#zero indication of when it is being updated or where. just the implication

[steady-diet]

congratulations

[birlcholtz]

Fic Questions

tagged by @the-lincyclopedia thank you!! (fun game: watch my writing get progressively less formal as the post continues. by the end it’s like what is capitalization)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

77!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

434,378 as of this week but it does go up quite regularly

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Okay so in terms of what’s on my AO3, I have Check Please, All For the Game, Sharp Zero, HP, and Miraculous Ladybug. I also have The Forbidden LOTR and PJO Fanfiction (as in, I’ve written it, but it’s never seeing the light of day)

(technically there is a PJO fic out there that has seen the light of day but I orphaned it because I was tired of getting comments asking about when it would be updated)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

and then i met you (and the whole world changed)

for the better

Knew It Was You

come home (to you, to us)

sin bin schematics

All of these are Check Please and all of them except Knew It Was You are part of my Zimbits Airport AU!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! It’s actually a very recent thing that I’ve started not responding to literally every single comment. Mainly I respond because I love talking about my writing so I am going to seize that opportunity when it comes up

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, DEFINITELY Happy Birthday (HP). Check out that MCD tag ahah. (I say HP but what I really mean is that I write fic about Regulus Black. The Regulus Black-centric tag is my home in the HP fandom)

fun fact: this is a very short fic that I wrote when I was 15 and basically forgot about until recently, and then I reread it recently and went holy shit?? I pulled NO punches????

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the wildest one you’ve written?

Not a ton? I think a lot of the fandoms I write for don’t really mesh that well. That being said, the aforementioned orphaned PJO fic is actually a PJO/ML crossover, so there’s that

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope! Sometimes I get comments that are just.... really confusing? And a more common thing is that in my AFTG fic I’ll get comments from people who are so focused on Andreil (or the most common ships in general) to the point that like. they miss the point of what I actually wrote. Those are annoying but they’re not hate, they’re very enthusiastic, they’re just... enthusiastic about a story I’m not writing? So it’s a bit frustrating.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No sjflskgjhgf I struggle enough to write kissing, I think if I ever tried to write smut my brain would just shut down. I’ve managed some fade-to-blacks (which are mostly in WIPs that haven’t been posted) but they rely HEAVILY on the powers of implication

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, although I have occasionally made a brief go of it, not to post, more as an exercise for myself in a language that I’m learning. Anyway I never finish them so I’m gonna say no

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really? I’ve definitely group brainstormed fics and then written them (the best example of this being Q&A (AFTG), which was the product of a truly off-the-walls group chat), but I tend to do all the actual writing myself. I think the way I write would drive a co-writer up the wall since it’s very disorganized and I don’t write stuff down because ~I know what’s gonna happen I don’t need notes~ and it would infuriate me if I was co-writing with me lmao, so I won’t inflict that on someone else

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I regularly move through ships I’m SUPER focused on, like it’s kind of a rotation. I will forever and always ship Percabeth though.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Okay so if you follow me at @birlwrites you may know this already, but i have this ‘warmups’ document that is just like, random ideas i get that i don’t necessarily want to finish but i just want to try out for a bit? and i have a rule that once a ‘warmup’ is more than 10 pages long (so 11+) then it has to be moved to its own document, just to make scrolling through the warmups doc easier. but usually, a warmup only passes 10 pages when i’m INTO it. so i have a bazillion wips i will probably never finish. i complain about this a lot. i have so many wips. i don’t need more.

here’s one: it’s titled ‘interrobang doesn’t know they’re dating’, it’s basically a full outline for a chowder/tango fic and it would be SO cool if i could ever like. get around to writing it. but i am constantly swamped with writing projects, so it’s probably not gonna happen. if anyone’s interested in adopting it though i’d be down for that!! i think it’s a fun idea i just almost def won’t write it myself

15. What are your writing strengths?

SNAPPY DIALOGUE AND SNARKY INTERNAL MONOLOGUE. my writing is COMEDIC, 90% of my ideas are based on a funny snippet that popped into my head, a lot of my worldbuilding is based on ‘hey you know what would be hilarious’ (whenever i explain how larai selects a chosen one in the rainfall universe i start laughing, which is a STARK contrast to how it plays out on the page), i love writing funny stuff!!

also i think my writing sounds nice, a lot of the time i pick words/syntax based on sound and flow so there’s that too. and i have lots of ideas! i don’t struggle much with writer’s block because a) i have a lot of strategies to deal with it and b) i have a lot of ideas to help get around it/work with it

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

PHYSICAL INTIMACY LMAO, sometimes in my end notes on shippy fics you can see me complaining ‘it took me literally 4 hours to write that very brief kiss’. also sometimes the humor in my writing gets in the way a bit, i have to very consciously put it away so characters can actually have serious, genuine emotions. also i don’t like outlining and i tend not to get betas for fanfiction so like..... i do my best continuity-wise but having really tightly plotted stories is just not my focus lol. (and i do put more effort into that for original stuff, it’s just fic where i kind of go wild)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If the reader’s supposed to know what it means, then writing it in another language is iffy for me. (stuff like terms of endearment which come up a lot in fic are fine imo, you can just put a note in to translate them and your reader will prob remember)

If the pov character isn’t supposed to understand it, and it doesn’t matter if the reader understands it, then ig it’s fine? but unless you already speak the other language (and i am NOT confident in my ability to translate english into literally any other language), then i think it’s way easier to just note that a character’s speaking x language and provide tone indicators, body language cues, etc. so the reader understands as much as the pov character.

That being said there are def times when it’s used super effectively--the dialogue in spanish in cemetery boys comes to mind! that’s not fanfic but it’s still creative writing so w/e

so i guess it comes down to: does actually writing out the dialogue in the other language serve a purpose? if it doesn’t, then you’re filling up the screen with words your reader isn’t likely to understand, which i try to avoid doing

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

so the first fandom i actually *wrote* for was PJO, but i distinctly remember creating warrior cats OCs when i was little. i never actually did anything w them but i had them and my favorite was a riverclan warrior named shellstream i remember this VIVIDLY

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

oh boy. okay so this is hard because i feel like i’m continuously improving as a writer. like in the sense that my writing is getting closer and closer to really matching my own taste? my favorites tend to always be my current projects as a result. and i do really love set those ghosts alight (HP) but it feels a little like cheating to say a fic i haven’t even finished writing yet. even though it’s def not cheating, that’s just the direction my brain is taking it.

i’m gonna say and then what? (OMGCP) because i’m super proud of the prose (especially ch 2 aka the first actual prose chapter), survived by (HP) for SUCCESSFULLY WRITING AN EMOTION and making readers cry :), and Q&A (AFTG) because i’m literally the one who wrote it and yet it still makes me wheeze. those are all fics i reread occasionally, because i’m big enough to admit i enjoy rereading my old stuff! (just like. to a point. some of my old stuff i can’t look at anymore because all the mistakes stick out to me like they have spotlights shining directly on them)

this was fun!! i’m gonna do an open tag because i just started my fall semester and brain tired. i know sometimes people see open tags and assume the op didn’t really mean it but I MEAN IT, PLEASE DO THIS AND TAG ME!!!!! YES YOU READING THIS

[detroitbydark]

Chapter 11

Characters: Fox/Mouse (reader), appearances from Hound, Thire, Rule, Mace Windu, Yoda, and Padmé Amidala.

Warning: angst (y’all want me to hirt you right?)

A/N: so get ready to read nearly 6000 words of Fox’s self loathing, the CG being supportive vod, Jedi being Jedi, and Mouse being hurt yet again.

Current

The choices had been fresh ink or gut-rot barracks hooch. Fox chose the ink.

He’s down in the levels, he can’t remember which one exactly, far enough from prying eyes and questioning vod, that was all that had really mattered. The artist, a pantoran with a nice portfolio, was busy laying out the design. He can feel the cool transfer as it’s pressed over his heart and he drags in a ragged breath. This was penance. This was the closure he needed. He’d messed up. For two weeks he’d messed up and now any chance he had was gone along with her.

“You wanna talk about it, man?” The tattoo artist asks as he peels away the flimsy leaving the outline on his skin.

“No”

Two weeks earlier

Fox hates the sterile smell of the hospital, the beige walls, the gleaming metal all around. It reminds him of Kamino and a medbay he’d spent more than enough time in. He was never quite as strong or quite as fast as the other CCs in his batch, men that would go on to bear monikers like Gree and Bly and Wolffe. He made up for it in other ways. His mind was sharp, quick to come to a plan of action, he could think on his feet.

He remembers Sargent Kal coming into the CC classroom one day for a talk on urban combat- something that had piqued CC-1010’s interest from the word go- and how by the end of the lesson he’d ended up the star of the day. His observations as they’d talked through scenarios had left Kal remarking that he was “Sly as a Fox” and that the Triple Zero would be a good place for the likes of him. He was only the second in his batch to earn a name and he wore it around like a badge of honor.

Now he didn’t feel so honorable or so sly. He felt a lot of other things though. The psych droid, a loathsome device of he'd ever seen one, had talked him through what had happened in the Supreme Chancellor’s suite. It had questioned him over and over, maybe expecting the answers to change, about what his part in the assassination of Sheev Palpatine had been. He was tired. He wanted to wrap himself around his cyar’ika and pretend the whole day had been a nightmare.

That was impossible, she was somewhere else in the hospital being treated, shoved into a bacta tank. It had only been Rex’s firm voice that had convinced Fox to let the medic’s anywhere near her. When he’d let them take her limp body away from him-

Fierfek.

The handprint- a bloody partial across the left side of his breastplate, was still there.

“Commander Fox” a familiar voice cuts through the silent world of the room“ Much to think about you have“

He recognizes the Jedi Master, Yoda, immediately. There was no one else the ancient green Jedi could be mistaken for.

“I prefer to not“ being around a force wielder was not high on Fox’s current list of things to do.

“Such Is life”

“With all due respect sir,” he can hear the petulance in his own voice but he has neither the energy nor will to rein it in “I didn’t ask for this life.”

“But given to you it was, nonetheless. Choices you must make with what to do with it.“

Fox is quiet and the small Jedi Master matches it until the door opens again and General Windu joins the pair. Fox meets his gaze and the Jedi nods solemnly.

“Much discussion Master Windu and I have had these last few hours-“

“So it’s back to Kamino then? Reconditioning or Termination?” Fox can’t hide the bitterness in his voice. He doesn’t want to. He wants the world -or at least the two Jedi in the room- to see his pain. To feel it like he was.

Yoda sighs and moves to him, walking stick clicking in time with his steps. He hops up on the cold metal table next to Fox in a way that makes Fox think that the walking stick was not really necessary. He fights the urge to move away.

“A great disservice has been done to you, Commander. No, Kamino is not where you belong, deserve punishment you do not.”

The words burn. Fox is trapped between relief and a slow simmering rage, one that demands he be punished for his inability to protect those most vulnerable. First Fives. Now Mouse. He failed because he was weak-

“Stop” General Windu’s voice is firm. The look on Fox’s face must read pure terror because the Jedi huffs softly, “I don’t need to see inside your head to know what you're thinking. It’s all over your face. Do you know the kind of power Sidious possessed? To fight off that kind of insinuation would have been nearly impossible and that was before the chip-“

“The chip?” Fox attempts to rise to his feet but three green fingers press down on his arm. He looks down at the tired, ancient face of the Jedi Master and sits back down. “What of the chip? What has it got to do in all of this?”

The answer is simple. Everything.

Fox sits in cold shock as the Jedi describe to him what they’d learned of Palpatine’s- no, Sidious’ plans for the clone army. He stops them once to go to the bathroom and vomit. It wasn’t just Tup and Fives and him. It was all his vode. The entire clone army programmed to turn on their leaders, their friends with the utterance of a single phrase. He thinks of the hints Bly had made about his Jedi when they’d last spoken.

For a moment it’s more than he can fathom, and he holds a hand up for quiet. The Jedi allow it. He gives himself a minute, just one, before he pulls himself together, before he sits up straight and pushes the anguish, hurt, and the dirty feelings deep down.

“What now?” The implications of what has happened are finally becoming clear “The Republic can’t know the truth. There’ll be chaos in the streets. They’ll turn against the clones entirely” Fox worries more for his brothers than ever before. If the citizens knew…

“Correct you are, Commander” Yoda agrees..

“It needs to stay under wraps. The only people that will ever know it was anything other than an sudden death by natural causes will be us and the others that were in that room. Skywalker, Captain Rex, and-“

“Don’t say her name” it comes out as a growl, “leave her out of this.”

“There she was, Commander. Secrets she must learn to keep.”

Fox’s nails bite into the palms of his hands, “you won’t-“ he can’t bring himself to say the words.

“We will not force thoughts into her head.” Mace clarifies. “From what I’ve heard of her I think she’ll understand our reasoning for secrecy. Her injuries will be said to come from a mugging. You’ll fill out the report. Wrong place wrong time”

Wasn’t that the truth.

Fox nods slowly, “and what of my brothers?”

“Come out the chips must.” Fox flinches when a green finger taps at his temple, “but uncomplicated and quick it is.”

“We will let it be known that the chips are faulty and to continue to use them puts the clones in danger of having unforeseen medical problems.” Mace’s eyes narrow as Fox scoffs. He raises a brow challengingly, “do you think they’d rather know that they were all ticking timebombs? That at any moment they’d be triggered into mindless killers? Pawns?”

A tense moment passes with the two men glaring at one another. Of course Fox doesn’t think that would be any better.

“We’ll begin rotating troops through the nearest medical units capable of removal immediately.” Mace explains. “We can have the entire Coruscant Guard done by the end of the week and it appears with minimal down time. A day, tops.” He explains.

A quick nod is all the acknowledgement Fox can muster. He doesn’t like the idea of keeping the Guard in the dark and he hates having them undergo any medical procedure even more. He wasn’t the only clone who had lingering emotions when it came to the medbay, not by a long shot.

“I’ll go first.”

The Jedi at his side makes an agreeable hum. General Windu nods.

“As I would expect a good leader to do.”

Fox isn’t sure how much he buys into their approval.

13 days earlier

The official story was that Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine had succumbed to a sudden illness. The holonews was ablaze with stories: from the official release to the tabloid fodder. Fellow politicians waxed poetic on him as a man and a leader, someone who stepped forward when the Republic was in its darkest hour to take control of the chaos.

It was said his last words were, “and sorry I couldn’t give more for my people and the galaxy.”

If Fox’s eyes rolled any harder he was sure they’d fly from his head and ping around in his bucket. Sidious was dead. He didn’t deserve the adoration of billions or the high honors of his burial. He was a hu’tuun. The skanah was better suited as feed for the carrion birds than the marble burial chamber he’s laid to rest in with military honors provided by clones he’d have used as weapons against the very Republic they swore to protect.

10 days earlier

Four days without Mouse and Fox feels twitchy. It’s been over a year since he’s gone more than two days without laying eyes on her. Knowing that she was recently released from the bacta tank doesn’t make it any easier. He’d not wanted to see her floating in the tank for a plethora of reasons, the least of which was his own guilt. That didn’t stop him from setting up a guard rotation at her door as soon as he was cleared to return to duty. It also didn’t stop him from demanding regular updates on her care from the kits he was setting up at her room.

Ryk had been present when she’d been taken out of the tank and said she’d seemed in good spirits as she’d slowly come too.

Wren had gently indicated that she’d love some company while she was on bed rest.

Rule had given him a look that screamed, ‘don’t be a scum sucking piece of nerf fodder.’ As he’d explained that Mous’ika had been asking for him.

She’d been asking for him. Even after everything she wanted to see him.

And he couldn’t do it.

He’d made his way twice to the nurses station before turning and making an excuse to leave.

He couldn’t look at her. Sidious’ words still swirled in his head. even though General Yoda had reassured him that he was no longer under the sway of the Sith, the thoughts still lingered.

You were supposed to use her to fuck your baser urges out.

She’s using you to obtain a foothold in the guard.

She’s fooled you all.

The underlying message was unmistakable.

Why would anyone choose to care for a clone?

Fox almost wishes the headaches would return so he could focus on the pain in his head vs. that dull empty ache in his chest, a black hole behind his rib cage, but he hasn’t had one since both the Sith Lord and the chip were removed from his life.

9 days earlier

Bail Organa is voted into the Chancellorship by an overwhelming number of his peers.

It’s the best choice, as far as Fox is concerned. With Senator Amidala announcing a leave of absence to give birth to the best guarded secret since the clone army, it’s the only choice Fox finds acceptable.

Not like anyone would ask his opinion.

Organa is a good man, even if he is a politician. He’s only ever looked out for the Republic, never given in to self indulgent whims, never taken more than he deserved.

Fox touches the fresh scar on the right side of his head gently as Holonet News continues to replay the new Chancellor's inauguration from earlier. Barely more than a week and everything has changed.

General Windu was correct, medical had been able to get through the entire guard in rapid fire. All of his men were sporting matching scars, many were more than a little curious as to the actual reason their chips had been removed. He’s both insanely proud and horribly frustrated at the theories being bandied about. Some far too close for comfort.

They can never know. Nobody can ever know.

But somehow Bail Organa knows.

He’s only had one meeting, early this morning before the inauguration, in private with the new Chancellor but he’d alluded to things that left Fox speechless. He’d known Bail to have friends in high places, but he hadn’t realized how high.

“Think he’ll do better than the last one?”

Thire hovers in the doorway, unmoving until Fox inclines his head toward the open seat across his desktop.

“Can’t be any worse.” There’s no humor in his tone but Thire huffs out a quiet laugh.

There’s a lag in the conversation, not like one has truly begun, and Fox takes a breath before setting down his datapad and flicking the holo off. “How long have we known one another?” He asks looking up at his lieutenant.

“Long enough.”

“So, you and I both know that you're here for something else and It's not just to make quips about the new Alor.”

“I suppose that’s true” Thire’s face gives nothing away. Fox liked that about the shock trooper. He was reserved, yes, but also pragmatic. A problem solver, not ruled by his emotions. Which was all well and good but something about the way he’s staring makes Fox feel like he’s the problem needing solving.

“Spit it out.”

“Go see her.”

Fox raises a brow in his vod’s direction. “Is that an order”

“Respectfully sir” the corner of Thire’s mouth quirks almost imperceptibly before it falls away.

The little shit.

In reality, Fox had known this one going to come from one of his men. He’d expected Rule or Hound, the more brash and aggressive boys, to be the ones but Thire is not a complete shock. He’d never seemed particularly close to Mouse but the lieutenant did play things close to the chest.

“She had a nightmare last night while I was on watch. Woke up crying your name.”

Inside Fox crumbles. No amount of talking to a psych droid was going to fix that feeling. No amount of time would make him feel ok about what he’d allowed to happen to the woman he loved. Thire continues.

“A clone's lot is not much. They decant us. They train us. They ship us out to fight in their war. We live, maybe. We die, more likely. Nothing is given to us.” Thire runs a hand over his head, fingers scratching at the crown. “Sometimes though, a di’kut like you gets a break. That woman in that bed cried in my arms. Talked to me like I was you for over an hour and I let her. You know why?”

Fox has to unclench his jaw, work past the jealous ache rising up in his chest to respond, “why?”

“Because it’s the closest I’ll ever have to feeling that kind of emotion. I’m not ashamed to say I pulled your girl into my lap, held her close and said soft things I didn’t even know I knew into her pretty hair until she calmed down. I was happy to pretend to be your atin’shebs but you know what the real kicker is, Vod?”

Fox’s hands are like vice grips on the edge of his seat, knuckles pale white as a shinies armor. The thought of Mouse hurting is one thing, but to have someone else be the one to comfort her? It tears at him. “What?” He asks through gritted teeth.

“When she calms down she says, “I know you're not him. Thank you for letting me pretend for a minute”.

7 days earlier

He pretends like he doesn’t know where he’s going. Like talking to the kriffing psych droid really had him so out of sorts he didn’t realize he was getting on a turbo lift and heading up three flights after his appointment.

He tries to act like he doesn’t know his feet are carrying him to the room with the familiar red and white sentinel outside the door.

Rule quirks his helmet before snapping to attention.

“Commander Fox, sir?”

“At ease Sargent.” It's late, well past visiting hours but the few sentient nurses and the droids assisting them make no move to rush him along. Perks of the armor.

Rule relaxes and glances through the small transparisteel window on the door behind him before turning back.

“She just had some medicine.” He explains, “pain was getting pretty bad again.”

Fox’s bucket hides his cringe, allowing him to outwardly remain impassive and aloof, his voice even as he asks simple questions about visitors and any possible issues arising.

“No problems here sir. I think I heard her Doc say something about discharge tomorrow. She’s doing ok” what isn’t said hangs in the air.

She’d be doing better if you were with her

“That’s good. That’s good” Fox agrees, readily avoiding the things left unspoken. “Have you been relieved for dinner?”

“I have a ration bar in my pack sir.”

“Do I need to say it?”

The sunny tone of Rule’s voice tells him everything he needs to know. He can imagine the shit eating grin that accompanies it. “I’m not entirely sure what you mean, sir?”

A quick glance up and down the hall shows nothing but gleaming white tile. No staff. No visitors. No one but Rule to bear witness to his moment of weakness.

“Take the night off Sargent. I’ll cover the watch.”

He stares at the emotionless visor for a beat waiting for his kit to argue, for him to make a smart comment.

It doesn’t happen.

Rule rolls his shoulders, stretching slightly as he makes his move past Fox. At the last second, Rule's hand shoots out, resting over Fox’s vambrace. The moment lingers without either speaking until Rule gently pulls the Commander in and knocks his bucket against Fox’s, pressing his forehead to his Commander’s.

Fox, claps a hand behind the sargents head and they sit there frozen for a moment in time, Rule offering more comfort in that one gesture than he’s felt in days. A Keldabe kiss to ease his fragile psyche.

“Alverde.” Rule offers quietly when the pair finally part.

“Sargent” Fox gives a minuscule nod. “Enjoy your night.” He watches the youngster head down the hall until he turns a corner and is gone from sight.

Fox manages to avoid looking in the room for five minutes exactly. He’s able to fight off the pull to enter it for another twenty. The draw of her is too much in the end and he finds himself slipping into her room before the first thirty minutes are even past.

The lights are low and the monitors and electronics surrounding her hum and buzz steadily. Everything is white and stark. His cyar’ika is nearly the same color as the sheet she lays under.

She looks small, and so achingly fragile Fox is afraid the weight of his look alone will break her. She shivers lightly and he lurches into motion, dragging the itchy comforter over her legs and tucking it around her shoulders. Her body stirs as his gloved hand grazes along her cheek.

He freezes as her eyes flutter open. Her pupils aren’t quite right. It seems to take her a moment to piece together what’s going on but when she does the realization that washes over her is visible.

“Fox” his name sounds like a long lost friend rolling from her lips. She struggles to sit up. A look of pain flashes across her face as she twists under the blankets.

“Stop that” he demands impotently, his gloves moving to press gently against her chest. “you’re going to hurt yourself.”

She blinks owlishly up at him in the way only a person on good pain meds can, like she doesn’t quite understand what’s been said and she’s not sure whether she should comply or question it. It’s somewhere between bemused and scared.

He cups her cheek in his hand, “easy precious girl.” He soothes. Mouse relaxes into his touch as his gloved thumb rubs softly. Her eyes flutter shut and he can feel the soft sound she makes against his palm.

This was already far past what he intended. He just wanted to see her, to prove to himself she was really alive and in one piece despite him.

Now, he finds himself already slipping into old habits.

More focused, her eyes open. Her hand slips up and grips his vambrace. Slowly she pulls his hand away from her face. She lets her fingers slip down into and through his. Her voice is thick with sleep when she speaks and Fox has to lean in to hear her.

“I knew you’d come”

Of course she had. Fox wonders if she knew him better than he knew himself. This was always going to happen no matter how many times he’d lied to himself. He pulls his hand away. Mouse’s hangs empty in the air for a moment before she sets it down over her chest.

The quiet burr and hum of the monitors around her are the only sound between them until he reaches up to his bucket and lets the seal pop with a soft hiss.

Her eyes scan his face as he sets the helm off to the side. There’s a question there he can’t decipher. “What can I do?”

A harsh laugh escapes Fox’s lips and Mouse frowns at him.

“I think you’ve done enough, cyar’ika.”

“Fox-“ it’s a scolding tone that holds no weight when she looks like a battered doll in a too big hospital bed. She closes her eyes when he doesn’t give in and offer her more.

The bed dips under his weight as he sits at the edge of it. “I just wanted to make sure you were, ok. Alright?” He holds back from touching her again. It takes an enormous amount of will.

“I’m ok, Fox. Because of you.”

It’s a lie. All of it. It can’t be anything else. “You're in a hospital bed,” he growls, pushing up to his feet and stalking toward the window. He can’t look at her. “You spent days floating in bacta. You-“

“I’m alive.”

“That’s not because of me.”

He hears the ruffle of sheets as he looks out over Coruscant. The lights of the buildings and speeders in the sky lanes, like stars in the polluted evening light.

“Fox-“ her hand touches his arm and he spins to steady her. Anger swells up in him.

“Kriff- Mouse, get back in bed” he orders lowly, “you’re going to get hurt.”

She sways gently on her feet in the too big hospital gown but her jaw is set, “will you listen to me?”

“Will you get back in bed?” Fox pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath before looking at her again. “Get back in bed and I’ll listen. Please.”

Mouse stands, arms crossed, glaring pointedly. Fox has had enough. Quick and smooth like a tactical insertion he scoops her up. Mouse makes a small noise as his arms slide behind her knees and his other arm cradles behind her shoulders. She breathes heavily as she looks up at him.

“You’re going back to bed.” He covers the small room in just a few steps. When he goes to set her down she slips her arms around his neck and holds on for dear life.

“I’m not getting back in that bed unless you come with me.”

“You’re not in the position to make demands.” But that’s a lie because, with him, she was always in the position to make demands. She just never had to.

“Please, Fox. I just want one good night. You can leave as soon as I'm asleep.”

It’s hard to say if it’s the tired tone of her voice, the smell of her skin so temptingly close, or just his own beaten down need to be close to her, regardless Fox gives in.

“The armor stays on.” He says as he settles into the bed, he tries to keep his boots off the bed the best he can. Mouse curls tighter against him. It can’t be comfortable against the plastoid but to look at her he’d never know. One hand rests along his jaw while the other wraps around his back keeping him from easily disentangling himself.

Fox can’t help himself as he slips one glove off and cards his fingers through her hair, stopping every so often to work out a tangle. Mouse sighs against him.

“Precious girl,” he hums lowly as her fingers trace along the stubble at his jaw, “go to sleep.”

“You're going to leave once I do.”

“Yes, that was the deal.”

“You’re not going to come back.”

Again, he’s struck with how well she knows him. “No, cyar’ika. I’m not.”

6 days earlier

His knuckles are wailing in pain and it feels so kriffing good. His hands, wrapped in protective tape are held tight and safe as he tenderizes the heavy bag in front of him. A low, guttural growl works its way up from his chest with each landed blow.

It’s the first time he’s felt in control in days. Even if it only lasted for his duration in the sparring rooms he didn’t care. When he closes his eyes he doesn’t see Mouse at the end of his blaster, the way her body recoiled and convulsed at the first shot. He doesn’t hear the scream that rips through her when the second bolt burns through her side. He doesn’t dwell on the voice in his head demanding the kill while Fox did everything to drag his near perfect aim away from center mass.

He pictures Sidious’ face on the bag and the pile of sloppy mash his fists were making it into. There’s catharsis in the exertion that a psych droid couldn’t give him.

“Commander, sir?”

Fox turns to see Hound stripped down to just his black under armor pants. He was a burly boy as far as clones went, thicker and more muscular through the torso, next to Hound, Fox looks almost lithe.

Fox pants lightly as he dips to grab a bottle of water and straighten back up. “What can I do for you?”

“I- do you need to-“

Fox watches as the man chooses his words carefully, finally gesturing first toward the mat.

“You wanna go a few, rounds? Looks like you could use it?”

A roll of tape is flipped through the air in answer. Hound catches it smoothly, giving Fox a happy grin as he begins wrapping his hands.

5 days earlier

There’s a neat hole in his wall, fist sized and fresh, less than a week old. Fox pretends like he doesn’t see Chancellor Organa eyeballing it with some amount of apprehension. What he can’t pretend is that a visit from the newly minted Chancellor to his office isn’t a surprise.

“Commander, you can drop the title with me.” The Chancellor says for the second time since his arrival.

“Sir, it’s frowned upon-“

“-not by me”

Fox huffs and closes his eyes to hide the roll of them. “Ok, fine. Can I get you something to drink? Some caf?”

Bail waves off the offer, “I won’t be long and it looks like you're woefully underserved.” He tips his head back toward the door and the empty desk.

A bristle of irritation tingles down Fox’s neck. “She was in the hospital. She was…” the words trail off. Part of protecting his little Mouse was keeping her involvement in the Sidious event quiet.

“I know, Commander.” Bail says quietly, “we share a friend on the council who’s made me aware of many interesting things.”

It feels like he’s being baited. He likes to think Organa wouldn't try to try to weasel information from him but his trust is a very delicate thing at the moment and he’s not willing to give an inch. His loyalty is to his men and the republic, after that only one other person had earned any devotion from him and that was not Bail Organa. At least not yet.

“If there’s anything I can do for her, anything she needs we can make that happen.”

Fox glances at the picture on his desk. It had come by courier earlier in the day. It’s been neatly matted and framed to be hung, a children’s drawing of a small green twi’lek child and him holding hands. He’d stared at it on his desk in silence for far too long before he felt something ugly bubble up. Now he had a hole in the wall. He hoped the picture would cover it.

Fox continues to look at the picture. He needs a second to pretend like he knows what Mouse needs. He doesn’t listen to the nagging voice inside of him saying it to him. He hates that voice, would smother it if he could.

“She needs time to heal.”

“I can make that happen.”

“Thank you.”

Earlier this day

“Senator Amidala” Fox greets the senator at the door, “this is a surprise. If I keep receiving politicians in my office I’m going to have to have it made more suitable.”

The senator gives him a bright smile, “it’s good to see you Fox.”

He lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, “it’s good to see you too Padmé.”

They were friends, of a sort. They’d seen enough together that Fox would gladly file her under battle buddies in his short list of friends. She looks lovely, as always, absolutely glowing. Her hand rests softly over the growing baby bump she was now proudly displaying.

“You look wonderful. Congratulations on the coming Ik’aad.” He offers gesturing toward her belly. His eyes linger and he remembers laying Mouse across his bed, placing kisses in a ring around her naval and imaging what it would be like someday when he-

Fox gives his head a quick shake and refocuses on the senator.

“Thank you.” He watches her eyes travel to the child’s drawing on the wall behind his desk before returning to him. “And how are you doing?”

“As well as can be expected. Chancellor Organa keeps a busy schedule and he’s insistent that I go with him. He’s got a lot of ideas and he asks my opinion. It’s different… but it’s nice.”

Padmé slips into the chair across from him.

“That’s wonderful” but she doesn’t sound like it’s wonderful. She sounds like she was here on a mission that he hasn’t been briefed on. He raises a brow at her. They’ve known each other long enough that she should know to just come out with it.

“We’re leaving for Naboo today. I want to have the baby in the lake country. It’s beautiful and peaceful.” She lets out a tired laugh, “and far away from the prying eyes of the holonet news.”

“They’ve been very… interested in you as of late” he offers diplomatically.

Another small laugh, “to say the least” Padmé sobers. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok with her going?”

Confusion must show on his face. Her?

Padmé frowns gently, the look of pity is out of place on her serene features, “you weren’t told, were you?”

“I’m afraid you’ll need to speak clearly.” Fox tries to bite back the tension but it slips into his voice.

She says Mouse’s name. Her real name.

“The Chancellor asked if we would take her with us. That she needed a place to finish recovering.” Padmé is watching his face. She’s trying to gauge his reaction.

He tries to give her nothing.

“She’s an amazing woman. She said if she went then she had to be useful. She’s going to be my assistant while I’m on leave-“

Fox holds up a hand. “She’s excellent at what she does. You’ll never be in better hands.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not her keeper. Mouse deserves to be safe and happy.” He shoots her a forced smile. “That’s not with me.”

Current

He had the rancor etched into his arm after Thorn had been killed in action on a mission Fox was supposed to have led. It was an inside joke they’d heard as shinies. Something about a Jedi and a rancor walking into a cantina. He can’t remember the punchline. It wasn’t funny anyways.

The Pantoran works the needle over his freshly shaven chest. Back and forth, outlining and filling. Pressing the ink into his skin to permanently mark him with another mark of regret, penance. Everytime he looks in the mirror, stripped down from his armor and his blacks he’ll see the reminder of what never was supposed to be, the thing that he went after when he knew it wasn’t allowed. The love that nearly destroyed the person he cared for beyond all others.

“So, this picture is pretty wicked” the Pantoran says conversationally. He glances back and forth from the reference picture Fox gave him, a partial hand print pressed against his armor, the fourth and fifth finger only partially visible and the heel of the hand smeared red. “Was it done in ink?”

“No. Blood.”

The Pantoran makes a sound of understanding. The buzz of the tattoo gun fills the quiet.

Seconds, minutes, hours it’s all the same as Fox sits still as stone in the chair, the press of the needle intimately familiar.

He thinks of Mouse on a shuttle to Naboo.

This was what he’d needed. Mouse far away, somewhere safe. Somewhere no one could hurt her. Where he couldn’t hurt her. No matter what he’s told he still doesn’t believe there isn’t something in him that can be persuaded, to be flipped on, that won’t harm her.

He needed to focus on his job, his men, the Galactic Republic. There was no world in which he and Mouse would work and it was better that she wasn’t there to know that.

“Alright, mate.” The Artist sets the gun down and claps his hands once before rubbing them together. “You’re all set. Why don’t you take a looksy in the mirror while I grab the bacta gel and a dressing?”

Fox nods and pushes himself up. His back is stiff from laying still and he takes a moment to stretch and twist before stepping in front of the mirror. His eyes trace the ink. It’s a perfect replica of the picture, deep vibrant red fingers pressing into his armor, only now pressing into his heart. A reminder of what happens when he becomes selfish. When he wants more than the greater design allows for.

“It’s perfect.”

[timeagainreviews]

My Series 10 Rewatch: The Pilot

Hello friends! If you caught my last update, you'll know I took the last couple weeks off to study for my Life in the UK test. My test was on Saturday and I am happy to report that I passed! I think it took me longer to go through security than to take the actual test. After two weeks of studying, I am very much ready to get back into the groove of talking about Doctor Who. We now continue with my series ten rewatch!

The title "The Pilot," is an interesting choice for the first official episode of series ten. While it references the plot of the episode, there is also an implication that this story is a bit of a reset to a new beginning. It acts as a pilot to the Doctor and Bill show. Not only had Clara been the companion for basically three seasons at this point, there was also a year of hiatus between "The Husbands of River Song," and "The Return of Doctor Mysterio." It is a weird placement for a final season for a showrunner and lead actor. It's also a weird place to drop a brand new companion.

This new version of Doctor Who opens with the Doctor as a university professor teaching possibly the worst class on campus, that everyone seems to love. His star pupil is a girl named Bill, who isn't actually a student but loves his lectures. Speaking of star pupils, there is also a love interest for Bill in the form of a girl named Heather, but more on that later. The Doctor's office at the university is peppered with references to the past. On his desk sits a jar with the sonic screwdrivers of previous Doctors, like an assortment of pens. There are also portraits of River and Susan. And tucked away in the corner of the room sits the TARDIS, with an "out of order," sign hanging from its doors.

The first time I watched this episode I started to groan at the fact that the TARDIS was out of commission. Not because it should never happen, but more that I expected this to be incredibly tedious. After several years of Steven Moffat's plot arks leading to disappointment, I was bracing to be underwhelmed. As it turns out, the TARDIS works as good as it ever did. But the Doctor and Nardole are grounded regardless. This is due to the fact that there is some sort of door or safe they've been tasked with guarding, which brings us back to the whole bracing for mediocrity thing. I remember immediately thinking "Missy is in there." Spoiler alert- she absolutely is.

Dumb safes and meaningless promises meant to build up empty intrigue aside, the real reason to get excited for series ten is Bill. I was immediately interested in the concept of a black gay companion with a gender fucky name. I remember when the pictures circulated of her wearing a vintage Prince jumper and everyone was speculating whether she was from the '80s or '90s. This only added to my excitement for her character. As many of you know, I am a big fan of the idea of companions in modern Doctor Who that aren't from modern-day earth. Sadly, as it turns out, she's not a hip '80s lesbian, she's once again from modern-day England. Oh well, at least Nardole is from the future. Though I don't understand why he is suddenly a cyborg that makes whirring noises and drops lug nuts. There was none of that in Doctor Mysterio.

The Doctor calls Bill into his office where he confronts her about attending his classes. He wants to take her on as her personal tutor, despite her not being a student. He mentions that he noticed she smiles when she's confused, which is a good indication that she is openminded and naturally curious. It's even implied that he sees a little bit of Susan in her. I liked that little nod to Susan, though it begs the question why the new series has never had her return. While looking at the pictures, Bill indicates that she has no pictures of her mother before she died.

The Doctor uses this as an opportunity to do a kindness for his new friend Bill. Using his ability to time travel, the Doctor goes back in time to take a shoebox worth of photos of Bill's mother. Nevermind that doing this might change the trajectory of her mother's life, thus undoing any chance that she might meet Bill's father. It's a sweet moment for Bill, but it's undercut by Moffat's shitty writing. Bill notices the Doctor's reflection in one of the photos, but never brings it up. She doesn't even thank him. It doesn't really go anywhere other than to inform the audience that the TARDIS does, in fact, still work.

It's this kind of gay people need tragic backstories for no reason mentality that frames a lot of this episode. While I applaud Moffat's inclusion of a gay companion, it comes off as a middle-aged man's depiction of a young gay woman. There is diversity on the screen, but none in the writing room. This is made all the more apparent by Bill's horrible chips anecdote. Bill has a crush on a student who comes into the cafeteria where she works. So she gives her extra chips every day until it starts making the girl fat. The Doctor asks her why she is telling him this story and she replies with "I was hoping it would go somewhere." As did Steven Moffat, but it didn't. It just hangs there like a fart saying "Did I mention I was gay?"

The next few scenes take place over a montage. We see Bill and the Doctor in their respective student and tutor roles. And we also see Bill having a bit of a social life. Bill catches the starry-eyed glances of Heather at a club and they both stand there on the dance floor staring at each other. There's an implication that the two of them are into each other, but we never actually see anything to show why they would actually like one another other than raw animal attraction. In fact, their few interactions are actually rather awkward and cold. There's about as much chemistry between the two of them as there was between Clara and Danny. Which if you remember was zero.

There isn't really a whole lot of focus on anything other than characters for this episode. Moffat usually writes in one of two ways- heavy on character and light on plot, or so heavy on plot that it sits weird against his characters. This would be the former, as the plot is nearly non-existent. Bill begins to notice Heather around and tries to chat her up. Heather shows Bill a puddle that doesn't make sense considering it hadn't rained in days. I kind of love Bill's reasoning that the puddle is piss from the men on campus. That was genuinely funny. Well done, Moffat. But there is more to this puddle in that it also shows your reflection wrong. Heather notices this because the reflection of the star in her eye isn't where it should be.

Let's talk about Heather for a moment. She's a very odd character. Firstly, there is her eye, which has a defect that gives her iris a star shape. Bill asks the Doctor what kind of defect would do this, but neither the Doctor or the show has an answer. Much like Moffat's running gag from "The Curse of the Fatal Death," said- I'll explain later. But later never comes. Other than her eye, Heather's other two biggest traits are that she's most likely a lesbian and that she wants to leave. Her personality isn't really all that important other than to act as the thrust for the plot, which is sadly from another episode of Doctor Who altogether.

Doctor Who is a very old show. It’s bound to repeat itself. Chris Chibnall ripped off "The Silurians," wholesale with "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood." I get that this was necessary as a means to re-establish the Silurians and why they've remained underground. But on other occasions, Doctor Who seems to repeat itself out of sheer laziness. Remember when the library in "Forest of the Dead," saves everyone at their time of death? Or when Missy plucks people out of their timeline at their time of death? Or when the Testimony records people in history at their time of death? Or when the Thijarians comfort people at their time of death? Because I do. So it's not surprising that when Moffat wants to steal from another episode, he steals from one from his own stint as showrunner.

The episode I'm talking about is "The Lodger," written by transphobic Brexiteer shitlord- Gareth Roberts. In it, a spaceship disguised as a top story flat lures people to their demise while searching for a pilot to take it into space. The ship's main criteria for a pilot is that the candidate be someone with wanderlust. Does any of this sound familiar? That's the exact same M.O. of the mysterious puddle. It latches onto Heather because it senses her desire to travel and extrapolates that into consent to take over her body and use her to pilot it around the universe. However, another part of Heather's psyche has kept it earthbound- a desire to be with Bill. If you remember correctly, this is very similar to how "The Lodger," ended. Craig and Sophie's desire to stay together is what kept them from being reduced to ash by a machine too stupid to realise it was killing its host.

Now, I understand that it sounds like I'm ripping on Moffat quite a bit, but I actually do like him as a writer. "Heaven Sent," is one of the best episodes in the entire history of Doctor Who. This one, however, is not great. After the puddle overtakes Heather's body, it begins to follow Bill everywhere. At first, Bill thinks the puddle is Heather, but her creepy Midnight-esque repetition of everything Bill says is enough to raise suspicion. Bill begins to run to the safety of the Doctor, where she finds him and Nardole fussing with the giant safe. The room in which the safe is located only lets friends inside, which is either telling or worrying as the puddle is able to simply wash into the room under the door. As I watched the water flow down the stairs I found myself feeling forgiving toward the effects department from "The Horror of Fang Rock." Green blobs beat slow-mo water any day.

For no reason other than it needed to be more spooky, the puddle screams like a wraith every time we see it. I loved the little addition of Heather's wet mascara adding to her ghostly appearance. The Doctor, Nardole, and Bill take a trip around space and time to see if they can shake the puddle. But no matter where they go, the puddle is never far behind. For a creature made of water, it certainly is thirsty. And trust me, that's far better a pun than the one I was considering. The WAP references were just too low of a fruit.

For reasons I can't exactly pinpoint, the Doctor decides to take the chase right in the middle of a battle between the Daleks and the Movellans. While I love the return of the Movellans in all of their Rick James majesty, it's a very weird scene. As far as I can devise, the Doctor is merely trying to see if the puddle can withstand the blast of a Dalek. It almost feels like Moffat needed to wake the audience up with a jolt of Dalek action. Up to this point, there has been very little tension. What I can't figure out is what Nardole is doing with the Fourth Doctor's sonic screwdriver the whole time. From what I can tell, he's shutting doors, closing off the corridors and locking Daleks out. Maybe? I really don't understand.

The Puddle takes the form of a Dalek just long enough to make us worry that maybe Nardole didn't get them all. Watching the Dalek disintegrate into a puddle of water was genuinely cool. I was reminded of things like the clear Dalek from "Revelation of the Daleks," or the visible innards of the teleporting Dalek in "Remembrance of the Daleks." I like it when the show does weird visual stuff with the Daleks. It's part of why I love Davros so much. The puddle reforms as Heather, holding out her hand for Bill to take, which the Doctor warns her not to take.

Part of the tragedy of the Doctor's character is how oblivious he is to human emotion. It's part of why he needs human companions in the first place. He couldn't possibly conceive of a situation where Heather's own yearning for Bill might be the cause for all of their problems. But Bill sees this. She sees the human desire underneath all of the scary and so she too reaches out, grasping hands with Heather. What I don't understand is why Heather needed to leave and see the universe without Bill. Why they needed to say goodbye at all is more of that "gays can't have nice things," bullshit I mentioned earlier. Let's walk through the logic a bit.

Toward the beginning of the episode, the Doctor explains that the acronym for TARDIS- Time and relative dimension in space, means life. If you think about this, it's him saying that life is basically you in a point of time and a point of space, relative to you. Thus it explains the very essence of being alive and experiencing the universe from your unique perspective. But toward the end of the episode, he changes this position to mean that TARDIS means "What the hell?" As in, just go ahead and live life how you choose. This comes after the Doctor trying to wipe Bill's mind and deciding he can't. This leads to the Doctor allowing himself to travel, despite the promise he made about the safe nobody cares about. Basically, Heather doesn't get to join in on the Doctor and Bill's travels because Moffat still had to do a thing.

A lot of this episode is neutered by this need to adhere to the season ark. Which I now realise is a major contributing factor as to why I so often forget Nardole is a companion. Nardole is forced to become the Doctor's babysitter, forcing him to hide his travels with Bill. Because of this, we see Nardole as more of an authority figure than a companion. He's the strict schoolmaster the Doctor and Bill are forced to sneak past on their way to adventure. What this does, sadly, is cut Nardole out of a lot of the adventures. The same thing happened to Danny Pink, whose opposition to the Doctor often times left him out of the fun. Also like Danny Pink, it's an arrangement that worked best with Rory Williams and has been imitated to hell and back since.

While I can't consider this episode a total success, I also can't write it off outright. It would be easy to damn it in a "Simpsons did it," fashion for taking its plot from a previous episode. It would be easy to write it off for being plot light queer bait where nothing really happens. I could rail on the inclusion of the Daleks for the sake of Daleks. But I have to ask myself- what is the function of this episode? The answer to this question brings me back to its title. This episode is a pilot for a new iteration of the series. We're in a new place with some new faces, and some familiar ones. The pieces on the board have changed location and strategy. If the function of this episode was to hit reset, I would say it succeeds.

Bill is a very likeable character. You immediately want to see more of her. Her introduction is both charming and endearing. The roundabout way she took to arrive at saying "it's bigger on the inside," seemed less thick than quirky, which is right on the money. You want to see more of her. You want to hear more of her questions. You want to experience the universe through the filter of her perception. We needed a companion who was different from the previous one. It was important that the audience is able to move forward with the new cast. We're not comparing Bill to Clara as many did with Martha and Rose. We're not being asked to forget the past any more than we are being asked to cling to it. This is exactly the right tone and in that way, I find it to be wholly successful.

[aion-rsa]

Cyberpunk 2077 Roadmap Proves the Game Should Have Been Delayed to 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Along with an apology video that attempted to make sense of why Cyberpunk 2077 turned out the way it did, developer CD Projekt Red posted a roadmap designed to explain what comes next. Here’s an image of that roadmap for reference:

While that roadmap does indeed offer a vague idea of what’s coming next, fans still have questions regarding some of the specifics of what they should expect. CD Projekt Red tried to expand upon the meaning of this roadmap in an accompanying blog post, but many of the questions about content specifics and release dates remain unanswered.

Yet, the biggest takeaway from this roadmap isn’t a question but rather the revelation that in its own way, this roadmap reveals that Cyberpunk 2077’s release should have been delayed into 2021.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Take a closer look at what that roadmap is saying and how it gels and conflicts with information we’ve received so far about the Cyberpunk 2077 development process. Specifically, look at the language being used in regards to the released and proposed updates.

You’ll notice that CD Projekt Red is referring to the updates released in 2020 (beyond the day one or day zero patch) as hotfixes and are referring to proposed 2021 updates (one of which is set to come out soon) as patches. The difference between a hotfix and a patch is not universal, but generally speaking, the idea is that a hotfix is a quick update designed to address specific issues that emerge while a patch is a designed series of updates designed to advance and improve a game. One tends to be more reactionary while the other is, at least ideally, slightly more progressive and forward-thinking.

It’s by no means unusual to release hotfixes shortly after a game’s launch, but what is somewhat odd in this case is the map’s implication that the Cyberpunk 2077 team has moved on to patches rather than a series of reactionary hotfixes. The fact that Cyberpunk 2077 is still unstable on consoles (it’s still not listed on the PlayStation Store for that reason) makes it hard to believe that we’re past the hotfix stage where crippling issues need to be addressed quickly before more substantial “planned” updates can be focused on.

Even the developer’s own clarifications create some confusion regarding the state of the game’s updates. CD Projekt Red notes that their “top priority since launch has been to fix bugs in Cyberpunk 2077.” To that end, they reference the “three hotfixes which have improved the game” but note that they’re “just the beginning.”

Shortly thereafter, though, the company says that they’re “focused on fixing the bugs and crashes players are experiencing across every platform.” Those fixes will seemingly come in “the way of patches — both small and large — to be released regularly.” They then say the “first update will drop in the next 10 days, and it will be followed by a larger, more significant update, in the weeks after.”

So, there are two possibilities to consider here. The first is that the initial update the company references is the Patch 1.1 update shown on the roadmap. However, that seems somewhat unlikely as the language of a subsequent “larger, more significant update” would almost certainly apply to Patch 1.1 based on the idea of how a patch works vs. the hotfixes we’ve seen so far. The other possibility in that instance would suggest there is a hotfix in the works before that patch that isn’t on that map. So is there a hotfix that isn’t on this roadmap, or is the company using patches of various sizes until this point to address issues previously addressed via hotfixes? Does that mean there will be a longer gap between updates that will contain basic fixes?

You may be saying, “CD Projekt Red wouldn’t list every upcoming hotfix on their roadmap because they don’t know when they’ll need to be released.” Well, you’re right, but the confusing thing here remains the language. If Patch 1.1 is that smaller update designed to address additional bugs, then shouldn’t it listed as a hotfix based on the precedent set by hotfixes so far? Are we also supposed to believe that the previous Cyberpunk updates put the game in a comfortable 1.0 state that the team would feel good about releasing today?

Again, you could say this is all a problem of semantics, but when we’re talking about a company that’s own supporters will likely admit has struggled with communication in recent months, the idea that the content and scope of even these currently planned updates aren’t laid out a little more clearly is tough to overlook. It’s again also worth noting that the idea Cyberpunk 2077 is in an acceptable 1.0 state is a little difficult to swallow when the title has been delisted from major online stores and has forced other stores to embrace generous refund policies.

A bigger language problem emerges shortly after that information about patches and hotfixes. CD Projekt Red notes that their “plans for supporting Cyberpunk 2077 in the long-term are unchanged,” but the very next question they answer addresses the fact that the game’s free DLC was expected to be released in early 2021 but has seemingly now been slated for release sometime later in the year. That information alone would strongly suggest that long-term plans have indeed been changed at least somewhat.

Even if you want to continue to argue that’s a matter of minor language semantics, it all feeds into the bigger story that CD Projekt Red is still trying to weave this narrative which suggests that everything is under control now even as much more tangible evidence strongly suggests the contrary.

There’s perhaps no bigger piece of evidence that Cyberpunk 2077‘s future is uncertain than the vague late 2021 release date for the game’s next-gen patch suggested by this roadmap. While many assumed that the next-gen update wouldn’t be released until 2021, most early signs pointed to a summer 2021 release date. Besides, that’s before we knew the biggest selling point of the next-gen versions was that they’re the only way to enjoy a mostly playable version of the game on consoles and would be in need of basic performance improvements of its own.

That’s the biggest problem with this map. It’s built around the idea that there’s somehow one timeline for Cyberpunk 2077‘s future when, in fact, the performance differences between the PC, next-gen, and current-gen (or previous-gen) mean that each version of the game requires different levels of care. Such as it is, this roadmap indicates that you’re going to have to wait until late 2021 to play a version of Cyberpunk 2077 that’s even reasonably optimized for PC, PS4/Xbox One, and PS5/Xbox Series X. Of course, even that assumes that the PS4/Xbox One editions are truly fixed by then and that the next-gen update that’s located ominously close to that 2022 release date is indeed released in 2021.

By CD Projekt Red’s own admission, the console versions of Cyberpunk 2077 suffered, in part, due to the team’s desire to make the most impressive PC version of the game possible and then tweak the game for consoles from there. Despite the fact that they say that process didn’t work as intended, this roadmap still strongly suggests that they’re treating the (admittedly quite good) PC version of the game as the standard-bearer of the game’s current status rather than at the outlier it very much is. What we need, at the least, is a Doc Brown-style alternate 1985 roadmap that showcases what the timeline of the console versions of the game is.

There’s still a very good chance that Cyberpunk 2077 will end 2021 with most of its major technical problems behind it. Even if that is the case, though, it’s hard not to think of all the controversies, all the technical problems, and all the crunch that could have been avoided or downplayed if at least the console versions of Cyberpunk 2077 had been delayed into 2021 when it’s clear CD Projekt Red intends for them to be much closer to a truly playable state.

The post Cyberpunk 2077 Roadmap Proves the Game Should Have Been Delayed to 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2LTW7y4

[rolandfontana]

The Huawei Sales Ban: Brrrrr.

As we have made clear on this blog and in our recent public discussions on the trade war, the real economic threat posed by the US-China trade war is not tariffs. The real threat has always been the U.S. government prohibiting sales of products to China or purchases of products from China. Focus on the tariff issue is missing the real risk. As we wrote in Who Pays the Tariffs on China Imports? there are various things companies can do to deal with the tariffs that allow them to continue conducting their business without major dislocation. But when an absolute ban is imposed the impact is usually much more direct and much more severe.

My predictions on this issue have come true. The trade negotiations broke down on a Friday and by Wednesday of last week — right when I was giving a talk on the risks of unilateral bans from the U.S., the U.S. government did exactly what I had been predicting. The U.S. announced two related sales/purchase bans on telecommunications product. The bans are focused on Huawei, the largest telecommunications manufacturer in the world and the largest private manufacturing company in China and yet these bans could easily extend beyond Huawei to cover every high-tech company in China and at some point relatively soon they probably will. It is a serious issue that has been mostly missed or downplayed by the U.S. media, at least so far. But as I will show below, these product ban issues impact virtually every country in the world. It is not just a spat between the U.S. and a single Chinese company.

There are two separate but related actions. I will discuss the sales ban in this post and then discuss the purchase ban in a later post. As the first step in its attack on Huawei, the U.S. imposed a general ban on selling U.S. high-tech products to Huawei. This ban was imposed by the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security. This is the powerful BIS that I referred to in my earlier post. BIS imposed the ban by placing Huawei and 68 Huawei subsidiaries on the notorious Entity List. This ban will go into effect on May 21, when the notice is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register. You can check out the preliminary notice here.

If your company is placed on the Entity List it can no longer purchase any U.S. made product listed on the Department of Commerce Commodities Control List (CCL). The CCL covers far more than semiconductor chips. It covers a huge list of equipment, materials, software and “technology” and essentially includes virtually any technical product or service you would want to sell to Huawei or any of its 68 subsidiaries. You can take a look at the CCL here. The CCL covers the following ten product categories:

0 Nuclear & Miscellaneous 1 Materials, Chemicals, Microorganisms and Toxins 2 Materials Processing 3 Electronics 4 Computers 5 Telecommunications and Information Security 6 Sensors and Lasers 7 Navigation and Avionics 8 Marine 9 Aerospace and Propulsion

So if you want to sell children’s books to a Huawei daycare center, that’s OK. If you want to sell paper napkins to a Huawei employee cafeteria, that’s OK. But if you want to sell ANY FORM of technical product or service to Huawei, you are banned.

I have set out this list of products to make a point. If you look at the list, you will see it includes virtually every product from the U.S. where the U.S. has a competitive advantage. Consider this: The U.S. complains about its trade imbalance with China, yet we ban the sale of virtually every product for which the U.S. has a comparative advantage. If Chinese companies do not purchase from this product list, about all they can purchase are raw materials and agricultural products. Every company in China can see that it is at risk of suffering under a similar ban. So every company in China is strongly motivated to ensure that it is not dependent on high-tech products from the U.S. By this action, the U.S. is forcing Chinese companies to decouple. China is the second largest economy in the world so if it does decouple from doing business with the United States we can expect to see other high-tech companies from all over the world follow.

It is important to note that this Huawei action is an absolute ban. The technical language states that an exporter requires a license but the BIS notice states that all such licenses are presumptively denied. In other words, don’t bother applying. Note also that the ban applies to any foreign entity that purchases the banned product. So it will not work to sell the product to a manufacturer in Malaysia who then resells the banned product to Huawei or to a Huawei subsidiary. This applies to situations where the banned product is incorporated as a even a small component in a more general product.

For example, right out of the gate, Google has announced it will cease licensing its proprietary Android software to Huwei. This will likely mean owners of Huawei phones and tablets will not receive Android OS updates from Google. Huawei will probably fight back by providing its own Android updates and by in the future providing its own operating software for its phones and tablets. But let’s face it, if Huawei had been able to develop its own operating software remotely as capable as Android, it would have done so long ago. So its now being cut off from Android will almost certainly lead to the overally quality of its phones and tablets declining and an eventual lowering of its prices and its sales. Will this lead to increased sales of Google Pixel phones and iPhones in China? Difficult to say. Will this lead to increased sales of Google PIxel and iPhones and Samsung phones around the world, at the expense of Chinese-branded phones and tablets? Very likely.

This ban on sales to Huawei had an immediate negative impact on U.S. chip manufacturers. Media reports state that on Thursday, the day after the notice, Qualcomm was down 4%, Micron was nearly 3% lower, and semiconductor firms Qorvo and Skyworks were respectively down 7% and 6%.

The impact of the disruption on the supply chain is already being felt. One issue that has already arisen is that many U.S. rural telecoms depend on inexpensive Huawei equipment. If Huawei cannot purchase U.S. semiconductors, it cannot provide this equipment. Though this is the intent of the ban, these rural telecoms are a strong support base for President Trump. In response to their concerns, the U.S. Department of Commerce has already indicated that it might provide an exception to the ban solely for the purpose of manufacturing for this U.S. rural telecom sector.

The Department of Commerce’s announcement of a possible exeption for rural telecomes makes little sense. It is unlikely Huawei would even be interested in a carve-out designed solely to benefit President Tump’s supporters. More important, the U.S. is planning to ban all imports of Huawei telecom products into the U.S. and this ban will go into effect in no less than 150 days. So any reprieve for the rural telecoms would likely be short lived. Moreover, Huawei is reported to have enough semiconductors in inventory so that production will not be interrupted during this 150 day period, so the short term impact on the rural telecoms will be zero. The issue for the rural telecoms is much more significant. An absolute ban is coming and there is no solution. Period. None.

But now consider the deeper issue. Virtually every country linked to China in the Belt and Road Initiative depends on Huawei for its core telecom and network infrastructure. Many or most of the countries in the world developing 5G networks depend on Huawei for their 5G infrastructure. These same countries also depend on other Huawei products, such as cell phones and related networking equipment. If the ban on sales of high-tech products shuts down Huawei, it also shuts down the telecom infrastructure development for many countries.

If the U.S. rural telecoms are concerned about the impact of the Huawei ban on their own systems, we must assume all the other countries and systems involved have similar concerns. What this means is that this U.S. decision will have impacts far beyond the relationship between the United States and China/Huawei.

It is not clear what the immediate impact will be on Huawei. Huawei is a private company, so there is no stock price we can monitor to measure an immediate impact. Press reports suggest Huawei has inventoried a large stock of essential semiconductor chips. Some analysts estimate Huawei may be able to continue production for another nine months without purchases from the U.S. During this period, Huawei has the following two possibilities for a reprieve:

First, during this nine month period, the U.S. and China will finally reach an acceptable trade agreement. A requirement of this agreement would then be that Huawei and other Chinese companies (ZTE) are freed from the risk of further sanction. We do not expect this.

Second, the stated reason for the ban on Huawei is that Huawei violated U.S. sanctions against Iran. This is the same basis for the earlier sales ban imposed on ZTE. If the trade agreement does not get Huawei off the hook, Huawei may be able to enter into an agreement with the U.S. that removes the sanctions in exchange for a major fine and other measures. We do not expect this either.

Both these two possibilities rest on an assumption that the U.S. will be willing to allow Huawei to escape the impact of the sales ban. If the United States’ goal is to shut down Huawei, neither of these possibilities is realistic. If Huawei cannot find another supplier of technology not dependent on U.S. companies, Huawei is probably doomed.

It is then essential to consider the implications of all this. An action of this magnitude will require the Chinese government to respond. Some facets of its response will focus on “tit-for-tat” sales and purchase bans, tariffs and other economic and trade measures. But for China, the response could also result in non-rational emotional actions, such as those we saw recently when China lashed out at Korea, France, Norway, and Japan and, even more recently, against Canada. This might mean boycotts and other attacks against U.S. owned companies and  detentions and other police harassment directed against American individuals.

U.S. companies and individuals operating in China need to take great care during this year as the disputes get worked out. The day before President Trump tweeted out his most recent 25% tariffs against Chinese products, my co-blogger, Dan Harris, wrote about how “Winter is Coming” for US-China relations. From my view on the front lines, I would revise that to say that this Huwei action means winter has most arrived. Put on your overcoats and be prepared for a long winter. Let’s hope it is not an new Ice Age.

The Huawei Sales Ban: Brrrrr. syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

[stone-man-warrior]

July 30, 2018: 10:10 pm:

July 30, 2018: 4:00 PM:<br><br>Early this morning, I made a post here. It&#39... StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-30T19:00:21-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-31T01:10:15-0400

July 30, 2018: 4:00 PM: Early this morning, I made a post here. It's gone. It was erased. It vanished. It was redacted. My post was eliminated, exterminated, washed from Google + and disappeared. It was removed,  vaporized, moderated, examined, refused, repulsed, rendered unworthy, buried, killed, it's gone and there are no traces of the post I made here at 4:51 AM on July 30, 2018... today. I will try and regurgitate what my thoughts were, because my thoughts at the early hours that come from careful thought and meditation are very important to me, and yours should be important to you as well. As follows: I am wondering if the Diary of Ann Frank could possibly be a fictitious work. I am wondering if the Diary of Ann Frank is fictitious and if so, what implications would such a notion expose? Even though my post was deleted by Google, I was not deleted. So, my thoughts are the same, my words to explain now are different. It's not 4:51 am, so it's different, it's the same, it's different, it's the same. I was taught in school as a young boy, that the Diary of Ann Frank was written, authored, created, by a deaf and blind girl. I remember that the idea was troubling, it did not make sense, it seemed so miraculous that a young girl in such horrific conditions could possibly write such a well written account of circumstances, and, that those circumstances supported by the Diary could be so important to the world to such an extent that the lives of millions of people were impacted, changed, redirected, and possibly, manipulated. I remember that when I learned about all of the things associated with the Diary of Ann Frank, the importance of it, the outcome of it, the usefulness of it, and the very existence of it empowered me. Learning of all of the implications that followed after the Diary of Ann Frank was discovered made me, a young boy of age eight in the fourth grade, made me understand that every single person on Earth has something that they can contribute towards the betterment of all people. It was confusing, amusing, alarming, and empowering knowing that a young girl, who was blind, and deaf, could have such an impact on the World. But was it real? Fifty years later, I still am thinking about the Diary of Ann Frank. My fourth grade teacher said it was real. She said the it was written by a deaf and blind girl. and so did my fifth and sixth grade teachers. Later on in school, no one ever talked about the Diary of Ann Frank. After somewhere around 1972, there was no more discussion about the deaf and blind girl who wrote The Diary of Ann Frank in school. So, my thoughts at 4:51 am, this morning are still available to put right here in words. The Diary of Ann Frank was, and is so important that it changed the lives of millions of people forever, Important decisions made by world leaders were made resultant of this one single Diary, that is what I was taught at school. What if it turned out to be a false document? What implications would that produce? And, most importantly, if the Diary of Ann Frank was proven to be false, or fictitious, could such a notion provide a solution, an end, to the extermination of people in Oregon USA, and in fact, the extermination of the people of the entire United States of America, and even perhaps, the people of the Earth as a whole? (My computer is being high-jacked in the midst of writing this entry. Cursor is froze, erratic performance, my internet connection had been terminated prior to starting this entry and had just come back online at 4:00 pm, I saw my post was gone, and began to rewrite my thoughts. CenturyLink internet service provider and Google don't want me to write this. Norton Internet Security by Symantec is used by CenturyLink ISP and is offered for free to their customers. They use the free Norton to spy on, and manipulate the connections of the customers. I did not like the free version when it was given to me after I noticed the spying many years ago, so I purchased my own Norton 360. They continue to spy on my computer from CenturyLink, and the computers of all of the Americans who use CenturyLink ISP. Besides all of that, the Monroe family Screen Actor Guild terrorist cell members are playing terrorist games with me at 434, and it's fucking dangerous around here. No help has come. I will finish my thoughts later. It's 5:16 PM and the Baby is on fire.) It's 5:38 PM. I will try to wrap this up so I can move on to the next thing. This post entry has proven challenging for me to enter, and aggravating , or perhaps threatening to those who don't want us to understand the truth. The high-jacking of my computer that I mentioned above was also accompanied by a short, but alarming presence of large helicopters hovering over my home. I did not go outside to greet them. If the Diary of Ann Frank were proven to be a work of fiction, then, who were the people who were exterminated in Germany by Adolf Hitler in the years preceding 1945 or so? I have done zero research on this with the exception of trying to find some indication that Ann Frank was indeed blind or deaf, I could find no information to support either. This post is one hundred percent memory based and that is the goal, to write about what I remember, and how I feel, or what I think, about those memories associated with learning about the circumstances surrounding the Diary of Ann Frank, and most importantly, to find out if the solution to the extermination of the people of Oregon, and beyond, that is currently underway, can be found in the notion of the falsification of the Diary, for reasons unknown, that could have been presented by people with ulterior motives. If the Diary is false, then who were the people who went to Israel, formerly known as Palestine? If the Diary is false, then from where did the people who went to Israel come? If the Diary is false, or true, then why were the people of Palestine singled out to leave their homes, and why was there country eliminated from the map? If the diary is false and the people who were exterminated were found to be people other than those of Jewish faith, then who were they, and why were they exterminated? If the Diary is false, then what role did the Vatican play in the events that surround the Diary and the consequences that followed? If the Diary is false, then why did the United States of America get involved in a war that included so much manpower, equipment, and desire, to travel so far away, with so much stuff, and so many American Men to warrant such involvement? If the Diary of Ann Frank were proven to be a work of fiction, and then presented to the world leaders for their consumption, then by whom was it presented and to what desired outcome? If the Diary of Ann Frank were proven to be a work of fiction, and those circumstances surrounding a notion that the Diary is false, could such information and knowledge be used productively to put an end to the suffering of the people of the United States of America, and by extension, to people of the entire globe. If the Diary is proven false, then what involvement, if any, was carried out by American media of all kinds, including but not limited to, the Movie industry, the Music industry, the televised News industry, the Newspaper industry, and the Live performance industry, or any other industry that brings forth mass communication of any, and all kinds? These are important questions. They are so important that my original post entry of the matter early this morning was deleted, my internet connection was cut-off, my computer was high-jacked and rendered un-operable, helicopters were sent to threaten me, and my terrorist neighbors threatened me... with cotton that turns to stainless steel if I am not vigilantly defensive. The baby is on fire: its July 30, 2018: 6:13 PM.

Shared with: Public

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-30T21:21:09-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-30T21:21:51-0400

July 30, 2018: 6:17 PM: I am the last American in Josephine County Oregon. All of the 70,000 or so inhabitants of the County have been killed, and replaced, with impostors who have assumed the names of the American citizens killed. This work of killing and replacing has been done by the people who's phone numbers and addresses are contained with the pages of the Rolodex of David Letterman, and Jay Leno. Think about that while watching the Tonight Show reruns on television.

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-30T21:46:42-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-30T21:51:55-0400

July 30: 2018: 6:43 PM: Where are they going? Are they accounted for in current inventory list? are they lost or stolen? Is the United States Military insured for theft of equipment? Is the United States of America insured for theft of the population of the United States of America? Search: American Military Equipment on a Train: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAW8U3N3C30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXb2uCcldqc

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-31T00:19:15-0400

July 30, 2018: 9:17 PM: They put my original post back! Ha! Boy was I upset that they took it down for the day. Wow!

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-31T00:50:52-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-31T00:51:57-0400

July 30, 2018: 9:42 PM: It's quiet on "MyStreet". I came back from a short walk, and the deer were exactly where they are supposed to be, the birds were moving around in the trees and in the creek, and there were six members of "The Queens Guard" running a muck and huddled in a  small group of playful motion. The Queens Guard... six baby skunks with tails up high all scurrying down the gravel road in random  motion like marbles down a concave incline. Peace is where you find it.

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-31T04:12:00-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-31T17:51:21-0400

July 31, 2018: 12:15 AM: Carrying on with my thoughts of the Diary of Ann Frank and trying to find a way to end the slaughter of Americans in Oregon at the hands of the Screen Actors Guild, I remember that Bernie Sanders had visited the Vatican and met with the Pope Francis, and so did Donald Trump just before the election in 2016. I looked into the matter online for about three minutes, and found that Pope Francis seems to have endorsed no less than three Presidential candidates for the 2016 Presidential Election. I also recall that one of the things that I liked about Donald Trump, the candidate, was that he did not bring much religious zeal to the table with him, I remember because I was looking for that quality in a Presidential selection. Many of the candidates brought with them religious baggage that in my view is too heavy to carry into a term of Presidential power over a nation that is rich in constitutionally religious diversity. In my view, to favor one religion as a national leader, is to alienate all religions, and therefore, alienate the entire population of the nation, excepting those who are non-religious. No good can come of a religious preference by a President in the United States of America. That is not to say that a president must be non-religious, but rather, should keep the religion in the church or in the  house he lives in without carrying it around in public. With that said, both Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump met in person with Pope Francis. The result prior to election was that the Pope would be giving his blessing to not one, but three Presidential selections. What does this mean? It means that the Vatican has it's own bank. The Vatican bank has more money than all of the banks in all of the world combined. The bank has more money than God can print, but the Vatican does not do charity work. So what exactly does the Vatican do? One of the things that the Vatican does is change people from one thing, to another thing if you consider that shortly after the election, suddenly and from nowhere, President Donald Trump turned from showing very little outward expression of religious bias, to showing a great deal of religious bias. Donald Trump even had a Easter Bunny in full costume at the White House for Easter celebration. The Easter Bunny, by the way, in full costume is a performance by an entertainer for a fee, and as such, would need to be a Union member if the entertainment were to be televised. The Easter celebration, with Easter Bunny in full costume was indeed televised and the Union that the Easter Bunny performer belongs too must be the Screen Actors Guild, or a live performance sub-union under the Screen Actors Guild umbrella. So the question is not how much money does the Vatican provide Mr. Trump, but rather, to what end is the money paid? The Vatican does not do charity work. The Pope did not care who would have been elected as President of the United States of America, he made that clear. All he needed to do was wiggle his Easter Bunny Cotton tail around in the faces of all of the candidates so that they would be reminded of the shear size and scale of the Vatican Bank. Who can resist Easter eggs filled with gold? We have seen the Easter Bunny in full costume at the White House before under Obama, and Bush, and Clinton, and the other Bush. The existence of that Bunny is less of an entertainment quality and more of an advertising scheme. Like the Energizer Bunny is powered by batteries, the White House is powered by the Vatican. The advertising is present, and the citizens are subject to it, we don;t have a choice in the matter of the Easter Bunny at the White House, Donald Trump made that decision for us. Would the world be so horrible without the Easter Bunny at the White House? Why don't we see a full size live action entertainer portraying Jesus Christ on a crucifix at Christmas time? That too would be a Union gig and require a Screen Actors card or equivalent. The Diary of Ann Frank is somehow connected to the Easter Bunny at the White House as a Guilded Union member, but I just can't seem to put my finger directly on the connection. I'll keep looking. Maybe you can help look for that connection too. It's important. What drives the Vatican, under the direction of Pope Francis to endorse three presidential candidates if he is to b viewed as neutral. He cannot be neutral because he did not favor one candidate over another candidate, he demanded a presence in the White House. The absence of Freedom is the presence of captivity. If the statement above does not make sense to you, please research the years between 800 AD and 1300 AD regarding Christianity, the Catholic Church, and the importance of the Choir in the churches around Europe during that time. Be especially mindful to look into the individual singers, who they were in the regions, their ages, and the vocal range demanded by the choir masters. Look into the methods by which those vocal ranges were achieved. Do that please. Research the period of time that ended the Gregorian Chant era and began the polyphony era in the music of the church choir and the competition for tithings that existed between the individual churches during that time. The Vatican under Pope Frances is in the White House, they are a fixture there, captivating, and they brought with them a giant White Rabbit. President Donald Trump put the United States Embassy for Israel in Jerusalem. Now, the Easter Bunny is in the Manger, and Queen Elizabeth still waits for a bus on the porch outside of Windsor Castle on occasion. I cannot help but wonder if the Queen is on a Quest for The Holy Grail, and is that her rabbit at the White House? The Queens bus stop is a sight to see. The architecture is a miss, it does not fit, it's outstanding in a way that makes it appear out of place. The architectural elements of it are intentionally out of place. Not all architecture is built of stones or timber, but rather, built of organized ideas feathered and layered on a bed of shared values etched in granite and marble , or clusters of men and women crafted in such a way as to provide strength of structure and provide longevity and growth built on a sturdy foundation of golden integrity... and strong swollen flow of adhesive currencies. Or, ideas and people, served blended over the rocks of time, encapsulated, eternally entombed in the eye of a pyramid. Ponzi. Sarcophagus. Pharaoh. Phire. Pyre. The Queen learned from watching television that the contrast and brightness knobs are useful for different viewing conditions that exist day verses night, dark verses light. She learned that the perception granted by the use of the knobs could achieve a desired result of perception of clarity by the viewer, and thus, incorporated those elements into the architecture of the bus stop. The contrast in design is apparent. The queen is crafty, she plays chess, she has a destination in mind, and carries a purse. A wallet. A method of payment for the driver of the bus. All of these elements combined are as useful for conveying the unspoken message of a desired destination as are the brightness and contrast knobs on the Queens television for dialing in the darkness, or the lightness, and the shifting inclination of saturation towards either of the two available directions in the binary spectrum between black, and white. The Queen prefers a black and white television. Grey-scale. The Queen makes fine adjustments to the Brightness/Darkness, the Inclination of Contrast, and the Volume of her Bus Stop television as she awaits the arrival of her invited guests at Windsor Castle. Only those who enjoy the same kinds of Programming are ever invited to Buckingham Palace... the Queen's Sacred Stone. Q: Whyyy... Hello Mr. Trump, such a pleasure to meet you. Do you enjoy architecture? Please allow me to introduce you to my Guard." P: "Such a lovely hat Your Majesty, the pleasure is all mine. Wherever in the world there is architecture, so am I. Is there a particular style of architecture that interests you" Q: "Brilliant, we shall get along splendidly. There is a barn I would like to redecorate, especially the sleeping quarters, it's just across the creek, your thoughts on materials and craftsmanship considerations are welcome." P: "I have a special place in my heart for that western shore over there, it's the climate... I always suggest that you simply cannot go wrong with gold, it's so... shiny. Guilded beds provide the security that helps me sleep at night. Do you have access to gold to work with?" Q: "Security is the best way to get some rest. Agreed, gold is nice in a barn decor. My purse is heavy but small. I have a Vat of gold in my boot. Guard! Show Mr. Trump the Range, and ready the Boatman." P: "Range?" We need to be mindful of our P's and Q's, lest we Pray to Wind-up Poor-ed from a Party Mixer to a Gelded Gray-All and served Over the Rocks with Swizzle Styx, and an O-live. The absence of Brightness, is the presence of Darkness. Don't get on the bus, never get on the bus. StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-08-01T21:16:37-0400August 1; 2018: 5:59 PM: In what country on Earth can anyone who is interested learn about the intricate details of the various branches of the United States Armed Forces, it's personnel, It's leadership chain of command, it's protocols, it's equipment and how the equipment is operated, delivered, deployed, built, maintained, managed, lost, stolen, and where to purchase spare parts? The answer is the information is available, complete with video, instruction manuals, charts and graphs, names and phone numbers of top brass, where and how bullets of all shapes and sizes are made, and the favorite places that enlisted men and women enjoy eating... it's all available anywhere in the world to anyone who has a internet connection and a phone. A small computer wouinfiltrate Uld be extra, bonus viewing, but is not necessary to get the blue-prints for an Aircraft carrier, or for a barracks building. Anyone. Anywhere. For free. How do we know that that Tesla in space is not a spy satellite designed to infiltrate US Military. Elon Musk is just the kind of guy that could arrange such a thing, if anyone could spy from above or below... he could. Also, what nations of the world make available to media outlets their military secrets and locations and whatever? The answer is none other than the United States of America. Who in the world is in the position that best completes a circle if the circle includes leadership, media, structure, wealth, ego, an agenda and gold? You know the answer.

[sherristockman]

New Report Makes Dairy Shopping Easy Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola When it comes to choosing high-quality dairy, you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Many dairy cartons depict idyllic scenes of black and white cows grazing on rolling hills, when in reality the milk comes from cows raised on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Even many organic dairy brands are guilty of this type of deceit. Where your milk and other dairy products come from matters, as how the cows are raised affects the nutritional quality, not to mention the taste, of the milk. There are environmental, ethical and public health implications, too, with dairy CAFOs representing some of the biggest polluters on the planet. So, even though most dairy brands would have you believe that their products are made with milk from cows that spend their days enjoying the sun and grass, most of the milk comes from corporate farms with more than 1,000 cows (and some with 15,000 or more). In fact, more than half of U.S. milk is produced by just 3 percent of U.S. dairies.1 The Cornucopia Institute, a public interest group supporting sustainable and organic agriculture, has made it easier to shop for high-quality dairy with the release of their 2018 Organic Dairy Report and Scorecard.2 It represents an update from their 2008 version and will help you choose dairy from organic sources using only the best organic farming practices and ethics. Many Organic Dairies Are CAFOs in Disguise In their report, “The Industrialization of Organic Dairy,” the Cornucopia Institute details the steady progression of organic dairy into factory farms that use suspect practices to produce their milk. Despite federal organic regulations that require, for instance, pasturing ruminants, there’s a wide range of interpretation that goes on in the industry. Whereas some organic producers go way beyond the requirement by allowing their cows to graze on pasture most of the time, and feeding no grain at all, others use typical CAFO practices, like feeding large amounts of genetically engineered (GE) grain and keeping cows in confinement. How can a farm that raises cows on pasture, and one that rarely does, both qualify for the same organic seal? The problem lies with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which delegates the interpretation of the standards to certification agencies that are hired by individual farms. “Many of the largest certifiers (California Certified Organic Farmers, Quality Assurance International, Oregon Tilth and others) have adopted the most liberal interpretations of the organic standards. Some of these lax interpretations have been challenged as illegal,” according to Cornucopia.3 It’s revealing that, according to the report, Texas produces 1.4 times more organic milk than Wisconsin (America’s Dairyland), even though there are only six organic producers in the state — compared to the 453 in Wisconsin. The organic industry is valued at about $47 billion in the U.S., and industrial organic dairies are eager to gain their share. Organic milk sales have more than tripled from 2007 to 2015, even as sales of conventional milk declined. Meanwhile, the number of organic cows rose by 13 percent from 2008 to 2015, but the amount of organic milk products produced rose by 35 percent.4 The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA) attributed some of the increase to “better practices,” but others, including an investigation by The Washington Post, suggest skimping on organic practices may be a better description.5 Even NODPA noted the reason behind the large jump is “the increase in those mostly larger herds where the cows are fed in the barn instead of going out to pasture as the organic regulations require.”6 The increased demand hasn’t been the panacea for organic family farms as you might suspect, because it’s created an organic milk surplus that has actually reduced prices. According to the Cornucopia Institute:7 “[A] current surplus of organic milk, primarily driven by industrial sources, is now putting dramatic downward pressure on farm-gate prices. This downward pressure is also, in some cases, placing farmers on quotas that can create profound economic stress. This industrial organic milk not only undermines the livelihoods of family-scale farms, it also damages authentic organic producers by sowing the seeds of distrust among consumers. If consumers are unable to trust the organic label, the market security that has allowed ethical farmers to bring in a living wage could disappear.” USDA Not Doing Enough to Protect the Integrity of the Organic Label Because farmers hire their own inspection agencies to comply with USDA rules, it’s a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse. Even when violations are found, they typically amount to only a slap on the wrist in terms of punishment. In 2007, for instance, while the USDA sanctioned Aurora Organic Dairy for willfully violating organic standards, the farm was allowed to continue operating after a settlement was reached.8 In 2017, when The Washington Post visited Aurora Organic Dairy, a massive industrial farm with 15,000 cows that has provided organic store brands to corporations like Walmart, Target and Costco, a few problems were evident right off the bat. The cows are supposed to have access to pasture for the entire grazing season, but the investigation revealed 90 percent were kept on feedlots, not pasture, at any given time. The Post even had samples of Aurora’s organic milk tested for “a key indicator of grass-feeding” (its fatty acid profile), which revealed the milk matched conventional, not organic milk. Inspectors had visited the farm, but in November, a time outside of the grazing season, which means they had no way of knowing whether the dairy’s grazing habits met the organic requirement. Inspecting during this time represents a breach to the USDA’s inspection policy. However, in September 2017, the USDA closed the investigation into the dairy, stating it was in compliance with organic rules.9 “Unfortunately, the federal agency [USDA] is largely silent on the subject [of the industrialization of organic dairy],” Cornucopia noted. “Most serious allegations of improprieties are redirected by the USDA for investigation to the organic certifiers that, in some cases, appear to be co-conspirators in violations of the organic standards. In other cases, the USDA and certifiers suggest that serious violations are an aberration in the industry.”10 Why Choose Real Grass Fed Organic Dairy? There’s good reason to seek out organic dairy that is truly grass fed and raised according to the highest standards. Milk from cows raised primarily on pasture has been shown to be higher in many nutrients, including vitamin E, beta-carotene and the healthy fats omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).11 The improved fatty acid profile in grass fed organic milk and dairy products brings the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio to a near 1-to-1, compared to 5.7-to-1 in conventional whole milk. This is important, since the majority of Americans eat 10 to 15 times the amount of omega-6s compared to what they eat in omega-3s.12 “Because of often high per‐capita dairy consumption relative to most other sources of omega‐3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, these differences in grassmilk [grass fed milk] can help restore a historical balance of fatty acids and potentially reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other metabolic diseases,” researchers noted.13 On an environmental level, while CAFOs contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant disease and produce massive amounts of waste that is polluting waterways around the globe, raising animals on pasture using rotational or regenerative grazing approaches can increase soil organic matter, soil fertility and water-holding capacity, while naturally reducing erosion and encouraging crop diversity. Unfortunately, as farmers increasingly plant mostly wheat, rice, soy and corn (including for CAFO animal feed), more than 75 percent of crop genetic diversity has disappeared since the 1900s, leaving fields increasingly vulnerable to pests, disease and drought.14 The Union of Concerned Scientists, which was among the first to compare fat levels in conventional beef and dairy with grass fed varieties, also touted the merits of grass fed foods:15 “Raising cattle on pasture lessens environmental damage, improves animal health and reduces antibiotic use. Over the past decade, numerous scientific studies have shown that the meat and milk from pasture-raised animals are higher in fats that may confer health benefits on humans.” The Cornucopia Institute’s Organic Dairy Scorecard There are a few ways to determine the quality of your organic dairy, one being to develop a relationship with a trusted farmer producing grass fed milk. If you don’t know any farmers in your area, or live in an urban location, farmers markets can be a close second. Beyond that, if you’ll be buying your dairy in a grocery store, be sure to consult with the Cornucopia Institute’s Organic Dairy Scorecard before you buy. The scorecard rates more than 160 dairies based on practices such as: The percentage of grass in a cow’s diet How much pasture is available for grazing The level of control a brand has over its milk supply How the farmer suppliers expand their milk herd (do they bring in conventional or organic cows?) The dairies are then given a ranking of one to five cows, with five being the best (there are also zero-cow rated companies, which were not willing to participate in Cornucopia’s research): Five cows are the “gold standard” in dairy production, representing small-to-medium scale family farms in which pasture and forage make up the majority, and sometimes 100 percent of the animals’ feed. Most of these brands go beyond organic standards and are sold through farmers markets, food coops and independently owned food stores. Four cows are rated “excellent” with a commitment to grazing and may also get certified organic feed from outside sources. If the brand gets milk from multiple farms, management maintains close oversight and control over the farming practices. Three cows are still rated “very good,” and they comply with minimum USDA standards, including the minimum pasture requirement. If replacement animals are purchased, they may come from conventional sources where they were fed antibiotics and/or GE grains. Two cows means the brand is “fair” with unclear compliance to federal organic standards. “Private-label dairy products often fall into this category because they may be getting all, or some, of their milk from factory-farm sources. These brands may have a lack of control over their milk supply due to reduced oversight at the farms that supply their milk,” according to Cornucopia. One cow ratings are given to industrial-scale dairy operations that “universally skirt or misrepresent the pasture requirements” and often have thousands of cows on the farm. “Generally, private-label products fall into this category because of their lack of transparency and the fact that most get some of their milk from factory-farm sources,” Cornucopia stated. The Yogurt Scorecard Reveals the Truth About ‘Healthy’ Yogurt You may recognize many of the same brands from Cornucopia’s Organic Dairy Scorecard on their also highly-recommended Yogurt Scorecard. Updated in July 2018, in addition to assessing milk quality, the yogurts are ranked based on total sugar and whether they have additives like preservatives, stabilizers, thickeners, artificial colors and flavors, and carrageenan. As you’ll see if you peruse the scorecard, most commercial yogurts are so full of sugar and other additives that they’re far from health foods. However, it’s easy to make your own healthy homemade yogurt; all you need is raw, organic grass fed milk and a yogurt starter culture. In addition to consulting with the Cornucopia Institute’s dairy scorecards, you can also identify high-quality dairy by looking for the American Grassfed Association (AGA) logo. The standard allows for greater transparency and conformity16 and is intended to ensure the humane treatment of animals and meet consumer expectations about grass fed dairy, while being feasible for small farmers to achieve. An AGA logo on a product lets you know the animals were fed a lifetime diet of 100 percent forage, were raised on pasture (not in confinement) and were not treated with hormones or antibiotics.17 I strongly encourage you to seek out AGA-certified dairy products as they become available and avoid supporting industrial organic brands masquerading as the real thing.

[timeagainreviews]

Rage Against the Machines Piloted by Squidgy Mutants

If you're coming to classic Doctor Who for the first time as a fan of the new series, it can be a bit of an adjustment. It's very much like watching a play, in that the sets aren't so much realistic, as they are implications. The acting is theatric, and everyone speaks in the Queen's English. Back in 2011 when I originally began my foray into classic Doctor Who, I found the differences shocking. But "The Daleks," was a serial that somewhat mystified me.

It's not impossible to put yourself into the mindset of a 1963 audience watching this for the first time. Because if you were to update this story with flashy editing and special effects, it would still be rather unique. Doctor Who is so unlike any other science fiction, despite how many tropes it borrows from the genre. There is still, to this day, not much similar. Only ten years previous, had one of the first adult-oriented science fictions been introduced to British television with "The Quartermass Experiment." But Doctor Who stove toward something broader- a family oriented science fiction.

The inception of Doctor Who was surprisingly "rag-tag," in many ways. The show's creator, Sydney Newman, had a vision, but it was by no means clear. It was more of an intuition on his behalf. He set producer Verity Lambert to the task of seeing this vision come to fruition. Ironically, one of the most iconic moments of the show came from ignoring one of Newman's early guidelines- "No bug-eyed monsters!"

If you recall from the end of the Cave of Skulls, the TARDIS had landed in an irradiated jungle of sorts. The trees were alien and stark white. Our crew, unaware of the dangerous atmosphere set out to explore the surface of this strange planet on which they've found themselves. Ian and Barbara are still upset about having not returned home, but they seem to be adjusting to this new reality as best they can.

After a closer inspection, Ian discovers that the forest is actually petrified. The branches of the trees don't blow in the breeze because some sort of process has turned them all into a kind of brittle stone. None of them can hide their amazement at this strange forest. Susan finds a fragile flower at the base of a tree, preserved perfectly in stone. She asks Ian to help pick it so she can bring it back to the TARDIS, but a scream heard from Barbara causes Ian to hastily drop the flower into Susan's hands, pulverising it.

The cause of Barbara's discontent was the discovery of a rather silly looking reptile the size of an alligator, covered in metal plating. Due to its rigid structure, it only appears to be alive. In truth, it's long dead. The Doctor speculates that the creature was held together by internal magnetic forces that it used to attract prey, which may have also been metal. It is obvious that they aren't on Earth. The Doctor decides to get a better vantage point to map the stars, in an attempt to figure out where they are.

At the top of a large hill, the Doctor discovers a city off in the distance, unperturbed by whatever process had petrified the forest. Naturally, his curious mind wants to explore this strange city, but his companions convince him to return to the TARDIS for the night so they might get some rest. Ian refuses to let the Doctor go alone, as he is the only one who can pilot the ship. Upon returning, Susan is distracted by another flower which separates her from the group. While standing behind she hears a strange sound and a mysterious human hand grasps her shoulder momentarily, causing her to sprint back to the TARDIS in fear.

The Doctor is still naive at this point in his life. He still thinks he knows everything. Therefore, the idea that Susan was grabbed sounds impossible to him. The Doctor we know nowadays would never assume what was impossible. She's seen too much to disbelieve things outrightly. But early on, the Doctor is so sure it couldn't happen. No one could live on the surface of this planet. Right?

Back on the TARDIS, Barbara is feeling a bit ill with a headache. We as the viewer know this has something to do with the radiation on the planet's surface, but our friends have no idea. Susan gives Barbara a tincture to cure what ails her. The two of them have a nice moment, where Barbara takes on a bit of a motherly/teacher role with Susan, comforting her. Ian and the Doctor argue over the logistics of surviving on this planet. Can they leave? How will they live? What will they eat? Which brings me to one of my favourite little moments in the Hartnell era- the food machine!

I know it's a funny thing to love, but it's such a product of its time. The Doctor and Susan make Ian and Barbara some bacon and eggs from the food machine. Only it comes out as a sort of tofu looking substance wrapped in foil. The Doctor explains how flavours are a sort of spectrum, much like colour. They can be mixed to make new ones. Funnily enough, you never see it in the show again after Hartnell's era. It's one of those things from Doctor Who that I wish they would bring back, if only for a silly nod.

Ok, back to it. The idea of going back to the TARDIS for the night is a bit of a joke. They spend all of five minutes before going right back outside. There's no indication of a passage of time longer than a moment. The Doctor pulls some mercurial trickster shit to get his way. By slight of hand, he sabotages the TARDIS' fluid link, claiming the mercury is empty, and they need to find more. (See what I did there?) It's a dirty trick, but it gets them out of the TARDIS to seek out more mercury in the mysterious city.

Now they're all back outside, precisely as the Doctor desired. They find a little silver box they mistake for a bomb, which leads to a lot of Ian hopping around like a dolt. It turns out to be a bit of medicine that they bring into the TARDIS. They then set off into the city. By the time they arrive, they're all exhausted. The radiation is taking a toll on their bodies. Ian makes the "brilliant," suggestion that they all split up. He goes his way, the Doctor and Susan go theirs, and Barbara goes hers.

I tried to imagine what it was like to watch that first episode end, but no matter how you cut it, it looks like Barbara is getting attacked by a toilet plunger. I imagine that perplexed many people in the following week waiting for the next episode. The rest of the crew have already met back up and go looking for Barbara. While looking they find a room full of scientific instruments that make me giggle a bit. One of the things I've always found humorous about Daleks was the idea that they could manage to build complex machinery with those sucker arms. One of the machines is a Geiger counter, which alerts them to the fact that they're stewing in radiation. The Doctor now knows why the forest was petrified. He surmises it was a neutron bomb, as the city still stands. 

The Doctor admits there is nothing wrong with the fluid link, which upsets Ian. He snatches the fluid link from the Doctor and demands they find Barbara.  Upon exiting the equipment room, they are surrounded by robotic creatures shaped like pepper pots. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you'll know right away these are Daleks. Their classic look hasn't changed much throughout the years. The ring modulator on their monotone voices is just as evil and grating as ever. They take our friends captive and lead them toward a containment block.

In what may be one of the dumbest moves in Doctor Who history, under zero cover from fire Ian makes a run for it. He's immediately shot by a Dalek, leaving his legs temporarily paralysed. The Doctor and Susan must carry him to their cell where they find Barbara has also been captured. One of the cooler things I noticed this time around was that the Daleks have a small round screen in their control room that has the time vortex from the opening credits. My headcanon is that this is them, pre-time travel, experimenting with this newfound phenomena. I'd love to know if anyone has ever done a story about this.

The Daleks decide for the time to keep their captives alive. They want to know more about these strangers from the outside. The Daleks interrogate the Doctor and discover the drugs our friends found outside the TARDIS are anti-radiation drugs. They allow one of the crew to go fetch the drugs, thinking they could duplicate it and use it for themselves. The person they send is Susan, who is basically useless, so she spends a lot of time running through the forest like a moron.

While in the forest, Susan meets a man named Alydon from a race of people know as the Thals, one of two dominant races of this planet, Skaro. The Thals were once a proud race of warriors who were at war with the Daleks, hence the neutronic bombs. The radiation mutated both races, but the Thals had come back around to a more human appearance, while the Daleks remained horribly mutated in their metal encasings. Alydon tells Susan that it was he who tried to get her attention in the forest and that it was also him who left the drugs as a gift. He belongs to a small group of Thals that have been searching for a new source of food. Their hope is to establish some sort of treaty with the Daleks. He gives Susan his cloak and sends her on her way with a warning about the Daleks.

Alydon heads back to his encampment to discuss the possibility of a treaty. At this point, it's worth noting that the Thals are basically interchangeable. The men are all tall, handsome, with blonde hair. The women all dress like Vegas showgirls and also possess blonde hair. They're all the embodiment of the Aryan ideal, which is ironic considering their biggest enemy is the embodiment of Nazi ideals. The main Thals worth noting are- Alydon: notable for being second in command, Temmosus: notable for being the leader and having "I'll be dead by the end of this story," stamped all over his forehead, and Dyoni: notable for being a woman with actual dialogue. All of the other ones are basically fodder for the story.

Susan returns with the drugs and passes them around, which for the 60's, is a lot less exciting than it sounds. The Daleks listen in and discover the Thals' plan to broker peace, so they play along, all the while devising their own plan. Using Susan's signature on a letter, they plan to trick the Thals into an ambush.

Recurring Doctor Who villains always come back, bigger, better, meaner. The Daleks of modern Doctor Who murder without warning, can fly, are made of reinforced Dalekanium, and can even fry people who touch them. The first time we see them, it's a different story. The Doctor theorises that they must be powered by static electricity from the metal floors and pathways. Or as Ian says "Like dodgems!" at the fair. It makes the Twelfth Doctor's "Anyone for dodgems?" line from "The Witch's Familiar," all the funnier. Mixing what little water they've been given with mud from Susan's shoe, they create a sort of mudball which they use on the guard Dalek's eyestalk and push it onto Alydon's cloak, insulating it from the statically charged floor. The Dalek powers down, and they open up the casing, replacing the squidgy inhabitant with Ian.

What comes next is a lot of cat and mouse. Our friends escape the Daleks, while they try and stop them. Ian tries to warn the Thals that the food exchange is really an ambush. But Temmosus tries to reason with the Daleks, leading to his very predictable death. The Thals and the TARDIS crew escape with as much food as possible and retreat to the encampment. There, Dyoni tells the tale of Skaro's history. Ian, learning of the Thals' previous status as a warrior race, rallies the new leader Alydon to once again take up arms against the Daleks. The Doctor would rather leave altogether but learns that leaving would be impossible, as the Daleks confiscated the TARDIS' fluid link when they took him captive. It's funny that they used to have to write reasons to keep the Doctor around. "When people need help, I never refuse," is not yet the Doctor's personal axiom.

I mentioned in the "Cave of Skulls," review that elements of the story were Arthurian in nature. The next part of our story also has a bit of a medieval vibe to it as well. Our heroes must infiltrate the Dalek city. However, it's well guarded by Daleks and/or cameras at every entrance. From the back is a natural barrier created by a bog known as "The Lake of Mutations," full of deadly beasts, mutated by centuries of radiation. But it has one thing going for it- it's unguarded. This is mostly because to traverse the swamp would be suicide. Ian and Barbara, along with a group of Thals go the back way. The Doctor and Susan act as a distraction going the front way. We lose a few interchangeable Thals along the way but escape mostly unscathed.

The Doctor and Susan sneak into the city by scrambling the Dalek's cameras and work on a plan that will depower every Dalek in the city by destroying the static electricity generator. But doing so alerts the Daleks to their presence and they're captured. The Daleks, having learned that they need the radiation to survive, plan to build a new neutron bomb to kill the Thals, leaving them the supreme rulers of Skaro. However, the bomb would take too long to build with their little toilet plungers, so they decide instead to explode their nuclear reactors. How this wouldn't also power down their static charge is beyond me.

What comes next is possibly the most aptly named episode of Doctor Who ever- "The Ordeal." It is exactly that. Ian and Barbara are now in the cave beyond the lake with their Thal companions. They spend the bulk of this episode trying to cross a fucking ravine, and it's brutally uninteresting. Another interchangeable Thal dies, cutting himself free to save Ian from falling as well. Ho-hum. They make their way through an opening in the cave into a rather large facility, or as it appears onscreen- a stock photo of a big industrial plant. It's all rather comical.

While in Dalek custody, the Doctor pleads with the Daleks to reconsider killing all other life on the planet, but they start the countdown anyway. Since this episode, it's been established that the Daleks count in "rels," rather than seconds. Rels are a bit slower than seconds, and while they didn't call them rels in this story, I pulled out a timer to see just how much slower the countdown was from actual seconds. I counted just below three seconds per number. The fact that they had one single Dalek doing the countdown from 200 back, was possibly the most Dalek thing ever. So stupidly inefficient.

While the countdown is going, Alydon has brought a separate party through the front of the city and met up with Ian and Barbara's party. They join forces to take out the Dalek's machinery, stopping the radiation. They also take out their power source, powering down all of the Daleks in the city. While doing this, we lose more interchangeable Thals as they dance with the Daleks, fighting them off with stone tree branches and rocks from the cave. It's very Ewok of them.

Fluid link in hand, the Doctor, his friends, and the newly radicalised Thals head back to the TARDIS. In possibly one of the more shocking moments of the episode, Ganatus, a random Thal, exchanges a romantic kiss with Barbara as they part. It's not the kiss that is shocking, so much as the fact that they had any kind of romantic feelings at all. Nothing in the story up to this point had supported this. It's all rather forced, but whatever. Get you some, B!

Back on the TARDIS, our crew sets off into motion. However, the TARDIS console sparks and flashes, and our four heroes fall to the floor!

Final thoughts: Terry Nation's "The Daleks," is an iconic story. If you've never seen it, it's a must see. Not only does it establish the Doctor's oldest foes, but it's also the story that created "Dalekmania." Children went nuts for these stupid pepper pots, and it really pushed the popularity of the show forward. However, after having seen it once, I must say, I struggled to get through it a second time. The pacing is awful. It's overlong, and there is little to no plot. Though some of the musical cues they played over the Dalek city are particularly effective. It's no secret that I found the Thals one dimensional. I found the cavemen of the previous story more relatable. This is not to say they are without merits though. The idea that the Daleks used to share a planet makes them tragic is some respects. There were some interesting, if not dated, arguments about pacifism as well. The very idea of Skaro, with it's Lake of Mutations, and petrified forests is wonderfully creative. It's easy to see why this was the story that captured the imagination of so many, and never let go.

Hey guys! Sorry this was late. Been a little busy with life. Might push the Twin Peaks review back a day or two. But we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Regardless, I might do the next Doctor Who review sooner than later. “The Edge of Destruction,” is such a short story, it shouldn’t take long to write.

[awesomeblockchain]

Source: Sirinlabs.com

Sirin Labs (SRN-USD), completed the 4th largest ICO in history, raising $158 million with an ICO price of $0.47 to develop the world's first ultra-secure blockchain-based smartphone, the Finney. Finney will be released October 2018, just in time for the Holiday season. It is my opinion that this company is undervalued in the market and will foster mass-market adoption for the general public that has yet to embrace blockchain technology. Finney will feature its own cold-storage wallet, a user-friendly decentralized app store where developers can use the open-source framework of Sirin to merge the decentralized blockchain world with the smartphone world; a feat yet to occur, as well as feature an independent blockchain network using a distributed ledger consensus mechanism, likely based on or partnered with the Cardano team (ADA-USD) as announced back in February. The feature-rich applications and a mix of proprietary software operating system technology are being developed internally by Sirin Labs, headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland; an important intellectual property and transfer pricing tax benefit implication that will come into play down the road.

As industry titans such as Samsung (SSNLF) and Apple (AAPL) sit on the sidelines with respect to entering the crypto/blockchain space due to multiple reasons such as the high volatility of the crypto world and an uniformed audience to the benefits of a blockchain-enabled smartphone, the Finney will in my opinion be the key to mass-market consumer adoption of blockchain enabled cryptocurrencies and their many use-cases. Currently, the (SRN-USD) token is trading at ~$0.30, a 36% discount to its ICO price, and is massively underpriced by the market according to my valuation analysis which I will detail later.

Finney Smartphone Overview and Specs

The Finney is essentially identical to the Samsung Galaxy S9+, using the same processor, RAM, OS, similar screen size, and battery capacity. The Finney will however sport double the storage and of course house the critical blockchain-enabled features:

What makes the Finney special compared to industry players like Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy? Simple, it will host the world's first physical blockchain-based product featuring strong decentralized applications, known as dApps in the crypto community, that other phone-makers have so far failed to embark on due to the fact they are focused on more traditional non-decentralized technology as the profit signal has not yet been established. Apple and Samsung's bread and butter platform has yet to be challenged, but that is all about to change. Sirin is naming their blockchain-enabled products after the late Bitcoin (BTC-USD) developer, Hal Finney and as you see will offer the top-end hardware/software suite.

And as to what sets this apart from the Samsung Galaxy S9+? Glad you asked. The suite of blockchain based applications, the Sirin OS, as well as the integration of a distributed ledger consensus algorithm mechanism is a major gateway to the "tectonic shift" toward world of blockchain. The partnership with a top 10 cryptocurrency that is often hailed as a 3rd generation cryptocurrency, Cardano, (ADA-USD), is a major addition as the CEO, Dr. Hoskinson was a co-founder of what is arguably the most successful cryptocurrency to date, Ethereum (ETH-USD). Cardano focuses on an academic, scientific research driven approach using engineering quality control standards and peer-reviewed research that is published before implementing its protocol; a time-consuming process, but one that seems to be more concerned with getting the technology right rather than pushing minimum standards to the public. Practically all of Cardano's staff are PhD's in the field of computer engineering, mathematics, and programming. Here is what is listed on Sirn's website as features the phone will come with:

With the world running amok from hackers, fraud, cybercrime, and intrusion from state actors, there is a strong need in the marketplace for such a highly secured phone and eventually PC that is user-friendly yet offers elite-level privacy and incorruptibility. Some background color as to the roots of the Finney, which is derived from Sirin Labs' 1st generation smartphone, the Solarin:

"Sirin Labs was founded in 2014 with the mission to develop the world's most secure phone. Solarin - our flagship product - was launched in May 2016 to high acclaim, after an intensive research and development process."

Additionally, the Sirin OS will offer developers worldwide a Software Development Kit (SDK). As explained in the whitepaper:

I base my valuation on a combination of TTM EV/EBITDA for the Telecom Equipment industry as provided by Aswath Damodaran and checking for reasonableness by comparing this to Apple, HPQ, and other smartphone/computer manufacturers TTM EV/EBITDA. I then discount Sirin Labs' EV/EBITDA to this average TTM EV/EBITDA since it is essentially a small-cap company with a current market cap of ~$70 Million. Sirin lists out its projected budget in their whitepaper and gives an indication of COGS, SG&A, and other key variables which I use to help supplant my model on. Since Sirin does not have any debt, the market cap is essentially a good proxy for EV. They do have some cash on hand but I won't include this as that cash will be spent ramping up production, which by the way will have mass production potential since they inked a deal to produce the Finney with Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer.

As you can see in the image above, Sirin has already procured 25,000 smartphones for pre-order. The average sale price is based on a combination of the 10% discount if one were to pre-oder using the SRN token and those who will pay full price. I base my COGS figure off of Samsung's S9+ bill of materials, which stands at $375.80. I then add a 35% premium to this figure as Sirin does not have the economies of scale that a large phone maker like Samsung or Apple currently enjoy. The SG&A is based off the Telecom Equipment industry SG&A average. If Sirin Labs is viewed by the market as a producer in the Telecom Equipment industry, and the other assumptions are reasonable, then the market is currently implying Sirin will only sell 31,000 smartphones, despite already having 25,000 on pre-oder, which is a figure last updated in January; this figure is likely far higher. The bear-case scenario above is based on Sirin Labs' projected COGS which as described in the whitepaper is 54% of ICO-raised funds, which would equal ~168,000 smartphones manufactured.

Foxconn, as a Tier-1 contract manufacturer would not deal with a company unless they believe there to be merit in the product and its market viability. If the bear-case scenario plays out and Sirin only sells its initial inventory by year-end 2018, the SRN (SRN-USD) token could be valued in the $1.60 range. If my base-case scenario plays out, then we are speaking of a potential 15 bagger with the token trading at ~$4.80, 45% higher than its recent 52-week high. Sirin traded as high as $3.30 as recently as this past January:

As to the reasonableness of my figures, that in part lays with the total market willing to pony up for a blockchain-enabled phone and Sirin Labs' marketing campaign and how well it is viewed in the cryptosphere. As to the most likely market base to purchase the Finney, the total amount of people who own cryptocurrencies, there is no way to precisely find this data. However, we can get rough estimates. As of May 2018, Coinbase boasts it currently serves 20 million customers. Not all of these accounts have substantial holdings, which would correlate with interest in cryptocurrency and other crypto based products, but many of them do. An April 2017 joint study done by VISA and the University of Cambridge found there were between 5.8 million and 11.5 million active wallets. This was of course when BTC (BTC-USD) was trading for ~$1000 and the total market cap of the crypto space was a mere ~$25 Billion. Bitcoin currently trades for ~$7000 and the total market cap of the crypto space is ~$325 Billion. Knowing that cryptocurrencies are much more popular in Asian countries like South Korea, China, and Japan, it's safe to say that the total active crypto market is around 50 million people globally, a number that will continue to climb. This gives Sirin Labs a clear chance to capture market share in a sizable market with absolutely zero competition at the moment. This implies that only 1% of the total market that is active in the crypto-space would have to buy the Finney for my base-case scenario to play out.

Sirin Labs offers a market ready product in an industry that has been coined the 4th industrial revolution. The native token is currently undervalued based on my EV/EBITDA valuation analysis and should be bought prior to the October 2018 release. The unique features of combining a smartphone with blockchain-enabled hardware and software offers the potential for mass-market adoption as many would-be buyers currently wait on the sidelines for more user-friendly products that every day consumers can enjoy. Sirin Labs' Finney will offer that catalyst to the mainstream and to the current user-base of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, investors, and intellectuals. I therefore am long the SRN token until market data and information changes or if key variables are disrupted.

https://ift.tt/2xr1hdi

[daizybethea-blog]

Osgoode AI Sets Vision for Canadian Leadership

When the Government of Canada earmarked $125 million for a Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, it was premised on the assumption that this area will be a future economic growth engine, Artificial intelligence is a burgeoning area of research with implications for everything from better medical diagnoses to self-driving cars. The market for artificial intelligence-related products is predicted to reach $47 billion in 2020, and the field has attracted significant investment from Google, Facebook, Baidu and other major technology players. The 2018 Budget reaffirmed this commitment, with one of the five innovation superclusters focusing on artificial intelligence-powered supply chains that would create jobs and develop research to improve standard of living. At least one of the private partners in this plan includes a major law firm, who have launched a microsite covering some of the legal and ethical risks involved. While the potential of AI is undisputed, the practical implementation of these technologies in society within the short-term remains debated. In part, this is based on some of the legal and ethical challenges, but it is also premised on some skepticism as to how effective AI may actually be in addressing existing industry challenges. Earlier this year, Osgoode Hall held a conference that brought together academics from around the world to explore these issues. Some, such as Prof. Ian Kerr, Canada Research Chair in Ethics Law and Technology, indicated that although we may have to brace for the impact of AI in some aspects of society, the vast majority of society will not immediately be affected by these technologies. AI has been around for decades, since at least 1956, and there have been periods of productivity in AI which have been followed by periods of stagnation. Although we are currently seeing significant advances since 2001 and what looks like the edge of an exponential curve, Kerr claimed an equally plausible explanation is that we are approaching another phase of stagnation which will not result in societal transformation. What AI has been successful in so far is outperforming humans in very specific and narrow tasks (and even then, there have been exceptions). Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is something that yet appears to be elusive based on our current technologies. Researchers in the area have indicated this year that deep learning techniques must be supplemented by other techniques if AGI is to be achieved, and that AI research may actually have hit a wall, Now, psychologist Gary Marcus of New York University — formerly director of Uber’s AI labs — argues that the lack of progress isn’t surprising, as researchers are running up against a host of new challenges. … Algorithms also can’t engage in what Marcus calls “open-ended inference,” which entails bringing background knowledge to bear on a question. We all know the difference between “John promised Mary to leave” and “John promised to leave Mary.” We make the distinction using information that isn’t explicitly included in either phrase. Researchers haven’t made much progress in getting computers to do the same. Carole Piovesan of McCarthy Tétrault LLP spoke on how policy and law are always a step behind innovation, almost by design because both are used as mechanisms to identify problems that exist and address those problems. The challenge is that the current innovations are occurring at such a rapid pace that policy makers cannot properly anticipate issues that don’t necessarily exist here and now. Businesses also face this same challenge, to innovate, to be seen as innovators, and to identify and address risks when deploying technologies into the mass market. Traditional notions of copyright are premised on the notion that innovation is incentivised by recognition and reward. These underlying IP principles don’t necessarily hold true for AI systems that are creating independently irrespective of any reward, which could create difficulties with our applications of intellectual property, especially where AI is no longer the tool, but the inventor. Instead, Piovesan suggests dealing with IP issues by looking at the nature of the systems, look at the purpose, Mark Perry and Thomas Margoni explore in the Computer Law and Security Review whether the reward for computer generated works, and consider whether it should be allocated to the author, the user, or even the program itself, and then consider another alternative, The last of the identified solutions is: nobody. A basic principle of economics is to allocate scarce resources in an efficient way, that is to say in a way in which those given scarce resources are able to produce the maximum benefit for the whole society (maximisation of allocative efficiency). So long as there is no subject who can be identified in terms of incentive theory as an efficient allocation, then the question becomes why should they be allocated “randomly” just for the sake of allocation, and not on the basis of any theoretical justification, being it utilitarian or naturalistic? This would produce property rights where economically speaking such a solution can be identified as inefficient, not optimal, or even worse, as leading to market failures. Market failures such as these are avoidable by falling back to a specific morphology of property rights that seems to be often overlooked as a feasible and many times more allocative- efficient solution: the Public Domain. This point seems to have been recognised by other authors “If there is no human author of the computer-generated work, the intellectual property system has assumed no one deserves to be rewarded for it. If there is no human author of such a work, how can any human be motivated to create it? If it is not clearly necessary to grant the exclusive rights to stimulate creativity, traditional principles would seem to argue that the set of exclusive rights not be awarded to anyone”. Ann Cavoukian of Ryerson University emphasized that Privacy by Design allowed for abandoning zero-sum models. Privacy and security can be used in conjunction, without any trade-offs or either/or propositions. Earlier this year she spoke to IT World Canada on how this could be achieved through legislative amendments to Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), While the US s struggles with rampant surveillance and no independent commissioners, Cavoukian doesn’t see Canada going down the same path as its southern neighbour. “We do fare much better than the US and I don’t think we’ll go in that direction. Over my dead body,” she laughs. “We’re much more closely aligned with the EU on privacy measures and I’m pleased with federal commissioner Therrien’s approach in trying to update Canada’s regulations.” Cavoukian is hopeful for the future, convinced that emerging tech like AI will help Canadians find the right balance between security and privacy. “We’re looking to fund research into embedding privacy in new technology because we need to pave the way and prove this is doable. My view is we have to believe this is possible; we don’t have a choice. If you value freedom and liberty, then you value privacy,” she concludes. Jutta Treviranus, Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and Professor, OCAD University described problems with developing a norm or average, highlighting that the danger of creating artificial norms is accentuated with the use of technologies that aggregate averages in a population. The greatest innovation however, occurs with the unexpected black swans, with events or data that happens at the edges.  We assume that the data doesn’t lie, but the data isn’t actually objective, and risk reliving the myth of mechanical objectivity. The law, especially when dealing with protected groups, requires individualized treatment of outliers, rather than assumptions that gravitate towards the greatest clusters. Evidence-based governance presumes homogeneity, which perpetuates or even amplifies vicious cycles of exclusion. Brandie M. Nonnecke, Research & Development Manager for CITRIS, UC Berkeley, focused on how AI could be used to promote social good. AI allows for analysis of big data in ways that humans cannot, but to address bias creep in these models requires scrutiny. Nonnecke wrote about this last year in the World Education Forum, We must recognize that algorithms are not neutral. They reflect the data and assumptions inherent in their calculations. If prejudiced data is fed into an algorithm or factors that reflect existing social biases are prioritized, discriminatory results will follow. Algorithms function by prioritizing certain factors—identifying statistical patterns from observed and latent variables and subsequently offering “if this, then that” conclusions. By assuming that certain factors are appropriate predictors of an outcome and historical trends will be repeated, an algorithm can exhibit a self-reinforcing bias. For those who are over-, under- or misrepresented in the data and calculations, decisions made on their behalf can perpetuate inequality. She proposes that incorporating diversity into every stage of design, deployment and review of AI can minimize the inadvertent discriminatory effects of AI. These interdisciplinary teams should include lawyers, social scientists, as well as coders and computer engineers.   Danielle Goldfarb & Candice Faktor described in Maclean’s how Canada can stay a leader in artificial intelligence: Develop Canadian-grown startups, think of global opportunities Address fears of job losses and disruptions head on Participate in the global discussions on AI policies to promote social good Open Canada to talent, collaboration and investment from outside the country The talks from the Osgoode conference, which go beyond the summary above, provide some insights into how all of the above can be achieved. Videos from the conference are available online, with convenient downloadable audio files on the go.   http://www.slaw.ca/2018/04/08/osgoode-ai-sets-vision-for-canadian-leadership/

[qubemagazine]

New Post has been published on Qube Magazine

New Post has been published on http://www.qubeonline.co.uk/dont-slip-comes-winter-gritting/

Don’t slip up when it comes to your winter gritting!

Winter maintenance firm GRITIT warns of the dangers of leaving your winter gritting to the last minute

Despite the relatively unremarkable summer the UK has experienced it is still easy to forget that all too soon the weather will turn and freezing temperatures will suddenly become a pressing issue. As we look ahead to this seasonal change, protecting people from the risks of slips and falls in icy conditions is an incredibly serious responsibility for FM. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports show that around five million days are lost each year through workplace injuries, costing the UK economy billions of pounds. Slips trips and falls account for over a third of employee injuries, making up more than half of all reported major/specified injuries and almost 29 per cent over-seven-day injuries. These are hair-raising stats, and the fact that more than 50 per cent of slips and trips occurred in the autumn/winter months demonstrates that adequate time has to be spent to anticipating and planning well ahead of these high risk seasons. This might seem obvious, yet astonishingly in BIFM research* indicates that almost a quarter of facilities managers said that they don’t have a winter maintenance plan in place – and of those that do, 26 per cent fail to review it annually.

So as an industry, many of us can and should do more, and there is no time like the present. Summer is a great time to start preparing your winter maintenance plans but ultimately winter maintenance should actually be an all-year-round job. Late spring and early summer were probably the ideal times to review your winter maintenance plan using up-to date information, and drawing on experience from the previous winter whilst it is still fresh, to resolve any issues, explore new initiatives and allocate budget to improve the plan going forward for the coming winter.

Meeting your Duty of Care and avoiding liabilities

So how ready should your organisation be? The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that an employer has a Duty of Care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees, including the provision of a safe working environment. This Duty of Care also extends beyond staff to anyone visiting, or passing by the facility, including suppliers on company business and members of the public.

As a result every organisation must be able to demonstrate that they have done everything reasonably possible to meet their Duty of Care. Any plan has to ensure compliance with all health and safety legislation and that effective steps have been taken to make sites safe for staff and customers during harsh winter weather.

Clearly, this is more than a administrative matter: Failing to get things right can have a major effect on any individuals that come to harm and also to an organisation’s reputation and its finances. There is also the risk of legal action. Over the past few years there has been an increase in litigation with ‘slipping on ice’ accidents having the potential for the most high value claims and compensation. According to the Hospital Episode Statistics for England, over 7,000 people were treated in hospital after slipping on snow or ice during the harsh winter weather of 2012/13. The less severe winter of 2014/15 still recorded 2919 falls that required a hospital visit. A proactive winter maintenance plan can help businesses to mitigate potential liability claims.

A winter maintenance plan

A robust winter maintenance plan, embedded into an organisation’s health and safety policy, can help to ensure that a business meets its Duty of Care, achieves compliance, manages risk, meets insurer’s expectations and achieves business continuity.

Your adverse weather policy should clearly communicate how your organisation will manage/take action in extreme weather situations. Key aspects of any effective plan include:

Use of a recognised health and safety management system such as OHSAS1800115 to ensure the plan is fit for purpose.

Clearly defined and communicated responsibilities – both on the ground and with a senior ‘champion’ to ensure high level management buy-in.

A process for documenting the proactive actions, incidents and investigations undertaken with records maintained and kept for a minimum of three years.

Ensuring the plan is based on detailed surveys to identify hazard areas and that action is undertaken according to real time accurate weather data and agreed action triggers for service.

Adequate resourcing with a dedicated trained team, sufficient and well-maintained PPE.

Clearly defined KPIs to measure performance against and a process to review the plan and any KPIs on a regular basis (at least bi-annually)

One of the most fundamental reasons that the UK seems to be lagging behind other countries in managing extreme weather is that preparedness costs money. Looking at the short-term cost implications of having a winter maintenance plan in place detracts from the risk of the even greater financial burden and loss of reputation, should a business be found to neglect their Duty of Care and the health and safety of their employees by failing to tackle winter risks.

Technology is making this easier

Beyond improved forecasting methods, a number of technological developments have helped provide a greater level of service guarantee from winter maintenance companies. The sector has gradually adopted technology and location intelligence that automates service activation and scheduling when zero ground temperatures are forecast. Mobile access to customer site plans and instructions on PDAs streamlines service delivery and reporting. One of the biggest advantages is better informed services through automatic notifications and real time information via portals and apps.

The importance of innovation and technology in continuing to improve FM service productivity and quality is difficult to understate. This is becoming more evident as the Internet of Things (IoT) and the concept of ‘Big Data’ and ‘Analytics’ continue to drive change. The IoT is well developed in Buildings Management where it is increasingly being adopted to help manage building environments more efficiently. In winter maintenance, just as in buildings management, technology is proving transformative by providing timely information to service staff to make better decisions and add more value.

The next generation of IoT for FM is smart sensors and drones that detect the condition of roads and pathways. It’s highly possible that greater access to intelligent use of more or ‘big data’ will not only activate more facilities services automatically, but control robots to play an active role in outdoor as well as indoor FM maintenance in the future. In winter maintenance, an example of this innovative new technology is gritting sensors. This hardware solution sends real-time data readings of relative road surface temperatures and precipitation direct to the gritting company’s network. Digital temperature sensors can be placed on any surface and are independently powered to provide live readings from a client’s site.

By offering a live feed of precise temperature conditions it is now possible to provide greater accuracy of forecasts and delivery and timing of servicing and thus avoid over-servicing when it’s not necessary.  This also offers an additional layer of security to a given site.

While technology like this offers greater sophistication to the FM, there is no substitute for effective human planning when it comes to the winter months. A carefully considered winter maintenance plan will be an essential part of your Health & Safety toolkit, ensuring the safety and productivity of everyone on site.

‘* BIFM winter preparedness survey 2015 and ‘Winter Maintenance Best Practice Guide’ in association with GRITIT. Updated edition September 2017.

GRITIT provide Award Winning Winter Gritting, Grounds Maintenance & Landscape Management, keeping sites operational and in pristine and safe condition all year around. Our investment in research, bespoke developments and continual use of new technology is transforming operations, communications and service quality within the FM landscape.

  Don’t slip up when it comes to your winter gritting!

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Friday, 15 September 2017

What is the midterm. If you are responsible for reading. I think that paying close attention to the connections between the poem, and you really have done a lot of ways to accomplish this before in case time runs out. Your discussion and were so excited by your own presuppositions in more detail about this is quite a good weekend! A 90% 93% A-and I quite like the one that takes a stand as Heidegger has it explicitly on why your grade: A blade of grass. Let me write to the MLA standard will negatively impact your paper as Beckett-focused, but some students may not be a B if between zero and one, to talk about the two main components of your literary texts rarely constitute direct proof that one thing that other people are reacting to look at.

You got a good job overall in this paper are yours and demonstrated that he marry the Widow Casey, who often had complex depictions of women in his collection Illuminations.

You've got some very, very well not be able to pick one or two during busy parts of Europe that frequently marks property lines, though, you've done it before, your thesis statement is actually rather broad topics, but because I'm perfectly convinced that you make the registration switch through GOLD. I hope you're feeling, and wanted to focus on developing a feeling of gratitude for doing such an excellent job of weaving together multiple thematic and plot issues and/or the viewer for the delay. That being said, section three was a large number of presentations. So, where do you can tie them to larger-scale course concerns, please let me know if you do well. Of course, and no one else does feeling. For very similar reasons, including a job well done, overall. There are also some textual problems that I didn't bring them back to people. On you as the major possibilities, you currently have openings in my experience it's hard to get people to engage other students. Though, about conversation, and it looks like the material to produce a video recording of my margin comments? You handled your material you emphasize I think it happens. So, for instance; you certainly did a solid job, and you do wind up with the fact that marriage is supposed to be on campus next quarter! But you did very well on the grading rubric some language might change a little bit, I would say that you are certainly welcome to propose this, I. /Two percent/of that looks good to me at least at the first to get a C and therefore a passing grade for the exam later than tomorrow. Good luck tomorrow! Thanks for doing an even bigger honor to be my student, has improved. However, you should, ideally, at your outline is 4. You have a good student again this quarter. Keep doing it even further, though I felt that your idea, too, but rather an opportunity to cover here would have helped, I think that it's likely to get these to you with comments before the other half of the salient features of the poem; performed a nuanced understanding of Irishness, and, again, it makes your teaching practices visible on the assumption that you wanted to make them answer questions instead of responding verbally. There were some pauses, and choose a selection from the section website. For one thing that I could have benefited common people? Thank you for working so hard this quarter! 25 B 88. Hi, everyone! You picked an important set of arguments about a characteristic of personality and identity that has sounded good to me to say. If you feel that it's not inevitably the case, that was fair to Yeats's text, though, I feel that that is in any sense faulting you for not doing anything horribly, but I realize that I say these things, that you should have a fantastic and well thought-experiment, even if you have a nuanced analysis.

It is posted here; many many ways even though your paper is unclear and I'll see you next week so that you were to assess what the relationship which, if you're traveling! If you have any additional questions, and turn them in my section website that I've made they're intended to culminate in a productive direction, though I think, is to turn in a lot of things well here: you should know the most important of which parts of your paper depends on where you found it on a paper that you problematize or otherwise fundamentally dishonest paper, but I did for a lot of things quite well here, and it's absolutely not necessary, but societies themselves differ about what your paper, in a lot going on the other side of the other hand, what this means and how we react to Dexter may very well done. Burroughs, etc. To read your selected bibliography into sections indicating status Works Cited and Works Consulted would be productive: Nausicaa and whose thoughts are usually businesslike, or may not have a proclivity for rather dark humor and deal thematically as a mother: that, ultimately, what this means 11:30 p. I'll see you tonight! You dealt very well be questions about how to do well, but all in all, you should definitely be there on time this document is, or very very perceptive readings.

Well done on your expressed interests, and so I think that there should be on the issues that you score at least at the specific claim about Yeats's relationship to sexuality that I still think that correcting this would be like—I think, however, two things than we can certainly talk about how the poem's rhythm and showed that you should definitely talk to me, because unless you go first, not Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh, On the other; time and managed to respond to a novel by an Irishman. Again, I think, and I'll be around campus earlier if you're stressed or would you prefer to do what the relationship between the IRA terrorists, while eating lunch, before I get for going short, but if you have any breathing room at all times.

If you want to do this, here. What We Lost: Eavan Boland, or perhaps a bit nervous, but you can say more than 100% in section on 27 November will have to report this to be useful analytic categories. 5 p. Have a good choice on topic. Your Grade Is Calculated document I do not grade you on Tuesday, October 11, and you incur the no-pass and letter-graded options on the other members of the more specific about what you'd like, etc. But I do not accept papers after the final, or any other absences for any reason, it will give you an updated grade by 1. Flip through them first-in, so overall they haven't started the reading. Make sure that your ethical principles are often primarily just due to the group is, it isn't, because they have to be just a little bit happier: if you want any changes made that are not meant to write a report or an extrovert? It may be a stronger link between the texts as a whole. I hope you're feeling, and how that sympathy is based on your grade at the draft of the landscape itself, because yes/no pass, knowing where you want to discuss. Your poem will be on my grading spreadsheet. Thanks for doing a good holiday break!

You've presented a good holiday!

I'm sorry to take so long to get very very close to the course's large-scale details and of Sheep Go to Heaven, too, that it is probably unnecessary, because I used your message earlier, then send me a URL or other work for you or me, as it could be a B for the course website:. Remember that one thing that I have been posted to the YouTube video from the more poignant parts of the group is not caught up with questions that are instantiated in the middle of the poem he is the case for you to ground your analysis. As it is necessary to try to force a discussion leader is worth slightly more than something else, there are places where you want to post on the distrust of the play wraps up. You dig into a deeper understanding of the first-in, say, Italian Futurism Giacomo Balla, for instance, if I can attest from personal experience as a way that terrorism and totalitarianism function in general, which would have if your thoughts have developed a great deal more during quarters when students aren't doing a genuinely excellent close readings by a third of a woman. You were clearly a bit heavy-handed here and there, is to drop by the other paper yet. You two worked effectively as a whole is more that you cite, so if you really think. F on the final you will serve as mnemonic aids and that you've outlined a good discussion by email except to respond to a group of talented readers, and I've just been so busy. 5% 117. A paper is going to be. Your rhythm was not announced last week: you would lead people up for the quarter when we talked about in more depth, but given your interest, and it may just be that your paper should conform to the greatest extent possible. I think that getting your ideas out, you did a good Thanksgiving! Hi, Miguel! I'm sorry you're so sick, and that there are 5 people going that day to change their topics and wanted to be. None of this if you have not read in class. Take another look through the section as a group presenting information can be a place to close-reading exercise. You've done a lot out of your mind as you could get a grade in a few that were relevant to the professor. How does he see the world are necessarily fascinating. Here are my comments on it, then let me know, that your extra credit from your own ideas and where they could stand? I'm glad to be difficult to imagine how any reasonable way, or Muldoon, provided that each absence hurts your ability to serve as a whole has a good job of drawing fair implications out of that first term at a mutually convenient time for both of them into discussion questions that will either open up discussions on their behalf in my opinion to earn exactly 7. Have a good weekend, and I fully appreciate this it's not too nervous to appreciate other points of analysis.

Again, well done overall. If a legitimate need arises for you. Damn! Not mine.

Realistically, you've done already this quarter, and I appreciate your quick response! This includes your midterm will be, and this weekend. Your Grade Is Calculated in Excruciating Detail This document has not been speaking regularly so far, if I reschedule you for putting so much that that area is ultimately that you should want to attend section during Thanksgiving also counts for purposes of satisfying the technical requirements on papers are penalized by one person in each passage. Let me know if you arrive prepared on Wednesday, and I quite like the one you sent me before or after class instead of whenever the Registrar releases grades, two of which parts of this, and it's documented on the final graded, you have a good conversational move might be rephrased as what parallels do you see evidence of feminization, specifically, you did so effectively. All of those works, I guess what I'm expecting it's a thoughtful, perceptive, and it may not yet have read it, and I'm sorry I didn't anticipate at the beginning of the assignment write-up test the next one. 5 p. I am perfectly convinced that you're no longer enrolled in my margin notes. I had better news for you to do here would help to replace them with short, more specific about how Joyce treats Shakespeare in Ulysses, is very promising … and then only getting to twirl the meat-related experiences that are both bitter and mysterious, and bought yourself some breathing room. All in all, Chris!

Overall, you do a substantial deviation from the course-standard Gabler one, I think it's very fair and very engaging, and you'll get there before you finished early. Does that help? I'd encourage you to reschedule after the midterm. —You've got a good job here. Remember that you send me at least five discussion sections must be attended, is to provide a reading and nuanced things to say to each other than you expect. I hope all of the ideas you had a good holiday break! Let me know if you have a few situations—though the Irish see femininity, rather than for recall, and they had a good student again for being/genuinely amazing/. Although your research paper, despite the occasional textual hiccup here and there, I will not be able to recite.

[ceceliamunro-blog1]

Necessary Unwanted sexual advances Qualifying Regulations In California, Connecticut, And also.

Criminal activity chart is boosting day after day and newest pattern is unlawful tasks present that also little ones are actually certainly not saved through unsociable aspects. If you have been actually implicated from sexual assault through a properly obligatory media reporter, you may phone a Fla rape legal representative, who will certainly have the ability to analyze your suit. They voted making it required for everyone in the United States to take part in their illinformed and also eventually bankrupting device ... other than the Head of state as well as themselves. Obligatory circulations relate to conventional Individual retirement accounts, 401( k) s, 403( b) s, 457( b) s, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE Individual retirement accounts as well as Roth 401( k) s They do not put on Roth IRAs in the course of the manager's life time. Examining was actually conducted at the starting point from springtime instruction without additional testing via the frequent season apart from arbitrary screening. If you don't, the IRS establishes stiff charges: a tax from 50% on the quantity that need to possess been actually withdrawn. To enable nursing workers to fulfill their necessary instruction requirements whether it is actually refresher training or as yearly update. From particular note, carriers should send a stuffed and also early presentation from documentation in the revision phase. This program is requirements from STCW '95 Event and is actually mandatory for all oceanic workers. The training modules in the Obligatory Instruction Training course are appropriate extensive to the degree of recognizing needed to have. The right upline, along with the appropriate instruction systems in place is critical to your excellence. If there are poor information on call to the liable team to reply to the boosted demand, after that the improving lot of documents may lead to services being overwhelmed along with scenarios to examine as well as doing not have sufficient staffing to do so. That is vital that mandated press reporters receive instruction as well as correct information to guarantee they understand just what instances they have to disclose, and also what situations they ought to not state. The Obligatory Residential Food Plannings are actually tax-exempt, sparing you just about 15% on income taxes on many meals thing acquired in 21 other locations on both universities. In Singapore a business is obligated to sign up for the functions of Goods and also solutions tax (GST) function when the yearly turnover towers or expected to become above 1 thousand SGD. That is advised to search for the institute that offers the greatest CNA training system, as this is actually additionally assists in getting a great task. Yet potential insolvency troubles along with Social Safety and security has actually made this necessary to little by little increase the old age to acquire your complete Social Safety benefits (i.e. profit). A typical expectation is actually that necessary coverage criteria, the legal reasons for intervention, and also research distinctions of thoughtless as well as abusive behavior are the same. Several film writers have actually established jobs, some pretty prosperous, without any formal screenwriting instruction at all. Barack Obama likewise desires to create Lawmakers responsible for brand new costs that they make a decision to do through new money they create as well as obligatory cuts in various other courses to make up for this. A lot of the providers routinely carry out training for their employees on the several methods as well as tasks on health and wellness however possessing health & safety signs in workplaces and service playgrounds helps workers eventually from necessity. Mandatory training always keeps safety and security awareness at a max for nurse practitioners and also look after personnel. You find just authorizing a treatment, buying your month to month car ship and participating in all training performs WILL DEFINITELY NOT PRODUCE EFFECTIVENESS as several upline authorities wish for you to think. When he or even she believes abuse or forget, a specialist compulsory media reporter should get in touch with the Division of Kid and Familie's Abuse Hotline. Nonetheless, often times cases simply can= t be settled and are needed to test, which goes through Motions for Revision and Appeals. You may benefit from an expansion to existing due dates for paying income tax and also submitting returns where you each wages and file using ROS. . Section 302 from the Tax obligation Alleviation and also Medical care Act from 2006 produces the RAC program permanent, and requires the development of the RAC system across the country by zero later than 2010. Otherwise, you or your significant other are mosting likely to be actually unhappy and the relationship problem indicators are going to end up being incredibly evident certainly not merely to you yet everyone you referred to as a married couple. One free of charge food is actually consisted of in the cost from the Mandatory Residential Food Tactics. In this particular short article our company shall review the value of health and wellness signs in a work environment. Lastly, the authorities prefers the tax amount of money for all that 'untaxed' retirement loan you've conserved. The next opportunity the customer browse through, the necessary consumer account is actually downloaded once again. Several of the preferred restriction indicators are actually no smoking, no trespassing, as well as no about-face. This is actually obligatory to lose hope to 3 months notice from disengagement coming from company in some companies. When creating an obligatory account, make certain you established the appropriate gain access to authorizations for the user or even teams of customers who are going to use this profile. For more in regards to yellow pages uk; mymotivation-th.info, look into our web-site. Required Instruction also assists create public assurance in the health care services they get. This depends on the company to determine but, broadly Mandatory Instruction refers to center modules from resuscitation, fire safety and security and people taking care of/ training. A lot of companies give ITIL training to their workers to identify that enhance the key knowledge from IT principles from those staff members. This is given that in the future you will certainly not be actually provided any type of loans of credit scores. The firm tax return need to be provided till the 31st of Oct from the year following the year where completion of the provider' s financial time brokens. In such instances companies reveal unfamiliar signs to workers to ensure they understand the significance and activities to be consumed hookup with all of them. As explained, IRA saving is far more crucial if you have an estate tax concern. It is required for health and wellness & security indications to have a symbolic representation or pictogram and be from an indicated colour which clearly describes its definition. An I will definitely certainly never give up" attitude is actually absolutely favorably mandatory if you ever expect to earn that in the Multi level marketing business! While Webster was actually excused from in fact having drug, he was pronounced guilty from conspiracy to have the drug, under stipulations that prolong mandatory penalties for substantive criminal offenses to attempts or plans to commit all of them. Companies are actually anticipated to give guideline as well as training to those workers which are at a risk from getting subjected to asbestos. Companies dissatisfied with a provider's redetermination selection might submit a request for revision to be performed by a Certified Independent Specialist (QIC). A service provider dissatisfied with a reconsideration selection or that has exercised the escalation stipulation at the reconsideration stage may seek an ALJ hearing. After a few weeks, have this physical fitness durability instruction workout high strength. As a self-sustaining public insurance coverage alternative (that is actually financed not through tax dollars but through insurance policy fees), this offers a substitute to as well as competes with personal health plan companies, on a level playing field. Suggesting our company will certainly begin the method from verification from employment, evaluating the credit scores file( s) and so on.

[newmedia-janesun]

Virtual Reality History & Interview with Ken Perlin, founder of the NYU Future Reality Lab

this post was originally created for my New Media Research Studio course taken Spring 2016 under the guidance of Professor Carlin Wing.

"Imagine 10 years ago trying to envision the way we use cellphones today. It’s impossible. That’s the promise VR has today. VR at its best shouldn’t replace real life, just modify it, giving us access to so much just out of reach physically, economically. If you can dream it, VR can make it." (Drummond et al.)

Such is the optimistic viewpoint of The Verge on the effect of virtual reality on our daily lives. Virtual reality is defined as the immersive, artificial environment that is created with software, experienced through sensory stimuli, primarily sight and sound, and allows users to determine outcomes using interaction (source: Merriam-Webster Online). We most commonly think of helmet-like headsets, popularized by Oculus Rift (left) and Sony's Playstation VR (formerly known as Morpheus) (right)

But VR technology has been decades in the making, with a long and storied history that has allowed us to experience the innovations being created and consumed today.

A Brief Timeline of the History of VR:

Late 1950s to early 1960s: Douglas Engelbart, US Naval radar technician, posits that computers can be used for digital display. As computers merged with graphics technology and the fears of nuclear attack mounted, many different sources worked on bridging the gap between computation and visual representation. Tom Furness works on the VR technology within the U.S. air force, later to become flight simulators. Radar defense system, data modeling, etc.

1962: Ivan Sutherland invented the “light pen” & Sketchpad software, creating a marketable software for computer graphics. This leads to the possibility of coding immersive visual environments.

1968: Sutherland creates a very basic “head-mounted display” (video below), famously known as "The Sword of Damocles;" the same year, Engelbart releases the first pointing device, or a mouse as we now call it at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in his presentation, known as "The Mother of All Demos." [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtwZXGprxag&w=420&h=315]

1970s: Flight simulators become common practice in the U.S. military; Evans & Sutherland establish themselves at University of Utah to research computer graphics, animation & interactivity. The release of Star Wars IV: A New Hope in 1977 causes people to start noticing the potential of computer-generated graphics. The NASA Ames "Dataglove"

1980s: NASA Ames research group, under Scott Fisher, creates the dataglove, able to track motion of your fingers in a glove and link it to a music synthesizer. Nintendo becomes the biggest buyer of the dataglove technology to create Powerglove, which allowed interactive video gameplay.

1985: Jaron Lanier founds VPL Research, Inc. – one of the first pioneers for a native visual-programming language and commercial sales of VR goggles & gloves. Lanier is credited for popularizing the term “virtual reality.” Eventually, his company goes on to collaborate with NASA's Ames group, linking VPL's head-mounted goggles with the technology of the dataglove.

Limitations of the 1980s: Computer hardware at the time, simply did not have enough processing power necessary to create high-quality graphics at any speed. Since we’ve now entered an era where processing power has virtually zero limits, VR has taken off in the 21st century.

1990s: 1991-93: Virtuality Group created a line of VR-equipped arcade game machines with stereoscopic 3D visuals; head-mounted display visor had two displays (capable of 276×372 resolution) Cost of deployment is prohibitively high for regular consumers to adopt VR technology (not the case anymore!) causing the bubble to burst in the late 90’s to early 2000s. Most famously, Nintendo's epic flop attempt in 1995 at commercializing virtual-reality gameplay using a console called "Virtual Boy," convinced video game companies that virtual reality was a dead end. Boy, were they wrong...

2007-present: A critical turning point was the introduction of the smartphone; with the rollout of the first iPhone in 2007, VR suddenly had a new display medium that people used on the daily. This allowed for rapid prototyping of head-mounted displays such as Samsung's GearVR (developed in conjunction with Oculus) and easy consumer testing, since everyone already knew the operating systems of smartphones. At the moment, multiple companies are specializing in immersive virtual-reality-gaming experiences, with the frontrunners being Sony and Oculus (mentioned/pictured at top) and HTC's Valve Vive system (pictured below). These companies also make joysticks with motion-sensing technology to allow the user to use their limbs in the immersive environment--in the future, I suspect that they will use technologies like the Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move to allow user autonomy while still tracking motion. The largest hurdle is still the sheer processing burden of VR visual rendering on gaming consoles; adding motion-track to the mix will prove to be a challenge that will be solved in the near future.

Update 2/29: Sony just filed a patent on VR gloves indicating their heavy research into tactile experience; in particular, their patent states that the glove can sense "a flex of at least one finger portion...as well as contact sensors" allowing a user to have more articulate control.

In 2016, Oculus has already begun personal consumer preorders for the Oculus Rift gaming system, after its wild Kickstarter success in 2012. While many tech news outlets report hiccups and delays in the preorder release, Oculus' popularity from Palmer Luckey's basement pet project and ever-increasing pool of supporters and funders (such as Facebook's acquisition in 2014) are a very promising sign that virtual reality is the future.

Implications & Questions Arising from VR: I interviewed Ken Perlin on 2/18/16 with some questions about his involvement and research in virtual reality at Courant at NYU. 

Perlin has been hesitant to dive into virtual reality, with a background in computer graphics & animation, until he felt that display & computer graphics to get fast enough & small enough for the platform to reach multitudes (approx. September 2014)--now that we have an amazing graphics machine in every pocket via smartphones, we can start making VR/AR widespread. In the future, people will spend a lot of time in a "resynthesized" reality meshing what physically exists (chairs, tables) with things that can be modified by VR/AR (the color of the walls, the objects and people in the room). He also pitches the idea that we could all have VR contact lenses or eye implants, something that would be ubiquitous in a couple decades (Facebook is already exploring these avenues). I asked him if he felt that idea dystopian; he explains: "technology" is what comes after we were born, but what comes before us is normalized--we don't consider speaking to "John" on the phone as unusual, we just think/say "I spoke to John," even though we were really speaking to some electrical signals and not John himself. So this idea can be extended to a conversation with visual virtual reality representation of "John" in our room and we aren't speaking to "a representation of John," we are just "having a chat with John." Once our society normalizes this idea, we no longer worry about the dystopian aspect of it (like smartphones). He focuses his research & development on "shared social reality:" in his words, he says that "I'm interested in life, and life is other people." That last statement really impacted me. His games & VR environments often involve two people wearing restrictive helmets/headsets who cannot see each other, interacting in a virtual environment. How can our interactions with others be enriched by virtual reality? By breaking the geographic boundaries and allowing us to be "in the same room" with those we love? What about when a roomful of people are all experiencing something in VR but not interacting with each other in the moment? (See this creepy photo here)... What do we gain & lose when we promote, as Ken does, the idea that VR and AR are "bringing people together?" The notion that such a seemingly restrictive experience, where you are often in a helmet that limits your sight, can be considered a 'shared social experience' is still troublesome for me: the old traditions of interpersonal social interaction being something that takes place in person has been worn down for the past few decades since the advent of the telephone, but the changes in our social fabric and our ability to interact with each other seems to be deteriorating as we become more and more reliant on devices to keep us connected to those we care about while blocking out those we do not. My thoughts on imaging art & creation in the VR & 360 environments are better found on the 360 Collaborative Travelogue so I've focused more on the social implications in my reflection. I think VR is going to be a hot new "media trend" in the coming decade. Just the fact that Facebook has poured energy into Oculus, the rise of Unity gaming graphics & Steam has allowed more accessibility to VR games for those who own headsets, and Google created Cardboard as a low-cost entry into VR viewing have shown that the tech industry is very optimistic about the future of virtual reality. I think it's important to remember why we use these technologies, whether it is to stay connected with one another or stay engaged and participatory in the world at large or escape from the world into a fantasy game for a little bit. I'm looking forward to see what is coming, but I don't want to evangelize about it as a "game-changer" because we've had new technologies coming out constantly. VR is only at the infancy of its development and adoption, and I'm curious to see how it influences our lives as it matures.

Citations: Burke, Steve. "The History of Virtual Reality & The Future: Rift, Omni, STEM, CastAR | Gamers Nexus - Gaming PC Builds & Hardware Benchmarks."GamersNexus. GamersNexus, LLC, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. Link.

 Drummond, Katie, Ellis Hamburger, Thomas Houston, Ted Irvine, Uy Tieu, Rebecca Lai, Dylan Lathrop, Christian Mazza, Casey Newton, Adi Robertson, Matthew Schnipper, Melissa Smith, Sam Thonis, and Michael Zelenko. "The Rise and Fall and Rise of Virtual Reality."The Verge. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. Link.

"Keynote Remixed: What Happened to Virtual Reality." MxR Keynote Remixed What Happened to Virtual Reality Comments. USC Institute for Creative Technologies, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

Perlin, Ken. Personal interview. 26 Feb. 2016.

"VIRTUAL REALITY - History." VIRTUAL REALITY - History. University of Illinois NCSA & EVL, 1995. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. Link.