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New England Patriots News Catchup Links - OTA observations: Solid day for young rookies; QB throwdown

• Evan Lazar shares five observations as rookie QB Drake Maye and WR Javon Baker impress in second open OTA practice. 1. A ‘little things’ throw by Maye gets kudos from Jacoby.
• Mike Dussault finds Brian Belichick back where he’s happiest and grateful to be back coaching the Patriots safeties despite significant turnover across the rest of the staff and roster.
• Press Release: The Patriots and Beasley Media Group’s 98.5 The Sports Hub announce multi-year broadcast extension.
• Press Conferences: Jerod Mayo - Bailey Zappe - Chad Ryland - Jacoby Brissett - Jabrill Peppers - Deatrich Wise - Bryce Baringer - Brian Belichick - Dont’a Hightower - DeMarcus Covington - Jeremy Springer.
• Patriots Playbook: Takeaways from recent OTAs, Rookie expectations, potential changes to offseason schedule. (2 hours)
• Taylor Kyles’ Observations from Day 2 of open OTAs: Young offensive weapons made some big plays; Keion White assuming larger role in year 2; More.
• Mike Kadlick’s Patriots OTA Notebook: Tyquan Thornton is having another impressive spring; Maye’s footwork continues to be slower than the likes of Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe, but the focus on honing in that part of his craft is there; Chad Ryland finished practice hitting 4 of 5 field goal attempts; More.
• Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry’s Wednesday OTA observations: Drake Maye starts slow, finishes strong; QB snap breakdown; More.
• Doug Kyed’s Patriots OTA Notes: Rookie WR Javon Baker impresses, Drake Maye sees more work; Sidy Sow’s lack of participation saw some reshuffling on the offensive line. Atonio Mafi and veteran guard Michael Jordan saw an increase in reps; More.
• Chris Mason gives us 7 takeaways from OTAs: Zappe over Maye in QB reps; Strong day for Tyquan; Guard rotation continues; More.
• Alex Barth’s OTA notebook: Spreading things out on offense; Cadence work; Hangtimes; Attendance; More.
• Nick Stevens notes rookie WR Javon Baker highlights a solid day for Patriots offense at OTAs
• Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry share their observations of QB Drake Maye from yesterday’s OTA practice session. “I’d give him an A-, B+ relative to what I would expect from him.”
• Matt Dolloff’s Mayewatch: Rookie QB Drake Maye looked solid in his latest open OTA practice, despite appearing to remain behind in the pecking order.
• Doug Kyed reports how Jacoby Brissett’s familiarity with the Patriots offense gives the entire unit an advantage.
• Karen Guregian says it isn’t a big deal why Drake Maye is still getting reps behind Bailey Zappe.
• Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discuss Bailey Zappe’s role with the Pats, noting that Zappe has received more reps than Drake Maye this spring.
• Mike D’Abate observes QB Bailey Zappe “having fun” while competing for a spot on the depth chart.
• Andy Hart says the elephant in the QB room is the question of where Bailey Zappe fits on the QB depth chart.
• Alex Barth reports second-year defender Keion White was an early ‘surprise’ for Jerod Mayo.
• Chris Mason highlights kicker Chad Ryland eager to attack 2024 after a trying rookie season. “I’m no coward to a challenge.”

[INDEX]
I banked the fire and stared into the golden eyes of Beatale before I crept into my makeshift tent.
I still had my auric vision running and couldn’t help but notice the thin silver cord that ran from me to Horse. Firming up my aura, I reached out with my hand and grabbed it. I could feel the nearly imperceptible vibration between my fingers as I used my mind to probe at the thread. I could feel a bright spark of intellect, a light at the end of a tunnel. Pushing with my mind, I slid down the thread until the spark grew larger and eventually filled my inner vision with a hazy white light. Horsey thoughts nudged at me curiously.
I slid into the haze and immediately lost all sense of direction. If it wasn’t for the silver thread, I’d have no idea how to exit this shifting white fog. Horsey thoughts got stronger as I followed the thread while the haze thinned and cleared to reveal an endless prairie of green grass. I found myself standing before a naked man wearing a horse mask and I stared in shock. It was obviously me wearing a cheap costume horse mask — there was no mistaking my tattoos.
“What did you expect?” Horse neighed at me. “I am you and you are me and we are all together. Goo goo ga joob.”
Horse made a shooing motion with his hands and I accelerated backwards through the white haze and slammed into my own body with a gasp. I stared at the tarp overhead for a long minute, processing this new revelation. Horse was a part of me, a piece of my spirit. Whatever psychic stuff I did with that silver cord lead me into a house of mirrors where I got to look at myself pretending to be a horse. I can’t even deal with that right now.
Rolling into my blankets, I dropped off to sleep.
*Ding*
-=- - Welcome to the Dreamworld - Included in the Psychic Skills pack, the Inner Sanctum is your psychic domain. It is the mental fortress that you must secure and maintain to defend against psychic and spiritual assaults. All of your neurosis and fears are symbolised in this realm and must be defeated or subjugated before you can become master of the domain. Good luck. -=-
I banished the pop-up and looked around. I knew I was asleep, but everything was just as real as when I was awake. I was breathing, I could feel the floor under my feet, and if it weren’t for the pop-up, I would have sworn I had been teleported. The room I was in resembled an oversized luxury prison cell, maybe a thirty foot cube. No windows. Rough stone walls with thick mortar. Large brass wall sconces were set directly into the stone and suffused the room with a warm, golden light provided by glowing rocks. The stone floor had colourful Persian rugs tastefully placed. A high plaster ceiling was painted with a rendition of Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’, depicting me as both Adam and God.
There was a comfy sofa in front of a large screen television that hung from one wall and an ornate grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner. It was currently 10:08 PM. Another wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf, stuffed with books of varying sizes. The third wall was covered with pictures and I could see at a glance that they were images from my life. The fourth wall had a thick riveted steel door on the right side, a full sized mirror on the left, and a computer workstation in the middle.
The picture wall was my first target. A few were quite large, nearly life sized, while others were tiny prints no larger than the palm of my hand. Scenes of my life were displayed in each one. The largest was me riding Horse with a shit-scared expression, shooting at a pack of wolves. Others were smaller, each with different frames. Some ornate gold or silver, others plain wood, a few wrapped in briars or barbed wire. Nanny Ramsey holding me as a young child. My dog Jean with a red ball in his mouth. My parents, screaming at me. I turned my attention to the books. Books are safe. Books don’t judge you.
The sweet, musty scent of a used book store filled my nostrils as I drew close to the honey coloured shelves. Hundreds of volumes filled the wall from floor to ceiling, with a ladder that could be rolled along a rail to access the top. I smiled at the sight. I had always wanted a library like this. I pulled a book at random and read the title, “Confused Fantasies about Joseph Harris, part XXIV of the Middle School Years”.
I slid the book back onto the shelf. Let’s see what’s on TV.
The remote was a slim, futuristic looking affair with a minimum of buttons. I pointed it at the television and moments later the huge screen came to life and presented me with a simple menu for movies, divided into six categories: Happy, Surprised, Afraid, Disgusted, Angry, and Sad. I scrolled through the offerings for a minute, reading the titles and reviews about the movies of my life. It really bothered me that there were so few selections in the Happy section.
The number of Sad movies increased by one.
I walked over to the mirror and noticed there was a small sticky note pasted to it. “Astral Realm. Experienced users only.” I shoved the note in my pocket and stared at my image. Sturdy black boots, black denim jeans and shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons, deep brown gun belt slung at my hip, red bandanna and black felt hat. All I needed was a pencil moustache and I would look like the stereotypical villain in any spaghetti western. At that very moment I decided to grow out a goatee. I’d rather be mistaken for a bad guy than a victim.
So how does this astral realm thing work?
The mirror appeared to be nothing more than a mirror. It was cold, smooth glass surrounded by a wrought iron frame, and reflected my image. I didn’t necessarily want to go walking into danger, but I wanted to know how it worked. I pushed and prodded the glass in frustration until I noticed my image grinning at me. I jumped back in surprise and it doubled over in silent laughter.
“Hilarious, dude. You got me,” I huffed. “So how do I get in?”
My mirror-self tipped his hat and stepped to side.
I reached up to the mirror again and my hand passed through, vanishing as if cut off. Okay, just a quick peek and we’ll explore the rest of the room. I stepped through and the world shifted around me. I was standing back at the campsite. My body was insubstantial as a ghost and the tarp was a wisp of substance running straight through me. Non living things don’t seem to have much presence in this realm. Glancing down, I saw my sleeping body rolled up in the blankets, a thin silver thread running from it to me, and another thread running to Horse.
Looking around, I surveyed the campsite. My astral vision seemed to be on and had an unlimited range. I could see the life all around me, the distant forest was a sea of greenish-gold, grasses and brush nearby glowed with spectral light. Tiny ghost insects scurried while ghost mice nibbled at whatever ghost mice nibble on. Ghost seeds and ghost insects, I suppose. I turned my attention overhead and gaped at the sight of a monstrous serpentine spirit flying through the inky void. I dropped back through the tent and rolled inside my body. That was plenty enough for now.
I rolled through the mirror and landed flat on my back, staring at the fresco on the ceiling. Vinnie-God winked at me and Vinnie-Adam grinned. Climbing to my knees, I brushed non-existent dust from my trousers and watched mirror-me doubled over in soundless laughter.
“Hey, laughing-boy!” I yelled at him. “You’re like the guardian or something, right? You got it covered?”
Mirror-me stood and saluted with a smile, then gave me two thumbs up. A moment later, his face took on a serious expression and he wriggled his right hand in the ‘maybe’ motion. Then he pointed at me, tapped his wrist, and then a finger to his head.
It all depends on how fast I learn stuff, I guess.
Two thumbs up and a winning smile reflected back to me.
A large cork board was mounted to the wall over the computer and a small note was pinned to it. “Note to self: Don’t fuck with the Elvish womens.”
The computer screen featured a screensaver of me as Vitruvian Man doing callisthenics over the words ‘HumanOS’. I tapped the spacebar and was rewarded with the sound of powerful fans kicking to life as the computer emerged from sleep mode and prompted me for a password. Should I assume it’s the same as the password on the computer I pawned in my previous life?
Password: *******esi
I was rewarded with a sweet R&M desktop and a couple of icons. System, NeuralNet, My-Tunes, My-Movies, My-Office.
System was just what I expected, lots of .dna files and other confusing scariness that allowed me to tweak my physical body and mental state. My-Tunes was a collection of every song I’d ever heard and My-Movies was a collection of every movie I’d ever seen. Not that I’m complaining, but it would have been nice to have “My-Games” so I could play RDR. My-Office was a clone of the popular software by a similar name. I have no idea what I’ll ever need a spreadsheet for in this world.
NuralNet opened up a search engine called Me-Seeks, featuring a familiar blue guy.
I typed in “beer” and several thousand results were displayed, anything I’d ever read, heard, or watched about beer, including how to make it. This right here made the price of admission totally worth it, access to an exact copy of everything I’d ever read, and I was a voracious reader. Sadly, most of the stuff I read was futurology — solar panels, electronics, biotech advancements, quantum computing. The material for steam engines, blacksmithing, farming and the like, were slim pickings. That’s okay though, I could still reproduce the Gutenberg press, the cotton gin, simple internal combustion engines, and basic batteries along with some sketchy knowledge of metal alloys, acids, bases, and other things I had read over the years. All that wasted time watching “How Things Work” was finally going to pay off. I copied a few likely money makers to My-Office, saved the file, and exported to my Notes, just in case they didn’t exist on Aerth.
A popup covered the screen.
📱 [New Upgrade Available!] 📱
🎉 Enhance Your Experience with the Latest HumanOS Features! 🎉
🌟 Features Include:

• 🧠 Memory Booster: Increase your Memory for smoother multitasking and improved performance.
• 🔋 Energy Optimizer: Extend your battery life with advanced power-saving techniques.
• 🛠️ Utility Upgrades: Access new apps and utilities to enhance your daily life and adventures.
• 🗺️ Advanced Mapping: Never get lost again with enhanced GPS and location tracking.

🔥 Special Offer: Only 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0! 🔥
[Upgrade Now ✅] [Remind Me Later ❌]
Apparently I could upgrade myself, which reduced the cost of using my Utilities while providing other minor benefits. My Utilities would level up as I used them, which would increase their battery cost, so if I didn’t keep pace with an update to the OS they could become prohibitively expensive to operate.
Stupid pay-to-win world.
So, do I pay 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0?
I selected version 3.0 and klicked [Install]. After watching it download the update, it popped up another screen that asked if I wanted to update now, or wait until Midnight for the mandatory update.
I selected [No] just as the grandfather clock chimed 10:30 PM. I wondered if time ran slower in here, because it seemed like I had spent a lot more time on the computer than 15 minutes. Walking over to the imposing steel door, I noticed a bronze key with a thin chain in the lock. There was another sticky note on the door. “Subconscious. Please keep the key with you at all times.”
That’s not scary at all, is it?
I unlocked the door with a loud clunk and pulled it open to reveal a bedroom straight out of some royal castle. I could tell immediately that it had seen better days. The tapestries on the wall were frayed and fading. The canopy over the bed had a few holes in it. A thin layer of dust covered the mantle of a small fireplace set into the wall. There was a window letting in bright sunlight and I moved over to look outside.
I was on the third floor of a keep surrounded by the walls and turrets of a modest castle. A castle that had fallen into serious disrepair. Did this represent the state of my inner mind? One tower was shattered and the curtain wall under it damaged. The lower bailey was full of litter. I could see a few soldiers walking around the allure, keeping watch.
I have people in my subconscious?
Someone behind me cleared their throat.
Whirling, I discovered a familiar old man standing in the door of the bedroom. What was left of his hair formed a white halo around his head, his face was unshaven and covered with several days of growth. He was dressed like a poor and tattered manservant, but carried himself with a dignified air.
“Woodhouse?”
“It’s nice to see the master at home,” He said with a proper English accent. “There are many matters that require the master’s attention.”
“Uh, sure,” I said, hanging the key around my neck and tucking it in my shirt. “And who are you again?”
“Your personal manservant, of course” he said with a slight bow. Walking over to the steel door, he pulled it closed and it locked with a solid thunk. “Master should always keep his inner sanctum closed. One never knows if something nasty will creep in.”
“Thank you, uh, Woodhouse. I’ll remember that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “So what needs tending and how do things work around here?”
He smiled and beckoned me with a white gloved hand. “If master would be so kind as to follow me, I’ll introduce him to the staff and explain the duties and obligations of his domain.”
I’m 99.9% certain that everyone here is just me wearing a mask, so I shrugged and followed Woodhouse out of the bedroom and into the rest of my subconscious.
Five minutes later I was on the ground floor and seated on a shabby throne with the cast of a popular —and probably very copyright protected— animation in front of me. Woodhouse was the head butler and my personal manservant. Pam was the cook and demanded that I start importing sugar and alcohol before she was shushed by Woodhouse. Carol was a maid. Krieger was chancellor and Cyril was the steward. Archer and Lana were in charge of security. Ray was the marshal in charge of everything from the stables to the blacksmith.
I stared in disbelief at the motley crew kneeling in front of me. No wonder my inner mind was in such shambles. I was overcome with an irrational sense of anger at myself.
“Arright, listen up,” I barked, my voice echoing around the room. “I swear to God that I will fire every single one of you and hire circus clowns to replace you if you keep fucking things up. No joke. Circus clowns, got it?”
I ran a hand over my face as Ray pissed himself. “The only reason I’m not putting a boot in your asses right now is because I realise that you’re aspects of me, and the people you represent are pretty damn good at their jobs when they give enough of a shit to actually do them. As a team, you’re dysfunctionally fantastic and always seem to come out ahead no matter the odds.”
Heaving a sigh, I continued. “Things have changed and I need to get my shit together. I’m going to need every one of you to pull your weight and help me help you. Get back to your duties, I’ll meet you one on one later.”
My subconscious caretakers scurried out of the room.
“I’ll have one of the maids tend to the piss,” Woodhouse assured me.
“Never mind that,” I snapped. “I honestly had no idea my mind was such a shit show. I’m very disappointed in myself.” I pictured the Angry, Sad, and Disgusted counters on my personal movies clicking up. “Show me what needs to be done and let’s get started.”
During Woodhouse’s walking tour, everything clicked into place. This was some altered version of Bodiam castle, a location that was on my bucket list of places to visit. The royal council room, located behind the throne room, contained a “living” tapestry on the wall that showed the castle and surrounding land in real time. The castle was located in the middle of a small lake, and a single wood bridge led to the mainland. A small town surrounded the lake and a wall encircled the town. Outside the wall, the land was an irregular patchwork of forest and field, with a stinking swamp to the south. The entire “kingdom” was maybe ten miles across, surrounded by impassable mountains with innumerable creeks that fed the lake which drained into the southern swamp.
“Zombies are the problem, sir.” Woodhouse said, as I surveyed the living tapestry of my mental domain.
“Zombies?” I prompted.
“Yes sir, Zombies” Woodhouse continued. “Nasty bitey things that come in from the mountains and harass the peasants. They’ve gotten especially worse over the last few months. The soldiers do what they can, but they seem to have lost all motivation. Probably because they haven’t been paid.”
“And who pays them?”
“Typically chancellor Krieger is in charge of financial matters, although Steward Figgis has taken over the duty, sir.”
“Then let’s make Figgis our first stop.”
“Very good, sir.”
The office of the steward was run by Cyril Figgis, who managed the kingdom in my absence. It was overflowing with paperwork and charts, books and scrolls piled high on every flat surface. Cyril was desperately attempting to tidy things when Woodhouse and I walked in.
“Yo..you..your majesty,” Cyril stuttered, bowing low. Scrolls fell from his overloaded arms, spilling across the floor. He dropped to his knees and scrambled to gather them up. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon. Please forgive the mess, housekeeping has been slacking…”
This was the guy who ran things while I was conscious.
“Shut up, Cyril” I said. “You’re responsible for everything in this office. That includes keeping it organised and tidy.”
“Y..yes milord.”
“It’s my understanding that you’re in charge of making sure everyone gets paid. So why aren’t we paying people?” I asked.
“We’re nearly out of Fuks, your majesty. I’ve been saving them for emergencies.”
“Fucks?”
“Fuks,” Cyril explained, pushing a pile of books off a large chest and opening it. Reaching inside he pulled out two small bags and emptied them on top of his cluttered desk. “Gold and Silver Fuks, the currency of the kingdom. I can’t maintain the kingdom when I have no Fuks to give.”
Behold the subconscious kingdom of Vincent J. Carter, it runs on Fuks.
“So how do I get more fuks?” I asked, examining one of the coins. It had an image of me on one side and symbol on the other that could be interpreted as “peace among worlds”.
“You kill the zombies, your majesty.”
Of course I do.
Woodhouse and I left Cyril’s office and headed towards the office of the chancellor where Krieger worked. It seemed that Cyril took over financial matters when Krieger became erratic and proposed luring all the zombies into the city and setting it on fire. Not sure how that corresponds to my own self-destructive behaviour, but I’ve had some dark thoughts over the last couple of months and I’m sure they’re reflected here.
Krieger’s office was much neater in comparison to Cyril’s, but it wasn’t by much. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with an array of questionable items, including a still snapping zombie head in a jar. While the office of the chancellor was supposed to be in charge of financial matters, it looked more like a dodgy rummage sale.
Krieger was launching sword blades at a pig carcass when we walked in.
“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, standing in the doorway.
“Hm? Oh, your majesty!” he said, turning around and bowing deeply. “I’m testing a new invention. It’s a spring loaded hilt that shoots sword blades. Very useful for our soldiers.”
“Stupidest idea ever,” I snapped. “I hate everything about it.”
“Okay,” Krieger said, tossing the hilt into a nearby pile of junk. “But don’t blame me when you need to shoot a sword at a zombie and don’t have one.”
“So why aren’t you managing the financial affairs? Collecting taxes, paying people, stuff like that?”
“Because the population has declined so much none of that matters?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wellll, the population represents things you care about,” Krieger said, going into lecture mode. “And the zombies and other monsters are real or imagined problems in your way. Since you don’t care about too many things the population has shrunk to just what’s needed to keep everything running on the bare minimum of fuks. And since you don’t seem to have any long or short term goals, there’s no need to kill off the zombies and get more fuks. Everything is fine just the way it is.”
“No, it’s not Krieger” I said, grinding my teeth. “My mind is in a shambles. It’s a joke. I want it fixed. No, I want it better than fixed. I want it improved.”
“Oh! I’ve got just the thing for that!” He said, digging around in his pockets, “It’s a spring-loaded hilt that shoots swords!”
Pam and Cheryl were hanging out a gallery window jeering at Archer and Lana sparring in the inner courtyard.
“What the hell are you doing!” I snapped
They whirled in surprise and then dropped into deep curtseys.
“Your majesty!”
I took a deep breath, trying to regain my centre. “Get to work cleaning this place up. Find a room, clean it, and move on to the next. Start with my bedroom, then the throne room and the council chamber, then everything else.”
Cheryl spoke up. “Can’t do it. We got no fuks to clean with.”
“You need fuks to clean?”
“Gotta buy stuff,” Pam said. “Cleaning supplies, food. You wanna eat, you’re gonna have to spend some fuks.”
“Talk to Cyril,” I ordered. “Tell him I said to get you supplied.”
They ran off in the direction of the stewards office.
I watched Archer and Lana bashing each other enthusiastically through the window.
Several minutes later the sparring couple stopped and bowed when Woodhouse and I stepped into the inner courtyard.
“Your majesty”
“My liege”
“Enough,” I said. “If you have enough energy to smash each other, you have enough energy to smash zombies. Tell me what I need to know so I can start gathering fuks.”
Archer shrugged and spoke first. “You just kill the zombies and other monsters. They drop fuks.”
“Anything special about the zombies?” I asked. “Are they fast? Do people get turned into zombies when bitten?”
“Nope,” Lana said, resting her wooden sword on her shoulder. “Most of them are slow shamblers and just need a good wack to the head to kill them.”
“Some are special,” Archer interjected. “Occasionally you’ll have some fast ones, or those that need holy water to kill. They’re just bad memories, figments of your personality that need to be eliminated. Some are worse than others.”
“The zombies are bad memories?” I asked, imagining all the bad memories that I had.
“Memories, thoughts, insecurities, metaphysical mumbo-jumbo,” Woodhouse supplied. “They are endless, but constant vigilance can keep them under control.”
“So let’s get started,” I said. “Lead the way.”
Lana and Archer lead me up to the parapet over the front gate where I looked over at the dozens of zombies milling about aimlessly in front of the entrance to my mind. Pulling out my gun, I began to pick them off, easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The crack of my spell pistol attracted more zombies and I dispatched them with ease until no more were left around the gate. As I fired each shot I could feel some sort of existential energy flowing from me, draining some hidden reserve.
“Gather up the Fuks,” I commanded. “And Lana?”
“Mi’lord?”
“There’s no excuse for this. From now on, I expect the walls to be clear of all zombies.”
“Yes mi’lord,” she said, giving me a small bow.
Turning to Archer, I shook my head. “You’re obviously my personal narcissism, so just try to stay out of Lana’s way, or better yet - try to kill more zombies than her. If you think you can.”
Archer scoffed. “No contest. I took top marks in sharpshooting.”
“That means I should expect to see results by tomorrow. I look forward to it.”
Archer looked panicked for a moment then smiled. “Sure, I can give you results.”
Turning back to Woodhouse I said “Show me what else need attending.”
Woodhouse led me through the town that represented my mind, pointing out each business that had fallen into disrepair, suggested others that needed improvements, and additions that would benefit me. In the distance, I could hear Lana and Archer shooting at the crowd of zombies and with each echoing shot I felt a tiny bit better about everything.
[INDEX]

In the dynamic landscape of modern business, success isn't just about having a great idea; it's about executing that idea with precision and strategy. A well-thought-out business strategy serves as a roadmap, guiding every decision and action toward achieving long-term goals while navigating the challenges of the market. Pablo M. Rivera, an aspiring entrepreneur and visionary, crafting such a strategy is not just a necessity but a passion. Here, we delve into the essentials of developing a winning business strategy, drawing insights from Rivera's journey and expertise.
1. Know Your Purpose
Every successful business strategy begins with a clear understanding of its purpose. Ask yourself: What problem does my business solve? What value does it offer to customers? Rivera emphasizes the importance of aligning your business goals with your passion and expertise. Identify your unique selling proposition (USP) and let it serve as the cornerstone of your strategy.
2. Market Research
In today's competitive landscape, thorough market research is non-negotiable. Pablo M. Rivera advises aspiring entrepreneurs to dive deep into market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor analysis. Understand who your target audience is, what drives their purchasing decisions, and how your product or service can meet their needs better than the alternatives.
3. SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a powerful tool for assessing your business's internal capabilities and external environment. Rivera recommends conducting a SWOT analysis regularly to identify areas for improvement and capitalize on emerging opportunities while mitigating potential threats.
4. Set Clear Goals and Objectives
A winning business strategy is goal-oriented, with clearly defined objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Pablo M. Rivera advises entrepreneurs to set both short-term and long-term goals, breaking them down into actionable steps to track progress effectively.
5. Adaptability and Flexibility
Flexibility is key in a rapidly changing business landscape. Rivera stresses the importance of remaining adaptable and open to feedback. Be willing to pivot your strategy if market conditions or consumer preferences shift, and embrace innovation as a means of staying ahead of the curve.
6. Build a Strong Team
Behind every successful business is a talented and motivated team. Rivera emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with individuals who share your vision and complement your skills. Foster a culture of collaboration, communication, and continuous learning within your organization.
7. Execution and Monitoring
A well-crafted strategy is only effective if it's implemented effectively. Rivera advises entrepreneurs to establish clear accountability structures and regularly monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress toward their goals. Be prepared to make adjustments along the way based on real-time data and insights.
8. Continuous Improvement
The journey toward success is an ongoing process of learning and improvement. Rivera encourages entrepreneurs to embrace a mindset of continuous learning and innovation. Stay informed about industry trends, invest in professional development, and seek feedback from customers and stakeholders to refine your strategy over time.
In conclusion, developing a winning business strategy requires a combination of vision, research, planning, and execution. By following these key principles and drawing inspiration from the experiences of visionaries like Pablo M. Rivera, aspiring entrepreneurs can chart a course toward sustainable growth and success in today's competitive business landscape. Remember, success is not just about reaching your destination but about the journey you take to get there.

In light of the Waddle extension and the signing of OBJ, I wanted to see how much we're spending on each offensive position group compared to the rest of the league. At first, I wasn't surprised by how much we're devoting to the WR position. Any time a team can lockdown two top-end skill position players such as Reek and Waddle, you have to do it in the modern NFL unless you have an extraordinary QB - no offense to Tua, but much of his production came after Hill came on board.
Dolphins spending on offensive position groups relative to the other NFL teams
Tua's splits thanks to Pro Football Reference and StatMuse

 Statistic Without Hill & Waddle With Hill & Waddle (estimated) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Passer Rating 93.7 101.8 Yards 915 3,776 Touchdowns 9 19 Interceptions 6 9 Games Played 4 20 

You may look at this chart and criticize the lack of spending on the OL, which is fair. Since 2022, here are our OL signings: (bold = still on the team)
2022

• Terron Armstead (OT): Signed a five-year deal as a major acquisition to bolster the left tackle position.
• Connor Williams (C): Signed a two-year deal to solidify the center position.
• Brandon Shell (OT): Signed a one-year deal for depth at right tackle.
• Greg Little (OT): Signed a one-year deal for additional depth at tackle.

2023

• Isaiah Wynn (OT): Signed a one-year deal as a potential starter or swing tackle.
• Dan Feeney (C/G): Signed a one-year deal for depth at center and guard.

2024

• No major offensive line signings in free agency yet.

Since 2022, the Dolphins have also used two draft picks on OL (Liam Eichenberg - OT and Ryan Hayes - OT) and two on TE (Hunter Long and Elijah Higgins).
A few thoughts:

• The high spending on the WR group has definitely shown up on the stats sheet. Last season, Dolphins were #1 in passing yards, #3 in passing touchdowns, and #2 in yards/play and net yards/attempts.
• Coincidentally, we're near the median in RB spending and a top 10 running offense: #6 in Rushing Yards, T1 in Rushing TDs, and #1 in Rushing Yards/Attempt. Rather than trying to make the case that having an elite WR group opens up the running game or vice versa, we can agree that they're mutually beneficial.
• Perhaps our lack of spending on OL and TE is overblown after all. The offense's job is to move the chains, and looking at the stats as an aggregate, they're certainly one of the more elite offenses in accomplishing this goal.
• Gesicki's loss was felt on the TE production side (though not his blocking ability). Our TEs accounted for only 41 receptions, 414 yards, and 0 TDs last season.
• The value of a solid QB on a rookie contract is undeniable. Tua played lights out last season and having him on such a team friendly contract is a cheat code that many NFL teams are trying to replicate.

VEHICLE VOLTRON I: THE MIGHTIEST OF SAVIORS RISE
written by Robert D.C. Barnes III (PeachLover94)
Inspired by "Voltron: Defender of the Universe" created for World Events Productions
by Peter Keefe, John Teichmann and Toei Animation
Based on "Armored Fleet Dairugger XV" created for Toei Animation
by Saburo Yatsude (Kozo Morishita, Masahisa Saeki, Keisuke Fujikawa,
and Shigemitsu Taguchi)
TREATMENT: 07-21-2017 2006.cosmo@gmail.com
NOTE: This proposal is the property of New Frontier Cinema (PeachLover94's production company) produced in partnership with World Events Productions (WEP LLC) and Toei Company, Ltd. Any unlicensed exhibition, copying or redistribution without written consent of the mentioned parties is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.
Vehicle Voltron I: The Mightiest of Saviors Rise Story Treatment
The Logline
In the Near Universe, an experimental carrier-battleship hybrid starship under the command of fifteen crack space explorers from the Galaxy Alliance of Earth comes under assault by the evil Drule Empire. On a faraway planet, they find fifteen vehicles which combine into the evil-fighting giant humanoid robot - Vehicle Voltron.
Main Characters
1) JEFF ♂ - Pilot of the Command Jet Explorer #1 which forms the head of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Jeff Aki Manabu. Being the leader of the entire Vehicle Voltron Force and commander of the Air Team, Jeff is head-strong, occasionally quick-tempered, yet still a great fighter and a very capable leader, even if he does not always follow the rules. During his time at Galaxy Alliance Academy, Jeff was one of the first to ever beat the no-win scenario test entitled the G.A.S. Zodiac simulation - by reprogramming the simulation to make it possible to rescue the ship and its people. A major source of contention with his peers in the Sea Team's Krik and Land Team's Cliff is Jeff's continuous scoffs at no-win scenarios trying to one-up his older sister Janet.
2) KRIK ♂ - Pilot of the Communications Module #6 which forms the torso midriff section of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Krik Miranda Keats. Hailing from the water planet of Dulcinea (Mu Arae c) with a light blue skin tone and pointed ears, Krik is appropriately the leader of the Sea Team. Speaking with an alien dialect (which can be approximated to possibly being played by an Indian), he has clairvoyant powers that tells him when something bad happens or will happen. Of the five members of the Sea Team, it is Krik who keeps a cool head and is quick-thinking when situations call for it – particularly when he is at the receiving end of a gun or when the security of Voltron Force is compromised. He will often share drinks with the others in victory times.
3) CLIFF ♂ - Pilot of the Jet Radar Station #11 which forms the lower torso and hips of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Walter Clifford Jack. An accomplished sportsman and former racing driver who won many circuits in Australian touring car championships before joining the Galaxy Alliance, he can at times be bad-tempered and reckless. Cliff studied at Sydney University before transferring to Galaxy Alliance Academy, where his own nigh impetuousness led to a clash with authorities over the launching (and subsequent crash) of an unsanctioned rocket he built. Hawkins took charge of the situation, steering the interest toward constructive ends, with Cliff now serving with the Vehicle Voltron Force's Land Team. But sometimes he misses the old days of his racing.
4) ZANDEE ♂ - Pilot of the Multi-Wheeled Explorer #10 forming the left lower leg of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Zandee Barros Carateja. Born to a Boston astronomer father and Brazilian mother, Zandee is boyishly handsome, still long in the process of maturing. An unusual combination, he has inherited from his father the mathematical ability and navigation sense from his mother. He is a phenomenally brilliant mathematician and space theorist. But he has also inherited his mother's Latin temperament, fighting what is his perpetual and highly personalized battle with his technology, suspecting that space is engaging in a gargantuan conspiracy to make his professional and personal life as difficult and uncomfortable as possible in both life and love.
5) CHIP ♂ - Pilot of the blue Advanced Recon Helicopter #4 forming the left upper arm of the Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Chipley Yasuo Mutsu Stoker, and the twin brother of Darrell Hiroshi Suzuishi "Pidge" Stoker or "Pidge I", the first Paladin of Lion Voltron's Green Lion of Forest. Chip is very much the youngest member at 13 of the Vehicle Voltron Force. He can best be described as the brains of the Vehicle Voltron Force, much like his brother Pidge I is or will be to the Lion Voltron Force in the Denubian Galaxy (Far Universe). When he is not tinkering with inventions or fawning over technology and displays of data, Chip spends most of his time with Rocky in trying to find suitable soul mates for Jeff, Cliff and Krik so that they can keep all their stress down.
6) MARVIN ♂ - Pilot of the yellow All-Terrain Space Vehicle #14 which forms the right foot of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Marvin Tasuku Izu. A good friend of Hutch's since childhood and both being members of the Land Team, the two can often be seen together, either playing cards or brawling with each other. Marvin is usually comedic, with his sense of humor being on par with that of Shannon and Cliff's in riling up Jeff and Krik. During most of the operations the Vehicle Voltron Force takes part in, Marvin's specialist expertise is in Demolition, Heavy Lifting and Logistics which he sometimes cracks jokes that are sometimes inappropriate only because he is able to do it so well for such a long time. But his jokes have even started to bug Lance.
7) GINGER ♀ - Pilot of the Falcon Jet Fighter #5 which forms the chest plate of Vehicle Voltron. Her full name is Patricia Ginger Ellington. She is a strong and brave pilot, who has always tried to fight the good fight and to this day maintains a distrust of the arrogance of science ever since seeing her family destroyed in an starship crash when she was young. She is smitten towards her Air Team commander Jeff, and the two still maintain a close professional relationship. With that said, she certainly doesn't hide her jealousy when another woman shows any affection towards him, married or otherwise. When not in the heat of battle, Ginger likes to spend her downtime shopping, hanging out with friends, or helping Cinda and Lisa with science and cartography.
8) LISA ♀ - Pilot of the red Space Prober #7 which forms the left thigh of Vehicle Voltron. Her full name is Lisa Haruka Kaga. She is very knowledgeable in ancient cultures, and always seems to know the right thing to say to others. Born on the colony world of New San Diego, Lisa was enamored with the ocean and all its native forms of life at a young age. This led to her entering the 2976 Olympic Games, and at 16 years old, became the youngest human of the Galaxy Alliance era not from Earth to win the Gold medal in the 400 meter backstroke event. Possessing an unyielding affinity for the undersea animals and environment, this makes Lisa a perfect choice for the Vehicle Voltron Force's Sea Team, as she is able to urgently take command if Krik is unable to.
9) CINDA ♀ - Pilot of the Rotating Personnel Carrier #12 which forms the right forearm of Vehicle Voltron. Her full name is Cinda Moya Qiligasz. Like Lisa, she too is kind and emotional, especially when it comes to nature. She is a Dulcinean like Krik, and the two are the main psychics and mystics of the entire Vehicle Voltron Force. It would not show up on Krik's file, but Cinda was often the only friend he had growing up back on Dulcinea, as young Dulcineans have their fears like human children have of monsters under the bed. Krik often had to have his fears reined in by Cinda, who vowed to banish all the monsters from peoples' lives so that they would not have to suffer like both she and Krik had to suffer. Even as an Alliance world, Dulcinea has hard times for Cinda.
10) WOLO ♂ - Pilot of the red Advanced Recon Helicopter #3 forming the right upper arm of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Shota Wolo Kreutz. He is a blue-skinned Galilean of the Galileo (Kepler-451b) system who is a noted scholar of astronomy and has authored several of the most popular accredited astronomy textbooks in use by the Galaxy Alliance. He is a graduate of the Galileo Polytechnic University with an esteemed Doctorate degree in Advanced Telecommunications. Among his friends, Wolo is known to be exceedingly patient, kindly and gracious and possessive of both great intelligence and poise as the gifts he has inherited from his talented mother through which he is able to take charge at times. The kindness comes from helping raise seven sisters.
11) SHANNON ♂ - Pilot of the Multi-Wheeled Explorer #9 which forms the right lower leg of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Shannon Tatsuo Izumo Cochrane. During his childhood, he piloted a deep-sea bathyscaphe to investigate marine farming methods in making food production on various worlds possible. Of all the Vehicle Voltron Force, Shannon tries to keep things from getting too serious by becoming the funny one, which gives him a tendency to get into trouble with Jeff and Krik over his flippant sense of humor. Even so, he chooses to fight for nobler causes than himself, as his brother was just taken to be a prisoner of what will be known as the Drule Empire on its tribute vassal world of Galra (Planet Doom) in the Denubian Galaxy (Far Universe).
12) HUTCH ♂ - Pilot of the black All-Terrain Space Vehicle #15 forming the left foot of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Kazuto Hutch Nagato. A good friend of Marvin's since childhood and both being members of the Land Team, the two can often be seen together, either playing cards or brawling with each other. In contrast to the comedic Marvin, Hutch is a regular tough guy, always looking for a good fight with any Drule that has the guts to challenge him mano e mano. Outside of space missions, Hutch loves to dance, listen to music, and wear the most extravagant clothes around. His strong, muscular build was put to the test during the 2976 Olympic Games, where he won the Gold medal in the weightlifting event to the congratulations of future comrade Lisa.
13) ROCKY ♂ - Pilot of the Strato Weapons Module #2 which forms the upper torso of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Rockford Kai Shinobu. He is the Brooklyn-accented member of the Air Team, usually described by the Galaxy Alliance and by the Drule Empire as the "Hunk" of the Vehicle Voltron Force, which paints a big target on his back for many of the Drule commanders like the Galvestonian Throk in the Milky Way (Near Universe), the Derinja Bi'Os in the Hyperion Galaxy (Middle Universe) and the Galran Prince Lotor in the Denubian Galaxy (Far Universe). He did not have much family growing up, so the chance to have a spiritual little brother in Chip gives him something missing from his life. He joined the Alliance to be able to make a chart of all the stars.
14) TANGOR ♂ - Pilot of the blue Space Prober #8 which forms the right thigh of Vehicle Voltron. His full name is Saluta Tangor Katz. He is as dedicated to his calling of serving the Galaxy Alliance on Vehicle Voltron Force as any of his shipmates. His off-duty demeanor is at times much less boisterous than most of his male colleagues, indulging in painting and playing the piano. Tangor has, in fact, composed a great deal of lounge tunes on the piano to play so to keep his shipmates relaxed and escape boredom. Some of his tunes he is compiling to be sold as an easy listening album. His and Wolo's species is the blue-skinned Galileans from their planet Galileo (Kepler-451b), who are very noted for their appreciation of the finer arts that speak to the soul about existence.
15) MODOK ♂ - Pilot of the Armored Equipment Carrier #13 which forms the left forearm of Vehicle Voltron. His full given name is Modok MacKenzie "Mack" Chucker. He is one of the few eldest active members of the Vehicle Voltron Force. Stern and serious, Modok focuses on the task at hand above all else. He acknowledges that his gruff approach can lead to conflict with the younger crew, though he always means well, and just is out to ensure their mission is accomplished successfully, safely, and professionally. When not on assignment, Modok is a self-described gentle giant like Rocky from the Air Team who likes to find a secluded spot outside the G.A.S. Explorer/Rugger Guard on planets and spend a day fishing and cooking whatever fish are caught.
16) HAWKINS ♂ - Age: 54. Acting Commander of the Vehicle Voltron Force stationed aboard the new Galaxy Alliance Starship Explorer (the pride of the Galaxy Alliance's project code-named Rugger Guard). His full title is Commander James Shinji Ise Hawkins of the Galaxy Alliance. While it is Commander Hawkins who gives all the orders to the Vehicle Voltron Force, he is Executive Officer who answers to Captain Newley on the mission of the Explorer. When it comes to saving lives, Hawkins is always deadly serious - but subtly cracks a joke every now and then. He's so dedicated to the mission that he constantly remains on assignment, and has very little time for recreation, much to the disappointment of his gentler and relaxed commanding officer Newley.
17) NEWLEY ♂ - Age: 58. Captain of the Galaxy Alliance Starship Explorer who is the Commanding Officer of and a good friend to the Vehicle Voltron Force's Commander Hawkins. His full title is Captain Richard "Dick" Asimov Newley. He regards all the members of the Vehicle Voltron Force as replacements for the son he had lost in battle, and sorely regrets his son's death in battle near planet Likon, along with the apparent death of Jeff's older sister Janet who represented him in court martial over cheating to win the G.A.S. Zodiac scenario, but was lost in a training accident. As a child, he was told of the story of Voltron and became intrigued with the prospect of finding it and bringing it back. Now it seems like that dream shall come true at last down on Likon.
18) PAGE ♂ - Age: 56. Science Officer of the Galaxy Alliance Starship Explorer. Though originally an aerospace engineer (albeit an unsuccessful one), he becomes the ship's primary medical officer. He is good humored and always willing to give advice, but he can become deadly earnest when chiding others' behavior. His full title is Professor Michael Search Page. He frequently sips up coffee whilst moving around speaking at an extremely accelerated rate. Despite his bumbling nature, he is actually very wise and knowledgeable, choosing to learn from mankind's past mistakes so that they won't happen again in the future. Page believes that knowledge is the most powerful weapon from any species' history and seeks the knowledge of the universe for this goal.
The Background
Long in the past of the Milky Way Galaxy, the fifteen-piece fighting humanoid robot known as the Vehicle Voltron was known as Dairugger XV by the peoples of the planets the robot visited. Dairugger XV or Vehicle Voltron was a sentient being, renown across the galaxy for its feats of heroism and bravery. Ultimately, this led to Voltron developing something of an ego, as it challenged both a reincarnated wicked Zaar King Drolmacht Dolmen and the goddess Arcadia to battle it for supremacy. Arcadia, having sensed the egotism brewing in Vehicle Voltron/Dairugger XV out of simple ignorance of its own power and not out of sinister malice, defeated but spared the robot as she pondered what punishment would do it best to teach humility/sportsmanship.
In a rage, the dying King Drolmacht disguised himself as Arcadia and tried to destroy Voltron while succeeding at slaying Arcadia. With her last acts, a mortally injured Arcadia managed to save Vehicle Voltron/Dairugger XV by splitting it back up into its fifteen component space vehicles - five joining into the airborne Strato Fighter the Kurugger, another five forming the submersible Aqua Fighter the Kairugger, and another five forming the ground-hugging Turbo Terrain Fighter or Rikurugger - that when all are combined together form Voltron. They were flung through space until they crash-landed on the uncharted planet known as Likon. It is here that the fifteen vehicles will rest until the arrival of the Zaars' posterity in the form of the Drule Empire of Galveston.
The Premise
Historically, the Vehicle Voltron Force story arc of Voltron: Defender of the Universe was adapted from the 1982 anime series Armored Fleet Dairugger XV - but was adapted to be part of a much bigger storyline. We start the Voltron story as a Asimovian science fiction story that is about how the titular machines came to be, used to solve problems, and how their presence affects people for good or ill. Taking the team of heroes premises of the Japanese Super Sentai/Power Rangers series, the galactic journey of Star Trek, the swashbuckling adventure and journeys of Horatio Hornblower, and the appeal of robots found in both the Gundam and Transformers franchises, Voltron is ready to launch with the debut film of a potential cinematic universe of science fiction.
In this four-quadrant five-act mecha science fiction epic, the Galaxy Alliance Starship Explorer launches from Earth in the year 2981 on its mission to chart the Milky Way Galaxy and to find new planets for the Alliance to colonize or terraform to solve problems of scarce food and water supplies as well as both overpopulation and resource depletion. They are forced to land and make repairs on the planet Likon by the forces of the Drule Empire of Planet Galveston, when fifteen of its primary space explorers find fifteen space-worthy ships able to join together to form the mythical Vehicle Voltron - Defender of the Near Universe. Can they join together to stop a Drule attack that threatens a peaceful planet? It may lead to war, but also a step towards evolution.
The Nemeses (The Galvestonian Drule Empire of Planet Galveston)
Aside from normal human squabbles and quandaries that face teams of people trying to survive in the hostile universe, Vehicle Voltron and its team of pilots have to contend with the new horrible menace threatening the Milky Way Galaxy. Many of the Galvestonian Drules of Planet Galveston (also called the Drule Homeworld) fit the tradition of the classic "empire of evil". Most of the Drules are humanoids with light purple skin and red eyes. With fleets of starfighters and space battleships; as well as armies of tanks, super soldiers and Robeast mecha monsters, Galvestonian Drules are aimed at making the Drule Empire a major if not the superpower in the Milky Way Galaxy controlling hapless innocents, with only the Voltron Forces daring to stand in their way.
1) ZEPPO ♂ - Age: Late 40s/Early 50s. Species: Galvestonian Drule. Homeworld: Galveston (Drule Homeworld). Eye Color: Red. His full title is Emperor Zeppo Corsair of Planet Galveston. Like many a major and admittedly rather incompetent dictator, Zeppo rules the Empire with the fists of iron fury, sending others to do his dirty work and harshly punishing those who fail him. With how abusive and destructive he can be towards his many subordinates on a bad day, it is practically insane that there have not been attempts to overthrow him as of yet. A complete and utter sadist by inclination, Zeppo is willing to send his forces to capture slaves from other worlds and force slaves of his own people to fight to the death. His tyranny is only egged on by his followers.
2) ROBEASTS - Wherever one goes in the Empires of the Drules, there will always be such things as Robeasts to challenge the Voltrons and threaten the peace of the Near, Middle and Far Universes. Robeasts from Galveston (Drule Homeworld) sent to battle the Vehicle Voltron are humanoid monsters created through more advanced science and technology, most often from the prisoners of war that are reared in Zeppo's sadistic gladiatorial combat, though some of them are simply giant robots piloted by Centurion troopers. There is often a platoon of fifteen robeasts ready at a moments notice to travel with fighters, tanks, space battleships and or Centurion armies to lay siege to whatever may get in their Empire's way. The Vehicle Voltron Force must take great care.
3) THROK ♂ - Age: Late 60s. Species: Galvestonian Drule. Homeworld: Galveston (Drule Homeworld). Eye Color: Red. Hair Color: White. His full title is Viceroy Throk Al Caponero. Possibly the worst of the worst, Throk is at bitter ends with Hazar, and the loyalest supporter of Emperor Zeppo. It is often rumored that Throk is the one stroking Zeppo's ego to throw him off the scent of Throk's own attempted bids at becoming Emperor of the Drules. A natural-born kiss-up and backstabber, he lives for nothing more than destroying any "invaders" that could make a pass at the Empire and generally making Hazar and his followers out to look like fools, imbeciles and other pejorative words not to be listed. But it is his lust for power that makes Throk underestimate foes.
4) CENTURIONS - Say hello to the mixed organic and cybernetic shock troopers of the Drule Empire. They all serve as the central backbone of the Drule military forces. Their drones have no built in weapons, instead using the same weapons as their mainly organic counterparts. Drones are capable of squad-level infantry tactics and understanding vocal commands. These androids can somewhat resemble fellow Drules, appearing to wear this green-purple armor. In fact, some of the living soldiers appear identical to their own Drones. In addition, Drule Drones can be used for scouting environments full of every kind of hazards, are more durable, and have no fear of utter destruction to claim victory for Zeppo and the Empire. Some are known to pilot their Robeasts.
5) HAZAR ♂ - Age: 40s. Species: Galvestonian Drule. Homeworld: Galveston (Drule Homeworld). Eye Color: Red. Hair Color: White. His full title is Chief Commander Hazar Dorita Teles of the Galvestonian Drules. Hazar is an athletic fellow, able to dodge and move around quickly to evade attacks. This is despite his large size, topping at about six and a half feet. Unlike most other fleet and army commanders in the Empire of the Drules, Hazar is often a composed and rational figure who never has a bad word to say about any of his underlings. He is his own worst critic, as inside, he frequently doubts himself on whether an action he or the Empire takes is right or at least justifiable. Due to this, Robeasts and Centurions alike find him to be more approachable than Throk.
The Heroes and the Twist
Each member of Vehicle Voltron's three teams (Air, Land and Sea) of a super force of space explorers is meant to be reflective of aspects of ourselves that we all have been at some point in our lives - a class clown, a lone wolf, a young genius, a tough guy who is also a mediator, and that young person destined for life greater than their own backyard. At the beginning of the story, the three team leaders Jeff, Cliff and Krik all function as the Id/McCoy (Cliff), Ego/Kirk (Jeff) and Superego/Spock (Krik) found in the Freudian psyche. It is what they learn from each other that they all have to pass down to the other four members of their respective teams in order to effectively come together and operate Vehicle Voltron to save both the Galaxy Alliance and planet Galateia.

I'm going through and beating every single Spyro game. Well, not Skylanders. That's a whole different bag of worms. But everything else is covered, from the heavenly highs to the hellish lows. I've played the first three games in the series countless times, so these will be more retrospective reviews - but most everything else I either haven't touched in 20 years or have never played at all. So without any further ado.
The first game in the franchise. The first I played, and the first I loved. My uncle came into possession of a PS1 when I was young and the only two games he initially had were Team Losi RC Racing and this. Spyro the Dragon. It was, essentially, love at first sight. The second I stepped into the Artisan homeworld and took in all its beautiful vibrancy, I knew it was the game for me. Course, that vibrancy all these years later is some low poly amorphous enemies and primitive grass textures, but it's still real to me, dammit! I'd say about 98% of you are already familiar with the franchise, but for that 2% that was born yesterday, Spyro the Dragon is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer. Blaze through levels collecting gems, recovering dragon eggs, and saving petrified dragons all for the good of dragonkind. Oh, and stop Gnasty Gnorc, the primary antagonist.
Course, this being an old game and the first to kick off the franchise, the story is pretty loose. Gnasty Gnorc displays his personality in...exactly one cutscene at the start of the game until you finally face him at the end. The sweeping majority of the rest of the dialogue comes from the dragons you save, which fall under three categories - a mildly humorous exchange, a helpful hint, or "Thank you for releasing me!" But don't let the lack of a real script turn you off - the environmental worldbuilding is off the charts. Just look at the homeworld names. Artisans, Peace Keepers, Magic Crafters, Beast Makers, and Dream Weavers. You know what these individual dragons do in their spare time based on those names, and they look like it, too. Dragons is the Peace Keepeers domain tend to look beefier and with more muted colors, whereas Dream Weavers dragons are slender and downright neon in comparison. Combine this with the many visual gags and easter eggs - such as gnorcs setting traps to catch chickens or even infighting by firing off cannons at one another - and the game does a solid job at immersing you in the dragon worlds without having to yap.
But you didn't come here for a plot. You came here for some of the sweet gem collecting, fire breathing, gliding and charging gameplay. This is probably the purest title in the entire franchise in terms of platforming. There's nothing in the way of puzzles or shooting galleries or anything like that - everything is strictly 'dispatch the enemy and set foot on every square inch of the map.' The goal to every level? Collect things. The method to doing that? Explore. Repeat this for every level. Well, except the flight levels - those are the one exception. But everywhere else, the entire order of the day is tracking down every collectible, and this game makes it a pure joy. Sometimes they're hidden away in places you couldn't find until you're at the end of the level and notice an obscure ledge you couldn't see before. Maybe you forget to check behind a specific tree, and there's your last gem in the level. But this never even gets frustrating - the levels are so compact and gracefully designed that you're not going to spend seven hours roaming back and forth between a 2-square-mile open world looking for one context sensitive button prompt.
I should touch on just a couple specific levels to give some examples of what makes the game tick. The first one in the entire game you're likely to enter is Stone Hill, a lush, hilly, flowing map. I've heard some people argue that it's too empty, but I think it's a good thing for an early level. You've got plenty of room to charge around and get your bearings. The addition of an entire upper level that surrounds the rest of the level is great as well to drill home the concept of verticality. But if you want an example of how vicious the levels can get, look no further than Tree Tops. It's unlikely that you'll die to the enemies - they're nothing special. But the most well hidden collectibles are stashed away on far away islands you can only reach by properly exploiting the level's many supercharge ramps and stringing them together to create incredible distance in your glides. No matter how many times I play the game, this one still stumps me when I come back to it. You'll probably lose a few lives plummeting into the abyss.
Recalling the flight levels, now. They're at their hardest in this game, honestly. Future Spyro games would generally put the obstacles in a sensible and easy to parse out order - though faster options would of course exist. They're just kinda all hard in this one, though. You've got really tight windows to make sure you flame every chest, fly through every arch, etc. Some of them still take me a few tries to get down, and I've probably 120%'d this game close to a dozen times. But if you want that full percentage, you'll have to figure it out. They're my least favorite part of the game, even if they do present something a little different to do. Side note: One of the dragons you rescue says these levels help you 'learn to fly'. I was so stoked as a kid assuming that beating them all would unlock flight in every level. Yeah, that didn't happen.
Otherwise, the only other major diversion is the boss level in each world. Laid out like any other normal level, but usually a little harder and with a boss at the end. I'm gonna be honest; the bosses in this game are mostly kinda ass. Most of them are just...Walk up and flame them. Except for Metalhead in Beast Makers. Special shoutout to him. You have to actually charge powered up pylons when they're on cooldown to take him out. It's simple, but it's SOMETHING different. Honestly, probably my favorite level in all Beast Makers, as even the explorative approaching segments leading up to him are really well done. But even the final boss in the game, Gnasty Gnorc himself, is just a kinda mind numbing chase. You're charging the entire time, and it's not great. But, again, first game in the franchise and all that.
But you're probably wondering what you get for going through all this and collecting every little piece of treasure. Why, Gnasty's Loot of course, a bonus stage chock full of treasure and...Thief chases. Goody. The level has this awkward mechanic where there's an invisible ceiling that only raises when you get to that level on foot, and it's honestly pretty clunky. Still, that final room where you collect something like 1000 treasure in a single explosion is pretty gratifying. Despite my nay-saying the bosses and the final level, I really do adore the sweeping majority of this game. The atmosphere of each and every level is simply wonderful. Stewart Copeland's soundtrack is to die for as well, with some absolutely infectious tunes that have stayed nestled in my head for the past 25 years. The presentation is just so spot on and the explorative level design, while typically small, is just so fun to go through. All in all, one of my favorite games of all time with some very small nitpicks that really don't tarnish the overall appeal of it for me at all. Strongly, strongly recommended.

Mars, is associated with action, energy, and assertiveness, is a planet that, contrary to some beliefs, is not inherently "bad." Its placement in astrocartography can be a powerful catalyst for positive change. Understanding Mars in different house positions, especially in a relocated chart, and considering its natal aspects, can be key in harnessing its dynamic energy for specific life goals.
Mars Lines in Astrocartography: Unleashing Dynamic Energy
Mars lines in astrocartography offer unique opportunities:

• Initiating Bold Ventures: Mars’s fiery energy is excellent for kickstarting new projects and taking decisive action.
• Energizing Physical Activity: These lines are ideal for engaging in physical pursuits, enhancing athletic performance, and boosting overall vitality.
• Cultivating Assertiveness: Under a Mars line, you might find an increased capacity for assertiveness, helping you to advocate for yourself more confidently.

Optimal Houses for Mars in a Relocated Chart
1st House (Self-Assertiveness and Vitality):

• Mars in the 1st house enhances self-confidence, assertiveness, and physical energy. It's perfect for personal transformation and taking initiative in your own life.

6th House (Daily Work and Health):

• Here, Mars boosts work ethic, productivity, and motivation in daily routines. It's beneficial for developing a disciplined approach to health and work.

7th House (Partnerships and Interpersonal Dynamics):

• Mars in the 7th house can energize personal and business relationships. It brings a direct, upfront approach to dealing with others, though it may also heighten conflicts.

8th House (Transformation and Shared Resources):

• This is a powerful placement for Mars, emphasizing personal transformation, dealing with shared resources, and navigating deep, intense experiences. It can bring a fearless approach to facing life's deeper and more complex aspects.

10th House (Career and Public Life):

• In the 10th house, Mars can significantly enhance career ambitions, encouraging leadership and entrepreneurial efforts. It's ideal for professions requiring assertiveness and drive.

Harnessing Mars’ Energy Wisely

• Balancing Assertiveness: It’s crucial to balance Mars’s assertiveness with tact to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
• Setting and Pursuing Goals: Mars lines are excellent for clear goal-setting and relentless pursuit of these objectives.
• Channeling Physical Energy: Engaging in sports or physical activities can be a healthy outlet for Mars’s vigorous energy.

Importance of Natal Aspects

• Mars’s effects vary based on its aspects in your natal chart. Benefic aspects can make its energy more manageable, while challenging aspects might require caution to avoid impulsiveness.

Redefining Mars’s Role
Mars is not just about aggression or conflict. It symbolizes the courage to act, the drive to pursue passions, and the strength to defend what matters. It’s a planet that encourages action and determination.
Conclusion
Mars lines in astrocartography can be transformative, offering energy, assertiveness, and the drive needed to make significant life changes. Whether boosting your career, empowering personal relationships, or navigating transformative experiences, Mars provides the dynamism to achieve your goals. By understanding Mars in your astrocartography and relocated chart, especially in relation to your natal aspects, you can tap into a wellspring of power and action, using Mars not as a source of conflict but as a force for positive and assertive change.

Disclaimer that I'm mainly writing this with TMS in mind because I think that best epitomizes this train of thought though much of this could still apply to the entire oeuvre as much as it also couldn't, and I also must concede that for as much as I refer to their use of atonality and unconventional musicality, there are still, of course, converse examples of this all over the catalogue (also with a function that I think fits still into this thesis, as far as their employment of what have become archetypal musical memes and tropes that come from popular western music).
Also a disclaimer that when I say "pop," I'm referring broadly to the canon of popular music writ large(from rock to punk to hip-hop to pop-pop), but also including the more culturally-industrially connotations that we'd associate with the word, as per that intentionally engineered and abstractly effective elementality that makes something have major label marketability, radio viability, and chart success. I use the term multi-intentioned in this sense.
Required reading in general but also this post owes some of its general mentality to this great post from u/mcfartknocker
…
Death Grips is conceived to sound like popular music from the next century. Their aesthetic goal is what Stefan describes as "familiar music of the future," with pop(ular) form as the conscious medium by which to achieve that--the standard being "it has to be blowing systems in 2099."
How does one reverse engineer future music? it's essentially an act of science fiction, namely speculative fiction. One has to ask oneself, what does popular music sound like 100 years in the future?
As in all good science fiction about the future, one doesn't merely blindly guess. one looks at the present and the past and sees what is happening, what has lasted, what feels timeless now, and what feels arbitrary and passing now. This reveals what cyclical tendencies are, what the transhistorical throughlines are, if any.
As per them referring to it as a musical "mantra," (same interview linked above) I think that DG landed on the idea that primal, tribal pulse and "the use of negative space within bounce" are timeless universals--as per the deterministic tendencies of terrestrial human biology, and that the language of pop structure will continue to persist as a cross-culturally unifying global commodity as technocapitalist globalization only expands and accelerates.
Markets accelerate the deterministic tendencies of human biology, bodies pushed to their own respective and communal limits as the demands of both advertising, consumer-tribal coercion, and commodities themselves necessarily grow more narcotic and compulsive in relational nature and technology only deepens the possibilities and power of this process over the original, flailing ape with headphones on.
In other words, pop is both a military-grade weapon but also employs the base 'truth' of human rhythm, mutating in extremity, complexity, and innovation along with the culture around it. The beat hacks and hijacks, possesses the body. Once one understands what the language of both pop and the universalizing primal elements within it constitutes, one has a skeleton key to what will happen to animal ears of the future, in essence far more than exactitude(which is never what matters most in speculative fiction anyway).
Not from the future as such but for the future. Match the mentality that leads the charge of innovation and acceleration in musical cultures and follow that to its natural extremities--how the ape plugs into culture and vice-versa. Not predicting, but channeling. Cyber audiomancy that reflects the future by plunging through the tribal past that walks among us everyday in the core of what infects people most in good beats, and which is paramount when stepping into any distinctly tribal culture still accessible, however scathed or not colonially speaking.
To this end, The Money Store is consciously a post-globalized 'third world' internetted capsule of frequently explicitly tribal, bounce-based rhythms that exhibit tight pop structure and hooks but tend to rest on timbre, texture, and atonality over traditional popular western chord structures, keys, or melodies for its novelty and thrills.
In constructing the classic music of future, the universalizing conceit of the tribal beat, that bounce that, as I think Zach even cites at one point, mirrors the beat of the heart are preserved as cultural universals(as they say in anthropology), whilst the potentially too-culturally-specific factors of distinctively typical scales and chord progressions are eschewed in favor of the rhizomatic, decentralized, increasingly digitalized, fractalized modes of the future. The things favored by space and facelessness; the blur, the shatter, the disintegrant. No obvious regional context or stationed there for long, the slither of a global mind that swims too fast to be defined by exact old-world geographic means of thinking or expressing.
In this is the estimative leap, following the tendencies of where both avant-garde and electronic music had been heading towards the end of the century, that there is a casted focus on fragmented samples that move too fast to describe or locate in their original state, emphasis on texture over symphonic progression, and laser-like atonal top-lines over conventional scales and themes. The quintessence of all elements themselves humbled and equalized under their innate distortability as sound, subject to any bend of pitch-shifting or granular synthesis…"it sounds like a broadcast because it is a broadcast" (again from the Quietus interview).
That is basically how to transpose "future primitive digital" (I link True Vulture for the full phrase but the "future primitive" has been employed by the band many times in various contexts) into musical form; the original monkey jacked into the accelerating vectors of the internet, the hub of an ever-increasingly post-human society (mentally and physically speaking), where one is beset with adaptation to inhospitable norms that hijack and mine the depths and stocks of human brain chemicals to facilitate maximum ad traffic…A 24/7 lighted vista of neural heroin (not that old-world dope isn't neural in nature, but) where one can live psychically, but the problem of the body remains, as the body remains. The ape. The part with the heart, the thing that moves to a beat, that dances and grooves to the pulse of a drop.
Embracing the digital landscape with total acknowledgement and awareness of the limits and benefits of a body is how I would describe "future primitive" in totem, and I think the above paragraph is exactly how musically one would adapt those aspects technically. The primal body (pulse) and the hyper-mutated head (dissolving of all other boundaries and signifiers into warpspeed stew that fires too fast for old-world blues scales).
In 2099, people may not know or care about Smoke On The Water, but will know what roaring bass and shrieking treble means, because it's a matter of feeling, not history. Core and edge that survives archeological time, a kind of musical esperanto meant to be accessible in the future across the globe, down to how so often even the lyrics employ phrases and words from various languages very casually, non-chalantly alongside English.
Another kind of post-globalization polyglottal memetic sleight of hand is how multinational corpo artifacts like the McDonald's logo, brandnames like Toyota, Apple, or Google, original peak-era cellular ringtones, PC system sounds, and the music in commercials are meant to be recognizable, pronounceable(in the case of the language entailed), and sensorily resonant across planetary culture. I believe it's highly arguable that PC system sounds, og-era ringtones, and earworm ad jingles are a huge inspiration for the melodies and samples on ExMil and TMS, and it's also circularly fitting that many of those are engineered to have cross-cultural appeal, unbound by exactly regionally discernible musicality, tending towards heavily decontextualized melody lines or one or two notes overall.
This universality is not quite a humanist togetherness that's aspired to here, but more so merely one of utility and realism--fiercely armed and insured mobile cultural currency. This is the way the world is heading, acceleration and mutation is inevitable, unswervable, one can tap into its power by riding the wave aesthetically as lucidly as possible and rendering something that will, by virtue of its impact, thread both global and immediate cultural-historical lines. The 'future' is a mentality meaning primarily to not be bound by the confines of tradition and persistent baseless ritual, to think beyond, to feel outside of conventional structures, and so the universality of the future music on TMS is just as much about self-liberation and exchange of communally experienced empowerment as it is about wanting to be understood or standing some test of abstract time.
And of course it's the music of the impoverished, the music of the tribe. "Poverty and bass" being cited as their primary inspiration in that one early interview. I think somewhat in tandem with those early interviews where Zach describes this very explicitly cyberpunk vision of how we live now feeling like the dark ages(particularly re inequality) but with all this insane technology that is simultaneously dangerous but also yielding togetherness and progress. I think it's no mistake that Zach also cites arte povera as an aesthetic reference point for DG and this is reflected in the music here too. It's not just conscious of the morays of global popular and personal culture, it's instructively demonstrating an archetypally cyberpunk vision wherein one can jam and smash together the trashiest random youtube samples, old-school hiphop nods, drumline rattles, and drum circle rhythms with Aphex-like sleekness and live-rave intensity with very low production value and/or budget. "Third world in a first world," a more concise and materialistically inclined revision of the old 'high-tech/low-life' adage regarding cyberpunk's tendencies.
"We’re inspired by the future primitive life. We talk about experiencing the cusp of the digital age. Seeing it accelerate literally everyday is very influential. To experience everything becoming rapidly techno and simultaneously knowing this is still medieval times is strange. It’s interesting to think about what you hold onto from the past and what part of the oncoming unknown you embrace, on all levels". (Vice interview, April 2012).

Do you use the fundraising goal on all your posts? On paid pages more specifically. So the guys can tip on photos if they like them.

Moving to a location under a Venus or Jupiter line in astrocartography can be appealing, as these planets are traditionally associated with positive experiences. Venus is often linked to love, beauty, harmony, and pleasure, while Jupiter is associated with growth, expansion, luck, and abundance. However, relocating solely based on these "good" lines without considering the complexities of one's natal chart and personal goals can be overly simplistic and potentially misleading. Here's how to approach this with more depth:
Understand the Natal Chart: Before considering relocation, thoroughly analyze your natal chart. Each planet, aspect, and house position carries unique potentials and challenges. How Venus and Jupiter are positioned and aspected in your natal chart will significantly influence how their energies manifest in different locations.
Assess Planetary Strengths and Challenges:

• If Venus or Jupiter are well-aspected in your natal chart, moving to their lines may enhance their positive qualities. For instance, a well-aspected Venus could mean beneficial experiences in relationships and aesthetic pursuits.
• Conversely, if these planets are afflicted or poorly aspected, their lines might not bring the expected benefits and could even amplify challenges.

Consider Personal Growth and Goals:

• Relocating under a Venus or Jupiter line might be beneficial if you're seeking growth in areas governed by these planets (like relationships, arts, or education).
• However, if your goals or areas for personal development lie elsewhere, a different planetary influence might be more appropriate.

Navigating Difficult Aspects or Placements:

• If you have already learned to navigate difficult Venus or Jupiter aspects or placements in your chart, moving to a Venus or Jupiter line might help you capitalize on these lessons, offering opportunities to apply your skills in a more supportive environment.
• At the same time, if you're still working through challenges related to aspets to these planets, consider how move to one of these lines might impact your growth. Sometimes, working through difficulties is part of your developmental journey.

Balancing the Chart:

• Moving to a Venus or Jupiter line might not balance your chart if it’s already heavy with Venusian or Jovian energy. Sometimes, what's needed for growth is exposure to different, more challenging influences.
• For instance, if you have a strong Venus but lack Saturnian discipline, moving to a Saturn line might provide a necessary counterbalance, fostering maturity and responsibility.

Contextualize within Life Phases:

• Consider the timing and phase of life you are in. Different planetary energies might be more appropriate at different times. For instance, Jupiter might be more beneficial during a phase of expansion and exploration, while Venus could be more supportive during a period focusing on relationships or creative pursuits.

Seek Professional Guidance: Astrocartography is complex, and professional guidance from an experienced astrologer can provide personalized insights and help avoid oversimplified interpretations.
While Venus and Jupiter lines might offer positive experiences, it's crucial to consider the full context of your natal chart, personal development, and specific life goals. Astrocartography should be used as a tool for self-awareness and growth, rather than a simplistic solution for relocation decisions.

hi! sister wife sex strike needs a van! as we tour more and more, it has become quite challenging to consistently front the cost for rental vehicles as we have been doing so far (since neither of us own a car). this is why we are coming to y'all for help in raising some money to help us get a permanent touring vehicle. we have a decent chunk left over from our most recent tour but not quite enough to get a vehicle as big and as sturdy enough as we need for frequent touring.
we have several unique items that we are auctioning off as part of this fundraising effort. You can see those here: https://sisterwifesexstrike.com/fundraising
we are also accepting donations without bidding on any auctions via Venmo. our @ there is just sisterwifesexstrike.
AND! we're also doing an Instagram livestream telethon on June 6th at 6pm PT with a bunch of special guests to try to get us to our goal before the auctions all close!
I know a lot of us are broke so no worries at all if you're not able to donate but anything helps! we just want to find a more financially sustainable way to see all of y'all on tour :)

Hi my name is Neddy Constant I set up a Fundraiser called Accomplishing My Goals To raise money for my film project I need to Raise $5,789.34 before November. This project Iam doing from a NYC production company Called simba productions. I set up the fundraiser At angelink.

You saw the football players selling croquettes in the school for their fundraiser. They looked like they were working hard until one, a blonde guy, pushed the brunette guy off the wheelchair. The students and teachers immediately turned their attention to the situation. "Oops, sorry teach, my fingers slipped," the blonde guy said while everyone was looking and distracted. You saw a girl walk up and steal the money from the football players' cash box, and she also put most of the croquettes in her backpack. Then you saw her wink at the blonde guy, and he apologized to the brunette guy. The principal gave them a warning.
After the incident, you saw the blonde guy, brunette guy, and the girl laughing. The girl took out the money and remarked, "Good job, boys. Now we can go to that good BBQ after school." They both chuckled, and you realized the whole thing had been planned. Their goal was to steal the money from the football players, and now they didn't get any money to fund their activities.
Would you comfort the football players, stop the thieves, or ignore the situation?

You’re not being told the full picture of what’s going on with the Trevor Project. Here’s the deal:
Donations are down, way down, to the tune of 15 million. It’s the best job I’ve ever had; anyone that says otherwise has clearly never worked anywhere else or they’re just not interested in representing the situation factually. We work 100% remote, great benefits, and flexible hours. My healthcare premiums are paid in full, my mental health care covered at 100%. I have more time off than I know what to do with. We employ a ton of queer people and foster an environment where they can be accepted.
We are mission focused at our absolute core. Our advocacy team is incredible and winning battles for trans youth in courtrooms and in DC all the time. The work is hard, but we knew that before we got here, and it’s making a difference every, single day.
As an organization, we definitely have problems, too. We’ve squandered PR opportunities with our partnerships and our fundraising efforts need huge revamping. Pride is here, but we’re not selling ‘Save Trevor’ merch? Missed opportunity. Are the C-suite focused on the wrong things and entirely too white? Yes, that’s undeniable. Our last unsavory CEO needed to be ousted and the current one in the meantime isn't much better, but is hopefully also soon to be replaced.
We’ve traded in functional software for cheaper programs that barely work and laid off upwards of 15% of our workforce with no guarantees there won’t be more. But the cuts in donations are only harming the people taking the calls and the young people in crisis. So many of us are terrified of losing these kids to suicide as Trevor continues to downsize— they already proclaim they have nowhere else to go, and I have nowhere to send them. It makes me lose sleep.
I’m extremely pro-union, but this union has proven to be no help, and a growing hindrance. The union is suing The Trevor Project (a registered non-profit) because a group of union employees were being disruptive with emojis and snarking at the CEO in a company wide zoom meeting and one was later reprimanded for it. No big deal for them though, they already had another job lined up, but the lawsuit is still pending. At any other workplace, can you tell me you wouldn’t expect to get fired for fighting the CEO in front of the whole organization?
This kind of energy should be spent on ensuring protections against AI job replacements, prioritizing the goals of the affinity groups, or something actually worthwhile. I’m so tired of only seeing the privileged Trevor Project employees “speak out” about conditions. The conditions are great. The vibes are immaculate, and we already have the things that real unions fight for. Just because you have family money or a trust fund to fall back on, doesn’t mean the rest of us do.
If this ship sinks, there will be queer youth left behind in its wake and that would be a real tragedy, especially in today’s world. If you’ve read this far, thank you, and please help us keep The Trevor Project alive

In just eight years Loom went from $0 and maxed out credit cards to a $975M exit.
Founders Vinay Hiremath, Shahed Khan, and Joe Thomas, along with their awesome team (more on this later) built Loom around customer obsession and creating the best product for that customer.
The Loommates are on a mission to superpower productivity by challenging the status quo of text and live video calls.
To get here though Loom took a bit of a windy road - with two name changes and a few repositioning. Loom launched in 2015 as Opentest, but it was only in 2016, when the Loom we know today started to take shape, launching a Chrome extension under the product name Openvid.
Good thing they changed the name.
Then in October 2023, after having raised just over $200M up until this point, Loom was acquired for $975M by Atlassian.
Today Loom has 21M users at over 350k companies - including Tesla, Apple, Goldman Sachs, and Amazon
But this isn’t about where Loom is today.
This is the story of how Loom went from Zero to One. Click here for the full deep-dive 🚀

Loom’s Growth

The first iteration of Loom launched back in 2015.
The original idea was to help teams gather feedback through video. It was a one-line code injection to enable you to record your screen, yourself, and your audio, and was called Opentest.
They believed deeply in the power of video but quickly realized that this was not the right angle to approach the problem.
So in June 2016 they repurposed Opentest’s video feature into a Chrome extension and launched it as Openvid on Product Hunt - testing if there was interest in its new use case.
Within the first 24 hours they had 3,000 new users.
More than the previous six months combined.
Safe to say there was interest.
They now had their first users. Users who loved the product. A simple free Chrome extension that allowed you to record and share videos via a link.
No clunky video editing software or huge files. Just a Chrome extension and a link.
Then after speaking to some of their users, Loom learned that video could solve communication issues at the workplace - particularly for remote teams.
And so in 2017, they rebranded to Loom and positioned themselves as the go-to solution to replace the hassles of written communication.
Loom also had one more major shift in positioning and strategy - but more on that later.
Ending 2019, Loom was doing $720k ARR.
From here, growth sped up.
By the end of 2021, Loom was doing $35M ARR. And by October 2023, $50M ARR.
To get here Loom raised a total of $203M over the last seven years. But it hasn’t been without some hiccups.
In May 2021, Loom raised $130M at a $1.5B valuation. But for various reasons, some out of Loom’s control, such as mass ending to WFH policies and economic downturns, Loom took a bit of a valuation hit post-Covid.
Loom was acquired by Atlassian for $975M in October 2023.
This decreased valuation was likely also in part to Loom fundraising during an overinflated market.
However, being acquired for close to $1B is still an insanely impressive feat. I just wanted to mention this to give you the full story and perhaps a precautionary tale on raising in an inflated market.
There are still many lessons to be learned from Loom’s journey. Experiencing rapid growth and reaching over 20M users.

Key Success Factors (KSFs)

There have been many reasons for Loom’s exponential growth. But here are three that stood out to me, particularly early on in Loom’s journey.

🗣️ 1. Action user feedback:

After launching on Product Hunt, Loom (then Openvid) grew to 10k users in three months. Users were giving them feedback and they loved the product.
They had validated that video was filling the need to improve communication.
Instead of relying on sales and marketing teams to drive growth, they went all in on a Product-Led Growth (PLG) strategy. A strategy that relies on using your product as the main vehicle to acquire, activate, and retain customers.
But to maximize their PLG, Loom focused on getting two key things right:

i. Fast or instant time to value ⌛️

Loom met this first piece of the PLG puzzle by delivering value within minutes.
All you had to do was add the Chrome extension to your browser and you could start recording. No commitments. No credit card details.
Straight to the value. In less than five clicks.
But for PLG, you need more. You need loyal customers to spread the word.
How do you do that…

ii. Building the best product focused on users’ needs 👷

Loom became customer-obsessed.
They completely dialled in on their users’ needs. Asking for user feedback, listening to it, and then building for it.
The team built and shipped features every day. But not just any features. They had to fill three criteria:

1. Fell within Loom’s mission ☄️
2. Users and the team would find relevant. 📚
3. Improved Loom’s product. 📈

This is what led to their rebrand to Loom.
The go-to solution to replace the difficulties of written communication.
Loom had started to reflect their customers’ voices in their product. They had built a product their customers actually wanted and needed.
Loom made sure to show their users how their feedback was being incorporated, they responded to every single email, message, and comment - recording personal Looms. The Founders took turns on support shifts and built relationships with early adopters.
Loom was relentless in understanding its users. Tracking every piece of data they could, importantly: why people used Loom, where they dropped off, and why they dropped off.
From this, the Loom team identified multiple features that we know as key parts of the product today, such as notifications when your video is watched, recording your entire desktop, and leaving the video flipped after you record (they figured out this made users more comfortable with how they looked on camera).
During Covid, Loom increased the features on their Free Tier, halved the price of their Pro Plan, extended the length of their free trial, and gave any educational users of Loom (teachers and students) FREE Loom Pro forever (and still do this today).
Through all of this and more, Loom’s users became ambassadors. They wanted to see Loom grow. They wanted to share what they knew.
Their users wanted to share Loom.

🎯 2. Repositioned to find PMF

When Loom first launched on Product Hunt as Openvid, they had already pivoted from a tool using a line of code to gather feedback via video into a Chrome extension to record yourself and your screen - and share it with just a link.
Loom was used to listening to what the market wanted and adapting.
But critically, they weren’t just building new products all the time. They were making tweaks to find better positioning in the market.
Going from Opentest to Openvid, all the team did was repurpose and reposition their built-out features.
Then, an interaction with a long-standing customer, Scott from Hubspot, would change the brand forever.
The team learned that video was an awesome solution to solving communication issues within teams - particularly for remote teams.
And so Loom was born - a rebranded Openvid. Again, a repositioning to get closer to PMF.
They were now the go-to solution to replace all the hassles of written communication. Even though it was still the same tool as it was previously.
Loom then had one last major transition.
They wanted to now attract the biggest companies in the world to use Loom for internal communication.
Their GTM (Go to Market) strategy here was simple. Launch an existing product in a new market - Enterprise teams.
They accompanied this change in positioning with new features such as the beta Loom for Teams and a centralized video library (think repeatable internal messaging like onboarding).
This launch was perfectly timed.
With all companies forced into remote working and needing better tools to communicate.
Their messaging became more focused:
Sometimes to find PMF, you don’t need to change your product. You just need to find the right audience for it.

🕵️ 3. Intentional about hiring and employee retention:

In around 4 years, Loom reached 100 employees.
But it wasn't linear growth. It was slow. And then all at once.
In 2020, went from around 45 employees to reaching the 100 Loommate mark. Hiring 30 employees alone between February and May.
The team at Loom lives and works in over 11 countries, including Portugal, Brazil, and Australia.
This is intentional. Loom wants to structure its team with the goal of being able to work with the most talented people.
Wherever they are.
And they want to build this world-class global organization without anyone feeling like they’re not part of the Headquarters.
They want Loom to reflect the modern world we’re in.
This includes working with organizations such as Techqueria and Women Who Code to create a more inclusive and comprehensive recruitment process.
The Founders were also very intentional about the roles and types of people they hired. Choosing to hire specific skill sets for their team.
This meant looking for the best video engineers instead of the best general software developers. As well as making very specific senior hires, who had experience with very specific skills, for example, Joshua Goldenberg as the VP of Design, who was the previous Head of Design at Slack and Palantir.
Another critical piece of Loom’s growth has been a focus on employee retention.
They were laser-focused on employee happiness and retention as they believed it would be a key lever for growth. So far, they’ve been right.
To do this, Loom focuses on a few things:

• Extremely competitive benefits package (particularly for their size and funding), including medical, dental, and vision insurance with 99% premiums paid by the company (including dependents!), monthly fitness and mental health benefits, and much more.
• Clear career growth opportunities, with 24 transfers and promotions in 2020 alone.

They want the best part of working at Loom to be the people.
With the Founders stating the order of the focus of their business as:

1. People 👯
2. Product ⚙️
3. Profit 💰

Actions you can take to replicate Loom’s success

Cherry-pick successes to mimic 🍒

One of Loom’s most successful features has been its “someone has viewed your video” notifications.
Sound familiar?
We’ve all experienced the exact same notifications with LinkedIn: “Sabrina and 8 others viewed your profile.”
And we’ve also all had the exact same reaction of wondering who viewed our profile to only find out we need to pay for LinkedIn Premium…
Loom took this feeling and put it into their product.
They created an anonymized notification to let you know someone had viewed your video.
I can only imagine the excitement (and nerves) if you use Loom for something like sales.
This feature spiked the usage of Loom. Creating a curiosity hit in their users - as well as them seeing it working!
This feature was key in scaling Loom in its early days. And helped create a customer base that was obsessed with using Loom. 🚀
So look around your daily and work life. What are some features or products that you love?
Why do you love them? Do they make you feel excited? Curious? Inspired?
Replicate that feeling with a similar feature. Just like Loom did.
But be careful, you need to make sure this feature fits with your product. You don’t want to force a feature that doesn’t fit or doesn’t help your users.
You also don’t want to start looking like everyone else. So as Author Austin Kleon titled his bestseller, you need to Steal Like an Artist.
Add your own spin to a successful feature. Make it fit your brand.
Cherry-picking features also works both ways.
When you look around your daily life: What are some features or products that you dislike or even hate?
Why do you hate them? Do they make you feel frustrated? Angry? Sad?
Avoid features that bring these emotions out.
Don’t only replicate successful features. Avoid unsuccessful ones.

Give your users instant value ⏰

Loom’s time to value is almost instantaneous.
With the first version of Loom, all you had to do was install the Chrome extension, review the settings, and then you could record.
Less than five clicks.
Users loved this.
Loom was quick to install, learn, and use.
But importantly for the Loom team, this also meant that Loom was quick to share.
Remember, you’re trying to make your product as frictionless as possible.
It’s hard to get someone to add a new tool to their life and their routine.
Don’t make it any harder for them.
Make it as easy as possible for your customers to use your product - like Loom did. They didn’t ask for any commitments. Straight to the value.
First impressions aren’t only important when meeting new people. They are also critical in building trust with your customers.
So use this time to wow them!
If they love their first interaction, you will win their trust.
From there you can earn their loyalty by listening to and building for their needs.
To read all the actions you can replicate to explode your growth (with some cool graphics). Click here.

Outrun the Opposition is an LGBTQ+ charity fundraiser that I'm running for Pride Month. I'm hoping this will raise some much-needed money for some great charities and help achieve my lifelong goal of running a marathon by the end of June.

For every run scored by the Braves' opposition during the month of June, I'm going to run one mile.

I'm looking for sponsors to make donations to any LGBTQ+ charity to support this endeavor. Here are the three recommended charities:

1. National Center for Transgender Equality
   
2. The Trevor Project
   
3. Lambda Legal
   

Sponsors can make donations now or pledge a certain amount upon completion of the fundraiser, the choice is yours!

Tentative Plan:

June 1st: 18 miles (will be the longest run of my life)
June 2-29: ?
June 30th: 26.2 miles (the end goal)

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and go Braves!

Edit:

Update: There are four sponsors so far pledging $2.50+ per mile!

I have an employee database in which I keep the bulk of the information stored on one tab, then use additional tabs to filter and sort information. I created a table with the data, so it can be sorted and filtered; however, it's much more clear having additional tabs that pull just specific names/dates from the database.
The Set-up: "Probation Due" Tab - Contains a large chart for the year with the months listed out horizontally. I use the following formula to pull the list of names of the employees who have probations due that month (for example January):
=FILTER('Personnel Info'!$B$2:$B$505,
(YEAR('Personnel Info'!$AQ$2:$AQ$505)=2022) *
(MONTH('Personnel Info'!$AQ$2:$AQ$505)=1),
"")
B2 Contains the Full Name of the employee; AQ contains the "End of Probationary Period" date.
We only have about 200 employees, but the formula needs to reach past this number so that new employees are included on the various additional tables (I'm not the only one who has access to this database, so attempting to teach people how to do things with excel is not possible).
The Issue: AQ is a formula (=F2+90) start date + 90 days. This means that any blank in column F leads to the date 1900-03-30 in AQ. When I make a formula like =IF(F2="","",F2+90); it clears out the messy list of irrelevant dates BUT it causes VALUE issues in the Filter function.
I attempted to get around this via:
=FILTER('Personnel Info'!$B$2:$B$505,
('Personnel Info'!$AQ$2:$AQ$505<>"")*
(YEAR('Personnel Info'!$AQ$2:$AQ$505)=2022) *
(MONTH('Personnel Info'!$AQ$2:$AQ$505)=1),
"")
But I'm still getting VALUE errors.
The GOAL: Remove the 1900-03-30 dates from my data table without receiving the #VALUE error with my filter function.