#scam review

[exossystemsllc]

Advancia's alleged scam has garnered attention from numerous individuals who claim to have fallen victim to their deceptive practices. Reports suggest that Advancia lures unsuspecting individuals with promises of quick financial gains through investment schemes, only to leave them empty-handed. Many disgruntled customers have expressed their disappointment and warned others to steer clear of Advancia's dubious offerings. Caution and thorough research are strongly advised before engaging with such companies. To know more about this broker, read a complete Advancia review here.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[coolreallifes]

How to Choose the Best Broker for Stock, Forex, and Crypto Trading in 2024?

Navigating the world of trading can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to selecting the right broker to meet your trading requirements. Whether you’re interested in stocks, forex, or cryptocurrencies, the choice of broker can significantly impact your trading experience and success. In this post, we’ll explore the key factors to consider when choosing a broker and introduce you to ForexJudge.com, a reliable resource that offers comprehensive reviews and detailed analysis of the world’s best brokers.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Broker

Regulation and Security:

Ensure the broker is regulated by a reputable financial authority. Regulation provides a level of security and oversight, protecting you from fraudulent activities.

Look for brokers that offer robust security measures, including encryption and two-factor authentication, to safeguard your funds and personal information.

Trading Platform:

A good trading platform should be user-friendly, reliable, and equipped with essential tools for analysis and trading.

Consider whether the platform offers mobile compatibility if you plan to trade on-the-go.

Fees and Commissions:

Compare the fees and commissions charged by different brokers. Lower fees can significantly enhance your profitability, especially if you trade frequently.

Be aware of hidden fees, such as withdrawal charges, inactivity fees, or charges for additional services.

Range of Assets:

Ensure the broker offers the range of assets you’re interested in trading. If you plan to diversify your portfolio, choose a broker that provides access to stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies.

Some brokers specialize in specific asset classes, so make sure your chosen broker aligns with your trading preferences.

Customer Support:

Reliable customer support is crucial, especially if you encounter issues with your account or trading platform. Look for brokers that offer multiple support channels, including live chat, phone, and email.

Check reviews to gauge the quality and responsiveness of the broker’s customer service.

Education and Resources:

Many brokers offer educational resources such as tutorials, webinars, and market analysis. These resources can be invaluable, especially for beginners.

A broker that provides regular market updates and trading insights can help you stay informed and make better trading decisions.

How ForexJudge.com Can Help

With so many brokers available, making an informed choice can be challenging. This is where ForexJudge.com comes in. ForexJudge is a trusted platform that has compiled detailed reviews and analysis of the world’s best brokers. By providing comprehensive information and user feedback, ForexJudge helps traders make well-informed decisions.

Detailed Broker Reviews

ForexJudge offers in-depth reviews of brokers across various asset classes, including stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies. Each review covers critical aspects such as regulation, fees, trading platforms, and customer support. By reading these reviews, you can gain valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of different brokers, helping you choose the one that best meets your needs.

User Feedback and Ratings

In addition to expert reviews, ForexJudge features user feedback and ratings. This community-driven aspect allows traders to share their experiences and provide honest assessments of brokers. This real-world feedback can offer a clearer picture of what to expect and help you avoid potential pitfalls.

Regular Updates and Alerts

The trading world is dynamic, with brokers frequently updating their services, fees, and policies. ForexJudge keeps you informed with regular updates and alerts, ensuring you have the latest information at your fingertips. This proactive approach helps you stay ahead of the curve and make timely decisions.

Making the Final Decision

When choosing a broker, it’s essential to consider your trading goals, risk tolerance, and preferred asset classes. By leveraging the resources available on ForexJudge, you can make a well-informed decision that aligns with your trading strategy.

Steps to Follow:

Identify Your Needs:

Determine what you want to trade (stocks, forex, crypto) and what features are most important to you (low fees, robust platform, educational resources).

Research and Compare:

Use ForexJudge’s detailed reviews and user feedback to compare different brokers. Pay close attention to factors such as regulation, fees, and customer support.

Test the Platform:

Many brokers offer demo accounts. Use these to test the trading platform and ensure it meets your needs before committing real funds.

Start Small:

When you choose a broker, start with a small investment to test the waters. As you gain confidence and experience, you can increase your trading capital.

Conclusion

Choosing the right broker is a crucial step in your trading journey. By considering factors such as regulation, fees, trading platforms, and customer support, you can make an informed choice that enhances your trading experience.

For a reliable resource in your broker selection process, turn to ForexJudge.com. With its comprehensive reviews, user feedback, and regular updates, ForexJudge provides the insights you need to make the best decision for your trading needs.

Happy trading, and may your investments be fruitful!

[bloomshroomz]

Aromantic*

(Alternate Title: Shrödinger’s Romantic)

I keep wondering if “aromantic” is really a good word to describe my romantic orientation. I have plenty of reasons for why it is, but also plenty of reasons for why it might not be. Shrödinger’s romantic.

In order to know whether you experience romantic attraction or not, you first have to have a solid definition of what romantic attraction is. A definition which is clear, and also distinct from other forms of emotional attraction. I don’t think such a definition exists, or at least, it’s not commonplace.

“Romantic attraction: attraction that makes people desire romantic contact or interaction with another person or persons.” - UNC Chapel Hill LGBT Center

But what is romantic contact or interaction? Is it contact which is culturally considered romantic? In that case, the ways in which romantic attraction is defined would vary by culture, and even by gender. Or is it contact which one intends to be romantic? That would make sense, but is incredibly subjective. How do you know where to draw the line? What if you haven’t drawn one?

“[Romantic attraction] involves a combination of physical, sexual, and emotional feelings toward someone.” - WebMD

This definition is ridiculously vague, especially for a page which defines multiple other types of attraction in relation to romance. What physical feelings? What sexual feelings? What emotional feelings? What about alloromantic asexual people, or other varioriented people, who don’t necessarily experience sexual feelings as part of their romantic feelings?

But the article also defines aromanticism as “when you don’t have any desire for a romantic relationship,” so I can’t count on it for accuracy regardless.

“Romantic attraction is the internal pull that you experience when you are with someone with whom you internally feel connected, comfortable and interested in spending more of your life with.” - Choosing Therapy

Do people not feel connected to their friends? Do people not feel comfortable with their friends? Are people not interested in spending more of their life with their friends? Why else would people find time to connect with their friends, to confide in them, to engage with them? What about these feelings is distinctly romantic?

The article goes on to say this:

“Romantic relationships are relationships intentionally initiated and maintained for experiencing sexual and romantic feelings together, whereas platonic relationships are usually centered on another purpose like hobbies, friendship, support, work, etc. Romantic relationships can also include these purposes as well, but the platonic relationship excludes the romance and sexual feelings.” - Choosing Therapy

I ask again, what about alloaces and other varioriented people? What about people who have sex with their friends? Even when it’s taboo, it’s not unheard of. The distinction can’t be sex, so it has to be romance. So, what is romance?

Later in the article, it defines romance once again:

“Romantic attraction: The internal pull that draws your attention to the other person’s positive qualities, and your internal reaction to connect, love, share and spend time with them to have more romance.” - Choosing Therapy

I feel like I’m running in circles here. People draw their attention to the positive qualities of not just romantic interests, but to friends, family, and other people with whom they’d have no romantic interest. Connection, love, and spent time are not exclusive to romance either. If the goal is to have more romance… What is that?

Every answer I find fails to say what romance is on its own. The definitions always rely on presence or absence of sex, or other things which can just as easily be present in platonic or otherwise non-romantic contexts. Romantic attraction is consistently defined by things which are not distinctly romantic.

Is it even a real thing? I mean, I feel like it’s clearly not, but it’s also clearly very real to most people. Most people don’t think about it this hard. It’s like they were given a manual that I can never possess. It comes naturally to them. They feel romantic attraction, and they know, intuitively, that that’s what it is.

Is my lack of intuition evidence that I don’t experience romantic attraction, or am I just autistic? Maybe it’s both. When I described to my aunts my emotional attraction, they described my way of experiencing and perceiving attraction as very “intellectual,” which I initially rejected. But I think they were right. I lack the intuition to understand my feelings in any way that doesn’t involve a literal or metaphorical chart. It’s something I can’t just feel and then know like other people do.

Is romantic attraction always a “you’ll know it when you feel it” sort of thing? It seems like it. Even when I search “romantic attraction” on Google, many results either come from queer Fandom Wiki pages, discussions amongst a-spec people, Reddit, or Quora. Some results aren’t even relevant to the question, including multiple results which just describe what “aromantic” means. The opposite of what I intended to search for.

The thing is, I do have feelings which would likely be perceived as romantic to most people. I have a deep desire for commitment and companionship. To touch and be touched. To love and be loved. To be emotionally and physically intimate with other people. To feel the warmth of other people as we lay in bed together. To live out our mundane lives together. Things that most people would find incredibly romantic.

But are these things romantic if I don’t explicitly intend for them to be? Is it romantic for me to be open to it being romantic, without actively wanting that?

When I’ve described my feelings online, I’ve gotten mixed responses from other people, but I’ve generally been given similar advice from different strangers, and similar labels thrown at me, even when I hadn’t asked for advice or labels.

“I think you’d enjoy a queerplatonic relationship.”

“You might be cupioromantic.”

“You might be bellusromantic.”

And I can understand where they’re coming from. I don’t think they’re entirely wrong, either. I would enjoy a queerplatonic relationship… But not for any reason that wouldn’t apply to other committed relationship types. Queerplatonic relationships, platonic relationships, romantic relationships, and whatever else there is are the same to me in all but label.

Cupioromanticism is something I have considered. I made the flag for it when I was 15 years old as well (yes, the peach one with five stripes; I always asked to be credited anonymously), so I’m biased towards liking the flag. But the definition is “being aromantic, and also wanting a romantic relationship.”

I don’t specifically want a romantic relationship, but I do want committed relationships in general, and romantic relationships are included in that. So, maybe?

Bellusromantic is something I have also considered, and it also has a pretty flag. But I think it’s less accurate than cupioromantic. The definition is “being aromantic, and enjoying traditionally romantic things, but not wanting a romantic relationship (or not wanting a committed relationship, depending on the definition used).”

I do enjoy traditionally romantic things in a way which is not explicitly romantic, and I don’t explicitly want a romantic relationship. But I’m not opposed to romantic relationships, and I do explicitly want committed relationships.

I took some aro-spec tests, and my results had a tendency to skew towards cupioromantic, bellusromantic, and quoiromantic. Quoiromantic is another orientation which I have considered, and it might be the most accurate.

Quoiromantic is also aptly known as “whatromantic” or “WTFromantic” because the defining trait is that romantic attraction as a concept doesn’t make sense to you.

“[Quoiromantic], also known as [whatromantic] or [WTFromantic], is a [romantic] orientation defined by confusion, vagueness, and/or obscurity. A [quoiromantic] person may not understand or relate to the concepts of [romantic] attraction and/or [romantic] orientation. [Quoiromanticism] may involve confusion related to what [romance] is, whether or not one experiences [romantic attraction], and how to differentiate it from other forms of attraction. [Quoiromanticism] can also feel blurry and unclear, and may center around general confusion around one's identity and attraction. It can also refer to a lack of identification with [romantic] orientation as a concept, and can additionally serve as a label for people who cannot fit into more specific identities. [Quoiromanticism] can also refer to when one does not experience [romantic] attraction in a "traditional" manner. It is sometimes used as a catch-all term for people who know they're somewhere on the [aromantic] spectrum, but aren't sure where.” - An LGBTQIA+ Wiki (originally about quoisexuality; I changed some words.)

In a similar vein, pomoromantic (“pomo” being literally taken from “postmodern”) would also fit. My romantic orientation exists from a post-romantic perspective, where romance is understood to be made up bogus which isn’t actually fundamentally different from any other form of emotional connection.

“[Pomoromanticism] is defined as refusing, avoiding, or not fitting any [romantic] orientation label in terms of conventional labels or classifications, such as gay, lesbian, [biromantic], or [aromantic]. It challenges categorizations in favor of largely unmapped possibility and the intense charge that comes with transgression. Some [pomoromantic] people may be queer or questioning, and others may not be.” - Another LGBTQIA+ Wiki (originally about pomosexuality; I changed some words.)

But at that point, is it even worth labeling my romantic orientation? Should I just be bisexual/omnisexual? Maybe with a little asterisk at the end? Does any of this matter? Am I thinking too much? (I am.)

I think that continuing to identify as aromantic will probably close me off to potential relationships. I feel like the word gives people the wrong idea. At the same time, the way that I think about romance is fundamentally different than the way other people tend to, and I do consider my aromanticism to be a notable part of who I am and how I experience the world. Maybe I should just send this to whoever ends up being a potential partner. Probably more useful than any label.

[willel]

"We'd never have to work", so quoteth the other crime twin

[why-the-heck-not]

>:(((( I have a phonecall today that I have to answer, and ofc some other random phone call came in and I answered bc thought it was that. >:((( it wasn’t and now today’s total is going to be 2 phone calls. this is my nightmare

[honeyandclover5-blog1]

Update on the Tarot Scam situation!!!! SHE HAS DONE THIS BEFORE!!!

I was definitely Scammed. To those who do not know I bought a reading from @capriciouscapsss on 04/07/23 and to this day she has not communicated or delivered my reading.

A person who also bought a reading from her reached out and explained that she has done this before back when she had an Etsy. store. This person was very kind and seemed to want to give the reader a chance. For that reason I will not disclose who that person was.

Because I was unsure if this was a one time emergency I did not disclose the reader publicly. Well this is not the first time she has done this! So be warned!!!

For more information regarding the messages between me and @capriciouscapsss you may visit my last post. DO NOT BUY FROM HER!

[adhdapp]

YOOO I’m excited! I wanna respect your time and whatnot, but I’m curious about the app called forrest basically you grow trees by focusing for set amounts of time. never tried it but the app store keeps recommending it to me. from a cursory look at the reviews, some people said it helps with phone overuse (hooray??) it is four dollars, not sure that you want to start with that. anyways thanks for your consideration, hope this blog goes super well :DD

This is actually an app I paid for the premium version of years ago, by chance! So I can give it a pretty complete shake. Here's the review.

Forest: Phone usage control

Overall rating: Certified, with stipulations. Here's the tl;dr

App includes a disincentive for failure (tree death), so if you're sensitive to even mildly feeling like you've fucked up, this might not be your bag

Low on novelty, so if you need a variety of goals to pursue quickly, this might not be your bag (other plant unlocks take a lot of time, forest grows one 25 minute increment at a time)

Achievements and events are a big plus, with several relatively easy achievements to keep you going.

No Dark Mode

supports a charity so that's pretty cool

Diamonds shop even after a 1 time purchase: go no further if you are susceptible to impulse purchases, I respect them keeping the lights on with optional bonus content, but it can be easy to chase the Purchase Dopamine and we need to say No Thank You

Red Flags: None, this app has been going steady for a few years and for seemingly pretty good reason. I didn't find any red flags with the charity it supports either. It's not on a subscription model, and nothing in it seems to be ridiculously priced.

Dopamine hits: Okay so the main drive for using this app is growing the big old garden of trees, collecting different trees, and seeing the physical space of that garden grow. With this said I have One Major Concern I'd like to get out of the way.

Are you the kind of person that's going to feel like shit if you let a plant die? Will you accidentally tab out, kill a tree, and be miserable out it? Do not use this app.

It DOES let you clear the dead trees out of your garden (see above) but personally I don't find disincentives like that as compelling as positive reinforcement. The app is encouraging about it (as you can see) but personally I'm wary of things where I can receive what feels like a punishment because I was only productive for five minutes and not the allotted ten I needed in order to keep the tree alive. the stopwatch mode reduces this, somewhat, but again, you need over 10 minutes. Make sure you allow texts or calls in allowed apps in settings so if something comes up you don't have to feel bad about killing a tree.

Features: Forest provides you one or two different tree types you can grow as you focus, and a nice little plot of land. I'll be honest, I don't think the free version gives you very much to work with, but the premium version gives you different kinds of trees you can grow, events, social connections, tracking, custom tagging system so you can track what you're spending your time off your phone doing, and best of all, achievements. Forest also comes with both a count-down and a stopwatch mode so that if you'd like to just study or work as long as you can you don't have to just do it in increments, which is nifty, and a change from some other pomodoro counters/timers. If using the app to just do poms/increments, there's a switch to keep the app on while you work.

Price: This app is a freemium (on android), but honestly, if phone restriction usage apps are useful for you, just buy the thing right out of the gate. It's 3.99 (also the price of the entire app on the apple store) and what you get for that price is like 99% of the functionality of the app imo. 3.99$ for a one-time unlock is ridiculously cheap for what you're getting. However. The other trees do take a hot minute to unlock. So if you need that cheap and easy serotonin and you have an intense need for novelty this might not be the move.

I will add a stipulation here: Make sure that phone restriction apps are actually what you Need if this is what you're using. if you're the kind of person who can respond to messages and still be productive, this may not be your bag. If you're on a computer and you're going to end up scrolling through tumblr on your laptop instead of your phone, this may not be your bag. Phone restriction apps are useful mainly if what you need to do is get off tech and go do something physical, like read a book or do chores. I do Not recommend this if what you're trying to do is write an essay on your laptop. It is just as easy to procrastinate on pc as it is on your phone. However, For What It Is, this app is extremely functional.

This app DOES have a diamond store and in app purchases to make extra cash but frankly I don't actually begrudge them this. With a one-time purchase that cheap and regular events that seem to allow you to unlock other plants, they seem to have a good content balance and hey, whatever they have to do to keep the app running. I just launched it again and it reminded me I have the pro version even through I bought that like eight years ago.

Polish + Customization: I'm grouping these together because I really have the same quibble for both, there isn't a darkmode on the settings screen, which is an annoyingly bright white compared to the rest of the app. News is Also bright white, so is the store, generally a lot of the things off the main page are bright white with no option to change them. I do not love that. But everything is easy to find and adjust, and though the load times can be a little slow (which is annoying) I generally can't complain too much.

Roadmap: News tab indicates that the app is still being updated and having new plants added, despite the developers seemingly have a couple other projects going- they've got a to-do list app I'm going to have to check out and one to prevent you using your phone while sleeping.

So there u go: Proceed with caution and respect for your specific needs, but it's top of the line in its category, imo. You just need to make sure that category is what you're looking for.

[chaosisdying]

guy s I'm vibrating, I randomly looked for RD to laugh at the ridiculous prices (I actually found one that costed almost 1000€) but thwn I FOUND A COPY THAT'S LESS THAN 40€ IN AUCTION MODE???

WHO SELLS RD FOR 35€ AS A STARTING POINT ARE YOU CRAZY YOU HAVE GOLD IN YOUR HANDS??? I'm so glad tho because...

I DECIDED THAT MY ASS AIN'T LOSING THAT SO I IMPULSIVELY OFFERED LIKE 2€ MORE LMAO I HOPE I WIN THAT (I'm the only one who offered) (only two people saw it) (I hope no one in 4 days decides to offer more than me) (I'm combusting)

IT'S EVEN THE EDITION OF THE COUNTRY I'M FROM??? NEVER IN THE UNIVERSE I COULD SEE THIS HAPPEN

[lexezombie]

the sheer lack of mens clothing in the colour purple is a damn disgrace; we want purple too god damn it

and dont u give me fuckin plum thats closer to pink, no i want fucking PURPLE

[rainyfestivalsweets]

2/4/24

The MLM hack list

Alright. So there are a bunch of MLM diet companies that make a shitload of money of of us and yet our obesity rates in developed countries are thru the freaking roof.

How many times have you gotten the messages on Facebook, Instagram or whatever and it's like: Hey girl, haven't seen you since high school, let's get coffee... OR... they just post the precopied message & ask about your goals, & proceed to add a flurry of hyperpositive social media messages, like my friend recently did to me.

Did anyone in high school like you? Not me! Do that screams danger from the start. I was horrendously bullied in elementary school. I was gone to a parochial school for a couple years so the only reason that I avoided constant bullying in high school was because... they forgot who I was.

Here are some ideas I stole from various companies, cheaper:

Herbalife: this company's stuff works, for 2 reasons- you replace 2 out of 3 meals with shakes. However, alot of people are not successful if they make their shakes at home and if they add in all the snack bars. People do, however, lose weight if they get their shakes from a "nutrition" shop. Why? Because they blend those shakes super thick with a metric shitton of ice & I think alot of them add sf pudding, which enhances the thickness. Also, you get an iced tea, normally with added fiber. So the answer is- you have 2 drinks that take a long time to finish AND give you added caffeine & fiber. So? Just do it at home: keep your shake calories low, make it extra large & thicker than a snicker, & follow with a caffeinated tea & add fiber to it. I like the herbalife brand but I order it off Amazon so I don't have to get the whole shpeel. Now brand has "prebiotic fiber" that is cheaper. There is also benefiber from Walmart. It is cheap, so why not?

Beachbody: you don't need to spend a billion dollars on protein shakes or meal replacement shakes. I do, however, love some of their workout systems.

Tai Slim: this company's great idea was the chocolate gluccomannon chews, I just didn't know ot at the time. I have tried to order it but have been unable to so maybe they don't make it any more. So my hack would be- the chocolate calcium chews, some gluccomannon tablets, & a large glass of water.

Modere: this company was all over tik tok & reels for awhile, while the reps were trying to schlep people into this scheme. The Golden Child was the liquid CLA chocolate, probably because it tastes like a chocolatey treat while it is actually a CLA supplement. CLA can be purchased at almost any health food store, way cheaper.

Plexus: the pink drink. More research needed on this, but I think it is just a fiber drink. Hack: gluccomannon powder & a Starburst all pink flavor packet.

Most of these companies often sell an associated "fat burner:" often something with caffeine, ecgc from green tea, etc. You can get something similar at a health food store for a fraction of the price. If you want something fancy, there is Ember from the Ambrosia Collective. Use the Google. MFINGCOO is a discount code that I think still works, but it isn't mine.

Buy In for then"tribe:" Weight watchers (not an MLM, just a diet culture sales supergiant but they still somehow acquire affiliates, idk if that qualifies as a True MLM), beachbody, herbalife are pretty cultish in nature-- they rope you into a bunch of meetings, calls, and online groups. If someone calls you to ask why you weren'tat Power Hour, you may have bought into a cult! It works by reprogramming certain thought & behavior patterns..... Basically a bunch of people are sharing ideas regularly and getting involved in their cultish antics.& promoting it on social media. (Example: OMG have you tried the new WW/herbalife/beachbody PROTEIN BAR?? Only $15 for 4!! What a deal! LINK IN MY BIO) You can do this on your own by finding your own people. You can get your own seminars by watching a lot of youtube. Anything that focuses on reprogramming you to cook at home and eat primarily whole foods will probably work. Join free groups. Disregard anything outside of what works for you ( I have to ignore a lot of dessert recipes because they cause bingeing for me).

Lipozene: pretty sure this is just gluccomannon. You can find gluccomannon tablets way cheaper at a health food store. Walmart also was carrying a generic version.

Hydroxycut: pretty sure the active ingredient here is HCA? I don't have a bottle currently to look. But isn't HCA just garcinia? So much cheaper at a health food store. I personally cannot take hydroxycut, it makes me RAGE. I like, get upset and freak out at work, so I don't even think I am willing to try it again.

It works: I think the skinny coffee would be comparable to the "slim coffee," which was cheaper but seemed to be chromium. You can just pick up a chromium supplement... & seriously, you can just drink coffee. Don't add calories to it.

Apple cider vinegar gummies: Just take shots of apple cider vinegar. You can buy a gallon at walmart, it will last a long time. Play with shot recipes, you can do good girl moonshine (ala Trim Healthy Mamma), & use it liberally for dressing recipes.

L-Glutamine: don't remember the company, but this is available at more health food stores, not for $100 a container.

Maybe I have bought so much shit so you don't have it. Is there an MLM company I missed? 🤔 let me know and I will check it out for future posts.

Remember- whatever you do, stay safe. Research your shit. Focus on your daily habits and remember that what you are eating outweighs almost any supplement you could buy. Eat whole food, walk, have an exercise routine & stop expecting a 30 day result for a body that took you 40 years (or whatever) to create.

I definitely don't think the ozempic trend is worth the cost, but if there is no other way for you & you have the money, it is worth a shot. Just don't expect your insurance to pay for it. Many insurance companies are currently not covering it, and I don't really know if they should consider it.

Surgery? If there is no other way and you want to, go for it.

The way that these things work though, is by changing what you are eating. Period. These are all systems to change what you ingest and you can change what you eat for free.

I am still on Nomorbidity & Alkemi from the Ambrosia Collective. I have not found suitable replacements for them but I am also not looking hard, they have a reasonable price point to me.

Edited: To reword, as WW is a diet culture vulture, not quite an MLM. Just a big money making company.

[parsleymusic]

radically forgiving myself for maybe being scammed at the mall today

[xxswagcorexx]

swagdoons/scamduo fan content that revolves around clean seas or s3 is like "woah.....cool guys in suits.... business partners loyal to the end despite not trusting the other......they finish conversations in between the cigarette smoke they blow towards each other on skyscraper balconies" but i think if left to their own devices they'd probs do the shittest blunt rotation with the worst weed both of them ever got their hands on before stumbling to the nearest corner stop, overcharging both of their credit cards, and passing out in the back with all of th trash . these arent mutually exclusive Btw

[thoughtportal]

The Price of Paperless

Table of Contents

Here Everything is Poison

By J. Malcolm Garcia, Photography by Darren McCollester

Fall 2010

Cold winds carry lead-filled dust from a nearby slagheap, a hundred million tonnes of toxic tailings, and scatter it on clothes hanging from laundry lines, on open buckets of drinking water, on the dirt children play in, and on the feral dogs running down alleys in this former French army barracks housing about 250 displaced Roma men, women, and children.

Editor’s Desk

The Price of the Paperless Revolution

By Ted Genoways

Reporting

Jharia Burning

By Allison Joyce, Photography by Allison Joyce

The Pit

By Nathaniel Miller

Father Copper

By Annie Murphy, Photography by Rodrigo Llano

Mother of God, Child of Zeus

By Jessica Benko, Photography by Bear Guerra

Digging Out

By Elliott D. Woods, Photography by Elliott D. Woods

The Solution: Bolivia’s Lithium Dreams

By Matthew Power, Photography by Fabio Cuttica

Tin Fever

By Delphine Schrank, Photography by Mark Craemer

Here Everything is Poison

By J. Malcolm Garcia, Photography by Darren McCollester

Essays

The Devil’s Tail: Reading From the Lives of Authors

By Robert Boyers

Fiction

Favorite Son

By Jennifer Haigh

The Digger

By Samanta Schweblin, Translated by Daniel Alarcon

Poetry

The Man

By Patrick Phillips

Work-Clothes Quilt

By Patrick Phillips

Tailing Dam of Baotou Steel

By Qin Xiaoyu

The Book of Lost Railroad Photographs

By Amy Beeder

Criticism

The Age of Inequality

By Oscar Villalon

The Activist Novelist

By Jacob Silverman

The Triumph of Capitalism

By Brian Sholis

Multimedia

The Underground Giant: Life in the Hard Rock Mines of Quebec and Ontario

By Louie Palu, Photography by Louie Palu

[thestonedknifeman]

Now I normally don't do product reviews and for two reasons one I'm not famous nobody's going to listen to me anyways and two no company is going to pay me to tell the truth about their piece of shit product.

I present to you the stroger pcp (pre-charged pneumatic) xm1 air rifle.One of the worst air rifles I have ever had.. this is actually the second rifle I've been through the first one seals gave out the third time I shot it. After fighting with the stroger / Benelli company I finally got them to send a replacement it only cost me a hundred bucks to ship this one back east and wait 6 months to get another oversized overpriced substandard paperweight!

Now my first concern overall my concern I can't stress that enough as well as my first dislike of this air rifle is an order to read the air gauge you must put the muzzle end of the barrel in the general direction of your own head in order to read the gauge.

I don't believe I need to elaborate on how much of a no no this is! But that's what stroger / Benelli did! There's the photographic evidence folks!

My second dislike of this air rifle is the lack of reliability and durability. As I said the first one I got I was able to shoot three times before the internal seals gave out. The second one will not even accept a charge from the pump that sold with the rifle. Thus rendering it the overpriced substandard paperweight that it is.

My second complaint that designers or engineers whatever you might call them,i call them jackasses we're too ignorant to put a barrel strap where it was needed. Anybody who knows their ass from a hole in the ground realizes that everything needs to be supported securely! Yep stroger / Benelli that's real craftsmanship there with that sloppy barrel 😂. I laugh even harder when I think of trying to take a perched shot with this rifle and it's sloppy barrel.

We'll discuss the pressures and again putting a barrel strap or at least some kind of reinforcement where it's needed and I'm talking about here by the breach. Most PCP airguns run at about 2000 bar which is equivalent to 3,000 PSI give or take a bit. I'd like to see a little bit more than a piece of plastic for the rotary clip that jams up all the time and again a barrel strap right in front of where it's only press fitted in. Not to mention if stroger / Benelli can't make internal seals that withstand these pressures how am I supposed to have the confidence that these pressures won't blow up in my face, how can any of benelli's customers be confident that their firearms will not blow up in their face!

And since we're discussing the pressures of the air gun is a good moment to tell you about the consistency of the shots. Or rather the lack of consistency. Stroger / Benelli claims that you could get 30 shots per charge of the air gun. I say that that is a straight-up marketing lie the first air gun that I was able to shoot three times meaning the gun came pre-charged I emptied it to a certain point of pressure refilled it and shot again twice. Had an average of 5 to 8 consistent shots and a total of 15 to 18 shots per charge. The replacement that I had to fight stroger / Benelli to uphold the honor in their warranty and replace the air rifle, got a total of four consistent shots before the decline and pressure was so rapid as well as the drop in the projectile that the rifle cannot be sited in!!!!! Now we'll talk about actually charging air rifle itself given that it takes roughly 3,000 lb PSI. In some states the compressors that are compatible with PCP air rifles are either banned or highly regulated which means a certain percentage of these PCP air rifles owners are stuck with the hand pumps which suck. They are prone to failure the gauges on your pump never match the gauges on your air rifle. And like the air rifles the pumps only have a lifespan of 1 to 3 uses before failure!!!!!

I guess next is to comment on the loading and feeding mechanisms which the first rifle I received had no issues at all. The second rifle I received on replacement however jams every shot! I'm not sure if this is due to the sloppy rotary clip and plastic molding injection that they use or if it's due to poor quality machining tolerance on the bolt breach, receiver, and all that good stuff. I have no confidence in Benelli / stroger or their workmanship!

They claim to have an adjustable trigger but it's very little adjustment for those who have fat or narrow fingers it does not in any way adjust of the pull of the trigger and is in no way a multi-stage trigger nothing fancy just you can slide it back enough to fit your finger with a glove around it. The trigger pull itself isn't all that bad it's one of the better things I have to say about the air rifle.

Next we will talk about the designer/engineers/jackasses placement of picatinny rails and their scope mounting we'll start with the placement of the picatinny rails.

I'm 6 ft and wear a size 13 shoe. The brass threaded inserts on the front part of the foregrip to the end of the barrel is over 12 inches. Good luck being able to use a flashlight on your picatinny rails. And this is a good moment to remind you guys a lack of barrel strap with such a long barrel and they gave no option of a picatinny rail on the bottom with a heavy rifle to put a bipod. So good luck trying to get any kind of good shot resting your end of your barrel on a log or tree branch or whatever to make that vital shot so that you can eat dinner because there is no fucking rations. Yeah stroger Benelli I just pointed out vital design flaws again how many times have I done this in this post. I'll be giving you a link to this in a email Pat.

Scope mounts as well as the scope that comes with the rifle are as Bart Simpson would say craptacular.

So as for the very few things I do like about this air rifle first and foremost is that it is slightly easier on scopes and does not kick as much as barrel break air rifles. Second would be the adjustable stock pads the interchangeable cheek rest on the stock and the interchangeable sized grips. That is all

Overall I would give the stroger xm1 22 or 177 caliber PCP air rifle a rating of overrated overpriced substandard paperweight! Which in reality my best friend just pointed out the wind would probably blow the papers out from underneath this useless paper weight. And when I say overpriced I spent about $400 for this POS when I would rely on my Chinese take down recurve bow at 40 lb draw weight I paid $35 for on Amazon with my life before I would consider using any product from stroger and or Benelli! The fact that I would trust my life to a Chinese recurve bow before this supposed "top quality" Benelli product says a lot!

I've been living and surviving outdoors for 30 years now not part-time not on the weekends but full-time 365 days a year outdoors since I was 17 years old. I have owned many firearms many airguns many bows I have learned I've learned to make and use atlatels good enough to be proficient at taking game. As well as Spears bows in any other primitive hunting implements or technology you want to throw at me. And let me tell you stroger / Benelli I would take any one of them over your products any day in any situation even target shooting. I cannot begin to belittle companies like stroger / Benelli who practice such unethical business ethics. The only thing I can say is that such companies that practice these bad business ethics should be eradicated like a common cockroach or termite.!!!!!

15 minutes after original post my dog walked up to this rifle and hiked its leg to piss on it and my dog is a female!!!!

[sorrowfulwill]

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