Flea market near charleston sc

Rockstar Games has not officially announced GTA 6, so there is no information on when we can expect to see the first trailer or any official marketing materials. However, it is common for game publishers to release teaser trailers or announcement trailers a year or two before the game's release, so it is possible that we may see something in the next year or two if Rockstar is planning to release the game in the near future.

Rockstar Games has not officially announced GTA 6, so there is no information on when we can expect to see the first trailer or any official marketing materials. However, it is common for game publishers to release teaser trailers or announcement trailers a year or two before the game's release, so it is possible that we may see something in the next year or two if Rockstar is planning to release the game in the near future.

$FCF token launched in August 2021 with a mission to build a project like no other, one that generates revenue from real world economic activity, working in harmony with the community for maximum reach and market penetration.
Q4 2021 saw $FCF Revenue Sharing Token rocket from $20k market cap at launch to over $75m. This was before any products had been launched.
FCF Pay - the project’s Blockchain Payment System - went live in February 2022 following significant investment from the project’s founder John Nasr to fund the intensive development necessary to create the system completely from scratch.
Shortly after, more team members were also publicly doxxed, including Joe Parkin (COO) and Adrian Dragan (CTO), both of whom attended the Dubai Crypto Expo in March 2022, where FCF was awarded “Most Innovative Project 2022”.
The rest of 2022 was incredibly busy for the team, launching e-commerce plugins, closing deals with customers, announcing partnerships, extending the functionalities of FCF Pay and so on.
In Q4 things got REALLY exciting, with 1 HUGE feature roll-out in the form of the system’s white label capability (which allows partners to use the system under their own brand), and the launch of the FCF Pay debit card programs; virtual and physical debit cards, also available as a white label product.
Since then, the volume of payments through the system has increased dramatically and the good news just keeps on coming!
Co-branded collaborations have already been revealed with Floki and Sharbi. Sharbi token are offering FCF Pay prepaid Visa/Mastercard gift cards directly in their rewards app. The exact details of the Floki collaboration are yet to be revealed, but are expected in the near future.
Meanwhile, the FCF team have confirmed that they have already signed 5 contracts to provide physical and virtual prepaid crypto cards to exchanges and crypto projects. Thousands of cards have already been shipped and one of their customers is preparing to order as many as 200k cards for their customers following an initial trial period.
White label deals are also underway for traditional fiat payments companies to use FCF Pay white label in order to allow customers to pay for all sorts of goods and services directly with cryptocurrencies.
​
Part of every transaction through FCF systems is used to reward $FCF Revenue Sharing Token holders for the invaluable part that they play promoting the ecosystem. Buyback and burns, as well as reward distribution in $BNB are now happening on a daily basis and are substantial enough to be noticeable on the chart. This is on top of rewards from tokenomics on token trading volume. Community morale is very high and the team can work efficiently thanks to the amazing level of support and positivity.
​
This revolutionary business model, symbiotically collaborating with the community for the collective benefit of the business and the holders, as well as the technical and business expertise of the team, make this project one that should definitely keep an eye on.
CA (BSC): 0x4673f018cc6d401aad0402bdbf2abcbf43dd69f3
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/fcf_bsc
Payment system: https://fcfpay.com/
Project website: https://frenchconnection.finance/

Tez2, a reputable Rockstar insider has suggested on the GTA Forums that GTA 6 is likely to be released this year with a tentative release date of 2024.
According to my own reports which date back to June 2021, this seems to be the case. My sources have said that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been aiming for a 2024 release date for some time, but speculation and past reveal/release schedules of the likes of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 suggest the game will be delayed until 2025.
If I were to guess – I believe the game would release in the holiday of 2025 instead of the spring.
As for when the announcement is made is unclear, but typically Rockstar Games likes to announce its big reveals on its own. So to set expectations, I wouldn’t necessarily expect the game to be announced at E3. Instead, I expect some form of reveal trailer in Q4 2023 to coincide with past reveals.
According to my own sources, one of the major reasons for such a long-winded “delay” is that GTA 6 will release on current-generation consoles only. With the tentative 2024 date being planned as far back as 2021, it was a means of ensuring that GTA 6 would have a sufficient console market to release on.
In late 2022, Rockstar Games had a security breach that resulted in over 70 videos on GTA 6 gameplay surfacing online. In its subsequent earnings call, Take-Two Interactive addressed investors to state that the leak was unfortunate, but they believe it had no impact on development.
“There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort, but it is terribly disappointing and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity”, it was said.
As for GTA 6, for now, we’ll need to continue sitting tight and see what gets announced in the hopefully near future.
When do you think GTA 6 will be announced?
For more from Insider Gaming, check out details on THE FINALS BETA that starts today.
Related

​
The smell of the bakery led you from nearly a block away. There is a line of patrons but it is moving quickly and before long you reach the counter. Roll a d120 to see what the special is for today.

Roll	Result
1	Monkey's tail is a coil of thin pretzel-like bread that is boiled in soda ash, topped with salt and pepper, and then baked. [camtarn]
2	Cochito, a soft gingerbread in the shape of a pig [D3WM3R]
3	Bacon and Leek Hand Pie, pastry the size of a human hand filled with bacon and leeks [u/FlyingHorseduck]
4	Puffed pastries cooked in meat drippings (think Yorkshire puddings) [dysonrules]
5	Little volcano is a cone shaped jam donut using chilli jam [Micaramel]
6	Small chocolate bars that were prepared using healing potions. When you don't have a druid and want goodberry. [Scumbutcher]
7	Lifeleaf Wafer are small disks of flour, water, salt and finely chopped lifeleaf that are baked till hard. Naturally restorative, unnaturally salty. [MCiph]
8	Twice baked travelers bread provide of tough but crisp foodstuff that is perfect for trail rations. [I_walked_east]
9	Prism dough is a bread that is risen to look like a triangular based prism. It tastes sweeter at the top of the spire and sourer nearer the base. Can feed 2-4 people. [AfternoonBaboon]
10	Sawyers flat, a horrid, matzo-like crispbread cut with maple (best), birch (ehhh), or pine (oh gods) sawdust. Often eaten by unskilled laborers, or during famine/drought. [Norwejew]
11	Fruit Pies (apple, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry, strawberry, etc) adorns with ornate patterns in to top crust. [World_of_Ideas]
12	Pumpkin pie, a creamy orange desert that is best served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. [World_of_Ideas]
13	Amaranth biscuits yield a subtle nutty flavor that goes well with many spreads. [I_walked_east]
14	Angel food cake, a light and fluffy cake made using angel blood instead of eggs. Often glazed with a light lemon and sugar glaze. Tastes heavenly..... [supersnes1]
15	Cheese Cake, a simple creamy filling of egg, sugar, and cheese within a fluffy pastry crust. Some variants have a coating of fruit jam on its top for added flavor. [World_of_Ideas]
16	A frangipane style baked custard that uses a flour made from exotic, far away seeds. [Norwejew]
17	Almond croissants are flaky croissants sliced in half and filled with dark chocolate spread. [MJspringer & LookITriedHard]
18	Spider bread that was baked by drow. Don’t ask. Seriously. [ElZoof]
19	Nut breads, sweet or savory, baked with whatever nuts are locally grown. [dysonrules]
20	Meat pies, stuffed with various local game, give off wisps of steam and heavy aromas. [supersnes1]
21	Fairy's heart, a pastry twisted into the shape of a heart, with a (magically?) glistening jam centre. [-peachmilk-]
22	A pound cake coated in a sugary lemon drizzle. [supersnes1]
23	Mushroom Muffins, a small savory muffin preferred by halflings. Traditionally served after a larger sweet muffin. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
24	Penis-shaped doces fálicos frosted sweet bread [I_walked_east]
25	Tiny frosted cakes full of spices, nuts, or fruits [dysonrules]
26	Black Molasses Nutbread, made with the strongest molasses and served with salted butter [u/FlyingHorseduck]
27	Small boxes of traveler's biscuit - similar, but more palatable due to the addition of lard and salt, and with a shelf life of only a year [camtarn]
28	Fried funnel cake with sprinkled confectioners’ sugar. [WontLetMeCurse]
29	Stone bread is perfect for adventurers as it will never go stale due to it already rock hard. It can double up as a rather effective improvised weapon. [Daggerbones8951]
30	Dwarven ale bread is a very dense but flavorful bread made from ales and stouts (generally of dwarven make). Despite being baked, the potency of the drinks used in its making can still provide the eater a slight buzz when consumed. Often used as a desert in many northern kingdoms and tribes. [supersnes1]
31	Peasant's breakfast, a barely-leavened flatbread that is split and stuffed with curried chickpeas and a chopped boiled egg [camtarn]
32	Arcane party muffins are chocolate and hazelnut muffins with magical blue sugar (that sparkles) sprinkled on top of them. When consumed you can change your eye colour for a minute. [AfternoonBaboon]
33	Piles of pale-yellow buttery shortbread that are imprinted with various coats of arms [camtarn]
34	Tartines made with spicy sausage and blistered tomatoes. [Norwejew]
35	Chocolate zucchini cakes coated in powder sugar and crowned with strawberries. [supersnes1]
36	Gnomish sourdough made from 4000 year old yeast culture [I_walked_east]
37	Melting Buttermilk Biscuits, savory and tender, served with seasonal jams [u/FlyingHorseduck]
38	Siren’s Tack, a dry and dense bread, that is as hard as a brick. When eaten alone, this hardtack is basically a rock that sits in your gut. They are surprisingly filling, but a bit hard to keep down. It’s traditional to boil them in broth (to soften and flavor it) and serve under fish and gravy in port towns. [MCiph]
39	Six Copper Pie (based on the Sing a Song of 6 Pence song/rhyme) [wynryprocter]
40	Dragon Eggs, large, fluffy puffs filled with sweet custard. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
41	Buttered Crumpet, best served warm to ensure that the butter soaks into the soft and spongy crust. [World_of_Ideas]
42	Miner's pasties, are made with meat and potatoes in one end, jam in the other, and a thick crust 'handle' on one side that is designed to be grabbed with coal-black hands and thrown away after. [camtarn]
43	4 and 20 Shrieker Mushrooms baked in a pie. The pie is baked in a dutch oven and set inside a firepit. When cut a few soft screams escape through the crust. [wynryprocter]
44	Gelatinous cube flan, despite not being made from the creature, is a recipe of Calisham original that is traditionally made in square baking pan. The addition of gelatin helps the dish hold its signature shape. [supersnes1]
45	Red rolls are bread made with pig's blood instead of water, and stuffed with boiled pig stomach or intestine. Very nourishing, if a bit smelly. [camtarn]
46	French-style plain complet with a golden brown egg-wash. [supersnes1]
47	Turtle bread, a round loaf that is hard on the outside, and super soft on the inside [shamanspiff]
48	Fresh cornbread & butter served with a side of honey, maple syrup, and/or fruit jam/jelly. [World_of_Ideas]
49	Vagrant’s Cake, a recipe passed down from Druid to Druid; barley flour, berries, sugar, eggs, goat butter and water, mixed finely and baked until golden. The cakes are sweet and nutritious, perfect for short, day-long journeys. [MCiph]
50	Fruitcake! Can also double as a doorstop or makeshift weapon. [Super_Solver]
51	Tiny dense black rye rolls that are studded with cloves [camtarn]
52	Illithid Brain Pies appears like a common pie, with an uncommon filling. Whether the brains are from or for the Illithid is up to the skill of the adventurer wanting to bake this dish. [MCiph]
53	Jötnbrød (YERT-n-breh), a massive boule of dark rye bread enriched with bone meal, resulting in a beefy, slightly crunchy bread. A large handful is equivalent to a trail ration, but produces horrid constipation. [Norwejew]
54	Bacon, sharp cheese, green onion, and hot pepper scones. [AnGabhaDubh]
55	Flower bread is made from various types of powdered flowers giving it light floral taste and aroma. [AStupidAnnoyingVoice]
56	Goodberry Pie, made with the eponymous berries, grants 5hp when consumed, but must be eaten within a day. [ElZoof]
57	Digger's Delight, a Dwarven bread that is dense and filled with meat, potato, and cheese. Varies by region and season, but always sturdy enough to be kept in a miner's pocket during a morning's work without falling apart. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
58	Small rhubarb pies, made with thin crunchy hot-water pastry [camtarn]
59	Pumpernickel rye baked into rounded loafs that are adorned with caraway seeds. [supersnes1]
60	Fairy fingers are merengue treats, piped in a thinly oblong shape. Often coated in confectioner’s sugar but some recipes call for actual pixie or sprite dust. [supersnes1]
61	Plump-Helm Roast is a unique pie, filled to the brim with minced and liquefied Plump-Helmet mushrooms. The subterranean fungus is rather sweet (which allows it to be brewed into alcohol, among other things), which makes the pie a rather addictive mix of sweet and savory. Often served with Plump-Helmet Wine and fine dwarven cheeses. [MCiph]
62	Goodberry Biscuit are, a light, flaky, buttery biscuit infused with goodberry juice and drenched in a sweet sugary glaze. Eating two has either the healing or satiating effect at random. You can eat four but you are sickened for d4 rounds. [Chalkyteton]
63	Ankheg burrows, a thin but crispy chimney cake made by wrapping a thin strip of dough around a spool and coating the outside with oils and sugar before baking. Often filled with chocolate, nuts, or various fruits. [supersnes1]
64	Mushroom breads, sometimes with unexpected medicinal or recreational properties [dysonrules]
65	Barkskin biscuits have a tough, almost woody, exterior that are often soaked in milk or tea to soften. [supersnes1]
66	A single, dusty, halfeaten cracker just laying on the floor [NickHerag & DenialBirds]
67	Raisin dotted pastries of choux rolled into spirals and heavily glazed. Topped with pistachios. [Norwejew]
68	Rhubarb shortbread bars are a sweet confection made from shortbread coated in rhubarb custard and topped with brown sugar. [supersnes1]
69	Elf's Bread, legendarily filling dense bread that will stay fresh for weeks [u/FlyingHorseduck]
70	Troll Rolls are warm basil rolls, jarred with melted honey butter and sugared flesh (non-human). [BEZERK0xD]
71	Conchas are white, brown, or pink dusted sweet breads with a shell pattern on them [D3WM3R]
72	Small balls of fried bread that are soaked in pistachio-flavoured syrup. [camtarn]
73	Penny treat, a finger-sized roll of brown bread drizzled with blackstrap molasses or watered-down maple syrup [camtarn]
74	Roll and stew is a wooden bowl containing some thin stock (fish, goat, squirrel, etc) and a bread roll to dip in it. [camtarn]
75	Tuppenny treat, like a Penny treat, but topped with a sliver of dry cheese [camtarn]
76	Dwarvish baguette are short and stout like its namesake. [I_walked_east]
77	Swampweed Loaf, an uncommon and generally disliked type of baked good made from a dried aquatic kelp found in swamps. It's unknown who first invented the swampweed loaf or for what reason, but what is known is that it's absolutely dreadful. [Deadly_Bread]
78	Carrot Cake, a moist layered cake covered in a thick layer of freshly made cream cheese frosting. [World_of_Ideas]
79	Fragrant caraway seed buns display a golden brown top glistening with butter. [camtarn]
80	Empanadas and pineapple, apple, or pumpkin turnovers provide a sweet, yet filling treat. [D3WM3R]
81	Fist-sized cups of hard bread, filled with cold pease pudding [camtarn]
82	Devils food cake, a dense and heavy cake made using the blood of devils that is fortified using ground bone devil horn. This cake has a sweet fiery cinnamon aftertaste that leaves the eater wanting for more. [supersnes1]
83	Dragon donuts are twists in the shape of a dragon's horn with a thin sugar glaze and a surprisingly spicy kick. [supersnes1]
84	Fruit Dumplings (apple, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry, strawberry, etc) that have been boiled or fried and coated in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. [World_of_Ideas]
85	Braids filled with minced and roasted fruits. Apple filled braids are particular popular in this season [supersnes1]
86	Seawater bread is a notable staple of coastal markets and bakeries [I_walked_east]
87	Salt-roll are small round rolls of chewy brown bread, topped with a truly alarming amount of flaky sea salt. [camtarn]
88	Churros are long tubes of fried dough coated with cinnamon and sugar [D3WM3R]
89	Gelatinous Pudding - a very, very sticky treat. [ElZoof]
90	Golden pear bread, shiny and egg enriched, contains a generous filling of wine-stewed pears, cinnamon, and brown sugar. [camtarn]
91	Assorted Bagels (asiago, whole wheat, multigrain, blueberry, cherry, goodberry, etc.) are stacked on a nearby platter. [World_of_Ideas]
92	Meat Dumplings, dumplings filled with various meats. Some enterprising creators crimp them to resemble a fat large lizard or dragon. [World_of_Ideas]
93	The Wrong Bread, or the "you weren't supposed to buy THAT one.", is a half-stale loaf of bread containing a plot hook baked into it. This item could be a small magical trinket with a larger meaning, such as a ring, a wand, a small piece of a very powerful spell-scroll, or something more mundane but equally powerful. For example, the item could be a signet-ring or seal of a noble or royal (maybe it's a high-end fake, maybe it's the real-deal that was recently stolen), or perhaps just a small bag of very valuable gems. No matter what it actually is, you have it now, and boy are there people who are going to try to make you regret it. [Neknoh]
94	Halfling Sweetpie, a staple of Halfling dessert that is traditionally filled with some variety of apple and berry. The best examples are to be found at harvest festival sweetpie competitions. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
95	Sourdough rolls glistening with freshly applied butter and a garnish of parsley. [supersnes1]
96	Bowlcaps are a type of round, dense bread rolls made to be crusty on one side but soft and steamed on the other. Typically eaten by laborers, the soft side is usually pressed down over the rim of a wooden bowl to act as a lid, containing and preserving the contents, until mealtime. [_Dthen]
97	Crates of ship's biscuit, barely edible but capable of lasting years at sea [camtarn]
98	Gingerbread Warrior, a hard gingerbread that is heavily spiced, slightly bitter, and covered with icing armor [u/FlyingHorseduck]
99	Black moss cupcake, a jet-black appearance belies an earthy almost charcoal-like flavor that transitions to matcha aftertaste. [[deleted]]
100	Peanut butter cookies, a simple cookie adorned with fork marks and granulated sugar. [AfternoonBaboon]
101	Copper cookies are small sweet cookies that cost 5cp each [shamanspiff]
102	Honey bread, bread but with honey. [Last-of-the-Akbars]
103	Towering bread creations formed in the shapes of fantastical beasts, castles, or scenes, usually for festivals or special occasions [dysonrules]
104	Mutton-bread, a double-fist-sized roll of steamed bread, that is filled with minced mutton spiced with plenty of pepper. The mutton is cooked inside the bread, so its juices leak out when bitten into. [camtarn]
105	Black ooze bread pudding is an acrid smelling, albeit surprisingly sweet, bread pudding that tastes of cinnamon licorice. [supersnes1]
106	Chicken Bread, it's got the chicken baked in! So it's great for those on the go. Developed by humans, of course. [felagund]
107	Owlbear Claws are delicious pastries made with honey and fig. They are a foot across with large ‘claws’ cut out on one side. Will feed a party of five. (Or one certain Dragonborn in my campaign). [aMusicLover]
108	Sweet Potato Pie is a staple of many households during holiday celebrations. Often topped with a powdering or hardened glaze of brown sugar. [World_of_Ideas]
109	Muffins of various flavors--apple, banana nut, blueberry, etc.--,are heaped in a basket on a nearby table. Some are topped with powdered brown sugar, powdered sugar, and/or sesame, poppy, or pumpkin seeds. [World_of_Ideas]
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120

Initial list built by d100. See it here.
Some of my entries were inspired by the Heroes' Feast official D&D cookbook

The "we're not dead" chapter from u/eruwenn and I. No promises on how fast the next chapter arrives, but it is underway.
First / Prev / Next ------------------------------
Sam Jakobs strode through the lobby of Umgrol Tower with all but one of his most trusted friends. Black suits slipped through the crowd; much like a shark’s fin through waves, they simply parted without a ripple of effort. Faces were grim, eyes focused, and a tension sat on their combined shoulders like a weight they all knew too well.
“I could make an excuse,” Duong offered, deciding to try and break the mood. “No need for you to attend this meeting in person.”
“It’s fine,” former Colonel Jakobs answered with a resigned sigh.
“But, shouldn’t you be with Britney?” Lopez attempted to change his mind with an appeal to his emotions. “She was looking forward to taking you on a roller coaster.”
“I’m doing this for Britney,” the loving father replied without hesitation.
“Avoiding conflict is a good lesson,” Jabari offered his advice.
“True.” Sam conceded the point.
“Knowin’ how to punch a Wachoto so their heart fails is also a good lesson,” Snake said drily.
“Also true,” the group’s leader said, allowing himself a brief chuckle.
“Sam!” Lopez struck his shoulder with the back of her open hand. “Don’t even joke-”
“We’re not killing Hopper’s replacement,” Sam confirmed, allowing himself an almost imperceptible shrug. “Not today, anyway.”
The small ripple of laughter that had passed between them had helped alleviate some of the tension that had been building. Duong paused as one of the tower assistants came jogging up to them, and he held up a hand to stop the others. As the young man approached, the terror was visible in his face. "Your order, Sir." He held up a white box from Pierre's, large enough to require both hands to hold, and instead of saluting he simply bowed his head and extended the package towards them.
“Thank you,” Sam replied, accepting the box and tucking it under his arm. He saw the others staring in confusion. “A gift,” he explained.
“From you…” Jabari said slowly. “To?”
“Did Choco make an exploding cake?” Duong jokingly asked.
“Another exploding cake,” Jabari clarified. “There was that thing in the Whethan Sector.”
Elevator doors opened, and their conversation fell silent as they entered, only to start up again once it began to move.
Jabari had found that humorous antics, or the mere memory of them, often eased tension before combat. He tried the interrupted tactic again. "Remember that time he stole a light cruiser from the Odesza Fundamentalists?" After a brief pause to allow the memories to flow, he added, "What happened to that thing, anyhow?"
“Who knows,” Duong hastily replied, nudging his large friend in the side and nodding to the camera watching them. “Lot of stuff goes missing in war, you know-”
“Cameras are off, dumbass,” Choco’s voice came in over their earpieces.
“Better safe than sorry,” the handsome man replied, flashing a smile to their Erinal in the machine, and began fixing up his hair in the reflection of the camera lens. The elevator stopped, and the conversation paused with practiced precision as the doors parted. The black suits marched silently through the underground military base of Umgrol Tower basement level three, eventually reaching a set of secure doors. Two black armoured soldiers stood either side.
“Death’s Head?” Snake muttered the question to the others, nodding to the unmoving men and the smooth black mirror that made up the face of their helmets. “I thought we were playing nice with the locals?”
“Purely for the new general’s personal security.” Choco supplied the answer over their secure comms channel, as they passed into the room beyond. “Seems he’s the nervous type.” He slurped loudly on something, causing the others to wince at the noise. “Can’t figure why, ha.”
A dozen more of the faceless sets of black armour waited in the room, weapons ready. Near them stood full body scanners, as well as deep, metal trays.
“Weapons,” one of the Death’s Head Dragoons said, gesturing to the waiting receptacles.
The War Rats glanced at each other, smiled, and began unbuttoning their suit jackets. Things began to be deposited at an alarming frequency by everyone present, aside from one. Sam shook his head at the others as he held his box of confections. “I thought I said unarmed?” he asked.
“This is unarmed,” Snake replied, tossing a sixth knife into the tray.
“Oh, you meant unarmed unarmed.” Jabari’s deep voice was full of humour, and he failed to stifle his rumbling laughter as he tossed a large, brightly-coloured grenade into his tray.
The closest guard flinched at the sight of the explosive, and immediately asked, “Is that an Oracle?” He took several steps back, despite knowing that the explosive could vaporise several floors of even this reinforced building. Something whose very name spoke of being a message from god, a literal invite to hell. “Isn’t owning one of those a war crime?”
“In Triumvirate space, sure,” the big man answered, shrugging off the obvious obfuscation. “No local laws are being broken. Besides, I’ve been working on making a better version.“ He smiled at his reflection in the man’s visor. “This one lacks the wow factor.”
Two of the other guards were muttering back and forth, clearly nervous, and Sam stepped in to ask, “Do we have a problem?”
“Err...” One of the indistinguishable soldiers glanced nervously at Lopez, who had stepped through the scanner. "Her arm, Sir. It's been augmented with-"
"You want me to take my arm off?" Lopez laughed, well-acquainted with the multiple warnings her Choco-manufactured appendage had set off. "I guess you really did mean unarmed unarmed.
Sam took control of the situation, his voice calm and even. “We’re all on the same team here. General Midysus requested this meeting himself.” He gestured back towards the door. “I can head up to my office, and he can-”
“It’s fine,” Maria gently interrupted, reaching up to start unfastening her shirt so she could remove the artificial limb. “No me importa, we just need to-”
“No.” Sam’s voice was iron, an infinitesimal amount of the rage that was brewing inside him seeping into that singular syllable. “I care.” His eyes had not left the dragoon who had made the request, and they took a faltering step backwards. “My men brought weapons, which I will punish them for later” -his subordinates grimaced at those words- “but, bad jokes aside, we are allies.” He turned to look at the elevator doors, then asked, “Unless you would like to alter the terms of our agreement?”
In response to his words the elevator doors slid open.
Duong was swept up in the moment, and he leaned in close to one of the dragoon’s. “That’s right. Los-”
“Let’s go,” Sam commanded, and his group straightened, following him through the now open doors.
“Sorry,” the others began as the doors closed.
“I’m not so-” Snake began before being elbowed roughly by Lopez’s metal arm. “Damn it, that hurt.”
“Can we all focus?” Sam's reminder was audibly weary. "Remember why you're here," he said.
"To stop you from killing him," Duong swiftly answered. It was most certainly not a recreational outing they were on.
“Exactly,” the colonel answered, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
Jabari looked at the group gathered, and muttered, “We should have brought more people.”
“Numbers never stopped him before,” Maria said, leaning in close and using her non-metal shoulder to lean into Sam. “We just need to keep reminding him of the reason he chose peace.”
“Speaking of which,” Choco’s voice cut in over the comm’s channel, “guess how many kids threw up on the bumper cars?”
-------------------------------------
Haruki Sasaki stood in front of a large cartoonish castle, talking with several members of the park staff. They were gathered on a wide drawbridge over a moat, in which many waterfowl of different colours and sizes swam. The crenellated wall was tall, boasting minarets at all four corners, and an impressive keep at the centre. Flags and banners of an eye-searing myriad of hues flapped colourfully in the breeze. As the wind slowed down, the colours suddenly shifted, becoming an even mix of red and blue. It was historically inaccurate, strategically flawed, and the children had all loved it.
“All of the suits are working correctly?” the tailored lawyer asked, maintaining fixed eye contact with a pale and perspiring park worker in an orange jumpsuit. “I want them to enjoy this more than they did the bumper cars.”
“The enjoyment comes from the acceleration, and sudden deceleration,” the sweaty lead park engineer began. “It is very fine tuned, and the intra-species variation in tolerances is something we need to work on.”
“Kids get sick.” A junior worker shrugged off the issue. “That’s why we have the cleaner bots, and disinfectant hoses.”
“Brian… we’ve talked about this,” the lead engineer warned her underling. “If a Gr’darian was to vomit on a Peil, during their mating season, what would happen?”
“Errr..” Brian paused, having no idea what the answer might be. “Failed mating season?” he guessed.
“No!?” Her angry response contained both shock at his flippancy, and incense at his poor knowledge base. “How many times have I told you to study the secretions of the gelatinous races? Combining those two xeno bodily fluids would create chlorine gas, do I have to remind you why that is a bad thing?” Barry hung his head in shame, his long blonde hair covering his increasingly red face. “My apologies, Sir,” the lead engineer said as she returned her attention to the man in the immaculate black suit. She held up her thumb and forefinger with the slenderest of gaps between them. "I am this close -- this close! -- to shipping him back to Disneymoon seven. A few cycles of repairing the Star Wars Lightsaber Academy animatronics would serve him right.”
“We don’t have either of those species present, Ms. Bizhan,” the lawyer was relieved to point out, feeling a small hint of sympathy for the now cowering Brian. “And we are getting a lot of useful information, which is the purpose of this park.”
“Most definitely.” The head engineer nodded emphatically, adding, “And please, call me Fariba.” She pulled a small tablet from a large pocket on her leg, quickly skimming her notes. “In addition to the expected biology-based observations, we've definitely found several potentially lucrative markets to expand into.”
Haruki nodded. “The Triumvirate will find a way to make you their prey,” he murmured. “Physically or economically.”
“Preferably the latter,” Fariba said with a well-practised smile. “But we must know our enemies better than we know our friends, even if we don’t know which of them will choose which path.” She tapped her tablet once more. “They were all shocked that we could manufacture inertial dampeners small enough to fit in the bumper cars, so we can open up a lot of trade with that minor technology.” She used her thumb to point over her shoulder without looking back. “With those we deem our friends, of course. Helping them get a step ahead of those who choose to be more resistant.”
“Resistance is futile,” Brian added with a grin, having spent an entire summer assembling Borg animatronics for a Trekkie battle arena experience.
“Ignore him,” Fariba quickly said, flapping a hand behind her back to shoo the junior engineer away. “I can assure you, the full dive VR suits are calibrated to the lowest tolerance levels known for each species.” Her sweet smile was pasted onto her face once more. “You will have nothing but positive things to report to Mr Jakobs, I assure you.”
“Of course,” Haruki nodded, realising all eyes were on him, and they were afraid. “I take responsibility for the earlier incident, I should not have allowed them to follow a Britney diet.” He saw them visibly relax, and continued, “I will make sure to monitor their food intake more carefully.” He stepped to one side, and began walking into the castle, giving a polite bow of his head. “I’ll go to the observation room, and see how they’re getting on.”
“They’re still being scanned,” the head engineer answered swiftly, wanting to prove her usefulness. “The match will begin once they’re all ready.”
“Fine, fine,” the lawyer replied, waving over his shoulder as he left them standing on the drawbridge. His swift stride carried him through the portcullis, and away from the engineers.
Fariba let out a huge sigh of relief, and she sagged like a deflated balloon animal found a week after a birthday party. This physical response was soundlessly mirrored throughout the group, except for their newest member. The head engineer rounded on Brian, glaring furiously. “What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded. “You don’t make jokes around people like that!”
“Lawyers?” the slightly slower member of the group innocently asked.
“No. Not lawyers,” Fariba replied sarcastically, waving her hand yet again and dismissing the rest of her team. “Well actually, you shouldn’t make jokes around the Triumvirate lawyers either, but especially not around that lawyer.” She leaned in close, and lowered her voice to barely a whisper. “You served?” she asked, although his presence here meant the answer was a foregone conclusion.
“Thirty-Seventh Avionic Engineer Battalion,” he rattled off his unit immediately, standing a little straighter. “Assigned the Illustrious, maintaining the X-7 Raptors, and the old Higgins Orbital Landers.”
“Well even a wrench bender from Ol’Lusty should have heard of the War Rats.” She eyed his youthful face, waiting for the moment things fell into place.
“Pfft,” he derisively scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It may be that I was sent to requisition clear black paint, and I went without question. I might also have spent two hours at the quartermaster's station when I was ordered by the rest of my team to requisition a Long Stand." He shook his shaggy blonde head in disbelief at his earlier naivety. "But, I never fell for those stories." His claim was punctuated with a guffaw of contempt. "Pure propaganda, to keep the systems in line. There's no way that even half the shit they're supposed to have done could be true.”
Fariba’s eyes were wide. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stared into the stupidity of his youth. “Why don’t you go home for the day,” she gently instructed him, deciding that someone who could stand next to a shark, and not see its teeth, was not a person who should be around apex predators.
—-----------------------------
“It tickles,” Fah’Zi squeaked as he walked through the full body scanner.
“It’s reading your skeletal and muscular structure, and mapping your neural paths,” Penny explained. “Completely harmless, and necessary for the synapse translators to perform correctly.”
“And we just lie in the pods,” Pu’Sha hesitantly asked, looking over to the devices plugged into the wall. “And then we’ll be in the game?”
“Exactly.” The tower assistant was pleased they were paying attention.
There was a vibration felt in everyone’s bones, and Britney replied to Ung, “You’re not allowed to have them at home.”
“That’s right.” Though Penny hadn’t understood the question, the response made the enquiry clear. “Full-dive VR is heavily restricted, due to its highly addictive nature.” Always keen to add context to a rule, so that it was seen as protective rather than punishing, she elaborated; “A long time ago there was a group called the Neo-Utopian Transitioners, who believed humanity’s future was inside the machine. They fully embraced the virtual world, leaving behind automated systems to take care of the world around them." She took a deep breath, rapidly deciding on the best way to end the tale for these school children. "It... didn't end well. To prevent any future mishaps, the Triumvirate set up a strict regulatory body.”
“This thing’s dangerous?” Inaue asked. The small red Yaou was prodding the machine with his prehensile tail. “And you want us to get in there?”
“The machines are perfectly safe,” Britney replied. Choco had told her all about the N.U.T.’s, when he showed her his highly illegal home VR setup. “They just took it too far. Hooked themselves up to life-support systems, and fully lived in their own world.” She smirked as only a child about to reveal a disgusting factoid could. “Even had tubes to remove-”
“Nobody needs all the details,” Penny interrupted.
“I do,” Fah’Zi insisted.
“Fine,” the mischievous young girl relented, skipping the poop-shoot joke for Penny's sake even though the gag was one of Choco's favourites. "Everything worked fine for a long time, and eventually people stopped going round to check on them.”
“Unfortunately,” Penny interjected, once again taking over the narration of this tragic tale, “with everyone in their own world, nobody was performing basic maintenance. The bioreactor tasked with producing many of their key proteins had been running for decades without issue, but a forced update added advertisements, as well as something called a Captcha to stop them and run the program as intended. There was nobody to select which squares contained traffic lights, and so the bioreactor was effectively disabled.”
“I don’t understand many of the things you just said,” Mike249 said, putting into words what was on the mind of all of the students present.
“They starved while pigging out on imaginary food,” Britney bluntly blurted out, as if this was the worst thing imaginable. “Inside their utopia people started going crazy, then vanishing.”
“Prolonged life in VR requires a medical team to bring you out,” the older human explained. “So they were stuck. Unable to escape. Not knowing why their friends, and family, were acting increasingly bizarrely.”
“What the j’rak?” the green-skinned Zilithian, Todd, exclaimed, looking at the pod and then to the humans who were now suggesting they enter this device for fun.
“Humans have to eat very regularly,” Pu’Sha explained to the newer members of their group who had not spent a great deal of time around Britney. “Without food they become less rational, and aggressive. They even have a special word, hangry, and you don’t want to deal with a hangry human.” She spoke with a very serious tone, as if this single piece of advice was a vital life lesson. Finally, with even greater emphasis, she added, “Always keep your human adequately fed.”
“I’m not a pet,” Britney argued. Realising the advice actually worked in her favour she also added, “But, it’s not a bad rule.”
“So, what happened to the V.R. people,” Mike249 asked, a trembling in his voice accompanied the sagging of his worried antennae. “Were they rescued?”
“Unfortunately not,” Penny gently informed him. “It was actually many years before anyone even noticed.”
“Years?” Aekara whimpered.
“How did nobody notice,” Fah’Zi asked incredulously, thinking practically about dead bodies. “Wouldn’t they notice the smell?”
“People died,” the tufty-tailed Emsalio, Li Gorblek, began. “And nobody noticed?” She seemed angry on behalf of these forgotten strangers of another race. “How many?”
“Seventeen billion,” Haruki answered her, as he entered the room. “They had dedicated their entire world to their Neo-Utopia.” He lowered his voice, to make sure they were listening. “Starvation does strange things to our people. Even our brain chemistry alters, and this eventually disconnected them from their VR… forcibly. The shock of reality was enough to kill the lucky ones. The unlucky ones were trapped in their withered, dying bodies. Locked in their pods until they died. Rejecting the real world, and those who lived in it, meant that there was nobody to save them. There’s an important lesson for all of you.”
“Don’t get in that thing,” Inaue guessed, retracting their red tail from the pod it had been prodding.
“Everything in moderation,” Aekara murmured.
“Have a back-up protein thingy,” Fah’Zi said, his hand raised excitedly, hoping to get praise from his senior Sirius comrade.
Britney repeated the mantra Choco had drummed into her as he recounted the story in gruesome detail. “Don’t allow updates on essential equipment without a qualified engineer present. Oh, and VR lovin’ ain’t real lovin’.” She quoted her Erinal teacher directly.
“Not sure that last part is relevant,” Penny said, her cheeks flushing red. “Anyway…” She raised the lid on the first VR pod. “Who’s going first?”
All of the students took a step back, except for two. Britney immediately leapt into the pod. Ung also moved towards the next pod, having a burning passion for human video games.
“Come on,” the energetic blonde human encouraged. “You’re not scared are you?” Her taunts were enough to get Fah’Zi and Li to start moving.
Pu’Sha looked over to where the human in the suit was observing them, and she sighed. Scary stories and indulgent food aside, the humans would never put them in danger. “Fine,” she said, stepping forward. “Come on, Mike249,” she called, waving him to the pod beside hers. “And you, Aekara.” The Verg was already clambering inside her pod when she looked at the nervous newcomers. “You scared to do something the Bubbles are doing?” she asked, taking a cue from Britney in provoking them.
“Never,” the large grey Runuck – Fraskar – grunted, taking a cautious step forward. He turned and glared at the others from the non-bubble classes. “Get in, let’s put them in their place.”
“Oh?” Britney’s eyes glinted happily. “You want to play teams?” She smiled happily. “Fine by me. Six vs six. O.G.’s against Newbies.”
“If you include Ung, there are seven of us,” Mike249 politely corrected his fearless, if forgetful, leader. “Pu’Sha, Aekara, Fah’Zi, Kenra, you and I.” He held up a claw for each name, demonstrating to the human how that added up. “I could join the others? I am always happy to make new friends.”
“Fine,” the human agreed, though she was annoyed to have lost one of her teammates.
There came a high level vibration, accompanied by thunderous drumming; Ung was clapping her hands excitedly. She was on Britney's team! The vibrations continued as the Da descended a reinforced set of stairs and clambered into an enlarged pod that had been sunk into the ground.
The small human listened carefully to her guildmate, then shook her head. "No, this is definitely not a friendly match," the O.G. leader said. Her eyes locked on to Li's fierce gaze and held steady.
—------------------------------
​
Next

Pastel Community Update (March 31, 2023)
The next generation NFT focused blockchain. Certifiable authenticity. Permanent storage. Negligible fees. Build, secure, and scale your Web3 ecosystem with Pastel.
The Pastel Team has been extremely busy with a number of major development updates, partnership rollouts, and product releases. Check back here each week for new developments
Check Pastel channels for:
⭐Weekly community snapshots shared across our various channels.
🐾Quarterly updates released via our newsletter.
☎️Weekly community town halls / AMAs directly with the Pastel team. Come prepared with your questions, comments, and feedback!
📣Monthly Twitter Spaces with u/doodlestone and u/panthony
Join us for a Twitter Space with @astardegens on 3/31 at 12:00 PM EST as we dive into the world of #DAOs, #NFTs, and the current market trends!
Key Updates:
🚨Partnership with Astar Network🚨
Pastel Network is excited to announce that it will be working with @AstarNetwork, a layer1 parachain in the Polkadot ecosystem. Astar provides the infrastructure for building dApps with EVM and WASM smart contracts offering developers true interoperability with cross-consensus messaging (XCM) and a cross-virtual machine (XVM). Astar and Pastel will collaborate with the goal of providing Pastel’s Web3 tooling solutions — Sense and Cascade — to its NFT ecosystem. This collaboration signifies the continued successes of both Pastel and Astar, and is a massive step forward for the overall NFT ecosystem. It is a testament to the growing need for NFT reliability, security and verifiability, solved via Pastel’s advanced infrastructure.
Learn more on Medium
In case you missed it, please listen to our twitter space with @ArtZero_io, @agoric, and @Kryha_io teams discussing all things NFT Security & Marketplaces.
🚨Discord Banner Competition🚨
Thank you to all the talented artists that participated in our Discord Banner competition, so many wonderful and unique pieces. You can still view all of them here🎨 Congratulations to our winners: (1)Zaccube, (2)CThumbs, (3)CryptoDNA
🚨Collaborations🚨
Happening Live now or if you missed our Twitter Space with @AstarDegens on 3/31 at noon EST we dive into the world of #DAOs, #NFTs, and the current market trends! Listen to this insightful discussion here
Check out our collaboration with @Agoric, @kryhia_io, and @Sandytoes2211 as SmartMint was used to mint their work.
🚨SmartMint on Twitter 🚨
It is our great pleasure to announce that SmartMint will now have a Twitter presence. The SmartMint twitter account has officially launched.
We are always looking for artists to collaborate with, please inquire on any social media platforms
🚨Addition of Status Page🚨
We're continuously #building to ensure that our users have the most powerful Web3/NFT infrastructure at their disposal
We recently released a Status Page so you can monitor the performance of our infrastructure & services in real time. Check it out here!
🚨Wrapped PSL🚨
Wrapped PSL or wPSL exists to transfer tokens across platforms. We have noticed the buzz about wPSL (wrapped PSL), so we’ve created a video about it! 🔗wPSL holders can store on wallets such as MetaMask 💹You can also trade on Ethereum DEXs
wPSL is available on Uniswap. Watch our video and learn more here
🚨Pastel Testnet Faucet Release🚨
Our Testnet Faucet is now live. The launch of this independent network enables users to obtain LSP (Pastel Testnet Tokens) to experiment with and develop in the Pastel Testnet environment. This gives users the ability to experiment with Pastel features without having to spend valuable PSL on the mainnet.
Learn more about Pastel's Testnet Faucet
🚨Becoming a Supernode Operator🚨
Become a Supernode operator today & gain increased credibility in the validator community & earn exclusive rewards from the foundation, such as PSL or NFT airdrops, in addition to receiving Block & Transactional Rewards.
🚨Cascade Protocol🚨
Cascade has numerous concrete advantages over competing systems such as IPFS & Arweave, particularly when it comes to censorship resistance, data permanence & data accessibility.
Check out our technical paper on Cascade, Pastel's storage layer. Cascade is an extremely powerful & robust storage system for true data permanence that is both completely decentralized & highly scalable. Learn more here
🚨Sense Protocol🚨
Sense is a Near-Duplicate NFT detection protocol powered by the Pastel Network. Assess the relative rareness of a given NFT against near-duplicate metadata on networks like Ethereum, Solana, etc to prevent prevalent scams or theft. Try it yourself here and watch it work here
🚨Monet 1.2 Mainnet Release 🚨
The Pastel team has been working hard on this upgrade that will be live soon. Here are some features that will be included in the upgrade. Learn more about Monet 1.2 Mainnet release. Users will have the opportunity to experiment with Monet before the release using testnet.
-Storage challenges in Cascade guarantee ongoing data permanence & decentralization on the network across active & compliant Supernodes. -Activation of Supernode Health and State Challenges: Similar to Proof of Storage, Health & State Challenges will guarantee the ongoing active and enabled state of each Supernode client on the network. -Stabilization of Sense Protocol: Improvements to Chrome Driver usage, updates to Webtools 1.3, and implementation of additional tickets. -Release of the OpenAPI Gateway: Production-ready Gateway will be deployed via the Mainnet with support for a number of new endpoints, asynchronous execution, Ansible support for independent deployment, and a graphical user interface for interaction.
🚨2023 Roadmap and Review of 2022🚨
Pastel released its 2023 roadmap, including a review of 2022. Pastel Network 2022 in review and roadmap for 2023 shows great progress made in the previous year and much promise for the year ahead.
Upcoming year

• Expedite development release cycles of Testnet and Mainnet upgrades — such as with versions Monet and Van Gogh
• Build stronger cross-chain bridges, specifically with Ethereum Polygon, and Polkadot
• Enhance SmartMint and develop new features
• Refine user and partner experience with the roll-out of new technical resources and tools
• Expanding our network of partners across more L2s, DApps, enterprise user-cases, native L1s, and beyond
• Further increase our exposure to the community of technical users, non-technical users, and creators
• Launch of Mobile Wallet as well as new PastelId APIs to work with light wallets
• Supernode Storage Challenges. A novel mechanism by which Pastel Supernodes verify that other nodes are following the rules of the protocol and storing all files appropriately.

Upcoming Mainnet Releases

• Q1: Mainnet Upgrade: Monet Release 1.2
• Q2: Mainnet Upgrade: Monet Release 1.3
• Q3: Mainnet Upgrade: Van Gogh Release 2.0
• Q4 Mainnet Upgrade: Van Gogh Release 2.1

🚨News and Developments🚨
🥝Check out our latest YouTube video featuring an amazing conversation with NFT artist @wondermundo!
🍧Check out this Twitter Space with the @agoric and @kryha_io teams discussing decentralized systems
📀CoinTelegraph looks into industry leaders’ tips (inlcuding Pastel’s own Anthony Georgiades) for regulators
🌸Check out this Twitter Space with u/gameofskills discussing Web3 gaming and much more
🐱Catcoin discusses the Astar partnerhship
⚓Pastel Networks co-founder, Anthony Georgiades talks about what regulators can do in this Cointelegraph article
💡 Check out this Medium article on how Sense is revolutionizing NFT provenance written by Ima-Abasi Pius Joseph
🌡️ Pastel Networks co-founder, Anthony Georgiades talks about his optimism for the market in this CoinDesk article
👀 CoinDesk features co-founder, Anthony Georgiades, and what Coinbase's transition means for crypto
🌵Bitcoin Insider discusses how Pastel protects and stores artists’ NFTs
💚Check out how Pastel Network protects and stores artist’s NFTs in this Bitcoin Insider article.
-Crypto News
⭐CoinDesk Twitter provides you with daily crypto updates
🌼CoinDesk delves into the battle of crypto vs traditional finance
🌀ABC calls cryptocurrency a “bystander” in SVB collapse
👛CoinTelegraph has some interesting insights on the market and blockchains
🌺CoinTelegraph shares how to bridge the gap to web3
-Pastel Archive
🚧We released a Builder’s Guide for ecosystem partners integrating w/ Pastel. Come build with us here.
🌯wPSL or wrapped is explained in this video and
🚧Pastel is completely open-source. Check out what we are working on here.
💫If you could not attend our Twitter Space with u/wondermundo on 2/17, hear it here
🌀Testnet tutorial video
🏆Learn more about Sense and Cascade
🔦Want to try out Sense for yourself? Upload your NFT here to obtain the rareness score of your NFT.
📹Check out this youtube demonstration showing what happened when we compared OpenSea’s new duplicate detection system to Sense Sense Comp Analysis
-Pastel news and essays
♠️NFT real estate explained
⭐Astar Partnership intro
🖌️Monet 1.2 preview
🐋NFTs and climate change
🚀Value of NFTs explained
If you have not done so already, please take a moment to join our growing community base:
🐓 Follow Pastel on Twitter
🙉Follow Smartmint on Twitter
👾Join Pastel's Discord Server
👽Join Pastel on Reddit
✈️Join Pastel’s Telegram
🖥️Subscribe to our Youtube channel

From bloomberg, there is excellent graphics in the article I would recommend viewing: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-svb-exposed-risks-banks/?srnd=premium#xj4y7vzkg

The investment losses that helped take down Silicon Valley Bank are a problem, to one degree or another, across the US financial system. In total, the industry ended last year with $620 billion of unrealized losses on its books from investments in low-yielding bonds.
For most banks, the issue is manageable.
Bonds held in investment books represented less than a quarter of the banking system’s $23.6 trillion of assets in December, and unlike SVB, lenders usually have a wide array of depositors who are unlikely to all need money around the same time. For the biggest banks, the risks are even smaller. They are perceived as too big to fail. What’s more, the recent rally in the Treasury bond market — sparked, ironically, by the jitters about the health of the banking industry — is helping to shrink the $620 billion of paper losses. (In the coming weeks, banks will start to post first-quarter data.) Banks’ Equity Could Take Hit If Paper Losses Had to Be Realized For most banks, unrealized losses are a manageable problem. But investors and depositors remain jittery about lenders sitting on huge piles of money-losing bonds
And yet as depositors keep gradually withdrawing their money and shifting it into money market funds and other investments, banks are facing a squeeze. They’re being pressed to pay more for funding while their revenue is limited by the investments they made in low-yielding bonds during the pandemic. That in turn could curb their ability to lend to consumers and businesses, slowing the economy.
“They’re paying more for deposits, and their earnings on bonds are fixed,” said Stan August, a retired bank examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and a former bond analyst at Bank of America. “That’s where the squeeze is.”
When the pandemic hit, and the Federal Reserve pushed down rates once again by pumping unprecedented amounts of cash into the economy, many banks loaded up on long-term government and mortgage-backed bonds. There were some Treasury notes that promised to pay annual interest of just 0.6% over 10 years.
Then inflation surged and the Fed started urgently driving up interest rates. The value of those bonds plunged, because who would want to buy an old bond paying 0.6% interest when new ones were suddenly paying more than 3%?
Losses on bonds are a risk whenever rates go up, but banks’ holdings were bigger than usual in 2022. All that cash the Fed and the government pushed into the economy quickly found its way into the banking system, giving lenders trillions of dollars to invest. SVB’s domestic deposits, for instance, rose more than 150% from the end of March 2020 through the end of 2022.
Rising deposits on their own don’t necessarily represent a problem for banks. For SVB, they spelled trouble in part because its clients tended to keep large balances at the bank as a condition for receiving services like lines of credit.
That translated to a high percentage of customers’ deposits being bigger than US deposit insurance limits. Clients with high balances at a bank are often skittish about the safety of their funds. and more likely to withdraw money fast at signs of trouble.
There were at least three data points for SVB that worried depositors: the speed at which the bank’s deposits had grown, the high percentage of uninsured deposits it had, and the magnitude of losses relative to its equity. These factors helped create a perfect storm.
But even for banks that dodge the storm, bond losses are a problem. A large part of banks’ investment portfolios use an accounting method called “held to maturity” that ensures the firms don’t have to record any losses, or any hits to their balance sheets, from the declining value of their bonds. But they also have to hold onto the bonds until they mature. Banks Locked Up Trillions in Long-Term Investments Total holdings, at amortized cost, in held-to-maturity securities for banks with at least $25 billion in assets as of Q4 2022
As banks’ deposits started to grow during the pandemic, they initially plowed more money into bonds using a method of accounting called “available for sale.” For these securities, changes in the value of the bonds would affect their balance sheets but not their income statements. That accounting method can force banks to boost their capital levels, though, if their losses get too high.
In 2021, a growing group of banks believed the Fed would soon begin raising interest rates and began switching to counting more of their bonds as held-to-maturity. The biggest banks added about $1.7 trillion of the bonds to their books over the two years ended in December. In some cases, they switched bonds over from one accounting treatment to the other. In other cases, they just stopped buying new available-for-sale securities and only added to their held-to-maturity books.
Initially it worked pretty well. Profits ballooned. The US banking system’s return on equity, a measure of profitability, averaged 12.2% in 2021, the highest since 2006.
But now that inflation and rate hikes have come, banks have suddenly been finding themselves pressured from two sides. Higher interest rates forced banks to pay more money to win deposits, with average one-year CD rates rising to about 2.7% by March, according to DepositAccounts, from 0.35% in May 2022. Consumers and companies have been taking more of their money out of banks and investing it in assets like government bonds. Deposits in commercial banks fell last year for the first time since 1948, according to the FDIC. The worst pain here is for community and regional banks, which lost $109 billion of deposits in the week ended March 15, while the biggest banks have been luring funds.
Meanwhile, the value of banks’ bond holdings plunged on paper too. The $620 billion of unrealized losses in the system at the end of 2022 were for available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities.
The combination of surging interest rates, high investment losses and heavy deposit outflows is new for most investors and executives in the banking industry. To many, this feels like uncharted territory.
“I have covered this industry for 20 years plus and I have never seen anything like this,” said Ania Aldrich, an investment principal at Cambiar Investors. “In all the stress testing we have done for at least the largest banks have never stressed for anything like this.”
Comments from banks
Charles Schwab Bank & Charles Schwab Premier Bank
“Focusing attention on ‘unrealized losses’ in our held-to-maturity (HTM) portfolio is very misleading. These ‘paper losses’ are unrealized and would only be realized if we had to sell those securities. The profile of our depositors is very different from regional banks. Given our significant access to sources of liquidity, there is a near-zero chance we’d need to sell any of our HTM portfolio prior to maturity. That would be akin to assuming a large retail bank would sell a substantial portion of its loan portfolio... Client deposits may move, but they are not leaving the firm. As is the case in every cycle, clients make choices about where to best allocate their assets. As interest rates have increased over the last year, our clients have made choices to reallocate assets within their Schwab portfolios, to reflect their preferences in this market. And in fact, we have actively encouraged them to do so. The important point is that those allocation decisions result in the assets staying at Schwab. Despite the events of the last two weeks, we have not seen any meaningful change in client behavior regarding their cash… Comparing unrealized losses across firms with different business models can be misleading. Schwab Bank has a different business model than traditional banks. Our deposits come from transactional cash in clients’ brokerage accounts that is swept to our banks. We use about 10% of that cash to fund loans to our existing clients and with the remaining 90%, we buy securities – the vast majority of which are backed by the U.S. Government. With rates moving up, the fair value of all fixed rate assets — loans or securities — has gone down. But given that our securities are very high quality, we fully expect our securities to reach par at maturity, which means the unrealized ‘paper’ losses will decrease over time. Because a much higher percentage of our assets are securities — and traditional bank loans are not disclosed the same way — our paper losses may appear larger than those of traditional banks. But that assessment lacks the appropriate context. In reality, our portfolio has less credit risk and is actually less sensitive to changes in interest rates than many large banks,” Co-Chairmen Charles Schwab and Walt Bettinger said in a statement.
First National Bank of Pennsylvania
“Due to FNB’s conservative balance sheet and interest rate risk management leading into this higher rate environment, the duration and fair value marks of our AFS and HTM portfolios were more favorable than others in the industry. Even after fully incorporating these marks into our Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio, we would remain well capitalized. In addition, FNB has a stable and granular deposit base and maintains a strong liquidity position with uninsured deposits excluding fully collateralized balances at only 27% and has available funding sources in excess of those balances,” CEO Vincent J. Delie, Jr. said in a statement.
Prosperity Bank
“Prosperity Bank has a fortress balance sheet that is well suited for times like this. In fact, we were a source of strength in the 80’s and 2008, participating in six FDIC assisted transactions. We are a traditional community bank with a diverse loan portfolio and a granular deposit base amongst the many communities that we are in. We have close to 800,000 deposit accounts with an average balance of $36,000, our uninsured and uncollateralized deposits only make up 32% of our total deposits, we have access to large amounts of liquidity, and we are extremely well capitalized. We maintain higher tangible common equity ratios than many of the large money center banks and remain well capitalized even if you include any unrealized losses in the held-to-maturity portfolio. It has been our pleasure to serve the communities we are in and help our customers navigate and understand all that is happening in the banking markets,’’ Cullen Zalman, senior vice president for banking and corporate activities at Prosperity Bank, said in a statement.
USAA Federal Savings Bank
“USAA is a fundamentally different bank than those that have struggled over the past few weeks. Our bank is consumer based, 93% of deposits are within the applicable FDIC insurance limits, and we have access to substantial liquidity to serve the needs of our members. USAA FSB also goes through rigorous stress testing to help us best support our members. Focusing on any single asset class is misguided, given additional ways to evaluate bank balance sheets, like net interest trends, which highlight the efficiencies or inefficiencies across a bank’s entire balance sheet. The degree of changes in USAA’s unrealized bond holdings is a reflection of a relatively low loan-to-deposit ratio, which means investments are a larger part of our balance sheet and accounting value fluctuations are more noticeable. But not all banks and not all investment portfolios are the same. Unrealized bond losses do not create excess risk in institutions with a stable base of customers, a strong capital position, the ability to hold such bonds to maturity and access to the liquidity necessary to meet their depositors’ and borrowers’ needs.” First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co.
“First Citizens is a well-capitalized bank, and our post-acquisition capital ratios remain within or above our target ranges. In addition, the transaction is structured to maintain our position of strength with ample liquidity and credit loss protections. Our liquidity remains strong and stable driven by conservatively managed investment portfolio, and it is enhanced by this transaction.” First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired Silicon Valley Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., though the sale did not include $90 billion in securities and other assets. Huntington National Bank
“Per the company’s 10K, 68% of deposits at Huntington are insured / 32% are uninsured as of December 31, 2022. This is the lowest % of uninsured deposits among all US based publicly traded banks with $50bn+ in deposits (excluding those classified primarily as card issuers). Huntington has an active hedging program for securities, and total FV marks net of hedges for all securities are in line with peers.”
Northern Trust Co.
“Northern Trust is a global provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, and individuals. Northern Trust has offices in the United States as well as 23 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region… Our clients leave large amounts of deposits with us not because we offer higher rates, but because they have significant payment activity. Over 60% of our institutional deposits are considered operational by regulatory standards… Northern Trust’s business model focuses on two core markets: institutions and wealthy individuals/families. These have been our historic strengths for generations. Retail banking represents a small percentage of our client base and an even smaller percentage of our assets on deposit, which in part accounts for the low percentage of insured deposits when compared with other banks that have significantly larger retail portfolios. Northern Trust is a Category II institution under the Federal Reserve’s regulatory framework. As a result, we are the only non G-SIB required to do daily liquidity testing and report unrealized losses in regulatory capital reporting. We consistently are assigned the highest long-term credit rating of any comparable U.S. institution. Northern Trust maintains a high-quality securities portfolio. Highly liquid assets constitute 62% of total client deposits as of Dec. 31, 2022. 81% of Northern Trust’s securities portfolio is composed of U.S. Treasury, government sponsored agency and triple-A rated securities. Regarding unrealized, mark-to-market HTM investment security losses as a percentage of tangible equity, it is important to note that our balance sheet composition has a lower proportion of loans, and thus our investment securities portfolio will be larger on both an absolute and percentage basis than banks with similar asset sizes.”
Banks that declined to comment:
Bank of America, First Republic Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Truist Bank, US Bank, Valley National Bank and Wells Fargo Bank Banks that didn’t respond to requests for comment or did not have immediate comment when reached:
Associated Bank, City National Bank, Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co., Santander Bank, Signature Bank, Simmons Bank, State Street Bank & Trust Co., UBS Bank USA and Webster Bank

I have seen a few articles recently that got me thinking about the future of Android and how it seems the iPhone is gaining more momentum. Is the future of the Android's market share and platform in trouble of being overtaken by iOS?
The articles I’m referring to:

1. iPhone ownership among teens hits 87%

“Who cares” you might think? Well, those teenagers are going to be the next generation of smartphone consumers and will typically be life-long consumers as switching between platforms is more trouble than it's worth. Add to that, we know the RCS/iMessage incompatibility that Apple doesn't want to let go of, causing more teens to adopt iPhones. I also think this trend of younger generations wanting iPhones will be reflected in other parts of the world, not just the US, so younger generations of smartphone consumers will largely be iPhone consumers.
​

1. Apple again dominates smartphones profit, taking record 85% share

In entire smartphone industry, Apple takes the lion's share; 85% of the profits, while Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Google etc, are fighting for scraps. If point #1 above happens in the US and that trend also spreads around the world, then any percentage increase in market share that Apple gains, will be even more staggering profits for the company.
​

1. Apple first to capture 8 spots in list for global top 10 smartphones

The top 10 selling phones are dominated by iPhones with two low-end (not flagship) Samsung phones showing up in spot 4 and 10. To have the single highest selling phones, which happen to be the highest margins in the industry. Again if Apple’s market share grows with teenagers becoming young adults, then maybe the top 10 selling phones will all be iPhones.
​
So if Google’s market share decreases, what does it matter? Afterall, Google have basically all of their applications on iOS anyway. Well, here are some potential issues:

1. All of Google’s apps on iOS aren’t there by default, the user has to download them from the App Store. This could mean that over time, more users opt to just use the default apps on the iPhone, ie; Apple’s cloud storage, maps, browser etc.
2. Apple could, at any point, change their iOS privacy policies and restrict Google’s apps from further user data/analytics in the name of privacy. They did it recently which hurt Facebook tremendously, I’m sure they could do it to hurt Google. This could be a big blow to Google for ad revenue as they’ll have less info about user data. And the argument for it will be more privacy which is hard to argue against.
3. With less Android market share, Apple would charge Google much more for them to be the default search engine on iOS. Google currently pays approximately $15 billion per year to be the default search engine on iOS. Apple could also, at any point, choose to ditch Google as their search engine and move to Bing powered by ChatGPT or to some other search engine.

While I don’t think Android will vanish or that OEM’s will just stop making Android phones, I just wonder what Google has planned to navigate through this and either gain market share, or Samsung/Google/Whoever to be able to have high-volume, high-profit devices (not just high volume, low profit ones). Seems like Apple has quite a few levers they could pull that could completely cripple Google/Android. How exactly does Google/Samsung etc, position Android and their devices to combat the influx of nearly all teeangers and young adults all wanting iPhones? It looks like Andriod's popularity will trend downwards in the future - how do you think Android is able to combat this?

I’ve been broken up with my bpd ex for 10 months but the final discard where she decided to walk out of my life forever-as a future partner or friend or anything was only a month ago. She decided she was shutting me out of her whole life for good.
I’m not sure what bpd fleas I have now. And how to judge future relationships. I’m seeing someone now from my past. The relationship wasn’t toxic, I was just hung up on my ex and still caught in her web so I ended things. We are enjoying our time together a lot. We have known each other 2 years and we have been back in romance mode for about 4 months.
She doesn’t invite me to hang out with her friends or family. She is very introverted, socially anxious, and she likes to keep our friends and family separate. She doesn’t wanna hang with mine either. This really rubs me the wrong way and I’ve explained it to her. It’s hard because the bpd ex wanted to do everything together…she couldn’t get enough of me being around.
She also doesn’t like to hang out that much. The most I get to see her is 3x a week for 2-3 hours at most. Usually it’s more like twice a week for a couple hours. I’d really like to see her more. I’d like our lives to be a little more involved. I feel like we’re acting like we just met but we have been in a deep intimate relationship for years at this point, even if it was off and on. It’s not because of my ex….she was like this before too. She keeps her friends and family all separate this way. And she enjoys time alone a lot and isolates frequently to recharge. It’s got nothing to do with me.
She just doesn’t want to see me that often or for that long at a time and she is just as happy to be home alone as she is with me. I feel that she loves me a lot but I don’t feel like I did with the borderline, who was lovebombing me and enmeshing with me-I at least always knew I was wanted. I felt desired. Of course it was never enough for her and she was insatiable.
Am I being insatiable? Am I expecting too much? I have no reference for normal. I am used to in all my relationships though a much higher degree of meshing our lives together in terms of hanging with friends and family, and spending more time together when we’re able to. I am used to feeling like I am more of a priority than the others in their life and I feel like that’s healthy and normal to an extent. But in this relationship I feel like I’m equal to all things to her. She’s just as happy with me or without me.
She’s also closed off in the bedroom. I felt like she didn’t want to have sex at all. The borderline was all over me-but she won’t touch me unless I initiate. She won’t hardly let me touch her and she keeps her clothes on. She doesn’t have sexual trauma or physical trauma. She says it’s all too vulnerable for her and she’s like this with everyone. So this is also making me feel disconnected and rejected.
Some parts of this just don’t feel healthy but I also don’t know what healthy looks like. I want more from this girl. I want a deep and intimate connected relationship-I’m not sure what’s normal and what’s not at this point. I feel like we should be doing more together. I only get to see her specific days and times that I have to schedule with her in advance. I feel like this is how I must’ve made my borderline ex feel…unwanted. Unspecial. Like I didn’t have that much time for her.
I want more and I’m unhappy. I’m unsure if I have fleas but I sure feel like my ex rn like I’m complaining about the same things. I stay as busy as I can with other stuff…am I expecting too much? Or is something wrong here? I feel like I have to work really hard to see her and I feel like she’s just as happy being away from me. She will miss me if we go a week without seeing each other but she doesn’t need nearly as much time together and talking as me. And idk if that’s normal or if something is wrong and she’s avoidant also

ALL-IN-ONE WORDPRESS MAINTENANCE, HOSTING & SUPPORT 

Here's how I'll eliminate the stress of WordPress and free you up to get sh\t done.*
​
Managed Hosting
Out-of-this-world page load speeds, the security of the Google Cloud, 99.99% tested uptime, and 24/7 hosting support.
​
24/7 Maintenance
Being the most widely used CMS, WordPress is always the target of attack. So, Chuck Norris handles my maintenance and security. Well, you'd think so.
​
Expert Support
Sometimes stuff just happens. When it does, I'm there to get you back in action.
​
-------------
​

Four Reasons to Trust Me for WordPress Maintenance

1) It's Secure - Built on the rock-solid Google Cloud Platform and backed up every day. So, relax and leave the worry to me.
2) It's Live - “Site down” errors create should’ve-been clients. So, I monitor 24/7 to get on top of issues the moment they arise.
3) It's (Crazy) Fast - 40% of your should-be clients will leave if your site isn’t loaded in 3s.
4) It's Handled - At the end of the day, all my client want to know that their website is being handled. And that’s what it is.
​
-------------
​

Your Website. Faster. Guaranteed.

Every plan includes a page load speed guarantee. If your website isn’t immediately faster, I’ll promptly refund your first month’s payment–no questions asked.
​
-------------
​

Full List of Maintenance Services

Daily Database & Core Backups - A backup of your entire website. Created for you. Every. single. day.
Page Speed Optimization - From image compression & HTML improvements to CDN & advanced caching, I’ll keep you moving fast.
Performance Monitoring - Stellar user experience requires fast load times, so I don’t just make your site fast. I keep it that way.
24/7 Uptime Monitoring - In the world of on-demand, website downtime isn’t an option, so I monitor your uptime in real time.
Ongoing Hack Prevention - When it comes to your security, I'm not interested in reactivity*. I'm committed to* proactivity*.*
Deep-Level Malware Scanning - If there’s reason to think your site may be infected, I collect enough intel to make the CIA jealous.
Malware Cleaning & Removal - If your website gets hacked, I'll work 24/7 to restore the digital home of your business ASAP.
​
-------------
​

Pricing
Every plan includes my money-back, page load speed guarantee.

​

Starter	Pro	Business
$79 PER MONTH	$129 PER MONTH	$479 PER MONTH
Weekly WordPress Updates	Everything Starter Plus:	Everything Pro Plus:
Kinsta WordPress Hosting	Lead Generation Software	Keyword Research
Content Delivery Network (CDN)	Pagespeed Optimization	Detailed SEO Auditing
Free Hosting Migration (1 Site)	Pagespeed Monitoring	On-Page SEO
Daily Core & Database Backups	Google Search Console Setup	Local SEO
Real-Time Security Monitoring	Google Analytics Integration	Link Building
Free SSL Certificate	Keyword Ranking Reports	Reputation Management
Hack Prevention	Robust Analytics Reports	Brand Consulting
Malware Removal	30 (More) Min Minor Tweaks
Staging Environment
24/7 Up-Time Monitoring
30 Minutes Minor Tweaks

​
-------------
​
Q: DO I REALLY NEED A WORDPRESS MAINTENANCE SERVICE?
Yes. Here’s why...

1. Time really is money.

Who has the time to make sure WordPress, your theme, and all your plugins stay up to date? And who has the time (or the know-how) to get things back in order when something goes wrong?
And here’s the deal. Those hours aren’t making you money. They’re costing you money.
And for what? To save a couple of hundred bucks per month?
Nope.
Sign up for Pro, connect the lead generation/email opt-in tool to your email marketing software, and create a sales funnel for your business. . Or brainstorm 5 potential clients to cold-call and/or send targeted emails.
Just do something that will make money and grow your business.
From my own experience, that’s time much better spent than worrying about whether your website is live, healthy, and secure.
I've gotcha covered on that.
​

1. Hacking happens (and it can be catastrophic when it does).

At nearly 30% market share, WordPress is far and away the most widely used website content management system (CMS) in the world. As such, it’s developed for more broadly than any other CMS, which makes it (in my opinion) the ideal platform for business and blog websites.
The drawback? As expected with the big dog, WordPress is targeted by hackers more frequently than any other CMS in the world.
​

1. Your (should-be) clients demand speed.

No one waits on a slow site. Not us. Not you. Not your clients.
In fact, half of your should-be clients will be frustrated after just 2 seconds and they’ll abandon it altogether after 3. So, one second can be the difference between earning a client and (functionally) funneling them to your competitors.
Don’t be that business!
​

1. Downtime reflects upon more than just your website.

Finding your site live isn’t an added bonus for your clients. It’s an expectation. And a frustrating experience with your website is a frustrating experience with your company. A live, healthy website reflects a live, healthy company.
In other words, if a live, healthy, fast, secure website is important to you, then you need a WordPress maintenance service.
​
-------------
​
Let's talk..
Shoot me a PM if you're interested in hiring me for Wordpress Maintenance, Hosting, and Support.

Tez2, a reputable Rockstar insider has suggested on the GTA Forums that GTA 6 is likely to be released this year with a tentative release date of 2024.
According to my own reports which date back to June 2021, this seems to be the case. My sources have said that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been aiming for a 2024 release date for some time, but speculation and past reveal/release schedules of the likes of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 suggest the game will be delayed until 2025.
If I were to guess – I believe the game would release in the holiday of 2025 instead of the spring.
As for when the announcement is made is unclear, but typically Rockstar Games likes to announce its big reveals on its own. So to set expectations, I wouldn’t necessarily expect the game to be announced at E3. Instead, I expect some form of reveal trailer in Q4 2023 to coincide with past reveals.
According to my own sources, one of the major reasons for such a long-winded “delay” is that GTA 6 will release on current-generation consoles only. With the tentative 2024 date being planned as far back as 2021, it was a means of ensuring that GTA 6 would have a sufficient console market to release on.
In late 2022, Rockstar Games had a security breach that resulted in over 70 videos on GTA 6 gameplay surfacing online. In its subsequent earnings call, Take-Two Interactive addressed investors to state that the leak was unfortunate, but they believe it had no impact on development.
“There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort, but it is terribly disappointing and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity”, it was said.
As for GTA 6, for now, we’ll need to continue sitting tight and see what gets announced in the hopefully near future.
When do you think GTA 6 will be announced?
For more from Insider Gaming, check out details on THE FINALS BETA that starts today.
Related

My current plans of moving abroad prohibit me from getting employment on my current local market (regulations...), so I have the option to either
A. Get a internationally remote job (think AngelList, etc.)
B. Go freelance and find clients on my local market, invoice them from abroad
I have about 2 YoE (work) and 5+ years in software development, and looking at statistics from multiple agencies that place you with potential clients, that's not nearly enough to freelance (most people there are in their 40s and 50s)
Comparing this to the extreme competition and the thousands of applicants on remote jobs, which option is more likely to succeed for me? Compete worldwide, or spend weeks to look for projects with the ever-creeping risk of being without a next project