#what makes your life & your world the way it is: via Your Personal Failures to have already Had Better] in that just like i often forget i

[unproduciblesmackdown]

that moment when: everyone's lives are restricted and constricted and these imposed consequences are attributed to anyone's continual individual failures to seek, find, and follow the Correct Path through Life, and so everyone is left on their own to only be seeking & finding these failures as well as the only answer to how their lives can be better....versus Not seeing the world as the free marketplace meritocracy of everyone's personal failures/successes, nor everything in your own life, and thus not forever having to scrutinize Where You Must Be Bringing It Upon Yourself by fucking up or at least failing to do the correct thing, and exist only in perpetual punishment for your ongoing failure and occasional temporary reprieves from it. recognizing everything that wasn't & isn't & wouldn't be [this is because you're bringing it upon yourself] and thus having more capacity & capability to look at the realm of your personal individual self, reality, experiences, life through the perpetual instances of seeking, finding, and following your own needs/wants through one's inherent personhood and exercises of autonomy and recognition of where & when & how one recognizes moments of their existing freely & in more resonant genuine alignment with themself, you know? endless examples to be found in endless fractals of [where & how are people's lives made smaller]. and that of course this doesn't preclude the ability/option at any time to question one's choices, since you'll be able to find more Actual choices available to you (and, also crucially, find more actual choices made by others that are in the pursuit of limiting Yours) to look at, and people getting to exercise their autonomy isn't the same as "everyone doing anything they want regardless of how it affects others" since that [how does it affect others?] element instead being Regarded would be able to lead to recognizing that, in fact, an effect might be the infringement on others' autonomy, hence: There's A Problem....like the ability to just go ham with [questioning???] anything in existence, certainly including oneself, b/c the "norm" is such that rather you're only supposed to be able to question yourself for your failings (or those positioned as less than, thus, beneath you) and not even have the language to express a questioning of aspects of life beyond that b/c stop calling anyone "cis" they're just Normal, Just Be Normal and it would all be fine

[tarotbyopal]

What you need to hear right now

 Welcome to my newest PAC reading! Thank you so much for being here, for liking and for reblogging this reading!

🖤Piles: 1-2-3

🖤Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Calm your breath and remove all of the thoughts from your mind. When you try to focus on the reading at hand which number or image comes to mind? That is your pile

Paid readings | Memberships

Pile 1 “Tomorrow is another day”

 Temperance,  of pentacles, 5 of pentacles, 7 of swords, knight of swords

Pile 1 time is not running out, I can guarantee this. You need to be a bit more patient and easier on yourself right now. You may currently be undergoing a lot of change - this could be a new job role, a new relationship, even a whole new city and the world is asking you to take things as they come and to above all enjoy yourself and enjoy your time. Time is not running out, make the best out of the time that you have in the present whether this means to work harder, learn a new skill or rest (because pile 1 you guys are hard workers and you need to rest!!!)

Try not to stress out about things out of your control - most things do not need to be done today and it is fine to leave certain things for tomorrow. You are not a failure. No matter what you may think or what others may say. You are incredible.

Be more direct and say no to things that you can’t take on. It is time to work more on your boundaries. This is much better than you being overwhelmed by things that you could have helped and sorted before. Pile 1 you can do this, I’m cheering you on!

❥ Personal readings available via Ko-fi

Pile 2 “Everything will be alright”

The sun, 5 of cups, page of cups, the devil

Don’t let your doubts get in the way of your dreams pile 2 - no matter what your dreams may be. I feel like a lot of you are happy on the outside but numb on the inside. You may be numb to your own feelings or things happening to you. You…are struggling to understand these feelings and emotions though. Why do you feel this way? You may struggle to cry or cry too easily but why feel numb? 

A lot of you pile 2 may suffer from childhood trauma or your childhood is unfortunately still negatively affecting your life and choices. The world wants you to have a look at how you are living life - are you being honest with yourself? Are you living the way that you want to live? What’s missing and how can you get there? 

It is time for you to fall back in love with life, this may take you a while but it is important that you start this journey sooner rather than later. That you face your fears and addiction directly instead of going around and around the issue. It may be time to message that person you have been avoiding.

❥ Personal readings available via Ko-fi

Pile 3 “Have you been crying lately?”

Blood, sweat and tears pile 3, that’s how hard you are currently working. You are focused more so than any other pile and you are not taking a “no” for an answer right now. Pile 3, I am proud of you and your dedication. Are you proud of yourself? How hard are you working?...I really hope that you are because you should be! So many people look up to you and admire your strength silently. 

You value independence and having your own luxuries (by the way you may marry someone who has more money than you).

It is important right now that you find a better balance between your home life and your work life without compromising either. But at times sacrifices need to be made and you shouldn’t feel like you are alone in these because you aren’t.

The world is asking you to find that light that you have within and allow it to shine now more than ever - this may start with a meditation or simply the decision to allow the light to shine

❥ Personal readings available via Ko-fi

All he love x

[ckret2]

You know, after seeing your evil Ford au, I wonder what would happen if evil! Ford, met cannon! Ford. I feel like Cannon! Ford would hate him because he's just an example of what would happen if he haven't learned his lesson on perfection and how it's impossible to reach and how he doesn't need to impress people to be happy. I wonder what evil! Ford would think of his original counter part..would he be a little regretful? Since his cannon counterpart got more happiness than him? It's honestly intriguing to think about.

That's actually part of why I made Evil Ford: I was thinking about a dimension of lost Fords (like the dimension of lost Mabels in Don't Dimension It) and asked myself, which Ford alternate would Canon Ford most hate to meet?

So yeah you're right, Canon Ford would HATE Evil Ford—but not for thematic "you haven't learned the moral lesson about perfection & family" reasons. That's how audiences think about characters, it's not how people think about other people. When's the last time you hated somebody in real life because they missed the point of their own narrative arc—rather than because, say, they're rude to cashiers?

No, the reason Canon Ford hates Evil Ford is much simpler.

Similarly, meeting Canon Ford wouldn't make Evil Ford feel regretful because Evil Ford still thinks he made the right decision. What does he care if Canon Ford is "happier" if he only found contentment by—what—giving up on his high ambitions and settling for being a washed-up burnt-out ex-academic with no memorable achievements to his name? Evil Ford would rather die as a miserable overachiever than live as a peaceful slacker.

And he didn't spend thirty years on a completely different life path from Canon Ford without developing a totally different perspective.

Note: when Canon Ford found out Bill lied about the portal and declared he'd stop Bill no matter what, Evil Ford thinks that's Ford betraying Bill, not the other way around.

Also note: Evil Ford thinks Canon Ford is only motivated by anger over being deceived—not concern for the safety of the whole planet. Like yeah sure, he's HEARD that excuse; but that's what he thinks it is: an excuse. If he'd decided not to forgive Bill, he probably would've used the same excuse himself. A convenient, heroic-sounding moral justification for a thirty year vengence quest—but he doesn't really care that much about who's running the Earth, why would his alternate self?

(And really, Canon Ford? Thirty years? Thirty years?? You never found anything more productive to do with all that time than stalk your former mentor because you're MAD about ONE LIE?? If Canon Ford had said he thought killing Bill would net him more interdimensional fame and praise than he'd ever have as his underling, then Evil Ford could understand THAT—he himself has had misgivings about the fact that he's signed up to spend all eternity playing second banana—but as it is, though...)

Also also note: Evil Ford never reconciled with Fiddleford because he never acknowledged Fidds was "right" about Bill. He spent two-thirds of his life estranged from his brother. He moved across the country from his family. He made no friends in Gravity Falls, and likely no other college friends than Fidds. But he spent over half his life working with, dreaming with, living with Bill Cipher.

Evil Ford is evil; but he's not heartless.

Bill's the muse that gave him the blueprints he needed for his greatest invention and for the culmination of his life's work as a scientist and explorer. Bill's a near-god who hailed Ford as the greatest genius of his century, the man who's going to change the world, and via divine weirdness intervention he personally made sure that prophecy come true. Bill's the guy who—after Ford's embarrassing failure of a portal accident—welcomed Ford into his gang with open arms and the assurance that all his hard work wouldn't be for naught. He's Ford's longest-lasting friendship, his partner in crime and in science and in just about everything else by now, the person he trusts to puppet his body.

Is that a very skewed perspective on Bill? God, yeah. But it's Evil Ford's perspective.

If someone told you that all your suffering is due to the one person you trust most in all the world and the one person outside your family you care about the most—someone you've known for over thirty years—and your life would be so much better if you'd ditched this person the very first time you didn't get along—and that ditching them would have been the moral action—and that, in fact, you should have dedicated your life to killing this person...

Would you regret your life? Would you envy the life of the man who told you all this?

Or would you despise him?

How much more would you despise him if you knew he was you—had lived the same life as you—and that he had killed the most important person in your world?

Oh, Evil Ford resents the hell out of Canon Ford. Who are you—you slacker, you betrayer—to say you're "happier" than your counterpart? How do you deserve that "happy" ending? How is that fair?

Evil Ford only has one regret: not locking up his entire family before Weirdmageddon, where they'd all be safe... and where Bill would be safe from them.

[tgrailwar-zero]

Well, after our last big attempt to destroy the Solar Cell ended in failure we had our memories wiped and were forced to fight against each other in simulated grail wars. Anytime one finished we were thrust into another. A version of you was there for at least a few. Apparently we went through at least a trillion or something. Our memories were also wiped after each war to keep us fighting each other. We only managed to break free with the last one and ended up in this whole affair. Might have had something to do with most (if not all) the Servants that were summoned in that loop being versions of you and the other guys we had upon our initial incursion. From time to time we manage to recall bits and pieces of stuff either from our original arrival in the Solar Cell or a previous grail war loop, but that’s all.

Also, we seem to be a lot less callous than we were in the past. Probably something to do with us not longer having personal memories of the absolutely backstabbing life that is living in mage society and especially Clock Tower.

MUSASHI: "Ah, I see..."

You've gotten this sort of 'oh, wow'-type of reaction before. Best to just leave that one be for now. She's picked up enough from the conversation so far regardless.

MUSASHI: "Charlemagne... the name kinda sounds familiar, but I'm not totally sure... as for the other questions- not really. Sorry, I'm not much of a computer person."

INVADER: [ "We do not have that capability yet, and I cannot properly analyze the spell. However, Musashi possesses an innate Magic Resistance as a Saber-class. Whatever spell cast should have a weakened effect on her, but…" ]

MUSASHI chuckled, sheepishly.

MUSASHI: "Ah, you noticed that, huh? Basically. I'm sure I could have shrugged it off and made them struggle for it, but I didn't. A punishment's a punishment, after all. And it wasn't like my situation was drastically changed- I just went from one person's vengeful spirit to another. Either way, I wasn't fighting in a way I enjoyed."

INVADER: [ "…With how damaged her Spirit Origin is, you'd need a considerable amount of magical energy to restore it to a proper state. Either via my Command Spells, or through a powerful Mystic Code- and the only one in our possession is the Crimson Blade. However, that blade also belongs to the Servant 'Draco'. It is a considerable bargaining chip, and may be able to restore the Beast to a more manageable state. Examining our currently very limited resources, destroying her body and gaining a new Code Cast would be the most efficient course of action." ]

INVADER stated, coldly listing out the facts. You could see MUSASHI listening quietly, nodding, not exactly disagreeing with the sentiment.

MUSASHI: "...So it's this kind of situation, huh?"

You had come here in order to damage or slow down the MUSASHI in 'reality'. Leaving would just set you back to square one- maybe even worse than that, if she ended up adapting to your hacking.

You felt a tremor in the ground, as the mental world around you began to destabilize.

MUSASHI: "Ah- I think 'Shadow Me' is trying to boot you all out, so we don't have any more time to really chat. If you're going to do something, make it snappy."

You'd have to make a choice here.

[storysims]

GROWING TOGETHER - GAMEPLAY REVIEW 🧩 

it’s finally here! probably my (personally) most anticipated pack since seasons, growing together has seriously changed my gameplay for good.

I was provided with an early access copy of Growing Together to review via the EA Creator Network!

first things first - what’s included in the update, and what’s included in the pack? i will not be covering anything primarily featured in the base game update coming this week. 

i went into this pack knowing only the bare minimum, so as a general overview here’s what’s coming in the base game update:

improved newborns (general appearance, full range of skintones, better animations, etc.) 

updates to high chair & highchair meals

having a science baby

selecting if sims can produce milk in CAS

scars, stretchmarks, and birthmarks 

the new infant lifestage

for the record, i did experience bugs with infants! i ended up going as far as locking my infant’s door at night to keep her parents from waking her up to hold her or bottle feed her unnecessarily. however, i do think that’s a reflection of the infant update and not this pack. 

with all of that being said, onto milestones -

especially with infants, milestones and skills seem to go hand in hand! as your infant grows, becomes more skilled, and experiences the world they’ll achieve milestones to reflect this progress! 

some gameplay is even locked behind milestone barriers. for an infant to be able to be put in a highchair, they’ll need to learn how to sit up on their own first. milestones become a sort of guide that you can use to navigate through your sims’ lives. 

many milestones aren’t even on your sim’s info panel - as you go, more and more can show up! my infant’s only milestone after being aged up from a baby immediately was about being born. by the time she became a toddler, she had collected upwards of 15 infant milestones (if i can count correctly)!

additionally, not all sims are going to have the same milestones. while basics like learning to walk and talk will be common, other milestones can be achieved through less... happy ways of playing the game. if a sim has a bladder failure, they’ll remember it (and the lot they had it on) for the rest of their life.

my sim happened to met an unfortunate end while playing. 💀 thankfully her partner was able to plead with the grim reaper to bring her back, and she even had a milestone to show for it!

sims are now capable of changing over time! through an in-game pop up, sims will be able to swap their traits AND gain two additional traits. these changes happen over the course of gameplay, and are influenced by your sim’s decisions throughout their life.

when kyle joined the household, he was lazy, a genius, and clumsy! after days of jogging in the morning, he was given the option to become athletic. as he progressed his relationship with my sim and helped with tasks around the house, kyle also gained the traits loyal and neat!

(on the whole though, honestly don’t have babies with kyle. great guy, but has the tendency to dance autonomously - even in the face of crying infants. 😂 it’s almost pathological)

sims can also now have family dynamics! much like the self discovery traits, these change based on gameplay and prompt the player to make a decision.

i honestly haven’t played with this much - my sims did develop a ‘strict’ relationship, but it was towards the end of my time with the pack. at a glance, family dynamics give emotional moodlets about the two sims involved. in this scenario, my child sim occasionally felt tense around her mom. however, the two sims had and maintained a positive, loving relationship. 

i’m sure this is far more in depth, but i personally don’t know enough about the system to speak on it.

sadly, i felt like the friendship bracelet system was a huge let down. if i was playing with a legacy family with multiple kids, cousins, etc. i think i would have enjoyed it a lot more? in terms of my early access gameplay though, i was less than impressed. bracelets are ‘traded’ amongst children... and my test family had no friends. 😅 i was hoping my sim could make one for her mom, but you’re unable to trade with someone who doesn’t have a crafted bracelet in their inventory.

but as it stands, there seems to be (at least) five variations of bracelets that can be made by clicking on the friendship bracelet kit in live mode. each one has the option to fail, and if it does it will need to be completely remade!

on the other hand, one of my favorite parts of the pack was the puzzles! (admittedly, i do like puzzles in real life, so i may be a bit biased)

the puzzle activity is done at a new table that comes with the pack! this table is also the home to cards and simbles, which seems to be a sims version of scrabble. the table holds a pretty wide variety of puzzles - four different sizes with a total twenty different picture variations. the puzzle size you select will influence how long it takes your sim to finish and how large the puzzle pieces actually appear.

sims can create custom puzzles from reference and frame finished puzzles for additional decor options around the house!

i was able to play with this pack from thursday to monday and i’m STILL positive i’ve missed a good amount of content. i never experienced a midlife crisis or layoffs, i never invited houseguests to visit, and i didn’t touch the new power walking skill once. not one of the new events got played through. i only had one relationship gain a dynamic and i never played with teenagers. i absolutely forgot to take a single picture or write down any notes about the compatibility system or child + teen confidence levels. 

even with all the content that i missed, condensing my gameplay down into a readable review format was extremely difficult. this pack has quickly become a must have for me personally, and i can’t wait to see the rest of the community’s reaction to it. 💚

[saintmeghanmarkle]

American Riviera Orchard - an analysis of this calamity of a name by u/ElectricalAd9212

American Riviera Orchard - an analysis of this calamity of a name Recently there has been a thing for 'Old Money' aesthetics on Instagram.'Old Money' as opposed to 'New Money'New Money is well, newly acquired money, and the style and aesthetic that goes with that.New money isn't bad in itself. There is an argument that 'Old Money' is snobbish towards 'New Money', looking down on the self made people who spend on designer lables to signal their financial status.'Old Money' takes its aesthetic from 'old' Europe, in particular, a sense of aristocracy. Of timeless, classy, understated style and elegance. But 'Old Money' in America is also rooted in the old families and traditions of America. Without an aristocracy, America still had aristocratic people, who emulated the traditions and elegance and class of the old world, and imbued it with an American essence.I think part of the incredible success and appeal of Ralph Lauren is his brand emanates a sense of American Old Money, whilst signaling a trans Atlantic origin. Much of the aesthetic and feel of his style is rooted in British and Italian gentry traditions. What could be more Old Money and upper class than the very logo of your brand being a man on a horse playing polo?So Ralph Lauren is a brilliant example of taking Old Money culture and making it successful as a genuinely stylish brand rooted in American elegance and style.Now, lets examine 'American Riveira Orchard'Instead of creating imagery of a timeless American old money aesthetic, the name screams word salad gibberish, a name which evokes someone who is making cheap tat like scented candles for use in the toilet, and they want to give it a feint 'classy' name when its sold at the local discount store.Markle is by every metric a calamity and failure of a kind that is truly unique.This is a woman who married into the pinnacle of 'Old Money', the British Royal Family, and has succeeded in degrading her own image in every way whilst ennobling the image of the Monarchy in contrast to her.But most of all, she is incapable of embodying any of the essence and class of Old Money America that she so desperately thinks she embodies. She embodies the worst qualities of 'New Money', the ugly, unpleasant, nasty vulgarity, without embodying its good qualities, of hard work and self creation, and she is the antithesis of 'Old Money', that of effortless, understated elegance, with a noble flair, and a sense of noblesse oblige and class and generosity and humility in not being ostentatious, and having a sense of responsibility towards others.In every way, Markle and Harry are a calamity unlike any other seen in public life in memory, and they embody the very worst aspects of modern Anglo-American culture, and nothing speaks more of this than the hilariously absurd name of her endeavour, 'American Riviera Orchard', an awful string of words from a calamity of a mind and person.​ post link: https://ift.tt/4jSeVaQ author: ElectricalAd9212 submitted: March 20, 2024 at 01:29PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[crayo1acrayons]

THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY

CYBERFUN TECH

/Mechanic Entertaintment, Research and Engineering

HAPPY NEW YEARS 1982

 

CyberFun Tech wishes all a lovely year. Big things are coming

Since 1943, CyberFun Tech has been a company dedicated to explore and push the limits of the modern world's technology, and what better way to do so than entertaintment,

Originally founded by Jason Pooltrick (1889-1952), C.T. started as a company made to manufacture small Casino machines and games, it's first creation being the Advanced Jackpot system. 

Since then, Jason expanded his team onto a full-on company made to investigate, research and develop revolutionary systems for the maximmum level of entertaintment in the palm of your hand.

Throughout the years, we've worked with Amusement Parks (yes, even for the mouse himself.) , Casinos, Theatres, Restaurant Chains, even that one Bowling alley on Cross St.

On March 19th 1952, Mr. Pooltrick died of a heart failure. His son eventually took over the Company. Honoring his father's legacy by pushing the limits of recent technology even further.

Along only some of the very best technicians accross America, we've been able to not only develop games that manage to amaze our Client's minds, but we've managed to make our "games" develop a mind of their own, a cutting edge new method of Artificial Technology.

 

 

"A game breaker, is what it is. We're taking a new step in technology and entertaintment. Machines able to resemble the actions of a real life performer, and I'm not talking about singing or dancing, but rather interacting with it's audience and surroundings like a real person would. We may even be able to have our machines directly adress our clients by name via a recognition system we've been developing over the years."

-N.P.  Local 57, June 20th, 1974

In  CyberFun Tech, our main focus has always been putting a smile on the faces of children accross the U.S.

Our Company was made for all those small people with big minds, like our founder. That's why we're always open to work with people that can bring something new and innovative to our offices.

If you or any friend of yours would like to work with us, feel free to apply to our "Technology of the Future" fair with a full prototype of your idea. One of our assistants will reach out to you a few days after your application in case you're elected to participate on the fair, we've met a lot of bright minds accross the years using this method since the 1960s.

(The 1982 Technology of the Future fair has been cancelled due to C.T. schedules and focus on greater projects. If you'd like to apply for the 1983 fair, feel free to give us a call.)

The page is misspelled and is like something out of a grammarly ad the highlighted letters in green that you can see spell out Brighton ghosts you can't access this website anymore as it was deleted or put under a new web name you can reference the wayback machine for more info.

[fio-renze]

Teatime Tuesday: Would she ever consider giving up her name, her life, for a new one? Start over on her own terms, in a sense?

Well, she has done that, technically. Kind of. When Pyraelia ousted her from the Estate many years ago she did fake her death because the other option was Pyraelia potentially killing her or outing her crimes to the world, she renamed herself Fiorenze Sunbinder the totally common woman, and genuinely sucked at starting over to the point of getting herself in massive debt and eventually working her way back into the Estate via Pyraelia HATING the work and needing someone to take it back. But, that is when she met Xylaes and Arandori, so it wasn't all bad.

It's been forced on her again, this time. Her life as she knew it is completely over, permanently. She does have to start from scratch and figure out some new way of being without her titles, and with her legacy being that of a complete failure. She has never been her own person, she has always been the specific person her parents raised her to be and she doesn't know how to be anything else. To have it all taken away from her, with no other recourse to get it back, is painful and scary.

Sure, there's some l'appel du vide in just vanishing -- but at that point she might as well be actually dead, and there's a very loud part of her that does think maybe that's for the best. It's what she was running from in trying to make the Immortality Mirror work, anyway. Maybe it's time to run to it instead of away. After all, there's lots of places in the Shadowlands where one does just that. Give up your name, forget where you came from, become someone new. Start over, for eternity.

Thanks @safrona-shadowsun!

[luxgalador]

Inspired by that anon who reached out, I also used to watch your videos back in the day on YouTube. They were really impactful for me, a bi girl who couldn’t find her place in the world. I stopped being on YouTube after a bit and mostly hung out here, and then left here too. So it was such a trip to come across your blog randomly a few months ago when I came back to tumblr. Your videos were there for me at such a formative time in my life, and I’m a different person now, but those videos are still very meaningful for me. It’s been great finding you again all these years later and seeing that in the same way that I’ve moved onward and upward, so have you, and you seem happy. That makes me really happy. You helped so many people, and deserve to be happy.

This is the one caused critical mass to be reached. I'm sobbing right now.

Happy, proud tears.

I'm really trying to be happy and to grow forward. So much of the way my YouTube career panned out after moving to LA was painful, whether that was behind the scenes stuff or interpersonal troubles. Something awful happened to me weeks after I moved there that I never really bounced back from. That and the way the space via advertisers starting punishing channels like mine just on the other side of financial viability, it did feel like much was taken from me. What was meant to be my salvation from the pain of childhood through late 2012 ended up being its own source of pain.

I'm still so proud of my ability to do what I set out to do, though it didn't last as long as I'd maybe hoped it would. The videos themselves existed outside all the noise, and I'm proud of that. I'm proud I (stubbornly I'll admit) never succumbed to the pressure to go "full influencer" so that I could keep doing it full-time.

All I ever wanted to do was help. To run into some of y'all years later and be told that I did help makes all the pain, systemic corporate failure, hero death etc. worthwhile.

And to verify your point later on, though the last 7 years nearly turned out my light through painful lessons and things I didn't deserve, I am much happier and on the path to even more happiness. I'm so excited to enter my 30s, especially because I never saw myself getting this far at all.

[arqueete]

2022 New Year's Meme

Every year I do this survey that went around Livejournal in the 2010s. Anyone is welcome to do the survey!

1. What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?

I got married! I had a wedding and a honeymoon (my first time visiting Montreal)!

I visited Columbus, OH for the first time (and second time) to visit the office of my new job.

I played pinball machines for I think the first time? At least the first time in my adult life.

I went to local science museum Discovery World for the first time (as far as I remember) as well.

Some food I cooked for the first time: cream puffs, fondue, ice cream, chicken paprikash, baozi.

Finally went to local summer concert series Jazz in the Park.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year?

My resolutions for 2022 were to be more physically active (and try a fitness challenge), and to keep up with learning Italian. I bought rollerblades and did a little rollerblading (though not as much as I would've liked), I feel like I did start walking places a lot more in the summer, and I was doing a calisthenics routine for a while there, so I did at least make an attempt at being more physically active. I haven't been working on Italian as much as I'd hoped either, but I did take a six week Italian class in the spring and that was really helpful!

In 2023, I have a few resolutions:

I have a membership at a pottery studio but I don't actually use it very often. Next year I'd like to make more of a routine out of going and have something in progress at all times.

I want to make more of a habit of finding ways to use up leftover ingredients and throw away less food.

I mostly get around via the free streetcar and my car--I haven't ridden on a local city bus since before the pandemic started. I'd like to ride the bus a little more in 2023.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A friend of mine had a baby girl earlier in the year! 4. Did anyone close to you die? Fortunately no.

5. What countries did you visit? I visited Canada for the second time, this time to stay in Montreal. I really enjoyed it there--the French was a little challenging at times but rewarding and interesting other times, the historic neighborhoods were fun to explore, I appreciated the public transit options, and I generally was very charmed by this city! I'd love to see it again someday. 6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022? Last year I said I wanted to find a job that I would enjoy and where I felt I could stay for a while--I'm really happy to say I did start a new job this year where I feel supported and enjoy spending time with my smart and fun coworkers.

In 2023, I'd like to have closer relationships to people who live nearby. It seems like we keep on putting off inviting people over (or out). I want to take the initiative more to see people and maintain connections. 7. What date from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 16, 2022 was the day I got married! 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I do think it has to be planning the wedding. I've definitely never organized any event of that size and boy was it a lot of work. 9. What was your biggest failure? I don't want to be overdramatic about it but it was a bummer that I worked hard on an entry to the state fair knitting competition this year and I was really proud of what I made, but I didn't place. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had my first ever root canal this year for a cracked tooth. I also developed chronic hives, which is ongoing and I'll be seeing an allergist about it in January.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A lot of the best things I acquired this year were gifts (like my ice cream maker) but I think it was sometime this year that I bought this nice water bottle from Target, and I was never really a water bottle person before but I am now. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My friend @prosopopeya changed careers!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The supreme court. 14. Where did most of your money go? It's always rent. Aside from that, wedding/honeymoon expenses and groceries. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Besides my wedding (which was sometimes as nerve-wracking as it was exciting) I got really, really, really excited when I stumbled upon the Phantom of the Opera pinball machine!!! 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2022? Earlier in the year I got really into the Glass Animals album Dreamland (and I saw them live this year! My diving in to the album mostly came after the concert.) At the end of the year I really enjoyed the new Death Cab for Cutie album Asphalt Meadows. It was already my all-time favorite love song but our first dance at our wedding was to "Passenger Seat" by Death Cab for Cutie.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. Happier or sadder? Happier. ii. Older or wiser? Wiser. iii. Thinner or fatter? Thinner. iv. Richer or poorer? Richer. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I had seen more theater. I already have tickets to a couple shows for next year so hopefully I can turn this around. 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I need to stop going to the grocery store so often. The pandemic had forced me to plan meals and make infrequent shopping trips and work with what I had on hand and this year I threw all of that out the window and I am constantly at the store. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? We were really relieved that we got to have a "real" Christmas this year after Covid kept us at home the past two years. We went to my parents' house on Christmas Eve, then we hosted my in-laws at our apartment Christmas morning, and then had Christmas dinner out near Madison, WI with my husbands' extended family.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? We plan on having a charcuterie dinner at home and then we have tickets to a speakeasy-themed event at a local bar. On New Year's Day we will maintain our tradition of attending the 36th Annual Cool Fool Kite and Ice Festival and flying our octopus kite, Squeaky Jr.

22. Did you fall in love in 2022? I'm still in love with my new husband! 23. How many one-night stands? None.

24. What was your favorite TV program? I loved What We Do In the Shadows and Derry Girls.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I've never liked Elon Musk but boy am I tired of hearing about him causing chaos this year. 26. What was the best book you read? I'm really proud of how much I read this year! I usually read only a few books a year but I read at least a dozen books in the last half of the year alone.

But when it comes to the best book I read... I think it has to be Dracula. I participated in Dracula Daily, an email mailing list that sends you excerpts from Dracula on the day the book says they occur, and experienced the entire book that way along with a bunch of other people on the internet.

The experience was so unique and interesting--to really get a sense of the passage of time in the story (it begins in May and ends in November), to often only get a little bit at a time which helped me appreciate little details and maybe made the more boring and long-winded bits more tolerable (I know @hrello has been suffering through this on his solo read), and to read along with lots of other people and share jokes and bits of historical context with each other. And of course the story itself, which feels actually kind of novel and refreshing after seeing vampires remixed so often in pop culture--generally, myself and people on Tumblr really rallied around the human characters in the book more than the vampires. Dracula is a novel about the power of friendship! 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Bon Iver's Justin Vernon started a monthly radio show called Song Chest Radio Hour, and in one I listened to (maybe I should listen to more in 2023!) he said something like, "If you've never heard of The Roches you're in for a treat," and played their song "Hammond Song." He was right, it really is a treat.

28. What did you want and get? Last year we bought a stand mixer and ever since I have dreamed of the stand mixer ice cream maker attachment. This year I got it as a wedding gift and it is all I ever dreamed of--I've made several different cereal-flavored ice creams and I want to experiment more.

29. What did you want and not get? Dying waiting to see our wedding photos. The photographer still has a few weeks left, contractually, to deliver them to us so there's nothing to be annoyed about yet but we were really hoping to at least get them by Christmas. This is past the time he mentioned it usually takes him to deliver so we can't help but worry about it. (What if he sent them weeks ago and we didn't get them for some reason?) I have some cute frames waiting for photos! 30. What was your favorite film of this year? Everything Everywhere All at Once blew me away--it made me feel so much and reminded me of what makes movies great and special as an art form.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 32 this year (which hasn't really sunk in yet) and our original plan was to go to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, which I'd still like to do, but it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we just weren't up for it. Instead, we got breakfast at a local waffle place, went to the Public Museum to see the Streets of Old Milwaukee decorated for Christmas, had lunch and freaked out over a water leak in our apartment that required an emergency maintenance call, and then went to Discovery World. I had the Milk Bar malted chocolate cake made for me by my husband as a birthday cake.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If we hadn't had so much drama around Thanksgiving and my family canceling and then my husband's family canceling. Those big family holidays feel extra precious since the pandemic started. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022? I started working for a company that sells clothes, which does do something to a person. I feel like I approached 2022 with an open mind about my personal style, challenging some ideas about what is "me." I wore a couple dresses with low necklines. I bought an animal print sweater. I bought a cropped sweatshirt. At the same time, I embraced feeling comfortable and felt like I learned more about how to look sexy or confident or put together in a relaxed way. 34. What kept you sane? Reading. I tried to use reading to replace some of my social media usage this year so that scrolling through feeds isn't like, my default state of being. I read a lot of books and also got a few magazine subscriptions so there's always things around to read without looking at screens. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I enjoy the cast of What We Do In the Shadows. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? The mid-terms were this year and fuck Ron Johnson but the big one for me was the overturning of Roe v Wade. 37. Who did you miss? With the whole Darren Criss in Chess thing this year, and showing my husband Spring Awakening for the first time, I really wished Jaymee were around so I could tell her about it. 38. Who was the best new person you met? My new coworkers! There are some people at my new job that I really get along with and I'm so grateful. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022: I think weddings can be a good exercise in having reasonable expectations for what you will get out of your relationship with different members of your extended family. There can be this feeling, especially with all the tradition that is attached to a life event like that, that surely everyone will show reverence to this important moment even if they don't have a history of showing up for you in that way and... you know better, right? And I don't mean that in a bitter way but with a sense of peace.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

You've had too much of the digital love You want everything live, you want things you can touch Make it feel like a movie you saw in your youth Make it feel like that song that just unopened you

Glass Animals - "Dreamland"

[lovelyrainypaper]

Finding Your Ikigai: Self-Maximization and Overcoming Failure in India

We all experience failure at some point because it is an unavoidable aspect of life. Setbacks and disappointments are common experiences, whether in our personal relationships, careers, or pursuit of our passions. What really counts, though, is how we handle these difficulties. People are turning to the idea of “Ikigai” to assist them navigate the choppy waters of failure in the colorful and diverse terrain of India, a nation alive with ambitions and aspirations. The concept of accepting facing failure and discovering your Ikigai will be examined in this blog post via the prism of the company “Selfmaximization.”

Recognizing Failure

The Ikigai Power

A Japanese notion known as ikigai can be loosely translated as “a reason for being” or “a reason to wake up in the morning.” By examining the intersection of what you enjoy, what you’re excellent at, what the world needs, and what you can be compensated for, it takes a holistic approach to discovering one’s life’s purpose. You have a deep sense of contentment and satisfaction in all you do after you find your Ikigai.

Ikigai usage in India

India, a country with a diverse population and a rich cultural background, is a place where the idea of Ikigai can have a significant impact. In addition to personal gratification, pursuing one’s Ikigai also entails making a positive impact on society. Finding one’s Ikigai develops as a powerful tool for individual and societal progress as people in India encounter a variety of difficulties and opportunities.

Self-Maximization: A Lighthouse

As a company founded on the Ikigai concept, Selfmaximization is committed to assisting people in India and elsewhere accept failure as a necessary step on the path to self-realization. The following are some crucial ways that Selfmaximization might assist you in your search for your Ikigai:

Selfmaximization encourages a growth-oriented mindset in which failure is seen as a useful experience that presents chances for personal development. You can use setbacks as stepping stones by altering how you view failure.

Self-Reflection: Selfmaximization encourages people to reflect deeply on themselves. This entails probing deep questions about their passions, areas of expertise, needs of the world, and potential sources of income. This self-examination aids in the quest to identify one’s Ikigai.

Self-maximization offers resources and assistance for skill improvement. You can improve your chances of connecting with your Ikigai and succeeding in your chosen undertakings by refining your abilities and talents.

Selfmaximization supports holistic progress, which entails fostering not just your professional goals but also your relationships and personal well-being. This well-rounded strategy is necessary for leading a fulfilled life.

Conclusion

The quest to discover one’s Ikigai has never been more important in India. Selfmaximization acts as a compass, assisting people in navigating the ups and downs of life with resiliency and purpose in a nation bursting with goals and aspirations. Keep in mind that failure is not the end; rather, it is a step toward success. You can discover your actual purpose and live a more fulfilling life in India’s diverse and dynamic geography by adopting the Ikigai philosophy and seeking the advice of Selfmaximization.

[growatt]

How Long Does a Power Outage Last?

Power outages come at any time of day, in just about any place, and often at inconvenient times. These outages quickly and hazardously disrupt the daily lives of thousands, if not more. Each time that the power goes out, every single person is asking themselves, “How long does a power outage last?”

It’s a question that we’ve all asked ourselves. It’s a normal way to react to a bad situation. You want to know just how long you’ll be without the power that keeps your life moving forward throughout the day.

Most power outages can be restored within hours, but those caused by storms or violent winds that damage electrical lines and equipment can linger for days or even weeks.

There are plenty of ways to know how long a power outage lasts. You can learn via notification from the local power bureau, research past outages, and call the utility company. The most important thing to look for is what exactly caused the power outage. This can tell you how long you’ll be without electricity if you can understand the process behind getting the power back up and running.

What Caused the Power Outage

As mentioned before, let’s take a look at what typically causes a power outage. Losing power happens for countless reasons. This article will cover some of the most common all over the world.

Storm Damage

Imagine driving to work and suddenly coming upon a crowd of trucks around a live power line laying in the middle of the road.

The night before, there was likely a massive storm that had strong enough winds to take trees down and the power lines with them.

A storm is one of the more common causes of power outages, notably in places with high winds and severe thunderstorms throughout the stormy season. For example, most of the power outages during hurricane season come from damaged equipment from the storm surge.

A downed power line can take as little as 2-3 hours for a crew to get out and fix them, but when the storm is bigger, you can expect the power to stay out for days, or sometimes even weeks. The extent of the damage and the efficiency of your local area’s electric crew will make a big difference.

Other aspects of the weather will change the game entirely. Lightning can play a part in turning the lights off. When it finds an electric line to make contact with, the surge of power will course through the system and eventually overload the equipment, leading to failure.

This can overload transformers, leading to a complete overhaul and necessary installation of new equipment, often meaning multiple days of work.

Overloaded Circuits and Overuse

At home, you can experience a power outage simply from blowing a circuit when you use too many devices at once.

This is often an easy fix. All you need to do is head to the circuit breaker and flip the switch that’s been activated. You can’t return to exactly what you were doing, and you may need to look into something like a portable power station to provide the additional power necessary for whatever task is at hand.

Equipment Failure

When there is a high demand for electricity in a certain area, not all equipment is built to handle such large loads. As a result, the equipment will fail and need to be fixed.

Depending on the piece of equipment, the failure can mean the power is out for hours, but can also mean it’s out for days.

There are even occasions in which different utility companies will have to reduce output to certain areas and limit each household's use for a certain period of time.

Ways to Know How Long the Power Outage Lasts

Notifications from Local Power Bureaus

Hopefully, the local power company has a system that sends out alerts to its service area when the power goes out. This is often the best way to have some idea of how long the power outage lasts.

Unfortunately, these aren’t always fully accurate and you can find a more precise answer through other methods.

Estimates Based on Past Outage Times

If you’ve experienced power outages in your area before, you may be able to know how long you’ll be without power. If you can recall another time when a line went down, you can use that as a reference point to understand what this time may be like.

This gives the most accurate time estimate if you know why the power is out. Some companies are great at getting the lights back on, but not all of them are going to be as fast as others.

Call the Electricity Bureau

If you really want a straightforward answer, go ahead and try just calling the power company. They can explain the situation and let you know exactly what they’ve done to help resolve it as well.

Prepare for Short & Long-term Outages

Regardless of how long the power outage may last, you will want to be prepared for when the day inevitably comes.

Growatt’s portable power stations are a great way to ensure that you still have power when your neighbors don’t.

The INFINITY 1500, INFINITY 1300, and the VITA 550 all do a fantastic job at storing power for a long time, ensuring that they are ready for an emergency scenario that requires electricity with little notice.

Each of these devices allows multiple devices to run at once, meaning you can continue with your regularly scheduled operations when necessary. This can work for multiple people, making sure the whole family has power when they need it most.

When the storm continues, you can take a look at Growatt’s solar generators. Pairing a portable power station with solar panels allows you to continue to produce and store electricity even after the stored power runs out. This can be a long-term and sustainable way to continue with your life when the power company isn’t taking care of the problem for you.

Final Thoughts

A power outage can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to a few weeks depending on what’s going on. Preparation is the key to these scenarios so you can be ready to continue on with your life as if nothing had happened at all.

Don’t leave it up to the power company anymore. Bring yourself into a position of control and store all the necessary power you need with the right portable power station.

source: https://growattportable.com/blogs/news/how-long-does-a-power-outage-last

[wytfut]

X world friends

Excelsior Henderson community is the longest I’ve ever participated any organization other than employment. 

I’ve been a certified soccer coach for 12 years. Fire/Rescue as stated before. Some black powder. And a few Ford clubs. 

I obviously had developed some very good friends within this community. This doesn’t lessen my friendships outside of X world, but in truth broadens it, for me to experience new things. 

My X world friends hold value. 

I have lost a few in the near past years. Gary (Jumper) Houk out of Virginia... one of the best ambassadors for our community. Always up, always for what ever is good for the group. In public most likely in great behavior. I’ve witnessed him helping Cafe staff serve food, when we’d invade the local Cafe for a meal... overwhelming them.

I got to meet him in person the first time at the X rally in Minnesota in 2012. Via Email and phone calls he appeared bigger than life.

In person it was all real. Waking up second morning of the Roast and Ride in Elkton Virginia, to him singing at the top of his lungs.... “Paint your wagon” 

At one of the rallys in Minnesota, he got pulled over, and the officer found a pistol in one of his bags.  Officer questioned whether it was loaded...   “what good would it be unloaded???” Judge let him go back to Virginia, and he came back to serve his time in the local jail. I think it was a weekend??

Don’t know if he ever married, and pretty sure he had no children. A faithful Methodist, and supporter of his church. 

Younger than I, but close, he passed away in his sleep from heart failure.

Another we lost was Gary Thomforde from Minnesota. Gary was on a ride, and missed a 90 degree turn. Comments have been said that he knew that turn well, and suspect a health incident.... no skid marks.

I didn’t get to know Gary well, until his last year with us. Retired, and very soft spoken. All about EH’s. Had a huge hoard of parts, he had bought thru the years. And was always willing to sell and at a fair price to help out other owners. 

We had chatted on the phone the night before he died. I found out several days later, he had passed. 

Another, younger member of the group was James Farnham. I think he was in his early 50′s if that old. Just a good guy. Thought all of us old guys were genius’s...     James died suicide, via anguish of a horrible health issue.   He was made of good stuff. 

There have been several others  that have gone thru this 20 plus years, but I didn’t know them personally, or even had exchanged conversations via WWW. 

As for the rest. I’d guess there are around 150+ active members in the club/group/community. I probably have met each and everyone one way or the other... via internet, in person, or via phone. 

Of that number, I feel really comfortable with about 20 or so. And close with 10.

In the picture above is a few of the 10....   Left to right... Julie Liskie girlfriend of Dave Mcquitty next to her... both in Overland Park Kansas. Next to them is Jumper Marshal Virginia. Next to me is “fat Jesus” Dennis Bennet of Huron South Dakota. 

In this shot you may noticed how red some of our faces are.... full day ride in the Ozark mountains. And most likely 1 beer in. 

This shot was taken at Little Rock Arkansas.... our motel parking lot.  

I love this picture, as it has the best of thoughts of Jumper. Makes me smile every time.

Dennis and I see each other about once a year, and mostly as we arent that far apart. About 6 hours distance. He’s made of good stuff too, and we get a long well.

Ken Bretz also doesn’t live that far away.... Minnesota....   and has partaken with our adventures with the Antique motorcycle cannonballers. Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota. 

Ken, Dennis, and I are all members of the Team Fat Jesus scooter cannonball event this spring. We are the beans...

The social class of this group is all over the place. We have folks that are financially set for life. Huge working class for the most part, that we all have worked hard. And others that struggle to keep their X’s running looking for pennies. We all seem to get along well, and would go out of our way to help each other. 

East coast members seem to be tighter than the rest of us, and to be honest I’m not sure to this day why/how that happened. They are a good intended bunch, and don’t treat the rest of us any different. But there is a relationship they all have that the rest of us don’t appear to have.

So many members go out of their way to support the group as small as we are. I’m constantly amazed at how many across the board type of folks in this group, and yet an extremely small number of problems members, if any. 

I’m used to the rule of thumb experienced by me... once you get around 8 members of anything, there’s going to be at least 1 asshole that is there for the wrong reason.

Not sure how Phil Marks and I got tied together. We talk frequently on the phone. And try to make events that we know each other will be attending. Phil is older than I by a couple of years. Has lived in Pennsylvania his whole life. Always has me laughing at some hysterical story/event that has happened to him. 

With his emotions running full throttle in his stories, and his accent, plus hand language, ... I just can’t help but laugh.  

Our likenesses from our pasts is cosmic... or something I can’t describe. He had a Norton, I did too. He had a Capri, as I. He had an early Ford Broncho, same with us. His Wife’s name is Pat, and mine Hunny is Patti. There are a few more, that make a person scratch their head... 

On the other end of familiarly, thru the group, I became friends with John Kane in England. .... via facebook.  John loved to buy American memorabilia here, and then ship it to England. Cars, motorcycles, parts, etc....  what ever suited him at the moment. Talked to him on the phone once, and lots of DM’s thru facebook back in the day. He was using me as a central point of delivery, and then I’d help him out getting all of his items to a port, to ship home. I really enjoyed it, and it was a great experience. Something new in my flat land slow paced life. It was fun.  John had a severe stroke, and its been difficult at best to keep up to speed with him.   I do miss our short messaging and emails. 

Have met several of the Swedes in the group. Good folks, that enjoy American Motorcycles, and I’d suspect they own several of all the brands. 

At the end of my facebook membership, I was just starting to get acquainted with a younger guy in Russia who owned an X. 

If for some crazy reason I could not be a part of this organization any more...   I’d miss the bunch of them big time.... 

Its been real

UPDATE: AJ Fago...... Hang in there buddy, we are all rooting for you.