#source: yahoo answers

[omgtheywereawooomates]

Chris: Victoria changed her Facebook status from 'married' to 'widowed.' Should I...be worried?

Stiles: Dude, you should run.

[incorrect-bhaalspawn-quotes]

Rasaad: Which is worse? Ignorance or apathy?

M'khiin: I don’t know and I don’t care.

[email-core]

hey Quora I want to open source my dick pics...should I licence them under Apache, MIT, or Creative Commons?

[robotpussy]

ppl keep saying the internet in the 90s/2000s was trash because it was full of nonsense but atleast there were WEBSITES.... all that's left online is social media and shopping and even the social media does nothing but advertise to you you can barely play any games in browser, especially mini games now they all want you to download the game because they're all longform and 1GB or above, no ask jeeves no yahoo answers no places for kids to hang out all day apart from like. Roblox (which you have to install..... and neopets is used by 20 yr olds no kids are playing on neopets) blogs now being mostly video based instead of written, phones being ppls primary source of entertainment so you are constantly being asked to download a app, Adobe flash gone so any flash based sites are gone and not even way back machine can bring them back unless u get a flash emulator

THE INTERNET IS DEAD AND BORING!

*the point isn't that everybody should just make a neocities, when as long as the internet exists, web development will always be here.

the point is the internet is increasingly becoming another pawn for monetisation and in turn is removing safe spaces for vulnerable groups of people, making things more inaccessible and is making the internet completely unusable. SHUT UP ABOUT NEOCITIES!!!!! I was just commenting on how most users of the internet aren't looking to start writing html because their experiences are getting worse the user isn't the problem it's literally these big companies that need to change

[endgamelukola]

do you believe everything the media and photographs tell you to believe?

if so, this is a post that isn't for you.

[also, I went with the autocomplete in the image, which is why Nicola's name is spelled incorrectly in the search, jsyk]

I wanted to call out that the first three top stories links on Google have Nicola Coughlan linked to Jake Dunn. Each link is to a news source that has no credible source to rely on. Terms such as "rumored"; "seem to confirm" and "believed to be" are used. One of the stories claims to have reached out to Nicola's and Jake's teams for comment, but there's no mention of any responses.

I think it's interesting to note that while the first paragraph or so of each of these articles summarize what's been photographed of Jake and Nicola – which I would argue are moments between friends, much like her interactions with Luke Thompson, Jack Rooke, and Mark Peacock – but aren't able to state anything more in the articles. The articles then diverge into information and previously quoted material from Coughlan about her relationship with who? Luke Newton. Because that's the only relationship she's ever openly spoken about to media sources.

We can continue to split microscopic hairs, but Nicola has never directly answered the question of whether she's solely friends with Luke Newton. She cleverly walks around the question, in the hopes that many will just assume she's friends and nothing more. Which is what a lot of people are doing. And that's their prerogative to do so.

In doing further reading about PR practices, I ran across a post from The Chi Group that discussed a couple of ways that public figures work to combat misinformation about them without making explicit statements:

"Pinning Corrective Posts: Pinning a correction or accurate update to the top of a social media profile can ensure that followers see the correct information first."

Okay, so what does Nicola have pinned to her Instagram post? Her own achievements in the media spheres as of late, where she noticeably mentions Luke Newton, even when it isn't within an ideal context to do so. And as always, the Bridgerton Season 3 promo post. Nothing about relationships or anything hinting to a connection with Jake Dunn.

"Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful tool in ensuring that accurate information surfaces in search results, rather than misleading or false content. PR professionals can optimize their content by:

Using Relevant Keywords: Including keywords that users might search when looking for information on a topic can help ensure that accurate content appears in search results.

Publishing on Authoritative Websites: Contributing articles or guest blogs to reputable sites can boost the visibility and credibility of the accurate narrative.

Regularly Updating Content: Keeping web pages updated with the latest information ensures that search engines recognize the content as current and relevant, helping it rank higher."

So the SEO is pushing Jake and Nicola together here in regards to relationship searching, and where Luke Newton has scrubbed SEO information linking him to Antonia, Nicola hasn't done that. I don't think she feels the need when, as stated above, the articles can't seem to gather much about her and Jake Dunn in the first place and revert back to talking about her 'gorgeous' relationship with Luke Newton.

Re: publishing on authoratative websites. The first three sources are from People Magazine, Yahoo reposting an article from Glamour, and The Sun. I certainly don't turn to these outlets for authoritative news, and I hope you don't either.

Re: regularly updating content. Can you point me in the direction of any content published by Nicola Coughlan's social media accounts that provides the latest information about her and Jake Dunn?

I rest my case.

[sopeacecheesecake]

And I had a feeling I forgot something from my previous Peet-post:

This honestly cracked me up, as I first saw it when her blog was still up. And you know why? Because it is a totally reasonable and honestly, logical answer. If you are a figure on the interweb (especially with opinions, and from a marginalized community) keeping your government name to yourself, and going by something else in online circles are totally good and just way more safe.

But, dropping down the all mighty answer of "privacy", when half of your youtube videos are about your personal issues/opinions, is not really the joker card you want it to be, Ms. Peet.

Privacy also should include, you not ranting about the personal problems and inconveniences happening in your life. Without much research in her online present, I dare to guess that Ms. Peet talked more about, let's say... Josh Scorcher (even post-friendship) than she did about the actual topics of her videos, altogether. (Again, I will modify and put a link here as soon as I'm able to look for the video, but I'm kinda sure that the MLP- Wonderbolts video was basically more about Josh then about the topic, as per usual).

But, a little game: when watching back and old video from Ms.Peet, count the times she uses this picture of Josh, instead of putting a screenshot, of... I don't know, like a fucking source/anything relevant?!

As Sai put it "fucking Yahoo news" and "fluff pieces" should not count, because those hardly count as journalism. I don't want Ms.Peet to pull out JStore and/or ProQuest (shit, I would stand up and clap if she would ever use actual academic sources when talking about something actually serious in her videos, lets say enmeshment), but maybe just put relevant post/articles when claiming/talking about something?

Ships Have Discourse Now, Deal With It (Glass of Water)

"Or a fandom ship, that reinforces and romanticizes toxic and abusive relationships." (00:44-00:48)

Again: Instead of showing a seemingly stock image from the movie (I know, this scene is supposed to be important, but I'm a star wars nerd who actually likes the newer movies - giving some information for the viewers, especially for the ones who might not even remember watching the movie would be useful), why not show a real example/give context to it? This fandom ship (The hell that supposed to mean, btw? Every shit is a fandom ship, no? You mean non-canon ship, Ms.Peet? So a ship? Anyone any other ideas?) is one of Ms. Peet's favorite stick-horses. Why don't you want to help to prove your point with actual visual aid? Having a blanket statement calming that, this ship (that I also happen to don't like) "reinforces and romanticizes toxic and abusive relationships" without any actual proof/logical claim is hella empty.

Learn 👏 How 👏 To 👏 Have 👏 A 👏 Logical 👏 Argument 👏Ms. Peet 👏

[samobservessonic]

StC Post-Mortems: Simpson the Cat

By popular demand one person asking, Simpson is getting his own Post-Mortem. As the stand-out member of Captain Plunder’s crew, I reckon he deserves it. Like, I love Filch, but there really isn’t that much to say about the guy outside of him being Plunder’s second-in-command who’s a ghost, but with Simpson, I feel like there’s enough to talk about the character on his own merits

How it started

We saw this already in Plunder’s post, but Simpson was something of a late addition to the crew - a fellow prisoner who helped break Plunder out of jail and then joined him for the rest of his adventures. We never find out why Simpson was arrested in the first place, but he does mark the beginning of Plunder’s stories moving away from being tied to the Sonic cast to become more of their own thing

From a real world perspective, when Simpson was introduced, he bore such a close resemblance to his inspirations of Felix the Cat and Stimpy (yes, from Ren and Stimpy) that the editor at the time, Richard Burton, even contacted Kitching to make sure that the character hadn’t been ripped off from other sources. ALSO, his name comes from O.J. Simpson and not, like I thought as a kid, from The Simpsons “on account of him being cartoony”

How it went

…I really couldn’t do this post without using that image at least once now, could I?

Simpson became the comic relief that stopped Plunder’s crew from becoming too serious. Their disdain for him was evident throughout and there were very few instances of Simpson appearing where someone wasn’t annoyed by him, but it really worked. Simpson allowed the team to use more visual gags via his leaning on the fourth wall, as well as occasionally being the explanation as to why Plunder’s ventures did or didn’t work out

How it ended

You can choose to decide for yourselves how Plunder reacted to having a coconut dropped on his head, but something tells me that Simpson would be fine. His luck’s better than Plunders is, anyway

Were there any unused future plans from the StC writers?

I wasn’t able to find anything on either the Sonic or StC wikis about future plans for Simpson outside of Captain Plunder, and with Kitching’s Yahoo group now being defunct, there wasn’t anything to look into there, either. Unless anyone knows something I don’t, I just assume there weren’t any specific plans for him

What would I personally have liked to see next for him if StC continued?

I would say that he keeps appearing as part of Plunder’s crew in any future adventures, like that unwritten Ebony story, but that’s the boring answer. For something a little more fun…

…team him up with Big the Cat. Yes, Big the Cat did appear as a cameo towards the end of the series and Kitching has even said that he’d have been interested to develop the character had the series not been cancelled. I just think it’d be funny to team up these two characters with opposite personalities - Simpson being over-the-top about everything, while Big takes everything in his stride. Also, they’re both beings with god-like skills and strength, so it’d be funny to see them have a big anime fight for no reason at all Outside of that, I think Simpson could benefit from interacting with any of the other Sonic characters. Beyond appearing in one Knuckles story, Simpson being from the era where Plunder was his own thing prevented him seeing the other game characters. I don’t have any other examples, but I think you could pull a name out of a hat and whoever you get it’d be possible to make a fun story where they’re stuck dealing with Simpson Lastly, this one isn't mine, but I have to shout-out Okida's fancomic, Sonic the Continuation, in which it turned out that Simpson was actually a Tantaror pretending to be a cartoon cat for his own amusement. That's pretty much the Simpson headcanon for me and will always have a special place in my heart

What if he was in other Sonic media?

Preboot Archie:

Have him kill maim bonk over the head with a mallet ...replace Al and Cal in the pre-boot Archie Sonic. My word, I just hate these two. Even Ian Flynn, who can generally always change my mind on early Archie characters who I feel “Meh” about, couldn’t win me over on Al and Cal. I was just waiting for Scourge to inevitably betray them in that one arc, so I wouldn’t have to look at them any more

The thing is, Al and Cal fill the same niche as Simpson, but probably by virtue of being an anthro cat, Simpson just looks more like he belongs in a Sonic comic. Even if he is basically Felix the Cat. Also, there’s only one of Simpson, so we don’t have to deal with boring stories where Al and Cal are talking about crap for ages and then fighting each other in their robot forms

What I’d give to have the Scourge: Lock Down arc from Sonic Universe, but instead of Al and Cal, Scourge meets Simpson in zone jail instead. Simpson is exactly the sort of character who’d be in zone jail. Hell, he was even in jail during his first appearance. I just think he’d be a funnier character to play against Scourge. Also, when the inevitable betrayal happens, I’d at least feel a bit sorry for him

AoStH:

By contrast to that, I’d like to see Simpson being a fish out of water in the AoStH universe. Or rather, a fish too much in water, in that all the other fish are the same as him. We see Simpson in StC as standing out because he’s so different from the other characters in the stories he appears in, but how would he deal with being put in a universe where everyone runs on cartoon logic? Would he continue to be unflappable and perhaps feel like he’s found his people or else would he feel put out that no one reacts to him the way his “friends” on Plunder’s crew do? This one is admittedly more of a crossover idea, taking the established StC Simpson and putting him in the AoStH world, than it is coming up with an AoStH take on Simpson, but that’s just how I’d like to see it

[steelbluehome]

For tumblr people in the USA, and anyone they know who is worried about the capital gains tax.

Kamala Harris wants to increase the capital gains tax on households which have an income of $100,000,000 (one hundred million dollars) a year. Do you live in a household that makes $100,000,000 per year?

If not, then Kamala Harris' capital gains tax increase does not affect you. Not in any possible way. None. Nada. Nope.

If so, then, Oh no! Time for the food bank, I guess! I'll see you there at 9am on Thursdays! I hope you like white bread and canned spinach! I guess the best answer is to vote for a fascist dictator, because I am sure he will never want to take your money after he is in power!

Sources

Media Matters

Yahoo! Finance

Los Angeles Times

Market Watch

Axios

Common Dreams

[greenboyfriend]

choose a... thing! (tarot card reading)

image source "what do you need to know?" spaghetti monster: what is that, pipe cleaner? affixed to some... nuts? hey, don't take that the wrong way. ploom the caterpillar: i don't even have the words to describe this thing. desert rain frog: ">:(" book a reading through dm/ask!

spaghetti monster・。.・゜✭

it's time to stop dwelling on the past! yes, you've probably experienced some sort of heartache, whether that be through betrayal, loneliness, or a bit of both. rest assured, in letting go, you will be off to bigger, and much better things. one of your cards is specific to this deck: the future. this emphasizes that now is THE time to move on! leave what has been hurting you behind-- it's leaving whether you want it to or not. this is a major point in your life, as signified by death and amplified by the future, which can (and will!) heed significant results. the hierophant tells you that the answers you seek will be found through joining with others, most likely an organization of some kind. you must be part of the group, working and striving with others to make the change you seek. heartache doesn't last forever, but what you're about to do with this group will. it's a long road, but at the end of it is happiness, fortune, and abundance abound!!! hey, this is a lot more cheerful than the last one! yahoo!

(the future [from the transient light tarot], 10 of pentacles reversed, the hierophant, 3 of swords reversed, death reversed)

ploom the caterpillar・。.・゜✭

another spread about letting go!!! except this one feels more pertinent. well, let's be real, the last one was pretty dire, too... anyway. my little caterpillars, your cards are less about the past or future, and more about the present. in fact, only about the present! the 10 of wands shows that you've been shouldering too much on your back, likely relating to self consciousness, some sort of inability to say "no", and/or difficulty especially in regards to living in the moment. but here's the thing... you've gotta. the hanged man puts it clearly: in order to get what you want, this situation requires you completely let go of whatever it is you've been holding onto. whether that's how you're being perceived or otherwise, it must be shed. the hanged man is upside down, able to see the world from a completely different perspective. try to change how you see things. live in the present moment and see what you notice; what changes when you give your entire attention to what someone is saying? or the thing you're doing? is everything really as you thought it was after seeing it from this new perspective? however you need to enact this change, the time to strike is right fucking now, baby. the engines are revving and ready to GO!!! don't be scared, what happens next is destiny. o_<~✭

(8 of wands, the hanged man, 10 of wands, the present reversed [from the transient light tarot.])

desert rain frog・。.・゜✭

like those who picked pile 2, the time for movement is NOW, my little froggies! you must declare yourself openly!! you are blessed to have a good head on your shoulders, being intelligent and good at handling authority. however! moving forwards, you will need to learn how to temper this energy (knight of swords). sometimes, this can go too far, where unadulterated words can hurt someone, coming across as blunt. it's true that you do know a lot about the world, but you need to let there be space for others' observations and knowledge. you can't possibly know everything! after making this big declaration, or finding this missing piece of the puzzle, you will get to the heart of the matter, to sift between what is true, what is fake, and to learn what to say-- versus what to definitely not say. a useful asset later on will be using the energy of the queen of cups, which means you must react to others through compassion and kindness, and try to be in tune with their emotional undercurrents. easier said than done, right? however, with the use of your intuition and logic combined, it will be much easier to wade through this future situation. in the meantime, i'd use that talkative knight of swords energy to propel yourself towards... whatever it is you need to propel yourself towards. here's a tip, whenever i feel a lightness in my chest, i know the answer's yes, but a pit in my stomach, be expected to plummet!!!... or, um, "no" would be the answer for that one. good luck! im also getting that some (3?) of you have some sort of.. "telepathic bond." no idea what that means! good luck with that, too, though.

(8 of wands, knight of swords, ace of swords reversed, queen of cups reversed)

[three-dee-ess]

going on a deepdive into 3DS/DS purikura games

I saw this image on a tumblr post and I wanted to look for the original source (so I could properly credit the person and to find out what game it was):

I couldn't find the original, however, I did find this yahoo ask asking what game it was.

The person answering seemed to think it was a hello kitty game, likely because of the hello kitty sticker used to cover the face of the person taking the selfie, but it's clearly one that was added after the photo of the DS was taken, it's not a sticker that exists within that software.

As you can see here, it seems to be a piece of hello kitty fanart- it's not official art, and therefore not featured in the game. This helps with my search a bit.

Also, I believe this is a 3DS title, not a DSI/DS one like the person above suggested- the "select" button in the home menu is the same as the o3DSXL's. This suggests this game was published BEFORE the n3DS series was released.

I remembered playing a game in the past called "Sanrio Picross" that had some purikura elements, however, that game doesn't allow you to edit photographs, and upon looking at them side by side, the UI is completely different.

I googled "3DS purikura game" (purikura being the Japanese word for photo booth) and the only result was "Sparkle Snapshots." From what I could see, the 3DS title didn't have UI that matched either. I decided to look up the DSI game as a last ditch effort into this line of thinking and I didn't find anything.

I did find a screenshot of the title screen on khinsider VGM and the title song goes HARD.

It doesn't seem like this is a purikura game, (or at least not solely), so my research must continue. The next thing I looked into was the UI. I know some Japanese, not very much, but enough to read some basic katakana.

Under the X button it says "Zoom." The L button seems to say "Erase Button."

And it seems that R and A also say "Erase Button." Start obviously says "Menu" It seems like this is a very basic game.

For the bottom screen, it was taken at an angle and it contains some Kanji, so I put it through some photo editing to make it easier to read.

Typing that into google translate I got "Saved! Do you continue doodle?" (and then obviously yes/no)

The phrasing of doodle is interesting. This implies it could be an art program, like the yahoo commenter suggested earlier.

Searching up 3DS art programs doesn't really help me, and coloring games doesn't work either...

My last resort is to go through every 3DS game released in japan, (since we already have a copy of every game ever released for the 3DS online...) However, before I do that, I'm going to look for this image some more.

I found it running rampant on pinterest...

No one else seems to know what it is either LOL.

However, the version on pinterest is significantly higher quality!

Next step, finding more games. I simply need to try to find MORE games. Because I know what the UI looks like, it shouldn't be too hard.

I'll run this search again and just scroll till I see a new lead...

Oh, that was quick!

I found a series called "minna no" which seems to be similar to the "imagine" series in the US- just kind of children's shovelware that never got translated to english.

I ran a search for みんなの (Minna no) on google and...

Huh that sounds familiar... oh my god.

OH MY GOD.

It'S THE SAME FUCKING GAME THE GUY FROM EARLIER WAS TALKING ABOUT. The one I dismissed entirely because it was a DSi title and the game's UI wasn't DSi? It was a 3DS title.

The best part about all of this... the best part about all of this... the UI doesn't even match at all. I went full circle and just accidentally proved this guy completely wrong.

I checked the rest of the minna no games, and yup, no dice. It's some other title.

Next up, I looked at Girls RPG Cinderella Life, mostly because it kept coming up over and over during my research- and holy shit their website is adorable.

Their website is an accessibility nightmare, but it's absolutely adorable. If you are into web design at all, I'd recommend checking it out.

super cute!! looking through the website only proves to me though that this is not the game we are looking for though, so let's move on.

Okay okay okay, how about... JS GIRL: Doki Doki Model Challenge?

Found some information about it.... oh shit there's a camera function?

Dammit... Doesn't look anything like the image.

WAIT WAIT WAIT. A photo decoration option??????

While trying to find more images I found out the game was in this pretty holographic packaging. God I'm jealous. More games should do this.

Either way I can't seem to find any images on this, so it's going on the list of possible candidates. And While looking up this game, I found more under the same artstyle that also might be culprits.

While trying to find more information, I realized how many of these games there are. And also how many of them I have played in the past, lol.

I've been a big fan of Style Savvy (AKA Girls Mode) and I've tried out Girls Fashion Shoot, which was an english translation from a different game series about becoming a model.

Yet another knocked off the list!

By extension, the second game is also knocked off the list.

Another model game- this one called Neco*Petit Girls Runway. Another dud, but also very cute.

Pretty Rhythm series seemed to have a camera function but it didn't line up with the UI shown in the screen either.

If anyone has any more ideas or lists of games, please tell me below! I need to take a break from researching this, and I'll need to play some of that JS model game from earlier, since I doubt anyone has used the photo function during a youtube Let's Play, but based on the UI, I sincerely doubt that it's the one we are looking for.

[omgtheywereawooomates]

Liam: What does 'she wants the d' mean???

Scott: *nope nope nope nope nope*

Stiles: .......

[incorrect-bhaalspawn-quotes]

Neera: I usually sit on the computer 12 hours a day. Is that bad?

M'khiin: That can’t be comfortable. Try a chair.

[mariacallous]

Meta has a lot at stake in the current FTC lawsuit against it. In theory a negative verdict could result in a company breakup. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg once faced an even bigger existential threat. Back in 2006, his investors and even his employees were pressuring him to sell his two-year-old startup for a quick payoff. Facebook was still a college-based social network, and several companies were interested in buying it. The most serious offer came from Yahoo, which offered a stunning $1 billion. Zuckerberg, though, believed he could grow the company into something worth much more. The pressure was tremendous, and at one point he blinked, agreeing in principle to sell. But immediately after that, a dip in Yahoo stock led its leader at the time, Terry Semel, to ask for a price adjustment. Zuckerberg seized the opportunity to shut down negotiations; Facebook would remain in his hands.

“That was by far the most stressful time in my life,” Zuckerberg told me years later. So it’s ironic to observe, through the testimony of this trial, how he treated two other sets of founders in very similar situations to him—but whom he successfully bought out.

The nub of the current FTC trial seems to hinge on how US District Court judge James Boasberg will define Meta’s market—whether it’s limited to social media or, as Meta is arguing, the broader field of “entertainment.” But much of the early testimony exhumed the details of Zuckerberg’s successful pursuit of Instagram and WhatsApp—two companies that, according to the government, are now part of Meta’s illegal monopolistic grip on social media. (The trial also invoked the case of Snap, which resisted Zuckerberg’s $6 billion offer and had to deal with Facebook copying its products.) Legalities aside, the way these companies were upended by a Zuckerberg offer made the first few days of this case a dramatic and instructive study of acquisition dynamics between small and big business.

Though almost all of these narratives have been covered at length over the years—I documented them pretty thoroughly in my own 2020 account Facebook: The Inside Story—it was striking to see the principals testifying under oath about what happened. Hey, my sources were pretty good, but I didn’t get to swear them in!

In their testimony, star witnesses Zuckerberg and Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom agreed on facts, but their interpretations were Mars and Venus. In 2012, Instagram was about to close a $500 million investment round, when suddenly the tiny company found itself in play, with Facebook in hot pursuit. In an email at the time, Facebook’s CFO asked Zuckerberg if his goal was to “neutralize a potential competitor.” The answer was affirmative. That was not the way he pitched it to Systrom and cofounder Mike Krieger. Zuckerberg promised the cofounders they would control Instagram and could grow it their way. They would have the best of both worlds—independence and Facebook’s huge resources. Oh, and Facebook’s $1 billion offer was double the valuation of the company in the funding round it was about to close.

Everything worked great for a few years, but then Zuckerberg began denying resources to Instagram, which its cofounders had built into a juggernaut. Systrom testified that Zuckerberg seemed envious of Instagram’s success and cultural currency, saying that his boss “believed we were hurting Facebook’s growth.” Zuckerberg’s snubs ultimately drove Instagram's founders to leave in 2018. By that time, Instagram was arguably worth perhaps 100 times Zuckerberg’s purchase price. Systrom and Krieger’s spoils, though considerable, did not reflect the fantastic value they had built for Facebook.

The founders of WhatsApp did reap a stratospheric buyout, because in 2014 Zuckerberg threw $19 billion to acquire their then tiny operation. But, as told through testimony of some of its executives and funders, the acquisition hinged on promises that cofounders Brian Acton and Jan Koum would retain control. The WhatsApp cofounders hated advertising and were adamant that no ads should ever appear on their service. But documents introduced in the trial indicated that Facebook was basing its valuation on the premise that WhatsApp would be monetized, apparently with those despised ads. The founders left in 2018, when it became clear that Zuckerberg was calling the shots. “I espoused a certain set of principles, even publicly, to my users, and I said, Look, we are not gonna sell your data, we are not going to sell you ads, and I turned around and sold my company,” cofounder Brian Acton told me. His penance for this “crime,” he told me, was spending $50 million to create the Signal Foundation.

Though these founders were pressured to sell, there weren’t literal guns to their heads—and they did cash out in exchange for pursuing their dreams. So we shouldn’t feel too sorry for them. But lately people in Silicon Valley have been chattering about startup guru Paul Graham’s “Founder Mode” theory, which assumes that the person most responsible for creating a company is the best one to run it—and that the world itself benefits from such people. Zuckerberg, of course, is an iconic founder. But the trial is revealing a narrative beyond the FTC’s legal argument about anticompetitive acquisitions: Zuckerberg’s penchant for snuffing out founders to advance his own goals.

Of course, sometimes founders are well advised to take the money and run. Consider the case of Clubhouse, the audio-based social networking product that exploded during the pandemic. Its founders, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, fended off multiple suitors, including a rumored $4 billion offer from Twitter. But after the pandemic—and some poor strategic choices—the service deflated like a punctured balloon. In 2023 it laid off half of its staff. On the other hand, it’s still around, and at least in one of its recent town halls, Davison still seemed to be having fun.

One question that Mark Zuckerberg did not have to answer during his testimony was how he viewed his own transition from prey to predator. But I did pose that question to him during my book research. We were discussing the mental anguish he suffered during the 2006 crisis. Zuckerberg told me that he often advises young founders not to give in to pressure. This advice, of course, was not offered to those running companies he wanted to buy. So I asked him directly—given his lesson from the Yahoo experience, did Systrom and Krieger make a mistake by selling to him?

There was a long pause, not an uncommon phenomenon when Zuckerberg considers a question where a candid answer might put him in a damning position. Finally he gave a response that dodged the issue, saying that Instagram could never have reached its heights without Facebook’s support. He said pretty much the same thing in court this month. On a legal basis, Meta will not be judged on how he bought off the dreams of founders, but whether he gamed the marketplace through his purchases. No judge will rule on the calculus of selling off a dream.

[haru-dipthong]

罠英語・Trap words pt 2

Part 1 had some satisfying explanations for the etymology of trap words. This time it’s the opposite - we’ll be looking at some trap words that have unclear origins.

コーンフレーク → cornflakes ✅… but also → any breakfast cereal ✅

Though the word コーンフレーク is used to refer to cornflakes specifically, it is also used more generally to refer to any breakfast cereal at all. Researching to find evidence of this usage was difficult, despite its widespread usage. Every Japanese dictionary defines コーンフレーク as cereal made of flakes of corn, without so much as a mention of the common “misconception”. You get a hint of the reality of the common usage when you google 「コーンフレーク 意味」— three of the results on the first page are variations of 「シリアルとコーフレークの違いは何？」.

The best I can do for evidence is this video from Kevin’s English Room where they refer to various cereals like Froot Loops and Reese’s Puffs as コーンフレーク.¹

非常に代表的なアメリカのコーンフレークでございます "This is an extremely typical American breakfast cereal."

Part of the silence here is due to Japanese speakers being generally a bit more linguistically prescriptivist than English speakers, especially when it comes to loan words. There seems to be this notion that the original English definition is the “correct” one - but this isn’t the case! The “correct” use of a word is simply one that conveys the intended meaning. That’s just how language evolves. It’s why “nonplussed” has come to mean “unconcerned” instead of its original opposite meaning. Not to mention, when a word is borrowed into another language, it is now a part of that language. It goes through phonetic changes to match the language's phoneme inventory and syllabic structure, gains its own meaning, and can play by the unconscious sound and grammar rules of the new language.² The Japanese word コーンフレーク and the English word cornflake are not the same word! And it’s ok for them to mean different things! I don’t think this sentiment is widely accepted by Japanese culture, which explains why it’s so hard to find a Japanese dictionary definition that defines コーンフレーク as “breakfast cereal”. (Jisho does though!³)

As far as its origins are concerned, I believe this is a simple case of genericisation (though I can't find any evidence to support that), similar to how we call all hook-and-loop fasteners "velcro".

ハンドル → handle ❌ → steering wheel ✅

This word is was also hard to find any etymology on. Even the best articles I could find are unsure about its origins. There are a couple of theories but nothing solid.

The word ハンドルバー for the handlebars of a bike may have been misinterpreted to mean “steering mechanism” rather than “horizontal pole to grab” and applied to cars as well.⁴ Then in standard Japanese fashion, the word was trimmed down to four morae, becoming ハンドル. Another article suggested that it originally came from the “handling” of a car. The wheel controls the handling, so 「ハンドルを操るホイール」 may have just been shortened to ハンドル.

テンション → tension ❌ → excitement ✅

テンション is often used in phrases like 「ハイテンション」　「テンションを上げる」　「テンションを下げる」, to mean the energy or vibes of a situation. This graph might help:

I did a lot of digging on this, and I couldn’t find any reliable sources or actual records of how テンション came to have this meaning. The best explanation I could find came from an unsourced yahoo answers question (lol), but there does seem to be a consensus: It seems to come from musical tension, specifically tension chords on guitar.⁵⁶⁷ The first use of テンション in this way may have come from bands playing at live concerts. “Tension” in a chord is an extra note that’s not a basic part of the chord.⁸ Apparently adding this extra sound causes a feeling of anticipation - it feels like the music is building up to a resolution, which gets people excited at a concert. Musicians would use the phrase 「テンションコードを上げる」, meaning “build excitement with tension chords”, which became simply 「テンションを上げる」, and this phrase was then adopted by the general population and taken out of its musical context, becoming a trap word!

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tROynQjSSVc [2] https://www.tumblr.com/javerend/702780060197879809/these-are-all-good-thoughts-im-going-to-borrow?source=share [3] https://jisho.org/search/コーンフレーク [4] https://nihon5-bunka.net/jinglish-handle/ [5] https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q13195893143 [6] https://kimini.online/blog/archives/22851 [7] https://dhits.docomo.ne.jp/feed/10004705 [8] https://hubguitar.com/music-theory/chord-tensions

[troveoftrolls]

I want to make more art for this but I want to know my limit. What is not allowed like art wise. Ex. NSFW or slightly

First off, that answer depends heavily on your age and where you post things. If you're below the age of 18, no nsfw at all, it will get you blocked and blacklisted. If we find out you were a minor making it before and posting it, same deal. Can't control what you do privately but our opinion is if you're a minor, we do not want you making NSFW or even lewd stuff.

Second is this is tumblr, you can't post NSFW. This includes heavy gore and stuff, just as an FYI. There was a whole thing about it when it basically gutted itself trying to expel such content. This has not changed, it's still owned by Yahoo I believe.

We welcome all creativity but also, I, Fluff, am not comfortable with anyone else being sexual or shippy with my sona or OCs.

-Fluff

When it comes to what you draw in your own time, that's entirely on you.

Posting things becomes subject to the platform.

Regarding characters, those that fall under the canon I don't feel I have a full say over. Everyone has their own version of trolls like JD or Trollex and even if personal interpretations may be influenced by our AU they're still open source effectively.

OCs or sonas though I have a similar line with. I'll never mind one of my original creations being drawn but I'd rather anything heavy, such as brutality or sexual content be kept between myself and my creative partners.

But backing up the point before this, anything will depend on the age of the one making it. It's for the protection of everyone involved and it has to matter because of the era we live in.

-Luxx

[spacetrashpile]

3-7, 24, 26 for all of them? sniles so sneetly

ask me questions about my DA protags!

YAHOO! this is a lot of questions for a lot of pcs so this is going under the cut

3. opinion on blood magic?

Rhiannon: Complicated. I think generally she dislikes it, she understands other people's distaste with it, but her experienced in the Circle tower and with Jowan and Irving have... muddied the waters a bit. Jowan is someone she knows and cares about, and someone she knows was groomed into becoming a blood mage, who was pushed until he had to take these means. It definitely makes her wonder sometimes whether or not that's true of other blood mages, y'know?

Katerina: "Well first of all Merrill's never done anything wrong in her life so jot that down". Again, she understands the hatred that some people have for it. I mean. She's had extremely up close and personal bad experiences with blood mages. Of course they understand the hatred. But they've also had the up close experience with Merrill to know that blood magic can be turned towards noble pursuits, and they've also been repeatedly lumped in with blood mages and mages who hurt people solely for the crime of being born with magic, often by people who claim to care about them. So yeah maybe they have a bit more sympathy for blood mages and blood magic even though they've not personally pursued it.

Conall: Unfortunately this is where we start getting into the boring more "traditional" answers. I think Conall really dislikes blood magic overall, but I think he does occasionally have the same thought process as Katerina, where he's been lumped in with/been seen as just as bad blood mages and he doesn't get why but he can occasionally see how one might get to that point. It just so happens that his primary experience with blood mages is like. The Venatori. That one Magister from the Warden thing who's name I can never remember. Bad sample size.

Brigid: Brigid is definitely the harshest on blood magic of my protags, in no small part because she isn't a mage and has basically never had the thought of "what could push me so far that I'd do that". Also she was a Chantry sister for most of her adult life before being the Inquisitor. So while, yes, she's more sympathetic with mages than other Chantry folk might be, this is where she draws the pretty harsh line.

Alistair: I think Alistair was slightly more open to the idea of blood magic before the game, key word slightly, because he has definitely had the idea of "Could I ever get to that point, could I ever get that desperate?" and even if the answer he came to was no, he still has considered how one could go that far. And then there's the whole thing with Solas and the Venatori and Zara and Illario technically and. Well. I think he's kinda a bitch about it now.

4. attitude towards Andrastianism?

Rhiannon: I think she struggles a lot to separate the idea of Andrastianism from the idea of the Chantry. The Chantry has oppressed mages like her, it has committed impossible atrocities against her people (the elves), all in the name of Andraste and their faith. However, I think Leliana does help her start to... extricate them out from each other a bit. I don't think she's ever going to like Andrastianism, not really, but she's more able to approach it as a part of the Chantry but not wholly the Chantry, if that makes sense.

Katerina: Ok so despite... the everything. I do actually think Katerina would call herself Andrastian. I think she recognizes they do not want her, and she does not care. The idea of Andraste as a person who existed, as a person who encouraged- at least theoretically- freeing people from colonial rule, as a person who was rewarded in the end for the extremely difficult and fraught life she led, I think that's comforting, in its own way. They obviously do not like the institutions that have arisen from Andrastianism, but Andraste herself is a weird source of comfort for them.

Conall: I once described Conall's attitude towards Andrastianism as very similar to my attitude towards Catholicism (raised in it and didn't really think about his own thoughts on it until he was a pre-teen and was directly exposed to all of the terrible things the Chantry has done and continues to do and in reckoning with his relationship with the Chantry realized he didn't really believe in Andraste or the Maker but sometimes he still does the fantasy equivalent of the sign of the cross when he gets really freaked out) and yeah I stand by that one.

Brigid: COMPLICATED. EXTREMELY COMPLICATED. Brigid, pre-game, genuinely, truly believed in Andraste, in the Maker, in the idea that there is some sort of plan for the world, and this was something that made her happy to believe. And then the events of Inquisition happen and god damnit if the Maker really exists then He really wants to test her faith specifically. She is reckoning with the atrocities of the Chantry at every other moment, the Divine herself (MAYBE. THAT'S IT'S OWN THING.) tells her "no one chose you for this, you just had bad luck", a magister who claimed to have stormed the Golden City tells her to her face "your god is not real and never was" and like C'MON MAN. OF COURSE THAT FUCKS HER UP. She hates Corypheus, she doesn't want to believe him when he says the throne of the gods was empty but it eats at her. I don't know if she really believes in Andraste anymore by the time this game ends. I don't know that she knows. But obligatory quote from when I first shook this out that I know is the reason you sent this to me: "She can't deny that when Corypheus calls out for his own god in his final moments and hears nothing that she feels a bone deep satisfaction. Maybe her god is quiet, but so is his."

Alistair: What a tonal shift here. Despite Erin's family being a strong Chantry family, I don't think she really puts that on her children. She's a "bad Catholic" type of Andrastian, one of the ones who observes the holidays and if you asked she'd call herself Andrastian, but she doesn't think about it too hard. And as such I don't think Alistair really finds himself believing in Andraste or having wildly complicated feelings about it.

5. attitude towards the Chantry?

Rhiannon: BAD. SHE DOESN'T LIKE THOSE GUYS. First thing she did upon arriving to Ostagar was make that Chantry sister mad. First thing she did upon arriving in Lothering was try really hard to get Sten out of his cage and when that didn't work she just threatened the Reverend Mother and had no qualms about it. The fact that her and Leliana end up together is a miracle in itself.

Katerina: ALSO. BAD. Slightly better than Rhiannon's by virtue of not being in a Circle and as such dodging a lot of the up close and personal religious abuse that she could've otherwise suffered, but she's not a fan of those guys! Anders was right even if he couldn't have had worse timing!

Conall: Complicated, but not great. The Trevelyans are a, theoretically, very devout family. He probably would've been handed off to the templars if he hadn't been a mage, and wouldn't that have been a sight. By the time he reaches adulthood, Conall is not a fan of the Chantry as an institution. He's not a fan of the Circles and the Chantry has committed innumerable acts of violence, but he also recognizes that it is functionally the only thing that gets shit done in Thedas, which is why he bothers going to the Conclave at all. At least a part of him thinks that Divine Justinia can use the Chantry to reach a peace.

Brigid: Also complicated but in a different way. She's literally a Chantry sister, and while that wasn't a decision that she made entirely of her own accord, it wasn't really something she objected to either. However, Inquisition forces her to reckon directly with the atrocities the Chantry has committed in the past, with the terrible way it continues to treat mages and non-humans and the implications of that. She also gets functionally excommunicated at the start of the game when the whole "Herald of Andraste" thing is at it's most controversial so that's fun. I think she really wants to dig the Chantry out of the hole that she sees it as being stuck in, I think she sees the Chantry as something that can be saved, and she wants to put in the work for that.

Alistair: Alistair's feelings on the Chantry are the ones I've mulled over the least, since the actual institution of the Chantry doesn't have nearly as much of a relevance to Veilguard as it does the other games, but also because outside of the Circle, it doesn't play a huge role in Alistair's life, either. I think Alistair is very grateful to have grown up more removed from the Chantry's direct influence on their life than some, and to have grown up further north where the Circles are generally more lax, but I think it sort of stops at that.

6. attitude towards the Qun?

Rhiannon: For all that Sten tries to explain it to her, I don't think Rhiannon ever really gets the Qun. She's had decisions made for her her entire life, so while I think she does understand the idea that it could be nice to know exactly what your role in the world is, she's never gonna be able to reconcile that with that role being chosen for you by someone.

Katerina: Katerina is definitely very open to the Qun and the Qunari. I don't think she'd ever convert, obvious "being a mage" reasons aside, but I think she's very curious about the Qun and wants to learn about it and the Qunari. They don't see the Qunari as inherently hostile like a lot of Kirkwall does, but unfortunately this kinda gets stopped in its tracks when the whole thing with Isabella and the Arishok happens. Sorry man, you're not taking their girlfriend. But I do still think the Qun is something that interests them after the fact, lol.

Conall: Conall is definitely open to learning about the Qun, but he's got a lot less of an active interest in it than Katerina. But of course he's curious, it's a very foreign thing to him, and it's a very interesting way of life even if it never really clicks for him.

Brigid: I think Brigid is... a bit wary about the Qun. Similarly, I don't think she's ever gonna get it, but I also think she doesn't really look into it that much? This is just not where her attention really falls, but what she does learn from Bull helps to demystify it a bit.

Alistair: Alistair likes learning about the Qun, I think. He's very curious about the world and cultures outside of himself. Unfortunately I don't think our runaway Circle mage is gonna be a huge fan of the "you are meant to be one thing" part, though.

7. if they had to choose one person most important to them, who would that be?

Rhiannon: I think it'd have to be Leliana. Being with Leliana really opened up the world to her in ways that she never before thought possible, Leliana gives her a love she's never had before and never really believed she could have. She is so so special to Rhiannon in ways that Rhiannon and I can't entirely describe.

Katerina: Varric, of course it's Varric. It's the easy Hawke answer but it's the right answer. Like the answer before. Well. The everything. Would probably have been Carver, and in some ways it is still Carver, but Varric is there for so so much of it, Varric helped them stay alive through all that shit in every way. It's Varric.

Conall: WHAT a mean question to have to answer for him, truly. I'm hesitantly gonna say Cole, but honestly ask me at a later date and the answer will change. The answer changed multiple times while I was trying to write this, even. But like that's basically his kid. I called Cole "my tall son" the entire time I was playing and it bled over into how I played Conall and how Conall feels about him really hard, lol.

Brigid: ALSO an insanely difficult question to answer for Brigid but I think I'm gonna say Cassandra. Both of them having their respective crisis of faith during the game (Brigid with the everything as described above and Cassandra with the whole Seekers and Rite of Tranquility thing) really helps them get close with each other and gives them like, an insane thing to bond over and it makers their relationship a very important one for Brigid.

Alistair: Am I allowed to say Arul. Is that an option. Like yes Arul isn't technically in the game but. 2/4 Rooks AU you are so important to me. Arul and Alistair you are so important to me.

24. what languages can they speak?

Rhiannon: Obligatory "Rhiannon is mute so technically she doesn't speak anything" anyways. Rhiannon speaks the Thedas equivalent of common sign language, something her parents taught her when she was little and that the Circle continued to teach her. I think she desperately wants to speak Elven, but she doesn't, because where would she have learned it? She can read the words, she can teach herself that much, but the words aren't hers, they aren't words she can actually use and that is a deep sore spot for her.

Unfortunately I feel like my answered for all my other characters are kinda boring. They all speak the native language of the country they're from (Ferelden for Katerina, Antivan for Alistair... do they have a specific language in the Free Marches or in Ostwick specifically? I don't know enough about Dragon Age for this) and then whatever the in universe English equivalent is called. Conall picks up a few words of Qunlat and Tevine from Bull and Dorian and Alistair picks up some elven words from Bellara, but that's about it.

26. do they get a happy ending?

Rhiannon: Well. Well. You know the answer to this. No, no she doesn't. She doesn't do the dark ritual, because the idea of forcing a child into whatever life that could entail horrifies her, because Morrigan says she's willing to do that but is she?, because how do you ask that of Alistair, either, because she is, at least a little bit, a coward in the end. So no. But god did she deserve one. And god do I feel bad that she's my only protag who doesn't get that.

Katerina: Despite everything, and despite what Katerina may think they deserve, yes. I think it takes a while, I think it takes until at least Veilguard when they eventually find their way back to Isabella in Rivain, and I think Varric's death throws a real wrench in that happy ending for a while but EVENTUALLY. Yes. Yes she does.

Conall: He has to claw it from the hands of the universe, but yes. I honest to god have no idea what he actually does with his life post Veilguard, but it can be literally whatever he wants it to be, and that's about as happy as it gets for him.

Brigid: Also yes! It's a difficult one, it's not one that gets to stay happy for long after the end of Inquisition, but post Veilguard I think her and Blackwall get to live that small and obscure life where they don't have to save the damn world ever again that they both wanted.

Alistair: Yes! Alistair is the only one of my protags for whom a happy ending does not involve retirement, which is nice. They continue to do Crow stuff obviously, they continue to do Veilguard stuff, and they genuinely enjoy that! Only one of my protags for whom saving the world on a consistent basis doesn't drive them crazy, lol.