreshing after being stuck to the human torch, you light up blowing the smoke out in a long exhale, enjoying the silence. It was incredibly peaceful this far out of town, not that Hawkins was a central hub of activity, but even at home cars would pass every so often through the night, here at the trailer park though it was literal crickets. 

Soon you were lost in your thoughts, body exhausted but mind working overtime, you had never expected sex with Eddie to feel so intimate, so meaningful. It scares you more than you want to admit, so you resort to once again telling yourself that your feelings are borne out of lust, Eddie is simply fulfilling a need.

  "Can't sleep?" Eddie's drowsy croak cracking like a whip in the still air, making you jump. You shake your head, eyeing him guiltily as he reaches for the slowly burning down cigarette, sitting next to you clad only in his jeans.

"Someone stole my shirt." He says gesturing to his bare chest, casting a glance at the Hellfire club logo covering your own.

"Crime is such a problem these days." You say wryly, leaning back against him.

"You'll catch a cold out here." He mumbles taking a deep drag, hand chafing absentmindedly at your thigh.

"I was gonna come back in soon. Just needed some air." You say, rubbing at your tired eyes, suppressing a yawn.

"Ah yes, clean, fresh air." He hums sarcastically, stubbing out the butt of the cigarette in an overflowing ashtray.

"C'mon sleeping beauty." He hauls himself up, hand outstretched to you, leading you back into the trailer. You noticed he had turned off the television which was just showing static earlier, along with the various lamps, the only light now coming from the crack under his bedroom door.

You clamber back into bed shivering slightly at the change in temperatures, Eddie immediately brings you into his arms, your head pressed atop his chest listening to his heartbeat. 

"Is this ok?" He asks quietly.

"Yeah, it's nice." You say softly tracing over his spider tattoo.

"I knew under that tough exterior, you were a cuddler." He laughs, fingers tickling at your side.

"Fuck off Munson." You grumble, breath suddenly leaving you in a 'umph' sound as he flips you onto your back, lightly pinning you.

"You know, you tell me to fuck off a lot sweetheart, it's not very nice." He says seriously, but you see the mischievous glint in his eye.

"I never said I was nice." You challenge, experimentally lifting your hips, pelvis brushing against his steadily hardening cock.

"Mmm, no, but what was it you said princess? Oh I remember, 'you can punish me later'." He grins. "Do you want to be punished?" He asks and you can tell this is his red light, green light question.

"Yes." You whisper against his lips.

"Yes, what baby?"

"Yes please." You all but beg. 

His hand instantly moves down to land a firm slap against your cunt, making you produce a noise somewhere between a yelp and a moan, back arching.

"Such a slut." He laughs, kissing you hard, fingers sliding through your wetness, before delivering another smack which has you crying out against his mouth. "Think you can handle another, you little brat?" He says hand hovering, you bite your lip nodding frantically, keening as his palm makes stinging contact once more.

"Good girl." He soothes, stroking gently at your throbbing clit, you grip at his shoulders, canting your hips desperately.

"Please." You whine.

"Please what baby?" He mutters infuriatingly, circling a little faster, teeth nipping at your jawline.

"I wanna cum." You whimper, tangling your fingers into his hair, trying to catch his lips in a kiss.

"Oh I know you do sweetheart, but you're going to have to work for it." He taunts, smirking cruelly as he withdraws his hand. "Get on your hands and knees for me princess."

You move on shaking limbs, until you're on all fours, Eddie moving behind you, his hands massaging your ass.

"Do you remember I promised I'd fuck you like this?" He murmurs, kissing along the small of your back where his t-shirt has ridden up.

"Yes." You breathe out, shivering in anticipation.

"You still want me to?" He asks, fingers tracing over your dripping slit.

"Yes please." You say, pressing back into his touch, giving him another green light.

You hear the tell-tale rip of a condom wrapper, Eddie's hand gripping you firmly about the hip as he slips in, both moaning in synchronicity. His thrusts are immediately hard and rough, pounding into your cunt, catching you off guard.

You scramble for purchase on the bedsheets, his hand pushing down on your back so your ass goes higher.

"Fuck baby, look at this pretty pussy, swallowing my cock." He pants, delivering a small swat to your ass.

"Ah - Ed's!" You cry out, shocks of pleasure sparking through your body

"You like that sweetheart, like having your perfect little ass spanked?" He coos, hitting you again, the slapping of your bodies filling the small room.

You slip your hand between your legs, rubbing insistently at your clit only to have Eddie pull it away, taking your wrists behind your back to rest above your ass using them as leverage.

"Not yet baby, you're still being punished, remember?" He jeers, using his free hand to spank you harder, the skin welting under his touch.

"Eddie, choke me please." You beg, shocking yourself.

"Jesus, you sure?" He asks breathlessly, still slamming into your wet cunt, you nod furiously tilting your head up from the bed. "Oh my god, you're something else, hit me if I hurt you sweetheart." He says frantically, ringed fingers grasping at your throat.

It's pure filthy bliss, you feel like you're imploding and exploding all at once, Eddie rhythmically squeezing and releasing every few seconds.

"Touch yourself for me princess." He groans, you do as you're told, rubbing frantically at your swollen clit, feeling him ram deeper. "Make yourself cum on my cock."

"Eddie, baby, fuck." You whine incoherently, sobbing as your orgasm hits like a freight train. He lets go of your throat, leaning over you, kissing you messily.

"Oh my god, you're so - fuck - tight around me, I'm gonna cum." Eddie grunts, hips stuttering to a halt, pulsing deep inside you. You're panting heavily, body wracked with shocks, heat blooming from your sore ass cheeks, you'd have bruises in the morning you were sure of it. 

Eddie pulls out as gently as possible, but you're completely unaware floating somewhere in a boneless puddle.

"You did so well sweetheart." He murmurs softly, hands running delicately over your back. "I'm so proud of you."

You want to say something nice to him but you're so tired you settle for sticking your hand out in a thumbs up, Eddie erupting in laughter. 

"Come on baby, we gotta get cleaned up and get some sleep."

"Leave me here, in my cocoon of filth." You huff into the pillow.

He responds by placing kiss after kiss to your half hidden cheek, you reluctantly turn your head to face him, so he can plant one on your lips.

"Shower, cuddle, sleep and I'll let you keep the shirt for the rest of the night." He mutters against you.

"Fine, but you might have to carry me."

Taglist: @avalon-wolf @mystars123 @lolalanaie @eddiemunsonsgf2 @eddieslildarling @bakugouswh0r3 @sidthedollface2 @81rain @blueberrylemontea-fanfic @winchester-angel @bimbobaggins69 @tuskjohnny @fckyeahlames @thecomfortgoth @alanamarie @miarosso @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @somespicystuff @eddiethesexy

Sorry if I missed anyone!

[1863-project]

hi! i recently went to visit NYC with my friend (it was fun!! veeery crowded but fun) and she mentioned that 1) there are a lot of abandoned rail lines around NYC, some of which have been reopened and 2) there's apparently an event in grand central where they put a lot of the old trains out on display???

i didn't have time but i'd love to check both of those out if i ever visit again - i was wondering if you knew any more about them? + also if you have any other recommendations for what else to see around the city 👉👈 tysm!!!

Hey, I'm so glad you had a great time in my city! NYC is really a wonderful place, even though we're packed like sardines in here.

There are definitely a lot of rail lines that aren't currently in use in and around NYC, as well as some that are only used for freight. We used to be a pretty dense railroad hub (before cars fully took over). The proposed Interborough Express would run on the Bay Ridge Branch of the LIRR, which hasn't carried passengers since 1924 and has been exclusively used for freight since. If you go into neighborhoods that once contained shipping warehouses, like Industry City in Brooklyn, you can find railroad infrastructure if you know where to look still. A bit further afield, they're looking to hopefully someday return rail service to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western's old Lackawanna Cutoff, which would allow New Jersey Transit trains to go non-stop between Hoboken, New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania. And of course, we have a myriad of abandoned subway stations, which you can look for as you pass through on your way to other destinations! (City Hall is the one I recommend trying to see the most - just stay on the 6 Train until it loops around after its last stop and you'll pass through as it gets set up to go back uptown. Or you can become a member of the New York Transit Museum and go on a tour, like I did.)

Actually, visiting the aforementioned New York Transit Museum makes getting into an abandoned station easy as pie. You pay $10 to get in and you're in the old Court Street Station. If you like trains (or trolleys or busses!) on any level I highly recommend it.

RE: Grand Central, that was an old event done for National Train Day, and I don't know if they still do it but it would generally be in early May if they bring it back. I know they've been known to roll out the Hickory Creek for that - it's an observation car that used to be on the 20th Century Limited, the New York Central's flagship service between NYC and Chicago. The Hickory Creek is maintained by the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey and it tends to be in their yard in Boonton, NJ when it's not running on private charters.

For other recommendations - oh my God, if you haven't been to the American Museum of Natural History, you have to go. It's my favorite place in the entire world. I'll also recommend the Bronx Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Society's headquarters, as they do a lot of work towards the conservation of endangered species and education. If you like baseball, Citi Field (where my useless Mets play) has significantly better food options than Yankee Stadium, and I'm not saying this out of bias - Yankees fans agree with me.

Avoid Times Square. It may be geared towards tourists, but everyone who actually lives here hates it because it's too crowded and you can't get where you're trying to go. If you really have to go to Raising Cane's or Junior's Cheesecake there are locations in Brooklyn that are so much less crowded.

If you have questions on anything specific I'm happy to help! I love sharing my city with other people!

[chromaticramblings]

book review - ecotopia by ernest callenbach

Ecotopia, written by ernest callenbach in the 1970s, describes a world in which the land regions previously known as northern california, washington, and oregon secede from the rest of the united states and create their own nation, the nation of Ecotopia. the principles of sustainability and circular economy are central to this new nation.

here are my thoughts on some things covered in the book, i hope that this reaches someone else who's read it and we can share thoughts!

(this will include spoilers. however, the nature of the book is not a narrative, and is rather a presentation of ideas. therefore reading this post will not ruin the book for you if you choose to read it)

one of the greatest thought experiments Ecotopia undertakes is that of ideal urban planning. in that respect, the book is pretty cool! they hypothetical nation of Ecotopia describes San Francisco as a central city hub, from which spokes of public transport emerge and run to smaller city towns. these towns take the place of suburbs, which were razed during the country’s Independence / reconstruction era. (wooooo!!) public transport abounds and runs at a high speed of 30 mph, which is all you really need since the urban centers are so densely built and multi use. Between city towns are managed forests (actual forests! not monocultures) as well as natural land which has been allowed to restore itself.

people live in flexible communes that typically work together to produce something, whether that be a farming commune, fishing commune, artist communes, or business / science communes that invent things. everyone has a universal base income that is just minimal enough to reasonably get by, allowing people to pursue art or a risky startup without fear of dying. which i think is really cool! necessity breeds innovation yes but you need security too. work culture in Ecotopia is also vastly different, as the boundary between work and leisure and personal time is eroded, which may seem like a bad thing but the consequence of the UBI system means that most Ecotopians actually Like their work and choose to do it of their own free will. crazy huh.

houses are typically made of wood, which to me raised a suspicion flag, cause this is the Bay Area we’re talking about, which is Humid as Shit, and the Ecotopians have phased out paint due to it containing heavy metals. which good for them i guess but those houses are gonna rot lmfao. i took the liberty of imagining they are proofed with sealant made from the biodegradable, non petroleum based plastic the Ecotopians had developed and manufactured. while wood is the building material of choice, houses are also built from large tubes of insulated bioplastic, which are joined at the whim of the family or commune creating the house. (there are no architects, everyone builds their own houses themselves to suit their needs.) these houses are cheap and accessible, and zoning laws seem to be nonexistent, making homelessness a nonissue.

in terms of materials, everything in Ecotopia is renewable and has a full zero waste lifecycle. wood is the material of choice. the only metal Ecotopians use comes from scavenged cars and machinery of the pre seccession era. Ecotopians still manufacture plastic, but most kinds of it are fully biodegradable in a few days. when a lasting material is needed, a different type of plastic is used; this kind will not degrade until it is in full contact with soil. given how important disposable plastic is for applications such as research, i'm glad this was considered and accounted for in this book instead of throwing it off as a "we don't need plastic anymore kumbaya" kinda vibe.

culture wise, there is a lack of emotional restraint which the book’s narrator, a visitor from NYC, frequently comments on. hugs and physical affection between all relationships and genders are normalized. there also seems to be an insistence on small talk as a way to humanize those working “lesser skilled” jobs. honestly i found this a bit annoying, as i don’t think small talk is necessarily indicative of human connection, and that a truly emotionally attuned people would be okay with giving space when necessary. but i thought it was nice to acknowledge that all people are people, even while working “subservient” jobs.

ok so those were the things i liked.

criticism #1.

WILLIAM WESTON STOP BEING A FUCKING MISOGYNIST CHALLENGE

alternatively:

ERNEST CALLENBACH WRITE ONE (1) WOMAN WHO ISN’T A SEX OBJECT CHALLENGE

NO, THE WOMAN WHO YOU DESCRIBED AS UNATTRACTIVE WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE IN A POSITION OF POWER DOES NOT COUNT

god jesus christ

over the course of his adventures, journalist William Weston encounters many fellows (men) and new friends whom he talks around the fire with (men). he also encounters Marissa, a beautiful wild woman, exotic and mysterious who runs through the forest, cares deeply for trees, stares into his soul with her plain face and round dark eyes, and has sex with him twenty four hours three hundred sixty five days a year.

he also encounters Linda, an attractively sarcastic yet caring nurse, who nurses his injuries, jacks him off, and consumes him with thoughts of when he “will be healed enough to fuck her properly”. (direct quote)

in addition to the misogyny, there appears to be a fair amount of gender essentialism in Ecotopian society, something I found disappointing. Ecotopian clothes are sharply gendered. (from my understanding of Ecotopian values, i’d expect everyone to be wearing skirts due to the ease of manufacture and resulting ease of movement.) women are described to have an “air of fertility” (yes, actually). the governing party is made up of women, due to womens’ “natural competency regarding cooperation and diplomacy rather than competition”. the only sport in the country, the ritual war games, is barred to women. (it’s actually remarked later in the book that in Ecotopian psychology offices, it is often women who come in with issues of untamed aggression, and attributes it to their exclusion from the games. i wonder what a solution could be 🤔) thankfully work is not gendered, but it appears the social spheres of men and women rarely intersect, as Weston socializes and discusses ideas with a fair amount of men, and no women. perhaps for the better, as he’d be too distracted trying to fuck them to have a discussion of any substance.

queer pairings are also mentioned offhand, but they serve the purpose of emphasizing the Ecotopian's open attitudes towards sex and intimacy. queerness is treated as a sexual quirk rather than as an orientation.

in addition to the disappointing sexism / heterosexism, there's a good amount of racism. different races live segregated. although this is a conscious choice by the inhabitants, it still strikes as somewhat odd that there wouldn't be a way for humans to maintain their culture while living in an integrated society. many of the barriers to race equality in our current system are abolished in Ecotopia; the cheapness of the bioplastic houses makes it accessible for anyone to own a house anywhere, and the ease with which people can start their own enterprises reduces employment barriers significantly. therefore i'd expect integration between races to be a significant achievement of the Ecotopians. the writing itself is also racist. callenbach makes distinctions while describing the cultures of the nonwhite populations that make it clear that white is the default of Ecotopia, and all other cultures are side notes. also, callenbach makes no mention of an Ecotopian prison system (an aspect of society that no doubt merits analysis) until he mentions the Black community. sir what is up with that 🤨

there's also a lot to be said of callenbach's treatment of Indigenous ideas. the Ecotopians take a lot of inspiration from classic Indigenous principles, such as living in balance with the earth's natural resources and respecting nonhuman life, and Indigenous clothing styles. however, this feels rather appropriative rather than appreciative, and there are no actual Indigenous characters in the book. i would expect that such an empathetic society which takes direct principles from Indigenous culture would appreciate and honor the Indigenous people within that society rather than just shamelessly taking their culture, especially given the context that Ecotopians are ex citizens of the united states, the country which caused the Indigenous communities in that area so much harm.

overall, i think this book's strengths lie in its rethinking of what society could be like without work as its central focus. i love the UBI system, the reduced work week, and the attitude of work as something to enjoy rather than something to get over with. i also love that the nation's economic fall wasn't skipped over. i think its important to realize that many policies which would improve human health and quality of life would also lower our GDP, and that maybe that's perfectly fine. maybe human lives matter more than how rich a nation is. despite all these strengths, however, the sexism and racism cannot be overlooked; they made me almost put the book down several times. this book is clearly a product of its time, written by a white man. in keeping with good critical thinking practices, its important to recognize what ideas are good to keep and what needs to be thrown out.

tldr: great ideas about an alternative structure for society, unfortunately sexist and racist as well. 6/10

[argumate]

Hefei and nearby towns have become an E.V. manufacturing hub, with overall car production nearly tripling since 2019 and now exceeding Michigan’s. Hefei’s industrial policies have been so successful in nurturing technology manufacturers that the country’s central government has embraced tenets of what is known as the Hefei model.

The Hefei model consists of using government money to buy newly issued shares in manufacturers and start-ups that need cash. Officials also arrange loans with attractive interest rates from state-controlled banks to finance new factories.

Now so many cities are subsidizing electric vehicle factories that the industry faces severe overcapacity and heavy losses.

force consumers to subsidise suppliers, if everyone does this the world ends up awash in goods that no one can afford to buy without going into debt that can never be repaid

[eretzyisrael]

Groups sympathetic to terror organization Hamas planned and executed a massive rally in New York City on Saturday after vowing to disrupt the Christmas holiday as a means of encouraging people to join the largely anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The groups, including radical liberal groups People's Forum and Palestinian Youth Movement, organized the protests, which drew huge crowds to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which disrupted traffic and doubtless left numerous already-panicked last minute shoppers disgruntled at the disruption. Still, this was the groups' explicit goal, as they intended to ensure that there would be no Christmas "as usual" as long as people continue to support Israel. ... ... This marked the second time in less than a week that New York City was disrupted by Hamas protests. Earlier this week crowds of Hamas sympathizers clogged mass transit hubs, causing major disruptions throughout the city.

There were disruptions across the US and across Europe as well.

From the NY Post:

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters converged on Midtown Monday, lugging a blood-red mock Nativity scene and chanting "Christmas is canceled here." "Long live the intifada," the crowd of about 500 demonstrators yelled, using the Arabic word for "rebellion" or "uprising," as they mobbed the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree where revelers were enjoying the holiday. ... At least six arrests -- four for disorderly conduct, one for menacing and one for graffiti -- were later reported near Grand Central Station and Union Square, as protesters and cops clashed, according to law enforcement sources.

More from Breitbart:

On Christmas Eve, a pro-Palestinian caravan of cars disrupted Christmas caroling in Washington Square Park, the Post reported. In Chicago on Christmas Eve, a group of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators targeted the homes of local lawmakers before briefly shutting down Interstate 90 -- the key artery connecting Chicago to O'Hare International Airport -- in both directions. ... The disruptions even reached suburban Memphis, Tennessee, where a pro-Palestinian crowd disrupted Christmas shopping. Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators have been targeting Christmas, and symbols of Christianity, for weeks...

They disrupted a fundraiser for blind children, too.

[simshousewindsor]

HOW THE QUEEN AND ROYALS TRAVEL IN STYLE: FROM HELICOPTERS TO PRIVATE JETS

EASTON, Windenburg (SNN) - - The Windenburg royal household published its financial report for the year 2022-2023, giving a glimpse of how the monarch and the working members of her family get from A to B and how much it all costs.

In total, over the last financial year the royals spent §4.5 million simoleons on travel, including the official tours undertaken by George I, Queen consort Rowena, (then) Princess Katherine, and Prince Louis, as well as some minor working royals.

But how do the Windenburg royals travel, and what methods do they have at their disposal? SNN has the answers.

Helicopters

One of the main methods of domestic travel for the queen and the working members of her family is by helicopter.

The queen currently relies on one main helicopter at her disposal, The Queen's Helicopter Flight (TQHF), which is painted in a deep blue color with royal cyphers on each side. The craft is a model EC155 from Americreek manufacturer LorySims and has been in use by the royals since 2009.

Though helicopters are capable of landing in the gardens of Buckingsim Palace, the main central Easton landing hub for members of the royal family is at Kently Estate in a large field at the northern end of the complex.

The 2022-2023 royal household financial statement revealed that over 179 journeys were made via helicopters by the working royals throughout the year.

As the expense for this is paid from the allocation of funds the queen receives from the government to pay for her official duties, she retains the right to approve each use of her aircraft by family members.

Private Jets

In the same way that the queen has the use of helicopters to help her travel quickly and safely within the U.K. for short haul flights, she also has access to private jets both for her personal use, as well as for the use of working members of her family and government officials.

RAF Voyager

In the 2022-2023 financial year the royals undertook a number of foreign tours. The queen and other members of her family are regularly asked by the Foreign Office to undertake international visits, in promoting Windenburg assets around the globe.

For their journey, the royals travel aboard RAF Voyager, the U.K government's VIP jet. While it maintains a military function as a mid-air refueling craft, it's also used to transport high-ranking government officials and members of the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Kent used it the most as they undertook the most international visits on behalf of the Crown during the year.

RAF Voyager is maintained and manned by the Royal Air Force, which oversees all of the royals' air travel.

The Royal Train

The Royal Train comprises a dedicated set of claret liveried sleeper, dining and lounge carriages reserved for the use of senior members of the royal family when traveling around Windenburg. There has been a royal train since the reign of Edward I and the current one was presented to King George I in 1994, though it has had its interiors updated in the years since.

Total expenditure on the royal train, including operating lease payments, for 2021-2022 was §1 million simoleons.

Royal Yacht

The royal yacht of the Windenburg monarchy, also known as The Royal Yacht Windenburgia, has been in service since 1978. It is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Brindleton Bay in 1813. The yacht travels more than five-hundred thousand nautical miles around the sims world to more than 120 ports in 16 countries.

Fleet of Motor Vehicles

As well as helicopters, planes and trains, the royals also have a fleet of luxury motor cars that are used for official events such as the State Opening of Parliament, as well as regular engagements around the United Kingdom of Windenburg.

The Rolls Royce State Limousines are official state cars manufactured by Rolls Royce as a gift for the late King George I on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee in 2017. The two cars produced, in navy and black, were in service for the King up until his death in 2023. They have most recently been in service for Queen Katherine I. The Queen Mother (then Queen consort) used the car while accompanying the King's coffin. Both cars are kept in the Royal Mews.

In 2022-2023, the official expenditure on motor vehicle journeys undertaken by the queen and senior royals was §200,000.

[kicksaddictny]

Jordan Brand Introduces District 23: A Celebration of Basketball and Community in Paris

Jordan Brand Unveils District 23: A Cultural Celebration of Basketball and Community in Paris

Jordan Brand is excited to introduce District 23, a transformative celebration of Paris' vibrant 18th arrondissement, elevating it into a global hub for sports and culture.

District 23 is Jordan Brand’s homage to the diverse cultures and international youth that shape basketball and its many dimensions. It is a living example of how sport can be a catalyst for lasting community impact, especially for the next generation.

This unique initiative features a six-week program, curated by District 23 Creative Director Youssouf Fofana, centered around the historic former Tati Barbès department store, which has been renovated to become a space for creativity and community.

“This entire project is dedicated to the youth of this neighborhood and similar neighborhoods around the world,” says Youssouf, a frequent Jordan Brand collaborator and founder of the Maison Château Rouge fashion brand. “By amplifying the 18th arrondissement to the world, we hope to empower community members to create a new legacy for themselves and future generations.”

Youssouf has designed an immersive “summer school” for young creatives, focusing on design, technical skills, and brand creation. This intensive program is inspired by Youssouf’s journey to becoming a designer while growing up in Paris’ African diaspora.

His path included a pivot from a banking career to founding a nonprofit with his brother, supporting local artisans in Senegal. This work led to the creation of Maison Château Rouge and collaborations with Jordan Brand on the AJ1 Mid SE Fearless and an AJ2.

“The coolest kids in my neighborhood wore Jordan Brand, and Michael Jordan was our hero, so working with Jordan on the AJ1 and AJ2 was a dream come true,” says Youssouf. “District 23 feels like our biggest collaboration yet, bringing our story full circle.”

In partnership with Foot Locker, Jordan Brand will provide Parisian youth access to basketball courts and outdoor spaces for sport, with programming that uses movement as a gateway to learning creative skills. Key spaces include Paris Basket 18, a women’s basketball club, and Square Leon, a central park in the 18th arrondissement.

Youssouf and Jordan Brand family member Easy Otabor, owner of Chicago's Anthony Gallery, have curated the Diaspora Renaissance exhibition. This exhibition invites visitors to explore the interconnected nature of diasporic communities through works from 23 artists, including Gabriel Moses, Alvin Armstrong, and Maty Biayenda. Six artists were commissioned to interpret the AJ1 through a diasporic lens, showcasing the cultural significance of this iconic shoe.

District 23 will also celebrate the gastronomy of the 18th arrondissement, highlighting recipes, restaurants, and food collectives that honor cultural traditions. Mam’ayoka, known as the mothers of the 18th arrondissement, will serve crowd favorites like Thieboudienne, a West African dish. Emerging diasporic chefs will share contemporary takes on traditional dishes.

Around the corner from the Tati Barbès building, sneaker enthusiasts and basketball fans can visit the region’s first Foot Locker x Jordan store, featuring the best of Jordan Brand’s products and community experiences.

The significance of District 23’s setting, at the former Tati Barbès space and throughout the 18th arrondissement, is profound. Founded by Jules Ouaki in 1948, the Tati department chain transformed the fashion industry with its low-cost textiles and distinct gingham branding, debuting in the 18th arrondissement, home to many immigrant communities.

Following the store’s closure in 2020, Youssouf transformed the space into the headquarters for his design-development program and collective, United Youth International, providing technical skills, mentorship, and community for Parisian youth aspiring to creative careers.

Jordan Brand is proud to partner with Youssouf to revitalize this historic space, serving young creatives and athletes this summer and beyond.

“It’s hard to imagine what’s possible without the knowledge and references to look back on,” says Youssouf. “District 23 is a memento for the youth of the 18th arrondissement to inspire them to achieve their dreams.”

Local community members can explore District 23 using an immersive guide available on the Nike App. Stay tuned for more updates on Jordan’s celebration of basketball culture this summer in Paris.

[jaillir-des-etincelles]

closed starter for @vicletnight​. 

For those who lived off the thrill, they came in droves under the cover of darkness. Participants and audience alike went off road at the edge of a road that seemed to end. Beams off, you would only be guided by certain glow-in-the-dark markers. But you would only notice them if you knew they were there in the first place. The night was invite only, Of course, anybody invited could invite another - with the tacit understanding that if you ended up being a rat, it would be the last event that you ever attended in your life. The abandoned military airbase, no longer on the radar for authorities, whether out of a lack of care or a greased hand, lit up only once a month, but it had grown over time to be more than just passionate racing. From your regular street thug, to the delinquent kid to gangs alike, the Races were viewed as a central hub, an opportunity to connect, to buy and sell, to make a name, do business, and be entertained. Anyone who was anyone, directly or peripherally, in the underground liked to attend, even if sporadically.  Selene’s heels clattered on the ashphalt, inaudible against the engines revving throughout the crowded, as she got out of her black Dodge Charger. Already having placed her money for today’s roster, she was one of the many racing today, the crowd favourite. What new engine would she get when she won today’s races? Selene had made her name in the Races, being the youngest Rider to win. And then win five times in a row after that. Her face was calm, focused and expressionless, as she popped the front open to check on the new customisations she’d done on her vehicle, some more illegal than others. Pulling some grease from her duffel bag that she flung on the ground, she tightened one of the parts. Maybe a new V-8 engine for her Dodge, supercharged rather than going turbo. Or maybe a nitro-tank? Normally she was an overseas sort of girl with her cars, but the young girl had a guilty pleasure for sleek cars. And perhaps that guilty preference extended to men, she mused, as a group of men, too polished and sophisticated to fit into the illegal grunge scene, stopped to talk right by her car. One or two in the group seemed more used to the rowdiness, unfazed by the money and other contraband being handed around. But even then, they were clearly normies. Your average contributing productive citizen who decided their idea of fun would be to observe the underground. Dirty their soles a bit. Feel like they are living dangerously, just by feeling the evident undertone of aggression that hung in the air like a heavy blanket. People here didn’t play nice, and it gave people like them feel edgier than they actually were.  Her hand hovered just above the gear she was working on, as she glanced to take a better look at the group. Immediately her eyes were drawn to him - she could tell who was green in that group. He’d never attended, just in the way his eyes drank in the wild bustle around them. Too put together. Too out of place here, she told herself. He had an air of gentleness to him. She could tell that, even without interacting with him. He reminds me of Atticus. A jolt of guilt passed her chest, curling tightly like a fist. Suddenly finding herself more and more irritated, she glared at the man who looked most out of place before snapping, “Hey, this is the riders area. You’re in the way. If you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re going, idiots like you shouldn’t come to places like this.” Her eyes hardened, taking in the man’s handsome features. “Especially you. This isn’t the opera or a walk in the park.”