#smart car parking system

[wohrparking]

Urban living comes with its own set of challenges, one of the most pressing being the issue of parking. Cities are growing every day, and with this, the problem of finding a parking spot is increasing every day.

[klausmultiparking]

Leader in Fully Automatic Parking System| KLAUS Multiparking

KLAUS multiparking, fully automatic, safe and 100% secure multilevel parking systems. Customizable, 99.5% uptime, Quick, Secure and east to maintain

KLAUS Multiparking’s Fully-automatic Parking Systems are premium parking solutions. These systems get your car parked comfortably, securely, and reliably. These systems can be installed above ground, underground, or a combination of both. Each fully automatic system stacks cars into amazingly small spaces and uses advanced technology to make your car available via a lift with the touch of a button. For More Information Click On : https://www.klausindia.com/

[medrec-tech]

The Future of Urban Mobility: A Comprehensive Guide to Smart Parking Systems

Urbanization is on the rise, and with it, the challenge of managing parking spaces effectively. The traditional parking systems are not only outdated but also contribute to increased traffic congestion, pollution, and frustration for drivers. Enter smart parking systems—an innovative solution poised to revolutionize the way we park our cars. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve deep into the mechanics, benefits, and future of smart parking systems, along with the critical role of smart car parking apps in transforming urban mobility.

What is a Smart Parking System?

A smart parking system is an advanced technology solution designed to manage parking spaces more efficiently using a combination of IoT (Internet of Things) devices, sensors, cameras, and software. Unlike conventional parking systems, smart parking solutions offer real-time data on space availability, guiding drivers to free spots and helping parking lot managers optimize space usage. These systems are being rapidly adopted in metropolitan areas, commercial complexes, and even residential neighborhoods.

Key Components of a Smart Parking System:

IoT Sensors: Installed in individual parking spots, these sensors detect the presence or absence of a vehicle.

Cameras and License Plate Recognition (LPR): Used for security and to monitor unauthorized parking.

Data Analytics and Cloud Computing: Data from sensors and cameras is processed in real-time to provide insights and predictive analytics.

Mobile Apps and User Interface: An interface for users to view parking availability, reserve spots, and make payments.

These components work together to create an integrated parking management solution that not only saves time for drivers but also optimizes the use of available space.

How Do Smart Car Parking Systems Work?

The functioning of a smart parking system is both simple and sophisticated. Here's a step-by-step breakdown:

Sensor Installation: Sensors are embedded in parking spots to detect whether a spot is occupied or vacant. These sensors can be magnetic, ultrasonic, or camera-based, depending on the technology used.

Data Transmission: The sensor data is sent to a central server or cloud platform, which processes the information and updates the parking status in real-time.

User Access: Drivers can access this information through a smart parking app or digital signboards, guiding them to available spots.

Booking and Payments: Some systems allow users to reserve parking spaces in advance and pay through the app, streamlining the entire parking process.

Management and Analytics: For parking lot owners and city planners, these systems offer valuable data analytics and insights, such as peak usage times, occupancy rates, and more, which can be used to improve overall parking management.

Benefits of Smart Parking Systems

The adoption of smart parking systems brings numerous benefits for drivers, city planners, and parking lot owners:

1. Reduced Traffic Congestion: One of the most significant advantages of smart parking systems is the reduction in traffic congestion. Studies show that up to 30% of urban traffic is caused by drivers searching for parking spots. By providing real-time data on available spaces, smart parking systems reduce the time drivers spend circling, thus decreasing congestion and emissions.

2. Enhanced Driver Experience: Smart parking apps make the entire process of finding and paying for parking seamless. Features like real-time availability, reservation options, and cashless payments enhance the overall user experience. Some apps even offer added functionalities like locating your parked car, adding to the convenience.

3. Efficient Space Utilization: For parking lot owners, smart parking systems mean more efficient use of available space. By analyzing data on occupancy rates and usage patterns, they can implement dynamic pricing or make adjustments to improve the flow of vehicles, maximizing revenue and minimizing vacant spots.

4. Improved Safety and Security: The integration of cameras and LPR technology helps in monitoring unauthorized access, preventing theft, and managing traffic flow within the parking lot. This leads to a safer environment for both vehicles and pedestrians.

5. Environmental Benefits: Reducing the time spent searching for parking not only decreases fuel consumption but also lowers vehicle emissions, contributing to a cleaner urban environment. As cities aim to become more sustainable, smart parking systems play a crucial role in achieving environmental goals.

Exploring the Features of a Smart Parking App

A robust smart parking app is at the heart of any effective smart parking system. Here are some essential features that make these apps indispensable:

1. Real-Time Availability: Displays current availability of parking spaces, guiding drivers to the nearest free spot. Some apps use color-coded maps or icons to indicate occupied, available, and reserved spots.

2. Reservations and Payments: Allows users to reserve parking spaces in advance, especially useful during peak hours or for special events. The payment feature supports multiple modes like credit cards, digital wallets, or contactless payments, reducing the need for cash or physical tickets.

3. Navigation and Guidance: Many apps provide turn-by-turn navigation to the parking lot and even within multi-level garages, minimizing confusion and ensuring a smoother parking experience.

4. Parking History and Reminders: Keeps track of where and when you parked, along with payment history. Some apps also offer reminders for expiring parking sessions, helping you avoid fines.

5. Integration with Smart City Platforms: Advanced apps are integrated with broader smart city platforms, providing information not just on parking but also on traffic conditions, public transport schedules, and more.

Challenges and Limitations of Smart Car Parking Systems

While smart car parking systems offer numerous benefits, they are not without challenges:

1. High Initial Costs: The installation of sensors, cameras, and the development of software platforms can be expensive, especially for large parking areas. This cost can be a barrier for smaller cities or private parking operators.

2. Maintenance and Upkeep: Like any technology, smart parking systems require regular maintenance. Sensors can fail, cameras need calibration, and software platforms require updates, all of which can incur additional costs.

3. Data Privacy Concerns: With the collection of vehicle and personal data, there are concerns regarding privacy and data security. Ensuring robust data protection measures is essential to maintain user trust.

4. Integration with Existing Infrastructure: In many cases, integrating smart parking solutions with existing infrastructure can be challenging. It often requires significant modifications or upgrades to existing systems, which can be time-consuming and costly.

Market Trends and the Future of Smart Parking

The smart parking market is growing rapidly, driven by the increasing need for efficient urban mobility solutions. Here are some key trends shaping the future of this industry:

1. Integration with Autonomous Vehicles: As autonomous vehicles become more prevalent, they will need to interact with smart parking systems to find, reserve, and park in designated spots without human intervention. This will require advanced communication protocols and a higher level of automation in parking systems.

2. Expansion of Contactless and Automated Solutions: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for contactless solutions, including automated payments and app-based reservations. This trend is likely to continue, with more parking systems adopting touchless technology to enhance user safety and convenience.

3. Increased Use of AI and Machine Learning: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are being used to analyze parking patterns, predict availability, and optimize space usage. These technologies will play a critical role in enhancing the efficiency and functionality of smart parking systems in the future.

4. Adoption in Emerging Markets: While smart parking systems are already popular in developed countries, they are beginning to gain traction in emerging markets like India, China, and Southeast Asia. The growing urban population and increasing vehicle ownership in these regions are driving the demand for efficient parking solutions.

5. Integration with Smart City Ecosystems: Smart parking systems are becoming an integral part of smart city ecosystems, helping manage not just parking but also traffic flow, public transport, and urban mobility as a whole. This holistic approach is key to developing sustainable and livable cities of the future.

Conclusion

Smart parking systems are transforming the way we think about and manage parking. By leveraging technology to provide real-time data and automated solutions, these systems offer numerous benefits for drivers, city planners, and parking lot owners alike. From reducing traffic congestion and emissions to enhancing user experience and safety, the advantages are clear. As technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more innovative solutions to emerge, making parking smarter, safer, and more efficient.

Whether you’re a city planner looking to optimize urban mobility or a driver tired of the parking hassle, embracing smart parking systems is a step in the right direction.

[parkupglobal]

Tired of circling the block looking for a parking spot? Say goodbye to parking woes and hello to PARK UP! Our innovative smart parking solutions are here to transform urban mobility, making your city experience more convenient and efficient.

[carparkingsystems]

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF GARAGE CONTROL METHODS

Learn the benefits of advanced garage control methods. Discover how car parking manufacturer enhance efficiency, security, and space management with innovative solutions.

Read More: https://sotefin.blogspot.com/2024/06/what-are-the-garage-control-methods-advantages.html

[third-eyeai]

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Smart Gate Solutions

[watermelonparking]

The Future of Parking Payments

Imagine you are eager to get that last-minute coffee before your early-morning meeting as you pull into a busy parking lot in the middle of Sydney. However, thanks to a futuristic system that seamlessly manages your parking payment, you glidingly pass through the entrance rather than digging for change or searching for an elusive parking machine. This is how parking fees will be paid in Australia, and Watermelon Parking is leading the way.

Contactless Parking Revolution

The days of fumbling with coins or paper tickets are long gone as Australia's parking scene changes. The parking industry as a whole is undergoing a revolution as a result of the emergence of contactless parking solutions like Watermelon Parking. Imagine pulling into a parking lot and the barrier recognizing your car without you having to do anything.

Key Benefits of Contactless Parking

Simple Convenience: The contactless system used by Watermelon Parking puts convenience first. No more digging through your wallet for change or worrying about misplaced tickets. By eliminating the hassle of cash payments, you can concentrate on what's important.

Time Efficiency: The integrated parking solutions provided by Watermelon Parking help you save valuable time. You can enter, park, and exit without experiencing any delays if a sophisticated parking management system is in place. Bid farewell to searching in circles for a spot in the parking lot or standing in long checkout lines.

Cost-savings: Using traditional parking techniques frequently entails unstated costs or the need for exact change. With the contactless system Watermelon Parking uses, you only pay for the time you use, resulting in fair and transparent pricing—no need to overpay for unused minutes or worry about the meter running out.

Environmental Impact: Supporting contactless parking promotes sustainability and convenience. These systems contribute to a greener environment by lowering the need for paper tickets, reducing time spent looking for parking and producing less paper waste.

Seamless Integration: Your daily routine is seamlessly incorporated into the smart car parking system from Watermelon Parking. The system integrates with your digital life to make using it hassle-free.

Improved Security: You will not need to be concerned about misplacing your car park ticket system or divulging private information. The contactless solutions from Watermelon Parking provide increased security through encrypted transactions and user-friendly interfaces, ensuring your data is secure. Efficiency, convenience, and sustainability are the three pillars of Australian parking payment systems in the future. Drivers can experience a hassle-free parking solution while helping preserve the environment with contactless parking options from Watermelon Parking. Watermelon Parking, which makes parking payments simple and frees you up to enjoy your day without worrying about parking, is transforming Australia's parking landscape with integrated parking solutions and cutting-edge car park management systems. Welcome to a new era of parking where contactless technology is essential, and Watermelon Parking is your pass to a more intelligent way to park. https://watermelonparking.com/

[btreeseo]

https://camauto.ae/

[carparkingsystem]

Business Advantages Business Owners Can Get From Smart Parking System

As cities keep growing and traffic congestion becomes a significant problem, efficient parking management is required due to inefficient use of available parking spaces, traditional parking systems often cause frustration, wasted time, and increased pollution. However, intelligent parking systems have changed how we approach parking management. These advanced technological solutions enhance the overall parking experience for drivers and offer many benefits that greatly benefit the city.

Let's take a look at the benefits of introducing an intelligent parking system. The information shared in this post can be valuable if you plan to enter a business of intelligent parking systems, notably puzzle parking!

Also Read: A Few Worth-Noticing Strengths of Top Car Parking Manufacturers

Improved Safety:

The Smart Parking System provides enhanced security measures. Well-lit parking lots and surveillance cameras reduce the risk of theft, wreckage, and other illegal action. In addition, parking lots are equipped with emergency services and emergency buttons to provide immediate assistance in the event of an unforeseen event, giving drivers peace of mind.

Boosted User Experience:

The Intelligent Parking System provides drivers with a seamless and comfortable experience. Mobile apps and connected devices provide real-time parking availability information so users can plan their trips accordingly. Drivers can reserve parking spaces in advance so they don't have to deal with the stress of finding a parking space upon arrival. In addition, features such as an automatic payment system make the parking process smoother and increase customer satisfaction.

Data-Driven Decision Making:

Intelligent Parking Systems generate vast amounts of data on parking patterns, occupancy rates, and user behavior. Analyzing this data can provide valuable insights and support future planning decisions. Cities can use this information to optimize parking policies, improve traffic flow, and identify areas of high parking demand.

Also Read: 4 Top Features Of Automated Parking Tower Every Probable Business Owner Must Know!

Save Time and Fuel:

One of the most significant benefits of the Intelligent Parking System is that it saves time and fuel. These systems use real-time data and intelligent sensors to guide drivers to available parking spaces, reducing the time it takes to find them. This reduces traffic congestion and minimizes fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to a greener environment.

The Summary:

If you have decided to get into a business of smart parking systems, this post should be of great significance to you. You can learn all the necessary information about the smart parking system. You should stay in touch with the best manufacturers and suppliers of puzzle parking.

Direction: Click Here

[parkingsolution]

Parking Management System

A smart parking management system is backed by sensors, ANPR(Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras, and other embedded systems to track parking space availability and occupancy in real time. The information related to parking space occupancy and availability of parking slots is then communicated to drivers through mobile apps, making it easier to park their vehicles quickly.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Cleantech has an enshittification problem

On July 14, I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! On July 20, I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

EVs won't save the planet. Ultimately, the material bill for billions of individual vehicles and the unavoidable geometry of more cars-more traffic-more roads-greater distances-more cars dictate that the future of our cities and planet requires public transit – lots of it.

But no matter how much public transit we install, there's always going to be some personal vehicles on the road, and not just bikes, ebikes and scooters. Between deliveries, accessibility, and stubbornly low-density regions, there's going to be a lot of cars, vans and trucks on the road for the foreseeable future, and these should be electric.

Beyond that irreducible minimum of personal vehicles, there's the fact that individuals can't install their own public transit system; in places that lack the political will or means to create working transit, EVs are a way for people to significantly reduce their personal emissions.

In policy circles, EV adoption is treated as a logistical and financial issue, so governments have focused on making EVs affordable and increasing the density of charging stations. As an EV owner, I can affirm that affordability and logistics were important concerns when we were shopping for a car.

But there's a third EV problem that is almost entirely off policy radar: enshittification.

An EV is a rolling computer in a fancy case with a squishy person inside of it. While this can sound scary, there are lots of cool implications for this. For example, your EV could download your local power company's tariff schedule and preferentially charge itself when the rates are lowest; they could also coordinate with the utility to reduce charging when loads are peaking. You can start them with your phone. Your repair technician can run extensive remote diagnostics on them and help you solve many problems from the road. New features can be delivered over the air.

That's just for starters, but there's so much more in the future. After all, the signal virtue of a digital computer is its flexibility. The only computer we know how to make is the Turing complete, universal, Von Neumann machine, which can run every valid program. If a feature is computationally tractable – from automated parallel parking to advanced collision prevention – it can run on a car.

The problem is that this digital flexibility presents a moral hazard to EV manufacturers. EVs are designed to make any kind of unauthorized, owner-selected modification into an IP rights violation ("IP" in this case is "any law that lets me control the conduct of my customers or competitors"):

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

EVs are also designed so that the manufacturer can unilaterally exert control over them or alter their operation. EVs – even more than conventional vehicles – are designed to be remotely killswitched in order to help manufacturers and dealers pressure people into paying their car notes on time:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

Manufacturers can reach into your car and change how much of your battery you can access:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

They can lock your car and have it send its location to a repo man, then greet him by blinking its lights, honking its horn, and pulling out of its parking space:

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/

And of course, they can detect when you've asked independent mechanic to service your car and then punish you by degrading its functionality:

https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2024/06/26/two-of-eight-claims-in-tesla-anti-trust-lawsuit-will-move-forward/

This is "twiddling" – unilaterally and irreversibly altering the functionality of a product or service, secure in the knowledge that IP law will prevent anyone from twiddling back by restoring the gadget to a preferred configuration:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

The thing is, for an EV, twiddling is the best case scenario. As bad as it is for the company that made your EV to change how it works whenever they feel like picking your pocket, that's infinitely preferable to the manufacturer going bankrupt and bricking your car.

That's what just happened to owners of Fisker EVs, cars that cost $40-70k. Cars are long-term purchases. An EV should last 12-20 years, or even longer if you pay to swap the battery pack. Fisker was founded in 2016 and shipped its first Ocean SUV in 2023. The company is now bankrupt:

https://insideevs.com/news/723669/fisker-inc-bankruptcy-chapter-11-official/

Fisker called its vehicles "software-based cars" and they weren't kidding. Without continuous software updates and server access, those Fisker Ocean SUVs are turning into bricks. What's more, the company designed the car from the ground up to make any kind of independent service and support into a felony, by wrapping the whole thing in overlapping layers of IP. That means that no one can step in with a module that jailbreaks the Fisker and drops in an alternative firmware that will keep the fleet rolling.

This is the third EV risk – not just finance, not just charger infrastructure, but the possibility that any whizzy, cool new EV company will go bust and brick your $70k cleantech investment, irreversibly transforming your car into 5,500 lb worth of e-waste.

This confers a huge advantage onto the big automakers like VW, Kia, Ford, etc. Tesla gets a pass, too, because it achieved critical mass before people started to wise up to the risk of twiddling and bricking. If you're making a serious investment in a product you expect to use for 20 years, are you really gonna buy it from a two-year old startup with six months' capital in the bank?

The incumbency advantage here means that the big automakers won't have any reason to sink a lot of money into R&D, because they won't have to worry about hungry startups with cool new ideas eating their lunches. They can maintain the cozy cartel that has seen cars stagnate for decades, with the majority of "innovation" taking the form of shitty, extractive and ill-starred ideas like touchscreen controls and an accelerator pedal that you have to rent by the month:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/23/23474969/mercedes-car-subscription-faster-acceleration-feature-price

Put that way, it's clear that this isn't an EV problem, it's a cleantech problem. Cleantech has all the problems of EVs: it requires a large capital expenditure, it will be "smart," and it is expected to last for decades. That's rooftop solar, heat-pumps, smart thermostat sensor arrays, and home storage batteries.

And just as with EVs, policymakers have focused on infrastructure and affordability without paying any attention to the enshittification risks. Your rooftop solar will likely be controlled via a Solaredge box – a terrible technology that stops working if it can't reach the internet for a protracted period (that's right, your home solar stops working if the grid fails!).

I found this out the hard way during the covid lockdowns, when Solaredge terminated its 3G cellular contract and notified me that I would have to replace the modem in my system or it would stop working. This was at the height of the supply-chain crisis and there was a long waiting list for any replacement modems, with wifi cards (that used your home internet rather than a cellular connection) completely sold out for most of a year.

There are good reasons to connect rooftop solar arrays to the internet – it's not just so that Solaredge can enshittify my service. Solar arrays that coordinate with the grid can make it much easier and safer to manage a grid that was designed for centralized power production and is being retrofitted for distributed generation, one roof at a time.

But when the imperatives of extraction and efficiency go to war, extraction always wins. After all, the Solaredge system is already in place and solar installers are largely ignorant of, and indifferent to, the reasons that a homeowner might want to directly control and monitor their system via local controls that don't roundtrip through the cloud.

Somewhere in the hindbrain of any prospective solar purchaser is the experience with bricked and enshittified "smart" gadgets, and the knowledge that anything they buy from a cool startup with lots of great ideas for improving production, monitoring, and/or costs poses the risk of having your 20 year investment bricked after just a few years – and, thanks to the extractive imperative, no one will be able to step in and restore your ex-solar array to good working order.

I make the majority of my living from books, which means that my pay is very "lumpy" – I get large sums when I publish a book and very little in between. For many years, I've used these payments to make big purchases, rather than financing them over long periods where I can't predict my income. We've used my book payments to put in solar, then an induction stove, then a battery. We used one to buy out the lease on our EV. And just a month ago, we used the money from my upcoming Enshittification book to put in a heat pump (with enough left over to pay for a pair of long-overdue cataract surgeries, scheduled for the fall).

When we started shopping for heat pumps, it was clear that this was a very exciting sector. First of all, heat pumps are kind of magic, so efficient and effective it's almost surreal. But beyond the basic tech – which has been around since the late 1940s – there is a vast ferment of cool digital features coming from exciting and innovative startups.

By nature, I'm the kid of person who likes these digital features. I started out as a computer programmer, and while I haven't written production code since the previous millennium, I've been in and around the tech industry for my whole adult life. But when it came time to buy a heat-pump – an investment that I expected to last for 20 years or more – there was no way I was going to buy one of these cool new digitally enhanced pumps, no matter how much the reviewers loved them. Sure, they'd work well, but it's precisely because I'm so knowledgeable about high tech that I could see that they would fail very, very badly.

You may think EVs are bullshit, and they are – though there will always be room for some personal vehicles, and it's better for people in transit deserts to drive EVs than gas-guzzlers. You may think rooftop solar is a dead-end and be all-in on utility scale solar (I think we need both, especially given the grid-disrupting extreme climate events on our horizon). But there's still a wide range of cleantech – induction tops, heat pumps, smart thermostats – that are capital intensive, have a long duty cycle, and have good reasons to be digitized and networked.

Take home storage batteries: your utility can push its rate card to your battery every time they change their prices, and your battery can use that information to decide when to let your house tap into the grid, and when to switch over to powering your home with the solar you've stored up during the day. This is a very old and proven pattern in tech: the old Fidonet BBS network used a version of this, with each BBS timing its calls to other nodes to coincide with the cheapest long-distance rates, so that messages for distant systems could be passed on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FidoNet

Cleantech is a very dynamic sector, even if its triumphs are largely unheralded. There's a quiet revolution underway in generation, storage and transmission of renewable power, and a complimentary revolution in power-consumption in vehicles and homes:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/12/s-curve/#anything-that-cant-go-on-forever-eventually-stops

But cleantech is too important to leave to the incumbents, who are addicted to enshittification and planned obsolescence. These giant, financialized firms lack the discipline and culture to make products that have the features – and cost savings – to make them appealing to the very wide range of buyers who must transition as soon as possible, for the sake of the very planet.

It's not enough for our policymakers to focus on financing and infrastructure barriers to cleantech adoption. We also need a policy-level response to enshittification.

Ideally, every cleantech device would be designed so that it was impossible to enshittify – which would also make it impossible to brick:

Based on free software (best), or with source code escrowed with a trustee who must release the code if the company enters administration (distant second-best);

All patents in a royalty-free patent-pool (best); or in a trust that will release them into a royalty-free pool if the company enters administration (distant second-best);

No parts-pairing or other DRM permitted (best); or with parts-pairing utilities available to all parties on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (distant second-best);

All diagnostic and error codes in the public domain, with all codes in the clear within the device (best); or with decoding utilities available on demand to all comers on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis (distant second-best).

There's an obvious business objection to this: it will reduce investment in innovative cleantech because investors will perceive these restrictions as limits on the expected profits of their portfolio companies. It's true: these measures are designed to prevent rent-extraction and other enshittificatory practices by cleantech companies, and to the extent that investors are counting on enshittification rents, this might prevent them from investing.

But that has to be balanced against the way that a general prohibition on enshittificatory practices will inspire consumer confidence in innovative and novel cleantech products, because buyers will know that their investments will be protected over the whole expected lifespan of the product, even if the startup goes bust (nearly every startup goes bust). These measures mean that a company with a cool product will have a much larger customer-base to sell to. Those additional sales more than offset the loss of expected revenue from cheating and screwing your customers by twiddling them to death.

There's also an obvious legal objection to this: creating these policies will require a huge amount of action from Congress and the executive branch, a whole whack of new rules and laws to make them happen, and each will attract court-challenges.

That's also true, though it shouldn't stop us from trying to get legal reforms. As a matter of public policy, it's terrible and fucked up that companies can enshittify the things we buy and leave us with no remedy.

However, we don't have to wait for legal reform to make this work. We can take a shortcut with procurement – the things governments buy with public money. The feds, the states and localities buy a lot of cleantech: for public facilities, for public housing, for public use. Prudent public policy dictates that governments should refuse to buy any tech unless it is designed to be enshittification-resistant.

This is an old and honorable tradition in policymaking. Lincoln insisted that the rifles he bought for the Union Army come with interoperable tooling and ammo, for obvious reasons. No one wants to be the Commander in Chief who shows up on the battlefield and says, "Sorry, boys, war's postponed, our sole supplier decided to stop making ammunition."

By creating a market for enshittification-proof cleantech, governments can ensure that the public always has the option of buying an EV that can't be bricked even if the maker goes bust, a heat-pump whose digital features can be replaced or maintained by a third party of your choosing, a solar controller that coordinates with the grid in ways that serve their owners – not the manufacturers' shareholders.

We're going to have to change a lot to survive the coming years. Sure, there's a lot of scary ways that things can go wrong, but there's plenty about our world that should change, and plenty of ways those changes could be for the better. It's not enough for policymakers to focus on ensuring that we can afford to buy whatever badly thought-through, extractive tech the biggest companies want to foist on us – we also need a focus on making cleantech fit for purpose, truly smart, reliable and resilient.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

Image: 臺灣古寫真上色 (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raid_on_Kagi_City_1945.jpg

Grendelkhan (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ground_mounted_solar_panels.gk.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[wohrparking]

Community Impact: Wohr's Responsibility in Indian Neighborhoods in Providing Best Parking Solutions

Welcome to the world of Wohr Parking Systems, where innovation extends beyond the confines ofcar parking systems to touch the lives of communities across India. In this blog, we delve into the heart of our social responsibility and explore how we're driving positive change in Indian neighborhoods.

Parking System in India: More Than Just Spaces

Wohr Parking Systems has long been at the forefront of revolutionizing car parking in India. But our commitment goes beyond designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art car parking solutions. We believe in creating a holistic impact, not just in urban landscapes but also in the very fabric of communities.

Parking Challenges faced by Indian Drivers

Navigating the bustling streets of India is an adventure, and parking challenges add an extra layer of complexity to the daily lives of Indian drivers. Let us explore some of the common parking challenges faced by drivers in India:

Limited Parking Spaces: Rapid urbanization has led to a surge in the number of vehicles, but available parking spaces have not kept pace. Finding a suitable parking spot, especially in densely populated areas, is a persistent challenge for Indian drivers.

Unorganized Parking: Lack of organized parking infrastructure in many areas. Drivers often resort to parking on the roadside, leading to traffic congestion and safety concerns.

Traffic Congestion: Vehicles searching for parking contribute to traffic jams. The lack of streamlined parking solutions can exacerbate congestion issues, especially during peak hours.

 Security Concerns: Lack of proper security measures in some parking areas. Drivers may hesitate to park in certain locations due to concerns about theft or damage to their vehicles.

Public Awareness: Limited awareness about proper parking etiquette. Educating the public about responsible parking practices is essential to alleviate some of the challenges associated with parking in India.

Role of WPS in overcoming these parking challenges

Installing Wohr Parking Systems offers a host of advantages that can effectively address and overcome the parking challenges faced by drivers in India. Here are some key benefits:

Optimal Space Utilization: Wohr's innovative parking solutions maximize the use of available space, making it possible to park more vehicles in a compact area. This helps address the issue of limited parking spaces in crowded urban environments.

Automated Parking Systems: Wohr specializes in automated car parking systems, reducing the need for manual parking, and making the process more efficient. Automated systems contribute to faster and smoother parking, minimizing traffic congestion caused by vehicles searching for parking spots.

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[metallicmikus]

Modern Newsie headcannons: NYC edition

i know the newsies live in nyc but a lot of the headcannons aren’t about them living in nyc so i came up with some

- Race sleeps a lot on the subway, mostly when he’s with albert cuz he knows albert will get them off at the right place. When they’re standing on the subway, and race is leaning his head on albert’s shoulder, al will keep his arm around Race’s waist so he doesn’t fall. If he’s asleep while they’re sitting down, albert will make sure his head doesn’t hit the wall.

- race and al use one pair of air pods on the subway to listen to the same music

- jack hates the subway (country boy at heart)

- finch will always ask someone if they would get up for crutchie to sit down if they’re are no empty seats

- race just knows the manhattan subway and streets by heart (native new yorker lookin ass)

- david carries hand sanitizer with him for after using the subway cuz you don’t know where everyone’s hands have been (the other newsies catch on cuz it’s smart)

- david is TERRIBLE at navigating the subway system. it’s overwhelming to him. he has cried while trying to figure out where they’re supposed to go when going somewhere new and jack takes over and never lets him navigate again. (unless he really wants to)

- race fanning albert while they wait for the subway (it’s hot as fuck down there)

- i know a very popular hc is that one of the newsies (usually jack) has a van, but realistically, these mfs don’t own cars 😭

- albert and jack will almost always take the stairs over the escalator

- race has fallen asleep alone on the subway and ended up somewhere completely different than where he was headed, which is why he now usually only sleeps if he’s with someone else

- most of the newsies live in lower manhattan (duh), but some of them live uptown north of central park. jack and crutchie live in the bowery with medda. the jacobs live in the lower east side (many jewish families settled there when they moved to nyc). races family lived in east harlem, but they moved to lower manhattan when race was a baby. spot and elmer are roommates (they live in brooklyn)

- race family is the classic italian roman catholic family

- david, sarah, and les are first generation immigrants from poland

- finch has picked up a pigeon off the streets on multiple occasions

- most of the newsies have never really left the city

- you know the newsies are constantly joining broadway lotteries

- race works at the broadway dance center (sky flaherty core)

- albert has no patience for slow walkers, he weaves in between people. he always looks like he’s on a mission.

that’s it for now !!

[ilovejeongintoo]

𝔸 ℝ𝕚𝕤𝕜 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘

!WARNING NSFW Content ahead! !MDNI!

Genre: Fantasy, Rich man Yunho x Thief Reader, Warnings: Handcuffs, implied mafia?, implied yandere behaviour, unprotected sex(smh), slight praise, name calling (dear) Wordcount: 3353 Not proofread

Yunho drives me mad, he's just so...ugh, there aren't words that are worthy enough to describe him. Also I wrote this at like 2 am.

Summary: A thrill-seeking burglary, driven by a craving for adrenaline, you break into the grand Jeong Estate to steal a priceless necklace. Equipped with skills from past heists you're dressed for stealth, the owner unexpectedly decides to make an appearance and punish you in his own way.

Out of all the things that you would do, this one was probably the craziest, no this is the craziest idea ever. Sure, you've done stupid things before but this one was going to take the cake, even if you were fully prepared.

Your mother had always told you, this hobby of yours would get you in trouble. For her you were a "normal" kind of adrenaline junkie, bungee jumping, paragliding, rock climbing, something that was in a controlled environment but would still get your heart racing. Your blood pumping. When that didn't satisfy you anymore though, you turned over a different leaf, starting with cliff diving and some urban exploring, graffiti, crimes that's what this hobby of yours turned into. Especially little crimes that involved stealing something, from a store, a jacket, a purse your hands were quite skilled at the task and the feeling you got from it was just too addictive to stop.

And after a stupid night with an even more stupid idea from your friends you were here now, a block down from the biggest estate in the city. The Jeong Estate.

The idea was stuck in your brain like gum on your shoe and you wouldn't leave until that itch inside of you was cleansed. The worst thing was, this was completely solo, from the planning, to going through with this.

It was simple really, sneak around the cameras, hopefully find some open entrance, if not you'd get entry in some way. You learned a few things about security systems from rich homes like these, they all worked the same, so you'd be able to deactivate it, you just didn't know for how long, that's why that was as a last resort.

You honestly looked like a burglar, the dark leather jacket, black jeans with an old black t-shirt and a black cap. In case you were somehow caught, they wouldn't recognize you.

You just had to get in, find something worth taking and then get out. And that undetected.

Interesting enough the whole layout of the mansion was on the internet, you guessed they like to brag about their wealth and how many bathrooms one could possibly need.

There were multiple interviews taken in the house, pictures of the outside, inside, around it, with a little bit of smart thinking you'd be able to sneak past any cameras where they wouldn't be able to detect you.

Because of their huge security set up, they didn't think to have any guards, the place completely empty, anyone that was going to try anything had a death wish. And you wouldn't pass up on the thrill of escaping that mansion with a little souvenir that you'd pull out and brag to your friends about.

You could already imagine the dumb, shocked faces they'd pull when you got back. You stepped out of your car, combat boots hitting the ground, you only got a small bag, as to not make your form any bigger. You decided the back was safer to gain entry, less cameras more blind sports as well, with the huge maze-like garden blocking your silhouette from everything, combined with the darkness of the night, this was going to be a walk in the park. your heart was racing though, not even inside yet. You checked various doors and windows hoping someone left at least one open with a house this big, poor luck.

You guess that meant plan B was officially going to commence. You whipped out your phone connecting with the security system in a matter of minutes with the closeness, there seemed to be a manual lever hidden just close to you, that was the only thing you couldn't find amongst the endless photos taken of this place. You opened a small metal box being faced with a control panel, thankfully each button had some words on them, not making you guess what each does. You clicked one and then another to confirm it, the cameras immediately losing their red recording light, and the alarm presumably being off now.

You grabbed a rock off the expensive looking assortment next to a little pond and smashed it against a glass door. Sliding your hand in and turning the knob, it slid open, and you were officially in. No going back. You gulped the nerves hitting a little harder, but your excitement burnt even more. Turning the lamp on your flashlight, you snuck around a little, figuring out which hallway you were in, looking at a few vases, might take one of those.

But you were actually on the lookout for a particular door, leading to a secret treasure room. The Jeong family apparently liked collecting stuff a lot, paintings, statues, jewelry. You were going to go for a specific necklace, only one in the world and it was here, so close to you. You moved further down, passing high chandeliers and a set of stairs. The doors couldn't be missed, big embroidery and golden accents making it stand out even more than everything that you've seen here yet, however that was possible. You pushed it open, startled of it not being closed. There wasn't anyone inside, thank God.

You looked around the room, in awe. It was filled to the brim, to each treasure a sign explaining it was from or what it symbolized. As you watched each one with interest your eyes landed on the glass in the middle of the room, encased in it was the necklace you were here for. What you would be taking home. You walked up to it, your boots squeaking a little on the oak wooden floor.

You pressed your gloved fingers onto the glass, admiring the piece inside. You would obviously have to break it and then sneak out again. You brought some equipment just for this, obviously they didn't have normal glass around these national treasures. You got a laser cutter for a pretty dime, and you'd leave with something worth every coin spent on this device. You put your bag down, going through it, setting up the little machine, turning on the flame and testing it a few times. You were just about to cut it when you heard some noise.

Which wasn't you for sure. You immediately panicked a little and turned the thingy off reaching for your bag and pulling it behind the counter of the necklace, hiding behind it. There wasn't any reason that someone would just come in here. Or was there?

You were mentally going through every scenario that was about to happen. Your palms sweating, heart bursting out of your chest. You had to calm down a little or you'd make stupid decisions right this second. The racing of your little heart was promptly stopped by the door creaking open, the clanking of shoes evident in the spacious room. Definitely dress shoes, definitely someone that lived here. It was okay. They didn't know you were here. They were probably just having some weird midnight museum tour here. This was probably just some rich person behavior, going to your own treasure haven at the dead of night, yeah, must be it.

The steps grew closer and thus louder. You prayed they wouldn't walk around the counter and see you, briefly you regretted ever coming here but you did get what you wanted, a thrill.

You held your breath when the sounds of those shoes stopped. Listening intently for what was about to happen and staying alert. Just when you were trying to get ahold of your breathing again, there was some fast movement, a click, a shove, and you were on the ground. Looking up, you saw your one hand cuffed to a bar embedded into the counter. And some very shiny looking shoes, that were now directly in front of you. You moved your gaze slowly up, black slacks, further there was a simple shirt and a black tie. Who the hell wears those in their own home? And finally, a rather young-looking dude, you'd have expected a man in his fifties by the clothing choice. The black-haired man didn't looked like he was in his mid-twenties, slightly older than you.

Your bows furrowed at that. His deep voice was the next thing that shocked you as he leaned down, setting himself on his haunches.

"Now what do we have here? A little mouse lingering in my house." There was no way that this was the Jeong Yunho, he was just way too… young, for a successful multi-millionaire. You didn't realize that you haven't responded.

"I was wondering what crawled in when I heard some noises, you ought to be more careful than that." He smiled mockingly.

You were trying to keep your gaze away from him, not wanting him to catch even a single glance of your features, he might just let you go. Who are you even kidding? Fat chance, you were lucky if you made it out of here alive now, genuine fear setting in.

He kept trying to move his face to yours, obviously wanting to look at the intruder that snuck in, but you just turned in the other direction. Having enough of your attitude he gripped your jaw in his hand, your free one trying to pry him off of you. He turned you to him and knocked the hat off your head.

You stared into his eyes, not wanting to get intimidated no matter how much money this guy had. You wouldn’t be intimidated by a pretty, rich boy that was born with a silver spoon.

"Happy now?" You questioned. His hand left your face.

"Oh, so she does talk, and she's got some fire." That grin just wouldn't leave his face, it was so goddamn punchable even if it was a shame to ruin.

Maybe violence was next on your hobby list of crimes. If looks could kill, he would be buried six feet under, your glare was burning a hole through his face.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting my home?" Any words that came out of his mouth made you want to shut him up. If it was with a fist or a kiss you honestly didn't care.

"Why don't you take a guess?" You wouldn't answer anything with a guy like this squeezing you into a little corner. Which was risky to say the least.

"Well… judging by the get up and the fact that I found you here, means you were planning on stealing something." No shit sherlock, for what other reason do people break in.

You gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh, come on, this is the most interesting thing that has happened here in a while, usually, people get caught by the alarm or cameras before even making it inside."

"Makes me wonder how you made it this far." He looked you over, studying you, analyzing.

This was probably the best time to convince him of letting you go, somehow. "Look, I'm sorry okay, this was stupid, I'll pay for the broken glass and just leave."

"See now, that just won't work. I can't just "let you go", that'll just make me look bad if it comes out that I just let little thieves like you come and go."

"I have to set an example." What the fuck does he mean by that?

You hadn't even thought about what kind of people lived here, for all you could know this was some secret mafia family that built their empire on corpses. Sure, sounded like it.

"I promise I won't talk; I won't do this again."

"You really expect me to believe that?" He raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"Trust me, I'll make sure you won't." Now that sounded like something a killer would say, you were fucked, so fucked.

"Please, look, I have family, friends, please just let me go." You looked at him a little pleading, fuck your pride and not getting intimidated. This was beyond anything.

You shook the cuff slightly, trying to slip your hand through it in any way. "Look I'll pay or whatever, j-just don't kill me." He seemed in thought about something, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek and then he stood up, your eyes following his long, slim figure.

"No." He curtly replied.

Okay fuck him and fuck reasoning with this asshole.

"I'm gonna cave your face in when I get out of these handcuffs, I swear." You glared. His smile grew again, this fucker was getting some sick satisfaction of seeing you seething in anger.

"Ouuu there's that fire that I was beginning to miss, you were begging so nicely a second ago." He twirled a stand of your hair. He grabbed at the cuffs unlicking it from the bar, getting your hopes up of being free when he clasped the now free shackle to your other hand. Your hands now cuffed in front of your body, he pulled at the chain holding them together.

He stood up, dragging you with him. "Girls like you only learn the hard way, don't they? Lucky for you, I know just how to handle your type." Anything he said sounded so suggestive, you don't know if the fear was activating some hidden side in you, or if his attractiveness eliminated any red flags in the situation. He tugged you along, crossing room for room way too fast for you to keep track of where you were and therefore not making you figure out where he was taking you, until he hauled you into a dimly lit room. A bedroom, okay woah, this was turning into one of your fantasies real fast.

"I'm feeling generous today, it's not every day where a pretty thing just turns up at my doorstep, so I'll even remove these." The restraints from your wrist fell to the floor, your hands massaging your wrists. "I'll let you off the hook" But? There had to be some twist. "You'll spend the night here, after all you wanted to be here." Yeah, to steal something, not to fuck a loaded dude.

You did consider it, he wasn't bad looking. But that fucking attitude was just so aggravating. "And what makes you think that I would just agree to that?" Your arms crossed in silent protest.

"Maybe the fact that you wouldn't land yourself in jail."

"You kind of interrupted my work so It's only fair that I get a little bit of a compensation for being so nice."

Oh, hell to the no, not this guy, nu uh. He looks like someone that would brag about this for centuries to come. You whipped around ready to leave; "I'll just turn myself in."

"Come on, didn't you notice the tension between us, are you that oblivious?"

Of course, you had noticed, from the first second you realized his hands were way bigger and that he was towering over you, had you thinking dirty. Like if he had just bent you over the glass in the other room. Or the hallway wall, or this bed. God there must be something wrong with you. Some adrenaline induced arousal that activated since you were caught.

You didn't notice yourself stopping nor did you notice Yunho moving up behind you until his warm breath hit your ear.

"Right, you did notice. I'll even gift you a little something to take with you, or you can leave with nothing right now."

He brushed the hair from your neck, kissing it slightly. You could just leave now, but his offer was too tempting. You whipped around, grabbing him by the tie and pulling him in for a kiss, before you could second guess your decision making.

He pushed you against a nearby wall, caging you in. He was so fucking big it felt suffocating in an intoxicating way. Like all your senses were filled with Yunho only.

The movements were rushed buttons falling off, his tie almost getting ripped apart. Your shirt and jacket being discarded in a matter of seconds. You called his name in between kisses, desperate to get him to move faster.

Only one of your legs was out of your jeans when he stuffed you with his fingers, you were hoping that your legs kept their strength, and your knees wouldn't buckle. It was getting increasingly difficult, the more fingers he added, the harder he thrusted, the deeper that he hit. You tried your best to hold onto his shoulders. You took notice of the large bulge pressing against his slacks and slipped your hand in. You stroked him making him bite his lip a bit, his brows furrowing in pleasure. Groans were the only things you could hear besides the wet squelch of your pussy. When your knees were going to give out, he pulled his hand from you, reaching over, grabbing a familiar object, clicking it onto you again but lifting your arms making you wrap your cuffed hands around his neck, your hands holding onto him. He lifted one of your legs getting closer to your body while his other hand moved down and pulled his length out of his pants.

A pretty thing from top to bottom, with just the perfect curve. Fittingly big for his stature. Your favorite part was when he started rubbing it against you, getting it wet, a vein that ran along his cock brushed your clit at the perfect angle. It made you cry out just a little louder for him.

"I might just keep you in my treasure room dear, you just make such cute noises."

You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, not that you cared at this moment. When he slipped himself inside that's when you almost came on the spot, your insides were clenching so much around his length. Wrapping around him, it was so so warm. And when he started moving it was even better, the drag of your ridged walls pulling him back in when he pulled out.

"Yunho, Yunho, god ah."

His thrusts reached deeper than your fingers every could, than any man before him could. Yunho kept thrusting while alternating between playing with your boobs and circling your clit with his thumb.

"You're gonna kill me, you know that? o-my fucking god." He groaned after each thrust. Your stomach became so warm and tingly, it was only a matter of seconds before you'd cum all over his cock. It was after a particular calculated thrust up into your g-spot that had you seeing stars, tightening your arms around Yunhos neck and letting out a pornographic moan. The squeezing of your pussy had him coming just a moment after, not giving him the chance to pull out, not that he wanted to.

He spilt himself into you, driving aftershocks from your orgasm out of you. His thrust slowing down, to ride out his own, until his hips stopped.

He pulled back, your hole opening and closing a little and making cum dribble out of you.

"Can't have you waste that." He pushed some of it back in with his fingers. You moaned in hypersensitivity. Your legs completely gave out after that and he picked you up, carrying you over to the bed that would have been the more ideal place.

He untangled himself from you, you grumbled at the loss of contact. You just heard the click of the cuffs, your eyes closed in contentment, too tired.

He continued staying at your side, bringing you a glass of water, and pulling the blanket over you, making you fall asleep faster than you'd ever think was possible. Considering you were still in a stranger’s house, said stranger was inside your guts just a moment ago, so couldn't really call him that.

This definitely wasn't part of your masterplan, but you wouldn't change a thing.

When you woke up in the morning, Yunho peacefully sleeping next to you, you quietly dressed yourself and excited the mansion. Not forgetting to take a price, in the form of his ring and a note that read: "If you want your souvenir back, call me."

[racergirl-112]

Push Me Over - Chapter 4: So It Goes...

18++++++***** MDNI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WARNINGS: SMUT. Mentions of death. P n V, unprotected (wrap it up folks). Oral receiving, fingering. but really this is the chapter you've been waiting for. 😘🥵🥵 *** I wrote this chapter to the song So it Goes by Taylor Swift**

(not my picture. Photo cred: Pinterest)

Dani got home a little later. She spent the night tossing and turning, thinking about Hugh and the super hot kiss they shared. The words he said to her, making her mind race. He had asked her to maybe get coffee and maybe if they did that and she got to know him, it would help get him out of her mind. She decided she was going to ask him that day. 

After the grueling day of filming they had, Dani saw Hugh walking back to his trailer and decided it was now or never. 

“Hugh,” she called out. He turned around, a smile crossing his face. 

“What’s up darlin’?” he asked. 

“Would you like to get coffee with me?” 

“When?” he asked. 

“Now? Or whenever you’re done?” she replied. 

“Let me get changed.” 

“Cool, I’ll be in my trailer.” 

As she waited for Hugh in her trailer, scrolling her phone, her heart began to race. It was going to be just the two of them. It’s fine. You’re just co-stars, maybe potential friends. Get him out of your system, he’s old enough to be your father. She was lost in her overthinking when there was a knock on her trailer door. 

“Come in,” she said, as the door began to swing open. Hugh walked in, wearing his signature tight black t-shirt and jeans. Goddammit he’s fine. 

“Hi darlin’. Are you ready?” he asked. Dani nodded. They began to walk over to where their cars were parked. “Want me to drive?” 

“That’s fine,” she answered. A smile crossed his face as he opened the passenger door for her. She had a surprised look on her face when he got in the car. 

“What’s the look for?” he asked with a laugh. 

“I’ve never had a guy do that for me before and I’m from the South,” she replied. Hugh started up the car as they took off. 

“Well, sounds like you haven’t been around real gentlemen.” The comment took Dani aback, but it made her smile as they looked for a coffee shop. 

A little while later, they found a perfect little coffee shop out of the way as they sat there together. 

“Other than you being extremely feisty and can fucking sing, tell me more about yourself,” Hugh started. Dani looked taken aback, but she was ready. She took a sip of her latte and began talking. 

“Well, I’m originally from Georgia. My real name is Danielle Olivia James-Levy, but because of the Levy acting family, I chose to go by Danielle James, my mother’s maiden name. I went to school for Business, thinking I wasn’t going to go into the family business, but fell in love with theater when I was there and got a dual major.” 

“Wow, beautiful and smart. I knew you acted, but I didn’t know you did theater. Is that where the singing comes from?,” Hugh asked, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Yeah, it’s something I don’t get to do a whole lot of. I would do small shows in between acting gigs, while working a real job, until something happened. The singing thing on the other hand, that’s something I’ve done since I was kid. I’d walk around singing, enough for everyone to tell me to shut up once in a while.” She looked over at Hugh who couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “So, enough about me. How about you?” 

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. “Well, there isn’t too much about me that you can’t find online. Well, other than what I mentioned to you the other day.” 

“I’m sorry you’re going through that. Do you want to talk about it?” Dani asked. Hugh’s eyes got soft, almost like sadness came through them. 

“We don’t have to sweetheart,” he started. 

“You listened to me and I promised you I’d listen,” a warm smile crossed her face. 

“Well, my ex-wife and I had been married for almost 27 years. We met back on a TV show in Australia. She was older and I thought she was out of my league, but it worked out. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to have biological children of our own, but we adopted two wonderful kids. Now that the kids are older and have their own lives, I guess during Covid, we were spending so much time together, it felt more like a friendship than a marriage and got worse during the writer’s strike. We did everything we could to save it, but we both felt like the relationship had run its course. It just feels weird.” 

“Like you’ve been in the relationship so long, you don’t know where to go next. I mean I’ve had my share of relationships, but nothing of that caliber. I commend you for making a relationship work in Hollywood, especially when you’re as big a star as you are.You just don’t see that anymore.” “That’s very sweet,” he answered. “I’m curious about something you didn’t mention. Shawn is your Uncle, how’s the relation work?” 

Dani took a long sip of her latte before beginning. “Well, My dad was Shawn’s older brother, but passed away in a car accident when I was 25. It was something we asked to keep out of the public and the reason I shelved my dreams for a while. My mom still lives in Georgia with her new husband, finally happy again.” She looked over at him and he had a surprised look on his face.

His hand reached across the table, grabbing hers. “I’m sorry about you dad, sweetheart. I lost mine in 2020, his eyes meeting hers. The more she was around this man, she was finding it harder to not want to be with him. Fuck the age difference. 

“Thank you. I’m sorry about your dad too,” she replied as he squeezed her hand. She kept looking over at him, not being able to take her eyes off of the gorgeous man in front of her and it looked like he was on the same page. “I guess it's getting late.” 

He nodded as they left the cafe and got into his car. He opened her door for her as he took off. He turned on some music and So it Goes… by Taylor Swift began to drift through the radio. She glanced over at Hugh driving and felt her heart racing, not knowing what was going to happen next. He caught her stare as his hand reached over and found her leg. They stopped at a red light as Dani went for it. 

“Hugh,” she breathed, coming over the center console and kissing him. He reciprocated, but then the light changed. “I’m sorry…,” she started. Before she could get the words out, he pulled the car over in a dark alley as he came over the center console and kissed her. Their lips and tongues in a hot tangled mess. Dani reached for anything she could, to be closer to this man. He pulled back and cupped her face. 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop myself and I won’t unless you want me to,” he started. 

“Your place or mine?” Dani breathed. Hugh drove to his flat immediately. 

They all but kicked down the door to his flat as they stayed intertwined. The second the door shut behind them, Hugh picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Her legs wrapped around his waist, as his hands cupped her ass, their kissing, feverish. 

As they fell on the bed, he braced himself above her, getting lost in her green eyes. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. She nodded her head as she sat up and yanked her shirt over her head followed by her bra and threw them on the floor. He followed suit and his shirt ended up in the pile on the floor. He went for the waistband of her leggings, slowly pulling them down with her panties. “Fuck,” he groaned, taking in the naked woman in his bed. 

“Pants off, Jackman,” she ordered, a smirk on her face. 

“Yes ma’am,” he replied, undoing his belt, and kicking off his pants and boxers, crawling over her. 

Dani propped herself up on her elbows and looked at the man in front of her. He may be 55 years old, but he was built like a fucking god. From the way his muscles bulged to the way his v-line was sculpted. Then she caught sight of the happy trail of hair that led to his perfect dick. God he was huge. 

He began kissing her lips before moving to her neck, making her arch into him. He liked her reaction as he continued down her body, to her breasts as he circled each peak with his tongue, while never breaking eye contact. 

“Fuck,” she moaned. He added to her pleasure as she felt the pad of his finger on her clit. 

“Sweetheart, so wet for me,” he groaned, moving down her body and to her pussy. His tongue began soft strokes, before he plugged right in. She cried out at that feeling as she grabbed for his hair as he pulled her down to the end of the bed to devour her even more. The feeling of his facial hair added to the pleasure. 

This man has experience. 

“I can’t…,” she cried out, letting her orgasm go. 

“God, you taste so good sweetheart,” he replied, wiping her juices from his beard and moving back over her. He stilled above her for a moment, realizing something. “Princess, I wasn’t planning on sex tonight, so I’m not prepared.” 

“I’m on birth control, Hugh. I need you too much to stop now,” Dani answered, pulling him down to her as their lips locked and she tasted herself on him. His long fingers found her soaking core as he began pumping just enough to get her honey on him as he stroked it down his cock. He grabbed ahold of himself as he teased her with his tip at her entrance. 

“You ready sweetheart?” he asked. Dani nodded as he began to push himself inside. He stilled for a moment at how tight she was and that if he began to move, he might just bust. 

“Move, please,” she begged. His hips began to move slowly, savoring every moment with Dani. The hold this woman had on him in a short amount of time was baffling, but god, did he feel something with her. Her lips on his, her nails digging into his back, the way she molded to him. 

Dani’s hip movements began to meet his own and he felt like he might be a goner. He grabbed her hands with his, interlacing their fingers, pressing them into the mattress sending them both spirling and fast. “God sweetheart, you are fucking perfect,” he said, kissing her. 

Her heart began to race again as electricity shot through her body at his words and his movements as she clenched down on him and hard. He wanted to be as close to her as possible as his forehead touched hers as he knew he was done for. 

“Fuck,” he groaned, as he chased his own release, white-hot ropes, coating her insides. He finished as he stayed locked on her, both panting and sweaty. The connection between the two of them, intensifying. He pulled out as their releases flooded out of Dani, turning Hugh on even more. He got out of bed to his bathroom to clean up and brought her back a towel. 

“Sorry, the old man hasn’t done this in a while, so I wasn’t prepared,” he said with a laugh, getting back in bed. 

“You’re fine,” she replied. 

“Come here,” he said, offering his arm. Dani moved over and cuddled into him as he kissed her forehead. “Did the old man do ok?” he asked. 

“More than ok. You were fucking phenominal,” she replied, drawing circles on his chest and feeling across his toned abs. “Can I tell you something?” He raised an eyebrow at her question. 

“Sure, sweetheart.” 

“First of all, stop calling yourself old man. Second, I may have known what you looked like from your movies, but until I saw you at dinner, I never knew how attracted I was to you. I went home that night and the night after you came to my trailer and got myself off to the thoughts of you.”

Hugh began stroking her hair. “Well, sweetheart, that’s definitely not what I thought you were going to say, but since the night of the dinner, I can’t be in a room and not think about the bad things I want to do to you.” 

“So, it sounds like we’re on the same page,” she answered, putting her head on his chest. 

“Yes sweetheart, it does,” he answered. Hugh interlaced their hands, wrapping his arms tighter around her, knowing that with Dani he felt a new chapter of happiness.