PCPartPicker Part List
Greetings, pretty much got my CPU and GPU locked in, was wondering if this build below is good enough for the mentioned title. Tq Edit*:2560x1440 not 2520

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$259.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler	$33.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI MAG B650 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$199.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	$117.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Blue SN580 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Video Card	Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card	$820.20 @ Amazon
Case	Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair RM850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$109.99 @ Amazon
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total	$1696.04
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-06-01 09:15 EDT-0400		*

I am very saddened by what this client offered as I think it is exploitative and very low. This is just less than half of my skill set but I am not sure how to proceed as this was referred to me by my former client.
Required Skillset for the VA Position: Content Creation & Management:
Video Production:
Proficiency in video editing software (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, After Effects). Ability to create both short-form and long-form videos. Knowledge of animation and motion graphics. Social Media Management:
Experience in managing social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest). Skills in creating and scheduling engaging posts. Understanding of social media analytics tools. Website Content Development:
Strong writing skills for blog posts, landing pages, and product descriptions. Knowledge of SEO best practices. Experience with content management systems (e.g., WordPress). Graphic Design & Visual Communication:
Eye-Catching Graphics:
Proficiency in graphic design software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva). Ability to design visually appealing graphics for various platforms. Branding & Identity:
Understanding of brand consistency and identity. Experience in creating cohesive visual assets. Lead Generation & Nurturing:
Lead Generation Strategies:
Experience in implementing lead generation tactics (e.g., lead magnets, webinars, social media contests). Email Marketing:
Proficiency with email marketing tools (e.g., Mailchimp, HubSpot). Skills in developing and executing email campaigns. CRM Management:
Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot). Ability to track leads and segment audiences. Customer Engagement & Acquisition:
Community Management:
Experience engaging with followers on social media. Ability to respond promptly to comments and feedback. Customer Support:
Skills in providing customer support via email or chat. Knowledge of customer service best practices. Chatbot Management:
Experience implementing and managing chatbots. Referral Programs:
Ability to develop and manage customer referral programs. Search Engine Marketing (SEM):
Paid Search Campaigns:
Experience with paid search campaigns (e.g., Google Ads, Bing Ads). Skills in planning, executing, and optimizing these campaigns. Keyword Research & Optimization:
Proficiency in conducting keyword research. Ability to optimize website content and ad copy. Performance Tracking:
Skills in monitoring campaign performance and making data-driven adjustments. Data Analysis & Reporting:
Proficiency in data analysis tools (e.g., Google Analytics). Ability to generate reports and insights from data. Skills in using data to drive marketing decisions.

Deep down I knew I don’t need permission or confirmation that my mother is generally malignant and the ultimate source of suffering in my life right now. But I can’t accept why my own mother would do that to me.
So I am turning to you for advice, support, and insights for ways to separate yourself emotionally and individuate from your parents later in life when you should've done so much much earlier. The adult part of me knows what I should do but there is also a part of me that is frightened. let me give you a snapshot of my life trajectory. The story is long but I want to give you as much contexts as possible. If you want a short summary of the dilemma, go to the last paragraph, otherwise, here is my life story (it is long because I want to give as much context as possible, and also show clues for the many different ways a narcissistic parent can disrupt your life): I grew up in a well-to-do family in an East Asian country, my parents gave birth to me when they were in their early 20s and just as their business started taking off in the 'boom years'. Both of them came from very broken family, my mother suffered poverty, abuse, and neglect from her parents (she did not speak to her dad until he died, and almost never acknowledges her mother). My father was the least favourite child in his family of three, he dropped out of high school, ended up on the street (and, as I learnt a few years ago, later in prison for getting into fights). My mother met my dad (21) when she was 19 and ran away from her hometown, they grew a very successful business together in the early to mid 20s and became incredibly wealthy for a society that is generally still very poor. I had a lot of luxuries in my early childhood, we had a car, I had good clothing, but my parents were never around. I started boarding at the age of 3, and generally spent most of my time outside of kindergarten and school with my paternal grandparents, and occasionally, my mum's mother. My parents fought a lot, and I remember my mother threatening to take me away from my dad and drove away from home with me in a car with nowhere specific to go. Once things got really bad and my mother told me that she is divorcing my father, and we even went into another flat (for a grand total of 1 day) before returning home. She emotionally smothered me, told me that she would die for me and nobody would love me as much as her. As the expression in our language puts it ' You are a piece of flesh fallen from my body'. She hit me a lot, often over small things , sometimes in public, I remember being thrown outside of our apartment and crying in the corridor. But I thought she was better than my father, whom, in my mother's words, would swiftly remarry in an event of her death/departure, and I would then be abused by another evil mother in law and her offsprings. My dad was completely absent from my childhood save for the first year (I remember playing video game, going to the park with him at the age of 3).
Although my family was wealthy, my mother took me out of the posh international school I was in after 6 months and sent me to a state school that is (in)famous for being extremely strict and militant. I was a 'good, smart kid' in primary school, but when I got to the state school at the age around 12 or 13, I became very depressed and that life has no purpose. I was falling at almost all school subjects (except History), and I started drinking (my dad drank a lot, and alcoholism is culturally tolerated if not perpetuated). At this point something happened that saved me in retrospect. My family decided to emigrate to an anglophone New World country and I went to yet another boarding school there. Yes, I experienced racism and generally felt horrible about the way I looked (not good looking in the Western sense or sporty), but I got to be separated from my family and grew as an individual. My grades got better, and by year 12, 13 I was among the best performing students. Between 13-18, I rarely see my father (perhaps once or twice a year), my mother would visit periodically, they bought a house next to the school, so I started to live in the house (mostly alone, sometimes with my mother and whatever hapless young women she manipulated into being her assistant). My parents couldn't speak English, and I dealt with most family matters, as with many first gen immigrant kid. By the time that I was supposed to go to university, I wanted to do law & politics at the public university in my adopted hometown but then my father intervened stating that I would never get a good job at a respectful company with a degree from the backwater 2nd rate university. He insisted that I should go to the U.K. or the U.S. He also stopped me from taking a gap year to travel, so I mostly stayed at home, played game, whilst being a driver and an assistant to them for a year. I regret not leaving home and getting a job. I applied to many universities in the U.K, Canada, and Australia, got into most of them, and ended up choosing the worst ranked university because I wanted to be in London. I couldn't do a conjoint degree so I chose to study politics (as that's what I was interested in). University life was eye opening, I got to see Europe, realised that the world was much bigger than the conformist, conservative East Asian country and the backwater suburbs with strip-malls and junk food stores I grew up in. But the degree did not prepare me for life, and all those years of bad parenting, emotionally under-development made me miserable in my first taste of adult relationships. I chose emotionally distant if not abusive friends, was a horrible person who hurt people who actually liked me and loved me. I did no internship or travel because I was expected to go home during school holiday, helping them move house, looking after guests, and being the 'little husband' when my mother was giving brith to my youngest sibling. I really wanted to stay in London, I looked for jobs, very random jobs because I had no life skills and never ever made my own money. So in the end, I left, and had to return to East Asia. By this time, my father had moved to another, more cosmopolitan East Asian city as his lifestyle became more and more extravagant. I lived with him and started interning at a fancy company in the culture industry. I worked there for almost a year hoping they would offer me a job, they did not. I got another job fairly soon in brand consulting, and finally at the age of 23 started making money. I had a relationship with an older woman, she was kind and tolerant, and I was an arse. I also realised that I cannot combine intimacy and sex at this point. I tried to start my own freelancing consultancy, acquired the ability to impress other people (faking it). Things seem to be working, I almost made enough money to support my life, but I was fundamentally lost and unhappy. I had the first depressive episode in my life. I wanted to go back to London, to get a Masters degree. So I applied and got into my dream school, my father agreed to pay for my education, so off I went to university again. That was probably the happiest year of my life, it turned out I loved elements of academia, research, being with other smart nerdy people. I met an intelligent, caring, and beautiful woman, and we moved in together soon after. I discovered more fulfilling, freer ways to live, I found proofs that a successful life was not just about working for an investment bank, or being rich. I wanted to be an academic, so I applied for a PhD at the school, and I got in after two attempts. Academia isn't all rosy, the work condition is pretty awful, the publish or perish mentality literally sucks every last bit of joy and fulfilment out of research, I loved teaching, but quickly learnt that teaching matters little at a 'research university'. I got fat, my relationship got really bad, sex became non-existent, arguments soon turned physical, and I thought that I was a real piece of shit and better off dead. The only thing that kept me going at the time? Bitterness and shame. I felt indebted to everyone, to my partner because I was an abusive arsehole, and to my family because I was stupid enough to do a PhD and wasting their money (and my life away). The pandemic hits, and sure enough, things got even worse, I felt like I couldn't carry on anymore and that I needed to radically un-f my life. My solution to this: was to finally become the person my family wanted me to be, filial, loyal, and rich. I was ready to threw my life in London away, everything, my home, my girlfriend, my PhD and move back to East Asia to become rich, and 'stop being a loser'. I came home to 'fix my family' and showered everyone with love and attention in ways I never did. I networked and explored ways to get into finance, and I got an at a VC firm. Soon enough, the whole thing completed backfired and my life started to unravel faster than I could count to three. I hated the internship, it fundamentally clashed with who I was and my value, I cried everyday in the toilet at work. I also broke up with my girlfriend for a person who was the poplar opposite of her that I had no attachment to (and sex was great because there was zero emotional intimacy). Within 3 months, I had very little savings left, was living in a short term rental apartment, and spent most of my time in bed and eating very unhealthily. Luckily, I had a therapist, a good friend in Shanghai, and my girlfriend was willing to give me a second chance. It was also around this time I realised how my family's (what do you even call it) emotional neglect might have contributed to my unhappiness and depression. I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and medicated, the medicine helped for me to move out of paralysis. But I wanted to tell my family that I am very unwell and get them to love me back, so I confronted them over things they have done to me as a kid and showed them the diagnosis. My mother did not handle this well. She called me horrible names, made fun of me, and accused me for being a horrible son. This whole ordeal made me realise that I needed to break away from them, and what I had thrown away in London was actually the most valuable things I have in life, a career, a family, my own identity. After confronting my mother over her abusive behaviour and emotional smothering, she vowed to never see me again. However, after 6-8 months, she sent me a large chunk of money for my birthday. So I, stupidly, let her back into my life again, a part of the reason was the financial help that I needed (to feel safe mostly), but I also really wanted to see proofs that my parents actually did love and accept me after all. At first, things got better, she came for Christmas, visited a few times, celebrated her birthday, and looked really happy. Both my partner and I spent a lot of time with her, bought her gifts, cooked for her, and hang out with her to make sure she feels loved. But soon, she started complaining that she actually had a horrible time and was mistreated by my partner. To make matter worse, a year and half after I left home for the last time thinking that I would never go back, my parents promise to buy me a flat (and started to pressure me to get married). I accepted the flat, thinking that it would offer stability and freedom (pushing away the past experience of their emotional neglect and abusiveness). Sure enough, the flat became yet another way for my mother to mess with my life. It had daunted on her that I am about to become my own person and live in the flat and start a family of my own, so she lashed out and said if my girlfriend lives there she would sue me and reclaim the flat. She then went behind my back and started disputing the flat's ownership. We have already spent a lot of time and energy planning the move and all of this is happening just 2/3 weeks from the move-in. I have a demand job that requires a lot of cognitive focus, and I feel like I am spending a decent chunk of my day trying to resolve the situation in addition to processing the emotional toll of having my own mother out to destroy my life. I know I have a job, a family, and my own life, and I have a good legal case, but I also feel so unsafe, violated, and confused. I can almost feel the voice in my head telling me that this is all my doing, and that I am too weak. It is like I know what I need to do cognitively but emotionally I am paralysed. Do you think what I mean? What would you do?

So I am a junior IT student, and during a holiday i came up with this AI SaaS idea that scrapes the blog posts of any blog website and generates blogs for your company using the baseline of their ideas, and in my opinion you can't tell that the blog post is copied. (it adds in related high-volume keywords, changes wording & adds info)
I recently launched it (2 weeks ago) & I started cold emailing other SaaS business that had a blog and had competitors with bigger blogs then them.
Just to test out the waters.
I had a list of 150 companies and started sending some emails. And this morning I woke up with one guy that told me that if i continue to promote my app he would make a case to sue me because of copyright stuff and hat it is not ethical to do what i do.
It's not like a blog spammer, it actually generates high quality content to drive high quality traffic which would then lead to customers.
I've gotten some beta users from my agency experience and could see this as a potentially viral product.
I'm not sure what to do though, should I ignore and take the risk?
(site: https://seoheister.com)

So I am a junior IT student, and during a holiday i came up with this AI SaaS idea that scrapes the blog posts of any blog website and generates blogs for your company using the baseline of their ideas, and in my opinion you can't tell that the blog post is copied. (it adds in related high-volume keywords, changes wording & adds info)
I recently launched it (2 weeks ago) & I started cold emailing other SaaS business that had a blog and had competitors with bigger blogs then them.
Just to test out the waters.
I had a list of 150 companies and started sending some emails. And this morning I woke up with one guy that told me that if i continue to promote my app he would make a case to sue me because of copyright stuff and hat it is not ethical to do what i do.
It's not like a blog spammer, it actually generates high quality content to drive high quality traffic which would then lead to customers.
I've gotten some beta users from my agency experience and could see this as a potentially viral product.
I'm not sure what to do though, should I ignore and take the risk?
(site: https://seoheister.com)

So I am a junior IT student, and during a holiday i came up with this AI SaaS idea that scrapes the blog posts of any blog website and generates blogs for your company using the baseline of their ideas, and in my opinion you can't tell that the blog post is copied. (it adds in related high-volume keywords, changes wording & adds info)
I recently launched it (2 weeks ago) & I started cold emailing other SaaS business that had a blog and had competitors with bigger blogs then them.
Just to test out the waters.
I had a list of 150 companies and started sending some emails. And this morning I woke up with one guy that told me that if i continue to promote my app he would make a case to sue me because of copyright stuff and hat it is not ethical to do what i do.
It's not like a blog spammer, it actually generates high quality content to drive high quality traffic which would then lead to customers.
I've gotten some beta users from my agency experience and could see this as a potentially viral product.
I'm not sure what to do though, should I ignore and take the risk?
(site: https://seoheister.com)

So meron nirefer ang client ko sakin. Malas lang eh sa client na to, may pinoy na nag ttrabaho don mismo sa US. Am I wrong if I think this is unreasonable? $3-$5 yung offer nya for just 20-30hrs a week. Lahat to kayang kaya ko pero nagdadalawang isip ako sa rate. Please help me out.
Required Skillset for the VA Position: Content Creation & Management:
Video Production:
Proficiency in video editing software (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, After Effects). Ability to create both short-form and long-form videos. Knowledge of animation and motion graphics. Social Media Management:
Experience in managing social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest). Skills in creating and scheduling engaging posts. Understanding of social media analytics tools. Website Content Development:
Strong writing skills for blog posts, landing pages, and product descriptions. Knowledge of SEO best practices. Experience with content management systems (e.g., WordPress). Graphic Design & Visual Communication:
Eye-Catching Graphics:
Proficiency in graphic design software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva). Ability to design visually appealing graphics for various platforms. Branding & Identity:
Understanding of brand consistency and identity. Experience in creating cohesive visual assets. Lead Generation & Nurturing:
Lead Generation Strategies:
Experience in implementing lead generation tactics (e.g., lead magnets, webinars, social media contests). Email Marketing:
Proficiency with email marketing tools (e.g., Mailchimp, HubSpot). Skills in developing and executing email campaigns. CRM Management:
Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot). Ability to track leads and segment audiences. Customer Engagement & Acquisition:
Community Management:
Experience engaging with followers on social media. Ability to respond promptly to comments and feedback. Customer Support:
Skills in providing customer support via email or chat. Knowledge of customer service best practices. Chatbot Management:
Experience implementing and managing chatbots. Referral Programs:
Ability to develop and manage customer referral programs. Search Engine Marketing (SEM):
Paid Search Campaigns:
Experience with paid search campaigns (e.g., Google Ads, Bing Ads). Skills in planning, executing, and optimizing these campaigns. Keyword Research & Optimization:
Proficiency in conducting keyword research. Ability to optimize website content and ad copy. Performance Tracking:
Skills in monitoring campaign performance and making data-driven adjustments. Data Analysis & Reporting:
Proficiency in data analysis tools (e.g., Google Analytics). Ability to generate reports and insights from data. Skills in using data to drive marketing decisions.

I know there‘s already a lot of advice for deleting photos when you‘ve got so many you don’t even know where to start on here. Most of these work pretty well for me, but I recently discovered a new way to kind of gamify it that is so fun to me that I could do it for ages. I just search up a random noun generator online and then search for the word it gives me in my camera roll where it then either shows all pictures with that specific object or text that contains it, which is especially useful for those with way too many useless screenshots. I then just go through all of those pictures and usually end up deleting at least half of them. I guarantee you that if you‘re like me and have over 50k pictures on your phone, you‘ll find ones containing even the most obscure words!

What is Bhagwa Atheism ?

A hypocritical and privileged form of atheism that is critical against any religion (particularly Islam), but harbours sympathy for his religion in which they were born i.e. Hinduism.

Why is this sympathy?

The answer is simple ...casteism, we shall discuss this later on how this is deeply rooted in caste based privileges that facilitates such thinking. To understand this let me explain from my point of view:

According Marxism, in a feudalist/semi-feudalist/capitalist society there are two types of classes mostly, namely: the Bourgeois (the ruling class who controls the means of production and generates profit from the exploitation of working classes labour power) and The Workers (or Proletariats) (who do not own any means of production and has no power to purchase labour power of others, and they survive solely by selling their own labour power).
These classes emerge only at a certain stage in the development of the productive forces and the social division of labour, when there exists a social surplus of production, which makes it possible for one class to benefit by the expropriation of another. The conflict between classes there begins, founded in the division of the social surplus, and constitutes the fundamental antagonism in all class.

This holds true in case of several capitalist nations such as US, Canada, South Korea, etc. But however in case of India this classification becomes complicated due to yet another form of classification which effectively nullified any form of possible class conflict, 'Casteism'.

What is Casteism in Hinduism ?

Hindu Casteism (from material basis) is a form of hereditary class based on hierarchal order which ensures the flow the capital to the top most caste order and control over modes of production with the help of religious decrees itself.
It's a classification which sets 'permanent classes' based on their 'assigned' modes of production and their position within it's societal superstructures according to their hierarchy set by the 'permanent' ruling classes.
Once you take birth in one of these castes (hereditary classes), you'll be automatically assigned to the forces of production according to the 'order', which you'll do for the rest of your life.
Unlike Class, Casteism severally restricted upward mobility of people belonging to the lower strata of the Caste order, exception being a few handpicked intermediate 'gate keeping' castes loyal to this system. Who were sometimes rewarded by promotion, to become ruling classes itself.

So what changed this ?

Pre-arrival of British colonisation, caste and class were very much indistinguishable. Apart from ruling class there were hand picked bourgeois intermediate classes (vaishya) who were in direct service to the upper caste (sometimes the roles were reversed). The proletarian class (shudra and pariahs) were pretty much same as their european counterparts, lacked capital and hence no control over their means of production, in addition to that they also faced inhumane discrimination because of the caste in which they were born in. Thus were looked down upon as inferior subhumans.
This discriminatory system ensured poverty of the lower caste and prosperity of the top order, despite the lower caste comprising 90% of the population, as well as guaranteed cheap labour and exploitation of the working class 'caste'.
However with the introduction of colonial capitalism by Britishers the modes of production of old feudal order 'fused' with it to become a semi-industrial semi-feudal economy. This is when for the first time the European styled working classes began to take shape in India, parallel to hereditary classes that is casteism. This also introduced new bougeois classes within every community irrespective of their caste, but it's topic for another discussion.
Irrespective of the changes the older hereditary classes still affected this new order, those belonging to upper caste still had access to privileged jobs, better positions and capitals, hence were comparatively in better & prosperous position to that of those belonging to the lower strata of the older caste based order. With the introduction of 'English Education Act 1835' and later 'Macaulay Committee 1854' by Britishers, it further cemented caste order within this new colonial administration, ensuring the hierarchy of the upper caste and exploitation of oppressed castes.

Privileged classes and Caste blind class struggle

In words of Thomas Babington Macaulay:

"We (Britishers) should try to create a class of people, who would work as translators between the people who we are ruling and us, even though they may look like Indians by color; but their likes and dislikes, morals and thinking will be like an Englishman"

As, we can see the British were ok with the casteism as long as it ensured their hold and smooth management of their empire. Sure they helped abolishing the gut wrenching misogynistic practices such as 'Sati' but made almost zero effort to abolish caste system and untouchability (as this would mean they'll loose insubordination of intermediate 'gate keeping' classes that were in service to the British crown.
This new Intermediate urban classes had privileges to several rights within colonial administration in comparison to ordinary classes, however as we have mentioned earlier that with the introduction of colonial capitalism majority of castes further split into binary classes, economically forward and backward classes (note : this was only in case of upper and intermediate castes, majority of oppressed castes were still under poverty). The economically forward classes were infact the privileged classes and the economically backward classes began to fall in the borderline category between Upper-intermediate castes and Lower castes.
And this where 'caste blind' atheism, secularism, and socialism originates from. Who saw capitalism as well as colonialism as cruel system/occupation with respect to their material conditions but failed to emancipate and recognise inhumane treatment faced by those below their classes.
But does this mean that they were barred same as oppressed communities in upward mobility within this colonial capitalism?
No, They still had access to capitalist progress and upward mobility within the society. Simply put,

Casteism filtered oppressed castes from upward mobility within this new capitalist order while capitalism ensured that there will be limited progressiveness within the upper caste friendly circles.

So, whenever an economically backward class member transitioned into economically forward class they carried out his former progressive social ideas to their new found social position within society, while simultaneously giving up their resistance to capitalism. This new default ideology was known liberalism.
British colonial administration in India had many parallels with Apartheid system, but that is debate for another topic.

Consequences of Caste blindness in other '–isms'

With important positions still in access to powerful 'caste blind' and 'casteist' members of the society, they began to clash for power struggle. But they all had one commonality, they didn't gave up their caste identity.
During independence this power struggle began to materialise in two types of ideologies basically – 'caste blind' Leftism and 'meritocracy' based liberalism/conservativism but non of them were seriously against at each others throat as they were getting equal opportunities for their personal betterment.
But, what did the oppressed caste proletariats gain from this? Nothing.
They only got a chance at betterment when Dr. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Savitri Bai Phule,etc began to make efforts at upliftment of them. However their efforts lacked anti-capitalist approach which emphasized less on capitalist oppression more on caste based emancipation. Which later proved detrimental in their efforts.

Modern day India and caste based wealth inequality

After the ( ½) implementation of Mandal Commission and Naxal Uprising, it began to perturb this harmonic 'clash' between conservatives and progressive left-liberal dynamics as it began to inject more and more political conciousness within the oppressed communities for reservations and political participation.
This is where the concept of savarna meritocracy, comes forth.

Illusion of Meritocracy

Meritocracy is a belief that affirmative actions results in positive results and vise versa in reality is a capitalist hypothesis, a fallacy which fuels the illusion that we are in a merit-based system.

Meritocracies tend to stratify over time. Successful people will pass on their wealth and privileges to their children and can perpetuate a widening inequality of opportunities. It can lead to the misplaced belief that only their talents and hard work account for their success, neglecting the support they have received. — Chan Chun Sing, Min. of Education, Singapore

This meritocratic illusion began to impose predetermined conditions which were biased and opaque on underprivileged candidates, missing to match their criterion in fixed amount of time means ruining of candidate's dreams. In other words it was an underhand tactics to filter out 'representation based/unfavourable candidates' and simply stereotyping them as 'unworthy', disregarding the unequal support the competing candidates got due to their material conditions and pretends that they 'reward the best of the best,' also overlooking the possibility of discrimination faced by oppressed caste students at hands of Upper caste dominant faculties.

After 1960 more and more population of the United States spent more than one-fourth of their entire lifetime in schools, from ages two to twenty-two. As on so many other levels and ways of mass democracy, inflation had set in, diminishing drastically the content and the quality of learning: more and more young people, after twenty years in schools, could not read or write without difficulty. Schools are overcrowded, including colleges and universities. In this increasingly bureaucratized world little more than the possession of various diplomas mattered. Since admission to certain schools-rather than the consequently almost automatic acquisition of degrees-depended on increasingly competitive examinations, the word “ meritocracy“ was coined, meaning that the rising positions to be acquired in society depended on the category of the degree and on the category of the college or university where from one graduate. In reality the term “meritocracy“ was misleading. As in so many of these spheres of life, the rules that govern the practices and functions of schools and universities were bureaucratic rather than meritocratic. It is bureaucracy, not meritocracy, the categorizes the employment of people by their academic degrees. The number and the variation of degrees awarded by higher institutions grew to a fantastic, and nonsensical, extent. Besides being custodial, the purpose of institutional education was now the granting of degrees to provide instant employment. – John Lukacs (At the End of an Age)

Final Conclusion

Provided all factors what we can conclude that Bhagwa Atheism, is form of Hindu upper caste exceptionalism (Agonistic Atheism) which believes in:
•the illusionary meritocracy that their material conditions is due to the (upper) caste in which they were born in.
•hating all religious dogma belonging to all faiths (including hinduism) but still hold dear to their caste based identity, hence the sympathy for hinduism.
•merit based order, refuses to acknowledge caste discrimination and caste wealth gap, sees it as inherited inability.
•convenient switching between Atheism and minimal Hinduism.
•convenient switching between liberalism and conservativism.
Thus, it's a type of agonistic atheism which does more & more damage to gnostic atheist beliefs and their critical thinking potential, making them more and more susceptible towards theism. In case of ex-hindus it's hinduism.

OH. MY. WORD. First of all the new trailer was incredible. There’s so many things that are so hype. But the thing that really caught my attention was the visuals. Oh my gosh, not only are the graphics incredible looking. But mainly the colors! Everything looks so vibrant and alive, and I’m not trying to be the “oH wORlDs CoLOrs wEre sO BOriNg” guy at all, I love World’s visuals and Rise’s it’s simply just different, and I like that. I’ll be honest, I’m a youngin relatively, and stories 1 was my first monster hunter game along with the original generations. Stories 1 is tied for my favorite game of all time and I’ve always loved how colorful and poppy the games are. Idk just thought it was a really cool direction and was wondering how other people felt about it. ALSO NEW AMPHIBIAN.

I am in grad school. My program is tiny so everyone has every professor multiple times for multiple classes. I am taking my last class with this professor. The course is an advanced psychology course.
I am a quiet straight-A student. I barely talk in this professor’s class cuz their classes are late at night and I am exhausted by then.
In the past, this professor didn’t call on me much but this semester, they are starting to call on me more often to ask these weird yes/no questions that catch me off guard. My slow processing brain has no idea how to generate a fast response so I end doing that small smile and shrug I do whenever I am uncomfortable and don’t know what to say. However, this type of stuff is happening enough that I am starting to prepare for it.
For example, while lecturing about how different ppl define the word “trauma,” out of nowhere they called my name and asked if it would be traumatic for me if I fail this class?
(I get all As with this prof so I am not worried but my initial thought in that moment was “wtf…no…why are you asking this?”).
Another example: They were lecturing about how severe childhood trauma can result in poor social skills and “off” facial expressions in adults (it wouldn’t shock me if this professor thinks trauma causes autism, ADHD, etc). Again, they call on me out of nowhere and ask if I would be friends with someone with a weird smile?
I don’t think my professor is doing these awkward yes/no questions with other ppl. I have been diagnosed with ADHD but not sure about autism yet. No one at my grad school knows about my ADHD diagnosis.
What do you make of my professor’s behavior? Based on the details mentioned, how would you interpret it?

Let me preface this by saying I'm 44 and I've played ALL the ND games, including multiple replays of earlier games. (For the record, my faves include Danger on Deception Island (#9), Legend of the Crystal Skull (#17), and Shadow at the Water's Edge (#23). I begrudgingly purchased Midnight in Salem, and when I heard Mystery of the Seven Keys was coming out, I had to buy as I just spent several days in Prague and wanted to see how the game captured the atmosphere.
The good:

• I enjoyed the story the deeper I got into the game (and the action picked up), but most of the game was really slow.
• The interaction between characters / plot twists
• You learn a lot of history about Prague (and alchemy), including local food references and some Czech words
• I liked that the designers included both the classic point-and-click as well as "modern" navigation options
• The hint system on Amateur Sleuth level, although it can be finicky to clear out completed tasks
• There are several "jump scares" and spooky atmospheres
• The various views of the cathedral square at day and night

The so-so:
* The voice acting at times
* The phone contacts seemed underutilized; some characters you only interacted with once, and most of the time you can't actually call anyone.
The bad:

• graphics look severely dated
• on-screen text is blurry, which makes it difficult to read. And there's a LOT of reading of historical texts.
• I found myself constantly relying on hints; with earlier games, I could easily figure out what to do next based on conversations with suspects and clues. Not so here.
• there is a puzzle that involves a strong strobe effect, which could be triggering for those with epilepsy or certain conditions

The game seems to lack the overall cohesiveness of earlier favorites like "Shadow at the Water's Edge"; I felt like I was stumbling around solving things to get to the next puzzle (and at times had difficulty seeing the connections between events / clues) but once the story picked up in the final third of the game, I couldn't stop playing. Still a worthy entry in the series and it's great to see the ND games continue for a new generation of players!

1. Nature Walk and Observation:
   
   • Encourage songwriters to take a walk in nature, observe surroundings, and draw inspiration from the environment.
2. Photograph Analysis:
   
   • Provide a set of diverse photographs and ask songwriters to create lyrics based on the emotions or stories conveyed in the images.
3. Emotion Mapping:
   
   • Have songwriters create a map of different emotions and then write lyrics corresponding to each emotional zone.
4. Word Association Game:
   
   • Initiate a word association game where each participant contributes words, and then challenge them to turn those words into lyrics.
5. Object Storytelling:
   
   • Ask songwriters to pick an everyday object and craft a song that tells a story related to that object.
6. Literary Exploration:
   
   • Have songwriters read a short story, poem, or novel and use it as a springboard for creating song lyrics.
7. Song Title Challenge:
   
   • Provide a list of intriguing song titles and challenge songwriters to build a story or emotion around each title.
8. Character Creation:
   
   • Ask songwriters to invent a fictional character and write a song from that character's perspective or about their experiences.
9. Current Events Reflection:
   
   • Encourage songwriters to explore current events and write lyrics expressing their thoughts or reactions.
10. Dream Journaling:
    
    • Instruct songwriters to keep a dream journal and use elements from their dreams to inspire song lyrics.
11. Collaborative Storytelling:
    
    • Pair up songwriters to collaboratively create lyrics, merging different perspectives and styles.
12. Random Sentence Generator:
    
    • Use a random sentence generator to spark creativity and challenge songwriters to build a narrative around the generated sentence.
13. Travel Diaries:
    
    • Have songwriters write lyrics inspired by their travel experiences, capturing the essence of different places.
14. Historical Exploration:
    
    • Research a historical event and challenge songwriters to craft lyrics that transport listeners to that moment in time.
15. Dialogue Exercise:
    
    • Create a dialogue between two characters and challenge songwriters to turn the conversation into song lyrics.
16. Mood Board Creation:
    
    • Ask songwriters to create a mood board with images, colors, and textures that inspire a specific mood for their lyrics.
17. Reverse Songwriting:
    
    • Start with a chorus or a hook and challenge songwriters to build the rest of the lyrics around it.
18. Genre Fusion:
    
    • Encourage songwriters to explore different musical genres and write lyrics that blend elements from two or more genres.
19. Song Cover Transformation:
    
    • Pick a well-known song and challenge songwriters to transform the lyrics, creating a completely new story or perspective.
20. Personal Artifact Exploration:
    
    • Have songwriters bring in a personal artifact and write lyrics that delve into the emotions or memories associated with that item.

AI, what a wonderful invention, you can chat with it, play with it, get information out of it and copy their works to do homeworks- wait that doesn't sound right. When I was a kid at primary school, I wasn't good at English, but after about 12 yes old, I begin to develop writing strategies from reading books, especially fiction with action in them, I also like adding blood gore in them sometimes (proud to say I learn how to write animals dying from WC satire) so when the 2nd term writing was about cats and with action, I was pretty thrilled and over the clouds when it was announced. I prepared for it A LOT, like thinking of the plot and even write a draft of the action scenes. And the day comes where we started writing, the teacher gave us permission to use iPad and said for "research" and "learning" and trust us to not do anything else. I actually sympathise the teacher as after that my classmates used some AI to do their work. I don't have perfect grammar, my grammar test IS the one that pull my marks down. And your telling me that people just copy and paste and I have to be extra careful? And the app is self installed by the iPad itself. Good thing? I wrote 900 words (the word count is 250 above, most people wrote 4-500) and given the honour of having my teacher re-read the writing. Bad thing? I nearly have a mental breakdown because of the story while my classmates were laughing. And I don't even know my marks yet, it's either lower or higher than them, and I damp want to drag them from hell to back. So I'm just telling y'all, good luck out there and hope you don't rely on AI too much as most AI generated things are copied from other people.

I was going to build a pc for around 1200€ (Don't really want to spend that much) but decide to see what i could get on marketplace. My current pc was build in 2016, albeit with some upgrades down the line. It works fine and can do basicaly everthing i ask it to, just slowy and maybe not the most smooth.
I work doing webdev so I wont need anthing super powerfull in that aspect, and in terms of gaming its mainly just Fifa, F1 and the odd warzone.
The seller wants 800 but hoping to get him down to 700, it was allegedly bilt around Christmas time.
In his words : CPU has been undervolted since the first day, meaning that it does not consume more than 95W and does not exceed 75C"

Motherboard: Asus B550M TUF WiFi II - Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X - RAM: Jazer (Samsung), 32GB (16x2), 3200Mhz - Graphics card: Sapphire RX 6700 XT 12GB - Storage: M2 Western Digital SN770 (1TB), M2 Walram (512GB) - CPU heatsink: Deepcool AK600 Digital - Power supply: Antec Signature (1000w 80+ Platinum) - Case: Deepcool CH370 - Fans: Arctic P14 Silent (x4) 

Current rig (if you want a laugh):

- I5 4460 - HyperX fury(4x4), 1600Mhz (mismatch) - RTX 2060 - Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 - CoolerMaster G750M 750 W 80+ Bronze Semi-modular 

[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.
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