What is the Metaverse?

You may have seen videos of virtual avatars experiencing a concert, attending a festival or experiencing a famous real-life landmark in a digitally created space or overheard people looking to purchase NFTs that can be used in this virtual space. While the 'metaverse' may have permeated dinner table conversations across the globe, there is still a long way to go when it comes to the people's understanding of the metaverse and all its applications.

So, let's break it down.

The metaverse is a simulated 3D digital environment or a virtual shared space, that mimics the real world by using augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain and concepts from social media, offering users an immersive virtual experience to interact, collaborate, communicate, and transact with each other. Different technology companies have contemplated different kinds of metaverses. For example, Facebook (now called Meta) is developing an AR / VR based ecosystem allowing users to interact in different environments within the metaverse. Under the service 'Horizon Venues', Meta allows users to create digital avatars, wear VR headsets and attend live concerts, sports events etc. Other players such as The Sandbox and Epic Games (Fortnite) are developing a more gamified experience for users, where users will be able to buy and sell (virtual) land, create assets, host, and attend events and conduct transactions.

Given that metaverse is ultimately a virtual projection of real things, every service or experience offered in the metaverse in effect relies on the underlying digital content – whether in the form of images, sounds, videos, characters, visual effects, text, software, design, or a combination of all; the regulatory landscape governing digital content and intellectual property is the primary legal regime for the governance and growth of metaverse.

However, there continue to be rising concerns on the effectiveness of our existing legal regime that struggles to cope with the once-unthinkable use and dependence on technology for consumption of content and user interaction.

What are the key challenges as well as opportunities the lie ahead for the metaverse? Let us discuss.

Ownership of IP vis a vis the Platform

The ownership of intellectual property developed in the metaverse is one of the key issues to be addressed, given that every aspect of metaverse – including the platform, the underlying software, technology, the so-called 'real estate in metaverse', content, images, music, design, brands, audio-visuals – are all different types of intellectual property. It is therefore likely that the traditional principles and categories of intellectual property may need to be broadened and reshaped to reflect the unique requirements of the digital only environment. Another aspect to consider is the territorial scope relevant for the legal protection of a copyright or other intellectual property, in an entirely virtual context and absence of jurisdictional boundaries. The challenge perhaps will be to identify the location of use of intellectual property and the applicable jurisdictional legal regime.

Under Indian copyright law, the author or creator of any intellectual property is regarded as the owner, unless contractually agreed otherwise. However, when intellectual property or content is created in the metaverse using underlying technological tools or Artificial Intelligence (AI) offered by the metaverse platform - there is a possibility that the host platform could claim ownership in the works. Thus, the ownership of works or assets created on a metaverse platform will eventually be determined by the terms of use of such platform. A possible solution to this could be creation of a separate category of rights for AI generated inventions. Interestingly, acknowledging the increased use, relevance, and benefits of AI, the Parliamentary Standing Committee of India, recently in its review of intellectual property laws regime in India, recommended creation of a separate category of rights for AI and AI related inventions for protection of such rights.1

On the other hand, content creators could benefit from the fact that a virtual only environment may make it easier for users to differentiate between content that is freely available to public from that which belongs exclusively to an author, performer, or copyright owner. Today, internet users are often under the ill-impression that digital formats of content (books, songs, movies) are free to access simply because they are available on the internet. One may expect that the illegality of piracy will be more evident in a virtual environment, with better traceability and advanced technological controls being implemented to identify IP rights violations.

Relevance of content acquisition contracts

Under the Indian copyright law, exploitation rights cannot be assigned for modes and mediums not existing at the time of assignment. Therefore, use and monetisation of content acquired prior to contemplation of metaverse could be open to challenge by authors and original rights owners. Even if a contract contemplates transfer of rights for use in future technologies or mediums, authors and original rights owners could claim that they are not fairly compensated given 'metaverse' as a means of monetisation was not contemplated at the time monetary value to the assignment/transfer of rights was determined. Therefore, each contract for acquisition of any content will need to be re-evaluated to see if it contemplates the rights necessary for exploitation of content over metaverse or the potential risk of challenge by the original owner to acquirer's exploitation of rights previously acquired.

Going forward, content licenses and assignments will need to be carefully drafted and negotiated in so far as they relate to exploitation of content on the metaverse or any new technology. For assignees or licensees, it will be important to ensure that contracts expressly grant rights for exploitation of content over metaverse and its future variants in the widest manner possible. While the metaverse is ultimately intended to be a decentralised interoperable ecosystem, in reality metaverse platforms are likely going to be filled with 'walled gardens' controlled by individual entities / brands / sub-ecosystems. Accordingly, for licensees and assignees that intend to exploit content in the metaverse, it is crucial that acquisition agreements do not include any restriction or limitation on use of content in a specific ecosystem within the metaverse.

From content owners' perspective, there is merit in clearly identifying the rights being granted and the modes and mediums of exploitation. Where possible, specific commercial terms should be attributed to various metaverse use-cases. To the extent parties cannot specifically contemplate use-cases, there should be flexibility to revisit the contract and determine commercial consideration as and when any new use-cases arise.

Music Licensing in the Metaverse

Music will likely be a key driver of the metaverse, with the growth of virtual concerts, virtual worlds, and the integration of music with games / brands / environments in the metaverse.

Similar to contracts relating to content acquisition, music licensing arrangements will also be heavily negotiated on aspects relating to manner and scope of use, modes and medium of exploitation, use of music across different environments in a metaverse.

In addition to this, metaverse creates a unique situation for the purpose of music licensing. Until now, the music industry bifurcated licenses in clearly defined categories such as public performance, streaming, downloading, physical reproduction and synchronisation. Given the varied use cases in the metaverse, licenses may not fall under the existing categories. For instance, a virtual concert in the metaverse could be construed as a hybrid of both, public performance and streaming. Similarly, almost the entire usage of music in the metaverse will be synchronised to audio-visuals or digital imagery, and as such could be construed to fall under a synchronisation license. There will also be other use-cases for music in the metaverse, such as instant artist collaborations on remix's and cover versions, creative collaborations with fans, monetisation via NFTs, etc.

As various kinds of metaverse develop, the potential for monetisation of music will also grow exponentially. The music industry will have to devise new and hybrid forms of licenses to cater to needs of platforms and users on metaverse.

Smart Contracts and the Metaverse

With the metaverse being majorly on digital assets and services such as NFTs, avatars, virtual gaming, virtual concerts, virtual real-estate, etc., use of smart contracts is likely to increase given the efficiency, expediency and convenience offered by such contracts as opposed to execution of physical contracts.

Smart contracts are digital contracts that are stored on a blockchain, which are automatically executed between parties when specific terms and conditions are met. Smart contracts are stored on a distributed ledger of a blockchain, adding more security to contractual arrangements, and restrictions on unauthorised access to the contract. Enforcement of smart contracts is also easier since performance of contingent obligations become effective if the relevant party completes performance of pre-requisite actions, clearly documented and recorded. However, smart contracts fall short in case of agreements which have subjective terms that require human intervention / interpretation. For e.g., determining the quality of specific services being provided, or covenants which are qualified by 'reasonable efforts' or 'best endeavour' of the performing party.

The initial use of smart contracts is likely to be for standardised agreements in the metaverse, however agreements that are more bespoke in nature are likely to be executed through traditional means, at least until development technology to remove human intervention in entirety.

Personality Rights and Privacy Rights

Personality rights protect the unauthorised usage of a celebrity or individual's name, likeness, voice, nickname / voice imitation or a look-alike, or personal attributes. Personality rights become more significant in the metaverse, given the different ways in which an "avatar" may be used in a digital ecosystem. Exploitation of personality rights through the metaverse will be a major revenue stream for celebrities and public personalities in future with new possibilities of endorsements, interviews, promotions, and performances in close settings as well as one-on-one interaction with followers.

Celebrities will have to be cautious regarding the rights they grant to platforms and ensure that these are specific in nature and override the generic terms of use imposed by platforms, which may permit a wide use of personal attributes for promotional purposes.

For other individual users as well, the question of use of their digital avatars by third parties is a critical one. While data protection laws protect personal information, whether an avatar would fall within its scope is undecided. Privacy laws will have to swiftly redesigned in the context of changing technology to balance individual's privacy with permitted commercial use.

Content Regulation and User Behaviour

Metaverse platforms are intended to operate as intermediaries providing users and businesses virtual space and opportunity to interact and transact. As such, these platforms should be able to claim safe harbour from liability arising from actions of users, subject to the platforms being in compliance with requirements under the information technology regime.

A key aspect of the compliance requirements for intermediaries is to takedown content which is unlawful under applicable law, or which is in violation of the conditions set out in the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ("IT Rules"). However, takedowns in the metaverse may not always be practical, particularly in relation to live interaction of virtual avatars. Other issues around user behaviour will also have to be addressed, for instance the possibility of assault or harassment in the virtual environment, safety of minors, possibility of identity theft, fraud etc. As such, a mere import of the current regime relating to digital media may not suffice for regulating metaverse and laws will have to evolve to ensure creation of a safe environment for users. In order to claim safe harbour from liability for acts of users, the platforms will likely be required to implement active measures, such as content monitoring and safety tools for users. While this may create burden of compliance for the platforms, it will eventually be an essential driver growth by making individuals feel safe in a virtual reality.

To the extent a platform makes available any content or feature itself, the platform will have primary liability. However, some platforms have proposed shared governance with users, where users will have voting rights in matters of governance based on the assets or currency the relevant user possesses or has earned. If this is implemented, it will be interesting to see if entities operating the platforms claim safe harbour on the grounds that the platform itself is governed entirely by users.

The Way Forward

Undoubtedly, the metaverse is set to change the manner in which content is consumed and interactions between users take place virtually. While platforms and their use cases continue to be developed, it is evident that the current regulatory framework may not be sufficient to effectively regulate the metaverse.

Eventually, if the metaverse truly becomes the universe for people to interact and access content; unauthorised use of intellectual property, data, and information, will create new challenges for rights holders. Further, if the end purpose of metaverse is to increase interaction or enhance the experience of content consumption in a digital only world, the accessibility of each metaverse will also need to be augmented.

Technology by definition develops rapidly, and therefore legal landscape is likely to continue being a step behind and reactive to new developments. Eventually, technology companies may have to consider agreeing to common standards for metaverse not only to aid interoperability, but to also ensure safety and protection of content, technology, information, and privacy of users, to ultimately foster the growth of this medium.

1. https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/Committee_site/Committee_File/ReportFile/13/141/161_2021_7_15.pdf

The content of this document do not necessarily reflect the views/position of Khaitan & Co but remain solely those of the author(s). For any further queries or follow up please contact Khaitan & Co at legalalerts@khaitanco.com


Brush away the plaque of inflation

Back to Money advice
1 October 2018
It’s that time of the year when we start feeling a bit warmer and find renewed energy to do all those things we put off during the winter. So, while you have all this spring energy, why not use some of it to clean up your investments?
And if you’re not already an investor, now is the perfect time to start!

An area where your investments can always do with a bit of attention is around inflation planning.

Spending some time calculating the effects of inflation on your investment can ensure that this silent investment killer is cleaned out.

What is inflation?

Inflation is like dental plaque. If left unattended, it can cause rot and decay to your financial future and investment plans. Plaque gradually builds up over time, corroding teeth and rendering them ineffective in your later years. Inflation works in the same way.

If you don’t deal with inflation over time it will corrode your long-term investment plans and could render these ineffective one day when you need them most.

How does inflation work?

Inflation is a measure (expressed as a percentage) of how expensive things get year after year. For example, if a loaf of bread cost R 10 last year and today costs R 11, then the R 1 increase – or 10% (R10 +10% = R 11) – is the effect of inflation.

Put differently, your income needs to increase by at least R 1 (10%) this year to buy that same loaf of bread you bought last year.

How does inflation affect my investments?

Negatively! If you plan to invest money for a certain time period, you should annually increase your investment contributions by an amount at least equal to the inflation rate in the country, to ensure that your money does not lose its value.

Consider the following:

Let’s say that inflation is constant at 6 % p.a. for the next 15 years and you had R 500 000 under your bed today. If you kept it there, it would only be worth R 197 645 after 15 years due to the negative effect of inflation.

Essentially, to keep up with inflation (and not even get wealthier!) you would have to make additional monetary contributions of 6% every year on the capital amount for 15 years, just to ensure that the value of your money does not drop.

This way you would merely be able to buy the same items you could 15 years ago.

If your investments are not growing by at least the rate of inflation you are, in effect, getting poorer – even if you are seeing some kind of investment growth!

An example of how inflation affects investment outcomes:

Your investment underperforms inflation

Your investment performs the same as inflation

Your investment outperforms inflation

Starting once-off lump sum contribution amount

R 100 000

R 100 000

R 100 000

Investment time period (years)

15 years

15 years

15 years

Estimated inflation rate for the next 15 years

6% p.a.

6% p.a.

6% p.a.

Estimated investment growth for the next 15 years

5% p.a.

6% p.a.

7% p.a.

Result after 15 years of investing (Rand)

R 207 892

R 239 655

R 275 903

Poorer or stronger than inflation

R 31 763 poorer L

Neither Poorer nor Stronger (stagnant)

R 36 247 stronger J

As you can see in the table above, if your investment grew by 5% p.a. over 15 years and inflation averaged 6% p.a. over that time, you would have fallen short of beating inflation by R 31 763 i.e. you would be R 31 763 poorer despite investing and a growth of 5% p.a.

If your investment outperformed inflation annually you would be R 36 247 stronger or better off. If you do not beat inflation over time you are not getting ahead.

If your investment managed to grow in line with inflation (6% p.a.) over the 15 years you, would be neither better nor worse off, effectively meaning that you got nowhere. You merely preserved the value of your money over the 15 years, never giving it any kind of power to do more for you.

How to brush away the plaque of inflation

It’s simple:

  1. Once a year set aside time to “clean” your investments. Spring is an ideal time as most people are in the cleaning mood anyway, so why not include investments to your list while you’re at it?

  2. Find out the current rate of inflation – ask your financial advisor or consult a financial indicator website like STATS SA

  3. Adjust your monthly or once-off contribution by the inflation rate. In other words, if you are contributing R 1 000 per month and inflation is 6% p.a. then increase your monthly contribution to R 1 060 p.a. (R 1 000 plus 6%) for the next 12 months.

Don’t forget to floss

If inflation is like plaque then an annual inflation adjustment to your investments is like a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss – restoring, preserving and protecting.

Visiting your oral hygienist would be like consulting your financial advisor for professional assistance.

So don’t forget to floss regularly and adjust your investment contributions by inflation each year. This will give you two great reasons to share your smile!

Grow your money intelligently and start your investment journey.

Gareth van Deventer
OUTvest: Head of Advice
Advice Centre 0860 688 837
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How much coding did you know before starting your own side project/ startup?

Ahmad Javed
2 replies
I know web development and have built several small projects, every time I want to start some big project I feel like I don't know enough or need to learn some more. How should I tackle this problem. I have several ideas which I want to work on.

Hi, I think you should start trying to create your product, and during development, you will improve your skills and learn new things. You won’t even notice how you will dive in different topics. 5 years ago, I started creating a project for myself, it was simple and not very functional. Soon, I made it public in the local market, users began to write their feedback and ideas, and during upgrading, I grew up as a programmer. Now I have a team, we have created a new version of the product, and when I look back I understand that I made the right decision when I decided to act, and not wait.
No coding! haha. Just find a good dev to work with!


What are some things that an entrepreneurs need to make their jobs easier?

Meet Maya
2 replies
Currently researching on what are some things or ideas to make entrepreneurs business journey easier, in terms of health, productivity, and accessibility.

Founder, RankIQ 👨💻
Any time you are going to add something new, like a marketing channel, find out who the top expert is and take their paid course. Then immerse yourself in the course from start to finish for 7 days straight. This has been a game changer for me over the past five years. Instead of spending a year in mediocrity as I tried to figure it out myself doing Google searches, I was an expert within a week and starting seeing results right away.
Strategy, Innovation & Design Workshops
Have the superpower and ability to take effective decisions faster and come up with quick actionable next steps. Check this awesome FREE resource to learn how: https://freebie.viniagedesign.co...


The Third Man

N.p. N.p., Circa 1949. Two vintage reference photographs, one of Orson Welles and Carol Reed, and one of Reed, Joseph Cotten, and Welles, on the set of the 1949 film.

Reed's classic 1949 British film noir, based on an original screenplay by Graham Greene, starring Cotten as Holly Martins, Anna Schmidt as Valli and Welles as Harry Lime, with Cotten and Welles at the peak of their respective powers. The second of three films in which Green collaborated directly with Reed, and remains Greene's only original screenplay. Produced and directed by Reed, who narrated the UK version, and who worked with Greene on two other films, "The Fallen Idol" and "Our Man in Havana."

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, nominated for Best Editing and Best Director.

Set in and shot on location in Vienna, Austria and England, UK.

8 x 10 inches. Near Fine.

Criterion Collection 64. Ebert I. Grant UK. Penzler 101. Rosenbaum 1000. Schrader Canon Fodder 18. Selby UK. Spicer UK.

[Book #150986]


shift_work.jpgShift work sleep disorder (SWSD) is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder caused by a person being awake during times when they naturally should be sleeping. SWSD is characterized by insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness.

The human body needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep to function properly and thrive physically and mentally.  Shift work disorder causes sufferers to get about 4 to 5 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period.

What is Shift Work?

24-7_service.jpg24/7. Companies love to boost that they provide services around the clock.

About 20% of the workforce work shifts other than the standard 9 to 5. Working the third shift, usually 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (also known as the “graveyard shift”) can wreak havoc on an employee’s sleep and physical and mental functioning.

But it’s not just the graveyard shift that is considered shift work. Also included in the shift work classification is early-morning shifts that may begin at 4:00 a.m., night shifts which begin at 3:00 p.m., and rotating shifts which alternate day shift with night or overnight shifts.

Who is at Risk?

Not everyone who works an alternative shift suffers from shift work disorder. Some people love their alternative shift. People who are night owls have an easier time working a swing or graveyard shift than a morning lark person may have.

The timing of a particular work shift will affect when the person sleeps, eats and is active. Some shifts, like the graveyard shift, limit the amount of sleep or devastatingly affect sleep quality, causing increased stress on the body and more harmful effects.

What Causes Shift Work Sleep Disorder?

melatonin.jpgDisturbances in sleep patterns are the hallmark of SWSD. These disturbances can range from not being able to sleep, to waking too early, to getting poor quality sleep.

The circadian rhythms of the human body cause the person to be alert during the day and to sleep at night. Shift workers operate on the opposite schedule.

Normally, the brain releases melatonin when it gets dark outside. Melatonin causes drowsiness and sleep. The morning sunlight causes the brain to be alert, and we stay alert (normally) until melatonin is again released.

What Else Happens When We Sleep?

Even after a few days of sleeping only 4 to 5 hours, wear and tear on the body will show. Lack of sleep causes alterations in glucose tolerance, preventing the glucose (which is fuel) to not be taken up into the cells effectively.

This sleep deprivation causes a decrease in leptin (an appetite-suppressing hormone) and an increase in ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger). This hunger and fatigue makes one reach for food high in carbohydrates, salt and sugar. Oops! Putting on pounds. Obesity contributes to sleep apnea, another serous sleep disorder.

Studies also show that for people who sleep four hours a night (or day), cortisol levels were elevated before sleep and dropped six times slower than a person sleeping more than seven hours. This increased cortisol placed people at a higher risk for diabetes and obesity.

Studies have shown that people who slept less than 5 or 6 hours per night were twice as likely to develop diabetes.

Shift work and the resulting sleep deprivation adversely effects the immune system. The body cannot fight off “bugs” and invaders and as a result, a state of inflammation occurs.

According to Dr. David Marquis, inflammation causes an array of medical conditions, including pain, peripheral neuropathy, heart disease, stroke, migraines, thyroid issues, dental issues, and cancer.

Rotating Shifts

rotating_shifts.jpgRotating shifts take different forms but they basically include switching back and forth between day shifts and night shifts, either within a short period of time (within the same week) or every few weeks.

It is more difficult to deal with rotating shifts than it is to work the same shift for a longer period of time.

In a study of 683 men, those working rotating shifts during the night and early morning had significantly lower levels of serotonin, a hormone which regulates sleep and is linked with anxiety, anger and depression.

Female nurses who worked rotating night shifts for five or more years had an increase in cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Those who worked 15 or more years of rotating night shift appear to have an increase in lung cancer mortality as well.

Symptoms of SWSD

Humans' propensity to be awake during the day and to sleep at night is caused by the natural circadian rhythms in the brain. Graveyard shift workers may go to bed at 8:00 a.m. planning to sleep 8 hours but wake up at noon and be unable to fall back to sleep.

This lack of sleep causes many symptoms, some of which are listed here:

Excessive sleepiness

Lack of energy – fatigue

Difficulty concentrating

Headaches, especially cluster headaches

Irritability / bad mood

These symptoms can lead to increased short-term risks for

Microsleeps (falling asleep for a few seconds)

Accidents related to drowsy drivingsleeping_at_work.jpg

Falling asleep at work

Workplace injuries and accidents

Costly mistakes at work

Increased use of sick time

Substance abuse and alcohol abuse

These short-term effects are bad enough, but the long-term effects of untreated shift work are very alarming:

Frequent infections, colds and flu

High cholesterol levels

Obesity / Metabolic disorders

GI disorders / digestive disease

Type II Diabetes

Heart disease / heart attacks

Depression / mental disorders

Substance abuse

Reproductive disorders

Breast and prostate cancer

Jobs with Higher Risks for Shift Work Disorder

Employees in certain jobs experience a higher risk for shift work disorder.  Police officers, military employees, those in service industries, manufacturing, transportation, postal service, public safety, and health care personnel frequently work around the clock.

Medical Personnel

tired_doctor.jpgHealth care workers number more than 14 million employees, many of them working shift work hours.

Doctors, nurses and other health care providers are especially susceptible to shift work disorder.

In addition to working the second or third shift, medical staff frequently work longer shifts (12 hours or longer) on a regular basis or put in overtime. This adds additional stress to an already-overworked employee, making them prone to making mistakes which can be deadly.

According to Kathleen Michon, J.D., 1.5 million people in the U.S. each year are harmed by medication errors. This might occur by a physician prescribing the wrong medication, treating a misdiagnosed condition with the wrong medication, or a nurse or administrator giving the wrong medication or wrong dosage.

The administration of the wrong anesthesia or miscalculated dosage can result in permanent injury, brain damage or death, and surgical errors made by the surgeon or mistakes made by the nursing staff during post-op care can lead to further pain and suffering.

Truck Drivers

sleeping_truck_driver.jpgOver-the-road truck drivers who drive through the night are especially vulnerable to getting drowsy and having accidents.

Drowsy driving causes 1 out of every 5 fatal crashes – that’s 20 percent. Governors Highway Safety Association reported that in 2015 drowsy driving caused 328,000 crashes, 109,000 injuries, and 6,400 deaths.

Shift work is a necessary evil in an industrialized society like ours. From all-night grocery stores to factories to hospitals, employees work around the clock to provide services we need. Working a shift other than the day shift puts a strain on our bodies due to the misaligned circadian rhythms which keep the body functioning optimally.  Sleep deprivation is a dangerous condition and is the cause of many of our society’s problems.

Delezie, et al. Interactions between metabolism and circadian clocks: reciprocal disturbances. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1243: 30–46.

FA Scheer, et al. Adverse metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of circadian misalignment. Proceedings of National Academy of Science. 106 (11): 4453–8. 2009.

Yong. Shift work and diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. August 2014.

Parent, et al. Night Work and the Risk of Cancer Among Men. American Journal of Epidemiology. 176(9): 751–759. 2012.

Beck, et al. Management of cluster headache. American Family Physician.
71(4):717–724, 2005.

MV Vyas, et al. Shift work and vascular events: systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal. 26(345): July 2012.

KJ Navara, The dark side of light at night: physiological, epidemiological, and ecological consequences. Journal of Pineal Research, 43:215–224, 2007.

A Moore, et al. “Fatigue and Shift Work” ebook., Amazon.com.uk. February 2016.

Michon, Medical Malpractice: Common Errors by Doctors and Hospitals.

Work on a Rotating Shift? Then You Probably Have Lower Levels of Serotonin, August 3, 2007. Hyyp://articles.mercola.com

Bennington. How Sleep Deprivation Fries Your Hormones, Your Immune System, and Your Brain. https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/how-sleep-deprivation-fries-your-hormones-your-immune-system-and-your-brain

Fangyi, et al. Total and Cause-Specific Mortality of U.S. Nurses Working Rotating Night Shifts. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. March 2015

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Snoring and Sleep Apnea


Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s Shares Making Headlines

Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY) has been getting interest from investors after the stock price touched $140.7 at the conclusion of the most recent trade.  The stock is traded on OTC in the Computer and Technology sector and Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry.

Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s Price Change % over the last week is 1.99%. It’s % Price Change over the previous month is -7.49% and previous three months is -12.56%. Finally, looking back over the past year-to-date, Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s Price Change % is -1.61%.

Percentage change can be applied to any quantity that is measured over time any given time period. Say you are tracking the price of a stock. If the price increased, the formula [(New Price - Old Price)/Old Price] is applied and then take that number and multiply it by 100. If the price of a stock decreased, the formula [(Old Price - New Price)/Old Price] is applied then multiplied by 100. The formula can be used to track the prices of both individual commodities and large market listings, and also used to compare the values of different currencies. Balance sheets with comparative financial statements often will include prices of specific stocks at different time periods alongside the percentage change over the same periods of time.

Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s 52-Week High-Low Range Price % is 17.26. Countless factors affect a security’s price and, therefore, its range. Macroeconomic factors such as interest rates and the economic cycle significantly impact the price of securities over lengthy periods of time. A big recession, for example, can dramatically widen the price range equities as they plummet in price.

Considering that price volatility is equivalent to risk, a commodity’s trading range is a great indicator of risk. Conservative investors will gravitate towards securities with smaller price fluctuations as compared to securities with larger price swings, preferring to invest in relatively stable sectors such as health care, utilities, and telecommunications and avoiding high-beta sectors like commodities, technology, and financials.

A 52-week high/low is the highest and lowest share price that a stock has traded at during the previous year. Investors and traders consider the 52-week high or low as a crucial factor in determining a given stock’s current value while also predicting future price movements. When a commodity trades within its 52-week price range (the range that exists between the 52-week low and the 52-week high), investors usually show more interest as the price nears either the high or the low.

One of the more popular strategies used by traders is to buy when the price eclipses its 52-week high or to sell when the price drops below its 52-week low. The rationale involved with this strategy says that if the price breaks out either above or below the 52-week range, there is momentum enough to continue the price fluctuation in a positive direction. Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s high over the last year was $170.75 while its low was $134.43.

Beta measures the volatility of a security in comparison to the market as a whole. The tendency of a security’s returns is to respond to swings in the market. For example, a beta of 1 means that the security’s price will move in lockstep with the market. A beta of less than 1 indicates that the security will be less volatile relative to the market. A beta of greater than 1 tells us that the security’s price will be more volatile than the market. Beta is an expression of the tradeoff between maximizing return and minimizing risk. Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s Beta number is 0.82.

Outstanding Shares refers to all stocks currently held by all shareholders, including blocks held by institutional and insider investors, of a given company. Outstanding shares are shown on a company’s balance sheet as “Capital Stock.” The number of shares outstanding is used to calculate key metrics such as a company’s earnings per share (EPS), cash flow per share (CFPS) and its market cap. The number of outstanding shares is not static, as it can fluctuate greatly over time. Casio Computer Co. (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)’s number of shares outstanding is 25.9m.

Knowing as much as you can about the penny stock world is extremely important if you want to make money in trading.

It is highly recommended that you wade in toes first with a small amount of money to lessen the risk should you incur a loss.

The first step in investing in penny stocks is to get money, as with any stock market transaction. One of the more significant traits of penny stocks is that they are volatile and move quickly.  Penny stocks are stocks of small cap companies that can be vulnerable to stock market sentiments and industry changes.

In no way are penny stocks considered to be conservative investments and people who play them must be willing and able to take risks with their investment money. Penny stock investors must be prepared to lose their entire investment sometimes. Penny stocks move fast in both directions, including massive upticks or downticks in a matter of hours or less.

Potential penny stock investors must educate themselves first to gain knowledge of the market. They must also conduct intense research into any company they might want to put their money into. An education can start by subscribing to a penny stock newsletter which provides informative penny stock suggestions.

Though penny stocks are considered to be a risky investment, generally, a trader can make a large amount of money with them in a short period of time, as opposed to bigger, so-called “blue chip” stocks and mutual funds, which require a long-term approach.

Needless to say, penny stock investing is not for the weak of heart, and only “play money” or non-essential disposable income should be invested in this kind of market.


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What is Google Bounce? How To Optimize Your Website for Higher Rankings What is the Google Bounce? Basically means, how long people stay on your website. If they leave soon after arriving, you have a high Google


Brilix Announces High-tech Application Connecting Learners & Creators

Brilix had also raised pre-seed funding of Rs 3.3 crore from Delhi and Mumbai-based angel investors earlier this year

In a bid to strengthen its leadership sphere in the hitherto education world, Brilix, the world's first and largest learning-focused Social Media Community Platform, has unveiled its highly-anticipated application. The application essentially bridges the gap between highly-qualified educators and promising learners to embark on the journey of accessible, affordable and enlightened learning. The content on the app is currently available in five vernacular languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati. The platform is gearing up to include more languages in the coming two months.

The Brilix app enables learners to collaborate, ask questions, follow leading educators, access free of cost content, participate in quizzes and polls, and support educational content creators to earn money simultaneously. It also allows users to send text, images, videos and voice notes in comments so that they can promptly receive solutions to their queries. The app also supports a delta four efficient reading system so that learners can access notes and e-books that can also be saved in the cloud.

Apart from being learner-friendly, Brilix has also created a matchless platform for educational content creators. The application allows verified educational content creators to monetize their notes, study material and other informational content by sharing it with other learners on the platform. The platform is simply trying to create another Instagram phenomenon, but with educational content.

The platform envisions to become the world's first and largest learning-focused social media platform where learners can get together and reach their goals without any hesitation, awkwardness or scepticism. In the next quarter, Brilix aims to create a community of 1 million+ users and set an unparalleled benchmark.

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in my head (i do everything right)

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ours are the moments i play in the dark; we were wild and fluorescent, come home to my heart

- supercut, lorde

For a time, things are fine.

Lena doesn’t really know what to call it. A fluke feels fleeting. Temporary. Very much unlike the long stretches of time where things work out and don’t fall sideways like they almost always had.

Because National City falls in love with Kara, and with that comes the kind of ease that Lena’s never really had before. Like suddenly the universe knows that she’s Supergirl’s—Kara’s—best friend, and that warrants making her life incredibly easier after everything it has put and pushed her through.

It certainly works in her favor; moves her foundation forward into leaps and bounds. She reclaims Luthor Corp—and rebrands it as L-Corp for what genuinely feels like the umpteenth time—with far less paperwork and no red tape to cut through.

On weekends she gets to take Esme out on unbothered small trips. To the park, the zoo, the Kennedy Space Center that one time Esme got so obsessed with astronauts and space shuttles (that Lena couldn’t be anymore thrilled about) and she just had to. Her fairy godmother as Kara had once jokingly thrown at her while licking ice cream off of her cone and Lena had to will her heart not to race.

Her nights she spends vacillating between game nights in Alex and Kelly’s new house, or on the comfort of Kara’s couch—mostly on Kara’s couch. She sits right next to her as whichever show that has tickled Kara’s fancy plays on the tv, basking in the warmth, and the growing joy and sense of contentment that emanate from her best friend as Kara finds more and more of herself, discovering who she really is.

Lena grieves. Lena loves. And then grieves some more. Loves ten times harder back just because.

So for a while, Lena’s content. Even though there’s a part of her that thinks she’s settling. A thought she quickly perishes out of fear of disrupting the calm with which Lena lives her life now.

(Especially when Kara smiles at her, luminous, and radiant, and like Lena is the sun she does get to hold. And Lena feels her chest crack open in turn, her heart slipping through the spaces in between her ribcage, the words clawing at her throat begging to be let out.

Especially then, when Lena feels that she can risk it all so strongly. Feels it in every vein and every bone. A lifetime of uncertainty and an eternity she might spend without Kara by her side for those three words and the taste of wine on Kara’s mouth.)

Because Kara had said they’re friends. Lena—stupidly —echoed the same sentiment despite every single cell in her body screaming that they’re more than that. That what they have is far more deeper, the kind that fills endless pages of novels and lives in poetic minds; leaves prolific mouths.

But everything was changing around Kara and Lena didn’t want to add to that burden. She didn’t want to turn Kara’s life around any more than it already had. So she’d just pulled Kara into her arms, the safest place she could offer, and told her everything will be okay. Told her to breathe while reminding herself to do the same.

Until things have fallen to how they are now, and now Lena’s beyond petrified to shake the peace. Things are finally still and stable, and they’ve established a routine that Lena hasn’t had in a while. Lena doesn’t really have the heart to ruin it as brave as she’d like to think she is.

(But in her head—in her head, she does things right. She tells Kara that she’s the magic flowing in her veins. Tells Kara that the world and everything else may be bleak but she’s the one thing Lena’s sure of. Her absolute. That there’s no line she wouldn’t cross for her, and no universe she wouldn’t love Kara the way she does.

It doesn’t even matter anymore that sometimes she thinks Kara thinks and feels the same. Because Kara’s a writer—an award-winning wordsmith that wields language like her very own armor.

And the fact that Kara doesn’t say anything past friendship is perhaps an answer in and of itself.)

She coasts.

Between L-Corp, her new foundation that ties up real well with Andrea’s philanthropic initiatives in Argentina, and her new-found abilities and godmother duties, Lena is kept occupied.

Her days become splices of things that need her attention and have to see through, then digging into her mother’s spell book whenever she has the chance, and spending time with Kara. Though that she ensures to make time for, even if it means she has to ask Jess to shuffle things around and reschedule a meeting or two.

Jess, who she bumped into on her way up to her tower one day much to Lena’s absolute relief and delight, and now rarely bats an eye on anything that involves Lena’s best friend.

Lena follows the flow, dances with the waves, bends wherever the wind takes her. It works for a while; maybe a little too well and a little too good of a while that it finds its own rhythm. Lives in the spaces that surround Kara and her like some kind of protective bubble Lena can’t find the will to burst.

Because Kara’s okay, and she’s smiling again as if she’s got her spark back. Her sense of purpose. And Lena—Lena is learning to live with that. To the knowledge that she wouldn’t change it for the world if it means Kara finally gets her peace.

For Kara, she’ll do absolutely anything.

The waves of life take her down south for three weeks, after Andrea calls with a proposal that Lena absolutely can’t refuse.

Her friend has managed to find some genuine, good-hearted benefactors to support the hospital Andrea has been dreaming of building ever since they met at boarding school. She didn’t even really have to tell her that it’s intended to cater more to aliens than humans because Lena will say yes anyway. But Andrea did, though all it ever does is fly Lena to Buenos Aires the very next day.

The night before she spends with Kara, trying—and somehow failing—to wipe the pout off of her face. She’s tried ice cream, potstickers, and Disney, a combination that almost always works but for reasons unbeknownst to her doesn’t.

If anything, Kara’s huffy. She doesn’t make a grab for the box of Red Dragon’s that Lena brings in from the front door, and only lets her pint of Cookie Dough gather dew on the coffee table, wholly untouched.

Instead she scoots on the couch the moment Lena plops back down, burrowing to her side for warmth under the comfy—and very, very expensive—blanket she then covers their legs with.

Lena thinks nothing of it since they’ve been like this since the wedding, as if the very last vestiges of the past year have finally been stripped, laying them raw and bare for the other to see. No more secrets, no more twisted family legacies. No more Lex.

(But there are phantoms. Lena doesn’t really think they’ll ever go away, but that is Kara’s fight and the best she can do is be there for her whenever Kara needs her.)

Her best friend ignoring food is admittedly new though. Maybe even a little bit concerning when Lena lifts the box of potstickers, gesturing for her to take one, and Kara merely shakes her head.

It pulls a pout from Lena’s lips. Though before she can open her mouth to ask if Kara’s not feeling well, the other woman beats her to speaking. “Do you want me to fly you tomorrow? Reduce your carbon footprint?”

It’s casual, the way Kara asks; pairs it with a small smile that cushions the quip with. But her eyes tell a completely different story. Blue that pleads, imploring for something that Lena has no idea what exactly.

It makes her frown, quite unsure how to react. Though it’s light enough that Kara doesn’t really make anything of it. But she doesn’t say anything else either, and the ensuing silence compels Lena to break it.

“Did you forget that my jet is already doing that?”

Kara shrugs. “I’m faster.”

“While that is an incredibly good point,” Lena begins to say. “I can’t ask you to drop everything else just because I needed a ride. Cat won’t be too happy with me, especially with your deadlines coming up tomorrow.”

She watches her best friend sigh out a yeah, I guess, Kara’s chest deflating in resignation; waits expectantly for whatever comes next, though she tries not to be disappointed that nothing else is forthcoming. Not even an afterthought. Kara only scoots lower and rests her head on Lena’s chest.

And Lena, Lena just lets her; files the odd moment to the very back of her mind but ultimately lets it go.

(The water is still calm around them. Yet inside, Lena feels the brewing of a storm.)

The weeks pass by in a blur.

She doesn’t even really notice that the last of those days has come and she’s flying back to National City in an hour or so. Between unveiling two initiatives and her nightly calls with Kara and Esme—sometimes Kara and Esme —Lena feels like she blinked twice and now she’s coming home.

Home is her penthouse, though she doesn’t stay very long. Just enough to roll her suitcase into her living room and freshen up, trading her suit for more comfortable clothes. Then she’s being driven to Alex and Kelly’s, telling George to drop her by the curb and that she’ll see him on Monday.

She comes with an armful of stuff she’s brought for everyone and a bag full of toys—all educational of course, and maybe, maybe Esme’s very own space suit—plus a few snacks and two bottles of wine Andrea has insisted they try.

There’s no need to ring the bell when she steps up to the front door. It cracks open before Lena can even reach the welcome mat, Esme spilling out of the doorway screaming Aunt Lena’s here at the top of her lungs.

She runs towards her, tiny arms looping around Lena’s waist. On her heels is Kara, sauntering slower than Esme had. But her grin is just as big yet more soft and tender, as if the sight of Lena back is the only thing she could ever really ask the universe for.

(Like her world rights itself and she can finally breathe again.

Just like how Lena feels too.)

“Hey you.”

Two words and Lena feels something climb up to her throat—her heart, full and swelling tenfold—and she has to let the sound of Esme’s squeals wash over her. Lest the words she’s been fighting hard to hold back spill out of her mouth and onto the Olsen-Danvers’ porch.

She returns the smile in kind, but with quivering lips and a rasp in her own voice Lena hasn’t heard in a while. “Hey you.”

Below her, she feels the lightest press of Esme’s chin against her stomach as the little girl tilts her head to look up at Lena. But Lena can’t quite look away, not yet, captivated by the light that shines in Kara’s eyes.

Kara’s smile broadens when she glances down. Lena doesn’t really need to see it to know that she’s mirroring Esme’s, and it’s honestly a miracle she’s still able to keep her heart in its place.

Especially when she steps into Lena’s space, offering, “Let me help you with those.”

(But for a moment, her heart doesn’t sit still. It bangs and it pounds until the blood rushes to Lena’s ears; jumps straight into Kara’s and Esmes’ hands with pieces of her that she doesn’t think she’ll ever get back.)

Kara waits patiently, only taking another step closer at Lena’s nod. She sweeps her arms free of the things she’s brought with her, gifting her the chance to finally embrace her godchild back.

“Thanks,” Lena mouths, one arm promptly looping around Esme’s smaller form and the fingers of her free hand carding through bouncy curls. Kara just scrunches her nose in turn, takes two small steps backwards and away from Lena.

But before she can even make to follow, something snaps taut, and then Kara’s leaning back in, hurtling right into Lena’s orbit, her lips brushing tenderly on a pale cheek.

(To the corner of Lena’s mouth even, Lena thinks—Lena thinks—)

“Missed you. Welcome back.”

(—she can’t.)

“Me too, Aunt Lena!” Esme echoes, effectively snapping Lena back to attention. “I missed you a ton!”

Her brain kicks back up, but maybe five seconds too late, thus giving Kara a head start to begin her trek inside her sister’s house. She carries Lena’s things like it weighs nothing, while leaving Lena to her limbs that feel like she doesn’t own them anymore and she can only watch Kara walk away.

It takes Kara’s form disappearing inside the foyer for Lena to find the strength to finally look away. For her to manage to dip her head and tell the most precious tiny human being in her life that’s still pressed against her legs, “I missed you too.”

She untangles her fingers from Esme’s hair, tapping a shaky finger on the tip of Esme’s nose. “Were you good for your moms and Aunt Kara?”

Esme grins, wide and pure, her eyes sparkling the same way Kara’s do sometimes. “The bestest! Mommy read me stories and Mama built me more bird houses. Aunt Kara helped me paint! Aunt Nia and Uncle Brainy are going to help me take pictures later.”

Lena stoops lower to meet Esme’s eyes. She cups both hands on chubby cheeks, basking in the affection that wraps around her like a warm blanket on the cruelest winter night. “I’m glad to hear you had the best time.”

“It’ll be more bestest now Aunt Lena ‘coz you’re back,” Esme replies. Completely innocent and just plain happy that her godmother is no longer away. “And Aunt Kara won’t be sad anymore, Mama said.”

But it blows wind on Lena’s sails and pitches her to the eye of the storm anyway.

“Oh thank god,” Alex blurts out at the first sight of her, walking into the kitchen after she’s kissed both of Esme’s cheeks and the little girl runs to play with Kara. Lena doesn’t think it’s anything bad per se and that Alex is just probably being over dramatic—she’s reaching for her empty wine glass even—but she can’t quite deny the relief that rushes into Alex’s system either.

“Why Agent Danvers,” she teases, arching a brow at Alex. “Didn’t take you for the type to miss me.”

Alex snorts, rolling her eyes. The you wish that comes after is drowned under the sound of one of the bottles Lena has brought being popped open, and Lena’s amused chuckle is lost in the glug glug as Alex pours a helping for herself and another for Lena. “Kara hasn’t stopped giving everyone sad eyes since you left. I honestly thought you two were fighting again given how mopey she was.”

As if beckoned, Lena’s gaze drifts to the living room where Kara’s laughter rings along with Esme’s. She watches her float their niece in the air, both of them cross-legged and Lena just knows it’s them trying to imitate Aladdin’s magic carpet. That sight is enough to make her loosen her already barely-there grip on the lull she’s been living her life with, feeling the yearning rear its head once more.

She’s done so well in tamping it down ever since the wedding, but Lena’s fortitude is admittedly starting to wane and she’s beginning to run out of reasons why; reasons to cling to just friends. Because she honestly doesn’t have the faintest idea what they are anymore. They’re friends but then they’re not. Oftentimes more, and she doesn’t really think they will ever be as simple as that.

Because Kara’s her person. Not Lena’s be all and end all, but she’s her reason. For so many things and so many purposes that without her, Lena knows she will truly be lost.

Though before she can even make the decision to brave the tempest once and for all, Alex’s voice pulls her right back into safe shore. “Oh that is good. Where’d Andrea even get this?”

Lena goes quiet for a second, picking out a niggling thought at the back of her head amidst the others swirling in her mind. “Why did you think Kara and I were fighting?” She asks in lieu of answering Alex.

Alex hums, the lip of the wine glass still pressed against hers. She throws Lena a curious frown, swallowing the luxurious sip before speaking again. “Nothing. Just—I’ve only ever seen her that mopey that time you two stopped speaking to each other,” Alex explains with an easy shrug. “But at least now we know she’s not just gonna run to some imp and ask him to change the course of history, you know?”

Lena’s world grinds into a complete halt. “I’m sorry. What?”

“The Mxy tapes?” The other woman lobs back, her eyebrows drawing even closer. “That time Mxyzptlk came back and offered Kara a do-over?”

“D—do over for what?” Lena continues, voice straining from the lump the size of Esme’s fist suddenly seizing her throat.

“To fix your friendship?” Alex points out. Like it should be a known fact. Obvious. “She basically time hopped? Honestly, Lena.”

“You’re—you’re telling me,” she struggles to say, unable to comprehend why Kara—the woman who lost her entire planet and got stuck in a place where time was frozen—would pick fixing their friendship over getting her planet and her old life back. “She went back in time to try and fix our friendship?”

“Yeah,” Alex confirms. She pulls back slightly, perching a hip against the counter as she studies Lena; doesn’t really get why this seems like brand new information to her completely. “Different points even. How come you don’t—”

—unless, well, she really has absolutely no idea.

Alex’s eyes widen then. She bolts upright, throwing a haphazard glance at her sister’s direction. Kara’s still floating Esme around—on her back this time—and seems entirely oblivious to the conversation going on between her and Lena.

(To the storm inside Lena that now grows. It’s not violent in any way, but it’s a storm nonetheless, and Lena’s hold on it is quickly slipping.)

“She was offered a do-over and she—she picked fixing—why?”

Alex regards her for a moment, the stiffness in her form and the way her fingers ball into shaky fists. She softens at the clench of Lena’s jaw, the expression on her features conveying the truth—the you know why —that Lena can’t quite see right now.

Why, Alex?” Lena repeats.

But much to her exasperation, Alex merely drops her weight back against the counter, offering Lena a small smile. Full of understanding and some kind of secret that Lena has no idea what to make of. Even more so when Alex says, “I think it’s best you ask her that.”

She waits. For the sake of everyone, and so as to not make Kara feel like she’s being accosted, she waits.

Until J’onn leaves. Then Nia and Brainy. And after Kara hugs Esme goodbye and Lena leaves her godchild a tender kiss on her forehead after bidding her good night.

Until Kara’s flying her home and she’s warm and safe in Kara’s arms.

Kara lands on the balcony of Lena’s penthouse with a soft thud. She sets Lena down with the utmost care, guiding Lena inside with a gentle hand on the small of her back.

Lena makes it to three steps past her balcony’s door before she’s whipping around, catching Kara so off guard Kara nearly stumbles back in surprise.

But she’s able to catch herself without crashing into any of Lena’s many lavish things, though she’s staring at Lena with confusion in her wide-eyed gaze. “Lena? Are you—what’s wrong?”

“We said no more secrets,” Lena says instead of answering. It’s not accusing nor unkind, but it cuts still and wounds Kara, judging by the look that mars her face. “You promised.”

“I did,” Kara so, so easily agrees. Like it’s just a matter of fact. Akin to saying the sky is blue or that Lena’s her best friend. “And I’ve been keeping that promise.”

Something in Lena just snaps, makes her swat Kara’s hand away as Kara tries to reach for her even if the hurt that crosses Kara’s face hurts her too. Because Lena can’t understand why someone as wondrous as Kara—who’s still her own light even in her sadness—would pick someone like Lena over her very own planet.

It doesn’t make sense—is never going to make sense, so Lena says, “Why didn’t you ask Mxyzptlk to bring Krypton back?”

If Kara’s surprised, she doesn’t let it show. But it’s in the pause she takes, halting to heave a deep breath; written all over the way she slowly pulls her hands back and slides them both in the back pockets of her jeans. She looks away from Lena, training her gaze at the tall glass windows, and for a moment, Lena thinks she’ll never get the answer.

But she presses on anyway. Maybe to where it hurts. “Kara.”

Kara drags her eyes back, and this time—this time, when she looks at Lena, there’s nothing but conviction in there. As if she knows she’s made the right decision and no one can tell her otherwise. “Krypton didn’t have you.”

“Lena,” Kara cuts off; now stands in front of Lena with every bit of herself that she is. Supergirl. Kara Zor-El. Kara Danvers. “You have to understand, I exist where you are.”

And just like how Alex towed her to shore, Kara pulls her right back in. And Lena—Lena just lets her. Even if it’s the most confounded yet the most peaceful she’s felt in a while. In the middle of a brewing storm where the wind is howling, but Lena feels perfectly safe because it’s where Kara is standing.

“So why would I ask for Krypton back if it means not being where you are?”

Kara’s eyes grow wet with unshed tears, her voice strained as her heart constricts. But her devotion to Lena shines through despite the pang that courses through her every time her planet that once was is brought up.

“If it means losing you?”

Lena finds that she doesn’t really have an answer to that; finds that the reasons she used to hold over her head to stop her from taking the leap are no longer there.

So Lena lets go of the reins, in the form of the choked sob that breaks out of her throat; lets Kara catch her in her arms and draw the oh, Kara out of her lips, and three other words like hallelujah.

(Because Kara’s a god, and yet—and yet, it’s Lena who she reverently worships.)

(And god, Lena loves her just as much as she’s always had, right from the start.)


The Races of Vortex

Race Project One

I had been browsing the Webrpg board, as normal for me, and I ran across this thread about elves being unbalanced in the game, and a lot people started to talk about it, most of it negative, as most BBS debates go.

What was most frustrating is that no one offered a solution to their complaining. They said ignore it, or change it, without getting down to the core of the problem. The problem being that the classes are all warped fey from folk tales anyway, with the exception of the drasticly changed elves, who have been tinted heavily by Tolkien influnces.

Now don't get me wrong. I like the game. The races in my opinion are fine, and really don't need that much adjustment in the long run, except maybe in the case of a half orc. However, in my frustration at people who simply liked to argue, I went ahead and offered a solution. Ditch the elf.

In fact, ditch them all. Get rid of the elves, gnomes, dwarves, and make them into a Fey, along with Kobolds, Goblins, and Hobgoblins. To me, this made a lot of sense, since they all were pretty much fey to begin with.

I decided we could keep the halfling, because by this point, the new D&D setting made them unique. We could keep half elves, renaming them Fey Touched. This allowed for a wider variety of apperances among them. We could also rename half Orcs, The Tainted, and have them be crossbreeds for all other Savage Humanoids, like the Ogre, Orcs, and so on.

This left us with a large vacum to fill in about four races, in my honest opinion. So, I went ahead and created a new race, and the world which they lived in. A Flat World, where the edges of the world are touching the sides of the Etheral, letting in the Primal Elements. The center of the world pretty much was safe and fine, and normal people inhabited it. However, the humans who lived on the far sides of the world, at each of the cardnal points, slowly over years became tainted with the powers of elements. While they are still technically human, the spirituality and forces of those Vortexes have warped them into something new.

I really haven't developed the world past this point. It opens up the point, though, that with a little work (and I am talking about a hour of work here) you can create a rather effect new setting without using the classic races. These races seem balanced among themselves (Based on the theory that all races get two feat equivlents and a +6 skill bonus equivlent), but as with a lot of thing that I work with, they have yet to be tested. If you do use them, let me know how they turn out in your game.

6/15/00 - As a side note, about a week after I released this, the Forgotten Realms book came out with the rules for the Aeshir (sp?), so yeah, they've been done. The difference becomes that I think that these races are more balanced, and don't need another CR to play them. However, I'll rant about monster PC's another day.

All of the Following are designed with standard human height, weight, and age standards in mind.

The Fire Touched

Physical Appearance : Bronze, reddish, and dark skinned. Eyes tend to be greenish, Hazel, or black. Fire Touched usually prefer to shave their heads, including the females, as it helps them feel cooler.

Relationships : The Fire touch tend to get along okay with most other races, although they have a strong dislike against the Water-Born. Other races find it hard to get close to the Fire Touched, as they tend to be a little sensitive, and quick to start a fight.

Alignment : Like most Elemental influenced races, the tend towards the chaotic, although all types can be found inside the Fire Touched borders.

Fire Touched Lands : The strongest Fire Touched holding are in the North, where the jungles and deserts give away to the scorching Tempest of Fire.

Language: Besides the Common tongue, the Fire Touched tend to talk the language of fire, Ignam

Fire Touched Traits

- +2 Int -2 Chr : The Fire Touched are insatiable in their thirst for knowledge, consuming all they come across. However, they tend to be gruff and inconsiderate.

- Medium Sized

- The Fire Touched have a base speed of 30

- Darkvision : The Flame Touched eyes tend to glow with a inner fire at night, giving them a red tinged vision of the world for 60 feet. Outside of being red and black, it works exactly like Darkvision.

- Fire Resistance 5 - The Flame touched, having lived so close to the raw element for generations, have grown somewhat resistant with the element.

- -2 to Saves vs. Cold Damage. The Flame touched are not used to lower temperatures, and resist them less.

- Thirstless - The Fire Touched never thirst, and never need water.

- +2 to Social Skill Checks that involve igniting passions. The Flame Born find it easy to inspire people to follow their heat.

Languages : Common and Ignam. Has access to any languages they desire to learn.

Favored Class : Wizard. The Fire Touched revere the ability to manipulate the elements that make up the world, as it is only right that they should be consumed in their cause.

Water Born

Physical Appearance : Pale skinned to golden skinned. Hair colors range from the common to the mildly exotic. Their eyes tend to be dark blues to Black. The Water Born usually keep their hair long, but bound.

Relationships : The Water Born tend to get along okay with most other races, although they have a strong dislike against the Fire Touched. Other races find the Water Born a enigma, as they tend to keep to themselves, and change their attitudes like the tides.

Alignment : Like most Elemental influnced races, they tend towards the chaotic, although all types can be found inside the Water Born's borders.

Water Born Lands : The strongest Water Born holdings are in the South, where Swamps, Deltas and Islands give away to the awe inspiring Tempest of Water.

Language: Besides the Common tongue, the Water Born tend to talk the language of water, Aquan

Water Born Traits

- +2 Chr -2 Wis : The Water Born tend to have beautiful voices, and make other people want to listen to them more closely. However, they tend to be passionate, and jump into things without really thinking about them.

- Medium Sized

- The Water Born have a base speed of 30

- Water Breathing : They Water Born have grown a natural affinity with water, and can breath water as easily as others breath air.

- -2 to Saves vs. Fire Damage. The Water Born's skin is less resistant to fires.

- Find Water - The Water Born's Infinity with water gives them a innate ability to find water, no matter where in the world they are. They always succeed in Wilderness Lore Checks to find water, if any can be found.

- +2 to Bluff Checks. The Water Born are infamous liars, promising one thing, and then doing another.

- +2 to Swimming Checks. The Water Born, not being afraid of the water, learn at a early age how to swim.

Languages : Common and Aquan. Has access to any languages they desire to learn.

Favored Class : Bard. The Water Born love to tell stories, and their singing emulates the ability of the Sirens.

Wind Born

Physical Appearance : Pale to Translucent. Eyes tend to be hazel, light blues, and rarely silver. Wind born have wild flowing hair, usually blond.

Relationships : The Wind Born tend to get along okay with all races equally. They like to experience new cultures, and readily seek them out.

Alignment : Like most Elemental influenced races, the tend towards the chaotic, although all types can be found inside the Wind Born borders.

Wind Born Lands : The strongest Wind Born holding are in the West, where the Plains and Mesas give away to the crumbling lands at the edge of the Tempest of Wind.

Language: Besides the Common tongue, the Wind Born tend to talk the language of Air, Auran.

Wind Born Traits

- +2 Dex -2 Str : The Wind Born are quick to move, and act. However, they tend to wind easier, and therefore are not as strong as other races.

- Medium Sized

- The Wind Born have a base speed of 30

- No jumping Maximum. The Wind Born, having a affinity with the Air, tend to move farther in it.

- Once per day, the Wind Born may cast Jump. This spell lasts for one minute.

- +4 to Jump, Tumble, and Balance.

- +2 to Escape Artist. The Wind Born are a quick to find a way to escape bonds that hold them down.

- No Attention Span - The Wind Born are a fickle race, and tend to have a lot of interests. It is hard for them to stay at one thing too long. If a Wind Born has a class more then three levels higher then his lowest class, he starts to take a 10% Penalty to experience. A Wind Born must have a second class by fourth Level. This penalty supercedes the normal multiclassing penalties, replacing them in the case of even levels.

Languages : Common and Auran. Has access to any languages they desire to learn.

Favored Class : None. The Wind Born would never restrict themselves in what they could learn.

Stone Bound

Physical Appearance : Tanned and dark skinned. Eyes tend to be Browns and Blacks. The Stone Bound tend to not have any particular style for their dark hair.

Relationships : The Earth Born tend to be more isolationist then other races, although they don't have any particular hatred to anyone.

Alignment : Unlike the other Elemental influenced races, the tend towards Lawful, although still, all types can be found inside the Stone Bound borders.

Stone Bound Lands : The strongest Stone Bound holdings are in the East, where majestic mountains merge into the frightening Tempest of Stone.

Language: Besides the Common tongue, the Stone Touch tend to talk the language of Earth, Terran

Stone Bound Traits

- +2 Str -2 Dex : The Stone Bound are renown for their great strength, however, they are also remarkable careless with what they do with that strength

- Medium Sized

- The Stone Bound have a base speed of 30

- Strength of Stone - The Stone Bound reduce all damage taken by one point. The Stone Bound are more resilient then other races, and tend to take more damage then others. This ability is stackable with other Damage Reduction abilities.

- The Stone Bound have the Endurance Feat.

- Earth Sense - Having a strong connection to Stone, the Stone bound can tell the following for 30' feet. 1) If there is anything moving inside the earth in that area. 2) If any Large creatures are moving inside that area. 3) If you are on Hallowed or Unhallowed ground. 4) If there are any open areas inside that space.

This is by no way a accurate power. It's more of a hunch. The Stone bound can not see what is inside the area, just know that it is there.

- +4 to Climb Skill when climbing rocky surfaces.

- Set in Stone. - The Stone Bound are taught to stick with their ways, and can not easily take on any other classes besides the one they start in, with the exception of a prestige class. The Stone Bound takes a 10% Exp Penalty when they multiclass. This supercedes the rules for Multiclassing.

Languages : Common and Terran. Has access to any languages they desire to learn.

Favored Class : None. The Stone Bound are molded into the position that they need to be in.

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Safiya Umoja Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression

A review

Mark Filipowich is a PhD candidate in communications at Concordia university. His research interest is in how narratives in popular fiction treat racist history as an aberration to Enlightenment logic of self-creation as a form of eluding white guilt. His other projects include curating and coordinating games criticism for Critical Distance and maintaining his own blog. bio-blogFollow Mark on Twitter

In Vincent Mosco’s The Digital Sublime, the author describes the cult of technology as “cyperbole,” a kind of social fervor toward new methods of communication. Electricity, telegram, television, the computer and, now, the internet all had phases in their development that emphasized the utopian potential of a new and popular technology. But, according to Mosco, the real social influence of technology isn’t apparent until it becomes banal, after the utopian promises are unfulfilled and new technology has been integrated into existing power structures. A consequence of globalized industrial capitalism is that technology becomes the locus of progress that paradoxically weaves so neatly into daily life that it becomes unnoticeable. The cycles of technical promise and integration are especially present in games scholarship, where games are made exceptional (Jennings), treated as a pedagogical panacea (Arnab) or as killtriggers for middle-class teenage boys (Miletic). The development of new home consoles, online communities, virtual and augmented realities carry as many apocalyptic promises as revolutionary ones. Until they become mundane.

Safiya Umoja Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression is pointedly interested in the consequences, if not the process, of the cultural transition of digital technology from utopian fever-dream to the backdrop of everyday life. Far from revolutionizing social relations or democratic potential, information technology (infotech) provides the already powerful with the means to further dominate the already disenfranchised. Although Noble focuses mostly on Google and its parent company, Alphabet, her argument applies nearly verbatim to Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress. These monoliths make up most of the contemporary internet and possess a troubling degree of control over what users see and ultimately believe. Importantly, Noble does not romanticize earlier forms of the internet as uniformly democratic, nor does she entirely demonise the social potential offered by digital information. Rather, she investigates the current internet culture that treats artificial intelligence and algorithmic curation as apolitical forces, even as they have significant material consequences across racial, class and national boundaries:

Google’s monopoly status, coupled with its algorithmic practices of biasing information toward the interests of the neoliberal capital and social elites in the United States, has resulted in a provision of information that purports to be credible but is actually a reflection of advertising interests. (36)

The internet under corporate ownership is the latest socio-technological atmosphere to absorb public consciousness. Noble’s book is a rare piece of scholarship that effectively balances a tightly focused content analysis of how Google normalizes the treatment of black Americans with the history that made such oppression possible to begin with. It is a unique synthesis of media studies and sociology that examines the danger privatized information poses to democracy. In Algorithms of Oppression,  Noble draws upon a rich theoretical background aiming to mobilize critical race, feminist and information science theory to influence infotech policy. Ultimately, Noble argues that divesting the internet from corporate bodies and integrating more human decision-making into curating information will allow infotech to serve the public instead of capital. Her work is concise and accessible to newcomers to the field and she offers a compelling challenge to the teleological celebration of progress. As refreshing as accessible prose can be, it is because her work is a book-length project directed at the public that it is so important.

Algorithms of Oppression breaks from technologically deterministic narratives that normalize political inequality and prevent popular discourse from approaching the long-term consequences of an industrialized vision of progress. Noble’s position is clear—that information-technology companies replicate oppressive structures of power—and her proposed solution is consistent—that information is a public good whichshould be reappropriated from private interests using it only for the profit for a small number of families and corporations. Again, she isn’t simply condemning Google; rather, Noble’s book complicates its use as a social technology:

We must trouble the notion of Google as a public resource, particularly as institutions become more reliant of Google when looking for high-quality, contextualized, and credible information. This shift from public institutions such as libraries and schools as brokers of information to the private sector, in projects such as Google Books, for example, is placing previously public assets in the hands of a multinational corporation for private exploitation. (50)

Noble explains how Google replicates the oppressive material history against black women through the mechanisms that operate its search engines and advertising policies. Although her primary focus is on the relationships between Google and black American women, the theoretical foundation of her argument always has an eye on other historical forms of oppression. It may be that the clarity of Noble’s writing allows her to extend her argument to people outside her immediate scope; it may be that the monopoly of Google and similar infotech corporations have grown large enough to creep into all public life; or it may be that the racial, gendered, sexual, and classed methods of stratifying social life have traditionally targeted black women in America so particularly that there are very few oppressive tactics that have not been applied to black women at some point or another. In any case, Noble always has an eye on a wider public while she attends to the historical particularities of American black communities.

In the first two chapters of Algorithms of Oppression, Noble reviews the work of critical race theorists and intersectional feminists like Jessie Daniels and bell hooks to frame her political economic analysis throughout the book. The third chapter, the shortest by a good deal, is a case study of ideologically loaded search terms like “black on white crime,” that recycle non-credible information sources openly calling for racial violence. The cultural attitude of technology as politically neutral either in its utopian potential or in its banality curtails the public’s ability to think critically about information circulating throughout it: “What we find in search engines about people and culture is important. They oversimplify understanding and they can mask history…Search results, in the context of commercial advertising companies, lay the groundwork, as I have discussed throughout this book, for implicit bias” (116). The fourth chapter reviews some of the legal challenges and loopholes Google wrestles with across the world, including an extensive discussion of Google’s record-keeping practices and its contracts held with the US government (129). These two middle chapters, while they offer more specific case studies of Noble’s theoretical concerns, suffer from some redundancy and do little to advance either her theoretical frameworkor her case for policy changes. Yet they do serve a rhetorical purpose outside arguing her position. Algorithms of Oppression is a scholarly project, but the author writes more generally to the public. These two middle chapters personalize the social consequences of privatized information collection and distribution. Moreover, these chapters allow the book to be a book. The medium, as they say, is the message, and there is social power in a study distributed as a book that isn’t there in an article or a longform essay. If nothing else, Algorithms of Oppression offers an opportunity for academics to learn how to write quality research without obscuring it with the conventions of academic writing and publishing.

The final two chapters include work in library and information science scholarship from the likes of Sarah T. Roberts and describe how the analysis throughout the book can be mobilized  for activism. The challenge Google poses is that it centres itself as, increasingly, the sole curator of the knowledge we base our citizenship on: “When we inherit privilege, it is based on a massive knowledge regime that foregrounds the structural inequalities of the past, buttressed by vast stores of texts, images, and sounds saved in archives, museums, and libraries” (Noble 140). The collection, evaluation and distribution of information are responsibilities of, according to Noble, a citizenry who need to participate in those tasks to effectively run a democracy. She convincingly describes how the different ways search engines curate results (by frequency of views, number of links that lead to a page, advertising by companies to promote pages) privilege market-based interests and discriminatory social biases. Companies like Google and Facebook rely on their reputations as politically neutral machines producing politically neutral results for their market dominance and continued monopoly (Noble 29).

As with the specificity of Noble’s topic of study, her policy recommendations do not interfere with broader public interests. The algorithmically generated racism that criminalizes blackness in a search result works with the same technology that guides automatic cars and drones, generates suspect profiles, evaluates insurance and loan candidacy, and countless other bureaucratic mechanisms of society that are increasingly placed in the trust of self-modifying math equations on the internet. While it is easy to speculate what kinds of oppression could be possible with these tools, Noble effectively demonstrates that these threats are not science fiction to many communities around the world and in fact are happening right now (167).

Noble seems to write with the general public in mind and rarely descends into jargon or some of the discipline’s more esoteric texts. Here the specificity of her topic and solution help clarify her book’s importance and objectives to a reader who may not have years of formal education in media studies. Additionally, her work also opens a number of possible avenues for further scholarship and policy advice in other forms of marginalization or other legal contexts. Applying Noble’s method to other digital institutes like Amazon or Facebook are obvious follow-ups to this kind of project, but Noble’s book insists upon a public finding an alternative. With existing media, critical race, feminist, sociological, and political economy scholarship, there are many tools to postulate what such an alternative might look like. While Noble is primarily interested in an American context, her brief discussion of EU policy suggests that regional particularities change how digital resources can be mobilized for the public’s benefit.

The theoretical rigor, methodological variety and generalizability of the book also make it a strong teaching tool for undergraduates in communication, information and journalism programs, especially in introductory years. While the book is too recent to confidently prescribe its “importance” either as an academic resource or a journalistic report, it is an excellent summary and application of many theoretical tools used in the study of media. The material may be too specific for a large first-year lecture hall to adequately engage with, but as a second-year or seminar text it provides a strong methodological model for students trying to grasp how to study political economy and what political economy is interested in. Algorithms of Oppression is also relevant, and given the direction of algorithmic misinformation and racially charged forms of digital harassment, its arguments are becoming even more important.

As mentioned, Algorithms of Oppression is very clearly a feminist and black piece of sociological research. But it is important to recognize that Noble’s work also provides a foundation for several other researchers interested in promoting democracy and justice. The tools provided by infotech firms are not oppressive by their nature, but the extent to which they are used and made invisible by daily life warrants attention. Algorithms of Oppression is at the start of a scholarly trend seeking to understand who these technologies are most set up to benefit and how. Texts like Noble’s are necessary for scholars and informed publics to denaturalize media monopolies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and other companies that harvest citizen data and perpetuate myths of objective neutrality even as they exploit the labour of their own workforces. The quality of writing, theoretical strength and attention to its particular moment in history is why some of the repetition in the middle two chapters is more forgivable than it would be in a text with less foundational potential.

Hopefully, Noble’s book will promote further scrutiny of information technologies and work as a starting point for a public looking to get informed. Algorithms of Oppression is more effective as a book that can be picked up at one of the libraries that Noble argues need so much protection than as a dense article in a paywalled scholarly journal. Promoting media literacy will not be possible without addressing the information landscape that privileges Google’s profit projections. More work like Noble’s is needed to point to the dehumanized and, literally, autonomic process that information is communicated by. It isn’t that the kids these days don’t read anymore; it’s that they don’t edit.

Algorithms of Oppression feels like a strong interdisciplinary nexus, one that scholars of games studies will find a place to start specialized projects about the games industry and audiences. Noble briefly touches on the eruption of Gamergate as an instance of a mobilized misinformation campaign, but her interest in the phenomenon reaches only as far as it applies to the reproduction of misogyny on the internet, not in the mechanics of how the movement’s practitioners organized or where their entitlement to power originated. Well before Gamergate, data had been weaponized against women by doxing, altering images or cherry-picking information to misrepresent them or their words. One can see the oppressive strategies Noble describes in her book used at different points of the internet’s history (her book originated in an article for Bitch Magazine published in 2012) and her concerns certainly extend to games studies. Game publishers and distributors increasingly collect user data, and even in the rare cases that it is curated by humans working with a transparent editorial policy, centralized information is a tantalizing target for surveillance.

Given the consistency—perhaps even intensity—that gaming trends mirror infotech trends, much of Noble’s work is applicable to political economic and cultural studies of game industry and audiences. Videogames and the internet are not only historically interlocked, data collection and profit-motivated information are widely practiced by game publishers and online distributors. Noble provides a valuable frame for games studies, especially given the medium’s ongoing labour movements, racialized and gendered inequalities and interactions with local and national policymakers. If Algorithms of Oppression is going to be an “important” book, it will be for its ability to reach outside the academy. It’s a strong work of scholarship that provides  many new research questions, but it is more powerful because it speaks to the public it advocates for. It effectively takes its reader a step back from the tools they are accustomed to and reminds them that alternatives are possible.

Works Cited

Arnab, Sylvester. “Gamification as Responsible Experience Design”. First Person Scholar, 14 Sept. 2016.

Gross, Andy. “What Angry Birds Can Teach Enterprises About Critical Data”. Wired.

Jennings, Stephanie. “Video Games Exceptionalism vs. Media Specificity”. Ludogabble, 31 Aug. 2015.

Miletic, Philip. “A Review of The Video Game Debate”. First Person Scholar. 22 June 2016.

Noble, Safiya Umoja. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York University Press, 2018.

—. “Missed Connections: What Search Engines Say About Women”. Bitch Magazine, vol. Spring 2012, no. 54, Dec. 2016, pp. 36–41.


Discover exceptional portuguese wine

Producer Casa de Santar

!region Dão !region

Casa de Santar is historically connected to wine production. Founded in the end of the 18th century, it is one the most iconics wine making estates in Dão, due to its history, dimension and the reputation of its wines. The wines from this noble house are renowned due to their tradition, authenticity and nobility, reasons that make this brand from Dão so special and known for its 200-year-old history. A couple of kilometres from Casa de Santar, we can begin to see on the horizon several hectares of vineyard, which is very rare in this part of the country. Casa de Santar owns the largest continuous terrain in Dão, with 103 hectares, 83 of red varieties and 20ha of white varieties. Santar’s most well known plot is Vinha dos Amores, a slope with incredible soil and solar exposure where we grow the best Encruzado and Touriga Nacional grapes. Vinha dos Amores, or Lovers Vineyard in English, got its name because it was, since time immemorial, the meeting point for all the lovers of the village of Santar in their passionate rendezvous. Here were born some of the most elegant wines in Portugal that have earned high scores and awards from national and international critics. The estate has been connected to the same family for 13 generations and the cellar deserves a proper tour: from the cellar to the fermentation room with its stainless-steel vats, through the wine-aging room where the wines rest in French oak barrels and where we can find the highlight of this room, the incredibly old copper alembic. Then, we carry on to the tasting room and the cellar that keeps and protects the brands’ oldest harvests.


Celsius Tumbles 70% in 1 Hour Amid Withdrawals and Transfers Pause

On Sunday night, with crypto markets already in freefall, controversial crypto lender Celsius announced it was suddenly pausing all customer withdrawals, swaps, and transfers.

The company’s CEL token quickly reacted, dropping 70% in one hour from a prior high of $0.49 earlier on Sunday down to $0.15, according to CoinMarketCap.

Cryptocurrency Market Loses Over $100B This Weekend; Most Cryptos Tank

Why MG Motor India is developing a metaverse


Tracy Chapman

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

March 30, 1964

Aspect Legend

Minor aspects

Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her smash hits "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason", along with other successful singles "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Crossroads", "New Beginning" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.Chapman burst onto the scene in 1988 when Elektra released her critically acclaimed, multi-million selling debut album, which garnered Chapman six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, three of which she won, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single Fast Car.

Tracy Chapman image credit
Tracy Chapman by Hans Hillewaert, is licensed under cc-by-sa-4.0, resized from the original.

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SurePods Close Up: Debunking misconceptions about the pods

Many preconceived notions and misconceptions prevent building professionals from making the leap to time- and labor-saving modular construction methods. Some envision a unit that’s only a step above a jobsite trailer, or a bulky, boxy structure that takes up valuable space. Thanks to advances in manufacturing methods, today’s modular bathroom pods are virtually indistinguishable from a site-built units.

In this week’s SurePods closeup, we’re debunking two common modular misconceptions:

Misconception #1: prefab bathrooms come with thick floor assemblies

Contrary to popular belief, modular bathrooms’ subfloors, like SurePods’, can be considerably thin. Rather than having to depress or modify the slab in anyway, crews can simply slide the prefabricated pod into place when they arrive at the construction site. Teams then only have to install a custom-engineered sloping floor threshold, as they would do with any on-site built bathroom. The threshold ensures that the transition between the flooring inside and outside of a prefab pod is ADA compliant.

While many residential and commercial applications don’t require slab depression, healthcare is the one exception. Sometimes, healthcare projects require the bathroom to be a wet room, where the floors are sloped to a drain in the center of the floor, and the entire bathroom works like a shower pan. This allows employees to completely hose out the room, utilizing the center drain. In these instances, healthcare contractors would need to plan for a slab depression to accommodate that slope within SurePods’ floor system. This is a key reason why Revit® BIM conflict analysis is a part of the pre-construction process with SurePods.

Misconception #2: prefab bathrooms require an increased vertical clearance

While you might guess that prefab, modular bathrooms require an increased vertical clearance space to maneuver into position and to place, the standard 104 in. (8’ 8” in clear) top of slab to bottom of ceiling height common in commercial project scenarios is adequate to accommodate bathroom pods. Once prefab bathroom pods are in place, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) trades make the connections to the building’s mechanical systems, the exterior of the pods are sheetrocked and then floor thresholds are installed.

Regardless of project type, the key finding success with modular methods is to reach out to the manufacturer early. Early analysis with engineers and project teams is essential to ensure all parties understand how to properly integrate prefabrication into the architects’ and contractors’ vision. Problem-solving can occur before construction even begins, saving valuable time and resources.

If you think your project is a match for SurePods as we head into 2021, let’s talk. We have a checklist of technical issues we review with the project team based on our extensive experience to make projects seamless. To get started, contact us at [email protected]

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Layla Perkins