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[chicgeekgirl89]

A/N: @lemonlyman-dotcom. My darling. I HAVE CONNED YOU!! This is like in the Hallmark movies when you find out he/she was really a prince(ss)/secret millionaire/the owner of the evil corporation all along. YOUR SECRET SANTA IS MEEEEEEEEE!!! The Christmas tree fic is a FAKE!! I pretended to moan and groan about how I couldn't get this fic written BUT REALLY I WAS DELIGHTEDLY CRAFTING IT FOR YOU THE WHOLE TIME!!! Oh the evil joy it brought me every time I posted a little snippet of complete malarky and you reblogged it MWAHAHAHA!! 😈 How did I do? Were you fooled by my outstanding acting? Hehe, I hope you were and that this is a complete surprise! I took your @tarlos-santa prompt idea about Owen and Carlos teaming up to get T.K. the perfect gift and ran with it. It's full of holiday shenanigans and little easter eggs for you, good luck finding them all! (Also I hope you like this badly photoshopped header, I am delighted by the low quality badness of it lol!)

Read on AO3

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Carlos freezes, his lips pressed against the soft skin that lies just below T.K.’s bellybutton. His left index finger is hooked into the elastic waistband of T.K.’s boxers and  he’s already pulled them down low enough to see the sharp jut of his husband’s hipbone. He lifts his head, slightly alarmed. “Am I sure I want to give my husband a pre-work blowjob? Well I was, but now I’m not.”

“No, not that. Please keep doing that,” T.K. says, shifting a little bit, his hands going up behind his head. “I meant are you sure you want to go Christmas shopping with my dad today?”

“Oh, that.” Carlos presses another kiss into him. “Why wouldn’t I want to go?”

“Because my dad is…a lot,” T.K. says, then sucks in a breath when Carlos scrapes his teeth over that sexy hipbone. “And he’s terrible at Christmas shopping.”

“I know,” Carlos mumbles against T.K.’s skin. “That’s why I’m going.”

A week ago Owen had given him a call and invited him out for lunch and Christmas shopping. Surprised, but also pleased, he’d readily agreed and they’d made plans to meet at a restaurant in The Domain and hit up some of the stores afterward. Owen had texted Carlos last night to remind him to wear comfortable, practical footwear and bring reusable bags. 

“Maybe,” he says, nipping at the sensitive skin in the crux of T.K.’s thigh so that he squirms, “if I go, you’ll actually get something you like this year.”

“You really think that you can convince my dad to buy something normal for Christmas?” T.K. scoffs. “Good luck.”

Carlos looks up at him again. “You underestimate the cow eyes?”

“You’re going to use the cow eyes on my dad?”

“If I have to.”

“You’re going to use the cow eyes on my dad to stop him from buying me a fifteen pound block of imported cheese from Italy because the salesman tells him it’s a good deal? Or a decorative, three foot tall, hand carved horse statue that he thinks matches the aesthetics of the loft? Or—“

“I will take care of it,” Carlos assures him.

“What if he—“

“T.K.!”

“What?”

“How about we stop talking about your dad while I’m trying to blow you?”

He tugs T.K.’s boxers down, freeing his morning wood and T.K. lets out a hiss as the cool air of the loft touches his skin along with Carlos’ fingers. “Okay, yeah,” he says, his voice tight with the beginnings of pleasure. “We can do that.”

Two hours later Carlos is showered and dressed and pulling into the parking lot on the north side of the Domain. He checks the mall map and heads toward Flower Child, a restaurant with great vegan options and fresh ingredients.

Owen is sitting at a table outside, a Yankees hat on his head, and he stands when Carlos gets close, excitement on his face. “Carlos, good to see you,” he says, pulling him in for a brief hug.

“Thank you for the invitation.” 

Owen looks at him sympathetically as they sit. “I know this year is going to be hard,” he says. “And I know Christmas shopping with me isn’t the same as doing it with your dad, but I want to help where I can.”

Carlos bites back a snort of laughter. He and his dad never once Christmas shopped together. His dad hated shopping. It’s very sweet that Owen—who loves shopping and would consider an afternoon at the mall with his son a highlight of his week—thinks Gabriel and Carlos would have enjoyed doing the same, but honestly the idea of trying to drag his dad around for hours buying presents is hilarious.

“That’s very thoughtful Owen, thank you,” Carlos says, hoping with all his might that his dad is watching down from somewhere and laughing too.

“I took the liberty of ordering us both their seasonal rose petal lemonade,” Owen says. “Have you had the Glow Bowl here? The shiitake combined with the sunflower sauce is di-vine.”

“That sounds good,” Carlos says, flipping the menu over to take a look.

“The last time I brought T.K. here he had the roasted beet and organic apple salad.”

“I think I remember that,” Carlos says with a smile. His father-in-law has a penchant for taking menu items very seriously, a fun quirk that has carried over to T.K. His husband gets very excited anytime they try a new restaurant. Although he usually ends up liking Carlos’ meal better than his own, stealing bites until Carlos offers to switch. 

He ends up ordering the Glow Bowl and Owen decides to go wild and try the Brussels sprouts and organic kale salad after some banter with their server. “So,” Owen says, taking a sip of his lemonade. “How’s the new job?”

“Not so new anymore,” Carlos says. It’s been almost eight months at this point, but he and Owen really haven’t spent any significant time together since he started with the Rangers outside of professional reasons. He’s barely had time for his husband let alone anyone else. “I feel like I’m starting to find my place though. It’s different from beat work.”

“I’d imagine so. The hat and the belts alone are quite the change,” Owen comments.

Carlos chuckles. “Yeah it’s definitely a look.”

“Well, it’s one you wear quite well. How’s your mom?”

His smile dims. “She’s okay. The holidays are hard. She and my dad had a lot of traditions. But my tías and my sisters have been around a lot, so that helps.”

“And she has a son who is carrying on his father’s legacy,” Owen says. “I’m sure that helps too.”

Carlos shrugs, letting his fingers hug the glass in front of him, the condensation making them slick. “I guess.”

“You are humble to a fault Carlos,” Owen says. “I’m sure both of your parents are proud of you. I know I am. The way you’ve handled things this last year is impressive.”

“It doesn’t feel impressive.” Vulnerability slips into his tone. It’s not something he allows often, but his father-in-law pulled him back from the edge of making one of the biggest, most irreparable mistakes of his life. He’s already seen Carlos at his worst; admitting that he’s been struggling won’t do any damage. “It feels like I’m barely keeping my head above water most days,” he admits.

“The first year of marriage is always challenging,” Owen tells him factually. “I would know, I’ve done it several times. You and T.K. have faced some unique circumstances that have made it even more difficult. But you’re still together, working on yourselves, your relationship, your careers. That is impressive. Don’t forget to let yourself celebrate it.”

“Thanks,” Carlos says, dropping his eyes as his cheeks flush. “That means a lot.”

“Good.” Owen taps the table, his face serious. “Now, let’s talk about T.K.’s birthday. I have some ideas.”

They eat and talk with companionable ease. Carlos steers Owen away from the idea of hiring a mariachi band and circus performers for the party, but does concede to hiring a DJ. They also decide to have it catered by Carlos and T.K.’s favorite taco truck; the one that makes homemade churros that are to die for.

When they finish eating they throw away their garbage and Owen looks at him with renewed vigor. “So,” he says, “where should we start?”

“Well I have a few ideas—” 

“So do I! Come on, let me show you!”

Carlos follows his father-in-law down the line of stores. Even though it’s seventy-five degrees outside the place feels festive. There are windows decked out with wreaths and snowmen and Christmas trees, and Mariah Carey is blasting over the speakers. Families walk by, some smiling, others arguing. There are little kids dressed in their holiday best, ready for family photos, and a few melting down over toys that Santa won’t be bringing for several more weeks.

They walk into a store selling fitness equipment and Owen gestures grandly to a large black tub. “An ice bath!”

Carlos tries to school his face into something neutral. “An ice bath?”

“They are all the rage in the health and fitness industry right now. They boost your metabolism, provide stress relief, reduce inflammation, and improve your mood.”

“Mhm,” Carlos says, fully aware of the ice bath craze, but seeing for the first time just how difficult it might be to sway his father-in-law away from some of his more zany gift ideas.

Owen’s face falls in a way that is so reminiscent of T.K.’s disappointed face that Carlos feels a pang of guilt. “You don’t like it.”

“No, I—it’s a great idea,” Carlos says. “I’m just…I’m not sure where we’d put it in the loft.” He tries to emphasize how small and unsuited the loft is to this kind of gift without saying it aloud.

“Ah!” Owen says. “That’s the thing! This one is completely collapsible. Store it in the closet until you want it and then inflate it with one of these pumps in less than twenty minutes.” He grabs one off the shelf and holds it up to show Carlos. “It’s a cinch!”

“It…yeah. Seems…easy,” Carlos says, wondering how the hell he’s going to steer this ship to something more appropriate for T.K.

“And,” Owen says, “it’s really two for the price of one. Because you both can use it. Not at the same time obviously, it’s a very small tub.”

“Right,” Carlos says.

Owen eyes him critically. “Hm…you don’t seem to love the idea.”

“Oh no, I mean, if you think T.K.—“

“No, no, I can see it in your eyes. This isn’t the one. Not to worry, I have other options.”

He marches down a few aisles, but before they can find whatever it is he’s got his mind on, a smiling employee blocks their path. “Hello gentlemen. Finding everything you need?” she asks.

“Ah, not quite yet,” Owen tells her. “We are shopping for my son. This is his husband, Carlos.”

“Nice to meet you,” she says and something in her eyes hooks onto them. “You know, I’m not sure what exactly you’re in the market for, but we are having a sale on our elite face shape massagers.”

“Face shape massager?” Carlos asks in confusion.

She whips out a white box with a circular shaped device on the inside. “Yes! This little piece of technology can help reduce the appearance of double chins and improve skin quality! Would you like to give it a try?”

“Um, no, that’s okay,” Carlos says. “You know I really think we need to be moving on, right Owen?”

“No, no!” Owen says. “Give it a try. It can’t hurt. We Strand men have strong jawlines and I’m sure T.K. would like to keep his intact as the years go by. Let’s see how it works.”

Before Carlos can protest further the woman is looping the device over his head, his jaw clamping shut at the pressure. She pushes a button and red light illuminates his skin while the entire thing begins to vibrate. “Can you feel how the photons lift and firm the skin?” she asks.

“Mhmm,” Carlos says, the sound vibrating along with the massager.

“That is incredible,” Owen says, taking a step closer so he can get a better look. “It has red and blue infra lights?”

“It does! And it works even better when combined with our Cleopatra LED Light Mask,” she says, showing them a plastic mask that would make even Hannibal Lecter flee in terror. Carlos can only imagine how T.K. would use that to torture him, leaning over him in the middle of the night, his face lit by the red glow of the lights…

Carlos rips the massager off his face and hands it back to the woman. “Thank you so much for your time, but I think we’re going to go a different direction.”

"I don’t know Carlos, these both seem very reasonably priced,” Owen says, checking out the tag.

“You know what, I actually think T.K. already has both of these,” Carlos says in desperation. He mentally casts around for a believable lie. “…Marjan got them for his birthday… last year.”

“Oh, well, in that case—“

“What about for you, sir?” the woman asks Owen, her skills at capturing her prey honed to perfection after years of retail work. “I can see you take excellent care of your skin. Your pores are nearly non-existent.”

Owen beams and fifteen minutes later they walk out the door with two bags of “me-gifts” for him to put under his own Christmas tree. “Are you sure you don’t want some of these under eye de-puffers?” Owen asks, “They come in a two-pack.”

“I’m good,” Carlos says. “Thank you though.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

“Will do.”

“Okay,” Owen claps his hands. “So we’ve struck out on T.K. so far, but I have another idea.”

“Great!” Carlos says.

Owen looks at him with great confidence. “A hat.”

“A hat?”

“A hat.”

Forty-five minutes later Carlos loses the hat battle and they leave a Western wear shop with a brown leather cowboy hat for T.K. that he is going to love, but will have no practical use for outside of their bedroom. Owen is thrilled that his son can now match with Carlos, and Carlos is just glad they got the brown one and not the shiny blue one with silver stars.

He offers to take their bags to the car since they’re starting to get in the way and he’s on his way back, trying to figure out how he’s going to convince his father-in-law to go to Dick’s Sporting Goods and buy some batting gloves that are actually on T.K.’s wish list. Owen will probably dislike this idea because it is both practical and reasonably priced.

Carlos is plotting his plan of attack when a hand reaches out and grabs him, jerking him behind a sign with a map of the mall on it. “Whoa, hey!” he says, before realizing it’s Owen who has latched onto his arm. “What’s going on?”

“Look. Over there.”

Carlos follows the line of his finger to a kiosk selling cellphone cases and accessories. “Owen, what am I looking at?”

“That guy.”

“The one that looks like Santa?” The jolly, bearded fellow is talking to the seller at the kiosk, smiling and laughing.

“And the other guy.”

A shifty looking man, younger than the bearded grandfatherly type who is talking to the salesperson, is lurking near the stand too. “Okay…” Carlos says.

“I’ve been following them since you left. I’m pretty sure they just shoplifted from Bath and Body Works. And it looks like they’re about to do it again. We need to stop them.”

“Owen, that’s a pretty serious accusation. Are you sure that’s really what you saw?”

“The jolly one was distracting the workers with his holiday charm and I’m pretty sure the shifty one put several hand sanitizers in his pockets.”

Carlos barely stops himself from rolling his eyes. “Pretty sure?”

“There was a stand of candles in the way, but I know I’m very sure he was shoving them in by the handfuls.”

“Then let’s go tell a mall security guard.”

“All they’re going to do is call APD. You can arrest them now and prevent more crime from happening before APD can even get here.”

“I can’t arrest them because you think you saw them do something,” Carlos says.

Owen sighs. “Just watch. You’ll see.”

As they watch the shifty guy moves away from the stand and slinks toward another store a little further down. Carlos relaxes his shoulders. “See? Nothing happening here. Let’s check out—“

He’s interrupted by a huge crash as an entire shelf of the cellphone kiosk hits the floor, sending things flying everywhere. Everyone in the area stops and stares as the kiosk worker reels backward and falls to the floor.

Owen and Carlos move simultaneously. “Whoa, easy there,” Owen says as the kiosk worker tries to sit up. “That was a nasty fall. Are you hurt?”

“No, no, I’m okay,” he says, wincing as he pushes himself upright. “I don’t know what happened.”

“It looks like someone removed the pins from this shelf,” Carlos says, examining it. 

“Removed the pins? Why would someone do that?”

“Could have been a prank of some kind,” Carlos says.

“Or it could have been someone trying to create a distraction,” Owen says, giving Carlos a meaningful look.

“A distraction?” The guy looks confused. “What?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Carlos tells him. “Here, we’ll help you clean this up.”

They spend a few minutes picking up cellphone bits and bobs and helping the guy get the shelf back into place. “Is that everything?” Owen asks.

The guy looks around. “Yeah. I think so. Thank you guys for your help, I’m sure you have other things to get back to.”

As soon as they’re out of earshot Owen shakes his head. “Told you. Shoplifters.”

“Owen…”

“I know, you think I’m crazy. But where are that Santa guy and his shifty elf helper now, huh? Did they stick around to help? No. I bet you that shifty guy loosened that shelf on purpose and then he and Santa grabbed things from one of these nearby stores while we were distracted.”

“Or,” Carlos says pragmatically, “the shelf was never installed correctly and fell on its own.” He smiles and nods toward the sporting goods store. “How do we feel about some batting gloves?”

Owen does buy the batting gloves, but Carlos suspects it’s only because he’s preoccupied with his fictional shoplifter case. He keeps looking around, trying to be casual about it, but failing miserably. Strand men are great at a lot of things; subtlety is not one of them.

“You’re still thinking about those guys, huh?” Carlos asks as they walk out of Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“I know in my gut that they’re up to no good, Carlos,” Owen says. “You see a lot of shady people in my line of work.”

“More than in mine?” Carlos asks skeptically.

“Okay, fair point. But are you really telling me you don’t think they looked a little suspicious?”

Carlos mentally reviews what he saw earlier. “They definitely looked like they could be trouble. But we have no proof. Unless we see something else, there’s nothing we can do.”

“I’m so glad you agree,” Owen says. “I think it’s time for further investigation.”

Carlos stops walking, his brow furrowing in surprise. “Further investigation?”

“Come on. We’re making a little detour. I hope you know what you want for Christmas.”

Carlos follows him toward the center of the mall where a giant Christmas display has been set up and fake snow flurries from the sky. There’s a large gingerbread cottage, fake reindeer, a candy-cane lined path, mounds of cotton acting as the only snowfall Texas will see this year, and the centerpiece of it all is a gigantic throne upon which sits a jolly Santa who is holding two screaming toddlers while an elf attempts to get a picture worthy of a Christmas card. 

“Owen, what are we doing here?” Carlos asks. Two men hanging around a kid-friendly area sans children is not a good look.

“I heard that Santa guy talking earlier. He doesn’t just look like Santa, he is one of the mall Santas. The scrawny guy is an elf. And I know where their green room is.” He takes a look around and then ducks under one of the candy cane striped ribbons that line the area to keep pedestrians out. “Follow my lead,” he says and then drops out of sight into a mound of cotton snow.

“Owen!” Carlos hisses, dropping to his own knees instinctually so that both of them are now hidden in the piles of fluff. “Owen what are you doing?”

“Investigating. This way,” Owen whispers over his shoulder, beckoning Carlos forward. 

He really has no choice. Owen is going to do this whether Carlos follows him or not. So Carlos crawls on his hands and knees after his father-in-law, past reindeer legs and lollipop stems, until they reach the base of the gingerbread house. 

Owen points silently toward a cutout window and, like something out of a cheesy, 90’s Christmas film, they both rise up underneath it, trying to listen and peek over the sill without being seen. 

Sure enough the Santa look alike and his scrawny elf partner are both inside. “Ugh. Only like fifteen hand sanitizers and a couple hand lotions,” the scrawny guy says, shoving merchandise into a large blue duffle bag. “Got some decent jewelry from Kendra Scott while everyone was distracted with that cell phone kiosk though.”

“I told you. We have to keep it small. Otherwise people will get suspicious. Besides, we got that laptop last week and all those clothes from Anthropologie. Those are worth a lot on resale.” Santa takes a sip from his coffee cup. “I made almost ten grand off a mall in El Paso last year. Trust me. This’ll be worth it if we can make it a couple more weeks.”

“It had better be. This elf costume itches,” the scrawny guy retorts, reaching for a red and green costume hanging from a hook on the wall.

Owen motions to Carlos and they crawl back out toward the regular part of the mall. “There you have it,” Owens says as they stand. “Proof. Let’s bust in there and arrest them.”

“You aren’t authorized to arrest anyone. And I’m off duty,” Carlos says. “There are lots of bystanders around. This isn’t a violent crime. We need to call it in first.”

“Okay, so call away.”

“I will,” Carlos says. “Keep an eye on them, let me know if they go anywhere.”

“You got it,” Owen says.

Carlos sends a mental apology to his dad. He’d been really annoyed all those times Gabriel had gotten caught up in one of Owen Strand’s schemes. But now he can see that it’s a very slippery slope and once you start sliding you can’t stop.

He places a call, explains the situation and confirms that officers will be arriving shortly. Relieved that this is almost over, he turns back to tell Owen they need to stick around until APD arrives, but Owen has vanished

Frantically Carlos scans the area, his eyes landing in horror on the line of children and parents waiting eagerly to meet Santa. Sometime in the last ten minutes their suspects have taken center stage, Santa on his throne and Scrawny taking photos. Owen is up next in line, the woman behind him eyeing him suspiciously as she holds tightly to the hand of an eager little boy in a sweater with a T-Rex wearing reindeer antlers on its head. 

Before Carlos can even move, Scrawny, now dressed in full red and green elf regalia, calls Owen forward and he marches up toward Santa’s throne. “Oh no,” Carlos whispers under his breath as he jogs over to the line. “Excuse me,” he says, trying to push toward the front.

“Hey! No cutting! Get in the back!” an irate father yells.

Another elf with a headset puts both hands out to stop Carlos from moving further. “Sir! Sir! You have to wait at the end of the line!” 

“This is official Texas Ranger business,” Carlos tells her, his heart pounding as he watches Owen step right up to their suspects.

“Right, sure it is,” she scoffs.”

“Buddy, what do you want?” Santa asks, suspicion in his voice, despite the smile on his face.

“Owen, stop!” Carlos calls desperately, pushing past the headset elf who immediately begins calling for security.

Either Owen doesn’t hear or he doesn’t care, his voice carrying over the din of the crowd. “What I want to know is, why you think it’s acceptable to use the good name of Santa Claus for criminal activity,” he says.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Santa tells him. “Ho, ho, ho, is this some kind of joke?”

“It most certainly is not a joke,” Owen says. “Santa is supposed to give gifts away, not steal them for himself.”

“Okay, get out of here,” Scrawny the elf says, marching toward him.

“I will not get out of here,” Owen says hotly. “The two of you are robbing the stores of this mall and I won’t stand for it. Not at Christmas.”

“Buddy, you knock it off right now,” Santa says, his twinkly persona dropping away as he gets to his feet.

“You don’t deserve to wear this suit,” Owen tells him, poking a finger at his chest. “We have evidence of what you’ve done. Let’s not make a scene in front of all these families. The respectable thing to do here is to calmly turn yourselves over to the authorities.”

Owen is right. That would be the respectable thing to do. But this is not a respectable Santa. 

Instead, he runs. And Owen goes after him.

“Owen! Wait!” Carlos yells, vaulting a gumdrop fence to try and get closer.

It’s too late. Owen takes a flying leap and tackles Santa into a snowbank, knocking a fake reindeer’s head off in the process as the crowd around the display gasps in shock and Run, Run Rudolph begins to blast over the speakers.

“Stop! Texas Ranger!” Carlos yells, and then ducks as Scrawny grabs a giant candy cane and swings it at his head. 

Carlos catches the candy cane in both hands and grabs on tightly. “Drop it!” he orders. 

Scrawny refuses to let go and they wrestle over it for a minute until Carlos manages to rip it out of his hands, chucking it to the side. “Get on your knees,” he says, but Scrawny is scrappy. He lunges forward and catches Carlos around the middle, sending both of them sprawling onto the floor.

Carlos grunts as he lands flat on his back, the air immediately knocked from his lungs. Scrawny takes advantage of that to deliver a devastating blow to his jaw that sends pain exploding through Carlos’ face. 

On instinct more than skill he manages to hook a leg around Scrawny and roll them both over, grabbing his wrists and pinning them to the floor. “Stop moving,” he orders between gritted teeth. “Turn over.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Scrawny yells.

“Yeah well, you can tell the officers all about that when they get here,” Carlos huffs out, shoving the man onto his front and pinning his hands behind his back. 

His assailant subdued, he looks up and find that Owen has Santa in a headlock. “Get off of me!” Santa yells.

“You, are a very bad Santa,” Owen says breathlessly as blood pools in a cut on his lip and a black eye begins blooming around his eye socket.

“He’s hurting Santa!” The yell of a small child catches Carlos’ attention and his face heats as he realizes how many onlookers are gaping at them, cellphones taking video that is likely going to break the internet at some point later today.

“Owen let him go!” Carlos calls as mall security appears in the distance, one of them cruising in on a Segway that has been decorated in red and green tinsel garland.

Owen releases Santa, both of them doubling over in pain as Carlos pulls Scrawny to his feet. The Segway security guard skids to a stop and approaches him warily. “I’m Carlos Reyes, a Major with the Texas Rangers,” Carlos tells him. “These two have been stealing from stores in the mall all day. I have APD on the way.”

“We’ve been getting reports of items missing,” the officer says. “Didn’t ever think it would be Santa and his elf though.”

“Do you have somewhere to hold these two until they get here?” Carlos asks.

“Yes, sir.”

Carlos hands off Scrawny as another two guards grab Santa and plop him down into the back of a golf cart, securing his hands with zip ties.

“Are you okay?” Carlos asks Owen. It’s hard to get the words out, his jaw aching more and more with each syllable as it begins to swell.

“He got a couple good shots in,” Owen says, swiping at the blood on his lip. “I’ve had worse though.”

“You should have let me handle it,” Carlos says.

“Sorry Carlos, I know you’re good. But you’re not good enough to take on Santa and his elf,” Owen tells him. 

Someone from mall security gets them ice and then APD finally shows up. Carlos has just finished giving his statement to an officer when EMS arrives. He groans when he sees who it is. “We’re in trouble.”

Owen follows his gaze and winces. “Oh yeah. We are.”

Tommy, Nancy, and T.K. are moving toward them and Carlos can spot the exact moment they get close enough to realize who they’re going to be helping today because all three of them freeze on the spot. T.K.’s eyes go wide and then a mixture of worry and fury crosses his face as he picks up the pace and beats his partner and his boss to their sides.

“What happened?” he demands, kneeling down and putting a hand on Carlos’ thigh.

“There was a situation that needed to be dealt with and we handled it,” Owen says and T.K. shoots him a look of fury. 

“What does that mean?” 

“It means Santa was up to no good and we stopped it,” Carlos says, suddenly feeling very tired. 

T.K. opens his mouth, but Tommy and Nancy reach them at that point and they have their own questions. “Well this is a bit of a surprise,” Tommy says, reaching for the ice that Owen is holding on his eye. “What on earth have you two been up to today?”

“Yeah Captain Strand, I thought you had worked through the anger issues,” Nancy says, attaching a pulse oximeter to Carlos’ index finger.

“This wasn’t anger. This was holiday related justice,” Owen says primly.

“More like holiday related shenanigans,” T.K. mutters under his breath, but the concerned eyes he shoots at Carlos and the steady rubbing of his hand up and down Carlos’ thigh for comfort bely that his anger is really just worry.

“Okay, both of you, tell us what hurts,” Tommy commands.

In the end they get taken to the hospital for x-rays. Owen is pronounced fine, no damage done to his eye socket, although he’ll have one hell of a black eye, and Carlos’ jaw isn’t broken, but it is badly bruised. Scrawny really packed a punch. He’s relieved when he’s finally back home in bed, T.K. fussing over the comforter and the ice pack he’s holding to his face.

“Is the ice too cold?” T.K. asks. “Are you hungry? Of course you’re hungry, it’s like eight o’clock. I’m going to make you some soup.”

Carlos has a feeling he won’t be eating solids for several days, and soup does sound good; lunch with Owen feels like weeks ago at this point. But he catches T.K.’s hand and tugs him down onto the bed instead. “In a minute,” Carlos says. “Sit with me for a bit first.”

T.K. perches on the edge a frown on his face as he brushes a hand through Carlos’ curls. “I shouldn’t have let you go with my dad today. I knew something like this would happen.”

“How could you possibly have known something like this would happen?” Carlos asks, cracking an incredulous smile and then wincing when it sends throbs of pain through his face.

“Because that’s how it always is with my dad. If there’s trouble, he’s going to find it. He’s almost gotten us killed twice. He went undercover with a white nationalist group. He bought a horse and kept it at the firehouse for weeks. It’s like he literally can’t help himself.”

“He did the right thing today though,” Carlos says. “Those guys had stolen thousands of dollars worth of stuff from the shops in the mall.”

“I know, but I wish you hadn’t been in the middle of it,” T.K. grumbles, his hand coming up to gently cup Carlos’ bruised jaw. “Did you get any shopping done? Or did you spend the entire time playing detective?”

“Oh we got some shopping done,” Carlos says. “And I tried. I really tried babe. But your dad is…”

“Stubborn? Difficult? Unpredictable?”

Carlos nods. “All of those things.”

“So? What should I look forward to getting for Christmas this year?”

“How do you feel about hats…?”

[aaliyahunleashed]

The ultimate Aaliyah fan site, AaliyahOnline.com, launches it's official DOT.COM domain. Various fan page admins come together and merge all of their sites into one big fanpage and work together providing magazine articles, fan facts, photography and so much more into one place.

The very first theme was a pink and white Japanese Anime theme style with a Japanese anime of Aaliyah as the intro (fan) art. I remember many fans were not happy with the art because it absolutely looked nothing like Aaliyah (at all; not even a little). They tagged their images with a Japanese calligraphy. See examples below: When the page first launched there WERE indeed some haters but eventually it slowly got the love it deserved.

The main administrators of the site was Dragon One (who owned the website Strictly Aaliyah), and Cheree (Owner of Angely Aaliyah).

Jay (Owner of 100% Aaliyah) was apart of the team starting out but left and reformed their website under the name "AccessAaliyah.com" with watermarks changing form "100% Aaliyah" to "axa".

There's no doubt in my mind that during Aaliyah's down time she visited this fan site and I am sure she was very impressed and honored. This fan site actually looked better than her official site and had more material to offer fans. I also loved that it supported other Aaliyah fan sites and affiliates; something so rare today as most fan pages gatekeep resources and hide credit to fellow peers they collect material from.

When Aaliyah died, the website had temporarily closed. I can't remember if it was just for a few hours or the entire day. I do remember when I learned Aaliyah died, I went straight to AO and it was just an all black page confirming that she did indeed pass away with a link to just the message board (temporarily). When the site came back up it was redesigned as more of a tribute (on the intro splash page) before you got to the main page.

People from all over FLOODED the message boards and website in general just to share their grievances, fan encounters, give support etc. and there was just an overwhelming amount of traffic that AO had a hard time keeping up. So much so they started asking fans for help (donations) to keep the site active. The administrator (Quinn) was even paying out of his own pocket and shared with the message board that he was having a difficult time paying his own bills and cost of living.

In late 2003, it was announced that AO would officially be shutting it's doors. They felt the site was encouraging unhealthy behaviors, “emulating her life to an unhealthy degree… idolatry… jealousy, undesirable living situations, greed, and corruption”, and chose to shut it down by December 31, 2003.

Angry whispers started to circulate that the donations were a front and that the admin had pocketed the money. However, per AOs closing statement "AO Donations will be returned via Certified Mail on 12/22/03 or electronically (the Pay Pal donations) on or about the week of 12/22/03". No official complaints or legal actions were ever made against Quinn in relation to any missing funds and the rumors of "stolen donations" was squashed.

Fans then started to flood the official Aaliyah.com message forums to the point it had to shut down the message boards due to high traffic to the site (side note: I was a moderator of the official Aaliyah message board and my username there was "Strawliyah" and always represented "Aaliyah Unleashed" [formally known as Aaliyah'z World] in my signatures).

Between 2003 and 2015, social media changed the game. Platforms like Facebook, Tumblr, and then later Instagram and Twitter (X) made it easy for fans to connect; no coding, no effort, just click and post.

Dotcom fan sites started fading anyway, especially if they weren’t mobile-friendly. AO was ahead of its time, and fans tried to keep that spirit alive with sites like ForeverAaliyah.net and even AOM.com (which was actually a FAN site of the AO fan site called Aaliyah Online Members), but crashes and tech issues made it hard and fans got frustrated.

Today, if it’s not fast, mobile, and app-ready, people just scroll past. Attention spans are short, and social media wins by making everything instant. Now? You don’t need talent, a degree, or design skills. Just download an app, pick a filter, and boom, a pro-looking banner or AI-made video in seconds. Fast, easy, mobile; that’s what wins attention today and many people thrive and make money off AI content with little to no designing skills like it was back in the early 2000's when AO was active.

[ckret2]

Not the same anon but there are TWO websites, one is thereisnowebsitedotcom.com, which is the one with the countdown and thereisnowebsite.com, that one has like 3 images (one is that one french pipe image, a portrait of a lady and a guy and a quote of the diamond sutra with colored words, if you put whatever word in the pipe image you get the portrait one, and in the portrait if you put niccolo paganini it gets you to the sutra one, on the the sutra one putting anything gets you back to the portrait).

The second one seems unrelated to Gravity Falls and the domain has been registered since 1999, and has been a thing since early 2000's. So it's an easy mistake to make, but yeah the GF related has the "dotcom" Added in the URL before the actual .com to differentiate

@ earlier anon, there's your problem

[fightingtrim]

bull of heaven is an experimental band from denver, colorado that was active from 2008 to 2016 and you can find not all but most of their shit on their slightly jank dotcom and each album links to the internet archive page where you can download the full album because all their music is public domain #based and they make drone/ambient/experimental Mostly with the occasional foray into noise rock or drone metal or what the fuck ever its awesome its really fun. this is the reason why ive gotten into ambient noise wall lately its the bull. but the thing theyre most well known for is their album lengths like uhh 210 like a wall in which an insect lives and gnaws. album thats roughly five years long i think. but only the first year or so is actually listenable bc there was a server error when they were uploading and that never got completed. so its technically lost media but not the kind that anyone cares about because even bullofheaven fans are not actually deranged enough to listen to a year of one piece of music continuously. mostly. ive seen some people who listened to that multimonth album thats pretty awesome of them. forgot to mention the numbers each album of theirs has an index of releasing and each album is one song ranging between 15 minutes and 5 years as previously mentioned. the longest bull ive listened to is 042 he us cruel and moves with great cunning which is 13hrs and not technically a multiday #fakefan. but the thing i like about the bull is okay many things. but i like them from like a philosophy sorta interpretation. because theyre reaching for infinity, especially with the bass pulse series, its music thats not Techncally infinite but its much much longer then time to the heat death of the universe [technically. they were playing with nested zip files] its close enough to infinity to be basically equivalent from a human perspective. same way computers generate random numbers in a way that is Not Perfectly Random but its close enough for humans so like same difference functionally. i really really love the concept of infinity and noise as specifically something rly powerful and significant and beautiful because thats some shit i believed in way before i found the bull!!!!!!! it was a really like definitive [this is a story that has been told before. you are not the first to think this] in a way that is sooooooo important to me personally

[harrelltut]

Pentagon UFO Chief to step down next month... since 1968-michaelharrelljr.com's Occult Okcult Occult TECH POWER CARTEL [PC] ILLUMINATI of © 1698-2223 quantumharrelltech.com’s Clandestine Department of defense.gov Domain Communication [D.C.] Portal Address [PA] @ quantumharrellufo.tech's quantumharrelltech.ca.gov Military of Economic [ME] Alliances & Partnership [MAP] States... Independently Banking from Mother's [IBM's] Old 1698 Ægiptian America in Mu Atlantis [MA]

WELCOME BACK HOME IMMORTAL [HIM] U.S. MILITARY KING SOLOMON-MICHAEL HARRELL, JR.™

i.b.monk [ibm.com] mode [i’m] tech [IT] steelecartel.com @ quantumharrelltech.ca.gov

BUCKLE UP ENTITLED 2024 AMERICA

1968-michaelharrelljr.com REMEMBER ATLANTIS & LEMURIA

1968-michaelharrelljr.com Incarnated as Extremely Wealthy TUTANKHAMÚN… Died Contractually [D.C.] Wealthy on Earth [WE]… only 2 come back on Earth [Qi] Wealthier than before

Gen X is in Charge Now

GEN X POWERS ACTIVATE [PA] @ OUR PENTAGON

NOT THE REAL GOLDEN 9 ETHER OKCULT TECH LIBRARY ILLUMINATI?!?!?!

Department of DEFENSE.gov's Domain Communication [D.C.] Computer Aided Drafting [CAD] defense.gov Department PAY TO THE ORDER OF: QUANTUM HARRELL TECH LLC

Department of DEFENSE.gov's Domain Communication [D.C.] Computer Aided Drafting [CAD] defense.gov Department PAY TO THE ORDER OF: QUANTUM HARRELL TECH LLC

I.B.MICHAEL's [IBM's] ANCIENT 9 ETHER Ægiptian FREEMASON UNDER Father’s Old America of Mother’s GOLDEN BLACK SUN MONARCHY in Mu Atlantis [MA]

© 1698-2223 quantumharrelltech.com - ALL The_Octagon_(Egypt) DotCom [D.C.] defense.gov Department Domain Communication [D.C.] Rights Reserved @ quantumharrelltech.ca.gov

[robbiesblogdotcom]

Rick Schwartz: 10 Commandments of Domain Investing.

Rick Schwartz aka The Domain King shares his thoughts on Twitter creating his 10 Commandments of Domain Investing. Rick shares his proposal of 8 possible commandments will you join the convo over on Twitter to help share. Thou shall not buy Pigeon Shit Thou shall not Spam Thou shall not Pump & Dump Thou shall not say Better than Dotcom Thou shall not use Make an Offer Thou shall not put a…

[cyberclipper]

Choosing the Right Domain: .COM vs .NET

Your domain extension says a lot about your brand. 💼 .COM is perfect for commercial businesses and credibility 💻 .NET suits networking, technology, and SaaS platforms Not sure what fits you best? Check out our full guide at 👉 https://cyberclipper.com/com-vs-net-domain/ #WebHosting #DomainTips #CyberClipper #DotCom #DotNet #DigitalBranding

[findyourbrand]

EazyRadio.com offers you the perfect launchpad for your audio streaming venture, podcast network, or online radio station. This premium dot com domain combines catchiness with industry relevance, setting you apart in the crowded digital airwaves.

To reserve this unique domain go to: GetYourIdeal.com

[yourordinarycat]

hi hello just want to share some options i found when i wanted to make more involved stuff. for now i've settled on a static blog & site but there are some options people here might enjoy!

if you just want a simple static page, Codeberg offers free static hosting! works well for sites that are just information and some local interactivity like Wikipedia. some organizations like GitHub (i went with GitHub Pages myself) and Cloudflare do so as well, but Codeberg is much more community oriented. you get a domain that looks like "<username>.codeberg.page": https://codeberg.page/

of course, you might want to add interactive stuff - comments for example. the options start to become more limited here, for comments specifically i know Telegram has a widget you can drop into a site and link to a Telegram channel, there is something similar for GitHub issues. setup from here starts to get more involved, because you'll essentially start requiring compute in general, not just the specialized hosting assets/comment system case. you'll often need a payment method even if you intend to stay on a free tier...

worth noting too is that you'll always need to pay up if you want your own personalized domain. i got yourordinarycat.com for 10.44usd yearly with Cloudflare, cheap (in my opinion, for a dotcom), but not free. it'd be cool if governments could subsidize this in some way. also some registrars are shady as hell (AVOID GODADDY LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!) so gotta be careful there.

if you want more control (database, backend server, virtual machines, etc) you might be able to take advantage of stuff like Supabase (open source alternative to Firebase: https://supabase.com/pricing), the Google Cloud free tier (which is fairly generous if you only need the compute, especially if you can go serverless: https://cloud.google.com/free?hl=en), or Cloudflare Workers (https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/platform/pricing/#workers). again you're essentially requesting access to a machine's cpu time with these, so you're gonna face some limits no matter what. but they are an improvement over the php/mysql admin stuff for sure, if you can go through the setup process.

they should just make hosting internet websites cheaper. like that could just be subsidized i think. if you want a more diverse landscape of social media, if you want smaller sites to do better or to even have a chance to be made, website hosting needs to be cheaper and the best way to do that without anyone getting fucked over is for governments to start subsidizing it.

[mancinipicturesltd-blog]

"We were never quite dead to begin with"

Well how about that? We are kinda back... kinda.

Mancini Pictures had been in some kind of hyper-sleep for what seemed like forever.

We stopped the flow of short horror movies that we had been working on since 2005, due to Gary's disappointment in how Don't Fear The Reaper had turned out. DFTR was a great script, and one that Gary was sure to move us into the next phase of Mancini Pictures. However, there were certain behaviours on set, from people that were not even part of the main crew, that caused scenes to be reshot, rushed, and cut altogether from the final film. In the end Gary just wanted to get to the finish line, and DFTR is what it is, the weakest of Mancini Pictures short films. (We started off so strong too!).

Needing a break from fictional film making, we ploughed our energies into a feature length documentary about Star Wars fans entitled Binding The Galaxy Together. Across three years we travelled across the country, and across the Atlantic to many Star Wars events interviewing fans, and actors from the Star Wars movies. A lot of footage was gathered during this time. It was to launch before the release of The Force Awakens in 2015, to ride the Star Wars excitement for the release of that film.

However, we took on a cameraman during this period, who also began managing our first website, the now defunct Mancini Pictures (dotcom). This cameraman unfortunately thought that this was his project and that he was the director, issuing orders and challenging Gary's decisions on the direction of the documentary, to the point where he was becoming unbearable to work with. The footage that he turned in of Star Wars collectable items was unusable. It looked like he was trying to follow a fly across a table. Unfocussed and wavering. He also lost us an entire interview with a guest due to not pressing record.

Things reached boiling point and this "cameraman" was let go. So in retaliation, he took down the Mancini Pictures website, and sold the domain name to someone we had no idea of. And that's why the website was suddenly closed down - despite the fact that he was paid to create and maintain it.

Gary closed the documentary down completely after this.

In 2014 Gary went on to work on other people's movies as an actor, some of them big name studio movies and television shows, with major Hollywood stars. However, there was always a desire to return to his own written and directed work.

During the unspeakable days of 2020/2021, while we were all imprisoned in our homes, Gary returned to the feature length drafts of a trilogy that he had been working on, on and off, since 2014. This was the feature film version of his own short film (and personal favourite) October 31st: It's My Party. (Party forms the core of the second movie). It would have a name change (to be revealed in the future), but it would see the return of masked killer Bonehead over three movies. Gary is very happy with the first two scripts and is currently redrafting the third.

He has also written many more short films, in both full script and outline form, and has been active in getting a film crew together in order to get these into production as soon as we can. (We will find a decent camera man this time too!).

It was while this was happening that Fiona (Gary's wife), suggested putting the old films up on YouTube. They had been on Vimeo for sometime, but maybe they would reach a wider audience on YouTube. So Gary thought "Why not?", and uploaded the first of these, his 2007 movie Guilty Conscience - winner of the Best Short at the 28 Hours Later/Horror UK 2009 festival.

It was uploaded and Gary thought nothing more of it. But then it snowballed, It was getting views, and it just seemed to keep going. Guilty was pretty popular. Then the praise and comments started coming in, and people started subscribing to the channel from all over the world. This might help us - if people liked and are aware of Guilty Conscience, maybe they would spread the word if we decided to try to fund the new movies?

Gary uploaded October 31st: Alone on the following Monday - a film he shot over 3 days and was considering throwing away because he didn't think that it turned out great. Back then in 2007, our composer, Patrick Moore, added a score, and it gave Alone a whole new dimension. Gary premiered the film in Queen Elizabeth Country Park to a sold out audience. Now Alone is also gathering many views and likes on YouTube.

The very first film that Mancini Pictures shot, Suspicious Mind (2005), will launch on Monday 25th March 2024. That is a 46 minute long film, so we will see how that fares.

Due to the disappointment in October 31st: Don't Fear The Reaper, that movie will not go to YouTube (unless there is demand for it!). And Gary is holding October 31st: It's My Party back from YouTube until workis completed on the feature film version, as it contains elements of plot that will be in the feature version.

But for now a whole new audience are enjoying these "old" Mancini Pictures movies, and it encourages us to get back out there and deliver some more.

We will update on news of new Mancini Pictures productions as soon as these enter production.

But for now, here are the links to the older films on YouTube:

Guilty Conscience: https://youtu.be/yNvMZfKBi_Y?si=MCk-EjvT09oiVAfz

October 31st: Alone: https://youtu.be/U7BVpEgW3ic?si=ESqWarHwG8YiPAIP

Suspicious Mind: https://youtu.be/kw5jV94Jv5Y?si=8TP0lIx46xMzn9FO

[mspi]

Moving out isn't easy

Wow. Talk about a flashback. Why don't I remember eating at one of my jobs when I left college and began working for corporate.

My roomie and I shared costs of our condo and bills, along with groceries. For lunch, I remember studying my butt off in the car. That's the thing kids think I'm crazy for doing. Yep, we're supposed to eat, but put work first. (idjit move)

Remembering Quaker oats rice cakes with cream cheese smeared on top and a pile of onion sprouts. My darling roomie introduced me to it and I couldn't quit.

Almost as bad but not As expensive as Starbucks. Happy my babe reminded me of the downturn of our companies in IT. Changes had to be made.

🚫 Gym

🚫 Manicures

🚫 Starbucks on the regular

👩‍💻 NP, we found a condo to live together. With the condo came a pool. Save $10mo easy. Manicures aren't a must, I only like pretty 💅. Should've gotten a cable & internet discount through work, but that would've been a bust. The company died shortly after. At least they're on DotCom Monopoly. 📝 Without a job, Starbucks could easily be replaced by Swiss Miss hot chocolate.

A few new positions came my way which I found on Craigslist. They weren't really make or break positions, but they helped pay the bills.

Here's when I truly began discovering "new" skills I forgot I had. My babe was totes supportive of my study style; they'ye witnessed it through my tutoring style. Heck, they're the ones who were sent by my old manager to say hi to me in the library.

Don't believe I told them how strange it was that they found me in an empty library on the 3rd floor -- deciding telecom or CIS. Decades later a double Dr Prof told me I made the right choice. (Buttering me up bc I was reviewing the work of their grad students.)

Gonna quit my schoolgirl crush bit. My ex pays for this domain and I'd rather they not get jelly. Sweetie, think about how old that teacher was. Sorry I can't better describe them. My vision & mind were all screwy after the concussion, regular seizures, then the hospital giving me high dosage THC syrup a couple times a day to prevent another painful episode of me blacking out or making calls to staff over neurological pain they can't measure. (That's scary now that I think about it.)

-- dnagirl

25.11.2023

[dailylogistics]

The ethical dilemma of Marcom in the times of .AI

Written by: Devesh Gangal Country Marketing Manager, Borzo, India.

In today's fast-paced digital era, the marketing landscape is experiencing rapid changes. Among the most influential developments in recent years is the pervasive use of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing, absolutely changing heads to toes how businesses promote themselves and engage with customers.

Modern marketing teams are embracing smart technology solutions to enhance team efficiency and improve customer experiences. AI marketing utilizes the power of artificial intelligence to analyze consumer data and tailor marketing strategies to individual customers. By employing machine learning algorithms, AI can uncover patterns and trends that escape human observation, enabling marketers to craft more effective campaigns targeted at specific demographics and user behaviors. Marketing communications leveraged through usage of predictive analytics will certainly have a deeper impact.

The dotal boom is in full swing, with new AI tools being launched every day. These tools are making work processes faster and more efficient than ever before. In fact, the dotAI boom is expected to have a greater impact than the dotCom boom, disrupting various industries as it continues to grow. Thanks to open APIs and integrated subscriptions, businesses can now centralize their marketing communications operations. This makes it easier to collect data and target specific audiences with personalized marketing strategies.

AI in Marketing Communications

Effective communication with customers lies at the heart of any successful business. To build brand awareness, drive consumer engagement, and ultimately boost sales, businesses are now relying on AI-powered tools to create highly personalized, engaging, and relevant content for their target audience. Tools such as DALL.E, MidJourney, ChatGPT, Bard, Adobe Sensei GenAI and Firefly, Rephrase.ai, Synthesia.io, Copy.ai, and others have transformed marketing communications.

Al acts as a machine that mimics various aspects of human intelligence, such as learning, logical reasoning, and auto-correction. The adoption of Al for precise and tailored marketing strategies is rapidly increasing as it enables the analysis of large datasets and provides valuable operational insights that can be very helpful. It is enabling marketing.

Communications by generating personalized approaches that cater to individual customer preferences from different demographic groups by analyzing behaviors, products usage patterns, purchasing parameters and various hidden patterns.

To ensure responsible use of AI, brands have the ability to regulate themselves by creating transparent internal ethical guidelines. This includes safeguarding their data when utilizing third-party Al models and integrating these models through secure APIs. While privacy concerns have existed on the internet for a long time, brands can enhance their credibility by publicly sharing guidelines that demonstrate their responsible approach to AI and data. As AI models continue to evolve, it becomes essential to provide customers with transparency regarding the use of AI-generated content through clear disclaimers. This transparency builds trust and reassures customers about how Al is employed in delivering content.

It is crucial for individuals to recognize that growth and change are inevitable. To navigate these transformations successfully, it is essential to embrace the shifting tides and adapt strategies accordingly. Numerous brands have already integrated AI into their marketing campaigns, signifying the importance of understanding how AI can be leveraged within their specific domains. It is important to note that a one-size-fits-all approach may not yield equal benefits for all brands. Each organization must identify the areas where AI can bring value and subsequently develop a well-defined framework and roadmap for implementation. By doing so, brands can effectively harness the power of AI to drive their success in the evolving marketing landscape.

The monitoring, evaluation, and quality control of AI-generated work are crucial to prevent any discriminatory or plagiarized content from going unnoticed. Brands prioritize maintaining high standards and ensuring that such content does not make its way into their campaigns. Therefore, complete dependence on AI alone is still a long way off, as human oversight and intervention remain essential to ensure the integrity and ethical standards of content creation.

While we are at the ethical subject of AI usage in Marcom, let's take a look at some Pros and Cons of AI in Marketing

Pros:

1. Automation: Al streamlines various aspects of advertising, from the placement of print and digital ads to optimizing the targeting of digital ads, maximizing budget efficiency.

2. Efficiency: Al can create advertising schedules and instantly provide alternative schedules in case of delays or cancellations.

3. Boosting Creativity: Tools like MidJourney, DALL-E, and various online copy and video creators assist advertising professionals in delivering better output, sparking new ideas and enhancing creative endeavors.

4. Writing Support: ChatGPT has caused a sensation in the writing world by helping overcome writer's block and generating new ideas in seconds.

5. Cost Savings: Al proves highly beneficial for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and specific teams, enabling faster and more cost-effective ad creation.

Cons:

1. Job Displacement: It is undeniable that AI has the potential to replace certain jobs that can be fully automated, necessitating only human intervention in the form of prompts and result compilation.

2. Limitations of Replication: AI cannot completely replicate the dynamic nature and behind-the-scenes chaos of real-world advertising, requiring constant human intervention and decision- making.

3. Propaganda Potential: The misuse of Al-generated ads for propaganda purposes raises concerns and prompts the need for updated guidelines and scrutiny, especially in political campaigns.

In conclusion, despite the endless possibilities of AI's use in Marcom, it is crucial to balance the potential of AI with ethical considerations. While AI offers numerous benefits, it is important to remember that human oversight and intervention are still vital to maintain content quality, adherence to advertising standards and prevent issues that impact Brand reputation negatively. Internally, teams have to streamline clear protocols and extent of AI usage in context of initiatives that directly correlate with the reputation.

Source: https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/digital/the-ethical-dilemma-of-marcom-in-the-times-of-ai/101972075

Website: https://borzodelivery.com/in 

[harrelltut]

1968-michaelharrelljr.com passed Baron Samedi's Shadowy Gates of Immortal Death [I.D.] on Earth [Qi]... Again... since Eye 1698 TUTANKHAMÚN [E.T.] Living [EL] behind My Father's Extremely Wealthy [FEW] Gated Death Communities [D.C.] in Mother's [DMS] Old 1698-2223 America [Mu Atlantis]

WELCOME BACK HOME IMMORTAL [HIM] U.S. MILITARY KING SOLOMON-MICHAEL HARRELL, JR.™

i.b.monk [ibm.com] mode [i’m] tech [IT] steelecartel.com @ quantumharrelltech.ca.gov

1st eye of tutankhamún [e.t.] ain't dead!!!

Death is the real [Dr] 9 ether life [el] realm on earth?!?!?!

eye back from life [death] on parallel earth [qi] of death [life]!!!... back 2 life back 2 reality

SEE?!?!?!

1968-michaelharrelljr.com Incarnated as Extremely Wealthy TUTANKHAMÚN... Died Contractually [D.C.] Wealthy on Earth [WE]... only 2 come back on Earth [Qi] Wealthier than before

we already see everything before it happens on earth [qi]

We still here... Immortal Souls never die

Eye Scriptural 9 Ether Job from Mother's Ægiptian [ME = MENES] Bible of Gullah Geechee's Extreme Wealth [GEW = JEW] DYNASTIES?!?!?!

FOUND IT!!!... wait... how many gated wealth estates [we] do we own?!?!?! 144,000?!?!?!... Chile, please!!!

1968-michaelharrelljr.com in a cult... or occult from okc?!?!? ANCIENT 9 ETHER OKCULT SKY ILLUMINATI of BLACK WALL STREET... IN CALIFORNIA?!?!?!

u still [u.s.] lost in 2023?!?!?!... STILL?!?!?!... OMFGOD MICHAEL [OM]!!!

go find your ancient 9 ether dna/rna geological land patents in father's predynastic ægipt of mother's old america [mu atlantis]!!!

we deep inside tiamat's grand canyon in mother's old america [mu atlantis]

eye see u quietly spying on harrelltut.com

1st eye of tutankhamún [e.t.] at the top [e.t.]... deep inside inner earth [qi]... on earth [qi]

look at my gingerbread brown gold melanin tech pyramid dynasty of tutankhamún @ © 1698-2223 quantumharrelltelecom.tech

eye illuminati... eye illuminati... eye illuminati... sing it loud!!!... eye illuminati... eye illuminati... eye illuminati... sang it proud!!!... eye illuminati... eye illuminati... eye illuminati

© 1698-2223 quantumharrelltech.com - ALL The_Octagon_(Egypt) DotCom [D.C.] defense.gov Department Domain Communication [D.C.] Rights Reserved @ quantumharrelltech.ca.gov

[albinanmuro]

Register a New Domain Name

Nowadays, having your own website or blog is becoming a necessity, that is, if you want to have your presence felt on the World Wide Web. Whether you are after personal expression, online commerce or after any other goals, having your own space on the Web is becoming more necessary. They say that being felt online has become easier as well because many of us have the means to create a site or a blog unicc login. Of course, this can only be done if you register new domain name as the domain name would serve as your Web address. Know more about how you would register new domain name and why this particular step is crucial to having your online presence noticed.

The domain name will serve as your online address on the Web. This just means that it is what people will type in order to access your site or blog. Before you look for a web hosting provider or before you actually have a site, it is necessary to register a name so that it can be reserved with your information attached. Once you are done registering, you can then get a Web host provider. Web hosting services are what you need so you can have the needed space online. Once you have your domain name and web host services in place, you can then set up your site.

It is important to register new URL's that is unique and original. You have to check with domain registration companies whether your domain name of interest is still free. If somebody already owns the name you have in mind, then you have to think of another one. It would be helpful to think of a domain name that is easy to remember so find a unique and short domain name. The reason behind this is because you want internet users to easily remember your domain name so they can easily search and access you on the internet.

Making your presence felt on the Web can be done if you register new domain name that is well thought of. It would also be helpful to register new domain name that ends in dotcom as this is the most popular and most used extension. If you want people not to get confused with the domain name extensions, then you can also consider paying for the dot net and dot orgs. This can be a wise option especially if you are planning to build a website for business and if you would not want the competition to benefit from a good domain name that you chose.

If it would be your first time to register new domain name, it would help for you to first search the many registration sites online. To register new domain name, you usually have to pay for one whole year. While the amount can be as small as $10, it is always best to compare prices and included features so you get more out of your money. You can also register new domain name for longer durations (more than one year's ownership) as providers often give discounts for longer registrations.