“Thank you” would die on your lips
If you knew,
What pride and ambition and hate
I have had to fight in myself,
To earn it.[^1]

March has ended and I am not quite sure where it went. Did I write? Yes I did. Did I make music? Yes I did. Did I do either of those things as well or as much as I had planned? No. If there are 'creatives' out there whose output is steady and controlled, I am certainly not one of them. I have worked hard to develop 'bare minimum habits' that help me maintain some consistency, but on top of those habits my output has always been stormy. Sometimes it overflows, sometimes it dries up, and I have to dig a deep well with my fingernails to find anything. Lately the music well has been much more productive than the writing well (at least in terms of fiction). I do not think this is unnatural in the sense that humans are not machines, but it would be nice to have an even keel. Ultimately though, I can rest because I believe that my life is Not My Own, and there is freedom in that. I just have to remember it, and endure it.

Writing

I wish I could banish the guilt I feel when I think of how little progress I have made on the book. I did write a pretty long essay, but for some reason I just can't shake a sense of failure when I don't work on the book. E.B. White once likened the impulse to write something as having a storm cloud over one's head until the thing is written, and I resonate with that very much. I suppose I should stop feeling guilty and just recognize that these works that seem to appear over my head are just manifestations of the creative process; but I push back on that phrasing “just manifestations of the creative process,” because I feel that it cheapens the work. I will say that the Manliness essay was a cloud that had been hanging over me for years, and it felt good to finally dispel it. Writing is a fascinating process. Control over it (for me) is both a responsibility and an illusion.

Music

I have been playing and practicing quite a lot. I bought a new acoustic guitar, which I have 'needed' for a while. The neck on my old one is somewhat rough, which means it taught me a lot about proper technique and finger position, but come showtime was really limiting and nerve-racking. The new one, an Orangewood, is very nice for the price, and I am liking it more every day as I break it in. I almost immediately started recording (semi-officially) the Lit Songs album with it. I think I have gotten good enough with my microphones and production process that I can make very nice sounding demos, complete with drums! The challenge is really just finding time when the house is quiet (which is not often, with two young kids). I mostly record at night instead of playing video games, which is good, but also I need to sleep. I need to pace myself.

Reading

I read a lot for the podcast, namely Piranesi and That Hideous Strength and Borges (still editing those recordings). For fun, I have picked up Robinson Crusoe and The Divine Comedy. I have enjoyed That Hideous Strength and Robinson Crusoe the most out of those.

I have also decided to try and revive my Latin. For language learning, my main goal is usually just to be able to read. To that end I have been reading 死神永生 (Death's End) by 《刘慈欣》(Liu Cixin) for over about a year. I try to read one page a day, writing down words I don't know, then adding them to Pleco's flashcard function. I do think my comprehension is improving, but it is still far from where I want it to be. For Latin, I am restarting Gustatio Linguae Latinae. My wife is a Latin teacher, so I've got a pretty good motivational head start, and it has really been a lot of fun.

It is really amazing to me how video games have the power to inoculate so many of my life-giving impulses. I think it is because video games offer a facsimile of what they promise: skill building (learning a musical instrument), exploration (reading about a new place), immersion (learning a new language and reading primary sources), self-expression (writing). Please note, I do not think video games are evil, it is just that they can be easily abused out of all moderation. I have also been fasting from breakfast to dinner for Holy Week, and it has helped me realize just how many impulses for consumption I have, and how little I deny them. Those little snacks and cookies and glasses of milk add up, even though they are not harmful in themselves. And it seems to me that the modern adulthood our culture strives for is less about self control, and more about working ourselves into the ground for a life that doesn't require it. So many of the things we buy are for pure convenience and organization, so that we don't have to think or be responsible. AI is no different in this regard, and the commercials for it emphasize the fact that it can automate tasks that we have already striven to automate, so that we will just become Dostoevsky's “General Humans” or C.S. Lewis's “Men Without Chests.”

Well, until next time.

[1]: If I do not cite a poetry source, you can assume that I wrote it.

#update #April #2026

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Thank you for reading! I greatly regret that I will most likely never be able to meet you in person and shake your hand, but perhaps we can virtually shake hands via my newsletter, social media, or a cup of coffee sent over the wire. They are poor substitutes, but they can be a real grace in this intractable world.

---

Send me a kind word or a cup of coffee:

Buy Me a Coffee | Listen to My Music | Listen to My Podcast | Follow Me on Mastodon | Read With Me on Bookwyrm

友人が、たくさん食べられる方がカッコいいと言っていた。 いや、まあ、食事に対してカッコいいという価値観は俺にはないのだが、 もしカッコよさで語るなら、俺はむしろ食べないほうがカッコいいと思う。 自分だけで完結している度合いが強いからだ。 生きる上で必要なものが少ないほど、その肉体は単体で強いように見える。

歩くのと走るのでは、どちらがカッコいいか。 これは歩くほうだろう。 理由というより、統計的に大人が証明している。 大人は走らない。歩いているほうが、何にも追われていないからだ。 走っている人は、時間か、もっと物理的な何かに追われている。 いや、もし追われているという状態を、生活に干渉されている証と見るなら、
走っているほうがカッコいいと言えるのかもしれない。 止まっているのも勿論カッコいい。 そう考えると、歩くというのは何でもないのかもしれない。

昇るのと降りるのでは、どちらがカッコいいか。 昇るのは、これからそこに予定があるから。 降りるのは、予定が終わったから。 これはどちらとも言いがたい。 予定が終わったのに、丘の上にある家へ登っていくなら、それはカッコいいと思う。

このまま羅列していってもいいが、もう既に飽きてしまった。 カッコいいの先に何もないからだ。 もし何かあるほうが良い事だとするのなら、カッコよくなる前という事になる。

締まらない話だ。 どうでもいい話を続けていたら、机の上の汚さが視界に入ってきた。 そうか、今週は何もしていないから、鈍く疲れているのだ。

31 March 2026

In our last poetry workshop, Jonathan sent us on a Carl Phillips dive. First his 2018 essay Muscularity and Eros: On Syntax for At Length and then a handful of poems. “A Kind of Meadow” (2000) has been with me ever since. Very painterly. There's something about it that puts me in a place similar to Polke's Die Fahrt auf der Unendlichkeitsacht III (Die Motorradlampe) (1971)—every new door opens to a misdirect or redirect, but the flow of the whole remains cohesive and unencumbered. A particular example via enjambment in a middle stanza:

A kind of meadow, where it ends begin trees, from whose twinning of late light and the already underway darkness you were expecting perhaps

And that's the rhythm all the way through, of starts and stops meshing and trading places. Which happens verbally in the mouth, but also visually; bones, branches, and fretwork form a grid that dapples both shadow and light, shooting both through the length of the poem. Words examining themselves as they are produced.

What Are Common Remedies Suggested by Astrologers?

Astrology has been a guiding force in human life for centuries, helping individuals understand their destiny, strengths, and challenges. Many people searching for the best astrologer in Delhi NCR not only seek predictions but also effective remedies to overcome life problems. Astrology remedies are practical and spiritual techniques designed to balance planetary energies and improve overall well-being.

Understanding Astrology Remedies

Astrology remedies are based on the belief that planetary positions influence different aspects of life, including career, relationships, health, and finances. When certain planets are weak or negatively placed in a birth chart, they may create obstacles. Astrologers suggest remedies to reduce these negative effects and strengthen positive influences.

These remedies do not change destiny completely but help minimize difficulties and enhance opportunities when followed with faith and consistency.

1. Gemstone Therapy Gemstone therapy is one of the most popular remedies in astrology. Each planet is associated with a specific gemstone that enhances its positive energy.

For example: Ruby for the Sun boosts confidence and leadership Emerald for Mercury improves communication and intellect Yellow Sapphire for Jupiter supports wisdom and prosperity

Wearing the right gemstone after proper consultation can help balance planetary influences and attract success.

1. Mantras and Chanting Mantras are sacred sounds that create positive vibrations and mental clarity. Chanting specific mantras related to planets can reduce their negative effects.

Common practices include:

Gayatri Mantra for overall positivity Hanuman Chalisa for strength and protection Shani Mantra to reduce Saturn’s challenges

Regular chanting helps calm the mind, improve focus, and bring emotional stability.

1. Vastu Shastra Corrections Vastu Shastra focuses on the energy flow within a space. Incorrect placement of objects or directions can lead to problems in life.

Astrologers often suggest:

Adjusting furniture placement Improving entrance directions Using suitable colors and elements

These simple changes can create a positive environment that supports growth and harmony.

1. Fasting and Religious Rituals Fasting on specific days is another effective remedy. Each day is associated with a particular planet, and fasting helps strengthen its positive influence.

Examples include:

Monday for the Moon Thursday for Jupiter Saturday for Saturn

Performing rituals along with fasting enhances spiritual connection and reduces negative planetary effects.

1. Charity and Donations Charity is considered a powerful way to balance karmic influences. Donating items related to specific planets can help reduce negative energies.

Examples: Donating black items on Saturdays for Saturn Offering food to the needy Supporting religious or social causes Acts of kindness bring positivity, peace, and emotional satisfaction.

1. Yantras and Spiritual Tools Yantras are sacred geometric symbols used to attract positive energy. They are often placed in homes or workplaces for protection and prosperity.

Popular yantras include: Shree Yantra for wealth and success Navgraha Yantra for planetary balance Kuber Yantra for financial growth These tools help enhance positive vibrations in daily life.

1. Meditation and Lifestyle Changes Astrologers also emphasize the importance of mental and emotional balance. Meditation is a powerful practice that helps reduce stress and improve focus.

Lifestyle changes such as maintaining discipline, avoiding negative habits, and practicing gratitude can significantly improve life quality. These changes support the effectiveness of other remedies.

Importance of Personalized Remedies

Every individual has a unique birth chart, so remedies should be customized. Generic remedies may not work effectively for everyone. Consulting the best astrologer in Delhi NCR ensures accurate analysis and suitable recommendations.

Professional guidance helps in choosing the right gemstone, mantra, or ritual based on planetary positions and life goals.

Do Astrology Remedies Really Work? The effectiveness of astrology remedies depends on belief, consistency, and proper application. While they may not provide instant results, they gradually bring positive changes in mindset, behavior, and circumstances.

Astrology should be used as a supportive tool along with practical efforts. Combining remedies with hard work and a positive attitude leads to better outcomes.

https://glorioussauraa.com/astrology/

Conclusion Astrology remedies offer a holistic approach to solving life problems. From gemstones and mantras to charity and meditation, these practices help balance energies and create harmony in life.

For those seeking guidance from the best astrologer in Delhi NCR, understanding these remedies can be the first step toward a more balanced and successful life. By following the right remedies with dedication, individuals can overcome challenges, improve relationships, and achieve personal and professional growth.

Devastación es el fruto de la guerra. Del latín vastus, enorme, desolación, vacío.

I did several bits today that I was very proud of. Also at the gym this old guy pointed to me while talking to another kid and use me as an example for what a good physique looks like, and I got so like flustered and I guess I’m just proud of myself. Also some of my green flags/dealbreaker were confirmed to be good with A, and I really find myself falling for her. But at the same time it’s strange because it feels like I’m falling for her with my mind and not just my heart. Like in a much more controlled and intentional way, and not just because this person is filling up some hole in my life. 60 days can’t come faster.

Fragmented attention produces fragmented work.

When I split focus across tasks, I produce incomplete, low-quality output. Single-tasking changed that. I do deeper work, and I do more of it — no context-switching tax.

Two habits made this stick.

Cap your browser tabs at three. I used to keep dozens open — and used almost none of them. Three tabs forces a choice: what actually matters right now? I read one documentation page, close it, open the next. The constraint creates focus.

Run every app in full screen. No dock. No red notification bubbles competing for your eye. I use two monitors — both apps full screen, side menus collapsed. Just the work, filling the frame.

Attention is finite. Protect it like it is.

This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on March 3, 2026.

Against the Demon World

By D.M. Ritzlin – DMR Books – February 1, 2026

Review by Robin Marx

Northern barbarian Avok Kur Storn’s life is disrupted when cultists of Iljer visit his chieftain father, hoping to entice the Cytheran people to abandon their traditional god in favor of demon worship. Emphatically rebuffed, the Iljerists skulk off to the wilderness and immediately prepare to summon an infernal agent of retribution. Suspicious of the ominous visitors, Avok attempts to disrupt the ceremony, only to find himself dragged to the demon-infested moon called Uzz. Forced to serve as a slave, a spy, and a gladiator, Avok must use his wits and his brawn to survive—and eventually escape—a hellish dog-eat-dog world of cruel fiends and bizarre, otherworldly creatures.

Against the Demon World is set in D. M. Ritzlin’s sword & sorcery setting, Nilztiria. While this is the first full-length novel to feature Avok Kur Storn as its protagonist, the character has appeared in a number of short stories found in the author’s previous collections, Necromancy in Nilztiria and Dark Dreams of Nilztiria. While there are some fun references to other Nilztiria fixtures like the frequently quoted Xaarxool the Necromancer, no prior experience with either Avok Kur Storn or Nilztiria is necessary to enjoy this novel.

Ritzlin’s publishing house DMR Books was established to print sword & sorcery fiction both classic and new, and the author’s own work likewise fits comfortably in the old school pulp fantasy style. Barbarian heroes with mighty thews, diabolical sorcerers who command chaotic magic, and slavering beasts are all present and accounted for. Both the strengths and weaknesses of Against the Demon World owe a great deal to the early days of the fantasy literary genre, so fans of this type of fantasy are likely to enjoy it, while those who prefer a more epic scope and detailed world-building may be better off looking elsewhere.

The brisk pacing of Against the Demon World is its greatest strength. The novel is a hair over 200 pages long, and there is zero wasted space. This is a book that refuses to sit still; there’s always something going on. Deadly combat, daring escapes, encounters with dangerous and strange wildlife (or dangerous and strange women!) crowd the narrative. Over the course of the book Avok Kur Storn is rarely allowed a moment to catch his breath, and neither is the reader. While the bare-chested, kilt-clad warrior protagonist might prompt one to expect the influence of Robert E. Howard and his barbarian Conan, in practice the breakneck pacing and heroic protagonist more often recalled Edgar Rice Burroughs. Like Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars, Avok Kur Storn is a reflexively valiant and noble character, skilled in martial pursuits but lacking Conan’s brutality and moral ambiguity. While—trapped on Uzz—he may spend his nights in the arms of his alluring ram-horned succubus mistress Heltorya, once he meets the pure-hearted damsel Izura, there’s little doubt who Avok will end up with.

As in Burrough’s Barsoom stories, the weirdness of Against the Demon World also appeals. Much of the story takes place in the demonic duchy of Xidobala, where expendable slaves live and die at the mercy of Heltorya and a class of callous, inhuman rulers. Avok is frequently the only human among fiends, each physiologically distinct. When Avok is taken on a sky-ship ride, the vessel turns out to be a steel-bound beast with pterodactyl wings and a massive eye at the end of its furry “bowsprit.” Even away from the demon-haunted cities, the fauna of Uzz remains strange; Avok encounters yellow-skinned cyclopes and spherical bat-like creatures. Weirdness even encroaches on Avok’s very body, as immediately after arriving on Uzz an eyeball-bearing tentacle is grafted to the back of his head (seen in the excellent cover art by Bebeto Daroz) to make him a more effective spy for his demonic master. Ritzlin also has an aptitude for coming up with entertainingly offbeat names: Xaarxool, Nelgastrothos, Voormeero, Quanguulosh, and—my favorite—Scrotar, all roll off the tongue in a pleasing way.

While Against the Demon World benefits greatly from classic pulp pacing, it also carries forth two of the weaknesses of old-fashioned fantasy: weak dialogue and thin characterization. Too often the dialogue lacks subtlety, with characters frequently openly stating their thoughts or intentions, without much in the way of witty repartee, attempts to dissemble, or character-revealing phrasing. Actors often lament that villains get all the best lines in scripts, and that seems to be the case in this book as well. Through Heltorya’s spoiled pouting and Quanguulosh’s Skeletor-like scenery chewing the demons are allowed to showcase their personalities a bit, but Avok is mostly limited to defiant vows, helpful explanations to companions, and shouted warnings. Unusually for a sword & sorcery hero we get to spend some time with Avok Kur Storn’s whole family (the Kur Storns are still around, they’re not relegated to a tragic backstory!), but readers still don’t get much of an idea of what makes Avok special and interesting beyond “He’s a brave fighter and he’s the hero that the book is about.” While this comparative lack of dimension isn’t as noticeable in the shorter Avok Kur Storn stories, it becomes more obvious at novel length. Ritzlin’s other primary hero character, Vran the Chaos-Warped, at least has more of an interesting gimmick in that magic misfires in his presence. As it stands, Avok Kur Storn doesn’t have much that separates him from the barbarian pack.

Against the Demon World is a lean, action-packed adventure boasting a wonderfully weird setting. Readers familiar with pulp sword & sorcery will find a lot to love here, but those accustomed to more modern fantasy stylings may find themselves yearning for a greater focus on characterization, even if it results in a thicker page count.

#ReviewArchive #BookReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #DarkFantasy #Grimdark #DMRitzlin #DMRBooks #AgainstTheDemonWorld #GrimdarkMagazine #GdM

History was made today. The kind of history that will be written about and studied for years to come, and I was able to capture it from my backyard. Artemis II successfully launched with a crew of four and is heading to the Moon. Not as great, magnificent, or universe changing as what we will celebrate this Sunday with Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not even close. But still amazing.

Here is what I get to see from my house on the other side of the coast of Florida. Not as amazing as being there, but still awesome.

No Fools today on this 1st of April. Pretty surreal to watch it from here.

#news #photos #history

Somewhere in a Samsung fabrication facility in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, a silicon wafer that might have become the RAM in your next smartphone is being sliced, stacked, and soldered into something called High Bandwidth Memory. It will never see the inside of a phone. Instead, it will be bolted onto an Nvidia GPU, slotted into a server rack, and installed in one of the colossal data centres that Meta, Google, Microsoft, or Amazon are building at a pace that makes the post-war highway boom look quaint. That wafer, and millions like it, has been conscripted into the artificial intelligence arms race. And you, the person who just wants a reasonably priced laptop, are paying for it.

The numbers behind this transformation are staggering. In February 2026, Bloomberg reported that four companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft) have collectively budgeted roughly $650 billion in capital expenditure for this year alone. Amazon leads the pack at $200 billion, Alphabet follows at $185 billion, Meta has committed up to $135 billion, and Microsoft rounds out the quartet at $105 billion. To put that in perspective, Bloomberg's analysis of 21 other major corporations spanning industries from automaking to defence contracting found their combined 2026 capital budgets total just $180 billion. The AI infrastructure spend of four Silicon Valley giants dwarfs the capital plans of nearly every other industry on Earth, combined.

This $650 billion represents a 60% leap from the $410 billion these companies spent in 2025, and a 165% increase from the $245 billion spent in 2024. Each company's individual 2026 budget is expected to rival or exceed what it spent over the previous three years combined. It is, as Bloomberg put it, “a boom without a parallel this century.” Altogether, the four companies have lost over $950 billion in market value since dropping their latest earnings and outlooks, a sign that even investors are nervous about the scale of the bet being placed.

But here is where the story takes an uncomfortable turn for the rest of us: the same silicon, the same fabrication lines, and the same raw materials that power your everyday devices are being hoovered up to feed these data centres. The consequences are already hitting your wallet, and they are likely to get worse before they get better.

The Oligopoly That Shapes Your Digital Life

The global memory chip market is an oligopoly, and understanding its structure is essential to understanding why the AI boom hurts consumers so directly. Three manufacturers (Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology) control virtually all of the world's DRAM and NAND flash production. When these three companies decide to pivot their manufacturing capacity in a new direction, there is no fallback. There is no alternative supplier waiting in the wings. There is no spare capacity sitting idle somewhere in Taiwan or Germany. There is simply less memory available for everything else.

That pivot is now well underway. In October 2025, OpenAI signed agreements with Samsung and SK Hynix to supply memory chips for its Stargate project, the $500 billion AI infrastructure programme launched in partnership with SoftBank, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi's MGX. The scale of the deal was breathtaking: up to 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month, a volume that TrendForce estimated could account for approximately 40% of total global DRAM output. The announcement followed a meeting in Seoul between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Samsung Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, alongside South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung. It was a deal struck at the highest levels of government and industry, and its reverberations are being felt in every electronics shop on the planet.

Then, in December 2025, Micron made the picture even bleaker for consumers. The company announced it would completely exit the consumer memory market, discontinuing its 29-year-old Crucial brand by February 2026. Sumit Sadana, Micron's chief business officer, stated plainly: “The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments.” One of the three companies that manufactures virtually all of the world's memory had simply decided that selling to ordinary people was no longer worth the bother. Micron reported record fiscal 2025 revenue of $37.38 billion, with data centre and AI applications accounting for 56% of total revenue, nearly 50% year-over-year growth. The economics were clear: why bother with thin-margin consumer RAM sticks when AI customers will pay a premium for every wafer you can produce?

SK Hynix confirmed that its entire DRAM, NAND, and HBM production through 2026 has been sold out, much of it committed to Nvidia for AI accelerators. Samsung expanded its advanced DRAM capacity to target 60,000 wafers per month specifically for HBM4 production. The pattern is unmistakable: every major memory manufacturer is reallocating capacity away from consumer products and towards the insatiable demands of AI infrastructure.

The physics of the problem makes the trade-off even starker. As a Micron executive explained, HBM production for AI accelerators consumes approximately three times the wafer capacity of standard DRAM per gigabyte. This is a zero-sum game: every wafer allocated to an HBM stack for an Nvidia GPU is a wafer denied to the LPDDR5X module in a mid-range smartphone or the SSD in a consumer laptop. Samsung and SK Hynix have also announced plans to wind down DDR4 production, and China's ChangXin has reportedly ended most of its DDR4 production as well, further tightening supply at the older, cheaper end of the market where budget devices depend on affordable components.

A Price Shock for the Record Books

The impact on memory prices has been nothing short of historic. In February 2026, TrendForce sharply revised its forecasts upward, projecting that conventional DRAM contract prices would surge by 90 to 95% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026, up from an already alarming initial estimate of 55 to 60%. NAND flash prices were expected to rise 55 to 60%, revised upward from 33 to 38%. PC DRAM prices specifically were projected to increase by over 100% in a single quarter, setting a new record for the steepest quarterly surge ever recorded in the memory industry's history.

These are not marginal fluctuations. DRAM spot prices increased 172% year-over-year as of Q3 2025, according to industry data. Retail prices for 32GB DDR5 modules jumped between 163% and 619% in global markets since September 2025. Counterpoint Research reported that prices for both DRAM and HBM chips nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter. Server DRAM prices specifically were expected to rise by around 90% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026, driven by intense competition among North American cloud service providers and server OEMs for limited supply.

The root cause is structural, not cyclical. Unlike previous memory price spikes driven by temporary supply-demand mismatches (such as the earthquake-related NAND shortages of the 2010s), this shortage reflects a deliberate and potentially permanent strategic reallocation of the world's silicon wafer capacity. Phison's CEO told industry publications that “every NAND manufacturer told us 2026 is sold out.” Silicon Motion's CEO offered an even more sobering summary: “We're facing what has never happened before: HDD, DRAM, HBM, NAND... all in severe shortage in 2026.” NAND vendors remain cautious about adding fabrication capacity after several years of weak profitability, delaying new production lines until at least 2027.

One terabit TLC NAND devices climbed from roughly $4.80 in July 2025 to around $10.70 by late 2025, more than doubling in barely six months. Enterprise SSD prices were expected to rise by 53 to 58% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026 alone, marking a new record for quarterly price increases. Meanwhile, memory manufacturers remain reluctant to invest in new capacity for consumer products when AI customers are willing to sign long-term agreements at premium prices, essentially guaranteeing that the supply squeeze will persist.

Your Next Phone Will Cost More and Do Less

The downstream effects on consumer devices are already visible, and they are grim. IDC, in a February 2026 forecast update, warned that the global smartphone market is poised to suffer its biggest decline ever, with shipments expected to drop 12.9% to 1.12 billion units, the lowest level in more than a decade. The average selling price of smartphones is projected to surge 14% to a record $523, as manufacturers shift toward higher-margin models to offset ballooning component costs.

For budget-conscious consumers, the picture is even worse. Counterpoint Research found that the bill of materials cost for low-end smartphones priced below $200 has increased 20 to 30% since the beginning of the year. IDC warned that the sub-$100 smartphone segment, representing 171 million devices annually, will become “permanently uneconomical” even after memory prices stabilise by mid-2027. Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker, stated that “the memory crisis will cause more than a temporary decline; it marks a structural reset of the entire market.”

Some manufacturers are responding with a quiet downgrade strategy that consumers may not immediately notice. TrendForce reported that smartphone and notebook brands have begun raising prices while simultaneously downgrading specifications. A 2026 mid-range smartphone might ship with 6GB of RAM where its 2025 predecessor offered 8GB. At the low end, base models are likely to return to 4GB of DRAM in 2026, a specification most consumers associate with phones from several years ago. The model name stays the same, the marketing stays the same, but you are getting less for more. Xiaomi's chief financial officer publicly warned that memory cost pressures will drive up smartphone retail prices in 2026, with analyst projections suggesting the company is budgeting for a roughly 25% increase in DRAM expense per device in its 2026 model year.

The irony is sharp. The technology industry has spent the past two years marketing “AI smartphones” with enhanced on-device AI capabilities, features that typically require more RAM, not less. Now the very infrastructure being built to power the AI models behind those features is cannibalising the memory supply those phones need to run them.

The Laptop and PC Squeeze

The personal computer market faces a similarly painful reckoning. Memory now accounts for about 20% of the hardware costs of a laptop, up from between 10% and 18% in the first half of 2025. That shift alone explains why every major PC manufacturer is sounding the alarm. Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer, and ASUS have all warned clients of tougher conditions, confirming price hikes of 15 to 20% and contract resets as an industry-wide response.

IDC warned that the PC market could shrink by up to 9% in 2026 under pessimistic scenarios, with a more moderate scenario showing a 5% contraction. Under downside projections, PC average selling prices would likely rise by 6 to 8%. Gartner echoed these concerns, projecting that rising memory prices will make low-margin entry-level laptops under $500 financially unviable within two years. For a market that has long relied on affordable entry-level machines to drive volume, this represents a potential structural shift in who can afford a personal computer.

The timing could hardly be worse. The memory shortage has collided with Microsoft's Windows 10 end-of-life cycle, which was supposed to drive a major refresh wave as consumers and businesses upgraded to newer hardware. Instead, the very components needed to build those new machines are being siphoned off to fill AI server racks. The planned “AI PC” marketing push, which was meant to entice consumers with on-device AI capabilities requiring more RAM, now faces the bitter irony that AI's own infrastructure demands have made that extra memory unaffordable.

TrendForce has lowered its 2026 global production forecasts accordingly. Notebook production is now expected to shrink by 2.4%, down from a previous forecast of 1.7% growth. Smartphone output is projected to decrease by 2% year-over-year, compared to an earlier estimate of 0.1% growth. Those swings from growth to contraction tell the story of industries whose plans have been upended by forces entirely outside their control.

Gamers Feel the Squeeze Too

PC gaming enthusiasts, a community already accustomed to volatility in component pricing, are facing yet another punishing cycle. But unlike the 2021-2022 GPU shortage driven by speculative cryptocurrency mining, the current crisis is being shaped by structural AI demand and memory-related supply constraints that appear far more persistent.

MSI's President Joseph Hsu described 2026 as the “most difficult” year since the company was founded. MSI has reported Nvidia GPU supply down 20%, leading the company to announce price increases of 15 to 30% on RTX 50 series graphics cards. Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5080 has experienced price increases of up to 35%, while the flagship RTX 5090 has seen a staggering 79% price increase. AMD has told its supply partners it will raise graphics card prices by at least 10% due to rising memory prices.

The underlying cause is the same memory shortage affecting phones and laptops, but for GPUs the problem is compounded. Graphics cards rely heavily on advanced memory technologies including HBM, GDDR, and DRAM, and shortages across all of those categories are now directly limiting output. Even where GPU silicon itself is available, finished products cannot be shipped in volume if the necessary memory is not. Reports suggest major graphics card makers may be trimming production of consumer lines by up to 30 to 40% in 2026. Nvidia reportedly has no plans to release any new GeForce gaming graphics cards until 2027.

PC gaming has always offered scalable entry points. You could build a decent 1080p gaming system for $600 to $800. If entry-level graphics cards vanish or double in price, that accessibility evaporates, potentially driving budget-conscious gamers toward consoles, which themselves face tariff-related price pressures. In a small silver lining, Intel's Arc B-series graphics cards have actually become more affordable, with the Arc B580 and Arc B570 seeing price reductions, making Intel the only GPU manufacturer currently moving in a consumer-friendly direction.

The Energy Bill Nobody Talks About

The memory chip shortage is only one vector through which AI infrastructure costs are reaching ordinary consumers. There is another, less visible but equally consequential channel: electricity.

According to the International Energy Agency, data centres accounted for around 1.5% of the world's electricity consumption in 2024, or 415 terawatt-hours. Globally, data centre electricity consumption has grown by roughly 12% per year since 2017, more than four times faster than total electricity consumption. Gartner estimates that worldwide data centre electricity consumption will rise from 448 TWh in 2025 to 980 TWh by 2030, with AI-optimised servers' electricity usage set to rise nearly fivefold, from 93 TWh in 2025 to 432 TWh in 2030.

A January 2026 report by Bloom Energy predicts that U.S. data centres' total combined energy demand will nearly double between 2025 and 2028, jumping from 80 to 150 gigawatts. That is roughly equivalent to adding a country with the energy needs of Spain in just three years. A typical AI-focused data centre consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, and the largest facilities under construction today will consume twenty times that amount.

This is not an abstract infrastructure concern. It is already affecting household energy bills. In the PJM electricity market, which stretches from Illinois to North Carolina, data centres accounted for an estimated $9.3 billion price increase in the 2025-26 capacity market. As a result, the average residential bill is expected to rise by $18 a month in western Maryland and $16 a month in Ohio, according to Bloomberg's reporting. A Carnegie Mellon University study estimates that data centres and cryptocurrency mining could lead to an 8% increase in the average U.S. electricity bill by 2030, potentially exceeding 25% in the highest-demand markets of central and northern Virginia.

Ireland provides a particularly stark example of what happens when data centre growth outpaces grid capacity. Around 21% of Ireland's electricity is already consumed by data centres, and the IEA estimates this share could rise to 32% by 2026. In Virginia, home to nearly 600 data centres, these facilities accounted for almost 40% of all electricity used in the state in 2024. A November 2025 survey found that 78% of Americans are somewhat or very concerned that new data centres will make their energy bills go up. Those concerns are well founded.

A Compounding Crisis with Tariffs

As if rising component costs and swelling energy bills were not enough, consumers in many markets face a third pressure: trade policy. In the United States, sweeping tariff changes have imposed significant duties on key technology manufacturing partners, including a 30% tariff on Chinese goods and a 20% duty on Vietnamese imports. Analysis by the Consumer Technology Association found that these tariffs could result in smartphone prices increasing 31%, laptop and tablet prices rising 34%, and gaming console prices jumping 69%.

The CTA estimated that tariffs on the ten consumer tech product categories it analysed would reduce American consumers' purchasing power by $123 billion. For every $1 in gains to domestic producers, consumers may lose up to $16 in spending power. Microsoft announced price hikes of more than 25% for its Xbox consoles in response. The convergence of memory shortages, energy cost pass-throughs, and tariff pressures creates a compounding effect. Each factor alone would be significant. Together, they represent a fundamental repricing of everyday technology that will be felt most acutely by those who can least afford it.

The Growing Divide Between Rich Nations and Everyone Else

The affordability crisis carries particularly troubling implications for the developing world, where access to affordable smartphones and laptops is not a luxury but a lifeline to education, employment, healthcare, and financial services. According to the World Bank's 2025 Digital Progress and Trends Report, high-income countries host 77% of global co-location data centre capacity, while lower-middle-income countries hold just 5%, and low-income countries less than 0.1%. Africa accounts for less than 1% of global data centre capacity despite being home to 18% of the world's population.

The asymmetry extends beyond infrastructure. High-income countries account for 87% of notable AI models, 86% of AI startups, and 91% of venture capital funding, despite representing just 17% of the global population. Microsoft's 2025 AI Diffusion Report confirmed that AI adoption in the Global North is accelerating faster than in the Global South, with differences in infrastructure, access to tools, and digital readiness all contributing to a widening divide.

The ITU reports that approximately 2.2 billion people remain offline, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. For those who are connected, affordability is already a critical constraint: in 2024, a basic 5-gigabyte broadband plan consumed 29% of monthly income in low-income countries, compared with less than 3% in high-income countries. When the price of the devices needed to get online rises 15 to 30% because memory chips are being diverted to AI data centres in Virginia and Oregon, the impact on digital inclusion is severe and immediate.

IDC's warning that sub-$100 smartphones will become “permanently uneconomical” should set off alarm bells for anyone who cares about global connectivity. Those 171 million devices per year served as the on-ramp to the digital economy for hundreds of millions of people in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. If that ramp is pulled away, the promise that AI will benefit all of humanity begins to ring rather hollow, particularly when it is AI's own appetite for resources that has made the devices unaffordable.

The Refurbished Market Steps into the Gap

One unexpected beneficiary of the crisis is the refurbished electronics market, which is experiencing significant growth as consumers seek alternatives to increasingly expensive new devices. Market research firms project the global refurbished electronics market is valued at approximately $130 billion in 2025, with growth rates exceeding 11% annually. In Europe, more than one in seven smartphones sold in France during Q1 2025 were refurbished, and nearly 10% of all smartphones sold in Great Britain were refurbished in Q1 2025.

The growth is driven by a convergence of factors: rising new device prices, growing consumer awareness of sustainability, and regulatory momentum from policies like the EU's Right to Repair directive. For consumers priced out of the new device market, refurbished phones and laptops offer a practical alternative. But the refurbished market is ultimately a stopgap, not a solution. It depends on a steady flow of devices being traded in and returned, and if new device sales decline sharply (as IDC projects), the supply of devices available for refurbishment will eventually shrink as well.

When Does Relief Arrive?

The honest answer is: not soon. Relief from the memory shortage is not expected until 2027 at the earliest, when new mega-fabrication facilities from Samsung and SK Hynix reach volume production. Samsung's P5 facility in Pyeongtaek is expected to be operational by 2028, with SK Hynix's M15X facility slated for mid-2027. Micron is building two large factories in Boise, Idaho, that will start producing memory in 2027 and 2028.

But even when new capacity comes online, there is no guarantee it will be allocated to consumer products. If AI demand continues to grow at its current trajectory, and if the economic incentives continue to favour high-margin enterprise and AI customers over consumer markets, the structural reallocation may persist. TrendForce does not expect DRAM prices to decline at any point in 2026, and the advice from industry analysts to consumers has been blunt: if you want a device, buy it now, because it will almost certainly cost more in six months.

IDC expects only a modest 2% recovery in smartphone shipments in 2027, followed by a 5.2% rebound in 2028, but has cautioned that the market is unlikely to return to previous norms. As Popal noted, this represents “a structural reset of the entire market.” The era of ever-cheaper, ever-more-capable consumer electronics may be drawing to a close, replaced by one in which the needs of AI infrastructure permanently crowd out the needs of ordinary buyers.

Reckoning with the Real Cost of the AI Boom

There is a deep irony at the heart of this story. The technology industry has spent the past three years telling us that artificial intelligence will transform our lives, make us more productive, democratise access to information, and solve problems that have long eluded human ingenuity. Some of that may prove true. But right now, in the first quarter of 2026, the most tangible, measurable impact of the AI boom on ordinary people is this: your phone costs more, your laptop costs more, your graphics card costs more, your electricity bill is going up, and the cheapest devices that connect billions of people in the developing world to the internet are becoming economically unviable.

The $650 billion being poured into data centres this year is not coming from nowhere. It is being extracted, indirectly but inexorably, from the consumer technology ecosystem. The fabrication lines that once produced your memory chips now produce AI memory. The electricity that once powered your neighbourhood now powers server farms. The manufacturing capacity that once kept entry-level devices affordable is now committed to contracts with hyperscale cloud providers for years into the future.

None of this was inevitable. The memory industry's oligopolistic structure, with three manufacturers controlling virtually all global supply, means that decisions made in a handful of boardrooms in Seoul, Boise, and Icheon ripple outward to affect the price of every device on the planet. The lack of manufacturing diversity, combined with the sheer scale of AI procurement contracts, has created a market where the needs of four or five technology giants routinely override the needs of four or five billion consumers.

The question facing policymakers, industry leaders, and the public is whether the AI boom's costs are being distributed fairly. The benefits of AI infrastructure accrue primarily to the companies building it and, eventually, to the users of their AI products and services. The costs, however, are being socialised across the entire consumer technology market: higher device prices, reduced specifications, rising energy bills, and a widening digital divide. The people least likely to benefit from advanced AI models are the same people most affected by the rising price of the devices they need to participate in the digital economy.

This is not a call to halt AI development. The technology's potential remains genuinely transformative. But it is a call to acknowledge what is happening, to recognise that the AI boom has externalities that are not being adequately discussed, measured, or addressed. When a single project like Stargate can sign agreements that consume 40% of global DRAM output, when a single company can exit the consumer memory market entirely because AI customers are more profitable, and when entry-level devices for billions of people become permanently uneconomical, the market is sending a clear signal: ordinary consumers are no longer the priority.

The question is whether anyone with the power to change that outcome is listening.

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References and Sources

1. Bloomberg, “How Much Is Big Tech Spending on AI Computing? A Staggering $650 Billion in 2026,” February 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-06/how-much-is-big-tech-spending-on-ai-computing-a-staggering-650-billion-in-2026

2. TrendForce, “Memory Price Outlook for 1Q26 Sharply Upgraded; QoQ Increases of All Product Categories to Hit Record Highs,” February 2026. https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20260202-12911.html

3. TrendForce, “Memory Price Surge to Persist in 1Q26; Smartphone and Notebook Brands Begin Raising Prices and Downgrading Specs,” December 2025. https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20251211-12831.html

4. TrendForce, “Rising Memory Prices Weigh on Consumer Markets; 2026 Smartphone and Notebook Outlook Revised Downward,” November 2025. https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20251117-12784.html

5. IDC, “Global Memory Shortage Crisis: Market Analysis and the Potential Impact on the Smartphone and PC Markets in 2026.” https://www.idc.com/resource-center/blog/global-memory-shortage-crisis-market-analysis-and-the-potential-impact-on-the-smartphone-and-pc-markets-in-2026/

6. IDC/Reuters, “Smartphone Market Set for Biggest-Ever Decline in 2026 on Memory Price Surge,” February 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/smartphone-market-set-biggest-ever-190848368.html

7. Tom's Hardware, “OpenAI's Stargate Project to Consume Up to 40% of Global DRAM Output,” 2025. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/openais-stargate-project-to-consume-up-to-40-percent-of-global-dram-output-inks-deal-with-samsung-and-sk-hynix-to-the-tune-of-up-to-900-000-wafers-per-month

8. OpenAI, “Samsung and SK Join OpenAI's Stargate Initiative to Advance Global AI Infrastructure,” 2025. https://openai.com/index/samsung-and-sk-join-stargate/

9. Samsung Global Newsroom, “Samsung and OpenAI Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Advancements in Global AI Infrastructure,” 2025. https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-and-openai-announce-strategic-partnership-to-accelerate-advancements-in-global-ai-infrastructure

10. Micron Technology, “Micron Announces Exit from Crucial Consumer Business,” December 2025. https://investors.micron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/micron-announces-exit-crucial-consumer-business

11. CNBC, “Micron Stops Selling Memory to Consumers as Demand Spikes from AI Chips,” December 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/03/micron-stops-selling-memory-to-consumers-demand-spikes-from-ai-chips.html

12. Data Center Dynamics, “Micron to Exit the Consumer Memory and Storage Market in Favor of AI Data Center Customers,” December 2025. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/micron-to-exit-the-consumer-memory-and-storage-market-in-favor-of-ai-data-center-customers/

13. NotebookCheck, “SK Hynix Sells Out Its DRAM, NAND, and HBM Chip Supply to Nvidia Through 2026,” 2025. https://www.notebookcheck.net/SK-hynix-sells-out-its-DRAM-NAND-and-HBM-chip-supply-to-Nvidia-through-2026-as-AI-demand-outpaces-Samsung-and-Micron-s-capacity.1151402.0.html

14. Network World, “Samsung Warns of Memory Shortages Driving Industry-Wide Price Surge in 2026,” 2026. https://www.networkworld.com/article/4113772/samsung-warns-of-memory-shortages-driving-industry-wide-price-surge-in-2026.html

15. CNN Business, “AI Is Gobbling Up the World's Memory Chips, Sending Smartphone Prices to Record Highs,” February 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/27/tech/ai-memory-chips-smartphones-intl-hnk

16. Tom's Hardware, “IDC Warns PC Market Could Shrink Up to 9% in 2026 Due to Skyrocketing RAM Pricing,” 2026. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/idc-warns-pc-market-could-shrink-up-to-9-percent-in-2026-due-to-skyrocketing-ram-pricing-even-moderate-forecast-hits-5-percent-drop-as-ai-driven-shortages-slam-into-pc-market

17. Consumer Reports, “With AI Data Centers Scooping Up RAM, Laptop Prices Could Spike in 2026,” 2026. https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics-computers/laptops-chromebooks/ai-data-centers-buying-up-ram-and-raising-laptop-prices-a3637558313/

18. CNBC, “Smartphone Prices to Rise in 2026 Due to AI-Fueled Chip Shortage,” December 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/16/smartphone-prices-to-rise-in-2026-due-to-ai-fueled-chip-shortage.html

19. NPR, “Memory Loss: As AI Gobbles Up Chips, Prices for Devices May Rise,” December 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/28/nx-s1-5656190/ai-chips-memory-prices-ram

20. International Energy Agency, “Energy Demand from AI,” 2025. https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/energy-demand-from-ai

21. Gartner, “Electricity Demand for Data Centers to Grow 16% in 2025 and Double by 2030,” November 2025. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-11-17-gartner-says-electricity-demand-for-data-centers-to-grow-16-percent-in-2025-and-double-by-2030

22. Bloomberg, “How AI Data Centers Are Sending Your Power Bill Soaring,” 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-data-centers-electricity-prices/

23. Consumer Reports, “AI Data Centers: Big Tech's Impact on Electric Bills, Water, and More,” 2025. https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/

24. World Bank, “Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: Strengthening AI Foundations,” November 2025. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/dptr2025-ai-foundations/report

25. Microsoft, “Global AI Adoption in 2025: A Widening Digital Divide,” January 2026. https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2026/01/08/global-ai-adoption-in-2025/

26. Consumer Technology Association, “How the Proposed Trump Tariffs Increase Prices for Consumer Technology Products,” May 2025. https://www.cta.tech/research/how-the-proposed-trump-tariffs-increase-prices-for-consumer-technology-products-may-2025/

27. The Register, “DRAM Prices Expected to Nearly Double in Q1,” February 2026. https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/02/dram_prices_expected_to_double/

28. Counterpoint Research, via Yahoo Finance, “AI Memory Chip Crunch Emerges as Tech Spending Targets $650 Billion in 2026.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-memory-chip-crunch-emerges-123826248.html

29. Tom's Hardware, “AMD to Allegedly Raise Graphics Card Prices by at Least 10% in 2026,” 2026. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/amd-to-raise-graphics-card-prices-by-at-least-10-percent-in-2026-price-surge-attributed-to-ongoing-ai-related-dram-supply-crisis

30. WCCFTech, “MSI Calls 2026 The 'Most Difficult' Year as It Faces Severe Memory and GPU Shortages,” 2026. https://wccftech.com/msi-calls-2026-the-most-difficult-year-as-it-faces-severe-memory-and-gpu-shortages/

31. Tom's Hardware, “Gamers Face Another Crushing Blow as Nvidia Allegedly Slashes GPU Supply by 20%,” 2026. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/gamers-face-another-crushing-blow-as-nvidia-allegedly-slashes-gpu-supply-by-20-percent-leaker-claims-no-new-geforce-gaming-gpu-until-2027

32. Electropages, “GPU Shortage and Rising Prices Put Pressure on 2026 Supply,” March 2026. https://www.electropages.com/blog/2026/03/fusion-worldwide-gpu-shortage-and-price-increases-2026

33. NielsenIQ, “Beyond New: The Refurbished Tech Opportunity,” 2025. https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2025/beyond-new-the-refurbished-tech-opportunity/

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Tim Green UK-based Systems Theorist & Independent Technology Writer

Tim explores the intersections of artificial intelligence, decentralised cognition, and posthuman ethics. His work, published at smarterarticles.co.uk, challenges dominant narratives of technological progress while proposing interdisciplinary frameworks for collective intelligence and digital stewardship.

His writing has been featured on Ground News and shared by independent researchers across both academic and technological communities.

ORCID: 0009-0002-0156-9795 Email: tim@smarterarticles.co.uk

El cuerpo siempre sabe y el mio ayer no sintió nada que no fuese decepción y desespero.

Rosalía canta muy bien. El sonido me pareció desastroso. Rosalía es guapísima. La escenografía no tiene ni pies ni cabeza. No se puede contar todo todo el tiempo (aunque el tecno botafumeiro me parezca inmejorable).

Rosalía es una genia y parecía infeliz en el escenario. Absolutamente disociada. Hasta los cojones de ser el centro de tantas miradas.

Llenándolo todo de cosas para que no la veamos a ella. Para que no la sintamos a ella. Para que no nos sienta a nosotros. Funciona pero es una mierda.

El problema de ser una artista es que sabes diferenciar perfectamente lo real de lo puramente performativo.

Hay un vacío desesperante, descorazonador, en el teatrillo.

Parece que da todo igual. Que cuela todo. Que el público es incapaz de diferenciar una cosa de otra. De lo que no siempre somos capaces es de nombrarlo. Pero es imposible no sentirlo.

Ayer 17.000 personas se murieron de frío a pesar de sus esfuerzos. Nada pasó arriba y nada pasó abajo. Casi nadie bailaba ni aplaudía ni reía ni se entregaba porque no había nada a lo que entregarse.

Rosalía se arrastraba por el show deseando que acabase. Todo resultaba más bien deprimente. Es peor cuando sabes que quien está ahí arriba tiene la capacidad de ponerte genuinamente del revés y está ahí haciendo ni sé si ella sabe muy bien qué. Algunos le llaman oficio y profesionalidad a esa ejecución absurda de lo mecánico.

Cantar La Perla y estar preocupadísima de no caerte porque el tacón se ha enganchado en el bajo de la falda. Que te importe tres pepinos lo que cantas.

Saber que no estás a tu altura y que eso te pase factura. Acabar diciendo “ojalá haber conseguido transmitir algo, espero que volváis otro día” porque sabes que no has transmitido nada de nada este día.

Que solo en Magnólias has conseguido conectar con algo de lo que te ocurre. Cantar sobre el fracaso. Que alguien se estremezca un poco por fin. Muy poco. Porque falla estrepitosamente el micro blanco (precioso) y tú ni te inmutas. No es profesionalidad. Es que algo te pasa. Que no estás. Que te hemos perdido.

La pregunta es si mañana, los 17.000 que vayan tendrán algo digno o será otro desastre.

O la pregunta es más bien si va a volver la que cantaba a Enrique Iglesias y nos hacia llorar incluso a través de un video guarro en redes.

Y la respuesta es ojalá.

Al arte no se le pueden pedir hojas de reclamaciones. Pero sí una forma de compromiso que va más allá de cubrir un expediente.

No hay diva que soporte 5 shows como el de anoche. No hay público que aguante el aburrimiento de la grisura barroca.

Hoy Lux me gusta menos que ayer. Hoy me alegra que no hiciese bis. Que no cantase el fado. Que no se subiese Silvia Pérez Cruz. Tengo dos clavos a los que agarrarme. Dos clavos absolutamente ateos. Impenitentes. Hedonistas como yo.

Escribo esto mientras Memória me recuerda que incluso las diosas a veces están tristes. Hartas. Y que tenemos la posibilidad de recordar cuando brillaban. Confiando en que vuelvan a brillar.

Carminho en este fado canta pidiendo sinceridad. Creo que es importante escribir esto tan crudo. Esto que me hubiese gustado no sentir.

Para mi es importantísimo porque espero ir un día a ver a Rosalía y salir diciendo que fue la hostia. Que nadie dude de mi palabra. No da todo igual. Y eso es lo único que nos salva siempre. Que las cosas nos importen.

TikTok Video Downloader: A Simple Way to Save Videos Without Watermark

I use TikTok almost daily, and like most people, I often come across videos I want to save. Sometimes it’s a useful tip, sometimes a funny clip, and sometimes something I want to reuse later.

But there’s always one small issue — the watermark.

That’s where a tiktok video downloader becomes really useful.

Why I Started Using a TikTok Video Downloader

At first, I used TikTok’s built-in download option. It works, but every video comes with a watermark. For casual viewing, that’s fine. But if you want to edit the video or repost it somewhere else, the watermark doesn’t look great.

So I started looking for a better way.

A tiktok video downloader solves this problem by letting you save videos without the watermark, and usually in better quality too.

How It Actually Works

The process is surprisingly simple. You don’t need any technical knowledge.

Here’s what I usually do:

Open TikTok and find the video Tap the share button Copy the video link Open a downloader website Paste the link and download

That’s it. No login, no apps, no complicated steps.

What Makes a Good Downloader?

Not all tools are the same. After trying a few, I noticed some things that really matter:

It should download videos without watermark It should be fast It should work on mobile It shouldn’t ask for login It should not be full of annoying ads

If a tool has these features, it’s usually worth using.

When a TikTok Video Downloader is Useful

I’ve personally used it in different situations:

Saving videos to watch offline Editing clips for short videos Keeping content for inspiration Sharing videos on other platforms

It’s especially helpful if you create content regularly.

Is It Safe to Use?

Most downloader tools are safe, but you still need to be careful.

I avoid websites that:

Look spammy Open too many ads Ask for unnecessary permissions

Using a clean and simple site is always the better option.

A Quick Note for Creators

If you’re downloading videos for reuse, always respect the original creator. Give credit when needed. It’s better for long-term growth and avoids problems.

Final Thoughts

A tiktok video downloader is one of those tools you don’t think about at first, but once you start using it, it becomes part of your daily routine.

It saves time, improves quality, and gives you more control over content.

If you watch or create TikTok videos regularly, it’s definitely worth using.

In Summary: * So, today's been April Fools Day. Huh. I seem to have unintentionaly pranked myself by posting a Quick Note to this Roscoe's Story blog earlier today. Oh well, If that's the worst of it, no real harm done. My plan for the rest of the day is to watch old episodes of Classic Doctor Who for a few hours, attend to the night prayers, and retire for the night.

Prayers, etc.: * I have a daily prayer regimen I try to follow throughout the day from early morning, as soon as I roll out of bed, until head hits pillow at night. Details of that regimen are linked to my link tree, which is linked to my profile page here.

Starting Ash Wednesday, 2026, I've added this daily prayer as part of the Prayer Crusade Preceding the 2026 SSPX Episcopal Consecrations.

Health Metrics: * bw= 229.61 lbs. * bp= 145/86 (66)

Exercise: * morning stretches, balance exercises, kegel pelvic floor exercises, half squats, calf raises, wall push-ups

Diet: * 05:20 – nacho chips w, cheese & meat sauce * 12:45 – fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit pie

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 04:00 – listen to local news talk radio * 05:00 – bank accounts activity monitored * 05:20 – read, write, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, nap, * 11:15 – tuned into the pregame show, then the radio call of today's Rangers / Orioles game * 12:45 to 13:45 – watch old game shows and eat lunch at home with Sylvia * 14:10 – and the Orioles win 8 to 3 * 14:15 – listening to the Daily Propers of Mass for Holy Wednesday, April 1st, 2026, according to the 1962 Roman Missal * 16:00 – listen to The Jack Riccardi Show * 17:00 – watching old eps. of Classic Doctor Who

Chess: * 15:40 – moved in all pending CC games

Our Father Who art in Heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil

Amen

Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!

Sexual Awakening

“Why is this making me wet? This isn't Godly!” Izzy didn't pick up the remote. She didn't stop watching. She was actually sad when the music video ended. Before the cut to commercials, she saw something called “Instagram.” Some people at church had mentioned this app, but she didn't pay too much mind. When she tried to install it on her old phone, it was blocked.

“I wonder what else makes me wet. Let's see if I can find anything on Instagram.”

Izzy finally felt free to explore the world without any judgment or shame. She decided to get comfortable. It's going to be along evening going down this rabbit hole. There was just too much to see. Too much to catch up on. Too much to learn. “My Bible might start to collect dust,” she giggled to herself.

She made a beeline right for the good stuff. She saw the rapper's name come up almost instantly, and she was hooked. So much skin. So provocative. So vulgar. So arousing. “This is amazing; I need to keep watching.” Black women of all shapes and sizes are parading their bodies, flaunting, twerking, and commanding presence.

The skimpier the outfit, the wetter she became. “They all look like me but are so different.” Izzy looked down at her conservative dress; not even her ankles were showing.

“I should fix this right now.” In an act of defiance, she didn't just undress; she deliberately ripped her clothing that she had on. She didn't care about the dollar amount; she just wanted out. It was like a ritual of shedding skin. Her sexually fueled thoughts were impulsive and satisfying.

“I think I want to worship these women. They are what I want to be like; they can wear clothes. I should be naked in their presence.”

She was escalating further and further quite quickly. She's been alone for only a few hours, and now she's naked in her apartment with her legs spread and her wet pussy throbbing. She's not eaten; she's not even bothered to return her missed calls.

“I don't want to touch myself just yet. I can wait a little while longer for the right time.”

Her years of denying her sexual urges made her a natural at orgasm and sexual impulse control. The very fact she could be openly naked for hours outside of her bathroom was liberating. Everything about moving out was liberating.

Izzy could finally learn who she was exactly. Apparently she was sexually aroused by women barely dressed on the internet for all to see. As the algorithm caught up with her, she started checking other provocative content. Black women with unnaturally long tongues drooling; women doing sexually suggestive behaviors with things she didn't quite understand yet. (they were dildos hidden to avoid censorship).

Then as she got deeper, she saw her first hint of full nudity. It was just a glimpse, but a woman flashed her pussy and tits, and then a sound came up that said “goon.”

She watched the video over and over again. Out of instinct, she started air humping.. “Goon? What is that?” This black model had a different social media link. She followed it to a page with other links. She recognized. Instagram, but she saw other links she didn't know. “What's X and what's OnlyFans?” Izzy needed to know. She needed to see more.

That glimpse of nudity lit a fire under her.

Izzy was slowly getting addicted to porn.

El siguiente artículo es una pequeña entrada de un diario ficticio, especulativo, que no escribe Paula si no Kaniq: Un personaje nómada entre las montañas de Sierra Nevada del futuro. Su tribu, las Hijas de la Nieve, tienen diversas tradiciones, entre ellas tejer pero lo más importante, hacer como que tejen, o también tejer sin motivo.

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El anudado y entrelazado de hilo es un lenguaje fundamental, incluso si no tenemos ese hilo, ni ningún torpe sucedáneo hecho de las tiras de tallos bajo la nieve. No son necesarios, sólo hace falta ver la suave danza de despedida antes de un viaje: trazar los hilos del propio destino para llevarnos lejos. Los dedos no danzan aleatoriamente (aunque las niñas jueguen a bailar y olviden donde dejaron sus hilos invisibles del aire), entrelazan lo que sólo pueden ver los ojos de una.

Siempre llevo encima una bolsa con pequeñas cuentas metálinas, unas doradas y otras azules, que su madre-vientre me había regalado. Como cualquier Hija de la Nieve entrando en la adultez, realmente no me hacen falta porque mis ojos cazan rápido el patrón del anudado y mi mente memoriza ideas para nuevos patrones, pero es relajante tomar notas sobre el tejido. Antes de anudar, con hilo blanco anoto los dos patrones básicos, como me enseñaron de niña.

Me preparo, colocando estacas en el suelo para sujetar un extremo del telar y anudando firmemente el otro extremo a modo de cinturón. Me siento de rodillas, tengo al lado una pequeña bolsa con todo lo necesario.

Para empezar, antes de lanzar, anudo un hilo blanco en un extremo, coloco una cuenta dorada. Un nudo más: coloco el patrón dorado-azul-dorado. Suena la voz de Hamda – mi hermana mayor- en mi cabeza, repitiendo “siempre empezamos por el dorado, atrapamos la vista”.

Otro hilo blanco nuevo, anudo, coloco esta vez una cuenta azul, anudo de nuevo. Coloco entonces el patrón dorado-azul-azul-dorado.

Con esto ya tengo preparadas las notas de rigor sobre los dos patrones básicos.

Empujo la primera línea del lanzador y la devuelvo, para anudar el siguiente hilo rojo al extremo de la primera línea. en este, anotaré la alternancia de los dos patrones definidos antes en los hilos blancos. Una cuenta dorada sobre el hilo rojo, simboliza el patrón que he usado al lanzar la primera línea, una cuenta dorada más para indicar que he usado ese patrón para volver. Así coloco varias, dorada, azul, azul, dorada, dorada, dorada, azul, dorada. Ya tengo mi patrón planteado. ¡Ah! aquí está la belleza, ye s que a la mitad cambio mi patrón, y para ello tengo que hacer nuedos nuevos, rojos y azules: rojos que me indican lo que ocurre a la izquierda del telar y azul que ocurre a la derecha desde el nudo. Mi madre-corazón me explicó que aquí había belleza: el destino planteado puede cambiarse y aún así se puede plasmar y tejer. Crear patrones para luego romperlos, en el momento más bello, como oír una avalancha a lo lejos a sabiendas que estás a salvo. Rompes y creas a la vez.