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2023.01.30 18:10 Gallionella ALLS17O
.////O//// ChatGPT Could Revolutionize The Internet, But Its Secrets Have Experts Worried
ChatGPT is the latest and most impressive artificially intelligent chatbot yet. It was released two weeks ago, and in just five days hit a million users. It's being used so much that its servers have reached capacity several times. https://www.sciencealert.com/chatgpt-could-revolutionize-the-internet-but-its-secrets-have-experts-worried
For too long people have believed losing muscle and strength is an inevitable part of ageing, Zanker said.
“With targeted action, however, loss of muscle and its negative outcomes can be delayed, prevented, and even reversed,” he said.
“There are many reasons that people can lose muscle, such as inactivity and hospitalisation, which exacerbates losses seen with aging,” co-researcher Victoria University’s Prof. Alan Hayes from the Institute for Health and Sport said. https://www.theepochtimes.com/exercises-key-to-preventing-muscle-loss_4922303.html
We hope that it can become a part of the animation pipeline and become a big time-saver. With a single natural bitmap sketch of a character, our algorithm allows the animator to automatically, with no additional input, apply the drawn 3D pose to a custom ‘rigged’ and ‘skinned’ 3D character. That essentially means that animators can now create a first rough draft of the animation right after the storyboarding stage, i.e., when they have just sketched the keyframes. https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2022/07/27/video-games-posing-in-3d/
However, the hacker, according to Krebs, claimed to have been messaging InfraGard members, posing as the financial institution's CEO, to try to obtain more personal data that could be criminally weaponized.
The AP reached the hacker on the BreachForums site via private message. The person would not say whether a buyer for the records had been found or answer other questions, but did say that Krebs' article "was 100% accurate."
The FBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on how the hacker was able to trick it into approving the InfraGard membership. Krebs reported that the hacker had included a contact email address under the person's control, as well as the CEO's real mobile phone number, when applying for InfraGard membership in November.
Krebs quoted the hacker as saying InfraGard approved the application in early December and the email account was used to receive a one-time authentication code.
Once inside, the hacker said, the database information was easy to obtain with simple software script. https://www.voanews.com/a/hacker-claims-breach-of-fbi-s-critical-infrastructure-forum-/6876801.html
This section of the sky is called the North Ecliptic Pole. Webb used its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and researchers spruced up the view by adding ultraviolet and visible-light data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image is part of a paper published in the Astronomical Journal this week.
The knockout space view comes to us courtesy of the Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science (Pearls) project. The program's goal is to study how galaxies assemble and grow. The Pearls team is thrilled about the image. "I can see streams, tails, shells, and halos of stars in their outskirts, the leftovers of their building blocks," https://www.cnet.com/science/space/in-awe-inspiring-james-webb-telescope-image-thousands-of-galaxies-glow/
“However, harvesting and consumption of wild food plants are likely to decline. The erosion of wild food plant knowledge is a possible contributing factor, and I wanted to tap into and document this knowledge, which has been somewhat neglected by researchers.”
The cookbook includes 13 recipes — including soups, salads, drinks and desserts — and features in-depth nutritional information on 24 indigenous plants, referred to by the researchers as “wild food plants.” These plants, such as climbing wattle and aquatic morning glory leaves, often are high in vitamins and minerals that Cambodians otherwise might be missing in their diets. https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/penn-state-researchers-battle-food-insecurity-native-plants-cookbook
They were surprised to find that genetics seemed to account for only a small portion of these performance differences -- whereas differences in gut bacterial populations appeared to be substantially more important. In fact, they observed that giving mice broad-spectrum antibiotics to get rid of their gut bacteria reduced the mice's running performance by about half.
Ultimately, in a years-long process of scientific detective work involving more than a dozen separate laboratories at Penn and elsewhere, the researchers found that two bacterial species closely tied to better performance, Eubacterium rectale and Coprococcus eutactus, produce metabolites known as fatty acid amides (FAAs). The latter stimulate receptors called CB1 endocannabinoid receptors on gut-embedded sensory nerves, which connect to the brain via the spine. The stimulation of these CB1 receptor-studded nerves causes an increase in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine during exercise, in a brain region called the ventral striatum.
The striatum is a critical node in the brain's reward and motivation network. The researchers concluded that the extra dopamine in this region during exercise boosts performance by reinforcing the desire to exercise. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221214113857.htm
"Our findings show that lubricin may be a new biomarker for tracing patients' risk of developing gout, and that new drugs to maintain and increase lubricin could limit the incidence and progression of gouty arthritis," said Terkeltaub. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221214/Study-finds-a-novel-therapeutic-target-for-prevention-and-treatment-of-gout.aspx
Study explains surprise surge in methane during pandemic lockdown https://phys.org/news/2022-12-surge-methane-pandemic-lockdown.html
AMES, Iowa – When the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium was formed seven years ago, Iowa State University researchers faced two big questions about reestablishing the milkweed and other wildflowers needed for the iconic butterfly’s survival: How can habitat be restored and where should it be located? https://www.newswise.com/articles/years-of-monarch-research-shows-how-adding-habitat-will-help-conservation
Several recent studies in people have supported the association between food allergies and various neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism. They strengthen the possibility that some reactions to food allergens could involve the nervous system and manifest as behavioral disorders.
However, the idea of food hypersensitivity causing neuropsychiatric disorders is still controversial because of inconsistencies across studies. Differences in the types of allergies, ethnic backgrounds, dietary habits and other factors among the study participants can produce conflicting results. More importantly, some studies included those with self-reported food allergies, while others included only those with lab-confirmed food allergies. This limited investigations to only symptomatic individuals. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/long-term-consumption-of-food-allergens-may-lead-to-behavior-and-mood-changes-64513
Scientists have discovered that immune cells, known as microglia, help maintain the health of myelin—the insulating layer that forms around nerve cells—which is important for nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to function optimally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-immune-cells-brain-health-cognition.html
Diet involved eating 840 calories for five days, then 10 days of eating normallyStudy found 33% managed to reverse condition and remain free of it a year laterExperts caution study was very small - involving just 36 people - and quite short
Fasting for five days at a time could help some people reverse type 2 diabetes, a study suggests. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11538481/Intermittent-fasting-reverse-type-2-diabetes-MONTHS.html
This new data shows public awareness about dementia’s impact in society is poor, and families affected by dementia may not be prepared for costs they may incur. High-quality care is valued by the public but there are gaps in provision and not everyone gets the care they need,” she added. https://www.gmjournal.co.uk/public-awareness-about-dementia-s-impact-on-society-is-poor-research-suggests
. "covid the year Earth changed" movie trailer .
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=movie+covid+the+year+Earth+changed&t=h_&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXswV_yqPq28
New research has found food could play a major role in stopping the growth of some cancers.
It was previously thought diet had no impact on tumours, but a team of SAHMRI and University of Adelaide researchers, led by Dr Daniel Thomas, has turned that theory on its head.
The study, funded by the Hospital Research Foundation Group, Snowdome Foundation and the Leukaemia Foundation, was a collaboration with Stanford University, recently published in Cancer Discovery. It showed cancers with IDH1 gene mutations can’t grow without lipids; a group of naturally occurring molecules, namely fats, contained in various foods such as butter and ice-cream.
“We replicated the results in a range of cancer types, comparing a regular diet with one that was completely fat-free and were surprised to find tumours with IDH1 were stopped in their tracks when starved of lipids,” Dr Thomas said. https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/low-fat-diet-could-be-key-to-stopping-cancer-growth
"Our results clearly show that all patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis who maintain sustained abstinence from alcohol not only suffer complications of liver cirrhosis significantly less frequently, but also live considerably longer—even in the case of pronounced portal hypertension," explains the lead author of the study, Benedikt Hofer.
Evidence for prognostic relevance
Liver cirrhosis, as the pronounced scarring of the liver is referred to in technical jargon, is one of the most frequent and most severe complications of excessive alcohol consumption. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-alcohol-abstinence-essential-advanced-liver.html
The California Office of Emergency Services on Monday said in a statement that the state Cybersecurity Integration Center is “actively responding to a cybersecurity incident involving the California Department of Finance.”
Cal OES describes the threat as an “intrusion” that was “proactively identified through coordination with state and federal security partners.” The statement did not provide any specifics about the nature of the incident, who was involved or whether information or data had been taken.
Cal OES said only that “no state funds have been compromised.”
Tech news outlets reported global ransomware group LockBit was behind the threat.
Screenshots from the group’s website show it claims to have stolen 76 gigabytes of data, including “databases, confidential data, financial documents, certification, court and sexual proceedings in court, IT documents and more...” https://www.govtech.com/security/hackers-claims-to-have-california-department-of-finance-data
found that the cognitive score of people who had the highest intake of flavonols declined at a rate of 0.4 units per decade more slowly than people whose had the lowest intake. Holland noted this is probably due to the inherent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of flavonols.
The study also broke the flavonol class down into the four constituents: kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin and isorhamnetin. The top food contributors for each category were: kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli for kaempferol; tomatoes, kale, apples and tea for quercetin; tea, wine, kale, oranges and tomatoes for myricetin; and pears, olive oil, wine and tomato sauce for isorhamnetin.
People who had the highest intake of kaempferol had a 0.4 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Those with the highest intake of quercetin had a 0.2 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. And people with the highest intake of myricetin had a 0.3 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Dietary isorhamnetin was not tied to global cognition.
Holland noted that the study shows an association between higher amounts of dietary flavonols and slower cognitive decline but does not prove that flavonols directly cause a slower rate of cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-antioxidant-flavonols-linked-slower-memory.html
Numerous studies have linked the consumption of ultraprocessed foods with a greater risk of inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, obesity and early death.
Now a new study finds these ready-to-eat foods can lead to greater risk of cognitive decline as we age. And you don't have to eat much to be affected.
According to the study, the amount would be about 20% of the 2,000 calories recommended daily. As CNN determined, that equals a regular McDonald's cheeseburger and small fries, which is 530 calories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-diet-foods-youre-faster-cognitive.html
Along with preventing young New Zealanders from accessing tobacco, the law will also reduce the amount of nicotine in smoked tobacco products and decrease the number of retailers selling tobacco.
“It means nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas,” associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a statement. https://www.iflscience.com/revolutionary-world-first-tobacco-law-takes-effect-in-new-zealand-66632
The American healthcare system has a long history of patient dissatisfaction. One major pain point lies in care navigation, as more than half of provider listings have at least one inaccuracy, leaving people with incomplete information and burdening their access to high-quality care. Ribbon's research found that more than one-third (38%) of people have had a negative healthcare experience due to incorrect provider information on their health plan's website. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-reveals-62-of-americans-dont-trust-their-health-plan-to-provide-accurate-care-options-301700962.html
Ezcurra and his team calculated there is only one day in spring and one day in fall when the Sun rises directly behind this mountain, making it a highly accurate form of timekeeping.
Taken together, the alignments – along with illustrations and texts found in ancient Mexica codices – imply Mount Tlaloc served as a fundamental tool for marking important times of the year and for calendric adjustments. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-aztecs-harnessed-the-sun-and-a-mountain-to-feed-millions-scientists-say
With the increased use of graphene-based nanomaterials comes a need to examine how these new materials affect the body. Nanomaterials are already known to impact on the immune system, and a few studies in recent years have shown that they can also affect the gut microbiome, the bacteria that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
The relationship between nanomaterial, gut microbiome and immunity has been the subject of the present study performed using zebrafish. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221212/Nanomaterial-can-indirectly-affect-the-immune-system-via-the-gut-microbiome-study-shows.aspx
Winter Greenhouse Growing – Which Vegetables To Grow https://www.essentialhomeandgarden.com/winter-greenhouse/
In their test baking, researchers tried out different amounts of banana peel flour. The cookies consisted of anywhere from 0 to 15 percent flour. 15 percent banana peel flour led to harder, browner cookies with a lot of fiber. However, with just 7.5 percent banana peel flour, the texture and taste were pretty similar to “normal” sugar cookies – and it still created more nutritious final products. https://www.outsideonline.com/health/nutrition/the-secret-to-healthful-cookies-research-says-it-may-be-banana-peels/
"It's that push-and-pull effect," said de la Iglesia. "And what we found here is that since students weren't getting enough daytime light exposure in the winter, their circadian clocks were delayed compared to summer."
The study offers lessons not just for college students.
"Many of us live in cities and towns with lots of artificial light and lifestyles that keep us indoors during the day," said de la Iglesia. "What this study shows is that we need to get out—even for a little while and especially in the morning—to get that natural light exposure. In the evening, minimize screen time and artificial lighting to help us fall asleep." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-falling-asleep-night-daytime.html
The ecological crisis is being driven in large part by the pursuit of economic growth: ever-increasing levels of industrial production, measured in GDP. High-income economies—and the affluent classes and corporations that dominate them—are overwhelmingly responsible for this problem, as their use of energy and materials far exceeds sustainable levels.
As Jason Hickel, the lead author and professor at ICTA-UAB, explains, "In our existing economy, production is organized around the interests of capital accumulation rather than around human well-being. The result is a system that overuses resources and yet still fails to meet many basic human needs. It is failing both people and planet." https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-outline-key-policies-degrowth.html
Wildlife researchers have completed a study that may settle the question of why, in October 2009, a group of coyotes launched an unprovoked fatal attack on a young woman who was hiking in a Canadian park.
By analyzing coyote diets and their movement in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, where the attack occurred on a popular trail, the researchers concluded that the coyotes were forced to rely on moose instead of smaller mammals for the bulk of their diet—and as a result of adapting to that unusually large food source, perceived a lone hiker as potential prey.
The findings essentially ruled out the possibility that overexposure to people or attraction to human food could have been a factor in the attack—instead, heavy snowfall, high winds and extreme temperatures created conditions inhospitable to the small mammals that would normally make up most of their diet. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-reliance-moose-prey-rare-coyote.html
In addition to worries about the job climate, bullying was also cited as an important topic, with 47% of the participants reporting being bullied in the workplace, in most cases by their superiors. The working environment in archaeology was repeatedly described as "toxic" and "very competitive." About 62% of women reported experiencing gender-based discrimination during their careers, as opposed to about 12% of men.
"In the past two decades, there has been a steep rise in both the number of doctoral graduates and short-term employment contracts at universities, while the number of permanent faculty positions has stagnated. This has led to oversaturation in the academic job market and precarious employment conditions," said Brami, commenting on the possible reasons for the difficult situation. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-early-career-archaeologists-pessimistic-future-careers.html
The Moon landing was faked, and wind farms are bad In Germany, opposition to wind farms correlated with conspiratorial thinking. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/the-moon-landing-was-faked-and-wind-farms-are-bad/
Although previous studies have found a link between brain health and vitamin D in the diet or blood, this is considered the first study to look into vitamin D in the brain tissue, according to a news release. Nutrition is key to protecting the brain from cognitive decline. However, the study didn't find any connection between vitamin D and physiological markers of Alzheimer's or Lewy body disease.
Read More: https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/?utm_campaign=clip https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/
A recently published study has found that human-made traffic noises are linked to increased physical aggression in rural European robins, Erithacus rubecula. Surprisingly, their urban-dwelling relatives show no such response to traffic noises. Why?
Robins are fiercely territorial https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2022/12/12/angry-birds-rural-robins-get-road-rage-when-exposed-to-traffic-noise/
The researchers found that after multivariable adjustment, compared with those in the lowest total vegetable intake quintile (median, 67 g/day), participants in the highest quintile (median, 319 g/day) had a 0.35 kg/m2 lower BMI and a 21 percent lower risk for T2D. About 21 percent of the association between vegetable intake and incident T2D was mediated by baseline BMI. After multivariable adjustment, participants in the highest versus the lowest (median, 256 versus 52 g/day) quintile of potato intake had a 9 percent higher risk for T2D; after accounting for underlying dietary pattern, no association was found. A higher intake of green leafy and cruciferous vegetables was significantly associated with a reduced risk for T2D. https://consumer.healthday.com/physician-s-briefing-vegetables-2658948696.html
If procrastination is seriously interfering with your life, you may want to start chopping tasks into smaller pieces and set rewards after each step.
But perhaps more importantly, forgive yourself for procrastinating. The more we internalise the shame and guilt, the more we are likely to procrastinate in the future, and this can be an additional trigger that can compel us to procrastinate even more.
Ultimately, we all have different perceptions of time. Understanding individual differences may also help us better understand people with various neurodiversities. For example, some people have been found to parcel time differently, and more inconsistently – time might not work in a linear fashion for them but rather in a cyclical manner, which I can relate to. https://theconversation.com/procrastination-the-cognitive-biases-that-enable-it-and-why-its-sometimes-useful-195845
Every hour a child spends playing video games pre day raises their risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by 13 percent, a study suggests.
There was also a correlation between watching YouTube content and OCD - with every hour spent streaming videos associated with an 11 percent raised risk.
Too much screen time in childhood has been linked from everything to eating disorders, mental health problems and gambling addiction in later life
Yet, unlike other studies, the latest research found no association between watching films or movies or playing on cell phones. The researchers blamed YouTube algorithms and addictive video game content for fostering compulsive feelings in preteens. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11529041/Every-hour-child-spends-playing-video-games-day-raises-risk-OCD-13-study-claims.html
The medical establishment is generally against the use of snoozing, but when we went to look at what hard data existed, there was none.
‘We now have the data to prove just how common it is — and there is still so much that we do not know. So many people are snoozing because so many people are chronically tired.’
It’s all become a bit of a cycle, you snooze because you tired, then you’re tired because of disrupted sleep, then you drink caffeine, and it might keep you up again.
But there are ways to ensure quality night’s sleep and they might just help you stop reaching for the snooze button in the morning. https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/12/bad-news-snoozers-using-an-alarm-clock-might-be-making-you-more-tired-17921592/?ito=newsnow-feed
Data from 4,099 participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) has revealed that an increase in daily TV-watching time is significantly associated with an increase in bodily pain severity over time, according to a new study from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-tv-bodily-pain.html
The researchers are developing a new method of artificial photosynthesis that produces hydrogen, which is promising as a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel source. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-sun-team-mimics-nature-hydrogen.html
The federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which uses a process called inertial confinement fusion that involves bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser, had achieved net energy gain in a fusion experiment in the past two weeks, the people said.
Although many scientists believe fusion power stations are still decades away, the technology’s potential is hard to ignore. Fusion reactions emit no carbon, produce no long-lived radioactive waste, and a small cup of the hydrogen fuel could theoretically power a house for hundreds of years. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/fusion-energy-breakthrough-by-us-scientists-boosts-clean-power-hopes/
“I think at 10%, quinoa added a type of nutty flavor that people really liked,” she said, noting the testers liked it even more than the control whole flour cookie.
The quinoa appreciation tended to wane after about 30% substitution, Nalbandian said, probably because the texture started becoming grittier. Still, she sees potential for quinoa flour particularly in the gluten-free market as many of those baked products can be low in nutritional content. https://scienceblog.com/535425/special-quinoa-can-make-a-better-cookie/
“We identified a mutation that led to the mice sleeping much longer and more deeply than usual.” The researchers found that this was caused by low levels of an enzyme called histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), which is known to suppress the expression of target genes.
Previous studies on HDAC4 have shown that it is greatly affected by the attachment of phosphate molecules in a process known as phosphorylation. https://scienceblog.com/535431/unravelling-the-secrets-of-a-good-nights-sleep-its-the-enzyme/
Both THC and CBD were found to improve wound healing better than metformin, rapamycin, and triacetylresveratrol in replicative senescent CCD-1135Sk fibroblasts. Therefore, pCBs can be a valuable source of biologically active substances used in cosmetics, and more studies using clinical trials should be performed to confirm the efficacy of phytocannabinoids. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/23/3939
But just a year later, many Wall Street firms are backtracking. In September, the Financial Times reported that several banks, including Bank of America and JP Morgan, were concerned about accidentally running afoul of United Nations climate rules and being held legally liable for their commitments, leading them to consider pulling out of GFANZ. Blackrock and Vanguard, the world's largest asset managers, then confirmed in October that their net zero commitments would not preclude them from investing in fossil fuels, despite concerns that new fossil fuel investment is incompatible with timely decarbonization. (Asset managers steward money on behalf of major investors like sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and pension funds.) And finally, earlier this week, Vanguard officially announced that it is resigning from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a sector-specific alliance under the GFANZ umbrella. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/wall-streets-biggest-names-are-backing-off-their-climate-commitments_partne
Nature
“Microbial Lions” Are The Newest Branch Of The Tree Of LifeThe tiny predators are a whole new supergroup of eukaryotes. https://www.iflscience.com/-microbial-lions-are-the-newest-branch-of-the-tree-of-life-66572
SEOUL—North Korean regime-backed hackers referenced the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul to distribute malware to users in South Korea, Google’s Threat Analysis group said in a report.
The malware was embedded in Microsoft Office documents which purported to be a government report on the tragedy https://www.ntd.com/north-korean-hackers-exploited-seoul-halloween-tragedy-to-distribute-malware-google-says_886984.html
According to Stefany Mena, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology, when participants had time to guess the answer before googling, they performed better on the memory tests than when they had immediately googled the answers. She said this is called the pretesting effect – testing yourself before checking the answer results in better memory of the correct information.
Even guessing the wrong answer is better than not guessing at all, Giebl said. https://dailybruin.com/2022/11/04/ucla-researchers-publish-study-on-effects-of-internet-on-long-term-memory
The study also provided information to thousands of families that participated. Vicky Garbutt — who enrolled herself, her husband, their autistic son Jeffrey and their non-autistic son Luke — says she wanted to “give back” to researchers who have helped Jeffrey. And she was curious.
“We wanted to know if it was a genetic trait that we passed down to Jeff, and if that would have any relevance to his brother having children,” Garbutt says. “Knowledge is power.” https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/whole-genome-trove-ties-new-genes-variants-to-autism/
analysis of 22 large-scale gene expression datasets pointed to exercise and activity in general as the most effective theoretical treatment for reversing gene expressions typical of Alzheimer’s disease. Fluoxetine, a well-known antidepressant sold often commercially as Prozac or Zoloft, also showed effect, particularly when combined with exercise. Curcumin (spice) showed positive effects as well. The study was published in Scientific Reports. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/gene-expression-data-point-to-exercise-as-the-most-effective-treatment-for-alzheimers-disease-64494
Which brings us to Alabama. On a mural that covers the long side of a white-washed brick building near the Equal Justice Initiative's headquarters, a Maya Angelou quote is painted in crisp black lettering: "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Around the corner, the Legacy Museum, a brainchild of "Just Mercy" author Bryan Stevenson, is a stunning piece of advocacy work for a controversial, and seemingly impossible, statement: Slavery never ended. It just evolved. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/your-childs-glasses-may-have-been-made-with-forced-labo
An analysis of responses of people from 42 countries on a vocational interest inventory confirmed the well-known finding that women tend to prefer jobs and activities that focus on working with people, much more than men. Men tend to prefer working with things much more than women. Women were also found to have somewhat higher preferences for jobs that involve working with ideas and for more prestigious jobs. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/women-like-working-with-people-men-like-working-with-things-all-across-the-world-64485
Frances says air is one of the most important ingredients in baking. You might not think of it as an ingredient at all, but it’s an essential element in the structure of your favorite bread and desserts. As Frances explains, “when we take a bite out of a cake or a cookie, and we have that easy-to-bite pleasant soft feeling, it’s the air. https://www.inverse.com/science/cookie-science
Apple is planning on broadening its end-to-end data encryption services, closing a privacy loophole that previously allowed law enforcement to access a wide-reaching swath of data, including photos and messages, stored in user iCloud accounts.
But while proponents of the change are applauding the change as a win for user privacy, its detractors — which include a little organization known as the FBI — are none too thrilled. https://futurism.com/the-byte/fbi-apple-new-encryption-deeply-concerning
Rats fed a Western (high-fat and high-fructose) diet for 26 weeks represented hepatic steatosis with an increased body weight and dyslipidemia. Addition of dietary iron overload to the Western diet feeding further increased serum triglyceride and cholesterol, and enhanced hepatic inflammation; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-25838-3
"We found that retinal cone photoreceptors are essential for green light analgesia, whereas rods play a secondary role," explain Tang and colleagues in their published paper.
From there, they chased the path taken by electrical signals from the eye through the brain.
Bathed in green light, the cones and rods stimulated a group of brain cells in the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus, which has previously been linked to the analgesic effects of bright light in general.
In this part of the brain, these neurons express a hormone involved in pain signaling. These cells then relay the message to another part of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus that modulates pain, effectively turning down the dial on severe pain sensations.
Different animal studies have identified other mechanisms entwined in the analgesic effects of green light, such as pain receptors in the spinal cord – which is not surprising given how complex the experience of pain is. It involves the sensory, bodily, and psychological experience of stimuli and signals that bounce between the brain, spinal cord, and pain receptors. https://www.sciencealert.com/green-light-seems-to-relieve-pain-and-a-new-study-in-mice-shows-why
The researchers discovered that, compared to about 67% of individuals in the control group, over three-quarters of people with rheumatoid arthritis who tested positive (73%) and negative (72%) for ACPA were exposed to at least one of the workplace dust or fumes. They found that exposure to the agents raised the probability of developing RA, and that smoking and inherited risk factors made this situation considerably worse.
Smoking, having a high GRS, and being exposed to pollutants at work are referred to as "triple exposure," and this group showed a connection to arthritis start that was 16 to 68 times stronger than "triple non-exposure." https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018731-dust-in-offices-could-lead-to-rheumatoid-arthritis-study-warns
So the issue’s salience in the next two years will depend entirely on how it resonates with voters and potentially factors into the presidential election. Many experts were skeptical it could ever gain political relevance, but still worry what the endgame is. Does this mean a future of “blue banks” and “red banks”? Will financial behemoths be frightened into weakening already-weak climate targets? It’s too early to say.
But the right’s war on banks won’t necessarily drive a back-pedaling on climate goals. BlackRock has tempered its interest in climate publicly since the ESG attacks began, but other institutions have pushed ahead.
“Market participants will continue to demand ESG data and incorporate it in risk models,” said Ivan Frishberg, chief sustainability officer of Amalgamated Bank, a bank with a socially responsible mission. “That is capitalism doing what it does best: seeking more data for better client responsiveness and a more systemic view. The pushback on ESG is essentially a denial of capitalism. Ultimately, our clients are going to drive the products and approaches we take and guide how we respond as a firm.” https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/12/10/23496712/esg-gop-climate-corporate-responsibility
Rouge-colored ribbons of algae ran 400 square feet across the sunny slope—Chlamydomonas nivalis, a red-pigmented green algae found in high alpine and polar regions around the globe. The algae’s striking appearance on snow has earned it nicknames ranging from the delicious-sounding—watermelon snow—to the ominous—glacier blood. Scientists believe this algae could play a major role in melting glaciers and snowfields. https://www.wired.com/story/pink-snow-is-not-a-cute-phenomenon-heres-why/
Places that once hosted distinct and fantastic variations of life become dominated by a few species, often newcomers that are generalists to start, or those that have adapted to thrive near modern human settlements. Think: house sparrows. Rats. English ivy. And also, European honeybees, says Ponisio.
Researchers Julie Lockwood and Michael McKinney coined a term for this: “biotic homogenization.” But Lockwood has a catchier way of thinking about what’s happening: the McDonaldization of nature. In the same way you can step off an airplane nearly anywhere on Earth and encounter a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, travelers now can see many of the same plants and animals an ocean apart. “That’s just unprecedented,” says Lockwood, an ecology professor at Rutgers University.
How those plants and animals interact with each other is shifting, too. https://www.biographic.com/making-nature-less-predictable/
“The imbalance of genes causes aging because cells and organisms work to remain balanced — what physicians denote as homeostasis,” said Northwestern’s Luís A.N. Amaral, a senior author of the study. “Imagine a waiter carrying a big tray. That tray needs to have everything balanced. If the tray is not balanced, then the waiter needs to put in extra effort to fight the imbalance. If the balance in the activity of short and long genes shifts in an organism, the same thing happens. It’s like aging is this subtle imbalance, away from equilibrium. Small changes in genes do not seem like a big deal, but these subtle changes are bearing down on you, requiring more effort.” https://scienceblog.com/535412/aging-is-driven-by-unbalanced-genes-study-finds/
Tabletop roleplaying games may reduce anxiety and improve social skills https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/tabletop-rpgs-may-reduce-anxiety-improve-social-skills
Leftover soap on dishes by restaurant dishwashers could seriously harm health
Commercial dishwashers, which are frequently found in restaurants, leave behind chemical residue that is hazardous to gastrointestinal tract https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018394-leftover-soap-on-dishes-by-restaurant-dishwashers-could-seriously-harm-health
This combination of techniques yielded insights into different defense mechanisms plants use to survive drought. One species added woody lignin to thicken its roots. The second secreted antioxidants and fatty acids as a biochemical defense. The third appeared less affected by drought conditions, but the soil around it had a higher level of carbon.
This indicates that the plant and the microbes in the soil were working together to protect the plant. Overall, this study demonstrates how multiple techniques can be combined to identify different drought-tolerance strategies and ways to keep plants thriving.
The research is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-techniques-species-ways-drought.html
submitted by Gallionella to zmarter [link] [comments]
ChatGPT is the latest and most impressive artificially intelligent chatbot yet. It was released two weeks ago, and in just five days hit a million users. It's being used so much that its servers have reached capacity several times. https://www.sciencealert.com/chatgpt-could-revolutionize-the-internet-but-its-secrets-have-experts-worried
For too long people have believed losing muscle and strength is an inevitable part of ageing, Zanker said.
“With targeted action, however, loss of muscle and its negative outcomes can be delayed, prevented, and even reversed,” he said.
“There are many reasons that people can lose muscle, such as inactivity and hospitalisation, which exacerbates losses seen with aging,” co-researcher Victoria University’s Prof. Alan Hayes from the Institute for Health and Sport said. https://www.theepochtimes.com/exercises-key-to-preventing-muscle-loss_4922303.html
We hope that it can become a part of the animation pipeline and become a big time-saver. With a single natural bitmap sketch of a character, our algorithm allows the animator to automatically, with no additional input, apply the drawn 3D pose to a custom ‘rigged’ and ‘skinned’ 3D character. That essentially means that animators can now create a first rough draft of the animation right after the storyboarding stage, i.e., when they have just sketched the keyframes. https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2022/07/27/video-games-posing-in-3d/
However, the hacker, according to Krebs, claimed to have been messaging InfraGard members, posing as the financial institution's CEO, to try to obtain more personal data that could be criminally weaponized.
The AP reached the hacker on the BreachForums site via private message. The person would not say whether a buyer for the records had been found or answer other questions, but did say that Krebs' article "was 100% accurate."
The FBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on how the hacker was able to trick it into approving the InfraGard membership. Krebs reported that the hacker had included a contact email address under the person's control, as well as the CEO's real mobile phone number, when applying for InfraGard membership in November.
Krebs quoted the hacker as saying InfraGard approved the application in early December and the email account was used to receive a one-time authentication code.
Once inside, the hacker said, the database information was easy to obtain with simple software script. https://www.voanews.com/a/hacker-claims-breach-of-fbi-s-critical-infrastructure-forum-/6876801.html
This section of the sky is called the North Ecliptic Pole. Webb used its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and researchers spruced up the view by adding ultraviolet and visible-light data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image is part of a paper published in the Astronomical Journal this week.
The knockout space view comes to us courtesy of the Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science (Pearls) project. The program's goal is to study how galaxies assemble and grow. The Pearls team is thrilled about the image. "I can see streams, tails, shells, and halos of stars in their outskirts, the leftovers of their building blocks," https://www.cnet.com/science/space/in-awe-inspiring-james-webb-telescope-image-thousands-of-galaxies-glow/
“However, harvesting and consumption of wild food plants are likely to decline. The erosion of wild food plant knowledge is a possible contributing factor, and I wanted to tap into and document this knowledge, which has been somewhat neglected by researchers.”
The cookbook includes 13 recipes — including soups, salads, drinks and desserts — and features in-depth nutritional information on 24 indigenous plants, referred to by the researchers as “wild food plants.” These plants, such as climbing wattle and aquatic morning glory leaves, often are high in vitamins and minerals that Cambodians otherwise might be missing in their diets. https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/penn-state-researchers-battle-food-insecurity-native-plants-cookbook
They were surprised to find that genetics seemed to account for only a small portion of these performance differences -- whereas differences in gut bacterial populations appeared to be substantially more important. In fact, they observed that giving mice broad-spectrum antibiotics to get rid of their gut bacteria reduced the mice's running performance by about half.
Ultimately, in a years-long process of scientific detective work involving more than a dozen separate laboratories at Penn and elsewhere, the researchers found that two bacterial species closely tied to better performance, Eubacterium rectale and Coprococcus eutactus, produce metabolites known as fatty acid amides (FAAs). The latter stimulate receptors called CB1 endocannabinoid receptors on gut-embedded sensory nerves, which connect to the brain via the spine. The stimulation of these CB1 receptor-studded nerves causes an increase in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine during exercise, in a brain region called the ventral striatum.
The striatum is a critical node in the brain's reward and motivation network. The researchers concluded that the extra dopamine in this region during exercise boosts performance by reinforcing the desire to exercise. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221214113857.htm
"Our findings show that lubricin may be a new biomarker for tracing patients' risk of developing gout, and that new drugs to maintain and increase lubricin could limit the incidence and progression of gouty arthritis," said Terkeltaub. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221214/Study-finds-a-novel-therapeutic-target-for-prevention-and-treatment-of-gout.aspx
Study explains surprise surge in methane during pandemic lockdown https://phys.org/news/2022-12-surge-methane-pandemic-lockdown.html
AMES, Iowa – When the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium was formed seven years ago, Iowa State University researchers faced two big questions about reestablishing the milkweed and other wildflowers needed for the iconic butterfly’s survival: How can habitat be restored and where should it be located? https://www.newswise.com/articles/years-of-monarch-research-shows-how-adding-habitat-will-help-conservation
Several recent studies in people have supported the association between food allergies and various neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism. They strengthen the possibility that some reactions to food allergens could involve the nervous system and manifest as behavioral disorders.
However, the idea of food hypersensitivity causing neuropsychiatric disorders is still controversial because of inconsistencies across studies. Differences in the types of allergies, ethnic backgrounds, dietary habits and other factors among the study participants can produce conflicting results. More importantly, some studies included those with self-reported food allergies, while others included only those with lab-confirmed food allergies. This limited investigations to only symptomatic individuals. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/long-term-consumption-of-food-allergens-may-lead-to-behavior-and-mood-changes-64513
Scientists have discovered that immune cells, known as microglia, help maintain the health of myelin—the insulating layer that forms around nerve cells—which is important for nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to function optimally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-immune-cells-brain-health-cognition.html
Diet involved eating 840 calories for five days, then 10 days of eating normallyStudy found 33% managed to reverse condition and remain free of it a year laterExperts caution study was very small - involving just 36 people - and quite short
Fasting for five days at a time could help some people reverse type 2 diabetes, a study suggests. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11538481/Intermittent-fasting-reverse-type-2-diabetes-MONTHS.html
This new data shows public awareness about dementia’s impact in society is poor, and families affected by dementia may not be prepared for costs they may incur. High-quality care is valued by the public but there are gaps in provision and not everyone gets the care they need,” she added. https://www.gmjournal.co.uk/public-awareness-about-dementia-s-impact-on-society-is-poor-research-suggests
. "covid the year Earth changed" movie trailer .
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=movie+covid+the+year+Earth+changed&t=h_&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXswV_yqPq28
New research has found food could play a major role in stopping the growth of some cancers.
It was previously thought diet had no impact on tumours, but a team of SAHMRI and University of Adelaide researchers, led by Dr Daniel Thomas, has turned that theory on its head.
The study, funded by the Hospital Research Foundation Group, Snowdome Foundation and the Leukaemia Foundation, was a collaboration with Stanford University, recently published in Cancer Discovery. It showed cancers with IDH1 gene mutations can’t grow without lipids; a group of naturally occurring molecules, namely fats, contained in various foods such as butter and ice-cream.
“We replicated the results in a range of cancer types, comparing a regular diet with one that was completely fat-free and were surprised to find tumours with IDH1 were stopped in their tracks when starved of lipids,” Dr Thomas said. https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/low-fat-diet-could-be-key-to-stopping-cancer-growth
"Our results clearly show that all patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis who maintain sustained abstinence from alcohol not only suffer complications of liver cirrhosis significantly less frequently, but also live considerably longer—even in the case of pronounced portal hypertension," explains the lead author of the study, Benedikt Hofer.
Evidence for prognostic relevance
Liver cirrhosis, as the pronounced scarring of the liver is referred to in technical jargon, is one of the most frequent and most severe complications of excessive alcohol consumption. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-alcohol-abstinence-essential-advanced-liver.html
The California Office of Emergency Services on Monday said in a statement that the state Cybersecurity Integration Center is “actively responding to a cybersecurity incident involving the California Department of Finance.”
Cal OES describes the threat as an “intrusion” that was “proactively identified through coordination with state and federal security partners.” The statement did not provide any specifics about the nature of the incident, who was involved or whether information or data had been taken.
Cal OES said only that “no state funds have been compromised.”
Tech news outlets reported global ransomware group LockBit was behind the threat.
Screenshots from the group’s website show it claims to have stolen 76 gigabytes of data, including “databases, confidential data, financial documents, certification, court and sexual proceedings in court, IT documents and more...” https://www.govtech.com/security/hackers-claims-to-have-california-department-of-finance-data
found that the cognitive score of people who had the highest intake of flavonols declined at a rate of 0.4 units per decade more slowly than people whose had the lowest intake. Holland noted this is probably due to the inherent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of flavonols.
The study also broke the flavonol class down into the four constituents: kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin and isorhamnetin. The top food contributors for each category were: kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli for kaempferol; tomatoes, kale, apples and tea for quercetin; tea, wine, kale, oranges and tomatoes for myricetin; and pears, olive oil, wine and tomato sauce for isorhamnetin.
People who had the highest intake of kaempferol had a 0.4 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Those with the highest intake of quercetin had a 0.2 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. And people with the highest intake of myricetin had a 0.3 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Dietary isorhamnetin was not tied to global cognition.
Holland noted that the study shows an association between higher amounts of dietary flavonols and slower cognitive decline but does not prove that flavonols directly cause a slower rate of cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-antioxidant-flavonols-linked-slower-memory.html
Numerous studies have linked the consumption of ultraprocessed foods with a greater risk of inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, obesity and early death.
Now a new study finds these ready-to-eat foods can lead to greater risk of cognitive decline as we age. And you don't have to eat much to be affected.
According to the study, the amount would be about 20% of the 2,000 calories recommended daily. As CNN determined, that equals a regular McDonald's cheeseburger and small fries, which is 530 calories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-diet-foods-youre-faster-cognitive.html
Along with preventing young New Zealanders from accessing tobacco, the law will also reduce the amount of nicotine in smoked tobacco products and decrease the number of retailers selling tobacco.
“It means nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas,” associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a statement. https://www.iflscience.com/revolutionary-world-first-tobacco-law-takes-effect-in-new-zealand-66632
The American healthcare system has a long history of patient dissatisfaction. One major pain point lies in care navigation, as more than half of provider listings have at least one inaccuracy, leaving people with incomplete information and burdening their access to high-quality care. Ribbon's research found that more than one-third (38%) of people have had a negative healthcare experience due to incorrect provider information on their health plan's website. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-reveals-62-of-americans-dont-trust-their-health-plan-to-provide-accurate-care-options-301700962.html
Ezcurra and his team calculated there is only one day in spring and one day in fall when the Sun rises directly behind this mountain, making it a highly accurate form of timekeeping.
Taken together, the alignments – along with illustrations and texts found in ancient Mexica codices – imply Mount Tlaloc served as a fundamental tool for marking important times of the year and for calendric adjustments. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-aztecs-harnessed-the-sun-and-a-mountain-to-feed-millions-scientists-say
With the increased use of graphene-based nanomaterials comes a need to examine how these new materials affect the body. Nanomaterials are already known to impact on the immune system, and a few studies in recent years have shown that they can also affect the gut microbiome, the bacteria that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
The relationship between nanomaterial, gut microbiome and immunity has been the subject of the present study performed using zebrafish. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221212/Nanomaterial-can-indirectly-affect-the-immune-system-via-the-gut-microbiome-study-shows.aspx
Winter Greenhouse Growing – Which Vegetables To Grow https://www.essentialhomeandgarden.com/winter-greenhouse/
In their test baking, researchers tried out different amounts of banana peel flour. The cookies consisted of anywhere from 0 to 15 percent flour. 15 percent banana peel flour led to harder, browner cookies with a lot of fiber. However, with just 7.5 percent banana peel flour, the texture and taste were pretty similar to “normal” sugar cookies – and it still created more nutritious final products. https://www.outsideonline.com/health/nutrition/the-secret-to-healthful-cookies-research-says-it-may-be-banana-peels/
"It's that push-and-pull effect," said de la Iglesia. "And what we found here is that since students weren't getting enough daytime light exposure in the winter, their circadian clocks were delayed compared to summer."
The study offers lessons not just for college students.
"Many of us live in cities and towns with lots of artificial light and lifestyles that keep us indoors during the day," said de la Iglesia. "What this study shows is that we need to get out—even for a little while and especially in the morning—to get that natural light exposure. In the evening, minimize screen time and artificial lighting to help us fall asleep." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-falling-asleep-night-daytime.html
The ecological crisis is being driven in large part by the pursuit of economic growth: ever-increasing levels of industrial production, measured in GDP. High-income economies—and the affluent classes and corporations that dominate them—are overwhelmingly responsible for this problem, as their use of energy and materials far exceeds sustainable levels.
As Jason Hickel, the lead author and professor at ICTA-UAB, explains, "In our existing economy, production is organized around the interests of capital accumulation rather than around human well-being. The result is a system that overuses resources and yet still fails to meet many basic human needs. It is failing both people and planet." https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-outline-key-policies-degrowth.html
Wildlife researchers have completed a study that may settle the question of why, in October 2009, a group of coyotes launched an unprovoked fatal attack on a young woman who was hiking in a Canadian park.
By analyzing coyote diets and their movement in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, where the attack occurred on a popular trail, the researchers concluded that the coyotes were forced to rely on moose instead of smaller mammals for the bulk of their diet—and as a result of adapting to that unusually large food source, perceived a lone hiker as potential prey.
The findings essentially ruled out the possibility that overexposure to people or attraction to human food could have been a factor in the attack—instead, heavy snowfall, high winds and extreme temperatures created conditions inhospitable to the small mammals that would normally make up most of their diet. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-reliance-moose-prey-rare-coyote.html
In addition to worries about the job climate, bullying was also cited as an important topic, with 47% of the participants reporting being bullied in the workplace, in most cases by their superiors. The working environment in archaeology was repeatedly described as "toxic" and "very competitive." About 62% of women reported experiencing gender-based discrimination during their careers, as opposed to about 12% of men.
"In the past two decades, there has been a steep rise in both the number of doctoral graduates and short-term employment contracts at universities, while the number of permanent faculty positions has stagnated. This has led to oversaturation in the academic job market and precarious employment conditions," said Brami, commenting on the possible reasons for the difficult situation. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-early-career-archaeologists-pessimistic-future-careers.html
The Moon landing was faked, and wind farms are bad In Germany, opposition to wind farms correlated with conspiratorial thinking. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/the-moon-landing-was-faked-and-wind-farms-are-bad/
Although previous studies have found a link between brain health and vitamin D in the diet or blood, this is considered the first study to look into vitamin D in the brain tissue, according to a news release. Nutrition is key to protecting the brain from cognitive decline. However, the study didn't find any connection between vitamin D and physiological markers of Alzheimer's or Lewy body disease.
Read More: https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/?utm_campaign=clip https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/
A recently published study has found that human-made traffic noises are linked to increased physical aggression in rural European robins, Erithacus rubecula. Surprisingly, their urban-dwelling relatives show no such response to traffic noises. Why?
Robins are fiercely territorial https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2022/12/12/angry-birds-rural-robins-get-road-rage-when-exposed-to-traffic-noise/
The researchers found that after multivariable adjustment, compared with those in the lowest total vegetable intake quintile (median, 67 g/day), participants in the highest quintile (median, 319 g/day) had a 0.35 kg/m2 lower BMI and a 21 percent lower risk for T2D. About 21 percent of the association between vegetable intake and incident T2D was mediated by baseline BMI. After multivariable adjustment, participants in the highest versus the lowest (median, 256 versus 52 g/day) quintile of potato intake had a 9 percent higher risk for T2D; after accounting for underlying dietary pattern, no association was found. A higher intake of green leafy and cruciferous vegetables was significantly associated with a reduced risk for T2D. https://consumer.healthday.com/physician-s-briefing-vegetables-2658948696.html
If procrastination is seriously interfering with your life, you may want to start chopping tasks into smaller pieces and set rewards after each step.
But perhaps more importantly, forgive yourself for procrastinating. The more we internalise the shame and guilt, the more we are likely to procrastinate in the future, and this can be an additional trigger that can compel us to procrastinate even more.
Ultimately, we all have different perceptions of time. Understanding individual differences may also help us better understand people with various neurodiversities. For example, some people have been found to parcel time differently, and more inconsistently – time might not work in a linear fashion for them but rather in a cyclical manner, which I can relate to. https://theconversation.com/procrastination-the-cognitive-biases-that-enable-it-and-why-its-sometimes-useful-195845
Every hour a child spends playing video games pre day raises their risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by 13 percent, a study suggests.
There was also a correlation between watching YouTube content and OCD - with every hour spent streaming videos associated with an 11 percent raised risk.
Too much screen time in childhood has been linked from everything to eating disorders, mental health problems and gambling addiction in later life
Yet, unlike other studies, the latest research found no association between watching films or movies or playing on cell phones. The researchers blamed YouTube algorithms and addictive video game content for fostering compulsive feelings in preteens. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11529041/Every-hour-child-spends-playing-video-games-day-raises-risk-OCD-13-study-claims.html
The medical establishment is generally against the use of snoozing, but when we went to look at what hard data existed, there was none.
‘We now have the data to prove just how common it is — and there is still so much that we do not know. So many people are snoozing because so many people are chronically tired.’
It’s all become a bit of a cycle, you snooze because you tired, then you’re tired because of disrupted sleep, then you drink caffeine, and it might keep you up again.
But there are ways to ensure quality night’s sleep and they might just help you stop reaching for the snooze button in the morning. https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/12/bad-news-snoozers-using-an-alarm-clock-might-be-making-you-more-tired-17921592/?ito=newsnow-feed
Data from 4,099 participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) has revealed that an increase in daily TV-watching time is significantly associated with an increase in bodily pain severity over time, according to a new study from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-tv-bodily-pain.html
The researchers are developing a new method of artificial photosynthesis that produces hydrogen, which is promising as a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel source. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-sun-team-mimics-nature-hydrogen.html
The federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which uses a process called inertial confinement fusion that involves bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser, had achieved net energy gain in a fusion experiment in the past two weeks, the people said.
Although many scientists believe fusion power stations are still decades away, the technology’s potential is hard to ignore. Fusion reactions emit no carbon, produce no long-lived radioactive waste, and a small cup of the hydrogen fuel could theoretically power a house for hundreds of years. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/fusion-energy-breakthrough-by-us-scientists-boosts-clean-power-hopes/
“I think at 10%, quinoa added a type of nutty flavor that people really liked,” she said, noting the testers liked it even more than the control whole flour cookie.
The quinoa appreciation tended to wane after about 30% substitution, Nalbandian said, probably because the texture started becoming grittier. Still, she sees potential for quinoa flour particularly in the gluten-free market as many of those baked products can be low in nutritional content. https://scienceblog.com/535425/special-quinoa-can-make-a-better-cookie/
“We identified a mutation that led to the mice sleeping much longer and more deeply than usual.” The researchers found that this was caused by low levels of an enzyme called histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), which is known to suppress the expression of target genes.
Previous studies on HDAC4 have shown that it is greatly affected by the attachment of phosphate molecules in a process known as phosphorylation. https://scienceblog.com/535431/unravelling-the-secrets-of-a-good-nights-sleep-its-the-enzyme/
Both THC and CBD were found to improve wound healing better than metformin, rapamycin, and triacetylresveratrol in replicative senescent CCD-1135Sk fibroblasts. Therefore, pCBs can be a valuable source of biologically active substances used in cosmetics, and more studies using clinical trials should be performed to confirm the efficacy of phytocannabinoids. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/23/3939
But just a year later, many Wall Street firms are backtracking. In September, the Financial Times reported that several banks, including Bank of America and JP Morgan, were concerned about accidentally running afoul of United Nations climate rules and being held legally liable for their commitments, leading them to consider pulling out of GFANZ. Blackrock and Vanguard, the world's largest asset managers, then confirmed in October that their net zero commitments would not preclude them from investing in fossil fuels, despite concerns that new fossil fuel investment is incompatible with timely decarbonization. (Asset managers steward money on behalf of major investors like sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and pension funds.) And finally, earlier this week, Vanguard officially announced that it is resigning from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a sector-specific alliance under the GFANZ umbrella. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/wall-streets-biggest-names-are-backing-off-their-climate-commitments_partne
Nature
“Microbial Lions” Are The Newest Branch Of The Tree Of LifeThe tiny predators are a whole new supergroup of eukaryotes. https://www.iflscience.com/-microbial-lions-are-the-newest-branch-of-the-tree-of-life-66572
SEOUL—North Korean regime-backed hackers referenced the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul to distribute malware to users in South Korea, Google’s Threat Analysis group said in a report.
The malware was embedded in Microsoft Office documents which purported to be a government report on the tragedy https://www.ntd.com/north-korean-hackers-exploited-seoul-halloween-tragedy-to-distribute-malware-google-says_886984.html
According to Stefany Mena, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology, when participants had time to guess the answer before googling, they performed better on the memory tests than when they had immediately googled the answers. She said this is called the pretesting effect – testing yourself before checking the answer results in better memory of the correct information.
Even guessing the wrong answer is better than not guessing at all, Giebl said. https://dailybruin.com/2022/11/04/ucla-researchers-publish-study-on-effects-of-internet-on-long-term-memory
The study also provided information to thousands of families that participated. Vicky Garbutt — who enrolled herself, her husband, their autistic son Jeffrey and their non-autistic son Luke — says she wanted to “give back” to researchers who have helped Jeffrey. And she was curious.
“We wanted to know if it was a genetic trait that we passed down to Jeff, and if that would have any relevance to his brother having children,” Garbutt says. “Knowledge is power.” https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/whole-genome-trove-ties-new-genes-variants-to-autism/
analysis of 22 large-scale gene expression datasets pointed to exercise and activity in general as the most effective theoretical treatment for reversing gene expressions typical of Alzheimer’s disease. Fluoxetine, a well-known antidepressant sold often commercially as Prozac or Zoloft, also showed effect, particularly when combined with exercise. Curcumin (spice) showed positive effects as well. The study was published in Scientific Reports. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/gene-expression-data-point-to-exercise-as-the-most-effective-treatment-for-alzheimers-disease-64494
Which brings us to Alabama. On a mural that covers the long side of a white-washed brick building near the Equal Justice Initiative's headquarters, a Maya Angelou quote is painted in crisp black lettering: "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Around the corner, the Legacy Museum, a brainchild of "Just Mercy" author Bryan Stevenson, is a stunning piece of advocacy work for a controversial, and seemingly impossible, statement: Slavery never ended. It just evolved. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/your-childs-glasses-may-have-been-made-with-forced-labo
An analysis of responses of people from 42 countries on a vocational interest inventory confirmed the well-known finding that women tend to prefer jobs and activities that focus on working with people, much more than men. Men tend to prefer working with things much more than women. Women were also found to have somewhat higher preferences for jobs that involve working with ideas and for more prestigious jobs. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/women-like-working-with-people-men-like-working-with-things-all-across-the-world-64485
Frances says air is one of the most important ingredients in baking. You might not think of it as an ingredient at all, but it’s an essential element in the structure of your favorite bread and desserts. As Frances explains, “when we take a bite out of a cake or a cookie, and we have that easy-to-bite pleasant soft feeling, it’s the air. https://www.inverse.com/science/cookie-science
Apple is planning on broadening its end-to-end data encryption services, closing a privacy loophole that previously allowed law enforcement to access a wide-reaching swath of data, including photos and messages, stored in user iCloud accounts.
But while proponents of the change are applauding the change as a win for user privacy, its detractors — which include a little organization known as the FBI — are none too thrilled. https://futurism.com/the-byte/fbi-apple-new-encryption-deeply-concerning
Rats fed a Western (high-fat and high-fructose) diet for 26 weeks represented hepatic steatosis with an increased body weight and dyslipidemia. Addition of dietary iron overload to the Western diet feeding further increased serum triglyceride and cholesterol, and enhanced hepatic inflammation; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-25838-3
"We found that retinal cone photoreceptors are essential for green light analgesia, whereas rods play a secondary role," explain Tang and colleagues in their published paper.
From there, they chased the path taken by electrical signals from the eye through the brain.
Bathed in green light, the cones and rods stimulated a group of brain cells in the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus, which has previously been linked to the analgesic effects of bright light in general.
In this part of the brain, these neurons express a hormone involved in pain signaling. These cells then relay the message to another part of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus that modulates pain, effectively turning down the dial on severe pain sensations.
Different animal studies have identified other mechanisms entwined in the analgesic effects of green light, such as pain receptors in the spinal cord – which is not surprising given how complex the experience of pain is. It involves the sensory, bodily, and psychological experience of stimuli and signals that bounce between the brain, spinal cord, and pain receptors. https://www.sciencealert.com/green-light-seems-to-relieve-pain-and-a-new-study-in-mice-shows-why
The researchers discovered that, compared to about 67% of individuals in the control group, over three-quarters of people with rheumatoid arthritis who tested positive (73%) and negative (72%) for ACPA were exposed to at least one of the workplace dust or fumes. They found that exposure to the agents raised the probability of developing RA, and that smoking and inherited risk factors made this situation considerably worse.
Smoking, having a high GRS, and being exposed to pollutants at work are referred to as "triple exposure," and this group showed a connection to arthritis start that was 16 to 68 times stronger than "triple non-exposure." https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018731-dust-in-offices-could-lead-to-rheumatoid-arthritis-study-warns
So the issue’s salience in the next two years will depend entirely on how it resonates with voters and potentially factors into the presidential election. Many experts were skeptical it could ever gain political relevance, but still worry what the endgame is. Does this mean a future of “blue banks” and “red banks”? Will financial behemoths be frightened into weakening already-weak climate targets? It’s too early to say.
But the right’s war on banks won’t necessarily drive a back-pedaling on climate goals. BlackRock has tempered its interest in climate publicly since the ESG attacks began, but other institutions have pushed ahead.
“Market participants will continue to demand ESG data and incorporate it in risk models,” said Ivan Frishberg, chief sustainability officer of Amalgamated Bank, a bank with a socially responsible mission. “That is capitalism doing what it does best: seeking more data for better client responsiveness and a more systemic view. The pushback on ESG is essentially a denial of capitalism. Ultimately, our clients are going to drive the products and approaches we take and guide how we respond as a firm.” https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/12/10/23496712/esg-gop-climate-corporate-responsibility
Rouge-colored ribbons of algae ran 400 square feet across the sunny slope—Chlamydomonas nivalis, a red-pigmented green algae found in high alpine and polar regions around the globe. The algae’s striking appearance on snow has earned it nicknames ranging from the delicious-sounding—watermelon snow—to the ominous—glacier blood. Scientists believe this algae could play a major role in melting glaciers and snowfields. https://www.wired.com/story/pink-snow-is-not-a-cute-phenomenon-heres-why/
Places that once hosted distinct and fantastic variations of life become dominated by a few species, often newcomers that are generalists to start, or those that have adapted to thrive near modern human settlements. Think: house sparrows. Rats. English ivy. And also, European honeybees, says Ponisio.
Researchers Julie Lockwood and Michael McKinney coined a term for this: “biotic homogenization.” But Lockwood has a catchier way of thinking about what’s happening: the McDonaldization of nature. In the same way you can step off an airplane nearly anywhere on Earth and encounter a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, travelers now can see many of the same plants and animals an ocean apart. “That’s just unprecedented,” says Lockwood, an ecology professor at Rutgers University.
How those plants and animals interact with each other is shifting, too. https://www.biographic.com/making-nature-less-predictable/
“The imbalance of genes causes aging because cells and organisms work to remain balanced — what physicians denote as homeostasis,” said Northwestern’s Luís A.N. Amaral, a senior author of the study. “Imagine a waiter carrying a big tray. That tray needs to have everything balanced. If the tray is not balanced, then the waiter needs to put in extra effort to fight the imbalance. If the balance in the activity of short and long genes shifts in an organism, the same thing happens. It’s like aging is this subtle imbalance, away from equilibrium. Small changes in genes do not seem like a big deal, but these subtle changes are bearing down on you, requiring more effort.” https://scienceblog.com/535412/aging-is-driven-by-unbalanced-genes-study-finds/
Tabletop roleplaying games may reduce anxiety and improve social skills https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/tabletop-rpgs-may-reduce-anxiety-improve-social-skills
Leftover soap on dishes by restaurant dishwashers could seriously harm health
Commercial dishwashers, which are frequently found in restaurants, leave behind chemical residue that is hazardous to gastrointestinal tract https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018394-leftover-soap-on-dishes-by-restaurant-dishwashers-could-seriously-harm-health
This combination of techniques yielded insights into different defense mechanisms plants use to survive drought. One species added woody lignin to thicken its roots. The second secreted antioxidants and fatty acids as a biochemical defense. The third appeared less affected by drought conditions, but the soil around it had a higher level of carbon.
This indicates that the plant and the microbes in the soil were working together to protect the plant. Overall, this study demonstrates how multiple techniques can be combined to identify different drought-tolerance strategies and ways to keep plants thriving.
The research is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-techniques-species-ways-drought.html
2023.01.30 18:04 Gallionella ALLS17k
.////k//// ChatGPT Could Revolutionize The Internet, But Its Secrets Have Experts Worried
ChatGPT is the latest and most impressive artificially intelligent chatbot yet. It was released two weeks ago, and in just five days hit a million users. It's being used so much that its servers have reached capacity several times. https://www.sciencealert.com/chatgpt-could-revolutionize-the-internet-but-its-secrets-have-experts-worried
For too long people have believed losing muscle and strength is an inevitable part of ageing, Zanker said.
“With targeted action, however, loss of muscle and its negative outcomes can be delayed, prevented, and even reversed,” he said.
“There are many reasons that people can lose muscle, such as inactivity and hospitalisation, which exacerbates losses seen with aging,” co-researcher Victoria University’s Prof. Alan Hayes from the Institute for Health and Sport said. https://www.theepochtimes.com/exercises-key-to-preventing-muscle-loss_4922303.html
We hope that it can become a part of the animation pipeline and become a big time-saver. With a single natural bitmap sketch of a character, our algorithm allows the animator to automatically, with no additional input, apply the drawn 3D pose to a custom ‘rigged’ and ‘skinned’ 3D character. That essentially means that animators can now create a first rough draft of the animation right after the storyboarding stage, i.e., when they have just sketched the keyframes. https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2022/07/27/video-games-posing-in-3d/
However, the hacker, according to Krebs, claimed to have been messaging InfraGard members, posing as the financial institution's CEO, to try to obtain more personal data that could be criminally weaponized.
The AP reached the hacker on the BreachForums site via private message. The person would not say whether a buyer for the records had been found or answer other questions, but did say that Krebs' article "was 100% accurate."
The FBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on how the hacker was able to trick it into approving the InfraGard membership. Krebs reported that the hacker had included a contact email address under the person's control, as well as the CEO's real mobile phone number, when applying for InfraGard membership in November.
Krebs quoted the hacker as saying InfraGard approved the application in early December and the email account was used to receive a one-time authentication code.
Once inside, the hacker said, the database information was easy to obtain with simple software script. https://www.voanews.com/a/hacker-claims-breach-of-fbi-s-critical-infrastructure-forum-/6876801.html
This section of the sky is called the North Ecliptic Pole. Webb used its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and researchers spruced up the view by adding ultraviolet and visible-light data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image is part of a paper published in the Astronomical Journal this week.
The knockout space view comes to us courtesy of the Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science (Pearls) project. The program's goal is to study how galaxies assemble and grow. The Pearls team is thrilled about the image. "I can see streams, tails, shells, and halos of stars in their outskirts, the leftovers of their building blocks," https://www.cnet.com/science/space/in-awe-inspiring-james-webb-telescope-image-thousands-of-galaxies-glow/
“However, harvesting and consumption of wild food plants are likely to decline. The erosion of wild food plant knowledge is a possible contributing factor, and I wanted to tap into and document this knowledge, which has been somewhat neglected by researchers.”
The cookbook includes 13 recipes — including soups, salads, drinks and desserts — and features in-depth nutritional information on 24 indigenous plants, referred to by the researchers as “wild food plants.” These plants, such as climbing wattle and aquatic morning glory leaves, often are high in vitamins and minerals that Cambodians otherwise might be missing in their diets. https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/penn-state-researchers-battle-food-insecurity-native-plants-cookbook
They were surprised to find that genetics seemed to account for only a small portion of these performance differences -- whereas differences in gut bacterial populations appeared to be substantially more important. In fact, they observed that giving mice broad-spectrum antibiotics to get rid of their gut bacteria reduced the mice's running performance by about half.
Ultimately, in a years-long process of scientific detective work involving more than a dozen separate laboratories at Penn and elsewhere, the researchers found that two bacterial species closely tied to better performance, Eubacterium rectale and Coprococcus eutactus, produce metabolites known as fatty acid amides (FAAs). The latter stimulate receptors called CB1 endocannabinoid receptors on gut-embedded sensory nerves, which connect to the brain via the spine. The stimulation of these CB1 receptor-studded nerves causes an increase in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine during exercise, in a brain region called the ventral striatum.
The striatum is a critical node in the brain's reward and motivation network. The researchers concluded that the extra dopamine in this region during exercise boosts performance by reinforcing the desire to exercise. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221214113857.htm
"Our findings show that lubricin may be a new biomarker for tracing patients' risk of developing gout, and that new drugs to maintain and increase lubricin could limit the incidence and progression of gouty arthritis," said Terkeltaub. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221214/Study-finds-a-novel-therapeutic-target-for-prevention-and-treatment-of-gout.aspx
Study explains surprise surge in methane during pandemic lockdown https://phys.org/news/2022-12-surge-methane-pandemic-lockdown.html
AMES, Iowa – When the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium was formed seven years ago, Iowa State University researchers faced two big questions about reestablishing the milkweed and other wildflowers needed for the iconic butterfly’s survival: How can habitat be restored and where should it be located? https://www.newswise.com/articles/years-of-monarch-research-shows-how-adding-habitat-will-help-conservation
Several recent studies in people have supported the association between food allergies and various neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism. They strengthen the possibility that some reactions to food allergens could involve the nervous system and manifest as behavioral disorders.
However, the idea of food hypersensitivity causing neuropsychiatric disorders is still controversial because of inconsistencies across studies. Differences in the types of allergies, ethnic backgrounds, dietary habits and other factors among the study participants can produce conflicting results. More importantly, some studies included those with self-reported food allergies, while others included only those with lab-confirmed food allergies. This limited investigations to only symptomatic individuals. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/long-term-consumption-of-food-allergens-may-lead-to-behavior-and-mood-changes-64513
Scientists have discovered that immune cells, known as microglia, help maintain the health of myelin—the insulating layer that forms around nerve cells—which is important for nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to function optimally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-immune-cells-brain-health-cognition.html
Diet involved eating 840 calories for five days, then 10 days of eating normallyStudy found 33% managed to reverse condition and remain free of it a year laterExperts caution study was very small - involving just 36 people - and quite short
Fasting for five days at a time could help some people reverse type 2 diabetes, a study suggests. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11538481/Intermittent-fasting-reverse-type-2-diabetes-MONTHS.html
This new data shows public awareness about dementia’s impact in society is poor, and families affected by dementia may not be prepared for costs they may incur. High-quality care is valued by the public but there are gaps in provision and not everyone gets the care they need,” she added. https://www.gmjournal.co.uk/public-awareness-about-dementia-s-impact-on-society-is-poor-research-suggests
. "covid the year Earth changed" movie trailer .
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=movie+covid+the+year+Earth+changed&t=h_&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXswV_yqPq28
New research has found food could play a major role in stopping the growth of some cancers.
It was previously thought diet had no impact on tumours, but a team of SAHMRI and University of Adelaide researchers, led by Dr Daniel Thomas, has turned that theory on its head.
The study, funded by the Hospital Research Foundation Group, Snowdome Foundation and the Leukaemia Foundation, was a collaboration with Stanford University, recently published in Cancer Discovery. It showed cancers with IDH1 gene mutations can’t grow without lipids; a group of naturally occurring molecules, namely fats, contained in various foods such as butter and ice-cream.
“We replicated the results in a range of cancer types, comparing a regular diet with one that was completely fat-free and were surprised to find tumours with IDH1 were stopped in their tracks when starved of lipids,” Dr Thomas said. https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/low-fat-diet-could-be-key-to-stopping-cancer-growth
"Our results clearly show that all patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis who maintain sustained abstinence from alcohol not only suffer complications of liver cirrhosis significantly less frequently, but also live considerably longer—even in the case of pronounced portal hypertension," explains the lead author of the study, Benedikt Hofer.
Evidence for prognostic relevance
Liver cirrhosis, as the pronounced scarring of the liver is referred to in technical jargon, is one of the most frequent and most severe complications of excessive alcohol consumption. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-alcohol-abstinence-essential-advanced-liver.html
The California Office of Emergency Services on Monday said in a statement that the state Cybersecurity Integration Center is “actively responding to a cybersecurity incident involving the California Department of Finance.”
Cal OES describes the threat as an “intrusion” that was “proactively identified through coordination with state and federal security partners.” The statement did not provide any specifics about the nature of the incident, who was involved or whether information or data had been taken.
Cal OES said only that “no state funds have been compromised.”
Tech news outlets reported global ransomware group LockBit was behind the threat.
Screenshots from the group’s website show it claims to have stolen 76 gigabytes of data, including “databases, confidential data, financial documents, certification, court and sexual proceedings in court, IT documents and more...” https://www.govtech.com/security/hackers-claims-to-have-california-department-of-finance-data
found that the cognitive score of people who had the highest intake of flavonols declined at a rate of 0.4 units per decade more slowly than people whose had the lowest intake. Holland noted this is probably due to the inherent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of flavonols.
The study also broke the flavonol class down into the four constituents: kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin and isorhamnetin. The top food contributors for each category were: kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli for kaempferol; tomatoes, kale, apples and tea for quercetin; tea, wine, kale, oranges and tomatoes for myricetin; and pears, olive oil, wine and tomato sauce for isorhamnetin.
People who had the highest intake of kaempferol had a 0.4 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Those with the highest intake of quercetin had a 0.2 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. And people with the highest intake of myricetin had a 0.3 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Dietary isorhamnetin was not tied to global cognition.
Holland noted that the study shows an association between higher amounts of dietary flavonols and slower cognitive decline but does not prove that flavonols directly cause a slower rate of cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-antioxidant-flavonols-linked-slower-memory.html
Numerous studies have linked the consumption of ultraprocessed foods with a greater risk of inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, obesity and early death.
Now a new study finds these ready-to-eat foods can lead to greater risk of cognitive decline as we age. And you don't have to eat much to be affected.
According to the study, the amount would be about 20% of the 2,000 calories recommended daily. As CNN determined, that equals a regular McDonald's cheeseburger and small fries, which is 530 calories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-diet-foods-youre-faster-cognitive.html
Along with preventing young New Zealanders from accessing tobacco, the law will also reduce the amount of nicotine in smoked tobacco products and decrease the number of retailers selling tobacco.
“It means nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas,” associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a statement. https://www.iflscience.com/revolutionary-world-first-tobacco-law-takes-effect-in-new-zealand-66632
The American healthcare system has a long history of patient dissatisfaction. One major pain point lies in care navigation, as more than half of provider listings have at least one inaccuracy, leaving people with incomplete information and burdening their access to high-quality care. Ribbon's research found that more than one-third (38%) of people have had a negative healthcare experience due to incorrect provider information on their health plan's website. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-reveals-62-of-americans-dont-trust-their-health-plan-to-provide-accurate-care-options-301700962.html
Ezcurra and his team calculated there is only one day in spring and one day in fall when the Sun rises directly behind this mountain, making it a highly accurate form of timekeeping.
Taken together, the alignments – along with illustrations and texts found in ancient Mexica codices – imply Mount Tlaloc served as a fundamental tool for marking important times of the year and for calendric adjustments. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-aztecs-harnessed-the-sun-and-a-mountain-to-feed-millions-scientists-say
With the increased use of graphene-based nanomaterials comes a need to examine how these new materials affect the body. Nanomaterials are already known to impact on the immune system, and a few studies in recent years have shown that they can also affect the gut microbiome, the bacteria that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
The relationship between nanomaterial, gut microbiome and immunity has been the subject of the present study performed using zebrafish. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221212/Nanomaterial-can-indirectly-affect-the-immune-system-via-the-gut-microbiome-study-shows.aspx
Winter Greenhouse Growing – Which Vegetables To Grow https://www.essentialhomeandgarden.com/winter-greenhouse/
In their test baking, researchers tried out different amounts of banana peel flour. The cookies consisted of anywhere from 0 to 15 percent flour. 15 percent banana peel flour led to harder, browner cookies with a lot of fiber. However, with just 7.5 percent banana peel flour, the texture and taste were pretty similar to “normal” sugar cookies – and it still created more nutritious final products. https://www.outsideonline.com/health/nutrition/the-secret-to-healthful-cookies-research-says-it-may-be-banana-peels/
"It's that push-and-pull effect," said de la Iglesia. "And what we found here is that since students weren't getting enough daytime light exposure in the winter, their circadian clocks were delayed compared to summer."
The study offers lessons not just for college students.
"Many of us live in cities and towns with lots of artificial light and lifestyles that keep us indoors during the day," said de la Iglesia. "What this study shows is that we need to get out—even for a little while and especially in the morning—to get that natural light exposure. In the evening, minimize screen time and artificial lighting to help us fall asleep." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-falling-asleep-night-daytime.html
The ecological crisis is being driven in large part by the pursuit of economic growth: ever-increasing levels of industrial production, measured in GDP. High-income economies—and the affluent classes and corporations that dominate them—are overwhelmingly responsible for this problem, as their use of energy and materials far exceeds sustainable levels.
As Jason Hickel, the lead author and professor at ICTA-UAB, explains, "In our existing economy, production is organized around the interests of capital accumulation rather than around human well-being. The result is a system that overuses resources and yet still fails to meet many basic human needs. It is failing both people and planet." https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-outline-key-policies-degrowth.html
Wildlife researchers have completed a study that may settle the question of why, in October 2009, a group of coyotes launched an unprovoked fatal attack on a young woman who was hiking in a Canadian park.
By analyzing coyote diets and their movement in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, where the attack occurred on a popular trail, the researchers concluded that the coyotes were forced to rely on moose instead of smaller mammals for the bulk of their diet—and as a result of adapting to that unusually large food source, perceived a lone hiker as potential prey.
The findings essentially ruled out the possibility that overexposure to people or attraction to human food could have been a factor in the attack—instead, heavy snowfall, high winds and extreme temperatures created conditions inhospitable to the small mammals that would normally make up most of their diet. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-reliance-moose-prey-rare-coyote.html
In addition to worries about the job climate, bullying was also cited as an important topic, with 47% of the participants reporting being bullied in the workplace, in most cases by their superiors. The working environment in archaeology was repeatedly described as "toxic" and "very competitive." About 62% of women reported experiencing gender-based discrimination during their careers, as opposed to about 12% of men.
"In the past two decades, there has been a steep rise in both the number of doctoral graduates and short-term employment contracts at universities, while the number of permanent faculty positions has stagnated. This has led to oversaturation in the academic job market and precarious employment conditions," said Brami, commenting on the possible reasons for the difficult situation. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-early-career-archaeologists-pessimistic-future-careers.html
The Moon landing was faked, and wind farms are bad In Germany, opposition to wind farms correlated with conspiratorial thinking. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/the-moon-landing-was-faked-and-wind-farms-are-bad/
Although previous studies have found a link between brain health and vitamin D in the diet or blood, this is considered the first study to look into vitamin D in the brain tissue, according to a news release. Nutrition is key to protecting the brain from cognitive decline. However, the study didn't find any connection between vitamin D and physiological markers of Alzheimer's or Lewy body disease.
Read More: https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/?utm_campaign=clip https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/
A recently published study has found that human-made traffic noises are linked to increased physical aggression in rural European robins, Erithacus rubecula. Surprisingly, their urban-dwelling relatives show no such response to traffic noises. Why?
Robins are fiercely territorial https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2022/12/12/angry-birds-rural-robins-get-road-rage-when-exposed-to-traffic-noise/
The researchers found that after multivariable adjustment, compared with those in the lowest total vegetable intake quintile (median, 67 g/day), participants in the highest quintile (median, 319 g/day) had a 0.35 kg/m2 lower BMI and a 21 percent lower risk for T2D. About 21 percent of the association between vegetable intake and incident T2D was mediated by baseline BMI. After multivariable adjustment, participants in the highest versus the lowest (median, 256 versus 52 g/day) quintile of potato intake had a 9 percent higher risk for T2D; after accounting for underlying dietary pattern, no association was found. A higher intake of green leafy and cruciferous vegetables was significantly associated with a reduced risk for T2D. https://consumer.healthday.com/physician-s-briefing-vegetables-2658948696.html
If procrastination is seriously interfering with your life, you may want to start chopping tasks into smaller pieces and set rewards after each step.
But perhaps more importantly, forgive yourself for procrastinating. The more we internalise the shame and guilt, the more we are likely to procrastinate in the future, and this can be an additional trigger that can compel us to procrastinate even more.
Ultimately, we all have different perceptions of time. Understanding individual differences may also help us better understand people with various neurodiversities. For example, some people have been found to parcel time differently, and more inconsistently – time might not work in a linear fashion for them but rather in a cyclical manner, which I can relate to. https://theconversation.com/procrastination-the-cognitive-biases-that-enable-it-and-why-its-sometimes-useful-195845
Every hour a child spends playing video games pre day raises their risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by 13 percent, a study suggests.
There was also a correlation between watching YouTube content and OCD - with every hour spent streaming videos associated with an 11 percent raised risk.
Too much screen time in childhood has been linked from everything to eating disorders, mental health problems and gambling addiction in later life
Yet, unlike other studies, the latest research found no association between watching films or movies or playing on cell phones. The researchers blamed YouTube algorithms and addictive video game content for fostering compulsive feelings in preteens. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11529041/Every-hour-child-spends-playing-video-games-day-raises-risk-OCD-13-study-claims.html
The medical establishment is generally against the use of snoozing, but when we went to look at what hard data existed, there was none.
‘We now have the data to prove just how common it is — and there is still so much that we do not know. So many people are snoozing because so many people are chronically tired.’
It’s all become a bit of a cycle, you snooze because you tired, then you’re tired because of disrupted sleep, then you drink caffeine, and it might keep you up again.
But there are ways to ensure quality night’s sleep and they might just help you stop reaching for the snooze button in the morning. https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/12/bad-news-snoozers-using-an-alarm-clock-might-be-making-you-more-tired-17921592/?ito=newsnow-feed
Data from 4,099 participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) has revealed that an increase in daily TV-watching time is significantly associated with an increase in bodily pain severity over time, according to a new study from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-tv-bodily-pain.html
The researchers are developing a new method of artificial photosynthesis that produces hydrogen, which is promising as a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel source. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-sun-team-mimics-nature-hydrogen.html
The federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which uses a process called inertial confinement fusion that involves bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser, had achieved net energy gain in a fusion experiment in the past two weeks, the people said.
Although many scientists believe fusion power stations are still decades away, the technology’s potential is hard to ignore. Fusion reactions emit no carbon, produce no long-lived radioactive waste, and a small cup of the hydrogen fuel could theoretically power a house for hundreds of years. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/fusion-energy-breakthrough-by-us-scientists-boosts-clean-power-hopes/
“I think at 10%, quinoa added a type of nutty flavor that people really liked,” she said, noting the testers liked it even more than the control whole flour cookie.
The quinoa appreciation tended to wane after about 30% substitution, Nalbandian said, probably because the texture started becoming grittier. Still, she sees potential for quinoa flour particularly in the gluten-free market as many of those baked products can be low in nutritional content. https://scienceblog.com/535425/special-quinoa-can-make-a-better-cookie/
“We identified a mutation that led to the mice sleeping much longer and more deeply than usual.” The researchers found that this was caused by low levels of an enzyme called histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), which is known to suppress the expression of target genes.
Previous studies on HDAC4 have shown that it is greatly affected by the attachment of phosphate molecules in a process known as phosphorylation. https://scienceblog.com/535431/unravelling-the-secrets-of-a-good-nights-sleep-its-the-enzyme/
Both THC and CBD were found to improve wound healing better than metformin, rapamycin, and triacetylresveratrol in replicative senescent CCD-1135Sk fibroblasts. Therefore, pCBs can be a valuable source of biologically active substances used in cosmetics, and more studies using clinical trials should be performed to confirm the efficacy of phytocannabinoids. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/23/3939
But just a year later, many Wall Street firms are backtracking. In September, the Financial Times reported that several banks, including Bank of America and JP Morgan, were concerned about accidentally running afoul of United Nations climate rules and being held legally liable for their commitments, leading them to consider pulling out of GFANZ. Blackrock and Vanguard, the world's largest asset managers, then confirmed in October that their net zero commitments would not preclude them from investing in fossil fuels, despite concerns that new fossil fuel investment is incompatible with timely decarbonization. (Asset managers steward money on behalf of major investors like sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and pension funds.) And finally, earlier this week, Vanguard officially announced that it is resigning from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a sector-specific alliance under the GFANZ umbrella. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/wall-streets-biggest-names-are-backing-off-their-climate-commitments_partne
Nature
“Microbial Lions” Are The Newest Branch Of The Tree Of LifeThe tiny predators are a whole new supergroup of eukaryotes. https://www.iflscience.com/-microbial-lions-are-the-newest-branch-of-the-tree-of-life-66572
SEOUL—North Korean regime-backed hackers referenced the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul to distribute malware to users in South Korea, Google’s Threat Analysis group said in a report.
The malware was embedded in Microsoft Office documents which purported to be a government report on the tragedy https://www.ntd.com/north-korean-hackers-exploited-seoul-halloween-tragedy-to-distribute-malware-google-says_886984.html
According to Stefany Mena, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology, when participants had time to guess the answer before googling, they performed better on the memory tests than when they had immediately googled the answers. She said this is called the pretesting effect – testing yourself before checking the answer results in better memory of the correct information.
Even guessing the wrong answer is better than not guessing at all, Giebl said. https://dailybruin.com/2022/11/04/ucla-researchers-publish-study-on-effects-of-internet-on-long-term-memory
The study also provided information to thousands of families that participated. Vicky Garbutt — who enrolled herself, her husband, their autistic son Jeffrey and their non-autistic son Luke — says she wanted to “give back” to researchers who have helped Jeffrey. And she was curious.
“We wanted to know if it was a genetic trait that we passed down to Jeff, and if that would have any relevance to his brother having children,” Garbutt says. “Knowledge is power.” https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/whole-genome-trove-ties-new-genes-variants-to-autism/
analysis of 22 large-scale gene expression datasets pointed to exercise and activity in general as the most effective theoretical treatment for reversing gene expressions typical of Alzheimer’s disease. Fluoxetine, a well-known antidepressant sold often commercially as Prozac or Zoloft, also showed effect, particularly when combined with exercise. Curcumin (spice) showed positive effects as well. The study was published in Scientific Reports. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/gene-expression-data-point-to-exercise-as-the-most-effective-treatment-for-alzheimers-disease-64494
Which brings us to Alabama. On a mural that covers the long side of a white-washed brick building near the Equal Justice Initiative's headquarters, a Maya Angelou quote is painted in crisp black lettering: "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Around the corner, the Legacy Museum, a brainchild of "Just Mercy" author Bryan Stevenson, is a stunning piece of advocacy work for a controversial, and seemingly impossible, statement: Slavery never ended. It just evolved. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/your-childs-glasses-may-have-been-made-with-forced-labo
An analysis of responses of people from 42 countries on a vocational interest inventory confirmed the well-known finding that women tend to prefer jobs and activities that focus on working with people, much more than men. Men tend to prefer working with things much more than women. Women were also found to have somewhat higher preferences for jobs that involve working with ideas and for more prestigious jobs. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/women-like-working-with-people-men-like-working-with-things-all-across-the-world-64485
Frances says air is one of the most important ingredients in baking. You might not think of it as an ingredient at all, but it’s an essential element in the structure of your favorite bread and desserts. As Frances explains, “when we take a bite out of a cake or a cookie, and we have that easy-to-bite pleasant soft feeling, it’s the air. https://www.inverse.com/science/cookie-science
Apple is planning on broadening its end-to-end data encryption services, closing a privacy loophole that previously allowed law enforcement to access a wide-reaching swath of data, including photos and messages, stored in user iCloud accounts.
But while proponents of the change are applauding the change as a win for user privacy, its detractors — which include a little organization known as the FBI — are none too thrilled. https://futurism.com/the-byte/fbi-apple-new-encryption-deeply-concerning
Rats fed a Western (high-fat and high-fructose) diet for 26 weeks represented hepatic steatosis with an increased body weight and dyslipidemia. Addition of dietary iron overload to the Western diet feeding further increased serum triglyceride and cholesterol, and enhanced hepatic inflammation; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-25838-3
"We found that retinal cone photoreceptors are essential for green light analgesia, whereas rods play a secondary role," explain Tang and colleagues in their published paper.
From there, they chased the path taken by electrical signals from the eye through the brain.
Bathed in green light, the cones and rods stimulated a group of brain cells in the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus, which has previously been linked to the analgesic effects of bright light in general.
In this part of the brain, these neurons express a hormone involved in pain signaling. These cells then relay the message to another part of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus that modulates pain, effectively turning down the dial on severe pain sensations.
Different animal studies have identified other mechanisms entwined in the analgesic effects of green light, such as pain receptors in the spinal cord – which is not surprising given how complex the experience of pain is. It involves the sensory, bodily, and psychological experience of stimuli and signals that bounce between the brain, spinal cord, and pain receptors. https://www.sciencealert.com/green-light-seems-to-relieve-pain-and-a-new-study-in-mice-shows-why
The researchers discovered that, compared to about 67% of individuals in the control group, over three-quarters of people with rheumatoid arthritis who tested positive (73%) and negative (72%) for ACPA were exposed to at least one of the workplace dust or fumes. They found that exposure to the agents raised the probability of developing RA, and that smoking and inherited risk factors made this situation considerably worse.
Smoking, having a high GRS, and being exposed to pollutants at work are referred to as "triple exposure," and this group showed a connection to arthritis start that was 16 to 68 times stronger than "triple non-exposure." https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018731-dust-in-offices-could-lead-to-rheumatoid-arthritis-study-warns
So the issue’s salience in the next two years will depend entirely on how it resonates with voters and potentially factors into the presidential election. Many experts were skeptical it could ever gain political relevance, but still worry what the endgame is. Does this mean a future of “blue banks” and “red banks”? Will financial behemoths be frightened into weakening already-weak climate targets? It’s too early to say.
But the right’s war on banks won’t necessarily drive a back-pedaling on climate goals. BlackRock has tempered its interest in climate publicly since the ESG attacks began, but other institutions have pushed ahead.
“Market participants will continue to demand ESG data and incorporate it in risk models,” said Ivan Frishberg, chief sustainability officer of Amalgamated Bank, a bank with a socially responsible mission. “That is capitalism doing what it does best: seeking more data for better client responsiveness and a more systemic view. The pushback on ESG is essentially a denial of capitalism. Ultimately, our clients are going to drive the products and approaches we take and guide how we respond as a firm.” https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/12/10/23496712/esg-gop-climate-corporate-responsibility
Rouge-colored ribbons of algae ran 400 square feet across the sunny slope—Chlamydomonas nivalis, a red-pigmented green algae found in high alpine and polar regions around the globe. The algae’s striking appearance on snow has earned it nicknames ranging from the delicious-sounding—watermelon snow—to the ominous—glacier blood. Scientists believe this algae could play a major role in melting glaciers and snowfields. https://www.wired.com/story/pink-snow-is-not-a-cute-phenomenon-heres-why/
Places that once hosted distinct and fantastic variations of life become dominated by a few species, often newcomers that are generalists to start, or those that have adapted to thrive near modern human settlements. Think: house sparrows. Rats. English ivy. And also, European honeybees, says Ponisio.
Researchers Julie Lockwood and Michael McKinney coined a term for this: “biotic homogenization.” But Lockwood has a catchier way of thinking about what’s happening: the McDonaldization of nature. In the same way you can step off an airplane nearly anywhere on Earth and encounter a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, travelers now can see many of the same plants and animals an ocean apart. “That’s just unprecedented,” says Lockwood, an ecology professor at Rutgers University.
How those plants and animals interact with each other is shifting, too. https://www.biographic.com/making-nature-less-predictable/
“The imbalance of genes causes aging because cells and organisms work to remain balanced — what physicians denote as homeostasis,” said Northwestern’s Luís A.N. Amaral, a senior author of the study. “Imagine a waiter carrying a big tray. That tray needs to have everything balanced. If the tray is not balanced, then the waiter needs to put in extra effort to fight the imbalance. If the balance in the activity of short and long genes shifts in an organism, the same thing happens. It’s like aging is this subtle imbalance, away from equilibrium. Small changes in genes do not seem like a big deal, but these subtle changes are bearing down on you, requiring more effort.” https://scienceblog.com/535412/aging-is-driven-by-unbalanced-genes-study-finds/
Tabletop roleplaying games may reduce anxiety and improve social skills https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/tabletop-rpgs-may-reduce-anxiety-improve-social-skills
Leftover soap on dishes by restaurant dishwashers could seriously harm health
Commercial dishwashers, which are frequently found in restaurants, leave behind chemical residue that is hazardous to gastrointestinal tract https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018394-leftover-soap-on-dishes-by-restaurant-dishwashers-could-seriously-harm-health
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ChatGPT is the latest and most impressive artificially intelligent chatbot yet. It was released two weeks ago, and in just five days hit a million users. It's being used so much that its servers have reached capacity several times. https://www.sciencealert.com/chatgpt-could-revolutionize-the-internet-but-its-secrets-have-experts-worried
For too long people have believed losing muscle and strength is an inevitable part of ageing, Zanker said.
“With targeted action, however, loss of muscle and its negative outcomes can be delayed, prevented, and even reversed,” he said.
“There are many reasons that people can lose muscle, such as inactivity and hospitalisation, which exacerbates losses seen with aging,” co-researcher Victoria University’s Prof. Alan Hayes from the Institute for Health and Sport said. https://www.theepochtimes.com/exercises-key-to-preventing-muscle-loss_4922303.html
We hope that it can become a part of the animation pipeline and become a big time-saver. With a single natural bitmap sketch of a character, our algorithm allows the animator to automatically, with no additional input, apply the drawn 3D pose to a custom ‘rigged’ and ‘skinned’ 3D character. That essentially means that animators can now create a first rough draft of the animation right after the storyboarding stage, i.e., when they have just sketched the keyframes. https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2022/07/27/video-games-posing-in-3d/
However, the hacker, according to Krebs, claimed to have been messaging InfraGard members, posing as the financial institution's CEO, to try to obtain more personal data that could be criminally weaponized.
The AP reached the hacker on the BreachForums site via private message. The person would not say whether a buyer for the records had been found or answer other questions, but did say that Krebs' article "was 100% accurate."
The FBI did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on how the hacker was able to trick it into approving the InfraGard membership. Krebs reported that the hacker had included a contact email address under the person's control, as well as the CEO's real mobile phone number, when applying for InfraGard membership in November.
Krebs quoted the hacker as saying InfraGard approved the application in early December and the email account was used to receive a one-time authentication code.
Once inside, the hacker said, the database information was easy to obtain with simple software script. https://www.voanews.com/a/hacker-claims-breach-of-fbi-s-critical-infrastructure-forum-/6876801.html
This section of the sky is called the North Ecliptic Pole. Webb used its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and researchers spruced up the view by adding ultraviolet and visible-light data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image is part of a paper published in the Astronomical Journal this week.
The knockout space view comes to us courtesy of the Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science (Pearls) project. The program's goal is to study how galaxies assemble and grow. The Pearls team is thrilled about the image. "I can see streams, tails, shells, and halos of stars in their outskirts, the leftovers of their building blocks," https://www.cnet.com/science/space/in-awe-inspiring-james-webb-telescope-image-thousands-of-galaxies-glow/
“However, harvesting and consumption of wild food plants are likely to decline. The erosion of wild food plant knowledge is a possible contributing factor, and I wanted to tap into and document this knowledge, which has been somewhat neglected by researchers.”
The cookbook includes 13 recipes — including soups, salads, drinks and desserts — and features in-depth nutritional information on 24 indigenous plants, referred to by the researchers as “wild food plants.” These plants, such as climbing wattle and aquatic morning glory leaves, often are high in vitamins and minerals that Cambodians otherwise might be missing in their diets. https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/penn-state-researchers-battle-food-insecurity-native-plants-cookbook
They were surprised to find that genetics seemed to account for only a small portion of these performance differences -- whereas differences in gut bacterial populations appeared to be substantially more important. In fact, they observed that giving mice broad-spectrum antibiotics to get rid of their gut bacteria reduced the mice's running performance by about half.
Ultimately, in a years-long process of scientific detective work involving more than a dozen separate laboratories at Penn and elsewhere, the researchers found that two bacterial species closely tied to better performance, Eubacterium rectale and Coprococcus eutactus, produce metabolites known as fatty acid amides (FAAs). The latter stimulate receptors called CB1 endocannabinoid receptors on gut-embedded sensory nerves, which connect to the brain via the spine. The stimulation of these CB1 receptor-studded nerves causes an increase in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine during exercise, in a brain region called the ventral striatum.
The striatum is a critical node in the brain's reward and motivation network. The researchers concluded that the extra dopamine in this region during exercise boosts performance by reinforcing the desire to exercise. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221214113857.htm
"Our findings show that lubricin may be a new biomarker for tracing patients' risk of developing gout, and that new drugs to maintain and increase lubricin could limit the incidence and progression of gouty arthritis," said Terkeltaub. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221214/Study-finds-a-novel-therapeutic-target-for-prevention-and-treatment-of-gout.aspx
Study explains surprise surge in methane during pandemic lockdown https://phys.org/news/2022-12-surge-methane-pandemic-lockdown.html
AMES, Iowa – When the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium was formed seven years ago, Iowa State University researchers faced two big questions about reestablishing the milkweed and other wildflowers needed for the iconic butterfly’s survival: How can habitat be restored and where should it be located? https://www.newswise.com/articles/years-of-monarch-research-shows-how-adding-habitat-will-help-conservation
Several recent studies in people have supported the association between food allergies and various neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism. They strengthen the possibility that some reactions to food allergens could involve the nervous system and manifest as behavioral disorders.
However, the idea of food hypersensitivity causing neuropsychiatric disorders is still controversial because of inconsistencies across studies. Differences in the types of allergies, ethnic backgrounds, dietary habits and other factors among the study participants can produce conflicting results. More importantly, some studies included those with self-reported food allergies, while others included only those with lab-confirmed food allergies. This limited investigations to only symptomatic individuals. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/long-term-consumption-of-food-allergens-may-lead-to-behavior-and-mood-changes-64513
Scientists have discovered that immune cells, known as microglia, help maintain the health of myelin—the insulating layer that forms around nerve cells—which is important for nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to function optimally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-immune-cells-brain-health-cognition.html
Diet involved eating 840 calories for five days, then 10 days of eating normallyStudy found 33% managed to reverse condition and remain free of it a year laterExperts caution study was very small - involving just 36 people - and quite short
Fasting for five days at a time could help some people reverse type 2 diabetes, a study suggests. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11538481/Intermittent-fasting-reverse-type-2-diabetes-MONTHS.html
This new data shows public awareness about dementia’s impact in society is poor, and families affected by dementia may not be prepared for costs they may incur. High-quality care is valued by the public but there are gaps in provision and not everyone gets the care they need,” she added. https://www.gmjournal.co.uk/public-awareness-about-dementia-s-impact-on-society-is-poor-research-suggests
. "covid the year Earth changed" movie trailer .
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=movie+covid+the+year+Earth+changed&t=h_&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXswV_yqPq28
New research has found food could play a major role in stopping the growth of some cancers.
It was previously thought diet had no impact on tumours, but a team of SAHMRI and University of Adelaide researchers, led by Dr Daniel Thomas, has turned that theory on its head.
The study, funded by the Hospital Research Foundation Group, Snowdome Foundation and the Leukaemia Foundation, was a collaboration with Stanford University, recently published in Cancer Discovery. It showed cancers with IDH1 gene mutations can’t grow without lipids; a group of naturally occurring molecules, namely fats, contained in various foods such as butter and ice-cream.
“We replicated the results in a range of cancer types, comparing a regular diet with one that was completely fat-free and were surprised to find tumours with IDH1 were stopped in their tracks when starved of lipids,” Dr Thomas said. https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/low-fat-diet-could-be-key-to-stopping-cancer-growth
"Our results clearly show that all patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis who maintain sustained abstinence from alcohol not only suffer complications of liver cirrhosis significantly less frequently, but also live considerably longer—even in the case of pronounced portal hypertension," explains the lead author of the study, Benedikt Hofer.
Evidence for prognostic relevance
Liver cirrhosis, as the pronounced scarring of the liver is referred to in technical jargon, is one of the most frequent and most severe complications of excessive alcohol consumption. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-alcohol-abstinence-essential-advanced-liver.html
The California Office of Emergency Services on Monday said in a statement that the state Cybersecurity Integration Center is “actively responding to a cybersecurity incident involving the California Department of Finance.”
Cal OES describes the threat as an “intrusion” that was “proactively identified through coordination with state and federal security partners.” The statement did not provide any specifics about the nature of the incident, who was involved or whether information or data had been taken.
Cal OES said only that “no state funds have been compromised.”
Tech news outlets reported global ransomware group LockBit was behind the threat.
Screenshots from the group’s website show it claims to have stolen 76 gigabytes of data, including “databases, confidential data, financial documents, certification, court and sexual proceedings in court, IT documents and more...” https://www.govtech.com/security/hackers-claims-to-have-california-department-of-finance-data
found that the cognitive score of people who had the highest intake of flavonols declined at a rate of 0.4 units per decade more slowly than people whose had the lowest intake. Holland noted this is probably due to the inherent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of flavonols.
The study also broke the flavonol class down into the four constituents: kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin and isorhamnetin. The top food contributors for each category were: kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli for kaempferol; tomatoes, kale, apples and tea for quercetin; tea, wine, kale, oranges and tomatoes for myricetin; and pears, olive oil, wine and tomato sauce for isorhamnetin.
People who had the highest intake of kaempferol had a 0.4 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Those with the highest intake of quercetin had a 0.2 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. And people with the highest intake of myricetin had a 0.3 units per decade slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those in the lowest group. Dietary isorhamnetin was not tied to global cognition.
Holland noted that the study shows an association between higher amounts of dietary flavonols and slower cognitive decline but does not prove that flavonols directly cause a slower rate of cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-antioxidant-flavonols-linked-slower-memory.html
Numerous studies have linked the consumption of ultraprocessed foods with a greater risk of inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, obesity and early death.
Now a new study finds these ready-to-eat foods can lead to greater risk of cognitive decline as we age. And you don't have to eat much to be affected.
According to the study, the amount would be about 20% of the 2,000 calories recommended daily. As CNN determined, that equals a regular McDonald's cheeseburger and small fries, which is 530 calories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-diet-foods-youre-faster-cognitive.html
Along with preventing young New Zealanders from accessing tobacco, the law will also reduce the amount of nicotine in smoked tobacco products and decrease the number of retailers selling tobacco.
“It means nicotine will be reduced to non-addictive levels and communities will be free from the proliferation and clustering of retailers who target and sell tobacco products in certain areas,” associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a statement. https://www.iflscience.com/revolutionary-world-first-tobacco-law-takes-effect-in-new-zealand-66632
The American healthcare system has a long history of patient dissatisfaction. One major pain point lies in care navigation, as more than half of provider listings have at least one inaccuracy, leaving people with incomplete information and burdening their access to high-quality care. Ribbon's research found that more than one-third (38%) of people have had a negative healthcare experience due to incorrect provider information on their health plan's website. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-reveals-62-of-americans-dont-trust-their-health-plan-to-provide-accurate-care-options-301700962.html
Ezcurra and his team calculated there is only one day in spring and one day in fall when the Sun rises directly behind this mountain, making it a highly accurate form of timekeeping.
Taken together, the alignments – along with illustrations and texts found in ancient Mexica codices – imply Mount Tlaloc served as a fundamental tool for marking important times of the year and for calendric adjustments. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-aztecs-harnessed-the-sun-and-a-mountain-to-feed-millions-scientists-say
With the increased use of graphene-based nanomaterials comes a need to examine how these new materials affect the body. Nanomaterials are already known to impact on the immune system, and a few studies in recent years have shown that they can also affect the gut microbiome, the bacteria that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
The relationship between nanomaterial, gut microbiome and immunity has been the subject of the present study performed using zebrafish. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20221212/Nanomaterial-can-indirectly-affect-the-immune-system-via-the-gut-microbiome-study-shows.aspx
Winter Greenhouse Growing – Which Vegetables To Grow https://www.essentialhomeandgarden.com/winter-greenhouse/
In their test baking, researchers tried out different amounts of banana peel flour. The cookies consisted of anywhere from 0 to 15 percent flour. 15 percent banana peel flour led to harder, browner cookies with a lot of fiber. However, with just 7.5 percent banana peel flour, the texture and taste were pretty similar to “normal” sugar cookies – and it still created more nutritious final products. https://www.outsideonline.com/health/nutrition/the-secret-to-healthful-cookies-research-says-it-may-be-banana-peels/
"It's that push-and-pull effect," said de la Iglesia. "And what we found here is that since students weren't getting enough daytime light exposure in the winter, their circadian clocks were delayed compared to summer."
The study offers lessons not just for college students.
"Many of us live in cities and towns with lots of artificial light and lifestyles that keep us indoors during the day," said de la Iglesia. "What this study shows is that we need to get out—even for a little while and especially in the morning—to get that natural light exposure. In the evening, minimize screen time and artificial lighting to help us fall asleep." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-falling-asleep-night-daytime.html
The ecological crisis is being driven in large part by the pursuit of economic growth: ever-increasing levels of industrial production, measured in GDP. High-income economies—and the affluent classes and corporations that dominate them—are overwhelmingly responsible for this problem, as their use of energy and materials far exceeds sustainable levels.
As Jason Hickel, the lead author and professor at ICTA-UAB, explains, "In our existing economy, production is organized around the interests of capital accumulation rather than around human well-being. The result is a system that overuses resources and yet still fails to meet many basic human needs. It is failing both people and planet." https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-outline-key-policies-degrowth.html
Wildlife researchers have completed a study that may settle the question of why, in October 2009, a group of coyotes launched an unprovoked fatal attack on a young woman who was hiking in a Canadian park.
By analyzing coyote diets and their movement in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, where the attack occurred on a popular trail, the researchers concluded that the coyotes were forced to rely on moose instead of smaller mammals for the bulk of their diet—and as a result of adapting to that unusually large food source, perceived a lone hiker as potential prey.
The findings essentially ruled out the possibility that overexposure to people or attraction to human food could have been a factor in the attack—instead, heavy snowfall, high winds and extreme temperatures created conditions inhospitable to the small mammals that would normally make up most of their diet. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-reliance-moose-prey-rare-coyote.html
In addition to worries about the job climate, bullying was also cited as an important topic, with 47% of the participants reporting being bullied in the workplace, in most cases by their superiors. The working environment in archaeology was repeatedly described as "toxic" and "very competitive." About 62% of women reported experiencing gender-based discrimination during their careers, as opposed to about 12% of men.
"In the past two decades, there has been a steep rise in both the number of doctoral graduates and short-term employment contracts at universities, while the number of permanent faculty positions has stagnated. This has led to oversaturation in the academic job market and precarious employment conditions," said Brami, commenting on the possible reasons for the difficult situation. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-early-career-archaeologists-pessimistic-future-careers.html
The Moon landing was faked, and wind farms are bad In Germany, opposition to wind farms correlated with conspiratorial thinking. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/the-moon-landing-was-faked-and-wind-farms-are-bad/
Although previous studies have found a link between brain health and vitamin D in the diet or blood, this is considered the first study to look into vitamin D in the brain tissue, according to a news release. Nutrition is key to protecting the brain from cognitive decline. However, the study didn't find any connection between vitamin D and physiological markers of Alzheimer's or Lewy body disease.
Read More: https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/?utm_campaign=clip https://www.healthdigest.com/1134582/what-higher-levels-of-vitamin-d-can-do-for-your-brain-health/
A recently published study has found that human-made traffic noises are linked to increased physical aggression in rural European robins, Erithacus rubecula. Surprisingly, their urban-dwelling relatives show no such response to traffic noises. Why?
Robins are fiercely territorial https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2022/12/12/angry-birds-rural-robins-get-road-rage-when-exposed-to-traffic-noise/
The researchers found that after multivariable adjustment, compared with those in the lowest total vegetable intake quintile (median, 67 g/day), participants in the highest quintile (median, 319 g/day) had a 0.35 kg/m2 lower BMI and a 21 percent lower risk for T2D. About 21 percent of the association between vegetable intake and incident T2D was mediated by baseline BMI. After multivariable adjustment, participants in the highest versus the lowest (median, 256 versus 52 g/day) quintile of potato intake had a 9 percent higher risk for T2D; after accounting for underlying dietary pattern, no association was found. A higher intake of green leafy and cruciferous vegetables was significantly associated with a reduced risk for T2D. https://consumer.healthday.com/physician-s-briefing-vegetables-2658948696.html
If procrastination is seriously interfering with your life, you may want to start chopping tasks into smaller pieces and set rewards after each step.
But perhaps more importantly, forgive yourself for procrastinating. The more we internalise the shame and guilt, the more we are likely to procrastinate in the future, and this can be an additional trigger that can compel us to procrastinate even more.
Ultimately, we all have different perceptions of time. Understanding individual differences may also help us better understand people with various neurodiversities. For example, some people have been found to parcel time differently, and more inconsistently – time might not work in a linear fashion for them but rather in a cyclical manner, which I can relate to. https://theconversation.com/procrastination-the-cognitive-biases-that-enable-it-and-why-its-sometimes-useful-195845
Every hour a child spends playing video games pre day raises their risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by 13 percent, a study suggests.
There was also a correlation between watching YouTube content and OCD - with every hour spent streaming videos associated with an 11 percent raised risk.
Too much screen time in childhood has been linked from everything to eating disorders, mental health problems and gambling addiction in later life
Yet, unlike other studies, the latest research found no association between watching films or movies or playing on cell phones. The researchers blamed YouTube algorithms and addictive video game content for fostering compulsive feelings in preteens. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11529041/Every-hour-child-spends-playing-video-games-day-raises-risk-OCD-13-study-claims.html
The medical establishment is generally against the use of snoozing, but when we went to look at what hard data existed, there was none.
‘We now have the data to prove just how common it is — and there is still so much that we do not know. So many people are snoozing because so many people are chronically tired.’
It’s all become a bit of a cycle, you snooze because you tired, then you’re tired because of disrupted sleep, then you drink caffeine, and it might keep you up again.
But there are ways to ensure quality night’s sleep and they might just help you stop reaching for the snooze button in the morning. https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/12/bad-news-snoozers-using-an-alarm-clock-might-be-making-you-more-tired-17921592/?ito=newsnow-feed
Data from 4,099 participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) has revealed that an increase in daily TV-watching time is significantly associated with an increase in bodily pain severity over time, according to a new study from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-tv-bodily-pain.html
The researchers are developing a new method of artificial photosynthesis that produces hydrogen, which is promising as a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel source. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-sun-team-mimics-nature-hydrogen.html
The federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which uses a process called inertial confinement fusion that involves bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser, had achieved net energy gain in a fusion experiment in the past two weeks, the people said.
Although many scientists believe fusion power stations are still decades away, the technology’s potential is hard to ignore. Fusion reactions emit no carbon, produce no long-lived radioactive waste, and a small cup of the hydrogen fuel could theoretically power a house for hundreds of years. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/12/fusion-energy-breakthrough-by-us-scientists-boosts-clean-power-hopes/
“I think at 10%, quinoa added a type of nutty flavor that people really liked,” she said, noting the testers liked it even more than the control whole flour cookie.
The quinoa appreciation tended to wane after about 30% substitution, Nalbandian said, probably because the texture started becoming grittier. Still, she sees potential for quinoa flour particularly in the gluten-free market as many of those baked products can be low in nutritional content. https://scienceblog.com/535425/special-quinoa-can-make-a-better-cookie/
“We identified a mutation that led to the mice sleeping much longer and more deeply than usual.” The researchers found that this was caused by low levels of an enzyme called histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), which is known to suppress the expression of target genes.
Previous studies on HDAC4 have shown that it is greatly affected by the attachment of phosphate molecules in a process known as phosphorylation. https://scienceblog.com/535431/unravelling-the-secrets-of-a-good-nights-sleep-its-the-enzyme/
Both THC and CBD were found to improve wound healing better than metformin, rapamycin, and triacetylresveratrol in replicative senescent CCD-1135Sk fibroblasts. Therefore, pCBs can be a valuable source of biologically active substances used in cosmetics, and more studies using clinical trials should be performed to confirm the efficacy of phytocannabinoids. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/23/3939
But just a year later, many Wall Street firms are backtracking. In September, the Financial Times reported that several banks, including Bank of America and JP Morgan, were concerned about accidentally running afoul of United Nations climate rules and being held legally liable for their commitments, leading them to consider pulling out of GFANZ. Blackrock and Vanguard, the world's largest asset managers, then confirmed in October that their net zero commitments would not preclude them from investing in fossil fuels, despite concerns that new fossil fuel investment is incompatible with timely decarbonization. (Asset managers steward money on behalf of major investors like sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and pension funds.) And finally, earlier this week, Vanguard officially announced that it is resigning from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a sector-specific alliance under the GFANZ umbrella. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/wall-streets-biggest-names-are-backing-off-their-climate-commitments_partne
Nature
“Microbial Lions” Are The Newest Branch Of The Tree Of LifeThe tiny predators are a whole new supergroup of eukaryotes. https://www.iflscience.com/-microbial-lions-are-the-newest-branch-of-the-tree-of-life-66572
SEOUL—North Korean regime-backed hackers referenced the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul to distribute malware to users in South Korea, Google’s Threat Analysis group said in a report.
The malware was embedded in Microsoft Office documents which purported to be a government report on the tragedy https://www.ntd.com/north-korean-hackers-exploited-seoul-halloween-tragedy-to-distribute-malware-google-says_886984.html
According to Stefany Mena, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology, when participants had time to guess the answer before googling, they performed better on the memory tests than when they had immediately googled the answers. She said this is called the pretesting effect – testing yourself before checking the answer results in better memory of the correct information.
Even guessing the wrong answer is better than not guessing at all, Giebl said. https://dailybruin.com/2022/11/04/ucla-researchers-publish-study-on-effects-of-internet-on-long-term-memory
The study also provided information to thousands of families that participated. Vicky Garbutt — who enrolled herself, her husband, their autistic son Jeffrey and their non-autistic son Luke — says she wanted to “give back” to researchers who have helped Jeffrey. And she was curious.
“We wanted to know if it was a genetic trait that we passed down to Jeff, and if that would have any relevance to his brother having children,” Garbutt says. “Knowledge is power.” https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/whole-genome-trove-ties-new-genes-variants-to-autism/
analysis of 22 large-scale gene expression datasets pointed to exercise and activity in general as the most effective theoretical treatment for reversing gene expressions typical of Alzheimer’s disease. Fluoxetine, a well-known antidepressant sold often commercially as Prozac or Zoloft, also showed effect, particularly when combined with exercise. Curcumin (spice) showed positive effects as well. The study was published in Scientific Reports. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/gene-expression-data-point-to-exercise-as-the-most-effective-treatment-for-alzheimers-disease-64494
Which brings us to Alabama. On a mural that covers the long side of a white-washed brick building near the Equal Justice Initiative's headquarters, a Maya Angelou quote is painted in crisp black lettering: "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Around the corner, the Legacy Museum, a brainchild of "Just Mercy" author Bryan Stevenson, is a stunning piece of advocacy work for a controversial, and seemingly impossible, statement: Slavery never ended. It just evolved. https://www.salon.com/2022/12/11/your-childs-glasses-may-have-been-made-with-forced-labo
An analysis of responses of people from 42 countries on a vocational interest inventory confirmed the well-known finding that women tend to prefer jobs and activities that focus on working with people, much more than men. Men tend to prefer working with things much more than women. Women were also found to have somewhat higher preferences for jobs that involve working with ideas and for more prestigious jobs. https://www.psypost.org/2022/12/women-like-working-with-people-men-like-working-with-things-all-across-the-world-64485
Frances says air is one of the most important ingredients in baking. You might not think of it as an ingredient at all, but it’s an essential element in the structure of your favorite bread and desserts. As Frances explains, “when we take a bite out of a cake or a cookie, and we have that easy-to-bite pleasant soft feeling, it’s the air. https://www.inverse.com/science/cookie-science
Apple is planning on broadening its end-to-end data encryption services, closing a privacy loophole that previously allowed law enforcement to access a wide-reaching swath of data, including photos and messages, stored in user iCloud accounts.
But while proponents of the change are applauding the change as a win for user privacy, its detractors — which include a little organization known as the FBI — are none too thrilled. https://futurism.com/the-byte/fbi-apple-new-encryption-deeply-concerning
Rats fed a Western (high-fat and high-fructose) diet for 26 weeks represented hepatic steatosis with an increased body weight and dyslipidemia. Addition of dietary iron overload to the Western diet feeding further increased serum triglyceride and cholesterol, and enhanced hepatic inflammation; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-25838-3
"We found that retinal cone photoreceptors are essential for green light analgesia, whereas rods play a secondary role," explain Tang and colleagues in their published paper.
From there, they chased the path taken by electrical signals from the eye through the brain.
Bathed in green light, the cones and rods stimulated a group of brain cells in the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus, which has previously been linked to the analgesic effects of bright light in general.
In this part of the brain, these neurons express a hormone involved in pain signaling. These cells then relay the message to another part of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus that modulates pain, effectively turning down the dial on severe pain sensations.
Different animal studies have identified other mechanisms entwined in the analgesic effects of green light, such as pain receptors in the spinal cord – which is not surprising given how complex the experience of pain is. It involves the sensory, bodily, and psychological experience of stimuli and signals that bounce between the brain, spinal cord, and pain receptors. https://www.sciencealert.com/green-light-seems-to-relieve-pain-and-a-new-study-in-mice-shows-why
The researchers discovered that, compared to about 67% of individuals in the control group, over three-quarters of people with rheumatoid arthritis who tested positive (73%) and negative (72%) for ACPA were exposed to at least one of the workplace dust or fumes. They found that exposure to the agents raised the probability of developing RA, and that smoking and inherited risk factors made this situation considerably worse.
Smoking, having a high GRS, and being exposed to pollutants at work are referred to as "triple exposure," and this group showed a connection to arthritis start that was 16 to 68 times stronger than "triple non-exposure." https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018731-dust-in-offices-could-lead-to-rheumatoid-arthritis-study-warns
So the issue’s salience in the next two years will depend entirely on how it resonates with voters and potentially factors into the presidential election. Many experts were skeptical it could ever gain political relevance, but still worry what the endgame is. Does this mean a future of “blue banks” and “red banks”? Will financial behemoths be frightened into weakening already-weak climate targets? It’s too early to say.
But the right’s war on banks won’t necessarily drive a back-pedaling on climate goals. BlackRock has tempered its interest in climate publicly since the ESG attacks began, but other institutions have pushed ahead.
“Market participants will continue to demand ESG data and incorporate it in risk models,” said Ivan Frishberg, chief sustainability officer of Amalgamated Bank, a bank with a socially responsible mission. “That is capitalism doing what it does best: seeking more data for better client responsiveness and a more systemic view. The pushback on ESG is essentially a denial of capitalism. Ultimately, our clients are going to drive the products and approaches we take and guide how we respond as a firm.” https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/12/10/23496712/esg-gop-climate-corporate-responsibility
Rouge-colored ribbons of algae ran 400 square feet across the sunny slope—Chlamydomonas nivalis, a red-pigmented green algae found in high alpine and polar regions around the globe. The algae’s striking appearance on snow has earned it nicknames ranging from the delicious-sounding—watermelon snow—to the ominous—glacier blood. Scientists believe this algae could play a major role in melting glaciers and snowfields. https://www.wired.com/story/pink-snow-is-not-a-cute-phenomenon-heres-why/
Places that once hosted distinct and fantastic variations of life become dominated by a few species, often newcomers that are generalists to start, or those that have adapted to thrive near modern human settlements. Think: house sparrows. Rats. English ivy. And also, European honeybees, says Ponisio.
Researchers Julie Lockwood and Michael McKinney coined a term for this: “biotic homogenization.” But Lockwood has a catchier way of thinking about what’s happening: the McDonaldization of nature. In the same way you can step off an airplane nearly anywhere on Earth and encounter a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, travelers now can see many of the same plants and animals an ocean apart. “That’s just unprecedented,” says Lockwood, an ecology professor at Rutgers University.
How those plants and animals interact with each other is shifting, too. https://www.biographic.com/making-nature-less-predictable/
“The imbalance of genes causes aging because cells and organisms work to remain balanced — what physicians denote as homeostasis,” said Northwestern’s Luís A.N. Amaral, a senior author of the study. “Imagine a waiter carrying a big tray. That tray needs to have everything balanced. If the tray is not balanced, then the waiter needs to put in extra effort to fight the imbalance. If the balance in the activity of short and long genes shifts in an organism, the same thing happens. It’s like aging is this subtle imbalance, away from equilibrium. Small changes in genes do not seem like a big deal, but these subtle changes are bearing down on you, requiring more effort.” https://scienceblog.com/535412/aging-is-driven-by-unbalanced-genes-study-finds/
Tabletop roleplaying games may reduce anxiety and improve social skills https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/tabletop-rpgs-may-reduce-anxiety-improve-social-skills
Leftover soap on dishes by restaurant dishwashers could seriously harm health
Commercial dishwashers, which are frequently found in restaurants, leave behind chemical residue that is hazardous to gastrointestinal tract https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1018394-leftover-soap-on-dishes-by-restaurant-dishwashers-could-seriously-harm-health
2023.01.15 08:03 FartPornDaddy Reminiscences of a Stock Operator—Bucket Shops
I recently finished this book after letting it stew on my shelf for years. Wish I’d cracked it sooner because it is quite a gem—both entertaining and informative.
What I found particularly interesting was learning seeing the evolution of retail trading, starting with Linvingston’s (i.e. Livermore’s) time in the bucket shops. It was super fascinating to read how they evolved into what modern brokerages are today.
Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get more information about the bucket shops—how they operated, what the experience was like, how they evolved, etc?
Any recommendations of old movies or other books that show the experience there and/or evolution of these?
submitted by FartPornDaddy to investing [link] [comments]
What I found particularly interesting was learning seeing the evolution of retail trading, starting with Linvingston’s (i.e. Livermore’s) time in the bucket shops. It was super fascinating to read how they evolved into what modern brokerages are today.
Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get more information about the bucket shops—how they operated, what the experience was like, how they evolved, etc?
Any recommendations of old movies or other books that show the experience there and/or evolution of these?
2022.12.18 17:34 FragrantBicycle7 Holiday Reading List
Happy Sunday to you all! I've been taking notes since I joined you all in Feb 2021, and I wanted to share my reading list, in case you were looking for something to read during the holidays. This is stuff I'm interested in, so it might be a slightly weird mix. As befits an ape.
"A Demon of Our Own Design" (Richard Bookstaber) - foreshadows 2008 crisis, draws LTCM and 1987 crash as themes
"Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk" (Peter L. Bernstein) - history of risk in trading
"All About High-Frequency Trading" (Michael Durbin) - rise of HFT technique
"All The Devils Are Here" (Bethany McLean, Joseph Nocera) - general 2008 crisis shit
"All The President's Bankers" (Nomi Prins) - outlines history of Wall Street's interference in the White House, from Panic of 1907 to Obama's tenure
"A Manifesto for Social Progress" (Marc Fleurbaey) - guide to defeating corporate robber barons
"American Kleptocracy" (Casey Michel) - primer on how financial corruption around the world moved to America
"A Random Walk Down Wall St" (Burton G. Malkiel) - good overview of markets, not super in depth
"Autoworkers Under the Gun" (Gregg Shotwell) - story of how Delphi Auto (spinoff of GM) was destroyed to pass pension obligations to taxpayers and loot the corp (from a Delphi worker)
"Ayn Rand Nation" (Gary Weiss) - look at Ayn Rand's influnce on key people in regulation slashes (i.e. Alan Greenspan)
"Bailout" (Neil Barofsky) - ex Special Inspector General of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) writes a memoir arguing that the US Treasury is now an unofficial extension of Wall Street
"Barbarians at the Gate" (Bryan Burrough, John Heylar) - fall of tobacco conglomerate RJR Nabisco (extremely detailed and well sourced descriptions of world of 1980s leveraged buyouts)
"Beat The Dealer" (Edward Thorpe) - guide to beating blackjack (dated to 1960s games, so more of a snapshot of history)
"Beyond Bitcoin: Decentralized Finance and the End of Banks" (Steven Boykey Sidley, Simon Dingle) - gud intro to DeFi
"Birth Strike: The Hidden Fight Over Women's Work" (Jenny Brown) - look at money and people involved in trying to increase birth rate, with argument that it's an intentional attempt to create a perpetual United States labour pool
"Black Edge" (Sheelah Kolhatkar) - biography of Steve A Cohen and his various speculatory bullshit; it serves as argument for why corporate crime is never prosecuted or punished
"Black Tuesday" (Nomi Prins) - novel on the Crash of 1929 (more fictional and inspired by real-life events, so use for finding sources more than as a source)
"Black Wall Street" (Hannibal B Johnson) - covers US neighborhood that tried to start its own investments
"Blood in the Streets" (James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg) - 1987 book about disaster investing (seminal bc this is when LTCM fell apart)
"Broken Markets" (Joe Saluzzi) - HFT
"Bull By The Horns" (Sheila Bair) - former head of the FDIC during 2008 crisis writes account of Tim Geithner (former US Treasury Secretary), as a wider examination of Citigroup & others
"Bully Market" (Jamie Fiore Higgins) - expose book from a Goldman Sachs alum (whole career there; 1998-2016); main expertise was in keeping hedge funds net short • Book Explanation wallstreetonparade.com/2022/08/goldman-sachs-secrets-spill-out-in-new-book-by-a-former-managing-directo
"Citizens DisUnited" (Robert A. G. Monks) - describes rise of "manager-kings" in US, uncoupling shareholders from power over company decisions
"Collateral and Financial Plumbing" (Manmohan Singh) - textbook on how collateral works and is moved
"Collusion" (Nomi Prins) - discussion of post-2008 bailouts, & makes argument that another large crash is inevitable
"Confessions of an Economic Hitman" (John Perkins) - international fuckery, author may or may not be trustworthy
"Confidence Men" (Ron Suskind) - US journalist writes acc of White House from 2008-2011 (feat. Tim Geithner, Rahm Emanuel, Peter Orszag, etc)
"Conspiracy of Fools" (Kurt Eichenwald) - Enron
"Crack the Funding Code" (Judy Robinett) - guide for business owners looking for private funding (i.e. VCs); of particular help is the sections about when to walk away from funding offers
"Crisis of Confidence: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud" (Tom Mueller) - makes case that all of America's gov entities have been corrupted by greed
"Dark Pools" (Scott Patterson) - take on HFT, broker-owned dark pools, and electronic trading; written as a follow-up on his former book "The Quants" pdfdrive.com/dark-pools-e58493704.html • Supplementary Info (SOES Bandits, aka Small Order Execution System): -> ft.com/content/6dcd1560-56f9-33de-909d-5849860a86f9 -> investopedia.com/terms/s/soesbandits.asp -> openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/95/1/FTsonis_MFA_Thesis.pdf -> reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/yx51lx/catskillcrypto/iwnvnxp -> traderlife.co.uk/interviews/pod-chats/trader-interview-scott-patterson-dark-pools/
"Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald T****, and an Epic Trail of Destruction" (David Enrich) - collection of interviews regarding dealings of Deutsche Bank -> no asterisks, bot just won't let me post if I include his full last name lol
"Debt: The First 5000 Years" (David Graeber) - history of debt (possibly not reliable, check author's credibility first) -> warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/undergraduate/modules/fulllist/special/statesofdamage/syllabus201516/graeber-debt_the_first_5000_years.pdf
"Den of Thieves" (James B. Stewart) - insider trading schemes of 1980s, with a focus on leveraged buyouts & similar
"Derivatives and Risk Management" (R. Madhumathi, M. Ranganatham) - read in Google Books for VW squeeze (p152)
"Dreamland" (Sam Quinones) - story of how sugar cane farmers created a new distribution system for opiates to enter the US from 2000-2015 ish -> Companion Article (same author): theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/the-new-meth/620174
"Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty" (Patrick Radden Keefe) - history of Sackler family, their central role in opioids crisis, founding of Purdue Pharma + marketing of pharmaceuticals • Companion article on why FDA did nothing (McKinsey was consulting for both FDA and Purdue Pharma) - nytimes.com/2022/04/13/business/mckinsey-purdue-fda-records.html
"Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment" (Grady Hillhouse) - book from guy who runs Practical Engineering YouTube channel, regarding water infrastructure
"Fast Food Nation" (Eric Schlosser) - extensive research on US fast food industry, from meatpackers to ads
"F.I.A.S.C.O." (Frank Portnoy) - 1990s derivatives structurer writes on subject
"Fixers" (Michael M. Thomas) - points out how Wall Street retains influence in US government, regardless of President
"Flash Boys" (Michael Lewis) - high frequency trading interviews (warning: a lot is correct, but a lot is incorrect too)
"Fooling Some of the People All of the Time" (David Einhorn) - author provides comprehensive look at Allied Capital & subsidiary Business Loan Express from Apr 2002 to Dec 2007 (use for sources and timelines only; author is an activist short seller for aforementioned corp, and so is likely to defend that practice)
"Green Empire" (Karthryn Ziewitz, June Wiaz) - history of St. Joe's Company (largest landowner in Florida)
"Griftopia" (Matt Taibbi) - pol journalist creates timelines for basic Wall St stuff (mainly gud for insights into Goldman); also draws argument that oil in 2008 went crazy partly bc of legislative shit influenced by Wall Street
"Hedge Hogs" (Barbara Dreyfuss) - acc of Amaranth Advisors, LLC; how it went from $9.668B in client assets in 2006, to losing over $6B in 4 WEEKS
"High-Frequency Trading" (Irene Aldridge) - highly technical book recommended by pwnwtfbbq, used to support pwn's belief that the entire stock market is algo driven
"Homewreckers" (Aaron Glantz) - list (incomplete, possibly politically biased) of people who got rich off of 2008
"Hopeless" (anthology of works, edited by Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank) - about Obama's rise, corruption involved
"How Wall Street Fleeces America" (Stephen Lendman) - PPT, ESF, CRMPG, and the US gov's planned overthrow of Guatemala as early as 1951 • Companion Article: "How Markets Really Work" (Stephen Lendman) countercurrents.org/lendman290509.htm
"Infectious Greed" (Frank Portnoy) - detailed history of derivatives on Wall St
"It Takes A Pillage" (Nomi Prins) - how banks looted the Treasury and stole the 2008 bailout
"Jacked" (Nomi Prins) - conservatives in America looting money; an account of anecdotes around the US
"JPMadoff" (Helen Davis Chaitman, Lance Gotthofer) - outlines how/why JP can be charged under RICO statutes
"King Icahn" (Mark Stevens) - bio of Carl Icahn as raider and activist (use for info and maybe insights)
"King of Capital" (David Carey, John E. Morris) - history of Blackstone
"Killing The Host" (Michael Hudson) - outlines history of Wall Street's roles
"Knights, Raiders and Targets: The Impact of the Hostile Takeover" (John C. Coffee Jr, Louis Lowenstein, Susan Rose Ackerman) - academic discussion of hostile takeovers, released 1988
"Lessons Not Learned" (Susanne Trimbath) - primer on Dodd Frank Act, 2008 crisis, shorting, and settlement failures' role in the crash
"Liar's Poker" (Michael Lewis) - culture of bond trading
"Meet Me in the Bathroom" (Lizzy Goodman) - author conducted over 200 interviews to create oral history of how New York revived rock & roll 2001-2011
"Men and Mysteries of Wall Street" (James K. Medbery) - Wall St snapshot in 1878
"Merchants of Grain" (Dan Morgan) - international grain trade, dated to 1979 ("Out of the Shadows" is the update)
"Mike! Wall Street's Mayor" (Neil Fabricant) - acc of Michael Bloomberg
"Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance" (Janet Gleeson) - book on John Law + role in Mississippi Bubble
"Monopolized" (David Dayen) - personal stories from Americans on monopolies affecting their lives
"My Life as a Quant" (Emanuel Derman) - quant trading origins, precursor to HFT
"Naked, Short, and Greedy" (Suzanne Trimbath) - history of DTCC & FTDs
"Ninety Percent of Everything" (Rose George) - talks about interdependence of every part of modern economy, done in the quest for lower prices
"Noncompliant: A Lone Whistleblower Exposes the Giants of Wall Street" (Carmen Segarra) - NY Fed stuff
"No One Would Listen" (Henry Markopolos) - account of journalist who investigated Bernie Madoff and how he was ignored by the SEC
"No Shortcuts to Organizing to Win in the New Gilded Age" (Jane McAlevey) - history of union leadership trends
"Octopus: Sam Israel, The Secret Market, and Wall Street's Wildest Con" (Guy Lawson) - desperate trader gets conned; probably all bullshit, but the names and concepts are worth reading -> Danny Casolaro - journalist, looking into "Octopus" and PROMIS scandal
"Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives" (John C. Hull) - textbook; free pdf available in hell-mitc's DD
"Organized Labor and the Black Worker" (Philip S. Foner, Robin D. G. Kelley) - dense, but highly informative and detailed acc of US labor history
"Other People's Money" (John Kay) - good outline of flaws in US economics
"Other People's Money" (Nomi Prins) - describes a 15 year history in banking as an executive, day to day details
"Out of the Shadows: The New Merchants of Grain" (Jonathan Kingsman) - 2019 update for Dan Morgan's 1979 book on international grain trade
"Panic!" (Michael Lewis) -
"People Get Ready" (Robert W. McChesney, John Nichols) - account of how US democracy was corporatized, and a strategic road map to a peaceful revolution
"Permanent Distortion" (Nomi Prins) - former Goldman Sachs veteran writes scathing critique of Fed's QE as a Ponzi scheme for the rich (tread carefully; the anger is warranted but accuracy of the details is what matters in reading this)
"Policing the Open Road: How Cars Transformed American Freedom" (Sarah Seo) - analysis of how history of modern policing intersects with car's history
"Prisms of the People" (Hahrie Han) - analysis of factors that make protests and movements successful
"Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power" (Steve Coll) - history of ExxonMobil (1979-2010)
"Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil Lebaron and the Lambs of God" (Ben Bradlee Jr) - detailed cult story that apparently links LeBaron family to Mitt Romney (according to descendent of LeBarons, AnnaKLeBaron, but could easily be mega tinfoil so idk)
"Quants" (Scott Patterson) - does a comparison of HFT strats to poker, and delves into the background of "Beat the Dealer" author Ed Thorp, Pete Muller of Morgan Stanley, Ken Griffin of Citadel, James Simon of Renaissance Tech, Clifford S Asness and Aaron Brown of AQR Capital Mgmt, & Boaz Weinstein of Deutsche Bank
"Reinventing Collapse" (Dmitry Orlov) - blueprint for America's collapse based on author's expertise w/ Soviet Union
"Reminisces of a Stock Operator" (Edwin Lefevre) - historical tactics for market cornering; biography of Jesse Livermore, stock speculator
"Restricted Data" (Alex Wellerstein) - history of US nuclear secrecy
"Secrets of the Temple" (William Greider) - how Federal Reserve operates
"Secrecy World" (Jake Bernstein) - tax evasion techniques by the rich
"Securities Transfer: Principles and Procedures" (Martin Torosian) - book on backend of US securities shit
"Seed Wars" (Keith Aoki) - seed patents
"Servants of the Damned" (David Enrich) - expose of Jones Day (law firm protecting giant financial interests like T****, tobacco, opioids, & minimized sexual abuse of Catholic Church) and similar entities of "Big Law" -> asterisks because bot won't let me post his full name
"Solidarity Divided" (Bill Fletcher Jr) - US labor history, focused on today
"Streets of Hope" (Holly Sklar, Peter Medoff) - tale of Roxbury neighborhood in Boston, how they overcame poverty in major chunks by organizing
"Taking Mr. Exxon" (Philip Jett) - story of kidnapping of Exxon's President on Apr 29, 1992
"Taming the Megabanks" (Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr) - covers history of what led up to repeal of Glass-Steagall
"Tax Evasion and the Rule of Law in Latin America" (Marcelo Bergman) - tax shit for Latin American jurisdictions
"Tax Havens: How Globalization Really Works" (Ronen Palan, Richard Murphy, Christian Chavagneux) - explanation of how tax havens are integral to world economy and skew globalization costs
"Tax The Rich!" (Morris Pearl) - former BlackRock exec provides intro to how tax code gets exploited by the rich
"The Ascent of Money" (Niall Ferguson) - history of money
"The Big Short" (Michael Lewis) - more info and better timeline than movie
"The Caesar's Palace Coup" (Sujeet Indap) - 2015 restructuring of Caesar's Palace casino (involves many Kraken players: Apollo Global Mgmt, TPG Cap, Elliot Mgmt, Oaktree Capital, etc)
"The Citizen's Share" (Joseph R. Blasi) - multiple case studies used to argue people should share in profits
"The Chickenshit Club" (Jesse Eisinger) - regulatory capture of US regulators
"The Complete Guide to Contract Cheating" (Dave Tomar) - Lauer's friend wrote contract cheating (prevalence, effects, & laws against it) book
"The Creature of Jekyll Island" (G. Edward Griffin) - seminal take on rise of the Federal Reserve (tread carefully; no sources are cited, author is hardcore tinfoil believing HIV doesn't cause AIDS and various chemtrail conspiracies)
"The Death of an Heir" (Philip Jett) - story of kidnapping of Coors Brewery heir on Feb 5, 1960
"The Devil's Chessboard" (David Talbot) - depicts Allen Dulles (CIA co-founder) and his role in global economic fuckery • "Death is Just Around the Corner" (Podcast about CIA history; newest episodes are Patreon-only and prob not searchable, but backlog is gr8)
"The End of the Everything Bubble" (Alaadair Nairn) - makes argument that Wall St bullied Fed into infinite QE post 2008 (use for sources; credibility of the author is not known)
"The Failure of Laissez-Faire Capitalism" (Paul Craig Roberts) - very detailed history on US monetary policy, economic theory, and Wall St's history
"The Fed" (Martin Mayer) - organization politics of the Fed (tread very carefully, be critical of sources; author is biased and prone to snide comments)
"The Fed Unbound" (Lev Menand) - very recent book (2022), describing how Fed effectively made loans to the planet as a whole in Mar 2020, to avoid collapse
"The Frackers" (Gregory Zuckerman) - history of oil
"The History of the Standard Oil Company" (Ida M. Tarbell) - deep dive into kraken megacorp of 100 years ago
"The Hyperinflation Survival Guide" (Gerald Swanson) - analyzing surviving in hyperinflation in the US, written 1989
"The Hypocritical Hegemon" (Lukas Hagelberg) - effects of US domestic tax policy on global tax policy, plus role US has played in offshore tax havens (both creation and crackdown)
"The Jungle" (Upton Sinclair) - novel but based on history of anti-worker shit in US meatpacking industry in 1910s ish
"The League" (John Eisenberg) - history of NFL
"The Least of Us" (Sam Quinones) - tale of designer and synthetic drugs in US
"The Lords of Easy Money" (Christopher Leonard) - explains QE
"The Lost Bank" (Kirsten Grind) - fall of Washington Mutual Bank to Citigroup
"The Market Structure Crisis" (Haim Bodek, Stanislav Dolgopolov) - HFT infrastructure (read after Flash Boys + Bodek's "The Problem of HFT" book)
"The Mathematics of Gambling" (Edward Thorpe) - dude invented a lot of the principles of card counting, so it could be instructive
"The Meat Racket" (Christopher Leonard) - discusses Tyson Foods' role in takeover of US meat industry
"The Men Who Solved The Markets" (Greg Zuckerman) - founding of Renntech, most successful hedge fund
"The Misbehavior of Markets" (Benoit Mandelbrot) - markets, math, fractals
"The Money Laundry" (J. C. Sharman) - review of AML laws & how shit they are
"The New Tycoons" (Jason Kelly) - history of entire private equity industry
"The Number That Killed Us" (Pablo Triana) - development of VaR and its role in financial crises (use for timeline and concepts only; author doesn't have a great track record in his other books)
"The Payoff: Why Wall Street Always Wins" (Jeff Connaughton) - former Chief of Staff to Sen. Ted Kaufman (took Joe B****'s seat as Delaware Senator when former became Obama's VP) describes "The Blob" aka nebulous network of alliances in Washington ->asterisks because bot won't let me include his name
"The Predators' Ball" (Connie Bruck) - rise of junk bond raiders and Drexel's Ball, colloquially known as title bc it became an arena for raiders & victims
"The Predictors" (Thomas A. Bass) - intersection of trading and chaos theory
"The Problem of HFT" (Haim Bodek) - HFT collected writings (easier than his other book, but read after Flash Boys)
"The Rare Metals War" (Guillarme Pitron) - explanation of international rare metals trade + how breaking free of fossil fuels is setting us up to be dependent instead on rare metals
"The Smartest Guys in the Room" (Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind) - Enron scandal and its aftermath
"The Sovereign Individual" (James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg) - lots of speculation on human trends regarding move from industrial to information age
"The Theory of the Working Class" (Thorstein Veblen) - explains general structures of upper class, dated 1899
"The Treason of the Senate" (David Graham Phillips) - names 75 Senators (out of 96 total, at time of publication in 1906) beholden to corporate interests
"The Truth About The Trusts" (John Moody) - written by creator of Moody's, describes in extraordinary detail the function and history of trusts (esp. for trust's real purpose of making asset ownership irrelevant to asset control, thus decoupling money from power)
"The Truth About World Financial Group: Unauthorized" (Steve Siebold) - journalism (inc 107 interviews) of World Financial Group (insurance)
"The Weaponisation of Everything" (Mark Galeotti) - argues world moving towards state of permanent low-level conflict, unnoticed & undeclared
"The World According to Monsanto" (Marie-Monique Robin) - seed patents
"The World for Sale" (Javier Blas, Jack Farchy) - fuckery in commodity trading
"The Unbanking of America" (Lisa Servon) - insight into unbanked people
"They Were Her Property" (Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers) - book on white female slave owners in the American South
"This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race" (Nicole Perlroth) - history of zero day cyberwarfare and greatest dangers
"Token Economy" (Shermin Voshmgir) - gud and recent book on DeFi
"Trading With The Enemy" (Nicholas W. Maier) - former employee of Cramer describes his mania & shit (use for info)
"Under the Influence" (Peter Hernon, Terry Ganey) - unauthorized expose of the Anheuser-Busch family dynasty (formerly America's foremost beer)
"Wall Street Versus America" (Gary Weiss) - 2006 book warning about the upcoming crash, with lots of details
"War Is A Racket" (Smedley Butler) - short novella of being "a gangster for capitalism"
"What's The Matter With Delaware?" (Hal Weitzman) - history of Delaware as HQ for incorporation & tax avoidance
"When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management" (Roger Lowenstein) - story of LCTM firm
"When Money Was in Fashion" (June Breton Fisher) - rough history of Wall St via lens of Goldman Sachs' founding, written by Henry Goldman's grandkid (use for insights on today's tactics; a lot of smoky boardroom shit)
"Why I Left Goldman Sachs" (Greg Smith) - expose book on Goldman
"Winners Take All" (Anand Giridharadas) - talks about scam of global philanthropy
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"A Demon of Our Own Design" (Richard Bookstaber) - foreshadows 2008 crisis, draws LTCM and 1987 crash as themes
"Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk" (Peter L. Bernstein) - history of risk in trading
"All About High-Frequency Trading" (Michael Durbin) - rise of HFT technique
"All The Devils Are Here" (Bethany McLean, Joseph Nocera) - general 2008 crisis shit
"All The President's Bankers" (Nomi Prins) - outlines history of Wall Street's interference in the White House, from Panic of 1907 to Obama's tenure
"A Manifesto for Social Progress" (Marc Fleurbaey) - guide to defeating corporate robber barons
"American Kleptocracy" (Casey Michel) - primer on how financial corruption around the world moved to America
"A Random Walk Down Wall St" (Burton G. Malkiel) - good overview of markets, not super in depth
"Autoworkers Under the Gun" (Gregg Shotwell) - story of how Delphi Auto (spinoff of GM) was destroyed to pass pension obligations to taxpayers and loot the corp (from a Delphi worker)
"Ayn Rand Nation" (Gary Weiss) - look at Ayn Rand's influnce on key people in regulation slashes (i.e. Alan Greenspan)
"Bailout" (Neil Barofsky) - ex Special Inspector General of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) writes a memoir arguing that the US Treasury is now an unofficial extension of Wall Street
"Barbarians at the Gate" (Bryan Burrough, John Heylar) - fall of tobacco conglomerate RJR Nabisco (extremely detailed and well sourced descriptions of world of 1980s leveraged buyouts)
"Beat The Dealer" (Edward Thorpe) - guide to beating blackjack (dated to 1960s games, so more of a snapshot of history)
"Beyond Bitcoin: Decentralized Finance and the End of Banks" (Steven Boykey Sidley, Simon Dingle) - gud intro to DeFi
"Birth Strike: The Hidden Fight Over Women's Work" (Jenny Brown) - look at money and people involved in trying to increase birth rate, with argument that it's an intentional attempt to create a perpetual United States labour pool
"Black Edge" (Sheelah Kolhatkar) - biography of Steve A Cohen and his various speculatory bullshit; it serves as argument for why corporate crime is never prosecuted or punished
"Black Tuesday" (Nomi Prins) - novel on the Crash of 1929 (more fictional and inspired by real-life events, so use for finding sources more than as a source)
"Black Wall Street" (Hannibal B Johnson) - covers US neighborhood that tried to start its own investments
"Blood in the Streets" (James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg) - 1987 book about disaster investing (seminal bc this is when LTCM fell apart)
"Broken Markets" (Joe Saluzzi) - HFT
"Bull By The Horns" (Sheila Bair) - former head of the FDIC during 2008 crisis writes account of Tim Geithner (former US Treasury Secretary), as a wider examination of Citigroup & others
"Bully Market" (Jamie Fiore Higgins) - expose book from a Goldman Sachs alum (whole career there; 1998-2016); main expertise was in keeping hedge funds net short • Book Explanation wallstreetonparade.com/2022/08/goldman-sachs-secrets-spill-out-in-new-book-by-a-former-managing-directo
"Citizens DisUnited" (Robert A. G. Monks) - describes rise of "manager-kings" in US, uncoupling shareholders from power over company decisions
"Collateral and Financial Plumbing" (Manmohan Singh) - textbook on how collateral works and is moved
"Collusion" (Nomi Prins) - discussion of post-2008 bailouts, & makes argument that another large crash is inevitable
"Confessions of an Economic Hitman" (John Perkins) - international fuckery, author may or may not be trustworthy
"Confidence Men" (Ron Suskind) - US journalist writes acc of White House from 2008-2011 (feat. Tim Geithner, Rahm Emanuel, Peter Orszag, etc)
"Conspiracy of Fools" (Kurt Eichenwald) - Enron
"Crack the Funding Code" (Judy Robinett) - guide for business owners looking for private funding (i.e. VCs); of particular help is the sections about when to walk away from funding offers
"Crisis of Confidence: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud" (Tom Mueller) - makes case that all of America's gov entities have been corrupted by greed
"Dark Pools" (Scott Patterson) - take on HFT, broker-owned dark pools, and electronic trading; written as a follow-up on his former book "The Quants" pdfdrive.com/dark-pools-e58493704.html • Supplementary Info (SOES Bandits, aka Small Order Execution System): -> ft.com/content/6dcd1560-56f9-33de-909d-5849860a86f9 -> investopedia.com/terms/s/soesbandits.asp -> openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/95/1/FTsonis_MFA_Thesis.pdf -> reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/yx51lx/catskillcrypto/iwnvnxp -> traderlife.co.uk/interviews/pod-chats/trader-interview-scott-patterson-dark-pools/
"Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald T****, and an Epic Trail of Destruction" (David Enrich) - collection of interviews regarding dealings of Deutsche Bank -> no asterisks, bot just won't let me post if I include his full last name lol
"Debt: The First 5000 Years" (David Graeber) - history of debt (possibly not reliable, check author's credibility first) -> warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/undergraduate/modules/fulllist/special/statesofdamage/syllabus201516/graeber-debt_the_first_5000_years.pdf
"Den of Thieves" (James B. Stewart) - insider trading schemes of 1980s, with a focus on leveraged buyouts & similar
"Derivatives and Risk Management" (R. Madhumathi, M. Ranganatham) - read in Google Books for VW squeeze (p152)
"Dreamland" (Sam Quinones) - story of how sugar cane farmers created a new distribution system for opiates to enter the US from 2000-2015 ish -> Companion Article (same author): theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/the-new-meth/620174
"Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty" (Patrick Radden Keefe) - history of Sackler family, their central role in opioids crisis, founding of Purdue Pharma + marketing of pharmaceuticals • Companion article on why FDA did nothing (McKinsey was consulting for both FDA and Purdue Pharma) - nytimes.com/2022/04/13/business/mckinsey-purdue-fda-records.html
"Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment" (Grady Hillhouse) - book from guy who runs Practical Engineering YouTube channel, regarding water infrastructure
"Fast Food Nation" (Eric Schlosser) - extensive research on US fast food industry, from meatpackers to ads
"F.I.A.S.C.O." (Frank Portnoy) - 1990s derivatives structurer writes on subject
"Fixers" (Michael M. Thomas) - points out how Wall Street retains influence in US government, regardless of President
"Flash Boys" (Michael Lewis) - high frequency trading interviews (warning: a lot is correct, but a lot is incorrect too)
"Fooling Some of the People All of the Time" (David Einhorn) - author provides comprehensive look at Allied Capital & subsidiary Business Loan Express from Apr 2002 to Dec 2007 (use for sources and timelines only; author is an activist short seller for aforementioned corp, and so is likely to defend that practice)
"Green Empire" (Karthryn Ziewitz, June Wiaz) - history of St. Joe's Company (largest landowner in Florida)
"Griftopia" (Matt Taibbi) - pol journalist creates timelines for basic Wall St stuff (mainly gud for insights into Goldman); also draws argument that oil in 2008 went crazy partly bc of legislative shit influenced by Wall Street
"Hedge Hogs" (Barbara Dreyfuss) - acc of Amaranth Advisors, LLC; how it went from $9.668B in client assets in 2006, to losing over $6B in 4 WEEKS
"High-Frequency Trading" (Irene Aldridge) - highly technical book recommended by pwnwtfbbq, used to support pwn's belief that the entire stock market is algo driven
"Homewreckers" (Aaron Glantz) - list (incomplete, possibly politically biased) of people who got rich off of 2008
"Hopeless" (anthology of works, edited by Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank) - about Obama's rise, corruption involved
"How Wall Street Fleeces America" (Stephen Lendman) - PPT, ESF, CRMPG, and the US gov's planned overthrow of Guatemala as early as 1951 • Companion Article: "How Markets Really Work" (Stephen Lendman) countercurrents.org/lendman290509.htm
"Infectious Greed" (Frank Portnoy) - detailed history of derivatives on Wall St
"It Takes A Pillage" (Nomi Prins) - how banks looted the Treasury and stole the 2008 bailout
"Jacked" (Nomi Prins) - conservatives in America looting money; an account of anecdotes around the US
"JPMadoff" (Helen Davis Chaitman, Lance Gotthofer) - outlines how/why JP can be charged under RICO statutes
"King Icahn" (Mark Stevens) - bio of Carl Icahn as raider and activist (use for info and maybe insights)
"King of Capital" (David Carey, John E. Morris) - history of Blackstone
"Killing The Host" (Michael Hudson) - outlines history of Wall Street's roles
"Knights, Raiders and Targets: The Impact of the Hostile Takeover" (John C. Coffee Jr, Louis Lowenstein, Susan Rose Ackerman) - academic discussion of hostile takeovers, released 1988
"Lessons Not Learned" (Susanne Trimbath) - primer on Dodd Frank Act, 2008 crisis, shorting, and settlement failures' role in the crash
"Liar's Poker" (Michael Lewis) - culture of bond trading
"Meet Me in the Bathroom" (Lizzy Goodman) - author conducted over 200 interviews to create oral history of how New York revived rock & roll 2001-2011
"Men and Mysteries of Wall Street" (James K. Medbery) - Wall St snapshot in 1878
"Merchants of Grain" (Dan Morgan) - international grain trade, dated to 1979 ("Out of the Shadows" is the update)
"Mike! Wall Street's Mayor" (Neil Fabricant) - acc of Michael Bloomberg
"Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance" (Janet Gleeson) - book on John Law + role in Mississippi Bubble
"Monopolized" (David Dayen) - personal stories from Americans on monopolies affecting their lives
"My Life as a Quant" (Emanuel Derman) - quant trading origins, precursor to HFT
"Naked, Short, and Greedy" (Suzanne Trimbath) - history of DTCC & FTDs
"Ninety Percent of Everything" (Rose George) - talks about interdependence of every part of modern economy, done in the quest for lower prices
"Noncompliant: A Lone Whistleblower Exposes the Giants of Wall Street" (Carmen Segarra) - NY Fed stuff
"No One Would Listen" (Henry Markopolos) - account of journalist who investigated Bernie Madoff and how he was ignored by the SEC
"No Shortcuts to Organizing to Win in the New Gilded Age" (Jane McAlevey) - history of union leadership trends
"Octopus: Sam Israel, The Secret Market, and Wall Street's Wildest Con" (Guy Lawson) - desperate trader gets conned; probably all bullshit, but the names and concepts are worth reading -> Danny Casolaro - journalist, looking into "Octopus" and PROMIS scandal
"Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives" (John C. Hull) - textbook; free pdf available in hell-mitc's DD
"Organized Labor and the Black Worker" (Philip S. Foner, Robin D. G. Kelley) - dense, but highly informative and detailed acc of US labor history
"Other People's Money" (John Kay) - good outline of flaws in US economics
"Other People's Money" (Nomi Prins) - describes a 15 year history in banking as an executive, day to day details
"Out of the Shadows: The New Merchants of Grain" (Jonathan Kingsman) - 2019 update for Dan Morgan's 1979 book on international grain trade
"Panic!" (Michael Lewis) -
"People Get Ready" (Robert W. McChesney, John Nichols) - account of how US democracy was corporatized, and a strategic road map to a peaceful revolution
"Permanent Distortion" (Nomi Prins) - former Goldman Sachs veteran writes scathing critique of Fed's QE as a Ponzi scheme for the rich (tread carefully; the anger is warranted but accuracy of the details is what matters in reading this)
"Policing the Open Road: How Cars Transformed American Freedom" (Sarah Seo) - analysis of how history of modern policing intersects with car's history
"Prisms of the People" (Hahrie Han) - analysis of factors that make protests and movements successful
"Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power" (Steve Coll) - history of ExxonMobil (1979-2010)
"Prophet of Blood: The Untold Story of Ervil Lebaron and the Lambs of God" (Ben Bradlee Jr) - detailed cult story that apparently links LeBaron family to Mitt Romney (according to descendent of LeBarons, AnnaKLeBaron, but could easily be mega tinfoil so idk)
"Quants" (Scott Patterson) - does a comparison of HFT strats to poker, and delves into the background of "Beat the Dealer" author Ed Thorp, Pete Muller of Morgan Stanley, Ken Griffin of Citadel, James Simon of Renaissance Tech, Clifford S Asness and Aaron Brown of AQR Capital Mgmt, & Boaz Weinstein of Deutsche Bank
"Reinventing Collapse" (Dmitry Orlov) - blueprint for America's collapse based on author's expertise w/ Soviet Union
"Reminisces of a Stock Operator" (Edwin Lefevre) - historical tactics for market cornering; biography of Jesse Livermore, stock speculator
"Restricted Data" (Alex Wellerstein) - history of US nuclear secrecy
"Secrets of the Temple" (William Greider) - how Federal Reserve operates
"Secrecy World" (Jake Bernstein) - tax evasion techniques by the rich
"Securities Transfer: Principles and Procedures" (Martin Torosian) - book on backend of US securities shit
"Seed Wars" (Keith Aoki) - seed patents
"Servants of the Damned" (David Enrich) - expose of Jones Day (law firm protecting giant financial interests like T****, tobacco, opioids, & minimized sexual abuse of Catholic Church) and similar entities of "Big Law" -> asterisks because bot won't let me post his full name
"Solidarity Divided" (Bill Fletcher Jr) - US labor history, focused on today
"Streets of Hope" (Holly Sklar, Peter Medoff) - tale of Roxbury neighborhood in Boston, how they overcame poverty in major chunks by organizing
"Taking Mr. Exxon" (Philip Jett) - story of kidnapping of Exxon's President on Apr 29, 1992
"Taming the Megabanks" (Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr) - covers history of what led up to repeal of Glass-Steagall
"Tax Evasion and the Rule of Law in Latin America" (Marcelo Bergman) - tax shit for Latin American jurisdictions
"Tax Havens: How Globalization Really Works" (Ronen Palan, Richard Murphy, Christian Chavagneux) - explanation of how tax havens are integral to world economy and skew globalization costs
"Tax The Rich!" (Morris Pearl) - former BlackRock exec provides intro to how tax code gets exploited by the rich
"The Ascent of Money" (Niall Ferguson) - history of money
"The Big Short" (Michael Lewis) - more info and better timeline than movie
"The Caesar's Palace Coup" (Sujeet Indap) - 2015 restructuring of Caesar's Palace casino (involves many Kraken players: Apollo Global Mgmt, TPG Cap, Elliot Mgmt, Oaktree Capital, etc)
"The Citizen's Share" (Joseph R. Blasi) - multiple case studies used to argue people should share in profits
"The Chickenshit Club" (Jesse Eisinger) - regulatory capture of US regulators
"The Complete Guide to Contract Cheating" (Dave Tomar) - Lauer's friend wrote contract cheating (prevalence, effects, & laws against it) book
"The Creature of Jekyll Island" (G. Edward Griffin) - seminal take on rise of the Federal Reserve (tread carefully; no sources are cited, author is hardcore tinfoil believing HIV doesn't cause AIDS and various chemtrail conspiracies)
"The Death of an Heir" (Philip Jett) - story of kidnapping of Coors Brewery heir on Feb 5, 1960
"The Devil's Chessboard" (David Talbot) - depicts Allen Dulles (CIA co-founder) and his role in global economic fuckery • "Death is Just Around the Corner" (Podcast about CIA history; newest episodes are Patreon-only and prob not searchable, but backlog is gr8)
"The End of the Everything Bubble" (Alaadair Nairn) - makes argument that Wall St bullied Fed into infinite QE post 2008 (use for sources; credibility of the author is not known)
"The Failure of Laissez-Faire Capitalism" (Paul Craig Roberts) - very detailed history on US monetary policy, economic theory, and Wall St's history
"The Fed" (Martin Mayer) - organization politics of the Fed (tread very carefully, be critical of sources; author is biased and prone to snide comments)
"The Fed Unbound" (Lev Menand) - very recent book (2022), describing how Fed effectively made loans to the planet as a whole in Mar 2020, to avoid collapse
"The Frackers" (Gregory Zuckerman) - history of oil
"The History of the Standard Oil Company" (Ida M. Tarbell) - deep dive into kraken megacorp of 100 years ago
"The Hyperinflation Survival Guide" (Gerald Swanson) - analyzing surviving in hyperinflation in the US, written 1989
"The Hypocritical Hegemon" (Lukas Hagelberg) - effects of US domestic tax policy on global tax policy, plus role US has played in offshore tax havens (both creation and crackdown)
"The Jungle" (Upton Sinclair) - novel but based on history of anti-worker shit in US meatpacking industry in 1910s ish
"The League" (John Eisenberg) - history of NFL
"The Least of Us" (Sam Quinones) - tale of designer and synthetic drugs in US
"The Lords of Easy Money" (Christopher Leonard) - explains QE
"The Lost Bank" (Kirsten Grind) - fall of Washington Mutual Bank to Citigroup
"The Market Structure Crisis" (Haim Bodek, Stanislav Dolgopolov) - HFT infrastructure (read after Flash Boys + Bodek's "The Problem of HFT" book)
"The Mathematics of Gambling" (Edward Thorpe) - dude invented a lot of the principles of card counting, so it could be instructive
"The Meat Racket" (Christopher Leonard) - discusses Tyson Foods' role in takeover of US meat industry
"The Men Who Solved The Markets" (Greg Zuckerman) - founding of Renntech, most successful hedge fund
"The Misbehavior of Markets" (Benoit Mandelbrot) - markets, math, fractals
"The Money Laundry" (J. C. Sharman) - review of AML laws & how shit they are
"The New Tycoons" (Jason Kelly) - history of entire private equity industry
"The Number That Killed Us" (Pablo Triana) - development of VaR and its role in financial crises (use for timeline and concepts only; author doesn't have a great track record in his other books)
"The Payoff: Why Wall Street Always Wins" (Jeff Connaughton) - former Chief of Staff to Sen. Ted Kaufman (took Joe B****'s seat as Delaware Senator when former became Obama's VP) describes "The Blob" aka nebulous network of alliances in Washington ->asterisks because bot won't let me include his name
"The Predators' Ball" (Connie Bruck) - rise of junk bond raiders and Drexel's Ball, colloquially known as title bc it became an arena for raiders & victims
"The Predictors" (Thomas A. Bass) - intersection of trading and chaos theory
"The Problem of HFT" (Haim Bodek) - HFT collected writings (easier than his other book, but read after Flash Boys)
"The Rare Metals War" (Guillarme Pitron) - explanation of international rare metals trade + how breaking free of fossil fuels is setting us up to be dependent instead on rare metals
"The Smartest Guys in the Room" (Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind) - Enron scandal and its aftermath
"The Sovereign Individual" (James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg) - lots of speculation on human trends regarding move from industrial to information age
"The Theory of the Working Class" (Thorstein Veblen) - explains general structures of upper class, dated 1899
"The Treason of the Senate" (David Graham Phillips) - names 75 Senators (out of 96 total, at time of publication in 1906) beholden to corporate interests
"The Truth About The Trusts" (John Moody) - written by creator of Moody's, describes in extraordinary detail the function and history of trusts (esp. for trust's real purpose of making asset ownership irrelevant to asset control, thus decoupling money from power)
"The Truth About World Financial Group: Unauthorized" (Steve Siebold) - journalism (inc 107 interviews) of World Financial Group (insurance)
"The Weaponisation of Everything" (Mark Galeotti) - argues world moving towards state of permanent low-level conflict, unnoticed & undeclared
"The World According to Monsanto" (Marie-Monique Robin) - seed patents
"The World for Sale" (Javier Blas, Jack Farchy) - fuckery in commodity trading
"The Unbanking of America" (Lisa Servon) - insight into unbanked people
"They Were Her Property" (Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers) - book on white female slave owners in the American South
"This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race" (Nicole Perlroth) - history of zero day cyberwarfare and greatest dangers
"Token Economy" (Shermin Voshmgir) - gud and recent book on DeFi
"Trading With The Enemy" (Nicholas W. Maier) - former employee of Cramer describes his mania & shit (use for info)
"Under the Influence" (Peter Hernon, Terry Ganey) - unauthorized expose of the Anheuser-Busch family dynasty (formerly America's foremost beer)
"Wall Street Versus America" (Gary Weiss) - 2006 book warning about the upcoming crash, with lots of details
"War Is A Racket" (Smedley Butler) - short novella of being "a gangster for capitalism"
"What's The Matter With Delaware?" (Hal Weitzman) - history of Delaware as HQ for incorporation & tax avoidance
"When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management" (Roger Lowenstein) - story of LCTM firm
"When Money Was in Fashion" (June Breton Fisher) - rough history of Wall St via lens of Goldman Sachs' founding, written by Henry Goldman's grandkid (use for insights on today's tactics; a lot of smoky boardroom shit)
"Why I Left Goldman Sachs" (Greg Smith) - expose book on Goldman
"Winners Take All" (Anand Giridharadas) - talks about scam of global philanthropy
2022.11.19 22:17 Guilty_Chemistry9337 Delivery Driver
by E.B. Davis
I’m a delivery driver. Sometimes I wake up not remembering where I am.
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
submitted by Guilty_Chemistry9337 to ChillingApp [link] [comments]
I’m a delivery driver. Sometimes I wake up not remembering where I am.
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
2022.11.15 03:10 Guilty_Chemistry9337 Delivery Driver
I’m a delivery driver. Sometimes I wake up not remembering where I am.
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
Originally posted over on the Odd Directions subreddit, where I'm a featured writer. More of my stories can be found on EBDavis, thanks for reading.
submitted by Guilty_Chemistry9337 to TheCrypticCompendium [link] [comments]
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
Originally posted over on the Odd Directions subreddit, where I'm a featured writer. More of my stories can be found on EBDavis, thanks for reading.
2022.11.09 15:29 Guilty_Chemistry9337 Delivery Driver
I’m a delivery driver. Sometimes I wake up not remembering where I am.
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
Note: Originally posted over on Odd Directions, where I'm a featured writer.
submitted by Guilty_Chemistry9337 to EBDavis [link] [comments]
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
Note: Originally posted over on Odd Directions, where I'm a featured writer.
2022.11.07 15:42 Guilty_Chemistry9337 Delivery Driver
I’m a delivery driver. Sometimes I wake up not remembering where I am.
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
Author's note: more of my stories can be found on EBDavis
submitted by Guilty_Chemistry9337 to Odd_directions [link] [comments]
Yeah, it’s not the usual sort of delivery job. Take this morning, for instance. Right now I’ve just polished off an omelet and am finishing my coffee before hitting the road. About an hour ago I woke up in a room in the Motel 6 across the street. It had been uncomfortably warm, the failing air conditioner still chugging away; and I’d woken with a nasty headache, the result of a poor night’s sleep. Other than that, I had no idea where I was. It was the heat that I remembered first, if you can consider it a memory and not something that never went away.
I had checked-in about seven the previous evening. Hot summer day, western exposure, the poor air conditioner never had much of a chance, really. Yet if I’d known it was going to fail so badly I’d have asked for a different room, or gone somewhere else, I’m not picky. I pulled the double curtain open just a bit to notice my view of Interstate 5, real up close.
Oh, that’s right, I was in Redding. Northern California. With that little keystone in place the rest of my memory popped back into place. Yesterday I had woken up in Eugene, Oregon, made stops in Florence, Eureka, Cave Junction, Weed, and finally Redding before stopping for the night. Day before that I’d woken in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Bellingham, Edison, Elma, Aberdeen, and Astoria before making my way south to Eugene. Today I had stops to make in Zamora, Livermore, Castroville, and Grapevine. Not sure yet where I’ll stop. Tomorrow? Haven’t checked my list yet. Doesn’t really matter much.
I suppose my memory’s pretty decent when I’ve got a reference to start from. Maybe that’s part of why I was picked for this job. Like I said, it’s not the usual sort. What I just described is my usual sort of day. I drive most of the day, stop somewhere, usually somebody’s house or apartment. I drop off a package, often I’ll pick up a new one from the same customer, and then drive on to the next. I’ve got a list, a few weeks worth, updated regularly.
I’ve only met my employer, or I suppose I should say fellow employee of our employer, once, when I was hired. That was strange. First, they recruited me, right out of the blue, a total cold call. Second, I didn’t think having a PhD was a usual criterion for a delivery driver. Since then I’ve only communicated by email or phone, and rarely at that.
I hadn’t expected to accept the offer when I showed up in that little commercial office. Yet the pay they offered was… unsustainably generous. I drive a company car they’ve paid for, though they let me pick it out. I suggested a Mercedes S-class, as a jest, but they didn’t hesitate. They gave me a card for expenses-food and gas. Also hotels. Understand- I don’t always sleep in cheap crummy motels. I’ll often stop at swaggy 4-star resorts. It’s just that sometimes you just want to get off road and put your feet up. Even the cheap rooms, usually, offer a basic standard of quality; and when you’re on the road all day, every day the bad rooms and the good rooms tend to just blur together. It’s why sometimes I just don’t remember where I am.
Food, hotels, entertainment, really I have a lot of leeway in how I want to go about my day, even on the weekends and holidays I have off I can still use the card. The only thing I need to concern myself with are a few simple aspects of the job.
I knock on a stranger’s door. I give them the package I’ve been carrying, and/or they give me a new one. The package is of reasonable proportions, never too big or heavy or unwieldy, very nondescript. I place that package in the trunk of my car, always the trunk, and then drive to the drop-off, and repeat. I’m to drive carefully and responsibly, which I’d always do anyway. I’m to not drink or take drugs while driving, or for that matter drive while tired or texting, which I’d never do anyway. Minor speeding is not an issue, five or ten over the limit on a freeway is not a big deal. If there’s any kind of delay that’s not my fault- unexpected road closure, mechanical trouble, major accident, inclement weather, it’s not a problem. I just need to phone it in and the company will take care of it, contact the customers, and I can continue on, when possible.
I’m to not draw attention to myself. If I’m pulled over I’m to act responsibly and respectfully, and if I receive a ticket the company will pay the fine. Several years in, and I’ve never had that problem.
I am absolutely not to give a police officer any probable cause to search the trunk, or the package there-in. If a police officer does search, I am to, at the immediate earliest opportunity, call the number the company had me memorize, and their legal department will take care of the situation. Afterwards my position will be terminated and I will be given a generous severance package. The contract makes it very clear the company is totally liable for any contents of the package, and I am simply a courier, ignorant of the package’s content.
I am to never investigate the contents of the package. If I attempt to, my position will be immediately terminated, without any severance package. The contract makes it clear that this is how I, personally, remain unliable for any of the contents.
What my contract doesn’t say, but I can only guess, that this is the reason for my exorbitant salary. I suppose maybe there are very filthy rich people out there who will pay large sums of money to have various very private, but perfectly legal, items delivered discreetly. I honestly don’t think that’s the case, though. First, most of the rich people I’ve met are pretty stingy, and would ship something highly valuable by UPS, ground service, if they could save a few bucks. Second, I’m pretty sure our customers aren’t rich. I meet them personally at their doors. The stop in Elma the other day was in a trailer park.
So naturally, my speculation, and for any legal purposes I’ll repeat this is only speculation- was that maybe these packages have illegal contents. I used to spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about what sort of illegal content it could be. I don’t think it's drugs. They have their own system of mules for that, right? Maybe that’s only TV, I don’t know. Of all the things it could be, the two possibilities that cost me the least consternation was smuggling or fencing in some kind of valuable commodity- like jewels or works of art. The other, I guess closely related, involved the smuggling of priceless antiquities. I’ve read articles about how that’s a very lucrative trade, how it’s a very small and organized community, and very, very rich. I still don’t know what the deal is with the customers, though, or maybe that’s just some sort of front. There was also something kind of exciting about being involved in the illicit antiquities trade, like I was a minor bad guy out of an Indiana Jones movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support the trade and would prefer those things find their way to museums. I was only ever speculating about that, usually to keep my mind occupied during the more boring parts of the drive. There are other illegal things I’d very much not want to be transporting, on a moral level. I know better now. And besides, they were paying me specifically not to know what was in the packages I was delivering.
Boy, do they pay. The thing is, I’m hardly ever at my home. I paid off my mortgage the first year. The only expenses I really pay are the property taxes, housekeeping services, insurance and utilities. That means the paychecks just keep stacking up in my account. I thought about investing in stocks of something, I mean, if you’ve got money, you can leverage it to make more money. Yet I’m in no rush, I don’t think I’ll be needing to invest. I have no concern about making more money than I’ve already got.
In fact, it’s piling up so fast, I thought I might start buying up more houses. Not as a real-estate investment, not at first. The idea was I’d buy a house in different parts of the country, and if I were in that state on a weekend I could stay at home while out on my route. Just for the comfort of it. It’d also be something like a security blanket. If I were to ever quit or lose this job, and didn’t need to travel anymore, I could pick my favorite place to live, and sell the other houses, which would most certainly appreciate faster than the interest in my savings account.
So that’s why I’m perfectly content with being a delivery driver. You know what? I enjoy the driving too, it’s a nice perk. You might think long distance driving all day must be a terrible bore that wears you out. That’s partly true, I won’t lie. Yet in my opinion, the sights I’ve seen make it all worth it. I get off the main freeway a lot too, so it’s not like it’s just a long distance trip you’re trying to finish as fast as possible. I’ve seen grand sights. The Columbia River Gorge at sunset in autumn. The Grand Tetons at dawn. The New York skyline from all the bridges. The lights of LA at night from the Hollywood Hills.
It’s the subtle stuff though that really makes your heart ache. I remember a curving winding road going over rolling hills in Nebraska with pretty little farmhouses around each bend. An old barn in Vermont, at dusk with the fog growing in sheets on the low ground. The view from a recently plowed road in the High Cascades, where the peaks surrounding you were covered in such fresh snow it looked like marshmallow fluff. A great fault-block mountain rising out of the barren flatlands of eastern Oregon, so high so wide it generated its own rich ecosystems. A little old mining town in West Virginia where all of the buildings were of historical provenance, not because they’ve been preserved by historical societies, but because they’ve been well used and maintained by the people that love it. A lightning storm at night in rural Louisiana, that seemed to roll on and on for infinity.
I thought about getting a little dashboard camera and recording my trips. I guess that’s what led to it all unraveling. I’d forgotten I’d bought the thing, online on a whim from a hotel room, until I found it among the usual stack of packages on a trip home. By then I’d set the idea aside as rather pointless. I’d never find time to edit such video let alone watch it. The scenery I had always enjoyed was always going to be a fleeting moment, enjoyed spontaneously, and maybe again in memory. A dashcam would never really recapture the moments.
So then I started thinking about what else I could use the little camera for. I guess it was always a dumb idea. Now that I look back, I don’t know why I thought of it in the first place. I had the camera. I had the car. I had the mysterious packages in the truck.
I’m not going to say I never thought about opening the packages. It was sort of like being at some kind of console at work, with a big red button, and your boss tells you that no matter what, never push the big red button. Sure, you wonder what would happen. That temptation, though, never came close to breaking my will. Or at least my will to keep getting paid so well.
I guess that’s why I put the camera in the trunk, along with a flood light. I could “study” the package without actually opening. That’s what the contract said, after all. I was supposed to keep the package in the trunk. And I wasn’t supposed to examine its contents. It never said anything about the exterior. It never said anything about not having cameras in the trunk. I know now, that must have been some sort of loophole my employers had never considered. I suppose in the future they’ll fill that loophole up. I only found the hole myself by dumb luck.
I never really used the car's navigation system. I always had great sense of direction, and the night before I’d go over all the directions to my destinations from the luxury of my hotel room. So the large monitor on the dash of my luxury car seldom displayed anything but the station ID of the radio channel, or the title of the audiobook I was listening to. So I ran a USB cable up from the trunk, through the back seats to the console. The video feed showed up at the push of a button on my steering wheel.
I immediately wondered why I bothered. On the first trip, middle of Iowa, when I checked, it was exactly what I’d have expected. A view of my trunk, twelve pack of coke, my toolbox, and the package. All exactly as I’d left it. I think I remember feeling embarrassed, so I turned off the feed. I turned it back on the next few deliveries, and each time was the same, so I almost forgot I’d bothered in the first place.
It was some time later, don’t remember how much exactly, but I was on the road to Spooner, Wisconsin. I was scrolling through my media during one of those boring stretches. I came to the trunk cam feed, and paused, because something felt off. I wasn’t sure why. I just felt the little hairs on my arms raise up; it was an instinctual sort of feeling. Now that I look back, I wonder if it was instinct that led me to put in the camera in the first place, or something else.
I kept the feed on as I drove and kept glancing at the screen, suspiciously. My first thought was that there was some kind of light out. It looked shadowy somehow. Except that didn’t make any sense. There was only one light in the trunk, the floodlight I had put up on a hook on the ceiling of the trunk. It was as bright as it had ever been, except in the spot by the package I was carrying. I couldn’t figure it out. I kept driving, and I kept my eye on it, and it kept getting darker. Then I noticed the spot on the package itself. It was sort of the reverse of a light from a flashlight. A spot of darkness, round, fairly distinct if not sharp, and it grew. It grew sort of like a tumor, like you might imagine a small melanoma on pale skin, getting bigger and bigger. It grew until the whole package was very dark, despite the light. I kept trying to think of reasonable explanations, camera artifacts, digital compression, LED banding glitches, but nothing really explained it. Then, though I don’t know how, it’s not like I was discerning any detail, it got blacker. The total absence of light. It wasn’t like a package wrapped in black paper, it was like some kind of hole in three dimensions, matching perfectly the length, width, and height of the package. I felt sure if I could change the position of the camera, the hole would change with the proportions of the package.
I almost wanted to pull over and open the trunk. See it with my own two eyes. By now I was close to the delivery site, so I waited while I drove another twenty miles or so. I turned the feed off, because I couldn’t handle the temptation.
When I finally did stop and popped the trunk, the package looked exactly like it was supposed to. Brown paper wrapping. The kind of clear tape with the little parallel strings running through it. Address label with my company’s letterhead on it. The man who signed it was an older man, living in what looked like a vacation cabin, on a lake. He seemed no different than any other customer. He gave me another package to deliver, this one in Minnesota. If he noticed me acting strangely, he didn’t let on.
One of the more personal things about this whole… experience that has disturbed me is how quickly I accepted it all. I used to be a rational, logical, scientifically minded person. Now, within the span of an hour or so, I had accepted the paranormal, wholesale. Everything I understood about the world was thrown out the window. I kept expecting my phone to ring, a company representative calling to tell me that my position had been terminated, that they somehow just psychically knew that their cover had been blown. I had a very restless night that night in my hotel room in Minneapolis. I thought my life was in danger, I was dealing with something far beyond my mortal understanding. No call ever came, no demon teleported behind me and stole my soul. I don’t think they know, my employers. Like I said, I think I’ve found a loophole they never considered.
The next several deliveries did nothing unusual. Most don’t. I don’t think it’s because any of these packages are normal, no. It’s just whatever’s wrong with them isn’t always visible. When I do see something strange, it’s almost always different. One delivery in New Mexico started bulging, outwards, like it was breathing, in and out, in and out, for hundreds of miles. There was another package, a small one, that also bulged out, but instead of the entire surface bulging out, it was only multiple little dimples that moved around. Sort of imagine fingers of a hand inside the package, pressing out, only they moved in no patterns of a hand.
There was one package that turned itself over and over, like a rectangular opaque hamster ball, but never moved once from its original position. There was another that floated. Whenever I breaked or turned corners, it would drift in the appropriate direction, then drift back.
There was one that burst into flame. It was small at first, the flame about the size of a lit match. It grew though, and slower than you would have expected from a paper-wrapped package. By the time half of the package had ignited the trunk was filling with smoke. I should have been able to smell it, but I didn’t. A few miles later and it was fully engulfed, I could hardly see the flames through the smoke. In time, the camera went fully black. That was the only time I ever stopped the car to check. I opened up the trunk and the package and everything else was perfectly normal. I grabbed a coke out of the case,for cover, just because I had the strange feeling I was being watched.
One time a package started to turn itself inside out. I saw bubble-wrap just before I turned off the feed. I don’t know if that counted as inspecting the contents of the package, but I didn’t want to risk it. I never turned the feed on again until that package had been delivered.
There’s one package which did a thing that I just can’t describe. I’m not trying to be facetious, or do some sort of unknowable cosmic horror thing. I literally can’t describe it. Here, I’ll try. The package flattened out like the scent of fresh strawberries. The package upwised ponderously like a green barnacle. The package integrated an overripe mirror. It’s like I have explanation aphasia.
I have a real conundrum. There’s a part of me that wants to quit. Put in two weeks notice, thank you, it was nice working for you. Then retire to some mansion on a tropical island and never worry about anything again. A part of me wants to see this through. I’ll never have a connection to the paranormal again. How can I live with myself if I leave now without understanding?
I think if I just keep going, it’s all going to come to a head at some point anyway. It’s starting to leak out. The supernatural. I don’t know if it’s just in my head, or if the world itself is changing. As far as I know, my employers still haven’t noticed.
Sometimes, when I’m driving in the dark, at night or in stormy weather, I’ll see a pair of headlights. Perfectly normal headlights. Except there’s no car behind them. They’ll move around, like a car driving. Sometimes they come in the opposite direction and they’re gone in a flash. Sometimes they’re in another lane going the same direction, then they and I will go our separate ways, same as any two cars. I don’t know what they are.
Sometimes I see freeway exits that aren’t supposed to be there. Exit 189- Airport Way. Exit 190- Martin Luther King Way. Exit 191- Commercial St. Exit 828761- Tannhauser’s Crypt. I haven’t taken any of these exits. I keep getting more and more tempted.
There’s a radio channel I’ve discovered. AM band. I’m able to find it, same frequency, wherever I am in the country. That shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of those Evangelical channels. Fire and brimstone type preachers. 24 hours a day, same guy, non-stop, no commercials. He likes to preach about damnation and eschatology. Weird people names and place names from extinct languages. When he quotes Bible verses, they’re Bible verses that aren’t actually in the Bible. At least from no canon that I know. I check in the Bibles in hotel rooms every night. I’m pretty sure some day I’ll start finding them.
Something has to happen. I can quit but the paranormal will still be there. Or my employers can discover and close the loophole. Or something else, maybe something worse than my employers, will find me. It’s all very distracting. I think that’s part of the reason I don’t remember where I am when I wake up. It’s not always just restless sleep. I think some day I’ll wake up in a place that doesn’t really exist. It’s like the whole world, or at least my whole world, is coming apart at the seams.
I wonder what would happen if I installed a microphone.
Author's note: more of my stories can be found on EBDavis
2022.10.05 20:27 Elim2 Roshi Earth moon Kamehamha was not PL 180
Roshi Earth moon Kamehamha was not PL 180
Last post:
https://www.reddit.com/PowerScaling2/comments/xwi8k6/ki_beam_speeds_from_og_db_to_buu_saga_light_speed/
1) Roshi
I will explain why Roshi shot a PL 600 Kamehamha at Mt Frypan and a PL 650 at Earth moon. I will show why Roshi didn't use a PL 180 Kamehamha to destroy the Earth moon. It basically boils down to how PL180 isn't enough even with a chain reaction. My reasoning is because PL 180 wouldnt be enough to destroy MT.Frypan thus it wouldnt destroy Earth moon either.
Roshi is a mountain level character. All characters from OG Dragonball have 100% PLs from higher than zero to about less than 408. To destroy varying sizes and masses of mountains is anywhere from more than 10 kilotons to less than 10 kilotons. In my Roshi ki yield debunk post I said to destroy Earth moon is somewhere between PL 50 and 554 but we can get a more closer estimate.
PL movie pamplet mistakes
We don't know the exact 100% Roshi base PLs at the time or his maximum power at the time of the 21st tournament but i did make an educated estimation above. His base was less than 180 since he was 180 in the 22nd tournament. It is less than 139 though based on Kanzenshuu but that number is based on Roshi base PL in dbz. In my Roshi ki yield debunk i said the Kamehamha was less than PL 556. I said that because of 139×4=556. Now i noticed the "less than 139" is flawed. This is also why i put Roshi 21st Kamehamha PL at around PL 600. I will explain more below. The "PL 139" comes from when Bulma used Raditz scouter to measure Roshi PL. The pamplets say "less than 139" for Roshi before the 21st tournament because they estimated that Roshi would have been less than 139 in DBZ. They forget that in OG DB in 22nd tournament Roshi PL was 180. This means he either got weaker during the years between the 22nd tournament and after Raditz saga or his powerlevel was just at a comfortable level for him at the time of Bulma scanning him. When relaxed the characters base can settle around any number so it's not too realiable depending on the situation unless they actual charge up to their actual base PL. So without using "less than 139", then in OG DB Roshi 100% PL at 21st tournament could be anywhere from more than 10 to 180. His most powerful Kamehamha would have a PL of 720 in the 22nd tournament if he used PL×4 since 180×4=720.
If basing off the movie pamplets then his 100% power is somewhere between >100<139 since the pamplets show that the 21st tournament opponents are higher than 100. As i said the "less than 139" is unreliable.
In the actual show, the 21st tournament opponents are alot less than PL 100. Some relatively weak opponents aren't beating Ozaru Goku PL in a fight. Even just a PL 100 Goku would have been enough since he didn't get too much stronger in 1yr of Roshi training. I will explain why below.
Goku was PL 10 before his training with Roshi. So he got to PL 10 when training with Grandpa Gohan. Though even if he didn't train with Grandpa Gohan he most likely would have reached a PL higher than 10 on his own through surviving in the wilderness and aging. Goku could not have gotten 10× more powerful in the one year training with Roshi with that kind of training. On average they only get 1.5× or less powerful during a year depending on training, fights etc.
Also this quote:
"He already has twice the power of an ordinary person. What’s more, his body is tough enough to repel a gun bullet."(Kanzenshuu)
Goku was already twice the power of a normal human when he had PL of 10. Since average humans have PL 5, then they are talking about Goku being able to produce two times more ki energy than a normal human. Also remember that the 21st tournament participants were stronger than Goku PL 10 but not by too much. So i will just say that Goku got 1.5× stronger during Roshi training. This means Goku full power in 21st tournament was PL 25.
Also the movie pamplet says that General Blue was PL 180 in RR arc and Goku was PL 180 in 22nd tournament. Goku was alot less than 180 in RR arc so if General Blue was 180 then he would have beat Goku. It's also known that ki particles gradually increase when training even if the person can't use ki consciously shown with Hercule. That's how the 21st tournament participants were stronger than PL 10 Goku.
Also it doesn't matter what PL that Goku Ozaruu was since it's PL ×10. Just like when Frieza was aiming for Namek and used less than SS Goku PL to lead to Namek destruction. Roshi was aiming the Kamehamha to destroy the Earth moon and not Goku. Also Goku PL when at full health in the 21st tournament is >10<180. So if he was at full health and got Ozaru then he would be PL 100+. By my calcs the Goku Ozaru would have been at PL 250 in the 21st tournament if he was at 100% health which none of the participants and RR army would have a chance with.
The participants and RR army soliders were all less than PL 100. Roshi was still somewhat rusty in the 21st tournament but he had to raise his PL for his Kamehamha to be enough to destroy the Earth moon. So his Kamehamha would have destroyed Ozaru Goku since his Kamehamha l would have had a PL of 650.
22nd Tournament(180) > 21st tournament > Fire mountain(Pilaf saga)
In the story, Goku was weakened by Roshi attack before he turned Ozaru so his Ozaru was weaker than it could have been at least until the ki could be gradually restored if he stayed in the form long enough. I said at the 21st tournament that Goku was at PL 25. Ozaru is PL×10 so 25×10=250. 650/250=2.6. If Ozaru Goku got his full ki back and then increased to PL×2.6 then he would have been able to survive Roshi Kamehamha. Either way, Roshi still needed his Kamehameha at the full power he could use at the time to destroy Earth moon. In the 21st tournament the participants were stronger than Goku when he had a PL of 10. This means Goku PL increased since Roshi trained him. Also after the 21st tournament there was the RR army saga where some of the RR fighters may have been as strong as the 21st tournament participants. General Blue was stronger than some of the RR army people but was slightly weaker than Goku was after the 21st tournament. Then General Tao was stronger than them both. The RR missile was stronger than General Tao and Goku(before the 22nd tournament).
Base PLs
Remember it takes years for them to get stronger depending on beginner gains and training. So any thing from 1.25× to 2× is a significant increase. Increases higher than 2× is because of either beginner gains from a training program or pushing themselves depending on what's shown etc. Even 1.01× to less than 1.25× is kind of significant,its just a lower increase.
Pilaf/21st tournament
Now i will show the PLs i came up with and i will explain them.
Goku PL 10 = Grandpa Gohan Training before Roshi.
After Roshi training =×1.5 Goku at 21st tournament PL 25 1.5× is higher than a 1.25× increase. This is significant for just 1yr because Goku had to get used to Roshi physical training. Could be PL 20 or PL 25, doesn't have to be exact.
21st tournament fighters
PL >5<25
RR army
Weren't a challenge for Goku
Goku got slightly stronger after 21st tournament since Roshi pushed his limits
25×1.2=30
Goku after 21st tournament = 30
Commander Red
Commander Red 10
Not a challenge for goku
Muscule tower saga
In muscle tower battles, this increased and tested Goku awareness, smarts and mind. His physical strength and ki didn't increase much before Korin training.
Goku vs FMJ
The robot could take Goku punches head on mostly but still fell over from Goku powerful punches. The robot was made of strong metal so its durabilty was high so it wasnt damaged much.
The robot also shot a missile that destroyed a part of the wall. This would have injured Goku. Goku then used a Kamehamha which blew off a part of robot head and body. The robot could still punch. Goku says he would have to use full power but robot ran out of batteries. Muscule tower looks to just be a tower made of bricks and metal. The hole made by the missle wasn't that large. So the missle was most likely just a few tons of tnt. Goku punches were around PL 30 which is 2300 tons of tnt. So this robot durability is stronger than his missile yield.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/cNIwDUd
Robot base PL is 30
Goku Kamehamha so about PL 60 , if Goku Kamehamha is PL ×2. 30×2=60. Goku Kamehamha went through the robot but didnt explode. So the robot would have blown up if the Kamehamha exploded.
PL 60 = 4.6 kilotons = 4600 tons of tnt
Goku vs ninja
Goku was faster,stronger and more powerful than ninja.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/9tLvE6Q
Ninja = 14
Goku vs monster
Monster skin is very durable
Was able to literally bounce off Goku punches and Kamehamha.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/on49EkY
Monster = 15
Goku vs White
White punched Goku and Goku wasn't hurt so Goku is 2× White.
Commander White 12.5 Goku 20
Then White used a hyper gun that knocked the wind out of Goku. Much more powerful than Bulma gun when Goku first met Bulma.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/i6xSlt0
Android 8
Android 8 was shot by the hyper gun but wasn't hurt much. Android 8 punched White out of the tower. Goku says Eigher punches was more powerful than his own.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/0E0Xipn
So Android 8 was the most powerful in strength in Muscule Tower.
Android 8 = 35
Commander Blue saga
Blue vs Krillin
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/sbV8bf0
Blue vs Goku
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/ENda7yo
Blue got punched by Goku but was able to get back up. So he is at least close to Goku in power. Krillin says that Goku may have gotten stronger since last tournament. Goku only got slightly stronger. Blue had also punched Krillin and Krillin made his nose bleed before Goku came. Blue still had to use telekinesis on Goku and Krillin just to try to finish them off. He PL is somewhere between PL 20 and PL 30. He isn't as strong as Android 8 or muscule tower robot in physical strength.
Commander Blue = 25
General Tao
Tao beats Goku up easily. Goku charges and Tao kicks Goku. Tao thinks Goku should have died from that. Goku uses a Kamehamha that engulfed Tao but the Kamehamha also went past him. Also notice how Tao had to cross his arms to defend against it. All it did was burn off some of his clothes. The Kamehamha didnt explode on him though. So Tao just wasn't harmed by the heat of the ki particles. He didn't take the energy of all the ki particles. The Kamehamha would have still hurt him or killed him if it exploded. So we cant say he is 2× more powerful than Goku when Goku wasn't shown to even hit the guy or that the Kamehamha didn't explode on him.
The speed that Tao shot the Dodon ray sent Goku flying. The dragonball saved Goku. So the ray would have went right through Goku but it couldn't penetrate the dragonball. It doesn't take much of a gap in power to beat an opponent.
Tao is most likely around about 40 in powerlevel. Tao = 40
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/9JL7BrU
Goku after Korin training
Took Goku 3 days to train with Korin
Goku climed Korin tower and trained with Korin. Goku learned to move faster and read his oppoenents movements instead of reacting. It took Goku 1 day to climb the tower the first time. It took Goku three hours when training with Korin. Korin says the the sacred water was just normal water. Also that Goku strength was multiplied by alot.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/gV70t1t
Goku vs Tao rematch
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/ST2AFny
Goku could punch and dodge. Tao says he will get serious. Goku could still hurt Tao. Then Tao says he will get more serious.
Tao uses his dodon ray and Goku lets it hit his palm. Goku isnt sent flying back by its speed like before. Tao is scared.
Goku allows Tao to hit him more to see his moves. Goku gets up but was still hurt by Tao hits but not much. So Goku is still less than 2× more powerful than Tao.
Tao also uses a grenade but Goku kicks it and it explodes on Tao. Grenades usually push shrapnel at high velocities through the opponent to kill the target. The grenade explosion itself isn't that powerful. "Fragmentation grenades are common in armies. They are weapons that are designed to disperse fragments on detonation, aimed to damage targets within as the lethal and injury radii. The body is generally made of a hard synthetic material or steel, which will provide some fragmentation as shards and splinters, though in modern grenades a pre-formed fragmentation matrix is often used. The pre-formed fragmentation may be spherical, cuboid, wire or notched wire. Most AP grenades are designed to detonate either after a time delay or on impact.[1]
When the word grenade is used without specification, and context does not suggest otherwise, it is generally assumed to refer to a fragmentation grenade.
Fragmentation grenades can be divided into two main types, defensive and offensive, where the former are designed to be used from a position of cover (e.g. in a slit trench or behind a suitable wall) against an open area outside, and have an effective kill radius greater than the distance they can be thrown; while the latter are for use by assaulting troops, and have a smaller effective radius."(wiki grenades)
Goku after Korin training = 50
50/30=1.6×
Goku got 1.6× stronger when training with Korin
RR missile
RR missile (can be anywhere between 21st tournament Roshi and Pilaf saga Ozaru Goku but i would think it's stronger than Tao since it's one of the RR strongest weapons, so it should be between PL 600 and PL 720).
22nd tournament = PL 180
3 yrs inbetween Fortune Babba saga and 22nd tournament
Goku trains for 3yrs after Fortune Babba saga and gets 3.6× stronger. So he got 1.2× stronger each year if it's an even increase. Most likely beacuse of greater gains for his intense training for the 22nd tournament.
180/50=3.6× 3.6/3=1.2×
DKP saga
Then Goku drinks the posion water and increases to PL 260.
PL 260 = 20 kilotons = Youth DKP
Other PLs
100%(base) PLs
PL 10=0.77 kilotons =.00077 megatons = 7.7×10-4
Slightly higher than:
5×10−4 megatons: "A real 0.5-kilotonne-of-TNT (2.1 TJ) charge at Operation Sailor Hat. If the charge were a full sphere, it would be 1 kilotonne of TNT (4.2 TJ)."(wiki tnt equivalent)
"After the first test, the large crater the explosion gouged into the bedrock was filled with sand to minimize secondary damage caused by rock ejecta. Over this crater another of dome of TNT blocks were built for the second test. This was repeated for the third test."(amusing planet)
"Meanwhile on Kahoʻolawe, the crater left by the third blast remained unfilled and slowly as the ecosystem healed, a small anchialine or landlocked pond formed with an underground connection to the ocean. The “Sailor's Hat” crater is now home to two endemic species of shrimps."(amusing planet)
Sailor Hat crater is made from three 500 tons of tnt domes. The crater is between 164ft and 290ft depending on the sources. Average length would be 227ft. Then divide 227 by three since they was detonated at the same location. That means one 500 ton tnt dome would make about a 76ft long crater on that island. That crater is as long as the 50ft crater produced by a low yield battleship shell of 7.7 kilotons which is 10× more powerful. The reason for this is because the Sailor Hat dome was already 34ft long. Also it would explode differently than a shell.
Goku Kamehamha at PL 10 would create a crater less than 76ft depending on terrain since the Kamehamha is not a 34ft dome.
PL 15= 1.16 kilotons = 0.00116 megatons = 1.16×10-3
PL 25 = 1.9 kilotons = 0.0019 megatons = 1.9×10- 3 = Goku at 21st tournament.
PL 30 = 2.3 kilotons = 0.0023 megatons=2300 tons of tnt
1.9 kilotons is Slightly higher than 1.8×10-3 kilotons =" Estimated yield of the Beirut explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate[22] that killed initially 137 at and near a Lebanese port at 6 p.m. local time Tuesday August 4, 2020.[23]"(wiki tnt equivalent)
PL 50 = 3.85 kilotons= 0.00385 megatons 3.85×10-3 megatons
Slighty lower than:
PL 52.6 = " 4×10-3 megatons = Minor Scale, a 1985 United States conventional explosion, using 4,744 tons of ANFO explosive to provide a scaled equivalent airblast of an eight kiloton (33.44 TJ) nuclear device,[28] is believed to be the largest planned detonation of conventional explosives in history."(wiki tnt equivalent)
PL 100= 7.7 kilotons = 0.0077 megatons = a low yield battleship gun(Ozaru Goku Pilaf saga) 7.7×10-3 kilotons
(7.7×103) ÷ (4×10-3)= 1.9
About 1.9× more powerful than Minor Scale explosion.
PL 180 = 13.86 kilotons =0.0139 megatons 1.39×10-2 megatons
About 1.8 more powerful than PL 100.
Roshi, Goku and Tien full power at 22nd tournament = PL 180.
PL 260 = 20 kilotons =0.02 megatons = 2×10-2 = Big Boy atomic bomb= DKP youth full power.
1.4× more powerful than PL 180. Ki attack PLs (PL ×4)
Goku PL 10×4 = PL 40 Goku Kamehamha PL 40
Goku Kamehamha 4×10=40
PL 40 = 3 kilotons = 0.003 megatons = 3×10-3 megatons =1.255×1013 J
If Goku Kamehamha exploded then it would be slighty more than this:
2.9×10−3 = "The Halifax Explosion in 1917 was the accidental detonation of 200 tons of TNT and 2,300 tons of Picric acid[26]"(wiki tnt equivalent)
PL 600
PL 600= 46.2 kilotons
A relatively large mountain like MT. Frypan needs alot more yield than 20 kilotons to be destroyed. This is around where the RR missle yield is.
Roshi PL Mount Frypan = 600 Roshi PL when using the Kamehamha= 600/4= 150 Remeber dbz character get lower their PLs to near zero so he didn't always let it stay this high. It just climbed to 150 before that attack. Same with the other Kamehamha.
PL 650
PL 650 = 50 kilotons Roshi PL when using the Kamehamha = 650/4=162.5 Roshi Kamehamha PL at Earth Moon = 650 Roshi PL when at 21st tournament(using Kamehamha so not holding back for Goku). He may have trained a little during the one year of training Goku and Krillin. So he didn't get that much stronger.
Roshi 100% PL when at 21st tournament(using Kamehamha so not holding back for Goku). Roshi 100% PL = PL 650/4=162.5
PL 684
PL 684= Tien Tri beam PL
PL 684 = 52.6 kilotons
Tien PL when using Tri beam = PL 171 =5% of 180 Tien Tri beam PL = 171×4=684
PLs explanations for OG DB
Before saying "Oh no its too low for RR saga and OG DB" let me remind you that PL 10, PL 15, PL 25 and 50 aren't "weak". They are just weak compared to Roshi.
I went over this somewhat in the Roshi Kamehamha yield debunk but i will add more PLs on it and explain why i chose them. I will show the PL movie pamplets mistakes.
Goku Goal in OG DB
Goku main goal from since he saw Roshi destroy Mount Frypan to the 22nd tournament was to surpass or be on par with Roshi. So he basically wanted to be powerful enough where his Kamehamha would have enough power to destroy a mountain as large as Mt.Frypan. So everyone from the beginning of OG DB, 21st tournament saga and to the 22nd tournament(except Goku and Tien at 22nd) was weaker than Roshi. Reaching Roshi power was the main goal of the story till they reached him in the 22nd tournament.
Roshi Kamehamha
Roshi Kamehamha was much stronger than Goku PL 10 Kamehamha. Roshi mastered the Kamehamha and was a mountain level being. So he had enough ki for his Kamehamha to have as much yield or more than the RR missle before meeting Goku. It took him 50yrs to create, learn and master the Kamehamha. Throughout the show until 22nd tournament, Roshi was just training to get back to what his PL was before he got rusty while training his pupils. Fans just assume that Roshi used PL 180 Kamehamha to destroy the Earth moon because his full power is 180 in the 22nd tournament. They forget that at the 21st tournament he was still rusty compared to how he used to be and his full power would still be less than 180. It just takes him longer to use and maintain his ki in a Kamehamha until he isn't as rusty anymore. So he took a shorter time to use the Kamehamha to destroy Earth moon in 21st tournament than MT Frypan since he was less rusty after one year. Also even if using PL×4 then his full power would be PL 45 since 45×4=180. That's not the case though which i will explain later on.
Him being rusty and already stronger than anyone before 22nd tournament made it seem like he got more powerful as he trained secretly. He probably did but not by much since he was already very powerful. He was just more powerful than anyone else already. This is also why he mistakenly used too much power to blow away the flames of Mount Frypan and ended up blowing up the mountain instead. That's why he didn't train much before the 21st and then started to train more for the 22nd tournament. Goku took around 4 years(1 yr Roshi training and 3yrs after Fortunteller Babba) and the years with Grandpa Gohan to get as powerful as Roshi had already been. Tien went to the Crane school and trained there until the 22nd tournament to get as powerful as Roshi. So it took many years for him as well.
22nd Tournament(180) > 21st tournament > Fire mountain(Pilaf saga)
Mountain, Earth Moon, Tien Tri beam and castle PL explanations
To destroy the mountain and castle, the Kamehamha from Roshi had to be alot more powerful than PL 100 which was Goku Ozaru before the 21st tournament. In my Roshi ki yield debunk post i said that Mt Frypan was about 400ft to 1000ft tall. The Ox King Castle is shown ontop of the mountain. A more closer estimation can be obtained.
In manga
Scans in manga of MT.Frypan/ Ox King house
https://imgur.com/a/hmZnjlT
https://imgur.com/a/0B1vv1j
The Ox King "castle" is just a 3 story house with a brick wall surrounding it. A 3 story house is about 30ft tall without the roof. A roof is about 10ft tall. So its most likely about 40ft tall with the roof. Then its about 20 more feet with the tower. So about 60ft in total.
"A house with 3 stories has a height of approximately 30 feet without the roof. Depending on the slope and the structure of a roof, an average 3 story house has a roof that is 10-12 feet high, which adds to the overall height of the building. It is important to note that the higher the house is, the thicker and deeper the floor area since the floor of an upper story also works as a ceiling to the story below."(weekendbuilds)
The towers that make up the brick wall are about 40ft tall. In manga the mountain looks to be about 10× taller than the Ox King castle including pillars. So Mt Frypan is about 600ft tall.
In anime
Ox King castle/Mt Frypan
https://imgur.com/a/Y0fGtw7
Arena and Fire mountain scan:
https://imgur.com/a/Nq1v8mx
Also we see how large the mountain is during the anime:
Scan of my drawing. I drew the red lines to show the height of Mt.Frypan.
https://imgur.com/a/peWocsV
Ox King castle is the same length and height as in manga. The mountain looks to be at least 10× taller than the castle but Mt Frypan was on a hill(in anime) which made the mountain look larger than it was. Ox King Old castle is about 30ft long and 60ft tall. MT Frypan is still about 600ft tall.
Power to Destroy Ox King old "castle"
"Key
PL 260 = 20 kilotons
Lower PLs and yields
PL 0 = 0 kilotons PL 1×1.3-8 = 1 gram tnt =4184 J=1×10-9 kilotons PL 0.013 = 1 ton TNT = 0.001 kilotons =1×10-6 megatons PL 0.143 = MOAB 11tons TNT = 0.011 PL 1 = 0.077 kilotons = 7.7×10-5 megatons PL 2 = 0.15 kilotons PL 2.5 = 0.19 kilotons (smallest yield of atomic weapon)(suitcase nuclear device) PL 5 = 0.38 kilotons
Pilaf/R21st tournament/ 22nd tournament saga
PL 10 = 0.75 kilotons = 0.00075 megatons = 7.5×10-4 megatons PL 11.25 =.86 kilotons PL 13 = 1 kiloton PL 22.5 =1.74 kilotons PL 26 = 2 kilotons (largest yield of suitcase nuclear device) PL 40 = 3 kilotons = 0.003 megatons = 3×10-3 megatons =1.255×1013 J PL 45 = 3.47 kilotons PL 50 = 3.85 kilotons PL 52 = 4 kilotons = 4,000 tons of tnt PL 90 = 7.14 kilotons PL 100= 7.5 kilotons = 0.0075 megatons PL 130 = 10 kilotons PL 180 = 13.8 kilotons =0.0138 megatons = 3.8×10-3 = 13,800 tons of tnt (Roshi,Tien,Goku) PL 200 = 15 kilotons (Little Boy)
King Piccolo saga
PL 260 = 20 kilotons (Fat Man)(King Piccolo) PL 360= 27 kilotons PL 720 = 54 kilotons PL 910 = 70 kilotons PL 1040 = 80 kilotons =0.08 megatons PL 1664 = 128 kilotons =0.128 megatons
As we can see from the chart:
PL 1×1.3-8 = 1 gram tnt =4184 J=1×10-9 kilotons PL 0.013 = 1 ton TNT = 0.001 kilotons =1×10-6 megatons PL 0.143 = MOAB 11tons TNT = 0.011
MOAB is the Mother of All Bombs, the largest yield Conventional weapon that's not nuclear that was made on our Earth. Also there is 1 ton of TNT and 1 gram. Notice how all of these yields are between a PL of 1×1.3-8 to PL 0.143."
Ox King castle isn't anywhere near strong enough to survive MOAB. It's a structure that is 30ft across and about 60ft tall made of concrete or stone bricks.
Oklahoma bombing
The federal building was basically a concrete structure made of metal and bricks.
"At 9:02 a.m. (14:02 UTC), the Ryder truck, containing over 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg)[67] of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture, detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building."
"One third of the building was destroyed by the explosion,[68] which created a 30-foot-wide (9.1 m), 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) crater on NW 5th Street next to the building.[69] The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 4-block radius, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings.[3][4]"
"The effects of the blast were equivalent to over 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of TNT,[58][73] and could be heard and felt up to 55 miles (89 km) away.[71] Seismometers at the Omniplex Science Museum in Oklahoma City, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) away, and in Norman, Oklahoma, 16.1 miles (25.9 km) away, recorded the blast as measuring approximately 3.0 on the Richter magnitude scale.[74]
The collapse of the northern half of the building took roughly 7 seconds. As the truck exploded, it first destroyed the column next to it, designated as G20, and shattered the entire glass facade of the building. The shockwave of the explosion forced the lower floors upwards, before the fourth and fifth floors collapsed onto the third floor, which housed a transfer beam that ran the length of the building and was being supported by four pillars below and was supporting the pillars that hold the upper floors. The added weight meant that the third floor gave way along with the transfer beam, which in turn caused the collapse of the building.[75]"
The building was at least 300ft across, 100ft wide and 90ft tall. Since a story is usually 10-14ft tall. A 5,000 lb tnt bomb(2.5 tons of tnt) made a 30ft wide and 8ft deep crater. The shockwave and damage basically blew up half of that building. Ox King "castle" is much smaller than that building. Ox King Old castle is about 30ft long and 60ft tall. So a 2.5 ton bomb would make Ox King house into a crater. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture blow up differently than tnt but its still the same equivalent its just different properties etc. Ki creates more heat than the same amount of tnt though.
Destroying Mount Frypan
Roshi Kamehamha went inside the mountain and then exploded. The amount of energy of the explosion produced shockwaves, fireball,heat etc that blew the mountain apart. Parts of the castle and mountain remained on the ground. So the crater itself wouldn't have been that large realtively compared to the hole created when Piccolo 1st SBC blew up a hole in a even larger mountain. Roshi Kamehamha crater would be alot larger than a low yield battleship shell crater. It would take more energy to blow up the mountain from the inside because of the rock being crushed under the weight of the rocks above it.
2.5 tons of tnt is 0.0025 kilotons and creates a 30ft wide and 8ft deep crater in concrete. PL 100(7.7 kilotons, 7,700 tons of tnt) is the destructive power of low tier battle ships main gun. A certain shell from a battleship makes a crater about 50ft wide and 20ft deep on shore ground. PL 180 (13.8 kilotons,0.0138 megatons, 3.8×10-3 megatons or 13,800 tons of tnt) wouldnt do much of anything to Mt.Frypan an attack was detonated in the middle. MT. Frypan is about 600ft tall. This is a small mountain compared to others but it would still take alot more than 13.8 kilotons to destroy. Obviously compacted sedimentary rock within a mountain is harder than concrete on the surface. Also there was parts of the mountain and some of the house was left. The Kamehamha explosion incinerated some of the rock from the fireball created and the force and shockwaves blew out some other rocks in all directions. Roshi aimed his Kamehamha in about the middle of the mountain. The mountain is basically a cone shape and all we know is the height of the mountain and how long it is from the sides. We don't know the radius,diameter, volume,area or circumference of it. Luckily the castle is in a cut out portion of the mountain. So we can calculate that circle. The house is about 30ft across. The house is closer to one part of the fence than the other. On the side farthest from the fence is about 15ft across and the side closest is about 5ft across. This gives a total of about 50ft across for the fence. In the anime there is a huge wall going around the edge of the mountain and in the manga this isn't there. This doesn't make too much of a difference since the huge wall is only about 5ft thick. The square wall is about 15ft away from the edges of the mountain going across on both sides. So this makes the entire circle of the mountain that the castle is on to be about 80ft across. This means the radius is 40ft across at the circle and diameter is 80ft. So it would be 80ft in all directions. So that top part of the mountain would be 80ft thick. Since the mountain is a cone then the measurements of the circle will gradually increase as we travel down the mountain. Remember the mountain is 600ft high. The top part of the mountain looked like it was cut. This cut part to the base of the mountain is a height of 600ft. The top cone of the mountain,if it wasn't excavated to build the house, would have been about 60ft tall. This would make the mountain originally 660ft tall before it was cut. The base is about twice as long which is 1,320 ft. So the mountain is 600ft high and 1,320 ft at the base. So the circle at the base would be 1,320ft across and 1,320ft thick. If the house was made in the middle of the mountain then the excavated circle(which would be facing upwards) would be about 660ft across and about 660ft thick.
I will use the damage from the anime.
The mountain is 600ft tall. In the middle it is 660 ft across and 660 ft deep.
The crater(which would be facing forward like what Piccolo SBC made) that Roshi Kamehamha would have made would have been 660ft thick, more than 600ft wide and more than 660ft long but less than 1000 feet across. So the crater would have been about 660ft deep, 800 ft long and about 800 ft across.
There were still parts of the house and wall still intact and the fireball most likely burned some of it. Most of the energy went into the denser mountain rocks and blew up most of them which is also why some of the castle was still intact. This could happen because the Kamehamha had to have enough speed to boar into the middle of the mountain before exploding to create a crater that large. If it just blew up near the surface then the crater wouldn't be nearly that large since most craters are wider than they are deep as shown in the other instances above. At most it would look similar to when the RR missile hit the mountain.
PL ×4
Im going to be talking about what Roshi base PL was when he does the attacks when using the PL×4. Keep in mind though that Roshi buff form is just him letting out his overall power depending on how powerful he is at the time in the arc and we don't know his actual base PL in the arcs before the 22nd tournament, as i said i was estimating. Also remember when doing ki attacks they can only put enough ki in total that they have available and then compact it like how Goku did when used the Kamehamha against Raditz.
Anyway, It would also take more than 20 kilotons(PL 260) to destroy MT.Frypan the way Roshi did. It couldn't be more than PL 720 since in 22nd tournament they all was at 100% PL 180. Also 180×4=720 so that's Tien,Roshi and Goku PL×4 limit in 22nd. PL 720 is 55.4 kilotons or 55,400 tons of tnt. Tien used around 95% of his PL 180 to use Tri beam which is 171. Tien Tri beam PL was 171×4=684. PL 684 is 52.6 kilotons. Roshi basically says that that Tri beam was more powerful than the MAX Kamehamha or "any" Kamehamha. I explained more in-depth in the Roshi ki yield debunk. This means that 21st Roshi Kamehamha was not that far from Tien Tri beam though, so about PL 650. PL 650 is 50 kilotons or 50,000 tons of tnt. The Kamehamha that destroyed MT. Frypan wasn't too far from the 21st tournament Kamehamha so i put it as PL 600. This is also around what the RR missile yield would be since Roshi is the goal. PL 600 is 46.2 kilotons or 46,200 tons of tnt. So i divided the ki attacks by 4 to get Roshi full power at MT.Frypan to be PL 150 and Roshi full power(when not holding back for Goku in 21st tournament) to be PL 165. Just so you know:
The Sedan crater was 104 kilotons.
"The device had a diameter of 43 cm (17 in), length of 96.5 cm (38.0 in), and a weight of 212.2 kg (468 lb).[4]
The timing of the test put it within the Operation Storax fiscal year, but Sedan was functionally part of Operation Plowshare, and the test protocol was sponsored and conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with minimal involvement by the United States Department of Defense. The explosive device was lowered into a shaft drilled into the desert alluvium 194 m (636 ft) deep. The fusion-fission blast had a yield equivalent to 104 kilotons of TNT (435 terajoules) and lifted a dome of earth 90 m (300 ft) above the desert floor before it vented at three seconds after detonation, exploding upward and outward displacing more than 11,000,000 t (11,000,000 long tons; 12,000,000 short tons) of soil.[5] The resulting crater is 100 m (330 ft) deep with a diameter of about 390 m (1,280 ft)." (Sedan crater)
Roshi Kamehamha that he destroyed MT.Frypan with was around 46.2 kilotons. Thats about 2.3 × weaker than the Sedan nuclear experiment. This experiment is similar to how Roshi Kamehamha went inside the mountain and then exploded. Mountain rock would still be slightly harder than ground rock though but a ki blast with the yield of the bomb that made the sedan crater would have done alot more damage than Roshi Kamehamha.
Roshi moon Kamehamha
Roshi full power was about 162.5 when destroying the Earth moon. So his Kamehamha PL was 162.5/4=650 when destroying the moon. I say this since the Earth moon is actually relatively large. Also, it was harder for Roshi and Piccolo to destroy Earth moon because it has a relatively huge mantle for its size and mass so they would need more ki for a chain reaction to actually blow it up. The Earth moon core is only about 1% to 2% of the moon mass. The crust is about 1% of the moon mass. This means the mantle is about 98% of the moon mass.
"The moon very likely has a very small core, just 1% to 2% of the moon's mass and roughly 420 miles (680 km) wide. It likely consists mostly of iron, but may also contain large amounts of sulfur and other elements."(space)
Piccolo ki beam of PL 1312 caused a relatively faster chain reaction in Earth moon mantle than Roshi Kamehamha of PL 650. If the Earth moon was 67% mantle mass then it would take a smaller PL to cause a slow or fast chain reaction.
The information below will piggy back on why Roshi used more than 180 on his Kamehamha as well. After the years training for the 22nd tournament Roshi got back to his actual full power of 180. The Earth moon Kamehamha is only about 1.08× more powerful than the Kamehamha he used on MT.Frypan. During the a little more than 3yrs between the 21st and 22nd tournament it makes sense that Roshi only got 1.08× stronger since he was mostly bouncing back from a long traning layoff and got slightly stronger also. The RR missile was at least equal to a PL 600 to be able to destroy that much of a mountain which may have been as large as Mt.Frypan. Roshi just held back during the 21st tournament(except with the Kamehamha) and also the 22nd tournament when he fought Tien. Tien used at least 95% of his PL 180 for the Tri beam which is PL 171. He charged to PL ×4 which is PL 684. It surpassed Roshi MT. Frypan Kamehamha and his 21st tournament Kamehamha. Even before this, Roshi decided to leave the rest to the next generation because he knew Tien and Goku could carry his legacy. Also they were on par with him already after many years of training.
PL ×4 explanation
These are why i put in PL×4 for ki attacks. Roshi says "max" power so it could also mean just what he can use without charging to PL×4. So the Kamehamha could just be his full power of around >10<180. It looks like they all use 100% PL, PL ×2, PL ×3 and PL×4 during ki attacks. We didn't know they can charge to PL×4 until Raditz saga so they were also doing this in OG DB. Also most characters use more than their 100% PL for ki attacks. Also some 100% PLs wouldn't be enough to destroy some of the landmasses or objects as well.
Anyway, Earth moon is 1.2% Earth mass. We don't know how fast the chain reaction was that Roshi Kamehamha made. It could have been a few mins or a few secs. So Roshi could have used a PL 650 Kamehamha to destroy the moon.
Also we know anyone higher than Roshi 21st tournament can destroy the moon with a fast or slow chain reaction. Anyone lower can destroy the moon with a fast or slow chain reaction if enough ki is used.
2)Piccolo dbz
Piccolo destroys a part of a mountain that is about 2× as big as MT.Frypan with a SBC with a PL of 1330. Remember Roshi blew up MT.Frypan with some of its sides left intact with a Kamehamha PL of 600. That's about 2× apart. Piccolo destroys Earth moon with ki beam with PL 1312, faster chain reaction than Roshi. Roshi destroys Earth moon with Kamehamha PL of 650. Thats about 2× apart. The mountain that Piccolo blew a chunk out of was about 2× larger than Mt.Frypan. This still doesn't mean "2× PL = 2× larger mountain". I just happen to chose PL 650 for Roshi Kamehamha because of the reasons i mentioned before.
Link
https://www.kanzenshuu.com/battle-powedatabook/#d7-01
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing
https://weekendbuilds.com/how-tall-is-a-house/#:~:text=Report%20Ad-,How%20Tall%20Is%20a%20House%20With%203%20Stories%3F%20(With%20and,overall%20height%20of%20the%20building.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenade
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test)
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/05/operation-sailor-hat.html?m=1
submitted by Elim2 to PowerScaling2 [link] [comments]
Last post:
https://www.reddit.com/PowerScaling2/comments/xwi8k6/ki_beam_speeds_from_og_db_to_buu_saga_light_speed/
1) Roshi
I will explain why Roshi shot a PL 600 Kamehamha at Mt Frypan and a PL 650 at Earth moon. I will show why Roshi didn't use a PL 180 Kamehamha to destroy the Earth moon. It basically boils down to how PL180 isn't enough even with a chain reaction. My reasoning is because PL 180 wouldnt be enough to destroy MT.Frypan thus it wouldnt destroy Earth moon either.
Roshi is a mountain level character. All characters from OG Dragonball have 100% PLs from higher than zero to about less than 408. To destroy varying sizes and masses of mountains is anywhere from more than 10 kilotons to less than 10 kilotons. In my Roshi ki yield debunk post I said to destroy Earth moon is somewhere between PL 50 and 554 but we can get a more closer estimate.
PL movie pamplet mistakes
We don't know the exact 100% Roshi base PLs at the time or his maximum power at the time of the 21st tournament but i did make an educated estimation above. His base was less than 180 since he was 180 in the 22nd tournament. It is less than 139 though based on Kanzenshuu but that number is based on Roshi base PL in dbz. In my Roshi ki yield debunk i said the Kamehamha was less than PL 556. I said that because of 139×4=556. Now i noticed the "less than 139" is flawed. This is also why i put Roshi 21st Kamehamha PL at around PL 600. I will explain more below. The "PL 139" comes from when Bulma used Raditz scouter to measure Roshi PL. The pamplets say "less than 139" for Roshi before the 21st tournament because they estimated that Roshi would have been less than 139 in DBZ. They forget that in OG DB in 22nd tournament Roshi PL was 180. This means he either got weaker during the years between the 22nd tournament and after Raditz saga or his powerlevel was just at a comfortable level for him at the time of Bulma scanning him. When relaxed the characters base can settle around any number so it's not too realiable depending on the situation unless they actual charge up to their actual base PL. So without using "less than 139", then in OG DB Roshi 100% PL at 21st tournament could be anywhere from more than 10 to 180. His most powerful Kamehamha would have a PL of 720 in the 22nd tournament if he used PL×4 since 180×4=720.
If basing off the movie pamplets then his 100% power is somewhere between >100<139 since the pamplets show that the 21st tournament opponents are higher than 100. As i said the "less than 139" is unreliable.
In the actual show, the 21st tournament opponents are alot less than PL 100. Some relatively weak opponents aren't beating Ozaru Goku PL in a fight. Even just a PL 100 Goku would have been enough since he didn't get too much stronger in 1yr of Roshi training. I will explain why below.
Goku was PL 10 before his training with Roshi. So he got to PL 10 when training with Grandpa Gohan. Though even if he didn't train with Grandpa Gohan he most likely would have reached a PL higher than 10 on his own through surviving in the wilderness and aging. Goku could not have gotten 10× more powerful in the one year training with Roshi with that kind of training. On average they only get 1.5× or less powerful during a year depending on training, fights etc.
Also this quote:
"He already has twice the power of an ordinary person. What’s more, his body is tough enough to repel a gun bullet."(Kanzenshuu)
Goku was already twice the power of a normal human when he had PL of 10. Since average humans have PL 5, then they are talking about Goku being able to produce two times more ki energy than a normal human. Also remember that the 21st tournament participants were stronger than Goku PL 10 but not by too much. So i will just say that Goku got 1.5× stronger during Roshi training. This means Goku full power in 21st tournament was PL 25.
Also the movie pamplet says that General Blue was PL 180 in RR arc and Goku was PL 180 in 22nd tournament. Goku was alot less than 180 in RR arc so if General Blue was 180 then he would have beat Goku. It's also known that ki particles gradually increase when training even if the person can't use ki consciously shown with Hercule. That's how the 21st tournament participants were stronger than PL 10 Goku.
Also it doesn't matter what PL that Goku Ozaruu was since it's PL ×10. Just like when Frieza was aiming for Namek and used less than SS Goku PL to lead to Namek destruction. Roshi was aiming the Kamehamha to destroy the Earth moon and not Goku. Also Goku PL when at full health in the 21st tournament is >10<180. So if he was at full health and got Ozaru then he would be PL 100+. By my calcs the Goku Ozaru would have been at PL 250 in the 21st tournament if he was at 100% health which none of the participants and RR army would have a chance with.
The participants and RR army soliders were all less than PL 100. Roshi was still somewhat rusty in the 21st tournament but he had to raise his PL for his Kamehamha to be enough to destroy the Earth moon. So his Kamehamha would have destroyed Ozaru Goku since his Kamehamha l would have had a PL of 650.
22nd Tournament(180) > 21st tournament > Fire mountain(Pilaf saga)
In the story, Goku was weakened by Roshi attack before he turned Ozaru so his Ozaru was weaker than it could have been at least until the ki could be gradually restored if he stayed in the form long enough. I said at the 21st tournament that Goku was at PL 25. Ozaru is PL×10 so 25×10=250. 650/250=2.6. If Ozaru Goku got his full ki back and then increased to PL×2.6 then he would have been able to survive Roshi Kamehamha. Either way, Roshi still needed his Kamehameha at the full power he could use at the time to destroy Earth moon. In the 21st tournament the participants were stronger than Goku when he had a PL of 10. This means Goku PL increased since Roshi trained him. Also after the 21st tournament there was the RR army saga where some of the RR fighters may have been as strong as the 21st tournament participants. General Blue was stronger than some of the RR army people but was slightly weaker than Goku was after the 21st tournament. Then General Tao was stronger than them both. The RR missile was stronger than General Tao and Goku(before the 22nd tournament).
Base PLs
Remember it takes years for them to get stronger depending on beginner gains and training. So any thing from 1.25× to 2× is a significant increase. Increases higher than 2× is because of either beginner gains from a training program or pushing themselves depending on what's shown etc. Even 1.01× to less than 1.25× is kind of significant,its just a lower increase.
Pilaf/21st tournament
Now i will show the PLs i came up with and i will explain them.
Goku PL 10 = Grandpa Gohan Training before Roshi.
After Roshi training =×1.5 Goku at 21st tournament PL 25 1.5× is higher than a 1.25× increase. This is significant for just 1yr because Goku had to get used to Roshi physical training. Could be PL 20 or PL 25, doesn't have to be exact.
21st tournament fighters
PL >5<25
RR army
Weren't a challenge for Goku
Goku got slightly stronger after 21st tournament since Roshi pushed his limits
25×1.2=30
Goku after 21st tournament = 30
Commander Red
Commander Red 10
Not a challenge for goku
Muscule tower saga
In muscle tower battles, this increased and tested Goku awareness, smarts and mind. His physical strength and ki didn't increase much before Korin training.
Goku vs FMJ
The robot could take Goku punches head on mostly but still fell over from Goku powerful punches. The robot was made of strong metal so its durabilty was high so it wasnt damaged much.
The robot also shot a missile that destroyed a part of the wall. This would have injured Goku. Goku then used a Kamehamha which blew off a part of robot head and body. The robot could still punch. Goku says he would have to use full power but robot ran out of batteries. Muscule tower looks to just be a tower made of bricks and metal. The hole made by the missle wasn't that large. So the missle was most likely just a few tons of tnt. Goku punches were around PL 30 which is 2300 tons of tnt. So this robot durability is stronger than his missile yield.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/cNIwDUd
Robot base PL is 30
Goku Kamehamha so about PL 60 , if Goku Kamehamha is PL ×2. 30×2=60. Goku Kamehamha went through the robot but didnt explode. So the robot would have blown up if the Kamehamha exploded.
PL 60 = 4.6 kilotons = 4600 tons of tnt
Goku vs ninja
Goku was faster,stronger and more powerful than ninja.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/9tLvE6Q
Ninja = 14
Goku vs monster
Monster skin is very durable
Was able to literally bounce off Goku punches and Kamehamha.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/on49EkY
Monster = 15
Goku vs White
White punched Goku and Goku wasn't hurt so Goku is 2× White.
Commander White 12.5 Goku 20
Then White used a hyper gun that knocked the wind out of Goku. Much more powerful than Bulma gun when Goku first met Bulma.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/i6xSlt0
Android 8
Android 8 was shot by the hyper gun but wasn't hurt much. Android 8 punched White out of the tower. Goku says Eigher punches was more powerful than his own.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/0E0Xipn
So Android 8 was the most powerful in strength in Muscule Tower.
Android 8 = 35
Commander Blue saga
Blue vs Krillin
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/sbV8bf0
Blue vs Goku
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/ENda7yo
Blue got punched by Goku but was able to get back up. So he is at least close to Goku in power. Krillin says that Goku may have gotten stronger since last tournament. Goku only got slightly stronger. Blue had also punched Krillin and Krillin made his nose bleed before Goku came. Blue still had to use telekinesis on Goku and Krillin just to try to finish them off. He PL is somewhere between PL 20 and PL 30. He isn't as strong as Android 8 or muscule tower robot in physical strength.
Commander Blue = 25
General Tao
Tao beats Goku up easily. Goku charges and Tao kicks Goku. Tao thinks Goku should have died from that. Goku uses a Kamehamha that engulfed Tao but the Kamehamha also went past him. Also notice how Tao had to cross his arms to defend against it. All it did was burn off some of his clothes. The Kamehamha didnt explode on him though. So Tao just wasn't harmed by the heat of the ki particles. He didn't take the energy of all the ki particles. The Kamehamha would have still hurt him or killed him if it exploded. So we cant say he is 2× more powerful than Goku when Goku wasn't shown to even hit the guy or that the Kamehamha didn't explode on him.
The speed that Tao shot the Dodon ray sent Goku flying. The dragonball saved Goku. So the ray would have went right through Goku but it couldn't penetrate the dragonball. It doesn't take much of a gap in power to beat an opponent.
Tao is most likely around about 40 in powerlevel. Tao = 40
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/9JL7BrU
Goku after Korin training
Took Goku 3 days to train with Korin
Goku climed Korin tower and trained with Korin. Goku learned to move faster and read his oppoenents movements instead of reacting. It took Goku 1 day to climb the tower the first time. It took Goku three hours when training with Korin. Korin says the the sacred water was just normal water. Also that Goku strength was multiplied by alot.
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/gV70t1t
Goku vs Tao rematch
Scan:
https://imgur.com/a/ST2AFny
Goku could punch and dodge. Tao says he will get serious. Goku could still hurt Tao. Then Tao says he will get more serious.
Tao uses his dodon ray and Goku lets it hit his palm. Goku isnt sent flying back by its speed like before. Tao is scared.
Goku allows Tao to hit him more to see his moves. Goku gets up but was still hurt by Tao hits but not much. So Goku is still less than 2× more powerful than Tao.
Tao also uses a grenade but Goku kicks it and it explodes on Tao. Grenades usually push shrapnel at high velocities through the opponent to kill the target. The grenade explosion itself isn't that powerful. "Fragmentation grenades are common in armies. They are weapons that are designed to disperse fragments on detonation, aimed to damage targets within as the lethal and injury radii. The body is generally made of a hard synthetic material or steel, which will provide some fragmentation as shards and splinters, though in modern grenades a pre-formed fragmentation matrix is often used. The pre-formed fragmentation may be spherical, cuboid, wire or notched wire. Most AP grenades are designed to detonate either after a time delay or on impact.[1]
When the word grenade is used without specification, and context does not suggest otherwise, it is generally assumed to refer to a fragmentation grenade.
Fragmentation grenades can be divided into two main types, defensive and offensive, where the former are designed to be used from a position of cover (e.g. in a slit trench or behind a suitable wall) against an open area outside, and have an effective kill radius greater than the distance they can be thrown; while the latter are for use by assaulting troops, and have a smaller effective radius."(wiki grenades)
Goku after Korin training = 50
50/30=1.6×
Goku got 1.6× stronger when training with Korin
RR missile
RR missile (can be anywhere between 21st tournament Roshi and Pilaf saga Ozaru Goku but i would think it's stronger than Tao since it's one of the RR strongest weapons, so it should be between PL 600 and PL 720).
22nd tournament = PL 180
3 yrs inbetween Fortune Babba saga and 22nd tournament
Goku trains for 3yrs after Fortune Babba saga and gets 3.6× stronger. So he got 1.2× stronger each year if it's an even increase. Most likely beacuse of greater gains for his intense training for the 22nd tournament.
180/50=3.6× 3.6/3=1.2×
DKP saga
Then Goku drinks the posion water and increases to PL 260.
PL 260 = 20 kilotons = Youth DKP
Other PLs
100%(base) PLs
PL 10=0.77 kilotons =.00077 megatons = 7.7×10-4
Slightly higher than:
5×10−4 megatons: "A real 0.5-kilotonne-of-TNT (2.1 TJ) charge at Operation Sailor Hat. If the charge were a full sphere, it would be 1 kilotonne of TNT (4.2 TJ)."(wiki tnt equivalent)
"After the first test, the large crater the explosion gouged into the bedrock was filled with sand to minimize secondary damage caused by rock ejecta. Over this crater another of dome of TNT blocks were built for the second test. This was repeated for the third test."(amusing planet)
"Meanwhile on Kahoʻolawe, the crater left by the third blast remained unfilled and slowly as the ecosystem healed, a small anchialine or landlocked pond formed with an underground connection to the ocean. The “Sailor's Hat” crater is now home to two endemic species of shrimps."(amusing planet)
Sailor Hat crater is made from three 500 tons of tnt domes. The crater is between 164ft and 290ft depending on the sources. Average length would be 227ft. Then divide 227 by three since they was detonated at the same location. That means one 500 ton tnt dome would make about a 76ft long crater on that island. That crater is as long as the 50ft crater produced by a low yield battleship shell of 7.7 kilotons which is 10× more powerful. The reason for this is because the Sailor Hat dome was already 34ft long. Also it would explode differently than a shell.
Goku Kamehamha at PL 10 would create a crater less than 76ft depending on terrain since the Kamehamha is not a 34ft dome.
PL 15= 1.16 kilotons = 0.00116 megatons = 1.16×10-3
PL 25 = 1.9 kilotons = 0.0019 megatons = 1.9×10- 3 = Goku at 21st tournament.
PL 30 = 2.3 kilotons = 0.0023 megatons=2300 tons of tnt
1.9 kilotons is Slightly higher than 1.8×10-3 kilotons =" Estimated yield of the Beirut explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate[22] that killed initially 137 at and near a Lebanese port at 6 p.m. local time Tuesday August 4, 2020.[23]"(wiki tnt equivalent)
PL 50 = 3.85 kilotons= 0.00385 megatons 3.85×10-3 megatons
Slighty lower than:
PL 52.6 = " 4×10-3 megatons = Minor Scale, a 1985 United States conventional explosion, using 4,744 tons of ANFO explosive to provide a scaled equivalent airblast of an eight kiloton (33.44 TJ) nuclear device,[28] is believed to be the largest planned detonation of conventional explosives in history."(wiki tnt equivalent)
PL 100= 7.7 kilotons = 0.0077 megatons = a low yield battleship gun(Ozaru Goku Pilaf saga) 7.7×10-3 kilotons
(7.7×103) ÷ (4×10-3)= 1.9
About 1.9× more powerful than Minor Scale explosion.
PL 180 = 13.86 kilotons =0.0139 megatons 1.39×10-2 megatons
About 1.8 more powerful than PL 100.
Roshi, Goku and Tien full power at 22nd tournament = PL 180.
PL 260 = 20 kilotons =0.02 megatons = 2×10-2 = Big Boy atomic bomb= DKP youth full power.
1.4× more powerful than PL 180. Ki attack PLs (PL ×4)
Goku PL 10×4 = PL 40 Goku Kamehamha PL 40
Goku Kamehamha 4×10=40
PL 40 = 3 kilotons = 0.003 megatons = 3×10-3 megatons =1.255×1013 J
If Goku Kamehamha exploded then it would be slighty more than this:
2.9×10−3 = "The Halifax Explosion in 1917 was the accidental detonation of 200 tons of TNT and 2,300 tons of Picric acid[26]"(wiki tnt equivalent)
PL 600
PL 600= 46.2 kilotons
A relatively large mountain like MT. Frypan needs alot more yield than 20 kilotons to be destroyed. This is around where the RR missle yield is.
Roshi PL Mount Frypan = 600 Roshi PL when using the Kamehamha= 600/4= 150 Remeber dbz character get lower their PLs to near zero so he didn't always let it stay this high. It just climbed to 150 before that attack. Same with the other Kamehamha.
PL 650
PL 650 = 50 kilotons Roshi PL when using the Kamehamha = 650/4=162.5 Roshi Kamehamha PL at Earth Moon = 650 Roshi PL when at 21st tournament(using Kamehamha so not holding back for Goku). He may have trained a little during the one year of training Goku and Krillin. So he didn't get that much stronger.
Roshi 100% PL when at 21st tournament(using Kamehamha so not holding back for Goku). Roshi 100% PL = PL 650/4=162.5
PL 684
PL 684= Tien Tri beam PL
PL 684 = 52.6 kilotons
Tien PL when using Tri beam = PL 171 =5% of 180 Tien Tri beam PL = 171×4=684
PLs explanations for OG DB
Before saying "Oh no its too low for RR saga and OG DB" let me remind you that PL 10, PL 15, PL 25 and 50 aren't "weak". They are just weak compared to Roshi.
I went over this somewhat in the Roshi Kamehamha yield debunk but i will add more PLs on it and explain why i chose them. I will show the PL movie pamplets mistakes.
Goku Goal in OG DB
Goku main goal from since he saw Roshi destroy Mount Frypan to the 22nd tournament was to surpass or be on par with Roshi. So he basically wanted to be powerful enough where his Kamehamha would have enough power to destroy a mountain as large as Mt.Frypan. So everyone from the beginning of OG DB, 21st tournament saga and to the 22nd tournament(except Goku and Tien at 22nd) was weaker than Roshi. Reaching Roshi power was the main goal of the story till they reached him in the 22nd tournament.
Roshi Kamehamha
Roshi Kamehamha was much stronger than Goku PL 10 Kamehamha. Roshi mastered the Kamehamha and was a mountain level being. So he had enough ki for his Kamehamha to have as much yield or more than the RR missle before meeting Goku. It took him 50yrs to create, learn and master the Kamehamha. Throughout the show until 22nd tournament, Roshi was just training to get back to what his PL was before he got rusty while training his pupils. Fans just assume that Roshi used PL 180 Kamehamha to destroy the Earth moon because his full power is 180 in the 22nd tournament. They forget that at the 21st tournament he was still rusty compared to how he used to be and his full power would still be less than 180. It just takes him longer to use and maintain his ki in a Kamehamha until he isn't as rusty anymore. So he took a shorter time to use the Kamehamha to destroy Earth moon in 21st tournament than MT Frypan since he was less rusty after one year. Also even if using PL×4 then his full power would be PL 45 since 45×4=180. That's not the case though which i will explain later on.
Him being rusty and already stronger than anyone before 22nd tournament made it seem like he got more powerful as he trained secretly. He probably did but not by much since he was already very powerful. He was just more powerful than anyone else already. This is also why he mistakenly used too much power to blow away the flames of Mount Frypan and ended up blowing up the mountain instead. That's why he didn't train much before the 21st and then started to train more for the 22nd tournament. Goku took around 4 years(1 yr Roshi training and 3yrs after Fortunteller Babba) and the years with Grandpa Gohan to get as powerful as Roshi had already been. Tien went to the Crane school and trained there until the 22nd tournament to get as powerful as Roshi. So it took many years for him as well.
22nd Tournament(180) > 21st tournament > Fire mountain(Pilaf saga)
Mountain, Earth Moon, Tien Tri beam and castle PL explanations
To destroy the mountain and castle, the Kamehamha from Roshi had to be alot more powerful than PL 100 which was Goku Ozaru before the 21st tournament. In my Roshi ki yield debunk post i said that Mt Frypan was about 400ft to 1000ft tall. The Ox King Castle is shown ontop of the mountain. A more closer estimation can be obtained.
In manga
Scans in manga of MT.Frypan/ Ox King house
https://imgur.com/a/hmZnjlT
https://imgur.com/a/0B1vv1j
The Ox King "castle" is just a 3 story house with a brick wall surrounding it. A 3 story house is about 30ft tall without the roof. A roof is about 10ft tall. So its most likely about 40ft tall with the roof. Then its about 20 more feet with the tower. So about 60ft in total.
"A house with 3 stories has a height of approximately 30 feet without the roof. Depending on the slope and the structure of a roof, an average 3 story house has a roof that is 10-12 feet high, which adds to the overall height of the building. It is important to note that the higher the house is, the thicker and deeper the floor area since the floor of an upper story also works as a ceiling to the story below."(weekendbuilds)
The towers that make up the brick wall are about 40ft tall. In manga the mountain looks to be about 10× taller than the Ox King castle including pillars. So Mt Frypan is about 600ft tall.
In anime
Ox King castle/Mt Frypan
https://imgur.com/a/Y0fGtw7
Arena and Fire mountain scan:
https://imgur.com/a/Nq1v8mx
Also we see how large the mountain is during the anime:
Scan of my drawing. I drew the red lines to show the height of Mt.Frypan.
https://imgur.com/a/peWocsV
Ox King castle is the same length and height as in manga. The mountain looks to be at least 10× taller than the castle but Mt Frypan was on a hill(in anime) which made the mountain look larger than it was. Ox King Old castle is about 30ft long and 60ft tall. MT Frypan is still about 600ft tall.
Power to Destroy Ox King old "castle"
"Key
PL 260 = 20 kilotons
Lower PLs and yields
PL 0 = 0 kilotons PL 1×1.3-8 = 1 gram tnt =4184 J=1×10-9 kilotons PL 0.013 = 1 ton TNT = 0.001 kilotons =1×10-6 megatons PL 0.143 = MOAB 11tons TNT = 0.011 PL 1 = 0.077 kilotons = 7.7×10-5 megatons PL 2 = 0.15 kilotons PL 2.5 = 0.19 kilotons (smallest yield of atomic weapon)(suitcase nuclear device) PL 5 = 0.38 kilotons
Pilaf/R21st tournament/ 22nd tournament saga
PL 10 = 0.75 kilotons = 0.00075 megatons = 7.5×10-4 megatons PL 11.25 =.86 kilotons PL 13 = 1 kiloton PL 22.5 =1.74 kilotons PL 26 = 2 kilotons (largest yield of suitcase nuclear device) PL 40 = 3 kilotons = 0.003 megatons = 3×10-3 megatons =1.255×1013 J PL 45 = 3.47 kilotons PL 50 = 3.85 kilotons PL 52 = 4 kilotons = 4,000 tons of tnt PL 90 = 7.14 kilotons PL 100= 7.5 kilotons = 0.0075 megatons PL 130 = 10 kilotons PL 180 = 13.8 kilotons =0.0138 megatons = 3.8×10-3 = 13,800 tons of tnt (Roshi,Tien,Goku) PL 200 = 15 kilotons (Little Boy)
King Piccolo saga
PL 260 = 20 kilotons (Fat Man)(King Piccolo) PL 360= 27 kilotons PL 720 = 54 kilotons PL 910 = 70 kilotons PL 1040 = 80 kilotons =0.08 megatons PL 1664 = 128 kilotons =0.128 megatons
As we can see from the chart:
PL 1×1.3-8 = 1 gram tnt =4184 J=1×10-9 kilotons PL 0.013 = 1 ton TNT = 0.001 kilotons =1×10-6 megatons PL 0.143 = MOAB 11tons TNT = 0.011
MOAB is the Mother of All Bombs, the largest yield Conventional weapon that's not nuclear that was made on our Earth. Also there is 1 ton of TNT and 1 gram. Notice how all of these yields are between a PL of 1×1.3-8 to PL 0.143."
Ox King castle isn't anywhere near strong enough to survive MOAB. It's a structure that is 30ft across and about 60ft tall made of concrete or stone bricks.
Oklahoma bombing
The federal building was basically a concrete structure made of metal and bricks.
"At 9:02 a.m. (14:02 UTC), the Ryder truck, containing over 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg)[67] of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture, detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building."
"One third of the building was destroyed by the explosion,[68] which created a 30-foot-wide (9.1 m), 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) crater on NW 5th Street next to the building.[69] The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 4-block radius, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings.[3][4]"
"The effects of the blast were equivalent to over 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of TNT,[58][73] and could be heard and felt up to 55 miles (89 km) away.[71] Seismometers at the Omniplex Science Museum in Oklahoma City, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) away, and in Norman, Oklahoma, 16.1 miles (25.9 km) away, recorded the blast as measuring approximately 3.0 on the Richter magnitude scale.[74]
The collapse of the northern half of the building took roughly 7 seconds. As the truck exploded, it first destroyed the column next to it, designated as G20, and shattered the entire glass facade of the building. The shockwave of the explosion forced the lower floors upwards, before the fourth and fifth floors collapsed onto the third floor, which housed a transfer beam that ran the length of the building and was being supported by four pillars below and was supporting the pillars that hold the upper floors. The added weight meant that the third floor gave way along with the transfer beam, which in turn caused the collapse of the building.[75]"
The building was at least 300ft across, 100ft wide and 90ft tall. Since a story is usually 10-14ft tall. A 5,000 lb tnt bomb(2.5 tons of tnt) made a 30ft wide and 8ft deep crater. The shockwave and damage basically blew up half of that building. Ox King "castle" is much smaller than that building. Ox King Old castle is about 30ft long and 60ft tall. So a 2.5 ton bomb would make Ox King house into a crater. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture blow up differently than tnt but its still the same equivalent its just different properties etc. Ki creates more heat than the same amount of tnt though.
Destroying Mount Frypan
Roshi Kamehamha went inside the mountain and then exploded. The amount of energy of the explosion produced shockwaves, fireball,heat etc that blew the mountain apart. Parts of the castle and mountain remained on the ground. So the crater itself wouldn't have been that large realtively compared to the hole created when Piccolo 1st SBC blew up a hole in a even larger mountain. Roshi Kamehamha crater would be alot larger than a low yield battleship shell crater. It would take more energy to blow up the mountain from the inside because of the rock being crushed under the weight of the rocks above it.
2.5 tons of tnt is 0.0025 kilotons and creates a 30ft wide and 8ft deep crater in concrete. PL 100(7.7 kilotons, 7,700 tons of tnt) is the destructive power of low tier battle ships main gun. A certain shell from a battleship makes a crater about 50ft wide and 20ft deep on shore ground. PL 180 (13.8 kilotons,0.0138 megatons, 3.8×10-3 megatons or 13,800 tons of tnt) wouldnt do much of anything to Mt.Frypan an attack was detonated in the middle. MT. Frypan is about 600ft tall. This is a small mountain compared to others but it would still take alot more than 13.8 kilotons to destroy. Obviously compacted sedimentary rock within a mountain is harder than concrete on the surface. Also there was parts of the mountain and some of the house was left. The Kamehamha explosion incinerated some of the rock from the fireball created and the force and shockwaves blew out some other rocks in all directions. Roshi aimed his Kamehamha in about the middle of the mountain. The mountain is basically a cone shape and all we know is the height of the mountain and how long it is from the sides. We don't know the radius,diameter, volume,area or circumference of it. Luckily the castle is in a cut out portion of the mountain. So we can calculate that circle. The house is about 30ft across. The house is closer to one part of the fence than the other. On the side farthest from the fence is about 15ft across and the side closest is about 5ft across. This gives a total of about 50ft across for the fence. In the anime there is a huge wall going around the edge of the mountain and in the manga this isn't there. This doesn't make too much of a difference since the huge wall is only about 5ft thick. The square wall is about 15ft away from the edges of the mountain going across on both sides. So this makes the entire circle of the mountain that the castle is on to be about 80ft across. This means the radius is 40ft across at the circle and diameter is 80ft. So it would be 80ft in all directions. So that top part of the mountain would be 80ft thick. Since the mountain is a cone then the measurements of the circle will gradually increase as we travel down the mountain. Remember the mountain is 600ft high. The top part of the mountain looked like it was cut. This cut part to the base of the mountain is a height of 600ft. The top cone of the mountain,if it wasn't excavated to build the house, would have been about 60ft tall. This would make the mountain originally 660ft tall before it was cut. The base is about twice as long which is 1,320 ft. So the mountain is 600ft high and 1,320 ft at the base. So the circle at the base would be 1,320ft across and 1,320ft thick. If the house was made in the middle of the mountain then the excavated circle(which would be facing upwards) would be about 660ft across and about 660ft thick.
I will use the damage from the anime.
The mountain is 600ft tall. In the middle it is 660 ft across and 660 ft deep.
The crater(which would be facing forward like what Piccolo SBC made) that Roshi Kamehamha would have made would have been 660ft thick, more than 600ft wide and more than 660ft long but less than 1000 feet across. So the crater would have been about 660ft deep, 800 ft long and about 800 ft across.
There were still parts of the house and wall still intact and the fireball most likely burned some of it. Most of the energy went into the denser mountain rocks and blew up most of them which is also why some of the castle was still intact. This could happen because the Kamehamha had to have enough speed to boar into the middle of the mountain before exploding to create a crater that large. If it just blew up near the surface then the crater wouldn't be nearly that large since most craters are wider than they are deep as shown in the other instances above. At most it would look similar to when the RR missile hit the mountain.
PL ×4
Im going to be talking about what Roshi base PL was when he does the attacks when using the PL×4. Keep in mind though that Roshi buff form is just him letting out his overall power depending on how powerful he is at the time in the arc and we don't know his actual base PL in the arcs before the 22nd tournament, as i said i was estimating. Also remember when doing ki attacks they can only put enough ki in total that they have available and then compact it like how Goku did when used the Kamehamha against Raditz.
Anyway, It would also take more than 20 kilotons(PL 260) to destroy MT.Frypan the way Roshi did. It couldn't be more than PL 720 since in 22nd tournament they all was at 100% PL 180. Also 180×4=720 so that's Tien,Roshi and Goku PL×4 limit in 22nd. PL 720 is 55.4 kilotons or 55,400 tons of tnt. Tien used around 95% of his PL 180 to use Tri beam which is 171. Tien Tri beam PL was 171×4=684. PL 684 is 52.6 kilotons. Roshi basically says that that Tri beam was more powerful than the MAX Kamehamha or "any" Kamehamha. I explained more in-depth in the Roshi ki yield debunk. This means that 21st Roshi Kamehamha was not that far from Tien Tri beam though, so about PL 650. PL 650 is 50 kilotons or 50,000 tons of tnt. The Kamehamha that destroyed MT. Frypan wasn't too far from the 21st tournament Kamehamha so i put it as PL 600. This is also around what the RR missile yield would be since Roshi is the goal. PL 600 is 46.2 kilotons or 46,200 tons of tnt. So i divided the ki attacks by 4 to get Roshi full power at MT.Frypan to be PL 150 and Roshi full power(when not holding back for Goku in 21st tournament) to be PL 165. Just so you know:
The Sedan crater was 104 kilotons.
"The device had a diameter of 43 cm (17 in), length of 96.5 cm (38.0 in), and a weight of 212.2 kg (468 lb).[4]
The timing of the test put it within the Operation Storax fiscal year, but Sedan was functionally part of Operation Plowshare, and the test protocol was sponsored and conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with minimal involvement by the United States Department of Defense. The explosive device was lowered into a shaft drilled into the desert alluvium 194 m (636 ft) deep. The fusion-fission blast had a yield equivalent to 104 kilotons of TNT (435 terajoules) and lifted a dome of earth 90 m (300 ft) above the desert floor before it vented at three seconds after detonation, exploding upward and outward displacing more than 11,000,000 t (11,000,000 long tons; 12,000,000 short tons) of soil.[5] The resulting crater is 100 m (330 ft) deep with a diameter of about 390 m (1,280 ft)." (Sedan crater)
Roshi Kamehamha that he destroyed MT.Frypan with was around 46.2 kilotons. Thats about 2.3 × weaker than the Sedan nuclear experiment. This experiment is similar to how Roshi Kamehamha went inside the mountain and then exploded. Mountain rock would still be slightly harder than ground rock though but a ki blast with the yield of the bomb that made the sedan crater would have done alot more damage than Roshi Kamehamha.
Roshi moon Kamehamha
Roshi full power was about 162.5 when destroying the Earth moon. So his Kamehamha PL was 162.5/4=650 when destroying the moon. I say this since the Earth moon is actually relatively large. Also, it was harder for Roshi and Piccolo to destroy Earth moon because it has a relatively huge mantle for its size and mass so they would need more ki for a chain reaction to actually blow it up. The Earth moon core is only about 1% to 2% of the moon mass. The crust is about 1% of the moon mass. This means the mantle is about 98% of the moon mass.
"The moon very likely has a very small core, just 1% to 2% of the moon's mass and roughly 420 miles (680 km) wide. It likely consists mostly of iron, but may also contain large amounts of sulfur and other elements."(space)
Piccolo ki beam of PL 1312 caused a relatively faster chain reaction in Earth moon mantle than Roshi Kamehamha of PL 650. If the Earth moon was 67% mantle mass then it would take a smaller PL to cause a slow or fast chain reaction.
The information below will piggy back on why Roshi used more than 180 on his Kamehamha as well. After the years training for the 22nd tournament Roshi got back to his actual full power of 180. The Earth moon Kamehamha is only about 1.08× more powerful than the Kamehamha he used on MT.Frypan. During the a little more than 3yrs between the 21st and 22nd tournament it makes sense that Roshi only got 1.08× stronger since he was mostly bouncing back from a long traning layoff and got slightly stronger also. The RR missile was at least equal to a PL 600 to be able to destroy that much of a mountain which may have been as large as Mt.Frypan. Roshi just held back during the 21st tournament(except with the Kamehamha) and also the 22nd tournament when he fought Tien. Tien used at least 95% of his PL 180 for the Tri beam which is PL 171. He charged to PL ×4 which is PL 684. It surpassed Roshi MT. Frypan Kamehamha and his 21st tournament Kamehamha. Even before this, Roshi decided to leave the rest to the next generation because he knew Tien and Goku could carry his legacy. Also they were on par with him already after many years of training.
PL ×4 explanation
These are why i put in PL×4 for ki attacks. Roshi says "max" power so it could also mean just what he can use without charging to PL×4. So the Kamehamha could just be his full power of around >10<180. It looks like they all use 100% PL, PL ×2, PL ×3 and PL×4 during ki attacks. We didn't know they can charge to PL×4 until Raditz saga so they were also doing this in OG DB. Also most characters use more than their 100% PL for ki attacks. Also some 100% PLs wouldn't be enough to destroy some of the landmasses or objects as well.
Anyway, Earth moon is 1.2% Earth mass. We don't know how fast the chain reaction was that Roshi Kamehamha made. It could have been a few mins or a few secs. So Roshi could have used a PL 650 Kamehamha to destroy the moon.
Also we know anyone higher than Roshi 21st tournament can destroy the moon with a fast or slow chain reaction. Anyone lower can destroy the moon with a fast or slow chain reaction if enough ki is used.
2)Piccolo dbz
Piccolo destroys a part of a mountain that is about 2× as big as MT.Frypan with a SBC with a PL of 1330. Remember Roshi blew up MT.Frypan with some of its sides left intact with a Kamehamha PL of 600. That's about 2× apart. Piccolo destroys Earth moon with ki beam with PL 1312, faster chain reaction than Roshi. Roshi destroys Earth moon with Kamehamha PL of 650. Thats about 2× apart. The mountain that Piccolo blew a chunk out of was about 2× larger than Mt.Frypan. This still doesn't mean "2× PL = 2× larger mountain". I just happen to chose PL 650 for Roshi Kamehamha because of the reasons i mentioned before.
Link
https://www.kanzenshuu.com/battle-powedatabook/#d7-01
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing
https://weekendbuilds.com/how-tall-is-a-house/#:~:text=Report%20Ad-,How%20Tall%20Is%20a%20House%20With%203%20Stories%3F%20(With%20and,overall%20height%20of%20the%20building.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenade
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test)
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/05/operation-sailor-hat.html?m=1
2022.08.27 18:49 Cranky_Crypto The Market Cycle - What Causes the Perpetual 'Lambo to Sandals' Loop
 | Everybody Wants to Moon but Nobody Willing to Study RocketsTLDR: None. A summary would require its own TL;DR. Read time: 8 minutes. Grab a coffee and have a seat.I've been active in this sub for the past few months trying to share my approach on how I've been navigating the financial markets for the past few decades. I've been welcomed by many of you who are open-minded and willing to listen to alternative perspectives. Thank you for that. I respect everyone's opinion even when they differ from my own. No amount of negativity or cynicism will deter me from continuing to share these ideas and analysis. To put it bluntly: I am tired of seeing people lose their hard-earned money by following the herd to the slaughterhouse. A History of Helping (and Being Drowned Out)I've been actively trading cryptocurrency since 2017. For any Canadian crypto OG's out there: I was one of the first people who warned that QuadrigaCX was showing early signs of insolvency—one full year before the exchange went bankrupt. I helped prevent those around me from losing their life savings. I also like to believe that many more investors were persuaded to take their business elsewhere before the company went belly up. In the end, the debacle left $250 million owed to investors across the country.National news headlines, 1 year after my infamous post in 2018 Story Time! Remember When Bitcoin Was Only $25?Many, many moons ago (before Moons existed) at the local Toys R Us, your friend mentioned a new digital money called 'Crypto Currency' and 'blog-change' technology. Something about a gold coin with a 'B' on it for $25. You aren't interested in magic internet money (already using PayPal) and quickly change the topic to the upcoming release of the 5th Gen iPod Touch MP3 Player. So much hype!A month later, your barber brings up his latest investment tip: Bitcoin, which has since quadrupled in price and is now trading at $100! You think to yourself: this guy is a sucker—he's always getting fooled by the latest scam. Stick to cutting hair, Sam! Next week, you login to MySpace to see your social circle posting about $200 Bitcoin on their profile pages. You can't believe your eyes! This thing has doubled before your fresh fade has even lost its crisp lines. You call up your friend and demand to know where you can buy this so-called 'Bid Coin.' He tells you the address and you drive to the nearest (only) crypto ATM in town. By the time you get there, the price has already risen to $225 (before 10% fees, of course). But you buy anyways because it will surely double again, right? By the time you get home, the price has already surged to $250. You are a genius! To the moon, Alice! Then, you refresh your Blackberry's internet browser application to see the price drop to $225. Well, that's normal—this thing can be pretty volatile. Suddenly, it pumps back to $260. Phew, just a dip! You decide to take a nap before the Charlotte Bobcats vs. New Orleans Hornets game comes on at 6 PM, in full 1080p glory. You wake up a couple of hours later and check the price again. You can't believe your eyes: Bitcoin has fallen to $100 and is dropping even further! This must be an error. You call up your friend again. He is also in disbelief. Throughout the night, you exchange BBM instant messages as the price dips as low as $70. Somehow it recovers to $125 by sunrise. You pass out. A couple of hours later, you jump out of bed to start your shift at Blockbuster. You look up Bitcoin and it appears to have stabilized at $100. Unable to check your phone during working hours, you try to keep your mind occupied while restocking DVDs of Django Unchained and Life of Pi. By the time you clock out, you see that Bitcoin is selling off worse than yesterday. It touches $70 and finally breaks below to $50. You call up your friend and offer to sell him your bag since he was the one who got you into this mess. Chad agrees. The very next day, Bitcoin jumps back to $100. Shoot! But who cares; you are just glad to be out. This cryptography stuff is pure gambling, man... Over the following months, you try to keep your mind off the -80% loss. Nobody is talking about Bitcoin anymore. It has disappeared from MySpace and even that new 'Face Book' website. It won't be until December that you hear the word 'Bitcoin' again. This time it's on every news channel as the price shoots over $1,000. You are flabbergasted. And also heartbroken that Chad is now your wife's new boyfriend. 2013 Bitcoin daily chart (log scale) - From $13 to $260, drops to $50, then back to $100. Went on to hit $1150 in December (not shown). You, my friend, just witnessed the complete Market Cycle play out before your eyes. And you experienced every emotion on that rollercoaster ride: indifference, greed, uncertainty, and fear. In case you are wondering, the prices from the fictional story do line up with the chart above. The 'Groundhog Day' Movie on RepeatToday I want to discuss the foundational concept behind understanding markets: the Market Cycle. This idea does not involve any fancy indicators, trendlines, or predictive models. It simply describes human nature and our emotions when it comes to speculation (i.e., investing and trading).Any instrument that is traded on an open market—whether it be AAPL, BTC, USDEUR, Gold, Oil, Real Estate, Pokémon cards, or NFTs—exhibits similar chart patterns and cycles. Why? Because humans are creatures of habit, and we tend to repeat the same things over and over (just look at my post history). This is especially true when it comes to attempting to profit off the price change of an asset. Again, why? Because at the root of every trade are two core emotions: fear and greed. When grouped together into aggregate buyers and sellers, the market's actions become observable through a phenomenon called Mass Psychology. It is simply the supply and demand relationship for an asset at certain prices. Too much supply pressure and price will drop. Too much demand pressure and price will rise. Economics 101. The Four Stages of the Market CycleOver 100 years ago, Richard Wyckoff developed a theory to explain how and why markets move. And over the last century, his Market Cycle has played out millions (billions?) of times, on thousands of assets, over and over again. The Four Stages of this cycle are as follows:Four Stages of the Market Cycle and the dominant emotion during each phase.
We Just Went Through a Complete Cycle Together!No, I'm not talking about $BBBY. Compare the above image with the Ethereum chart below. Ask yourself—and those around you—what were you thinking during the recent 1-month rally? What were people in this sub saying when we broke out from Stage 1 into Stage 2 (over $1280). How about during the pullback from $1650 to $1350? Or when we ripped up to $2k. Or when we broke out to $2030 last weekend only to be rejected? And finally, now that we're down 27% from the recent highs?Ethereum daily chart with recent Market Cycle Seriously: I would like you to reflect on your emotions and compare them to the Market Cycle. Were they aligned or were they conflicting. Does the following quote, from the greatest trader who has ever lived, resonate with you at all? The market is never obvious. It is designed to fool most of the people, most of the time. -Jesse Livermore Chartception - The Market is Fractal in NatureAs discussed in previous posts, the Market Cycle appears on every single timeframe that humans—and the algos they have programmed—trade on. This is how we can be rallying on a 1-min chart, while in a downtrend on the 1-hour chart, inside of an uptrend pullback on the daily chart, which is just a Bear Market retracement on the weekly chart, all during a decade-long cyclical Bull Run.Below are some examples that show the Market Cycle on macro and micro timeframes. Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4. Rinse and repeat. Ethereum weekly chart showing the 4 phases playing out over and over Zoom into each Stage. Enhance. You will see Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4 happening at this layer, too. Zoom in again. Enhance. There it is again: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4. There's levels to this. Bitcoin 3-minute chart from yesterday demonstrates the Market Cycle at the micro level On the nano timeframes, each Stage 2 Markup is merely a rally for ants! Scalpers and day traders who operate at this level don't care that $BTC is selling-off on the bigger picture. They are happily surfing the waves in their own little world. They know their timeframe; do you know yours? Mission StatementMy goal in this community is to awaken some curious minds to begin approaching crypto investment/speculation in the traditional sense: treat it like any other asset class in your portfolio. I understand that many of you are not interested in actively managing your positions. At the very least, please understand the Market Cycle so you have a framework to make your financial decisions within. Disclaimer: Not financial advice. For educational purposes only. Do your own due diligence. Only invest with money you can afford to lose. The typical passive investor is better off with DCA over a longer time horizon (assuming your assets are stable and align with your personal risk profile/tolerance). |
2022.08.25 02:10 sventhegoat In 2014, Arsenal won the FA Cup to end their trophy drought that extended from from 2005-2014. Where are they now?
Road to the Final- In their cup path to glory, Arsenal beat Spurs Shit in Round 3 with goals from the universally loved duo of Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky (I apologize for not adding the accents, I am just kind of tired I won't lie). Another reason this game was so recognized is Theo Walcott holding up 2-0 to the Tottenham supporters as he was stretchered off. In the following round, Arsenal surpassed League One's Coventry City. Podolski scored a first half brace, and later both Giroud and Cazorla piled on to the shell-shocked Sky Blues. Next up in the path to righteousness was Liverpool, who had in the week prior, beaten us 5-1. But thanks to a penalty from future Liverpool midfielder, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski's early 2nd half goal we prevailed against the YNWA passion merchants. In the following round, we were at home to Everton. Ozil scored he opening goal. Our future manager scored 2 penalties back to back because his first attempt was cancelled out by Stupid Sexy Giroud. Then Giroud decided to apologize by scoring a 2nd half brace to make it 4-1. I would add the other teams goal scorers, but I don't like them, so oh well. In the semi final at Wembley, Arsenal faced the holders Wigan. Against the mighty Tics (What the fuck are "The Tics"?), we drew 1-1 in regular time thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scuffing his shot (lol jk it was Gibbs, i'm not blind) and falling to Per Mertesacker who scored. Then in extra time, the craziest thing happened. Nobody scored, wild I know. So Fabianksi decided to be like Thanos and just do it himself, by saving the first 2 Wigan penalty attempts. We scored the 4, and proceeded to the final.
The Final- Our lineup that day was
Fabianksi (GK)
Gibbs (LB), Mertesacker (CB), Koscielny (CB), Sagna (RB)
Arteta (CM)\, Ramsey(CM)*
Podolski(LW), Ozil(CAM), Cazorla(RW)
Giroud(ST)
*=captain
Hull's lineup was
McGregor(GK)
Rosenior(LWB), Davies\(CB), Bruce(CB), Chester(CB), Elmohammady(RWB)*
Livermore(CM), Huddlestone(CM), Meyler(CM)
Quinn(CAM)
Fryatt(ST)
And holy shit I remember this as one of the most stressful games in the last 10 years. It started off in the worse possible way, with a 4th minute goal from Chester to give Hull the lead. Giroud went to be treated for injury, and a few minutes passed before Davies doubled the Tigers lead. Then Hull nearly scored their 3rd, but it was cleared off the line by Gibbs. Just 2 minutes later, Cazorla was fouled by Bruce before he struck an absolutely stunning 27 yard free kick. We had several more opportunities to score that half, but the Hull defense remained sturdy, leading us to being 2-1 down at the break. In the second half, specifically the 56th minute, the fans applauded in memory of the 56 victims who died in the Bradford City stadium fire of 1985. in the 58' minute, Giroud was taken down in the box, but was judged to be fair. After the 60th minute, We brought on the embodiment of chaos himself, Yaya Sanogo who replaced Podolski. Very soon after, Sanogo had a chance to equalize, but missed it. It wasn't until the 72nd minute when Arsenal finally equalized. Sagna won a header from a corner quick that diverted into Koscielny. We had several chances to see the game off in regulation time, but could not seize the chances. In the first half of ET (extra time, not the movie), We dominated but were unable to take any chances. Then, on that fateful day, in the 109th minute, Giroud did his signature backheel and sent it to Ramsey. He smashed it in from 14 yards to make it 3-2 and sent a ripple of relief and happiness through London, rivaled only by the death of Margaret Thatcher. In front of nearly 90 thousand attendants, Arsenal lifted their 11th FA Cup. In doing so led to us dominating the FA Cup in the 2010s, winning 3 more between then and 2020.
Where are they now?
from the starting 11,
Fabianksi spends his days in the West Ham infirmary from an injury he got in West Ham's 2-0 opening day loss to reigning champions, Manchester City.
Bacary Sagna retired at the age of 36 following a few season in the MLS with the Montreal Impact.
Per Mertesacker is now the Head of Youth Development at Arsenal. (I love him so much)
Koscielny has now retired following his stint at Bordeaux.
Kieran Gibbs is kicking it in Miami with Inter Miami FC.
Mikel Arteta went from captain to now manager of Arsenal. My process is so trusted right now.
Aaron Ramsey is playing in France with OGC Nice. (please don't break).
Santi is living life in the 2022 host nation of (Ew) Qatar with Al Sadd
Mesut Ozil has been released from Fenerbache, and now playing for Basaksehir in his parents homeland of Turkey. (Why did it have to end this way, my assist prince)
Podolski is playing in birth nation, Poland with Górnik Zabrze ( I copied and pasted, so ignore the blue if its there)
Giroud is now with Serie A champions, AC Milan.
from the subs
Szczesny is playing in Italy with Juventus.
Vermaelen is currently the assistant coach of the Belgian National Team
Monreal is now retired following his latest move to Real Sociedad. Rest easy Peter Crouch's younger brother.
Rosicky is now Sparta's sporting director (good for him)
Wilshere is now the head coach of Arsenal u18s. (It is so nice to have Super Jack, back.)
Flamini retired after moving to Getafe. The man is now close to being a multi billionaire (if he isn't already), with GF Biochemicals, a company he cofounded in 2008.
Sanogo has now been a free agent for well over a year following his 6 month spell with Huddersfield Town, in which he made 9 appearances.
Last, but not least, Arsene Wenger. The legendary Arsenal coach, who led the team for 22 years, including the most incredible achievement in modern football history. The Golden Premier League Trophy for the 03/04 season we went entirely unbeaten. He is now FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. (Thank you for everything Papa Wengz).
Thank you for reading if you made it this far. I love this team, and I cannot wait to celebrate many trophies with this community.
submitted by sventhegoat to Gunners [link] [comments]
The Final- Our lineup that day was
Fabianksi (GK)
Gibbs (LB), Mertesacker (CB), Koscielny (CB), Sagna (RB)
Arteta (CM)\, Ramsey(CM)*
Podolski(LW), Ozil(CAM), Cazorla(RW)
Giroud(ST)
*=captain
Hull's lineup was
McGregor(GK)
Rosenior(LWB), Davies\(CB), Bruce(CB), Chester(CB), Elmohammady(RWB)*
Livermore(CM), Huddlestone(CM), Meyler(CM)
Quinn(CAM)
Fryatt(ST)
And holy shit I remember this as one of the most stressful games in the last 10 years. It started off in the worse possible way, with a 4th minute goal from Chester to give Hull the lead. Giroud went to be treated for injury, and a few minutes passed before Davies doubled the Tigers lead. Then Hull nearly scored their 3rd, but it was cleared off the line by Gibbs. Just 2 minutes later, Cazorla was fouled by Bruce before he struck an absolutely stunning 27 yard free kick. We had several more opportunities to score that half, but the Hull defense remained sturdy, leading us to being 2-1 down at the break. In the second half, specifically the 56th minute, the fans applauded in memory of the 56 victims who died in the Bradford City stadium fire of 1985. in the 58' minute, Giroud was taken down in the box, but was judged to be fair. After the 60th minute, We brought on the embodiment of chaos himself, Yaya Sanogo who replaced Podolski. Very soon after, Sanogo had a chance to equalize, but missed it. It wasn't until the 72nd minute when Arsenal finally equalized. Sagna won a header from a corner quick that diverted into Koscielny. We had several chances to see the game off in regulation time, but could not seize the chances. In the first half of ET (extra time, not the movie), We dominated but were unable to take any chances. Then, on that fateful day, in the 109th minute, Giroud did his signature backheel and sent it to Ramsey. He smashed it in from 14 yards to make it 3-2 and sent a ripple of relief and happiness through London, rivaled only by the death of Margaret Thatcher. In front of nearly 90 thousand attendants, Arsenal lifted their 11th FA Cup. In doing so led to us dominating the FA Cup in the 2010s, winning 3 more between then and 2020.
Where are they now?
from the starting 11,
Fabianksi spends his days in the West Ham infirmary from an injury he got in West Ham's 2-0 opening day loss to reigning champions, Manchester City.
Bacary Sagna retired at the age of 36 following a few season in the MLS with the Montreal Impact.
Per Mertesacker is now the Head of Youth Development at Arsenal. (I love him so much)
Koscielny has now retired following his stint at Bordeaux.
Kieran Gibbs is kicking it in Miami with Inter Miami FC.
Mikel Arteta went from captain to now manager of Arsenal. My process is so trusted right now.
Aaron Ramsey is playing in France with OGC Nice. (please don't break).
Santi is living life in the 2022 host nation of (Ew) Qatar with Al Sadd
Mesut Ozil has been released from Fenerbache, and now playing for Basaksehir in his parents homeland of Turkey. (Why did it have to end this way, my assist prince)
Podolski is playing in birth nation, Poland with Górnik Zabrze ( I copied and pasted, so ignore the blue if its there)
Giroud is now with Serie A champions, AC Milan.
from the subs
Szczesny is playing in Italy with Juventus.
Vermaelen is currently the assistant coach of the Belgian National Team
Monreal is now retired following his latest move to Real Sociedad. Rest easy Peter Crouch's younger brother.
Rosicky is now Sparta's sporting director (good for him)
Wilshere is now the head coach of Arsenal u18s. (It is so nice to have Super Jack, back.)
Flamini retired after moving to Getafe. The man is now close to being a multi billionaire (if he isn't already), with GF Biochemicals, a company he cofounded in 2008.
Sanogo has now been a free agent for well over a year following his 6 month spell with Huddersfield Town, in which he made 9 appearances.
Last, but not least, Arsene Wenger. The legendary Arsenal coach, who led the team for 22 years, including the most incredible achievement in modern football history. The Golden Premier League Trophy for the 03/04 season we went entirely unbeaten. He is now FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. (Thank you for everything Papa Wengz).
Thank you for reading if you made it this far. I love this team, and I cannot wait to celebrate many trophies with this community.
2022.06.29 21:33 sabat SF Giants and Oracle Park FAQ: SIGHTSEEING
Things to See and Do Near the Ballpark
IN PROGRESSOn the portwalk there are plaques embedded in the concrete to mark great moments in Giants history. There's a statue of a seal balancing a baseball on his nose, a callback to the minor league team that used to play in the city (called the San Francisco Seals, naturally). Walk around to the King Street side, and you'll find the Giants Wall of Fame.
there's a lot more to do around the ballpark, so this is a work in progress
Things to See and Do While in SF
IN PROGRESSSF is 7x7 miles: smaller than you might imagine. The San Francisco Bay Area has three major cities (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose), and SF isn't even the largest of them in land mass and in population. It just happens to be the most famous of the three.
We're proud of our city—we don't care about the stupid myths perpetuated by those who hate and envy us—and we're glad you're going to be here.
SHOULD I GO TO THE FAMOUS TOURIST LOCATIONS?
Of course you should go see Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, see Alcatraz, ride a cable car (more on that in a sec), and drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. For that matter: walk across the GG Bridge instead of just driving it. It has a pedestrian walkway, and the view from it is pretty epic. Locals are known to do this, too—some runners and cyclists use it as part of their regular routes.
Word of warning: if you're visiting California from out of state, you might expect that since you'll be in California, it'll be hot, and you should dress in shorts and a t-shirt. Do this at your own peril. San Francisco is not Los Angeles. It's much cooler in SF than you might imagine, even in the summer months. There are guys who make a oodles of cash every summer selling hoodies to freezing tourists. Be prepared for cool, foggy weather, and dress in layers so you can adjust to changing temperatures.
WHAT SHOULD I DO OUTSIDE OF THE NORMAL TOURIST STUFF?
Let's talk about stuff the locals do in SF.
Wait, a quick aside: we call our city "SF", "the City", and just plain old "San Francisco". You are not going to hear many locals call it "Frisco" or "San Fran". There's no law against using those names, but if you say them around locals, you will make us bristle somewhat, and you will be marking yourself as an outsider.
As the editors of The Bold Italic, a popular blog about San Francisco, aptly point out, "nicknames are supposed to embody some overall characteristic, not just act as a lazy surgery of the city’s name". There's a reason, they point out, why we don't just call New York City "Nork" when we're trying to be cool. ("SF" is an exception to this idea, of course, but those are really just initials. "Frisco" and "San Fran" are seen as beyond the pale.) Oh, and you'll hear Northern California abbreviated as "NorCal"—but not "NoCal".
What do we locals like to do in SF? Some of the same stuff as tourists might, believe it or not—but also, we know about cool things that are not on every tourist's agenda, even though they should be. Yeah, we might take a cable car ride for fun, hang out in Golden Gate Park, or maybe walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. We might also drive the most crooked street in the world—surprise, that is Vermont St. in the Potrero Hill area, not the famous Lombard Street. (Yes, it really is more crooked than Lombard, and you won't have to wait in a car line to drive it.) We might grab a burrito in the Mission District and we might go hang out at the top of Mt. Sutro, the mountain in the middle of our fair city, or go walk around the Presidio and check out the Disney Family Museum, or the Yoda fountain in front of Lucasfilm HQ.
WHAT PLACES IN SF DO LOCALS LIKE TO GO?
This is just a list of suggestions, not an exhaustive list.
- Take a cable car ride (Financial District, the Marina District, etc.) TODO: the "cheat"—you do not need to wait in that long line on Market Street
- Golden Gate Park: TODO
- California Academy of Science, an awesome science museum with the coolest planetarium you will ever experience
- DeYoung Museum
- Japanese Tea Garden
- Ferris Wheel
- Windmills
- Botanical Garden
- Stow Lake
- Lloyd Lake
- Spreckels Lake
- Conservatory of Flowers
- Golden Gate Park Golf Course
- Golden Gate Park Disc Golf
- Hippie Hill (this is San Francisco, after all)
- herd of bison ("Buffalo Paddock")
- horse stables
- waterfalls
- https://www.inside-guide-to-san-francisco-tourism.com/golden-gate-park.html
- North Beach is in the northeast part of the City, and it's traditionally the Italian-American section of town. You'll find lots of Italian restaurants—some of them actually good—some bars, a very famous bookstore owned by one of the original beat poets, and the cafe where a local named Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script for his movie The Godfather.
- Alcatraz (locals don't really go here, but it's supposed to be a good tour, if you're really into incarceration and federal prisons and all that—the island itself is supposed to be nice, too)
- Cow Hollow/Marina TODO
- The Mission District: TODO
- Chinatown: TODO
- The Richmond District: TODO
- The Castro: TODO
- Twin Peaks: TODO
- Potrero Hill: TODO
- 24th St. between De Haro and Rhode Island: steepest hill in SF, 31.5% grade https://i.imgur.com/sICPOMd.png
- Vermont St: even more crooked and windy than Lombard St. https://i.imgur.com/ljsSwhM.png
- The Presidio: TODO
- Ocean Beach: TODO
- STAR WARS FANS: you may be aware that Lucasfilm headquarters is in San Francisco. It's in a park called The Presidio, operated by the National Park Service and located not terribly far from the SF entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. Last we were aware, you cannot take a tour of the facility, its general store, or even enter the foyer (you used to be able to!) but you can see the magnificent Yoda Fountain outside, and peer in to see some of the famous props on display (yes, that is the original Darth Vader costume). If you're into Star Wars at all, this is worth a visit. The Presidio itself is beautiful, too, and has other attractions (read on).
- DISNEY FANS: the Disney Family Museum is well worth a visit if you like Disney stuff at all.
Things to See and Do in the Bay Area and Places Nearby
IN PROGRESSThis is not an exhaustive list, just a few general suggestions.
IF YOU LIKE BEING OUTDOORS
- Muir Woods preserves one of the last remaining ancient redwood forests in the Bay Area. Some of the redwoods are nearly a thousand years old and are more than 250 feet tall. Warning: you are going to need reservations. It's really popular.
- The Santa Cruz Mountains, just south of the Bay Area, also have very large trees and are really scenic. Oh, and apparently they have Bigfoot. Well, there's a Bigfoot Museum there in the town of Felton, so that must prove something.
- Over on the east side of the San Francisco Bay, the East Bay Regional Park system is the largest regional park system in the US. Some of the parks are so large that they connect to other regional parks, and one park in particular is remote enough that it's only reachable by hiking through other regional parks. Your author's personal recommendation would be Sunol Regional Park because it's awesome. If you go, stop by Little Yosemite.
- Mount Tam
- Mount Diablo
- South bay hiking
Yes, Napa and Sonoma counties are a big deal, and if you've never been to them, you should go at least once. (They are right next to each other, which does make it easy to visit both.) Expect an expensive circus, but it's still worthwhile.
However, even though locals refer to Napa and Sonoma as "the wine country", there are other wine regions in and near the Bay Area, and they are surprisingly good—and less of a pig-wrestle:
- Livermore Wine Country is in the East Bay (east side of the San Francisco Bay) and is home to some excellent wineries—you may have heard of Wente Vineyards, Concannon, and possibly Ruby Hill, although there are more than 40 others.
- South Bay wineries
- There was a time when the town of Lodi was most famous for being the butt of a musical joke—we're talking about the song "Lodi" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. (Songwriter John Fogerty only picked Lodi because he'd heard of the town and thought it had "the coolest sounding name".) He'd never actually been there.) Nowadays, Lodi is famous for a better reason: its outstanding wineries. The most famous one is the Michael/David Winery—you've probably seen Seven Deadly Zins in local stores—but there's a whole bunch of others there that are equally awesome. Lodi is about 90 minutes east of San Francisco, and it's an easy enough drive.
2022.06.14 18:22 Benjamin994 I watch movies here ..
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2022.05.25 20:16 Aastevens Theory: Tron is secretly about the war on drugs, and using Psychedelics to deprogram and reclaim individuality.
We all know Tron is about computers right? It is that, but I believe there is a hidden message. Tron is about using LSD to deprogram yourself. When viewed under this light, the movies take on a whole new meaning. Users become not people using computers, but people under the influence of LSD. Programs are people who haven't been able to wake up to the situation around them. You began to see how the Master Control Program is an allegory for the police state. It gets much much deeper, with Tron Legacy being a continuation of the same story.
Some of my evidence: in Tron(1982) the laser is called LSU laser, which is just one letter off. In Tron Legacy the laser is called LLLSD laser. I am aware that the LLL is for Lawrence Livermore Lab, but I believe this is only the surface meaning. Both Tron films also fit the genre of acid porn perfectly, and are a sound and visual delight to consume. When viewed under this light, Yori asking Flynn if he is a user in the first film becomes the funniest thing, highlighting the anxiety of using double speak and hiding what you are doing but wanting to connect with like minded individuals. Kevin Flynn: It's time I leveled with you. I'm what you guys call a User. Yori: You’re a user? Kevin: I took a wrong turn somewhere. The goofy faces on Jeff Bridges, Cindy Morgan, and Bruce Boxleitner become one of the recurring jokes of the film, an "if you know, you know".
Later in Tron Legacy, Flynn says he couldn't wait to show Sam, but he had to because you can't just give kids psychedelics lol. I will be working more on this theory and scouring the films and even the tv show for more Clu s but I would love to hear what y'all think. I find it painfully obvious but haven't found this theory anywhere else.
Edit: this is just like, my opinion, man. Here’s my expanded theory:
https://www.reddit.com/tron/comments/v47o62/im_back_with_my_crazy_tron_theories_with_more/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
submitted by Aastevens to tron [link] [comments]
Some of my evidence: in Tron(1982) the laser is called LSU laser, which is just one letter off. In Tron Legacy the laser is called LLLSD laser. I am aware that the LLL is for Lawrence Livermore Lab, but I believe this is only the surface meaning. Both Tron films also fit the genre of acid porn perfectly, and are a sound and visual delight to consume. When viewed under this light, Yori asking Flynn if he is a user in the first film becomes the funniest thing, highlighting the anxiety of using double speak and hiding what you are doing but wanting to connect with like minded individuals. Kevin Flynn: It's time I leveled with you. I'm what you guys call a User. Yori: You’re a user? Kevin: I took a wrong turn somewhere. The goofy faces on Jeff Bridges, Cindy Morgan, and Bruce Boxleitner become one of the recurring jokes of the film, an "if you know, you know".
Later in Tron Legacy, Flynn says he couldn't wait to show Sam, but he had to because you can't just give kids psychedelics lol. I will be working more on this theory and scouring the films and even the tv show for more Clu s but I would love to hear what y'all think. I find it painfully obvious but haven't found this theory anywhere else.
Edit: this is just like, my opinion, man. Here’s my expanded theory:
https://www.reddit.com/tron/comments/v47o62/im_back_with_my_crazy_tron_theories_with_more/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
2022.01.15 08:31 Aggressive-Guest1653 A Platform For Investment in Movie Industry
 | https://www.moviebizcoin.com/ submitted by Aggressive-Guest1653 to u/Aggressive-Guest1653 [link] [comments]  |
2022.01.11 07:26 Aggressive-Guest1653 A Platform For Investment in Movie Industry
| | https://www.moviebizcoin.com/ submitted by Aggressive-Guest1653 to u/Aggressive-Guest1653 [link] [comments] Moviebiz Coin is going to be the future of the Movie Industry. . Moviebiz coin is dedicated to helping independent filmmakers with unique, compelling, and powerful stories or films that make a contribution to society, get their films funded and, create a marketplace where content is showcased instantly to a trusted global community of buyers. . In doing so Moviebiz coin will create movies that inspire and careers that will soar in the industry . Make it happen! >>>Invest in Moviebiz Coin<<< #investing #investor #investments #investingtips #filminvestments #investmentsintofilms #warrenbuffet #BenjaminGraham #JohnTempleton #JohnNeff #JesseLivermore #PeterLynch #GeorgeSoros #WilliamHGross #filmmaking #filmcommunity #movieindustry #investmentstrategies #investmentopportunity #investmentplan #filmmaking #filmcommunity #movieindustry #investmentstrategies #investmentopportunity #investmentplan #filmmaking #bestfilms #filmstar |
2021.12.04 19:16 textbooks6 Google Drive eTextbooks release thread (part-9)!+ Accepting requests every day
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2021.10.24 01:25 Anth916 Anybody read the story of Jesse Lauriston Livermore? Holy Crap. The first daytrader. Had a crazy life
Somebody on here mentioned Jesse Lauriston Livermore shorting the stock market prior to the 1929 crash and making 100 million dollars. He was down 6 million on paper before the crash. I just did a google search and checked out the Wikipedia page on the guy. Absolutely fascinating. Can we please get a movie made of this guys life?
submitted by Anth916 to stocks [link] [comments]
2021.05.31 08:21 17crossfeed 1952 Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard IV N7754 c/n CCF4-215 at Livermore Airport in California 2021. Flown in more movies, series, Documentaries than any other Tora aircraft. [OC] 4863 X 3241
![1952 Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard IV N7754 c/n CCF4-215 at Livermore Airport in California 2021. Flown in more movies, series, Documentaries than any other Tora aircraft. [OC] 4863 X 3241](https://preview.redd.it/6szxhkcafe271.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=d3f7438ee7de0d74404aec560f504cb75c732858 "1952 Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard IV N7754 c/n CCF4-215 at Livermore Airport in California 2021. Flown in more movies, series, Documentaries than any other Tora aircraft. [OC] 4863 X 3241") | submitted by 17crossfeed to Aviationshots [link] [comments] |
2021.05.16 20:25 __5___ My dream came true
Its been about two weeks now, but i felt like i just needed to talk about it so I’ve come to post it here. I had two dreams, and two days later, a mixture of both sorta happened. In the first dream, there were only couples. My best friend and his girlfriend, another friend from high school that I haven’t seen in years and his girlfriend, and then myself with a girl i used to talk to. If i had to describe her, i would say she has long beautiful black hair, she had a tight black dress on, she is very very beautiful, a great curvy body, thick in all the right places type of girl. She was a solid 10/10. One of those rare unicorns you come by only once in a couple years. I remember the three couples, we had gone to stay at this sort of cabin/treehouse place. There was a grassy hill, and a huge tree at the top of it, and on this tree, there was a huge treehouse-like cabin. The inside of it was amazing. It was all made of wood and had a very spacious living room and kitchen along with three rooms, one for each couple. On the outside, down the hill, after a couple dozen miles, at the very bottom you could see a city in the distance. And on the opposite side of the hill, we had mountains and a forest. I remember we could see the city light at night and it looked beautiful. The night sky was illuminated with stars and i remember each couple sitting in the grass holding hands and kissing, just enjoying the moment looking down the hill towards the city light while the sky was filled with stars and vibrant, colorful, fireworks. It was quite nice. I woke up because i had to use the restroom. I came back to bed and checked the time only to see it was 4:38am. I still had a few hours before i needed to wake up so i slept again and entered another dream. In this one, i was at some sort of carnival. There were carnival games everywhere along with some buildings. In these building there were these type of game shows that would be hosted. Like wheel of fortune, that one game where you have to guess a letter until you can figure out the phrase, and various other game shows that i had never seen or heard of. There were security guards/ soldiers at each exit of the carnival and were not allowing just anybody out. There were rules. In order to leave this carnival, you had to have a certain number of points, points that you could obtain by winning the games. Each game would give you a few points, but in the buildings with the game shows, you could obtain enough points to leave by only winning one of these. I remember there was one that a friend of mine wanted to enter and participate in. This one only had three participants. It was an escape room type of game, and there were three rooms. Each room had a theme and the theme was about a specific serial killer. There were three rooms, three participants, three serial killer themed rooms to choose from. The first name of the serial killers was Patricia *****. I don’t quite remember her last name. I don’t remember the second name at all, but the third one was from a creepy-pasta i listened to not too long ago, the name of this serial killer was Edward Keller. Since i knew more about this third one i yelled at my friend to choose him. But my friend knew nothing about Edward so he chose Patricia instead. The rules were like any other escape room, escape in a certain amount of time, nobody from the outside could help you out, and if you were the first one to escape your serial killer themed room of choosing, then you would be the winner. The three participants entered their own serial killer themed room and the spectators had big TVs where they could watch the participants. Im not really sure what happened afterwards but then my dream just skipped to me being in a game show myself. I think there were about 8 participants in this one, and i was one of them. The place we were in... it was something like a shower room from prison. Everything was made of tile, the walls, the ground, the ceiling, the shower heads sticking out of the wall every few feet, no curtains, but what made this different, was that at the top of each corner of this rectangular shower room, there was a tv, each had the same image. The face of the little puppet guy from the Saw movies. He was starring into the tv looking at us. It gave it a creepy vibe. Not sure what kind of game i was in but apparently we had to dance. So i started dancing with this girl who had dirty blonde hair, she had very pretty eyes, i think they were greenish blueish, and i remember she had some pink mascara on. After dancing for a while and us just enjoying ourselves she leaned back on me and told me “i think you’re really cute.” I smiled and i said “thank you. I think you’re pretty cute too.” Then she turned around and said “no i think you’re really really cute. You’re very handsome.” And i was thinking “okay, ummm thanks?” I felt like she was coming onto me really strong. And i guess it threw me off a bit because I’ve never really been hit on like that. And then i woke up and thought “wow, that dream was... kinda weird.” Fast forward to 2 days later. I was at work, i work as a truck driver for Mclane and my partner and I were delivering to a gas station in Livermore, California. I was getting things out of the side of the trailer from the cooler area when i saw my partner talking to 2 girls. One girl was wearing a tight black dress, some black heels to match, and she had long black shiny hair. The other was a shorter blonde girl and she looked like she had been drinking a lot because she seemed to have a hard time standing on her feet. I ignored them and got back to work because i wanted to get this over with and keep going so we could finish fast. My partner begins to walk towards me and i notice he was smiling. I tease him and say “what happened? They wanted your dick?” He laughs and says “yeah that girl said she thinks your hella cute.” I laughed and got back to work bringing down boxes from the cooler. This was normally how we talk to each other and joke around so i didn’t actually believe anyone had said that about me. I took a stack of boxes on my dolly into the store. As i entered the store, the girl with the black dress was coming out, we made eye contact for a brief moment and i gave her a nob as if to say hello. I took the boxes into their designated area and came back out. This time i jumped into the back of the trailer to begin to put things away. I noticed my partner standing outside on the left of the trailer talking to the drunk girl again and her friend with the black dress at her side to help her balance herself. I didn’t want to waste too much time so i got to putting up load bars to lock down the load so boxes don’t go flying as we drive to our next stop. I was in the zone and trying to work as fast as i could since i felt energized after i had finished a gatorade a little before arriving to the store. My partner popped his head into my field of vision at the back of the trailer where the doors were open and said “hey bro this girl said you’re really cute!” He then looked away and i realized he was still talking to the girls. I was like wow maybe hes not kidding. Maybe i could finish this up quickly and go out there and talk to them too. So i got back to work as fast as i could when this time i see the girl with the black dress next to my partner and she looks at me, smiles, and says, “yeah, i think you’re really really cute.” I started to hear my partner and the other talking louder and louder. I thought “oh shit, are they arguing? I need to finish and get down there!” I then hear the girl tell me that i was cute again and i rushed even more. When i finally finished and turned around to walk towards the doors and jump out of the trailer, she looks at me once more and i finally get to focus on her. She was very very beautiful, her tight black dress outlined her curves so perfectly, she was thick in the right places and i thought wow shes way out of my league. I stopped in my tracks just admiring her beauty, and then i hear her say, “ i think you’re very handsome.” She then looks away and walked away, i assumed she was walking towards her drunk friend again. I unfroze finally and decided to yell out “thank you, you too!” I smacked my forehead and thought aww crap i just called her handsome. I yell out again, “ not handsome i meant cute!” I didnt really know if she heard or not but i felt like an idiot. I wanted to die and save myself from the embarrassment. I walked out and finally closed the door to the trailer finishing my last task. I saw she had locked arms with her friend and her friend was still talking to my partner. I finally had the chance to talk to her . Then, a boy walks in between her and I and looks at me. I could tell he had been drinking a lot too as his eyes were having a hard time focusing on me. He said “whaaa? Are you going to buy us something from the store?” I laughed and realized they were all probably 19 or 20 and wanted drinks to keep their party going. I replied “no i dont think so.” The girl with the black dress reached over for him and told him “no cmon, we gotta get back in the car, theyre working.” She walked them both into their minivan that was parked by our truck, and they all got in. There was a girl with pink hair driving, the boy in the passenger seat, and the two girls in the backseat. As they pulled away, I couldn’t help but to stare, and she stared back at me through the window twisting her body and neck to not loose sight of me. Almost as if we both knew we still had things to say to each other. There was an unfinished conversation and it probably wouldn’t be finished ever. My partner broke the silence and said “DAM she was looking bad as fuck!” I laughed and said which one? The girl you were talking to? And he said no the one that said you were hella cute! I just smiled and said yea she was fine as fuck. He teased me for a bit and i just said dam bro i didnt even get her name. I couldve probably even got her number if i just asked. He said yea, she gave you the green light too letting you know she was interested. I said dam i fucked up big time. We both jumped in the truck and drover off to our next stop. After about 15 hours when we were almost done with the route (most routes take anywhere from 14 to 48 hours to finish) it finally hit me. If i had to describe her, i would say she looked very similar to the girl from my first dream, and she was saying the exact same things as the girl from my second dream. After realizing this, i now knew why we both stared at each other with eyes that wanted to know more. I had just recently got a job in Livermore and had already put in my two weeks notice at my current job. I thought about it some more and asked myself if it was coincidence that i saw her there that night? I’ve been thinking about her every day ever since and i only wish i could see her again. But i dont know if that will ever happen, what are the chances?
submitted by __5___ to Dreams [link] [comments]
2021.04.26 08:10 etextbookrequest Google Drive eTextbooks release thread (part-9)!+ Accepting requests every day
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2021.01.21 12:25 antikarma98 Pathetic Life: Strep Throat
Wednesday, June 22
I woke up with a sore throat, and it's bad. When I swallow, my eyes water with pain and my adam's apple feels like it's a mechanical device that hasn't been oiled since the Bush administration. I'm increasing my daily dose of Vitamin C from 500 mg to 10,000, but I'll need to see a doctor.
In America, health care is tied to your job — a really stupid idea, but it's very profitable for the health conglomerates and that's the American way. My job sucks, and offers no sick leave, so I went to work, where I tried to keep to myself (I always try to keep to myself). I'm supposed to BART to Margaret's birthday party on Saturday, but I'm wondering whether I'll be up to it.
Weirdly and luckily, I have a doctor's appointment for tomorrow, and let me tell you that story.
After years without health coverage, and after six months at my craptastic job, I qualified for health coverage in February, provided that I pay half the HMO dues out of my empty pocket. I'm supposed to be a grown-up, damn it, so I did the responsible thing and signed up.
Kaiser Permanente is my 'health provider', and are they any good? Heck if I know. They let me pick my doctor — hundreds of MDs to choose from, all strangers, most with no openings for new patients, so — eeny, meeny, miny, moe. They gave me an appointment for a complete physical, in late March.
On the scheduled date, though, someone from Kaiser called and told me that, due to an unexpected emergency, my doctor had to cancel all his appointments for the day. I was rescheduled for late April.
On the morning of this second scheduled appointment, Kaiser called again, told me my doctor had called in sick, and rescheduled my appointment for late May.
A week before this third scheduled date, I got a post card telling me that my doctor would be at a convention on the day of my appointment, and announcing that instead I would be seen on June 14. Is that the way it works? They tell you when your appointment is? I promptly called, told them 6/14 doesn't work for me, and asked them nicely to quit playing the shell game or refund my five months of dues paid for nothing.
They gave me my fifth appointment, for June 23, so after all the above, my good luck is that tomorrow, what I actually need a doctor for the first time in years, I'll be seeing a doctor for the first time in years — if they don't cancel this appointment, too.
Thursday, June 23
I went to work again though I probably shouldn't, and then left a few hours early to see my doctor, and — my doctor is a little boy. He looks and sounds like Doogie Howser, MD, and that's only a slight exaggeration. He had two pimples on his face. He's the first doctor I've ever seen who's younger than me — which wouldn't be a problem, except he already has the 'know-it-all doctor' vibe, and I don't think he knows it all. Or much of anything.
Dr Howser says I'm healthy. Blood pressure normal, heartbeat normal, cholesterol normal, and the scale says I weigh 323 pounds. Doogie's professional opinion is, "You could stand to lose 150 pounds." Thanks, doc. Never knew I was fat. Quite a shock, there.
When I told him about my throat, which is the most painful it's been in my 36 years of life, he didn't look inside my mouth. He only asked if it felt better today than it felt yesterday.
I said yes, because it did feel better, but on my bus ride home it occurred to me that was the wrong answer to the wrong question. My throat feels a little better because today I'm constantly bathing it with Aspergum I hadn't bought until this morning — that's aspirin and lots of it, to deaden the pain. So of course it feels a little better, Dr Doogie, but that doesn't mean it is better.
"Call us if it gets worse," he said, nudging me toward the door and his next co-pay.
♦ ♦ ♦
As for Maggie, she's still in Livermore, but when we talk on the phone she's now pleasant, borderline bubbly. There are no more insults, bursts of anger, precipitous moments, and that's nice, but I'm not sure what to make of it. To be honest, it feels like a performance.
It's nice of Maggie to be nice, but she shouldn't have to work so hard at it, and I shouldn't have to spend time wondering what it means. It's all too damned complicated. I wanna be me, and want her to be her.
I've known her for years, and she is a nice lady, but she's, uh, volatile. Yeah, that's the right word. Margaret is a nice lady with nitroglycerin inside. I like the nice part, and I think I can handle the nitro now and then, because that's Maggie. It gets scary when she's nice for too long, though. It makes me want to put on safety gear.
Also, damn, my throat hurts. A lot.
Friday, June 24
Unable to keep my throat lubricated and Aspergummed overnight, it was unthinkably agonizing by the time I awoke from perhaps four hours of fitful sleep. As mentioned before, there's no sick leave where I work, so hi-ho hi-ho it's off to work I go. Soon as I mentioned my misery, my work neighbors rolled their chairs toward the other end of the office. "It sounds like strep! Keep away from me…"
So I called Kaiser Permanente, and told them I'd been diagnosed by co-workers. "Strep" was the magic word on the phone — it was going to be a 3- to 5-week wait for an appointment, but when I said "strep" they told me to rush in and see the doctor at once.
When I got there, Dr Doogie again didn't ask me to open my mouth and didn't take a throat culture, but he did write a prescription for an antibiotic. Thanks again, Boy Wonder.
Question: If they don't even examine my throat or take a culture, why did I have to come in to the doctor's office? They could've ordered the prescription over the phone. Answer: If I don't come in, then I don't have to pay a co-pay I can't afford. So "come see the doctor" wasn't about my throat, it was about the co-pay.
Anyway, doc says I'm contagious as hell, so I didn't go back to work, and I called and cancelled my date with Maggie for tomorrow. And now I am grumpy. See, I've never had strep throat, so to me it's like gout or the clap — a disease I've heard of but know nothing about and wouldn't recognize. You'd think a doctor might recognize the symptoms, though.
Being sick and sad, of course the best thing to do is go to a movie, so I caught the matinee of Speed at the Presidio Theater, courteously seated off to the side, a safe distance from everyone else. And then two tweedy college-age kids came in late and sat right behind me, talking too loud. Every time they talked I turned toward them and coughed without covering my mouth. Have a nice weekend, boys.
This is an entry retyped from an on-paper zine I wrote many years ago, called Pathetic Life. The opinions stated were my opinions then, but might not be my opinions now. Also, I said and did some disgusting things, so parental guidance is advised.
Previous: 6/21/1994 Pathetic Life Next: 6/25-6/27/1994
submitted by antikarma98 to LazyCheapskate [link] [comments]
I woke up with a sore throat, and it's bad. When I swallow, my eyes water with pain and my adam's apple feels like it's a mechanical device that hasn't been oiled since the Bush administration. I'm increasing my daily dose of Vitamin C from 500 mg to 10,000, but I'll need to see a doctor.
In America, health care is tied to your job — a really stupid idea, but it's very profitable for the health conglomerates and that's the American way. My job sucks, and offers no sick leave, so I went to work, where I tried to keep to myself (I always try to keep to myself). I'm supposed to BART to Margaret's birthday party on Saturday, but I'm wondering whether I'll be up to it.
Weirdly and luckily, I have a doctor's appointment for tomorrow, and let me tell you that story.
After years without health coverage, and after six months at my craptastic job, I qualified for health coverage in February, provided that I pay half the HMO dues out of my empty pocket. I'm supposed to be a grown-up, damn it, so I did the responsible thing and signed up.
Kaiser Permanente is my 'health provider', and are they any good? Heck if I know. They let me pick my doctor — hundreds of MDs to choose from, all strangers, most with no openings for new patients, so — eeny, meeny, miny, moe. They gave me an appointment for a complete physical, in late March.
On the scheduled date, though, someone from Kaiser called and told me that, due to an unexpected emergency, my doctor had to cancel all his appointments for the day. I was rescheduled for late April.
On the morning of this second scheduled appointment, Kaiser called again, told me my doctor had called in sick, and rescheduled my appointment for late May.
A week before this third scheduled date, I got a post card telling me that my doctor would be at a convention on the day of my appointment, and announcing that instead I would be seen on June 14. Is that the way it works? They tell you when your appointment is? I promptly called, told them 6/14 doesn't work for me, and asked them nicely to quit playing the shell game or refund my five months of dues paid for nothing.
They gave me my fifth appointment, for June 23, so after all the above, my good luck is that tomorrow, what I actually need a doctor for the first time in years, I'll be seeing a doctor for the first time in years — if they don't cancel this appointment, too.
Thursday, June 23
I went to work again though I probably shouldn't, and then left a few hours early to see my doctor, and — my doctor is a little boy. He looks and sounds like Doogie Howser, MD, and that's only a slight exaggeration. He had two pimples on his face. He's the first doctor I've ever seen who's younger than me — which wouldn't be a problem, except he already has the 'know-it-all doctor' vibe, and I don't think he knows it all. Or much of anything.
Dr Howser says I'm healthy. Blood pressure normal, heartbeat normal, cholesterol normal, and the scale says I weigh 323 pounds. Doogie's professional opinion is, "You could stand to lose 150 pounds." Thanks, doc. Never knew I was fat. Quite a shock, there.
When I told him about my throat, which is the most painful it's been in my 36 years of life, he didn't look inside my mouth. He only asked if it felt better today than it felt yesterday.
I said yes, because it did feel better, but on my bus ride home it occurred to me that was the wrong answer to the wrong question. My throat feels a little better because today I'm constantly bathing it with Aspergum I hadn't bought until this morning — that's aspirin and lots of it, to deaden the pain. So of course it feels a little better, Dr Doogie, but that doesn't mean it is better.
"Call us if it gets worse," he said, nudging me toward the door and his next co-pay.
♦ ♦ ♦
As for Maggie, she's still in Livermore, but when we talk on the phone she's now pleasant, borderline bubbly. There are no more insults, bursts of anger, precipitous moments, and that's nice, but I'm not sure what to make of it. To be honest, it feels like a performance.
It's nice of Maggie to be nice, but she shouldn't have to work so hard at it, and I shouldn't have to spend time wondering what it means. It's all too damned complicated. I wanna be me, and want her to be her.
I've known her for years, and she is a nice lady, but she's, uh, volatile. Yeah, that's the right word. Margaret is a nice lady with nitroglycerin inside. I like the nice part, and I think I can handle the nitro now and then, because that's Maggie. It gets scary when she's nice for too long, though. It makes me want to put on safety gear.
Also, damn, my throat hurts. A lot.
Friday, June 24
Unable to keep my throat lubricated and Aspergummed overnight, it was unthinkably agonizing by the time I awoke from perhaps four hours of fitful sleep. As mentioned before, there's no sick leave where I work, so hi-ho hi-ho it's off to work I go. Soon as I mentioned my misery, my work neighbors rolled their chairs toward the other end of the office. "It sounds like strep! Keep away from me…"
So I called Kaiser Permanente, and told them I'd been diagnosed by co-workers. "Strep" was the magic word on the phone — it was going to be a 3- to 5-week wait for an appointment, but when I said "strep" they told me to rush in and see the doctor at once.
When I got there, Dr Doogie again didn't ask me to open my mouth and didn't take a throat culture, but he did write a prescription for an antibiotic. Thanks again, Boy Wonder.
Question: If they don't even examine my throat or take a culture, why did I have to come in to the doctor's office? They could've ordered the prescription over the phone. Answer: If I don't come in, then I don't have to pay a co-pay I can't afford. So "come see the doctor" wasn't about my throat, it was about the co-pay.
Anyway, doc says I'm contagious as hell, so I didn't go back to work, and I called and cancelled my date with Maggie for tomorrow. And now I am grumpy. See, I've never had strep throat, so to me it's like gout or the clap — a disease I've heard of but know nothing about and wouldn't recognize. You'd think a doctor might recognize the symptoms, though.
Being sick and sad, of course the best thing to do is go to a movie, so I caught the matinee of Speed at the Presidio Theater, courteously seated off to the side, a safe distance from everyone else. And then two tweedy college-age kids came in late and sat right behind me, talking too loud. Every time they talked I turned toward them and coughed without covering my mouth. Have a nice weekend, boys.
This is an entry retyped from an on-paper zine I wrote many years ago, called Pathetic Life. The opinions stated were my opinions then, but might not be my opinions now. Also, I said and did some disgusting things, so parental guidance is advised.
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