I'm basically discovering amazonbasics / amazon essentials.

I'm basically discovering amazonbasics / amazon essentials.

These are at once amazing and kind of terrible. I got a laptop bag, and it's great and super cheap and really only good at carrying a laptop.

The USB cabes, for sure. That was the first item.
I just bought amazon essentials undies. They are ... fine. And about a quarter of the price.

What are some of your favorite amazon essentials / basics items?

Josh Mannon asks about the necromancers of Malqort:

Josh Mannon asks about the necromancers of Malqort:

Does debt play into one’s future as a lifeless or is becoming a lifeless seen as a patriotic/religious duty? Is the truth somewhere between?

This is a society where everyone's basic needs are met, thanks to the Lifeless farmers/builders/defenders, controlled by the priest caste.

Becoming a Lifeless is the last sacrament in the life of a Faithful. The best Lifeless require an act of will from the believer, and a priest present.

That being said, of course there are different types of undead in Malqort. The Lifeless are the overhwelming majority (maybe 95%?).

Some others:
Ghosts. The ghosts have a mind and their soul intact, so they have free will. They can move around -- though, some bind themselves to specification locations. Many priests wind up as ghosts, with power over Lifeless.

Objects. There are many objects of power in Malqort. There's even a transmission system between skulls, allowing for communication at a distance. A warrior may embody their favorite weapon with their essence upon death, a craftsman may choose to embody their tools.

Vampires. Undead with free will and bodies and the ability to move around are forbidden. These are anathema. Which is to say, it happens all the time. Some ruiniously powerful wizards / priests / others decide not to become a Lifeless or a ghost, and to build their own little empire in the afterlife. They are dealt with -- what good would necromancer priests be if they allowed the undead to take over?

So, debt qua debt doesn't play into it, though for sure class can.

In the Convocation of Malquort, known to its' neighbors as the Necromancer Kingdom, and to legend as the Caliphate...

In the Convocation of Malquort, known to its' neighbors as the Necromancer Kingdom, and to legend as the Caliphate of Azithan ...

The one percent own and control and primary means of production, namely the Lifeless. They build and maintain cities, grow crops, and fight. Multi-use public architecture, fields with three crops that work well together, and the dead do not feel pain when they fight.

This leaves the Citizens free to live lives where such necessities as housing, food, and defense are taken care of; by any modern standard, this is a post scarcity life.

What do they do, then?

Some run shops and businesses, participating in an economic system beyond mere survival. Some are doctors, others join guilds to learn crafts.

Some run schools. The priests run schools that act as a funnel into the priesthood, of course, and also to educate the population in the basics of the church. Guilds run their own schools, but the priests ensure some baseline of education is available to everyone.

Some make art; games, music, sculpture. There's a thriving art scene using found materials from the after sites of Lifeless construction, music both refined and street music. Games are a source of some magic.

Some retreat from the cities, taking to land for a family. Many of these still use the crops made by the Lifeless, though they have to go to Church to get it. Others retreat entirely from the Lifeless-fueled civilization, accepting only the benefits of the defenses.

The majority of priests take some time as missionaries; two years where they either bring the Faith to other lands, or work as researchers for the benefit of the Church itself. After this time, priests are able to work on their own, independently of other priests.

Throughout all of these, the Citizens are engaged in an ongoing discussion on the nature of their society, and much of their leisure activities are affected by the presence of Lifeless. This affects nearly every aspect of the society, in one way of another.

What do you want to know more about?

Can we focus on removing the traitor sitting in the Oval?

Can we focus on removing the traitor sitting in the Oval?

Originally shared by Conover Kennard

Whoops!

http://deepstatenation.com/primary-error-donna-brazile-mixed-up-two-different-clinton-dnc-agreements/

Pro tip: a spoonful of sugar can instantly stop hiccups. Depending on the type of hiccup.

Pro tip: a spoonful of sugar can instantly stop hiccups. Depending on the type of hiccup.

Hold it in your mouth. The sugar makes the misfiring saliva glands restart, and one type of hiccup starts with saliva glands messing up.

Weird. Also, gross. Also, effective.

I am pretty sure my taxes should be higher.

I am pretty sure my taxes should be higher.

I am also pretty sure we don't need the maintain a military capable of fighting two wars on opposite sides of the world.

I'd like more, not less, of my tax dollars to go to the needy. Let's write more checks and hand 'em out.

I'd like my tax dollars to go to building public options in a variety of domains. This would save us all money.

For example:
-- Let's allow anybody to get into medicaid. While we're at it, let's pay for all preventive healthcare.
-- Let's allow companies to use TSP rather than getting ripped off by 401(k) providers.
-- public utility broadband and phone service.
-- Roads are expensive, planes are treacherous. Let's build more trains.
-- monthly checks to anybody who, last year, qualified for the earned income tax credit, rather they filled out the earned income tax credit or not? Let's do that.
-- public option bank account. We'll put the checks there, not through a middleman.
-- public option car insurance
-- public option housing. Not "the projects", but units in buildings that are subsidized / buildings in fancy places that are subsidized / etc. I want the people who work in my apartment building to be able to live there. (And, sure, the folks who actually work for the mega corp get nice housing vouchers and can, but there's a whole slew of subcontractors who don't and can't)
-- public option student loans, cutting out the bank middlemen.

See, the thing is? These'll all have upfront costs. And then they'll all pay huge dividends. So, I have entirely selfish and economic reasons for wanting them, over and above them being the obviously right moral option.

These are the ones that seem pretty clear cut to me. Do you disagree? What else do we need?

Self-care Advice for cons, based on limited personal experience.

Self-care Advice for cons, based on limited personal experience.

Remember to bring:
-- your pills
-- a water bottle
-- snacks you trust
-- games or whatever, i guess.

My first Dreamation, I brought ibuprofen, apples, snack bars, a water bottle.

I had so much ibuprofen and so many apples I started giving them away. This scene played out multiple times:
Person: I am in pain. I wish I had some pain medicine.
Me: Here are 4 ibuprofen. Take as many as you want, and I will take the others.
Person: ... ::takes three, watches me::
Me, swallows the other one. "Now you know they are really ibuprofen."
person, swallows.

Also, this scene happened once:
Person: I am hungry. I don't want bar food. I could really go for an apple.
Me, sneakily puts an apple where they'll see it: Oh hey, there's an apple.
Person, dumbfounded: WHERE DID THIS COME FROM. I WILL EAT IT IF THATS OK

First, take care of yourself. If you are lucky enough to be able to offer help to others, do so with respect for their ability to say no. Don't let the helping others ruin your own self-care.

Cons are great. And its real easy not to realize how hard we're pushing ourselves.