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fbwzoo · 2 years

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Hey- I was wondering if there's any way I can help/contribute to the effort to end/change wild caught trade? I would love to be a part of something so cool

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED. Thank you for activating info dump mode, I hope you enjoy your experience!

There are SO many ways to help work towards changing/ending hermit crab wild capture. Some may not seem as connected as others, but they all help with the overall goal of educating people about hermit crabs, valuing them, and respecting nature.

The more we can teach people that they shouldn't be cheap "disposable" pets, that they can live for decades instead of months, and how the wild caught trade is decimating populations, the less demand there will be for it. Play to your strengths and do what you can. Even small things make a difference!

(This post will have a ton of links, so please share since it'll probably get blocked from tags!)

Casual Advocating

- share a cool fact with class or with your friends! "Hermit crabs can live over 40 years" "Hermit crabs can lose legs due to stress, but can grow them back when molting" "Hermit crabs live in the ocean as zoea (babies) for up to a month before they become land hermit crabs" ...I could go on & on. 😂

- Remind friends & family not to bring hermit crabs home from beach shops, & not to take shells off the beach. Sometimes they have marine hermits in them, even if they look empty. These crabs will die without an established saltwater aquarium or being returned to the beach.

- Know someone interested in getting hermit crabs? Try to gently steer them away from pet stores & tell them about Land Hermit Crab Owners Society's adoption program! Or if they already have crabs, ask if they've heard of LHCOS & Crab Street Journal (original site), or send them to the websites or Facebook group for science-backed care info.

- If you know a teacher who wants to get a classroom pet, or maybe already has some crabs as classroom pets, tell them about the Claws in the Classroom program! They can get lots of help with a proper set up & free supplies for their crabs, as well as activity sheets & lesson plans. Having crabs in a classroom can be a big commitment, but LHCOS is happy to help, as it's a wonderful way to show kids proper care & teach them how cool hermit crabs are. Many beach stores and pet shops target kids with the bright painted (and toxic) shells, so we gotta beat them to their audience!

- Simply show people pictures of the captive bred babies! They're so freaking adorable, it's hard not to fall in love with them. 🥰

(Pictures all from Mary Akers' site)

More Direct Advocating

Some of these things may require being more involved in the crabby community or going out of your way with time & materials. If you want to advocate in person with events & pet stores, make sure you stay polite, friendly, and helpful! LHCOS aims to educate people without making them defensive or alienating others from our mission.

- Talk to pet stores in your area. See if they're willing to check out LHCOS, or make some changes to improve the store set up. Chain stores may be more limited with this, but it's worth a try. Independent pet stores may be willing to listen & learn about what supplies to promote over others, or even to avoid carrying hermit crabs at all. CSJ has printable info sheets you can offer, including a pet store appeal letter.

- Spread care information. On Craigslist in the pet section, on Facebook, on other social media. Make a post in your neighborhood FB group about not buying crabs at the beginning of the summer. I know someone who recently started putting business cards with LHCOS info next to the hermit crab supplies in chain pet stores. Hand out info at local pet events in your town!

- Contact people in charge. Hermit crabs are often still used as prizes at carnivals and fairs, and crab races are sometimes included at these events. If you hear about an event doing this, contact those in charge and try to educate them. Ask them to cancel or discontinue the use of hermit crabs in these things. It's especially prevalent around beach towns. We have a group member who has tried for years to get a Miss Crustacean Pageant in her area to stop exploiting hermit crabs, but no luck yet. But she still goes every year to hand out care information to whoever will take it.

- Attend Crab Con! It's absolutely amazing. You can get lots of great deals on food, supplies, & hermit crab merch, and spend the whole weekend learning & talking about hermit crabs! What's not to love? It's going to be in person in Virginia in 2023, but there will be an online part as well, for everyone who can't make the trip!

- Rescue crabs in your area! Check craigslist, kijiji, and similar sites. Facebook banned animal sales, but I still found my new crab on marketplace. Just be prepared to deal with crabs in poor condition - look up the Post Purchase Death Reduction method and learn what to do for limb loss, surface molts & naked crabs.

- Adopt crabs from the LHCOS adoption program, or adopt captive bred babies. This can be a great way to get crabs that are healthier than rescues. If you're able to adopt from those who do a lot of rescue work, you also free up space for them to help more crabs in need. Adopting captive bred babies obviously helps support the breeding program. Plus, you get hermit crabs that have never been abused or neglected! They've been loved & cared for since day 1. Just make sure you join the FB group for baby crab owners! They have some specific needs that are a bit different from bigger crabs.

- Volunteer with LHCOS. This is one where you'll need to be in the community for some time first, and you'll need to be reliable. But if you're really interested in hermit crabs and want to get involved, you can look into becoming a local representative for the organization, or becoming one of the educational people who go to reptile shows with a LHCOS booth. There may be other areas that need help, but Stacy would be the one to contact about that once you've been around a bit.

- Donate! Saved this for last bc there's a bunch of different places and ways you can donate. All of these are important parts of the overall mission!

Mary Akers, founder of Hermit House Captive Breeding

Darcy Madsen, certified breeder with Hermit House & runs Crab Central Station YouTube (second link is their website)

Land Hermit Crab Owners Society

Claws in the Classroom, you can donate money through the LHCOS PayPal above, or you can contact Stacy/LHCOS about donating supplies.

Shell donations - The Classroom program can often use shell donations to give teachers. There are also 3 different people who currently work to provide wild hermit crabs with safe shells in Taiwan, Japan, and Florida, USA! Scroll down that link for their addresses.

Painted shells - you can donate these for use with educational booths with the address listed here.

LHCOS & Mary also have stores where they sell hermit crab supplies & merch, if you want to grab some cool stuff while supporting them! The other stores on that list all sell safe hermit crab supplies, and many of us do rescue, advocacy, & donate to CITC as well.

I know this was a LONG answer, but there's just so many ways to make a difference for hermit crabs! It takes an army to stand up for these amazing little guys. I hope this helps and you can join me in being known as a weird hermit crab person!!

#hermit crabs #land hermit crabs #invertebrates #conservation #petblr #wildlife trade #wildlife conservation #long post #land hermit crab owner Society #hermit crab breeding #hermit crab advocating #gif warning

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theromanticscrooge · 4 months

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Lord Boxman, the Lonely Tyrant of Boxmore

Note: I've been wanting to return to writing beefy character essays for awhile and I was finally able to start back up after rewatching O.K. K.O.

Lord Boxman started out wanting to build a robot army strong enough to defeat POINT. Look at his early interactions with his first sapient robot Mr. Logic. This was his original business partner; someone he 'invented' to help fill in what gaps and blind spots he might have. Someone he wanted active feedback and suggestions from. Boxman himself was a lot more open-minded, patient, and collaborative at this point in time. He immediately called Mr. Logic his 'best friend' and treated him with warm, open affection.

Mr. Logic advised Boxman that he shouldn't immediately jump at his goal because he didn't yet have the manpower or resources to pose a legitimate threat. Instead, Mr. Logic proposed using Boxman's inventing abilities to tweak and improve upon his current inventions, to sell these inventions to other villains, and build a villain supply chain store. With time, hard work, and concentrated efforts, Boxman would eventually have the resources and power to successfully launch an attack later. It was a big-picture, long-haul plan. The Mr. Logic-Boxman team led to building the main Boxmore company headquarters and establishing Boxman as a trusted robot minion supplier.

Unfortunately, Boxman isn't a big-picture man. He didn't stop to consider that heroes could also start up and maintain a hero supply chain. Suddenly, POINT wasn't an abstract, 'someday' goal-post anymore. The heroes were right in Boxman's backyard with the presence of Mr. Gar and the developing Lakewood Plaza Turbo. Boxman thought he had ample time to become an indomitable powerhouse, but if the heroes had the same advantage, he'd never be able to catch up and had to address that problem now. When Mr. Logic said to "ignore Lakewood Plaza," Boxman was too lost in himself to listen. He felt threatened and intimidated enough that it stoked his insecurities and anxieties.

When Mr. Logic ventured out to investigate Lakewood Plaza, it could be seen as someone talking to the "other" that their parent, friends, or whomever painted with broad strokes and demonized. Boxman told Mr. Logic that his role was to fill in the "logical inconsistencies" with his plans, but he never asked Mr. Logic what he wanted to do with his life. With Boxman, everything was tailored to realizing Boxman's dreams and ambitions. When Mr. Logic spoke to Mr. Gar, it was a partly about what the Plaza was for and what Mr. Gar hoped for the future with the other part inviting Mr. Logic to share his plans for the future; plans about and for himself, not just the sustainability of Boxmore.

After Mr. Logic had his perspective broadened and returned to Boxmore wanting something fundamentally different from Boxman's new "Destroy the Plaza!" direction, it was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Boxman was already knee-deep in plans to stop this new existential threat; to have full control over his environment and his life. When Mr. Logic challenged Boxman's worldview, Boxman saw it as a challenge to him personally. Seriously considering Mr. Logic's arguments here meant that Boxman would have to self-reflect in a way he wasn't equipped to. So if Boxman had to shave down Mr. Logic's personhood to a black and white concept of "obstacle in my way" to safeguard his ego, that's what needed to be done.

GIF by zevzevarainai

The episode "Lad & Logic" is a fantastic launchpad to unpacking Boxman's screwed-up dynamic with his other children. His creator-robot minion dynamic is an allegory for an emotionally abusive parent that sees their children as extensions of themselves rather than full, autonomous beings with their own wants and desires. Mr. Logic was fully self-actualized and wanted something different than Boxman. Despite what he said out loud, Boxman knew that Mr. Logic was on even footing with him. Everything came down to power dynamics. So, when Boxman invented his next set of robots, he opted to be their "parent" because of the power imbalance he could exploit.

Shannon, Darrell, Raymond, and others strictly and obediently follow their father's wishes because they were deliberately conditioned and threatened to. Boxman pits them against each other to vie for his favor. The only TV they're allowed to watch at home are movies he carefully filmed to reinforce his "father knows best" agenda. It's similar to strict Christian parents banning their kids from watching certain shows or reading certain books because they may contain "undesirable" properties. Anything that encourages their child to question Christianity or endorses more critical thinking about their household values period is a threat to their authority and maintaining a "functional" household.

While Darrell, Shannon, and Raymond seem satisfied with their lives, unconditionally love their father, and gleefully attack the plaza, every time Boxman threatens them with the "furnace" or yells at them for failing, it's an exaggerated, blunt example of bad parenting. The "furnace" is a catch-all punishment for not being able to meet or exceed Boxman's expectations with anything and everything. He leaves some amount of ambiguity in his demands so that he can tug the proverbial leash every time he feels he needs to.

Granted, it's important to look at everything that led up to Lord Cowboy Darrell. Boxman's most egregious display of favoritism was when he built Boxman Jr. and refused to acknowledge how stung Darrell was. He kept pushing how much stronger, more competent, and better Boxman Jr. was overall. Generally, Darrell's respective relationships with Shannon and Raymond were strong enough to buffer against Boxman's picking favorites tactic. They'll fight each other for Dad's affection, but there was always an implicit understanding that they had each other's backs under normal circumstances. Jr. is different in that he had no significant relationship with his other siblings, only Boxman. And Boxman blatantly showered the newest addition with praise and affection the others never received.

Pushed to his limit, Darrell took matters into his own hands and staged an effective coup d'etat against Boxman. Through his disillusionment with his father, Darrell stepped up and became the focused, tight-knuckled business operator that Boxman could never be. Boxman tried to fill the mold that Mr. Logic helped him create and focus on appeasing his board of directors. But his all-consuming obsession with destroying the Plaza was always his true life's goal and work. This was such a core part of his character that he was miserable and hollow if he gave up on that goal. In contrast, Darrell can follow orders and do what needs to be done with whatever task he's given. The result of Lord Cowboy Darrell was one potential future of Darrell as a self-actualized villain without Boxman putting him down and actively demoralizing him.

After K.O. convinces Boxman to talk to Darrell and tell him he's proud of his achievements, it leads to the pivotal moment that Boxman couldn't give Mr. Logic. For once, Boxman looked at one of his kids and saw them as a separate, autonomous being rather than an extension of him. For that brief moment, he placed Darrell on equal footing. Darrell took over Boxmore partly out of spite but also out of an earnest interest in following in Boxman's footsteps. Without Boxman, he's a better Boxman; with Boxman, he's a co-conspirator that's as eager to destroy the Plaza as Boxman is.

GIF by the-green-sailor

Enter Professor Venomous. In stark contrast to Lord Boxman, Professor Venomous and Fink call themselves "boss" and "minion" respectively but it's really a father-daughter relationship. Venomous makes a point of bringing Fink along to important events or letting her tag along where relevant. He brings along what extras are needed to accommodate Fink whether it's a high chair, crayons, or even glorbs for a high-powered attack on some heroes. At their best, Venomous makes a point to talk to Fink on her level and she speaks very highly of what kind, affectionate gestures he does for her. Where Venomous trips up is discipline. Fink can do whatever she wants. Babysitters are run over by her reckless energy and disregard for other people that aren't Venomous. Any sign of a complaint or a tantrum is pacified with an expensive gift. When Venomous starts getting overwhelmed, the gifts replace all usual attempts at parenting or communication period.

After re-watching O.K. K.O. recently knowing that Professor Venomous was K.O.'s biological father from the jump, perhaps the "boss" and "minion" labels were Venomous' coping mechanism for knowing he abandoned one of his kids. It was easier to interact with and care for Fink as long as she was his "minion." That's a different enough relationship that he can compartmentalize it and distance it from what guilt or regrets he had from his past as Laser Blast.

When Boxman became business partners with Professor Venomous, it led to obvious shifts in his approach to parenting. After his night out with Venomous and Darrell and Shannon babysitting, he gave them T-shirts as rewards for their efforts. No pushes at playing favorites or nitpicking for once.

GIF by loser-jpg

With Professor Venomous in the picture, Boxman finally had the business partner he wanted and needed. While Mr. Logic's approach worked beautifully for kickstarting Boxmore, Boxman needed Venomous to cultivate it into exactly what he wanted vs what it was when tied to a board of directors. For a short time, Boxman and Venomous were building a blended family that was more successful together than separately. Boxman encouraged exercises and attempts towards Fink and Darrell getting along better. The Boxbots all received personalized upgrades from Venomous to improve and augment what weaponry or abilities they had. Fink now had access to what 'toys' Boxman could invent that were several grades above what Venomous could just buy. In short, Boxman dating Venomous led to him becoming a more proactive parent in a surprisingly organic way.

Venemous' intense self-destructive and literally destructive stint as Shadowy Venomous further elucidated what impact he had on Boxman. When Boxman had to step up as the responsible parent, the first problem he addressed with Venomous was how he'd been failing Fink recently with the "You missed Fink's recorder recital" comment. He was also emotionally strong enough to realize that Venomous was causing enough problems in the household that things had reached a boiling point and he had to leave. Breaking up would be emotionally devastating for him but Boxman was prioritizing the emotional well-being of his house and kids overall.

Even the devastating scene where Boxman leaves his kids to go off on an ambiguous "finding myself" quest was meaningful improvement on his part. Similarly to his confrontation with Lord Cowboy Darrell but with all of his kids this time, Boxman told them that they didn't need him. He was cutting the dependent and toxic grip on his apron strings. The Box kids are resilient and capable enough that they could carve out their own path.

There's a quote that Boxman brings up in another episode: "I'm a villain. I'm not a monster." In context, the quote was a punchline for a dark joke about Boxman potentially being a cannibal. Though, it interestingly applies when looking at Boxman's actions during his confrontations with Shadowy Venomous. Shadowy was the kind of monstrous villain that wanted mindless destruction and to see the world burn. Seeing the absolute lowest his partner could reach led to Boxman establishing what lines he wouldn't cross.

He wants to destroy the Plaza, not the world, and a pretty face isn't enough to convince him otherwise when he finds the self-assurance and confidence he needed. It's the pique of his character development as a father. While there is a lot more room for exploring this part of Boxman's character, there's enough substantial story here that it's an interesting look at a "bad dad" that was actively working on becoming better. Boxman and Venomous get back together later but only after Venomous proves that he's working through his bigger issues in a meaningful way with real, tangible results.

Over the last several years, there have been several stories tackling generational trauma that include parents realizing their failings and working on course-correcting with those failings. This has been a point of contention about a recurring to the point of tired stories in recent Pixar animated movies and the core of what made Everything, Everywhere, All at Once the powerhouse that it is. It's not too far of a reach to include Boxman as another one of these stories or even a decent starting place for digging into stories or characters dealing with generational trauma.

In Boxman's case, he could be seen as an example of an insecure parent that uses their role as a parent to reassure themselves in a constantly changing, unpredictable world. He only starts to get better when he starts changing and adapting to fit into that unpredictable world rather than trying to make his little corner of the world continue to conform to just him alone.

#ok ko #ok ko let's be heroes #ok ko lord boxman #lord boxman #lord boxman character analysis #character analysis #character essay #professor venomous #voxman

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racefortheironthrone · 10 months

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Do we know anything about the historical context that allowed Venice to come up with something like the Arsenal? Most accounts kind of treat it as this de Novo idea to mass produce ships, but I feel like history never actually works like that, and Carthaginians were doing that 1,500 years earlier. Were there trends going on elsewhere in Europe and the Mediterranean world that contributed to this industrial breakthrough? Do we know anything about the specific administrators who had to plan this seeming quantum leap in production out? Did a bunch of folks immediately see what the Venetians were doing and copy it? If not, why?

I'm going to take a slightly broader take on this question: the assembly line is not an invention, it's a discovery. So it's not about who did it first, because you have lots of cases of independent discoveries happening in wildly disparate times and places.

I remember quite vividly a talk given by Professor Anthony Barbieri-Low when he first arrived at UCSB, where he argued that the assembly line was first discovered in China...during the Bronze Age. As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties around 1000 BCE, we have evidence of assembly line techniques being used in the production of bronze and pottery, because the pieces were inscribed on the bottom with indications of which worker did which parts of the process and which quality inspector signed off on the piece as good enough for sale - so that if the thing broke, officials could figure out exactly who to blame for shoddy work.

So it's not that Venice was the first to ever adopt the idea of assembly line manufacture of ships, but rather that they did it more consistently and devoted more resources to it than anyone else, and iteratively improved on the techniques to get production times down to a single day per galley.

The Arsenal of Venice was an enormous complex, roughly 15% of Venice's landmass, surrounded by a two-mile long defensive wall, and employing some 16,000 people. In addition to standardized pre-fabricated parts, the Arsenal also emphasized division of labor with workshops devoted to producing everything a warship might need in-house - rope, rigging, masts, planking, sails, nails, guns, etc. Organizing these supply chains, what we might call vertical integration, was an incredible logistical feat in and of itself.

In terms of technology, the Arsenal pioneered frame-first (as opposed to hull-first) construction, a moving assembly line whereby galleys were floated down a canal to different stages of the production process, new forms of firearms, and new kinds of ships llike the galleass and galleon. Galileo was a major consultant to the Arsenal at the height of its power.

In addition to the technical advancements, all of this required a lot of money - roughly 10% of the Republic's entire budget - and what made Venice truly unique was its ability to devote those kind of resources on a regular basis at a time when even powerful empires like the Ottomans and the Spanish were still using the yo-yoing methods of medieval fleet construction.

#history #economic history #ancient history #renaissance history #arsenal of venice #galley #ships #medieval navy #royal navies #royal fleets #military history #naval warfare

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kellterntempest · 7 months

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@tyrannysaurusfloof i thought maybe sending you 2,500 words in your askbox wasn't the best way to send this lol and apparently tumblr doesn't let you send documents in DMs, so i have it in separate post here for u!

Stobotnik Subnautica AU fic snippet

Out of all the Earth luxuries Robotnik was forced to live without, he missed music the most. His CDs, his mixtapes, his curated playlists. He missed the deafening pulse of industrial drum and bass, the intricate rhythms of funk and jazz, the comforting pop classics, and invigorating rock melodies that he could dance to.

Robotnik never fully realized just how miserable a world without music could be. He began humming to himself, even sang songs he only half remembered the lyrics to in an effort to stay sane in the deserted, depressing isolation he was surviving in.

And here he was, humming a Tears for Fears tune while he piloted his submarine vessel 500 meters down under the sea. The submarine that Robotnik constructed and christened "The Eggmarine" was holding up perfectly, just as planned. He never made mistakes when it came to engineering, it was just like breathing to him. Physics, math, science, electronics, all of it was second nature.

Robotnik was able to harness the near endless power supply of the blue quill and recycle parts of his prototype – as only an extraordinary genius like him could do – and he created something incredible after losing nearly everything.

The Eggmarine was an engineering marvel in and of itself, but he had even bigger blueprints in progress. His ultimate mission: to construct a space shuttle capable of interstellar travel. He was going to make it back to Earth no matter what. He'd make it home by Christmas. He declared it boldly to himself out loud after barely surviving the crash landing of his prototype on one of the many islands of the alien planet.

Another great feat that the doctor took pride in was the detailed cataloging and analysis of every single new thing about this alien planet. Countless unknown species of flora, fauna, megafauna, biomes and climates, lifeless ruins of what seemed to be some kind of ancient civilization with astounding technology… It was all exhilarating.

Robotnik was at heart a brilliant scientist, and though the circumstances bringing him to this planet were absolutely horrid, he often found himself feeling like a kid discovering the wonders of science again. He intensively studied the new alien technology he found in the ruins – He was so close to cracking the code to their written language – and vastly advanced his progress surviving on the planet. With the alien technology he was able to build a much improved habitat and small laboratory with ease.

It had been 63 days now since Sonic sent him crashing through the ring portal in Green Hills. If there was anything he had now, it was down time. Day 63, and he'd already recorded over two hundred new species, determined multiple theories of their evolution, mapped out the string of islands he crashed on, not to mention narrowly escaping being killed and eaten countless times by the local mega predators – which there were plenty of.

Robotnik had faced an assorted deadly lineup of insects, poisonous animals, scavengers, hunters and predators both on land and under the sea, and the kings at the top of the food chain: Leviathan class mega predators – gargantuan creatures similar to the dinosaurs back in earth's ancient history.

Robotnik learned very quickly he had to create a predator of his own if he ever wanted to get off this planet unscathed.

So he did what he did best, and built a robotic mech suit designed for combat, capable of both land and marine travel, and resource gathering. With it, he was now able to hold his own against most predators, and even fought a few different leviathans in the depths of the ocean and escaped the battles unharmed. But stealth was always the best policy so far – less damage to his precious machine, and less risk of being drowned or eaten.

Robotnik had not found anything that resembled anything close to a sentient life form yet, and the chances of doing so were growing smaller and smaller. He laughed out thinking, was it really that different here from the 8 billion barely sentient monkeys back on earth?

"Passing 750 meters. Pressure stabilized." The robotic voice of the vessel's artificial intelligence spoke, showing the status of all ship systems in green. "Scanners indicate traces of nickel ore below, south west."

Robotnik was currently in search of rare minerals to craft his escape plan. Minerals that he determined could only be found beneath the sea floor in a thermal, volcanic climate.

The A.I. spoke again, this time with a warning. "Detecting multiple leviathan class life forms in the region. Doctor, are you certain whatever you're doing is worth it?"

Of course the exact biome where he needed to go would be crawling with dangerous monsters. The statistical probability that he calculated before was, again, unfortunately proven correct. Of course he had to be right, every time! He thought with a groan. Sometimes, it was worse to be proved right. Even the warm glow of smug satisfaction wears off quickly when you're chased by savage animals out to make you their next meal.

"Shut your trap and keep scanning. I'm not leaving until I get my hands on that ore." Robotnik continued the descent, passing tall black hydrothermal vents – a good sign that he was heading in the right direction.

There was no sound now but the engine's hum, and the steady ping of the sonar system every 7 seconds.

984 meters. Ping. The sonar mapped out the deep trench he was in, and showed a massive crevice opening further down. He was getting readings of small-scale volcanic eruptions in this region, and hoped that crevice was the entrance to his destination.

A loud, organic screech passed through the dark waters, and Robotnik instinctively rushed to hit silent mode.

The internal and external lights went out, and the engine shifted gears. Robotnik sat in the pilot seat, frozen, waiting for another noise.

It was almost worse that he heard nothing.

The artificial intelligence spoke up quickly, casting information in red in the control screens. "Proximity Alert: Threat Detected. Leviathan class life form."

Robotnik cursed out loud, white knuckling the control wheel.

"Proximity: 50 meters." The A.I. stated. "25… 10… brace for impact."

The side of the sub was hit by something colossal, and Robotnik was nearly thrown out of the pilot chair.

Then another uncomfortably loud sound – a roar vibrating through the metallic chambers and utterly harrowing.

A leviathan predator. A reaper - he recognized the horrible sound.

He didn't have any weapons mounted on the Eggmarine, and he couldn't launch his mech suit and fight back – he was in completely unknown territory and what looked to be about 400 more meters to the bottom of the trench. His mech suit couldn't make it up 400 meters straight up back to the submarine, and no way could he safely swim back to his Eggmarine without getting snapped up. Nightmare scenario again. He could only sit tight, stay on course, and hope the predator would lose interest and leave, or kick engines in high gear and make a break for it.

The sub was hit again, and the alarms began sounding. "Hull damage imminent."

The leviathan was not going to leave.

Robotnik slammed the switches and revved up the engine to full speed. He had to get the hell out of here. The only way through was down.

He was sure every creature in the region could hear the Eggmarine's engines and the roars of the reaper leviathan.

"New Threat Detected: Another Leviathan class life form. Proximity: 58 meters."

Oh no.

Ping. The sonar sounded, and the red outline of another large shape was dead ahead of the submarine's path of escape.

Ping. The shape grew bigger, and it was coming straight for him.

"Proximity Alert: 25 meters."

Robotnik jumped out of his skin, his heart beating out of his chest. "Fucking hell!" He shoved the control wheel forward to avoid the impact. "Nononono!"

The submarine descended sharply, and the leviathan behind him roared, but it was interrupted halfway from a second massive sound bellowing through the depths. The second leviathan growled – but it was completely different from the first – like a harsh rumbling of thunder ending with rhythmic clicking.

"Danger: Engine overheating." Robotnik heard a blast coming from the engine bay.

Everything was going to hell. He couldn't leave the bridge to attend to the fire he knew had started, not with two giant monsters about to tear his ship apart.

The sonar pinged, and Robotnik could see the two leviathans grappling together. It was hard to make out the image from the red flash that lasted only seconds, but it seemed as if they were fighting – it sounded horrible, with the two huge predators growling, howling, and snapping at each other. Roars pierced through the darkness, and the top of the vessel was hit again, worse this time.

"Hull compromised - storage bay ceiling."

Robotnik was flung forwards from the mighty impact of the leviathans. “Damn it, come on! Go!” He hissed, reorienting himself on the controls and leaning into them as if it would make the sub go faster. He saw a blink of movement in the glass, a blur of 2 long tails and fins swiftly passing the front of the bridge, so fast he could barely make it out in the dark.

Robotnik shoved the wheel as far forward as possible, plummeting the vessel in a rapid descent. "Not today you hungry mongrels! This snack is out of your league!" He taunted through clenched teeth.

If he could only reach the crevice, maybe he could find a place to hide, buy time to repair the hull damage, and stand his ground against the leviathans in the mech suit. The engines had to burn for a little longer, there was no other choice.

But the universe had other plans.

"Engine Damage Critical. Shutting Down."

"AARGH– give me a big, fat break!!" Robotnik yelled in frustration, still pushing the wheel hard.

The Eggmarine's movement slowed to a halt, floating dead in the water.

Ping. The sonar marked the vast, empty space of his location in the ocean, in a trench about 700 kilometers wide with mountainous walls going nearly straight upwards on either side of it.

There was 1 dot left on his display. 1 leviathan.

Threat Proximity: 20 meters.

There was nothing Robotnik could do. The sub's engine was down, a breach was ripping the hull, and a hungry, territorial leviathan was coming for him.

The creature sounded – a short, clicking rumble. It was the second leviathan, the one Robotnik had never heard before.

It was swimming up from the deep, still chasing him after surviving and presumably winning its deadly fight with the reaper.

The sonar rang out again. Ping.

The creature responded to the sonar with the same short rumble, ending with an ascending trill.

Robotnik leaned forward, brows furrowed at this new behavior. He switched off the sonar and floodlights and watched anxiously for movement.

Something slowly floated up into view of the glass dome of the Eggmarine's bridge.

Robotnik saw scaled and finned limbs coming from the dark, and they gently landed on the glass below him. He counted three, no, four arm-like appendages.

They almost resembled… webbed hands, pressed against the glass. They lifted, and tapped the glass several times, almost experimentally. The bang of the glass nearly gave Robotnik a heart attack.

The creature swam from beneath the glass up until it was directly in front of the pilot's control panel. The leviathan made no noise since the last sonar soundwave, and stayed in its spot facing the front glass of the bridge, its body swishing slowly side to side in the darkness.

Robotnik was almost afraid to turn the exterior flood lights back on, but he had to know what kind of beast was staring him in the face.

This leviathan was an entirely different species from any other he'd seen. It was slightly smaller in length than the reaper, but its body was much thicker and more mammalian. Its underbelly looked smooth, but its 6 limbs, spine and tail were scaled and armored. Its lower pair of arms were tucked into itself, and the top two arms swayed in front. It had two powerful muscular legs that were treading slowly in the water, and its long, spined tail snaked along with them.

Its head was more frighteningly humanoid than he would ever have expected. In its face were multiple sets of eyes squinting back, blinking rapidly from the bright floodlights. Small clusters of bubbles escaped from gills on either side of its neck, and 2 long, thin rays coming out of either side of its head with bioluminescent bulbs at the end.

Robotnik turned the sonar back on. A single ping.

The creature rumbled back, and it almost sounded like a whale's call in an attempt to imitate the sonar's frequency. It made no sudden movements, continuing to tread in place with unhurried motions.

Robotnik breathed out a shaken gasp of relief. This creature, whatever it was, didn't seem to see him on its menu right now. However, he had no time to investigate the intentions of the leviathan, he had engine fires to put out and a catastrophic implosion to prevent.

He left the sonar on to keep the creature distracted, switched the internal lights back on and ran full speed into the engine room to extinguish the fires. A thin stream of water was steadily spraying like a fire hydrant from a small breach in the plasteel ceiling that was getting worse every minute from the massive pressure of about 1200 PSI from the outside.

Robotnik yanked the repair tool off the wall, and clipped his harness to the suspension support and hauled himself up into the air to reach the storage bay ceiling.

He focused on welding the breach as best he could through the low visibility of the water flying everywhere and covering his goggles.

"It's just another day!" He shouted above the noise of the welding. "Just another day in the life of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, greatest man on earth AND planet 4546B! Day 63, boldly going! It's Tuesday back home! Stupid blue alien rat and its stupid magic rings!"

A strange, fuzzy sensation suddenly passed through his head. It was like a soft static of a distant radio, organic sounds garbled and unintelligible within. It was growing louder and louder. Robotnik cursed out loud. What the hell was next? Had he developed some new medical or psychological condition from a dangerous stimuli he'd unknowingly interacted with?

There was a painful pop of pressure in his head, as if the air pressure had climbed steeply in seconds – and the static noise stopped, both his ears started ringing a high pitched drone.

But Robotnik kept welding, he couldn't stop or he'd be dead in minutes, crushed from the impending implosion.

Finally, the water subsided, and the breach was closed.

Robotnik hung suspended in the air in his harness, breathing hard through the adrenaline rush and pain in his ears and head.

He slid down, and landed unsteadily on his feet on the metal floor. Back to the bridge. He was certain that all the noise from the Eggmarine's roaring engines and the leviathan fight would attract other predators.

The leviathan was gone from the view of the glass dome.

The sonar went off, and Robotnik saw the creature was floating in place beside the top of the sub, close to where the hull breach was. And now, it was swimming back into view of the bridge again.

Robotnik swallowed a prickle of fear. What the hell was it doing?

The high pitched ringing was at its loudest now. Robotnik leaned over the console, elbows hitting the metal, and clasped both hands to the side of his head, pushing them hard against his skull in a panicked effort to make the pain stop.

But the agonizing drone faded sharply into nothing, and was replaced with something else – a voice, soft and low pitched, echoing clear inside his head.

"Who…are…you?"

#subnautica au #stobotnik #my fics #Stone takes the place of sea emperor leviathan woooooo lets gooooo scaly giant telepathic monster boy #leviathan!stone

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years

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American healthcare did a fuckery

My fellow Americans, I regret to inform you that our beloved health insurance industry has done a major fuckery. I know this is hard to believe, given the probity and honor we associate with our fine insurance companies, but the evidence is incontrovertible.

Back in 2019, the Trump administration ordered insurers and hospitals to start disclosing their prices, despite tens of thousands of comments filed by employers, insurers and hospitals objecting to the proposal.

This is one of those pox-on-all-your-houses/you-can’t-get-there-from-here situations. The Trump admin wanted to continue the fiction that the blame for America’s worst-in-class health care was the result of bad market dynamics. Without transparency on pricing and service, employers can’t shop for plans, hospitals can’t know if they’re getting a bad deal from insurers, and sick people are denied information needed for effective bargaining.

That’s all true, as far as it goes. The stubborn, remarkable opacity of American health-care pricing is an enormous source of mischief. Two patients receiving the same procedure, medicine or service might see bills that are thousands of dollars apart, at the same hospital, delivered by the same personnel.

Without price transparency, patients can’t know if they’re getting ripped off. But if you know that the hospital charged the person in the next bed $3 for the Tylenol tablet that you got charged $300 for, you can go to the hospital billing department and say, basically, “Oh, come the fuck on — seriously?” and maybe get $297 knocked off your bill.

That’s why insurers and hospitals don’t want price transparency. Hospitals don’t want insurers to know that they’re getting gouged, and insurers don’t want their competitors to know that they’ve cut sweetheart deals that are being subsidized by eye-popping profits extracted from their rivals.

Ending those practices will make marginal improvements to US healthcare, but only marginal ones. The problem with health-care isn’t that it’s an imperfect market — it’s that we treat it as a market at all. Markets may help organize and allocate discretionary goods and services, but the core of healthcare is not discretionary.

Fundamentally, an unconscious person in cardiac arrest being loaded into the back of an ambulance cannot send a price-signal by shopping for a hospital emergency room and directing the driver to take them there. Even less extreme examples — cancer treatment, insulin, a sick child, a broken bone — do not lend themselves to market dynamics.

Health care always turns into a planned economy. The only question is: who plans it? Right now, we have a monopolized health-care supply-chain, with a handful of companies controlling insurance, hospitals, pharma, pharmacy benefit managers, hospital beds, powered wheelchairs, etc. Each of these sectors is locked in a death-battle with the others, fighting to shift profits from one balance-sheet to the other — but no matter which one wins, the rest of us lose.

There’s a reason that Americans pay more for worse health outcomes, and why American medical professionals get paid less for worse working conditions, than their counterparts abroad. A hospital chain and an insurance company might be well-matched for negotiating power and thus able to arrive at an equilibrium that lets both of them thrive — but workers and patients are disorganized and atomized, and we’re easy pickings for both insurers and hospitals.

Sure, hospitals and insurers fight over us, but the prize they’re seeking is the right to drain our wallets — not the right to win our business through excellence. They are not our champions, they are our tormentors, and whichever one wins, we lose.

Back to transparency. Despite the tsunami of bad-faith objections to publishing prices, the Trump admin enacted the rule, because the rule was key to the pretense that the market for health-care could be fixed — while the alternative was that it should be abolished and subsumed into a single-payer system, like the ones that every other rich country with successful healthcare use.

The insurers and hospitals switched tactics: they simply ignored the rule. Months went by. Deadlines passed. The prices remained a secret, or were publishing in incomplete form, or in obscure formats that couldn’t be readily understood or compared. The Biden admin threatened the sector with fines and public draggings, with increasing severity as the stalemate continued.

Then the insurers switched tactics. Over the summer, the nation’s mammoth insurance companies began dumping enormous amounts of price-data — and I do mean enormous. Humana dropped 400 billion prices in 500,000 CSV files totaling 600TB.

https://developers.humana.com/Resource/PCTFilesList?fileType=innetwork

That pales in comparison to the dumps from Unitedhealthcare — a private-equity backed behemoth that scooped up dozens of smaller companies — whose 250TB dump of 100,000,000,000 prices:

https://transparency-in-coverage.uhc.com/

[Image ID: Alec Stein’s chart showing the scale of the insurance pricing dump.]

All told, the industry has produced more than a trillion prices. Writing on Dolthub, Alec Stein contextualizes this unimaginably large dump: larger than English Wikipedia, the Library of Congress, Libgen, and all of Netflix — combined:

https://www.dolthub.com/blog/2022-09-02-a-trillion-prices/

Where did all this data come from? The insurers are breaking out prices by “who’s paying, who’s getting paid, what they’re getting paid for, plus some extra fluff to keep track of versioning,” combining all of these to produce generally meaningless distinctions that only serve to chaff the data so it can’t be readily parsed.

This is pure malicious compliance, a monopolist’s version of work-to-rule whereby they follow the letter of the law in a way that is clearly designed to frustrate the spirit of the law. Stein — who works for Dolthub, and wants to highlight the power of its database product — has thinks we can still wrangle all that data.

He proposes reducing the amount of data by 99% by eliminating extraneous metadata, as well as data on rare procedures at the margins of health care. Then, he wants to parse the remaining data through “data bounties” that pay data scientists to perform specific tasks — Dolthub already did this for a smaller set of hospital data, and it worked:

https://www.dolthub.com/blog/2022-07-01-hospitals-compliance/

Then, Stein says, we can further whittle the data down by zeroing in on the 70 codes required by Medicare, and break those out by hospitals by using Medicare’s “national provider identity” codes.

All of this will be useful work. Assigning precise dollar-figures to the dysfunction of a commercialized healthcare sector is a necessary-but-insufficient precursor to creating a sensible universal system. Likewise, this data will be useful for the the DoJ and FTC when they block future mergers and unwind existing ones.

You can help! Stein wrote custom scrapers for each insurer’s dumps and posted them to Github, and you can scrape the data yourself:

https://github.com/alecstein/dolt_datascience/tree/master/transparency_in_coverage_filesizes

As useful as all of this will be, don’t take your eyes off the prize. America has the worst-performing, most expensive healthcare in the rich world. Fixing it means more than tinkering in the margins with price transparency. Health is not a market — it’s a human right.

[Image ID: Ticker-tape parade for presidential candidate Richard Nixon in New York in 1960.]

#pluralistic

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thisbelongsto-nohbodys · 1 year

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[Lady Olivia and Yunan are next to a chained Andrias at the outskirts of the ruins of Wartwood]

Lady Olivia: And here we are. You’ll begin your punishment here to help restore nature after the destruction you and the Core caused.

Yunan: I’m surprised that you easily accepted this. I would’ve thought you’d try and wiggle out of any punishment.

Andrias: It’s the least I could do after a 1000 years of cowardice I’m service of my father. Plus the jury accepted the conditions I requested before I accepted this.

Yunan: What conditions? What tricks do you have planned?

Andrias: No tricks General. First I requested to be allowed to build new frobots to help me since I shall not be repairing my cybernetics. I vowed to not add any weapons to any new ones I build.

Lady Olivia: Since we’re near Wartwood I can see if the youngest Plantar can check on that.

Andrias: Yes, I’m impressed that she managed to improve on my design at such a young age. The other thing I requested is that after I finished Frog Valley, that I be allowed to visit my ex wife and husband’s graves.

Yulivia: What…

Andrias: Since we’re near Wartwood I hope the Plantars have a family plot in the local cemetery so I can visit Leif. And then I’ll need toads to escort me to where Barrel is said to fall. I need to apologize for everything. Well, better get started.

[Andrias walks away to gather supplies. Yulivia are dumbfounded]

Yulivia: …………

Yunan: Did you know he was married?!

Lady Olivia: I’ve been living in the castle my whole life and never knew that! I don’t know how he managed to hide something as big as a secret marriage with two other— Wait… he said “Plantar’s family cemetery plot”, then does that mean his ex wife was a frog…

Yunan: and he said “Barrel”, the only Barrel I remember existing was the Toad Warrior ‘Brave the Brave’ which means his ex husband was a toad…

Yulivia:……………………

Lady Olivia: Wow…this is a lot to take in. The break up might be the reason why we had that caste system in the first place.

Yunan: I’m more concerned about how a frog and a toad survived the honeymoon with someone of Andrias’ size.

Lady Olivia: ////// Yunan! Don’t be vulgar!!!

Yunan: You were thinking it too, ‘Liv.

Lady Olivia: Yes but we don’t need to vocalize it. It’s not proper etiquette, my love.

#Amphibia #lady olivia #general yunan #king andrias #yulivia #this joke only works if Amphibia amphibians give birth like humans #leif plantar #barrel the brave #the divorce trio

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usafphantom2 · 2 months

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French Air Force-performs Elephant Walk with 21 Rafale fighters during "Sapphire" exercise

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/21/2024 - 12:01 in Military

In a demonstration of precision and operational capacity, the French Air and Space Force completed a rigorous training exercise called "SAPHIR", which saw a significant deployment of Dassault Rafale fighters.

Air base 118 Mont-de-Marsan implemented the "Saphir" exercise from February 12 to 16, 2024.

Supervised by the Air Fighter Aviation Brigade (BAAC), the "Sapphire" exercise (sequence of high-intensity activity and production and regeneration) mobilizes all the technical and logistical support forces: mechanical, logistical but also industrial.

Focus your efforts to optimize the performance of the production chain, increase the availability of aircraft and thus increase the volume of activity of the 30ª wing, that is, 1/30 "Côte d'Argent", 2/30 "Normandy-Niemen" and 30/03 "Lorraine" fighter squadrons.

One of the noteworthy events during the exercise was an impressive "elephant walk" on the second day, where 21 Rafale jets taxied in tight formation before taking off at minimal intervals.

La mobilisation des équipages et équipes techniques (mécaniciens, logisticiens et industriels) lors de cet exercice d'envergure a permis de démontrer la capacité de l'AAE à assurer rapidement une coordination et une maintenance efficaces pour être au rendez-vous des opérations. pic.twitter.com/CIJI2ee3Ir

— Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (@Armee_de_lair) February 17, 2024

Subsequently, 18 of these jets participated in flight in formation, with three retained to maintain symmetry, demonstrating precision and coordination between the pilots.

After a first planning phase started in January and after a potential regeneration phase, the time has come for the driving phase. "Everyone is focused on the commitment to have 20 Rafales available several times a day throughout this week," explains Lieutenant-Colonel Sylvain, head of the technical and aeronautical support squadron (ESTA 15,030 "Chalosse"). In total, more than 180 surts or up to 200 should be carried out.

On the return from the flight, Lieutenant-Colonel Laurent, commander of the "Normandie-Niémen", does not hide his satisfaction at having made a flight with about twenty aircraft in the skies of Landes. "We took off at the scheduled time with a significant number of aircraft and then carried out the planned mission. It's a real success."

But the joy doesn't last long. There was barely time for the crews and technical teams to take advantage of when they had to remobilize to successfully complete this first edition. The next three days promise to be equally intense.

The high-intensity exercises aimed to improve the operational readiness of combat aircraft through intensive flight activities in several squadrons during a specified period.

Tags: Armée de l'air - French Air Force/French Air ForceMilitary AviationDassault RafaleElephant Walk

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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shantitechnology · 3 months

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Manufacturing ERP: The Top 10 ERP Systems for 2024

Introduction:

In the dynamic landscape of the manufacturing industry, the right technology can make all the difference in streamlining processes and enhancing overall efficiency. Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have become indispensable tools for businesses seeking to integrate various facets of their operations seamlessly. As we step into 2024, the demand for robust ERP solutions continues to grow. In this blog, we will explore the top 10 Manufacturing ERP systems that are poised to make a significant impact on the industry this year.

1. SAP S/4HANA: Pioneering Manufacturing Resource Planning System

One of the most trusted names in ERP, SAP S/4HANA stands out as a comprehensive Manufacturing Resource Planning System. Its real-time analytics, integrated modules, and intelligent automation make it an ideal choice for businesses aiming to optimize their manufacturing processes.

2. Oracle ERP Cloud: Empowering Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning

Oracle ERP Cloud offers a scalable and flexible solution for manufacturing enterprises. With its robust features, it caters to the diverse needs of businesses, ensuring a seamless integration of manufacturing operations. Its cloud-based architecture provides the agility required for modern manufacturing environments.

3. Microsoft Dynamics 365: A Versatile ERP Solution

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is gaining prominence as a Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning software that offers versatility and integration capabilities. Its user-friendly interface and interoperability with other Microsoft products make it an attractive choice for businesses, especially small enterprises.

4. Infor CloudSuite Industrial: Tailored Manufacturing ERP

Infor CloudSuite Industrial is designed with the unique needs of manufacturers in mind. It provides specialized functionalities, including supply chain management and shop floor control, making it a standout choice among ERP solution providers.

5. NetSuite ERP: Unifying Manufacturing Operations

NetSuite ERP is recognized for its ability to unify diverse manufacturing operations into a single, cohesive system. Its cloud-based platform allows for real-time collaboration and data accessibility, making it an efficient Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning Software.

6. Epicor ERP: Driving Growth for Small Businesses

Epicor ERP is particularly well-suited for small businesses in the manufacturing sector. With its focus on driving growth and improving efficiency, Epicor ERP offers a cost-effective solution without compromising on essential features.

7. IFS Applications: Comprehensive ERP Solution

IFS Applications is a comprehensive ERP solution that covers a wide range of manufacturing processes. Its modular structure allows businesses to tailor the system according to their specific requirements, making it a preferred choice for Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning.

8. IQMS Manufacturing ERP: Enhancing Shop Floor Control

IQMS Manufacturing ERP is distinguished by its emphasis on shop floor control and real-time monitoring. It empowers manufacturers with tools to optimize production processes and make informed decisions, positioning it as a top choice among ERP solution providers.

9. Acumatica Cloud ERP: Scalability for Growing Businesses

Acumatica Cloud ERP stands out for its scalability, making it an ideal choice for growing manufacturing businesses. With a flexible platform and advanced features, Acumatica supports businesses in adapting to changing demands and expanding their operations seamlessly.

10. SYSPRO ERP: Tailored for Manufacturing Success

SYSPRO ERP is tailored to meet the specific needs of manufacturing industries. Its focus on delivering a user-friendly experience and addressing industry challenges positions it as a reliable choice for Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning.

Conclusion:

As manufacturing industries evolve, the importance of robust ERP systems cannot be overstated. The top 10 ERP systems highlighted in this blog represent the cutting edge of technology, offering solutions that cater to the unique demands of the manufacturing sector. Whether it's SAP S/4HANA's real-time analytics, Oracle ERP Cloud's scalability, or Acumatica Cloud ERP's flexibility, each system brings its own strengths to the table.

For businesses in Madhya Pradesh seeking Manufacturing Software for Small Business, these ERP solutions provide a pathway to enhanced productivity and streamlined operations. Choosing the right Manufacturing ERP system is a critical decision that can impact a company's growth and competitiveness. Evaluate the features, scalability, and industry focus of each system to find the perfect fit for your manufacturing enterprise. Embrace the power of ERP in 2024 and position your business for success in the ever-evolving landscape of manufacturing technology.

#Manufacturing Software for Small Business #Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning Software #ERP Solution Providers in Madhya Pradesh #Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning #Manufacturing Resource Planning System #ERP Software #Chain Cycle Management #Business #Engineering #Manufacturing #India #Madhya Pradesh #Go-To-Market #GTM #ERP

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amethystfairy1 · 4 months

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Hello!!! Been a big fan of both TTSBC and Traveling Thieves for a while (I remember I was actually there when the first Thieves fic was published!). Like previous asks, I've got some basic worldbuilding questions for TTSBC, mostly about the logistics of the under-city. And don't worry, I'm not expecting too deep or complex an answer.

If the under-city caverns are not bottomless, then at some point wouldn't overcrowding or extreme population density become a serious issue? If that is the case, then are there any big problems with housing or homelessness? Especially from Ren we know that some under-city families/clans can grow quite large. I know you've said that the main cavern and the depths aren't the only parts of the undercity and there are other tunnels and smaller caverns that branch off from it, but still, there are only so many places to go underground when you're boxed in on all sides.

Where does the under-city get their food? I'm assuming most commercial crops aren't an option because they need lots of space and sunlight, as well as most land animals like cattle or pigs and such because they also need space for farms and grazing. Are there special types of animals or plants that have adapted to live beneath bedrock? Given the technology level in the setting, perhaps the labs came up with some way to engineer and grow their own crops? Does glamor play any role in food production?

Hello, hello! ✨

I know you of course I do! Thanks so much for all your kind comments and support of both the AUs for all this time, I really appreciate it! Questions questions questions! ☺️

Sooooo....remember how monsters are a big problem? Yeah...the mortality rate of the under-city is unfortunately quite high, especially on the lower levels and out in the tunnels and other caves and such. I also feel like I'm underselling just how huge the under-city is. Like. It's REALLY big. I don't want to slap numbers on it because I feel like I'll pigeon-hole myself but like, while yes it is certainly crowded, it's not to the point where it's extremely overpopulated. Also I will say that while it's true that clans like Ren and Lizzie's get pretty huge, there aren't that many clans that grow to that size in the under-city. The Dog and Cat hunting clans are the main ones, and I do plan to elaborate on that more especially once we get back to Treebark. So between the two of them they are huge, yes, but it's not like every single hunting family/clan of subspecies gets to that size.

They have several different ways. There are foods that have adapted to grow in the under-city such as glowberries, but also there is the underground trade. I've mentioned it here and there, but Etho's main job is that he trades with the over-city for supplies, under the table. It's something that's been going on for years and it's nothing new, and there are several characters I am very much looking forward to introducing you all too that are apart of this fragile chain keeping the over-city and under-city connected. For example, remember how Xisuma showed up briefly in 'Everything and More'? And how his job title is head of Over-City Relations? It's got something to do with that. Also yes! The labs have developed ways to grow crops and steady food supplies in the under-city, including some livestock like chickens and cows, but again, it's all quite limited. The under-city does have resources enough to manage without any connection to the over-city for at least a year or two, but things would start straining pretty quickly, and that's kind of what Doc and his new version of the labs has been trying to improve upon ever since he took over. And...well, glamor itself doesn't play a role, but there have been experiments in using glamor to help with the problem. While I don't plan to go crazy on the details in these aspects, there are pieces planned in the future (with perhaps another new ship OH NO) where we'll learn about how the under-city actually runs and supplies itself.

Hope these were helpful! 💖

#fanfic #ao3 fanfic #hermitcraft #traffic smp #through the sky blue cracks #worldbuilding #life series #docm77 #etho #xisumavoid #xisuma

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nekoannie-chan · 1 year

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Love confessions

Pairing: Brock Rumlow X Reader.

Word count: 643 words.

Summary: Brock confess his feelings in the middle of the snow.

Warnings: Little angst.

A/N: This is my entry to @there-goes-thefighter Bri’s 200 (almost) Follower Celebration with prompt #7:

"Love confessions in the snow."

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish: Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter.

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @mylifeispainandiloveit @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga

You saw the snow falling through the window; it was falling faster than predicted, and surely soon it would become a storm. You sighed; you ran to grab your bag; you had to go to the store as soon as possible, or else you would not have supplies for the rest of the week and probably could not leave if the snow kept falling like that.

You were saying the snowfall would last for a week; surely around closing time, everything would be crazy.

You just hoped you wouldn't get stuck in the middle of the snowfall. Warnings were starting to appear on the street sign screens, and you also indicated that businesses would close at six o'clock at night and roads at seven o'clock to avoid accidents or people getting stuck in the middle of the storm.

You had almost four hours to buy everything and return to the compound, and you hoped that the others would also return on time.

You managed to get out just before the supermarket went crazy. You were just paying for the groceries when a lot of people started to come in just to buy enough groceries. You quickly packed the groceries in the car.

The amount of snow was a lot more than when you arrived at the supermarket, but you could probably make it back without any problems. It was two blocks to the compound when the car stopped; you saw on the dashboard that there wasn't even anything on; in fact, the car was completely turned off.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening," you said in frustration. You didn't plan to carry everything you had bought all the way to the compound; you called everyone on their mobile phones, but no one answered.

You opened the hood to see if you could find the problem. You were startled to hear the sound of a horn, and when you saw who it was, you felt relieved.

"Brock!" you exclaimed happily.

"What happened to you?" he asked with concern.

"Well... I have no idea; it just went out," you answered.

He checked quickly and went to his truck to get some chains so he could drag your car.

"I can't fix it here with the snow, but at the compound, I will," he told you.

After he fixed your car, you gave him a cup of hot chocolate. It was freezing outside, but you used to walk in the snow-covered yard every winter.

"There's something I've always wanted to tell you, well, ever since our first mission together," Brock commented.

"What? "Don't tell me you're coming to save me in the middle of a snowfall," you joked.

Brock laughed. Your sense of humor was one of the things Brock liked so much.

"No, not exactly." I think you're very smart, and you always care about others.

"You all are my family; I don't know what I would do if I wasn't part of the team." "Not after the X-men disappeared," you said.

"It must have been hard, but there's something else I want to tell you; it's something I wasn't sure I could feel at some point, and you're someone very important to me...

"I like you, Brock," you interrupted.

Since he saved you on that mission, you started to have feelings for him, although you were also confused. You had never felt something like that before.

"And you like me," he answered.

You looked at each other for a few seconds, then kissed, but the kiss was interrupted by snow falling from a roof.

"Okay, that was unexpected," you said, and you started laughing.

"We'd better hurry back; you don't want us to get stuck and freeze," he said, taking your hand. Despite the snow, you could feel the warmth of his hands through the fabric of the gloves.

#bri's 200 followers celebration #brock rumlow #brock rumlow x reader #brockrumlow #brock fanfic #brock rumlow fanfiction #mcu brock rumlow #mcu crossbones

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mariacallous · 4 months

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If you ever had pastries at breakfast, drank soy milk, used soaps at home, or built yourself a nice flat-pack piece of furniture, you may have contributed to deforestation and climate change.

Every item has a price—but the cost isn’t felt only in our pockets. Hidden in that price is a complex chain of production, encompassing economic, social, and environmental relations that sustain livelihoods and, unfortunately, contribute to habitat destruction, deforestation, and the warming of our planet.

Approximately 4 billion hectares of forest around the world act as a carbon sink which, over the past two decades, has annually absorbed a net 7.6 billion metric tons of CO2. That’s the equivalent of 1.5 times the annual emissions of the US.

Conversely, a cleared forest becomes a carbon source. Many factors lead to forest clearing, but the root cause is economic. Farmers cut down the forest to expand their farms, support cattle grazing, harvest timber, mine minerals, and build infrastructure such as roads. Until that economic pressure goes away, the clearing may continue.

In 2024, however, we are going to see a big boost to global efforts to fight deforestation. New EU legislation will make it illegal to sell or export a range of commodities if they have been produced on deforested land. Sellers will need to identify exactly where their product originates, down to the geolocation of the plot. Penalties are harsh, including bans and fines of up to 4 percent of the offender's annual EU-wide turnover. As such, industry pushback has been strong, claiming that the costs are too high or the requirements are too onerous. Like many global frameworks, this initiative is being led by the EU, with other countries sure to follow, as the so-called Brussels Effect pressures ever more jurisdictions to adopt its methods.

The impact of these measures will only be as strong as the enforcement and, in 2024, we will see new ways of doing that digitally. At Farmerline (which I cofounded), for instance, we have been working on supply chain traceability for over a decade. We incentivize rule-following by making it beneficial.

When we digitize farmers and allow them and other stakeholders to track their products from soil to shelf, they also gain access to a suite of other products: the latest, most sustainable farming practices in their own language, access to flexible financing to fund climate-smart products such as drought-resistant seeds, solar irrigation systems and organic fertilizers, and the ability to earn more through international commodity markets.

Digitization helps build resilience and lasting wealth for the smallholders and helps save the environment. Another example is the World Economic Forum’s OneMap—an open-source privacy-preserving digital tool which helps governments use geospatial and farmer data to improve planning and decision making in agriculture and land. In India, the Data Empowerment Protection Architecture also provides a secure consent-based data-sharing framework to accelerate global financial inclusion.

In 2024 we will also see more food companies and food certification bodies leverage digital payment tools, like mobile money, to ensure farmers’ pay is not only direct and transparent, but also better if they comply with deforestation regulations.

The fight against deforestation will also be made easier by developments in hardware technology. New, lightweight drones from startups such as AirSeed can plant seeds, while further up, mini-satellites, such as those from Planet Labs, are taking millions of images per week, allowing governments and NGOs to track areas being deforested in near-real time. In Rwanda, researchers are using AI and the aerial footage captured by Planet Labs to calculate, monitor, and estimate the carbon stock of the entire country.

With these advances in software and hard-tech, in 2024, the global fight against deforestation will finally start to grow new shoots.

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addressadvisors · 6 months

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Why do all electric vehicle companies occupy Warehouse and Industrial space in Hosur?

With the electric buzz that has taken the nation by storm, the Government is planning to develop EV parks in the same line as SEZ and pharma parks across the country. The EV park aims to house majority original equipment manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and charging infrastructure developers at one place. With the vision to develop an entire ecosystem at one same place, the Government plans to offer plug-and-play business models to EV industries who will set up their units in these parks. One such park is located in north western districts of Tamil Nadu, just across the Karnataka border from Bengaluru, which houses a number of new-age EV companies, such as, Ather Energy, Ola Electronics, Simple Energy, among others.

The Rise of Hosur Several factors have helped the Hosur belt boom with several big-ticket projects and investments in the region. The cluster witnessed two substantially high profile investments in the last couple of years, with Tata electronics setting up a ₹5,000-crore mobile components plant at Udhanapalli, and Ola, a ₹2,500-crore electric vehicle (EV) plant at nearby Pochampally. These massive investments triggered the new EV boom in Hosur, with EV companies preferring Hosur for putting up their manufacturing units given a competent ancillary supplier network, proximity to Bengaluru where corporate offices of these companies are located, plus amicable and skilled labour force in two-wheeler, automotive, and electronics segment.

Well-oiled Supply-chain Network The region is equipped with a strong supply-chain ecosystem, making it easier for the companies to locally source components necessary for manufacturing and assembly. This, in turn, would help us in improving cost and time efficiency for the businesses. Moreover, companies are prompting tier-2 suppliers to move their base to Hosur area, to make smaller components in the close vicinity to further add to the efficiency.

Financial SOP and Easier Admittance EV companies in the Hosur area are upheld by EV policy contrived by Tamil Nadu Government. The policy is drafted to support EV companies with repayment of SGST for electric vehicle producing, capital appropriation for battery fabricating, business motivation as far as repayment of EPF for a time of one year, exclusion from instalment of Electricity Tax till 2025 and 100 percent stamp obligation exception.

Proximity to Bengaluru As most of the corporate offices are located in Bengaluru, the first preference of companies is to put up a plant within a comfortable driving distance from head office. As most of the senior employees and mid-level management sit at the head office, most of the companies want employees to be able to move between the office and the plant in an hour or so maximum. For instance, Ather Energy corporate office is located in Koramangala, which is 60 minutes away from the Ather Energy plant in Hosur. Moreover, the connection via Electronics city flyover helps cut through the traffic, which was initially the pain point of employees moving between Koramangala and Whitefield, where Ather Energy plant was located.

Availability of Land and Scalability Scope Given the area related bottleneck in Bengaluru, it is essential for EV companies or any other manufacturing units to look into areas nearby that can accommodate projected production capacity and growth plans. Given, land investments are not made again and again, it is always advisable for the companies to take up the area based on the most optimistic business projections. With the same thought, Ather Energy Hosur plant is spread across 300,000 Sq. Ft. with capacity to produce 1,10,000 scooters annually. Ather Energy envisions that the plant will serve as Ather Energy’s national manufacturing hub, catering to demand from across the country. Moreover, the plant is nearly 10 times the capacity of the Whitefield, Bengaluru, plant.

Hosur Historic Precedence Within the close proximity to Bengaluru, Hosur area has historically been a dominant space for two wheeler, automotive, and electronics business segments. Given that EV is primarily an amalgamation of these three segments, it is therefore a natural choice for EV companies to develop manufacturing units in the Hosur area. Moreover, with established and consistent access to power, land, and labour relevant to the industry, Hosur is the first choice of investment. Furthermore, a lot of fossil-fuelled automotive industries are also expanding into the EV segment. This has prompted an easy transition for existing automotive companies in the area. Also, as Tamil Nadu has over 800 engineering colleges, the state offers an intellectual and skilled labour pool ensuring steady stream for the workforce.

Amicable Labour and Supportive Workforce In the area, it is widely noted that the kind of labour unrest Bengaluru witnesses is not seen in the Tamil Nadu north western districts, which are barely an hour away from each other. The most plausible reason for this could be the existential automotive businesses in the Hosur area, unlike Bengaluru, where labourers are experiencing the automotive industry for the first time. In Hosur, both industry and labour have matured, and the companies have learnt that exploitative practices are rather counter-productive. Therefore, most of the EV companies find this a huge draw in making investment decisions in the Hosur area.

Hosur Meteoric rise and the way ahead Given the reasons above along with a network of highways facilitating logistics of movement and the welcoming policies set by the Tamil Nadu Government for automotive companies, Hosur belt is emerging as an industrial bowl for the electric vehicle manufacturers. Tata, Delta, Ola Mobility, Ather Energy, and Simple Energy are some of the big names in the electronics and electric vehicle (EV) sectors that have made Hosur and the surrounding districts their home in the past few years.

Along with growing awareness and spiralling petrol prices, the demand for EV is set to increase significantly in the coming years. As per the data, In January 2022, overall high-speed EV two-wheeler registrations rose to 27,563 units as compared to 24,725 units in December 2021. To match the rising demand, manufacturers have to up their capacity, for example Ather Energy recently commissioned its second facility in Hosur to increase its capacity from 1,20,000 units to 4,00,000 units. Ola Electric has set out to build the world’s largest EV facility with an initial annual capacity of two million units. Furthermore, TVS has also decided to invest over 1,100 crores in the area for the new EV plant. If the cards are played right, this belt could further emerge as a global player given the fast adoption of EVs, especially in the two-wheeler segment.

#real estate #electric vehicles #warehousing #hosur #bangalore #tamilnadu

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