Let’s do it again, friends: get stoned and listen to my thoughts on season 2, episode 2!

• Anthony and benedict are getting shaved and all i hear is the sweeney todd pipes
• kate in this beautiful jewel-toned bridgerton blue 💙
• Anthony obviously in love with kate while actively trying to court edwina. His cocky little smile kills me
• Lmfao “i cannot think of any cleverer way to say this, but noooo”
• Pen: goddamn it eloise i did exactly what you wanted and you still criticize LW
• The look colin gives pen 💗 theyve done a great job building up the polin romance
• I also hate guns and hunting and would be pissed as fuck if some dude comes in my home and starts hanging that ugly shit
• I’m honestly really happy phili gets a love match with finch
• Lord lumley seems sweet honestly. And he’s right, poetry is better read aloud. Its a type of song really. I hate that poetry is usually taught to kids by reading it silently or reading it aloud in class for the first time without any idea how to intonate or understand what theyre expressing. I had the opportunity to see a shakespeare play performed before i had read or even heard of the story and i was shocked that i was able to understand it and enjoy it. I was like why isnt this how we do it always??
• sorry i have half an english degree and i’m a real pain in the ass about it
• Also btw has anyone read the book much ado about mean girls? Its mean girls but written in shakespearean style. Its a hoot if you’re also a nerd like me
• Ok sorry back to bridgerton. I paused it for so long to type all that my tv went to screensaver mode
• Was mr dorset earnest in trying to meet with kate or was it actually orchestrated by anthony?
• I also prefer a warm spicy chai to a milky black tea
• Benedict to mondrich: sorry anthony’s an ass, I am not tho, please tell me more
• Eloise has another ribbon hat contraption. This one is like a straw beret
• I think its a bit of a weird styling choice for eloise to wear these ribbon head things. They dont offer any practicality: they dont keep her hair up or out of her face, they dont keep her head warm or shield her from the sun. they seem to be purely decorative and i feel like eloise would just rather nothing than something simply pretty
• I liked the look she had in colins return scene when it was just pinned to the side. I feel like that would be her go to
• Edwina trying so hard to hook kate up and get her off her back
• Pen is so clever. Eloise literally tells her, look i figured out where you print your LWs and pen just smirks and el goes oh your right im acting silly
• A & K arguing about the horses and once again the chemistry is so damn oobvious i’m surprised the whole of the stands isnt shouting get a room
• Lol i just noticed lumley brings back 2 cups (presumably for edwina and kate) and anthony takes kates
• The look he gives her when she whistles…boy is S M I T T E N
• Stop hollerin like a newsboy - i say this to my dog when hes outside barking at the neighbor
• Eloise finding a locked door in a place she’s not supposed to be, knocking on the door, and then immediately bothering the first person she sees is just a perfect example of her character lol
• The new lord featherington is like fuuuuck i thought this was m lucky break but i’m screwed
• Love QCs colorful wigs. Were the ornate wigs back then different colors? I can only picture them in white
• This is the first time kate’s not in blue. We’re coming out of our bridgerton blue and into our purples era. Purple represents royalty, opulence, ambition, and power. Edwina is in pink almost exclusively. Pink represents young love, girlhood, innocence
• “You are the one who is always right” benedict is good with the quick comebacks
• “Why should i be the one to admit defeat??” aka her sister hates me but i love her so im not giving in
• Zeh-bruhs
• anthony showing up with that horse is like mentioning you liked curious george and him showing up with a chimpanzee. Never gift a pet/live animal
• I like that mondrich is like fuck that snobby other club, i’m opening my own place with blackjack and hookers
• Anthony doesnt get invited to one party and he’s like WOW rude
• Time for the loser suitor show
• Surprised none of these losers did a stand up act
• Poor pen so sick of yellow. We’re gonna add that bridgerrton blue soon and see you in beautiful greens 💚
• Colin being the corniest: I really got to know someone i didn’t know at all: me
• colin to pen: you’re not a woman, youre my friend. I dont find you worth loving or fucking
• Lady F would have been happy to scheme with jack and get the cowpers money. Shed probaby end up killing cressi somehow
• Lol i love what a critic of the arts benedict is. a true artist
• i read somewhere once that its a staple of the regency romance to diss byron because he was a very popular poet at the time, so its kind of like yeah i'm a corny romantic type but i'm a cool corny romantic type. i dont like whats on the radio, i have good taste
• Anthony to benedict. Write that shit down write that shit down
• Anthony was definitely the “can i copy your homework” kid
• Anthony: you forgot to invite me. That was your mistake right? Im obviously supposed to be here??
• Literally speechless when he sees kate
• Anthony: I might not be able to give you romance, but i can take care of you and give you a happy life. Kate: you hear that shit? He’ll never love her what a pig
• Kate is treating the ton the way i treated my last job. I dont care if they like me, i’m here for the money
• Penelope once again being a shrewd business woman. Give me the discount to keep me away lol
• QC literally has no idea who pen is lol

My 7 year old has a classmate (same grade different class) who also plays in a few local sports teams who has cerebral palsy.
They have gone to school together and played on the same rec soccer team and tball/baseball league for 2 years now. At first he had lots of question as this boy was likely the first differently able child he’s been around. I felt nothing out of the ordinary. I explained that everyone is born different and differently abled. And how it’s great we can included him in sports and most school activities. He also has an uncle with ASD and an uncle with MS, one being mentally differently able and one being physically. So I tried to draw parallels there.
Last year we got a note from a teacher my son was mocking him and poking fun of him with other kids, we talked about how mean it was to act like that, and I had him write a letter apologizing to the parents and the boy. The parents were great and understanding. I thought maybe this was behind us.
This year he is playing against him in soccer and baseball and my son was very irritated that he got special treatment and was allowed to make kicks with out any defense around and how in baseball they let him run the bases and hit off the tee with out being out.
Last night his baseball coach catches him in the dugout mocking him and making fun of him with other kids. my son orchestrated and started it. They sat him out the rest of the game, and when his dad and I got home we were extremely displeased and let him know that and we sent him straight to bed.
My husband wants to pull him from baseball for the rest of the season. We just don’t get it, our son is held accountable, gets a lot of positive reinforcement and attention. He helps and is so sweet with his baby cousins and has never made a comment about his uncles and thier different abilities. We don’t bully or make comments about anyone’s bodies or differences .
Is there anything else we should do? Is my kid just an asshole??? The thought of my son being a bully makes me sick.

I recently started a college course that teaches beginner java. Wow I am hooked now! I have finished all of the assignments due and decided I wanted to experiment and write my own code outside of the class just for fun and growth. So far I have been able to apply what I have learned to make the first aspect of my code successful but I'm getting pretty hung up on the second part.
I'm writing a program that will ideally calculate the number of fish needed for someone to reach level 99 fishing in RuneScape. So far within the console I've been able to prompt the user to enter their current xp as in integer and the program will then output the xp remaining to reach level 99. After that the console then prompts the user to enter the type of fish.
This is where I'm stuck. Ideally I want the user to be able to simply type the name of the fish and have the program calculate the number needed (each type of fish has a specific xp value) to reach level 99. My question is: How do I accept user input in the form of a word that will have a numerical value assigned to it?
runescapeFishing

Hey everyone. I graduated a little under a year ago and have been working full-time ever since. My team transitioned from Java to Kotlin about six months ago, and what an absolute joy it has been working in Kotlin.
We're doing a lot of new development, and I’ve found myself unsure about the proper way to structure an application. I understand that the right structure is the one used within the company to maintain consistency. While I want to stay consistent with the company, I also want to learn the "right" way and potentially bring new knowledge to the team.
Yesterday, I spent a few hours creating a simple API project that connects to and uses a database. The goal was to learn how to properly structure an application like this while referring to documentation, write-ups, and tutorials.
I wanted to learn the proper:

• Folder structure
• Naming conventions
• Design principles
• Readability and maintainability

With some conflicting information and my lack of experience, it was difficult to make qualified decisions. I'm left with a project that I find hard to validate in terms of good structure and what could (and should) be improved.
Here are some questions I ran into during development that I couldn't find concrete answers to:

1. Should routes be structured so that each subroute is located inside its own subfolder, or should they be kept in one file with all routes included?
2. When using a data class for models, what's the best way to reuse classes? For example, if we have a superclass, Product, and I want a Book to inherit the properties from Product, what's the preferred way, especially when these need to be serializable too?
3. SOLID principles, at any cost? I found that for smaller projects, SOLID seems to introduce more boilerplate code. How do you know if SOLID is overkill for an application?

I hope this post fits this subreddit. Feel free to have a look at the project and use it for reference.

Okay, so I think y'all are gonna need some context first. I (15M, a few months away from turning 16) have a brother (18M), let's call him Greg (obviously NOT his real name). 2 years ago, I accidentally saw Greg's twitter profile and questioned the fact that his pronouns were She/her, which unsurprisingly puzzled me as I had no idea why. After a quick conversation on discord, as to not raise hell from my parents (now 52M and 53F), he confessed to feeling like he wanted to be a woman. Now bear in mind, I respected it and didn't give two craps, I was never too close with my family (nothing extreme though) and couldn't care less. I think it was a few weeks later, 1 or 2 i think, my mother found out. I do believe he told her himself, maybe knowing she wasn't gonna be the first to realize what was going on. And here's where crap hit the fan, you could say, as it started a living hell.
Something people might not know about my parents is, they are VERY stubborn on their ways (a.k.a. their old-as-heck mindset), and my mother didn't exactly like the idea that my brother was trans (oh yeah, he later admitted that same day that he liked both genders, but nobody cared about it as much, Greg included). My mother did ask for my opinion but I said "I dont care what Greg does with his life, it means nothing to me. As long as you stay out of my way, I'm fine with whatever happens. Though, I do kinda get where he's coming from, I wont intervene", and proceeded to leave to my room as it truly meant nothing.
Or so I thought, because a few months later, Greg was bold enough to come to me, clearly stating he wanted me to give him my old phone (an old Alcatel that could barely use WhatsApp and didn't even have a touchscreen, that was my first phone before my actual iPhone 6s I got from backmarket). He intended to sell his iPhone 7 for money to get himself private health care (in my country, public health care IS free but my parents were in control), obviously behind my parents' backs, and he also tried selling me his laptop (which did just recently get passed down to me but for free AND better reasons) with a BROKEN BATTERY for $200. Guys, the damn battery fix costs, and Greg told me that himself, ANOTHER 50 DOLLARS. All I could think was "Is this moron effing joking?", but no he was not and he insisted, but he went back empty-handed and I had a cool threat under my belt in case I needed it. I thought of it like that mainly because of how paranoid I am, and I always like to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Coincidentally, that came like a month later when I was summoned to an exceptionally rare (and awkward ngl) family meeting discussing Greg's feelings and, after a year of me finding out, revealed the truth to my father. As a backup plan, I picked up the Alcatel and stuff it into my pocket just in case (and that, everyone, is why you need to have pockets in your clothes at all times). Sure, I didn't use it, but I was ready to. My father was pretty much mortified at the revelation. And while my father is a great manipulator and always says thing with the intent to trick Greg and me, I did empathize with him a fair bit, honestly.
After this day, we entered what I will call the Horror Year, filled with constant arguing between parents and Greg, and them venting it all out on me. Now before you comment how "you could've done the same", no I could not, my one and only best friend deserves WAY better than getting even slightly involved in this BS. So I ended up holding everything to myself, seeing how my brother cried and my parents yelled at him or even hit him on one occasion (boy was that loud, I heard that with my headphones on but thankfully wasnt a strong swing) and hearing them all vent their crap on ME, my brother telling me how "my parents should un-alive", or "how they suck and wont help me recover my mental health and study what I want" (he wants to get into gamedev in Japan) or even how "they'd rather buy me a car before helping me achieve my dreams" (both cost around the same according to Greg and his internet research bs), and hearing my parents say how "you both can do whatever you want here in your country better than abroad" (most likely false especially in gamedev, by the way) or how "he's just throwing a tantrum" and that "he's just an inexperienced brat who has no idea about life and how hard real life is". They are also the kinda parents that never understood things like us appreciating our videogame save files and considering games something more than a "just for a little bit of time" kinda hobby. That is especially true for me. They even say that nothing in my house is mine, but rather that all of it is THEIRS and THEY are letting us BORROW our computers and stuff, coz THEY paid for it so THEY own it and THEY should be able to use our computers (especially mine apparently) anytime they want it with or without our consent or knowledge. of course they cant as my user has a huge password LOL. But yeah, you get the idea of just how everyone here acts.
To be frank with y'all, I'm starting to lose it. A few days ago, my brother went to an appointment with the doctor to get his treatment and was told there were health risks (very low according to Greg, decently important according to my parents) and to also attend a psychologist (he cried cuz of all that, like LEGIT crying). Actually that all happened yesterday as of writing. Now, I'm losing my patience and told my mother to "not be surprised if one day my mind shuts down and I hurt someone here, coz I just might if you a**holes dont effing stop this BS". I seriously might just blow up, and I think my wooden katana I have for martial arts classes wont like it too much when I do blow up. Not only am I scared that my family dividing might affect me, but I also resent them all for making me suffer in a broken home, all by myself with NOONE to trust. I have the power to try and manipulate the situation a little bit but I dont know how. Cn anyone help me?
P.S.: I told my parents I wanted them to let Greg do it before his appointment with the doctor, mainly coz I want him to learn the hard way if he ends up regretting his choice just the same way I learnt from my own mistakes. Still dont care about his or my parent's feelings though.
TL;DR: My trans brother is causing hell in my family and they all vent on ME, now I'm stuck in a very annoying situation. What do I do now?

I know this subreddit gets oversaturated with these posts but I was really hoping to get some honest feedback on what I should do for this cycle :( I just got my MCAT retake score back and unfortunately it’s not as good as I was hoping it would be, but I still plan on applying this cycle to both DO and MD schools.
For context: I'm an ORM; I majored in biomedical sciences & minored in psychology, graduated in 2022 with a 3.35 cGPA and a 3.2 sGPA with a slight upward trend. Latest MCAT score is a 507 (125/128/126/128) which is not as high as I was hoping to get but 🤷🏾‍♀️
I feel like I have a pretty strong theme of communication/language, interpersonal relationships, & community involvement in my app. I'm also very confident in my writing skills, so I'm not too worried about writing a good personal statement. If it helps, one of my LOR writers is a prof whose class I ended up having to retake since I got a much lower grade the first time.
I guess my 3 main questions are: 1) Should I retake the MCAT for a 3rd time? 2) Is it worth trying to do a postbacc or SMP to improve my gpa before applying? 3) What MD schools would be good fits for my gpa/mcat range? For context, here are my stats:
Research experience

• 3500+ hours working full-time in a neuroscience research lab at one of my state's medical schools; 1 pub as a middle author & at least 1 more pub coming probably in the middle of application season. During the cycle I hope to submit an abstract / present a poster to an upcoming conference!

Clinical experience

• 900 hours working as a medical assistant in a psychiatric clinic; I helped administer TMS therapy to patients! I quit this job to work as a research tech, but I really loved this job so once apps are submitted I'm planning to start working here again part-time while also doing my research job part-time.
  
• 400 hours volunteering in our hospital's post-anesthesia care unit
  
• 300 hours volunteering at a free clinic that works with underserved populations
  
• 200 hours volunteering in hospice with dementia/Alzheimer's patients
  

Other experiences

• Volunteering at my temple (~200ish hours)
  
• E-board member for one of my undergrad's mental health awareness clubs (~100ish hours)
  
• Social media chair for my undergrad's pre-health fraternity (~50ish hours)
  
• Website manageevents coordinator for my undergrad's TEDx chapter (~50ish hours)
  
• Co-captain of one of my undergrad's dance teams (~500ish hours).
  
• I also took classical dance lessons growing up for about 6 years and since "graduating" out of the school, I've helped teach classes for the younger kids. (no idea how to calculate the hours for this)
  

Shadowing

• 32 hours neurosurgery (MD)
  
• 32 hours anesthesiology (MD)
  
• 20 hours dermatology (MD)
  

-16 hours hematology/oncology (DO)
-16 hours primary care (DO)
School List [so far]
I used admit.org to start building a school list and out of what they gave me, I’m for sure applying to these schools (and my in-state MD schools):
-Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
-NYIT-COM
-LECOM
-Touro COM
-PCOM

Long post ahead, advice would be much appreciated,
My current setup for university consists of an iPhone 11 and a non-touchscreen Acer laptop Intel i5 I bought back in September 2021. This situation is more than capable of managing my workflow, in every aspect except pen-to-paper note taking.
I've been looking into ways to digitise my notes via a pencil and touchscreen for a while, and I've been tempted by the iPad lineup; The iPad Mini 6 for its portability, and essential function as a small digital notebook for my classes, but also the iPad Air 6 for its ability to be used as both a tablet and pseudo-laptop with stage manager and the magic keyboard.
Whilst I wouldn't hesitate to get one of these for the benefits it would provide in class, my laptop, although only around 2-3 years old, will occasionally have sporadic periods of slowness, followed by audio chugging, and then it will return to normal. This usually happens after I have had it on for a good few hours and have been doing heavy multi tasking.
Apart from this, my laptop runs absolutely perfectly for my needs, and has no other issues. My laptop is not touchscreen but I have seen that Windows tablets are becoming more popular recently. How does the the tablet/notetaking experience on windows compare to the apple equivalent?
This is my dilemma, should I:
A) Buy an iPad Air, utilise its writing capabilities, laptop-like ability, and syncing with my iPhone, and just hope my laptop can last another few years before needing a replacement.
B) Buy an iPad Mini, save some money, use its portability and note-taking functions, and hold off on getting another non-touchscreen laptop later this year or early next year.
B) Hold off on the iPads entirely and instead look for hybrid laptops, which can work as both a note-taking tablet and a laptop, even though my Acer laptop still has a good few years left on it. (suggestions welcome, I've heard the surface pro or go's are supposed to be good)
My budget is whereabouts £600 (roughly $750) but there is leeway for more expensive things if you think it would be worth it.
Thank you for reading and thank you for the responses in advance.

Long post ahead, advice would be much appreciated,
My current setup for university consists of an iPhone 11 and a non-touchscreen Acer laptop Intel i5 I bought back in September 2021. This situation is more than capable of managing my workflow, in every aspect except pen-to-paper note taking.
I've been looking into ways to digitise my notes via a pencil and touchscreen for a while, and I've been tempted by the iPad lineup; The iPad Mini 6 for its portability, and essential function as a small digital notebook for my classes, but also the iPad Air 6 for its ability to be used as both a tablet and pseudo-laptop with stage manager and the magic keyboard.
Whilst I wouldn't hesitate to get one of these for the benefits it would provide in class, my laptop, although only around 2-3 years old, will occasionally have sporadic periods of slowness, followed by audio chugging, and then it will return to normal. This usually happens after I have had it on for a good few hours and have been doing heavy multi tasking.
Apart from this, my laptop runs absolutely perfectly for my needs, and has no other issues. My laptop is not touchscreen but I have seen that Windows tablets are becoming more popular recently. How does the the tablet/notetaking experience on windows compare to the apple equivalent?
This is my dilemma, should I:
A) Buy an iPad Air, utilise its writing capabilities, laptop-like ability, and syncing with my iPhone, and just hope my laptop can last another few years before needing a replacement.
B) Buy an iPad Mini, save some money, use its portability and note-taking functions, and hold off on getting another non-touchscreen laptop later this year or early next year.
B) Hold off on the iPads entirely and instead look for hybrid laptops, which can work as both a note-taking tablet and a laptop, even though my Acer laptop still has a good few years left on it. (suggestions welcome, I've heard the surface pro or go's are supposed to be good)
My budget is whereabouts £600 (roughly $750) but there is leeway for more expensive things if you think it would be worth it.
Thank you for reading and thank you for the responses in advance.

I literally have no one else to vent to so I'm gonna write this here. Well pretty much the title. I'm from India and here in college all branches have common subjects. So the first years are divided randomly into sections instead of their core branches/disciplines. We were in the same section. We randomly met and became friends. Then we became close friends. It was the first time someone showed so much affection to me. The way we spent hours together daily. The way she would skip over to the empty seat beside me before it was taken. Then we were seperated by our branches, meaning other than one common class, we didn't have any classes together. But we only grew stronger. We dated for almost 2 years. Reached levels of intimacy to the point there really wasn't any private space between us. And comes another guy, let's call him "S", into the picture. One day she tells me that S likes her and she gets uncomfortable from the attention she gets from him. I say I want to confront him but she keeps me from doing so as S is a dear friend to her. I didn't think much about it as she was someone I trusted with my life. I should point out that the 2 years we were together, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. We went through many fights and arguments. Ig she got closer to S during these times. Come April, we had our college fest. On the final night of fest we snuck out and went over to the less populated areas of the campus and made out. Then we spent about an hour with my head on her lap talking about things. I was sure this was it. The turning point from which everything would only get better. How fucking wrong I was. 3 days later I get a call from her, which by itself felt weird cause 90% of the time I initiated the calls, and she tells me S kissed her. I was dumbstruck. We kept talking and ultimately I asked her to make a choice between him and me. Ig most of you would have seen this coming (I didn't but no surprise there) but she chose to end things with me then and there. The entirety of the time between Jan to April, she must've told me she loved me atleast 10 times. And then she does this. To make it worse we had our finals that week itself. Needless to say I fucked it up, probably gonna fail a few subjects. But me being the weak pathetic fuck I am, kept begging her to talk things out and meet atleast once. Today (May) she says she might start a relationship with him. I'm honestly surprised beyond what I can described with words. It's like the girl I loved and treasured with my life died and there was an imposter in her stead. Because the girl I knew wouldn't break up with someone over text. She wouldn't act like this and she definitely wouldn't date someone else after saying "I love you" to someone within one month. This is honestly gut wrenching and I don't know if I'll ever date again.
Thank you for spending time out your life to listen to my little tragedy.
TLDR: My gf of two years dumped me and is looking to get into her next relationship within one month of the breakup

So, whenever questions like "what are your hobbies" or "what do you do in your free time" come up, I have a hard time answering. I'm a massive geek, and I'm really into stuff like video games, comics, anime/manga, Star Wars, etc. But I feel like that's not what a lot of people think of when they think of hobbies. You'll see it all the time online, people telling people who like things like video games to "get a real hobby" or something like that. And a lot of it has become my aestetic too. I'm known for wearing cool button up shirts, mainly with my geeky interests on them, as well as stuff like earrings and necklaces of the same nature.
Also, I think this is my autism/ADHD at play, but I'll sometimes struggle to get myself to do my hobbies. I'll be like "I could be reading comics or manga right now" but just won't. When I do, I love it, but for some reason, it's hard to get myself too. With video games, it's a special thing. I almost exclusively play single player games, and I'll play one at a time, and in my sort of journal thing, I'll often describe the events of what happened in the game if I played it that day, and I'll even give a set of 2 or 3 days a title like it's an episode of TV, based on things that happened in my day and what happened in the game, and it's fun to come up with a clever title.
I also create stories a lot. I say that instead of calling myself a writer cuse the vast majority of it is just in my head or in notes, I don't often enjoy the process of writing it down in something like a novel or script format, i just like coming up with the characters, setting, plot, etc.
There's a good amount of stuff I'd like to get into, but I just can't afford it. Like, I'm super skinny, and I thought kickboxing or boxing classes would be a good way to get some muscle, but I just can't afford it.
Despite how I'm making it sound, I'm actually a really happy and positive person😂, but I dunno, do you think I need better hobbies? How do I answer the question "what do you do in your free time?"
(Sorry this is so long btw, lol)

We've been having conversations in my Department about what we teach, as everyone sets their own syllabi. I tend to be one of the lower rated Professors and I was at peace with that...
... Until I found out what my colleagues teach. In my intro course I have students read and critique academic articles and apply this through policy and academic writing assignments.
The other people who teach intro courses in my area don't do any of that. One only assigns the textbook, so the readings are a lot easier. The other does that and doesn't even have any writing.
The students like both of their classes more. I just assumed they were better teachers, and maybe they are, but this disparity in what we expect has to be part of it.
I think students should learn how to read and apply academic scholarship so won't stop doing this. But for annual assessments and promotion my evals are compared to others in the Department and I just don't think that is fair.
Should I defend my approach in my assessments, or is that too defensive?

Enhancing User Management in Laravel

In the ever-evolving landscape of web development, ensuring the authenticity and security of user data is paramount. Laravel 10, the latest iteration of the widely acclaimed PHP framework, continues to offer robust features for developers aiming to streamline user management processes. One such feature is the ability to display a verification status on user profiles, a critical component for platforms requiring verified email addresses for enhanced security and user trust. This functionality not only reinforces the integrity of the user base but also significantly improves user experience by providing clear communication regarding account status.
Implementing a permanent email verification status within Laravel 10 requires a nuanced understanding of its authentication and verification systems. The framework's built-in support for user authentication, coupled with its flexible and straightforward verification process, allows developers to seamlessly integrate email verification indicators into user profiles. This guide aims to navigate through the technicalities of setting up such a feature, exploring the necessary steps to modify Laravel's default user authentication flow to include permanent email verification status display. The focus will be on leveraging Laravel's existing infrastructure to achieve a secure and efficient implementation.

Command	Description
User::find(1)->hasVerifiedEmail()	Checks if the user with ID 1 has a verified email.
Auth::user()->markEmailAsVerified()	Marks the currently authenticated user's email as verified.
event(new Verified($user))	Dispatches an event after a user's email is marked as verified.

Enhancing Email Verification in Laravel

Email verification is a crucial step in ensuring that users provide a valid email address during registration. It serves multiple purposes, including reducing the chance of spam accounts, improving security by verifying the identity of the user, and enhancing communication effectiveness by ensuring that emails reach their intended recipients. In Laravel 10, the framework provides built-in support for email verification through its authentication scaffolding, making it easier for developers to implement this feature without having to write extensive custom code. This built-in feature automatically sends a verification email when a new user registers and provides a route for the user to confirm their email address.
Customizing the email verification process in Laravel 10 allows developers to tailor the experience to the specific needs of their application. This can include customizing the verification email template to match the application's branding, modifying the verification logic to include additional checks or steps, and even extending the default user model to include email verification status as a permanent feature on the user's profile. Implementing a permanent email verification status on user profiles requires understanding of Laravel's user authentication flow, including how to work with middleware, events, and listeners to efficiently manage and display the user's verification status. By leveraging Laravel's flexible architecture, developers can create a more secure, user-friendly application that clearly communicates the user's email verification status, enhancing the overall user experience.

Displaying Email Verification Status

Laravel Blade Template Syntax

 
 @if(Auth::user()->hasVerifiedEmail()) Your email is verified.
 u/else Your email is not verified.
 @endif 
 

Marking Email as Verified Upon User Action

Laravel Controller Method

 public function verifyUserEmail(Request $request) { $user = Auth::user(); if (!$user->hasVerifiedEmail()) { $user->markEmailAsVerified(); event(new \Illuminate\Auth\Events\Verified($user)); } return redirect()->to('/home')->with('status', 'Email verified!'); } 

Exploring Email Verification in Laravel 10

Email verification is a crucial feature in modern web applications, ensuring that users have access to the email addresses they register with. Laravel 10 simplifies this process with its built-in support for user authentication, including email verification. This feature allows developers to protect routes and functionalities from being accessed by unverified users, enhancing the security and integrity of the application. By default, Laravel includes a trait that can be used within the User model to enable these verification features, making it straightforward to implement and customize according to the application's needs.
The process of integrating email verification within a Laravel project involves modifying the User model, setting up routes, and creating controllers and views to handle the verification process. Laravel's built-in notification system is utilized to send verification emails, which can be customized to fit the look and feel of the application. This comprehensive approach ensures that users can verify their email addresses seamlessly, improving the overall user experience. Additionally, developers can extend or modify the default behavior to accommodate more complex requirements, such as verifying emails with third-party services or implementing additional checks before marking an email as verified.

Frequently Asked Questions About Email Verification in Laravel

1. Question: Is email verification required in Laravel 10?
2. Answer: While not mandatory, email verification is highly recommended for applications that require validated user data for security and functionality purposes.
3. Question: Can I customize the verification email template in Laravel?
4. Answer: Yes, Laravel allows you to customize the email template by modifying the notification class that handles email verification.
5. Question: How does Laravel handle email verification internally?
6. Answer: Laravel uses a middleware to check the email verification status of a user and a notification system to send verification emails using customizable mailables.
7. Question: Can I resend the verification email to a user?
8. Answer: Yes, you can trigger the resend functionality using Laravel's built-in methods or by implementing custom logic in your controller.
9. Question: How do I redirect users after email verification?
10. Answer: Laravel allows you to define a redirection path after email verification through the RouteServiceProvider or directly within the verification notification class.
11. Question: What happens if a user tries to access a route requiring verification without being verified?
12. Answer: Laravel will automatically redirect the user to a specified path, often the login page, with an error message indicating the need for verification.
13. Question: Can I use third-party services for email verification with Laravel?
14. Answer: Yes, Laravel's flexible architecture allows you to integrate third-party verification services by customizing the verification process.
15. Question: Is it possible to verify user emails without sending them an email?
16. Answer: While unconventional, you can manually mark a user's email as verified in the database or through a custom admin interface without sending an email.
17. Question: How do I ensure that email verification links are secure?
18. Answer: Laravel generates secure, signed URLs for email verification links, making them tamper-resistant and secure for users to click on.

Wrapping Up Email Verification in Laravel 10

Email verification plays a pivotal role in securing user accounts and enhancing the overall integrity of web applications. Laravel 10, with its extensive support for user authentication and verification, provides a robust framework for developers to implement these features seamlessly. The process, while straightforward, offers flexibility for customization and adaptation to specific application needs. Through the use of middleware, notifications, and custom routes, Laravel ensures a user-friendly and secure verification process. The benefits of implementing email verification are manifold, including reduced fraudulent activities, increased user trust, and improved data integrity. By following the guidelines and practices outlined in this guide, developers can effectively implement and manage email verification in their Laravel 10 applications, paving the way for more secure and user-centric web platforms.
https://www.tempmail.us.com/en/laravel/implementing-permanent-email-verification-status-on-user-profiles-in-laravel-10

I’ve always been really into ghost stories, or urban legends in general. The White Lady, haunted dolls, vampires, black eyed children, that kind of stuff. I know that, today, people my age aren’t big fans of that kind of horror anymore, preferring it things like the Backrooms, analog horror, all the new kinds of scary media. Honestly, I get it, things do need to evolve, and when we see everything that’s happening in the world, it’s understandable that a good old ghost story don’t do the job anymore.

Still, the “old fashioned” horror (it’s not that old, but things move fast on the internet) is always my jam. I grew up watching youtubers investigating haunted places, ghost hunting, with all their accessories, EMF meters, their little radio thing that they use to listen to radio frequencies so that they can hear any interference, their antenna that beeps when something approaches it, voice recorders, special flashlights, and let me tell you that all this, it was doing it for me.

So, since my, probably 7 years, I dreamt of doing these things myself. Of course, I tried everything a young boy is able to do, like Ouija or stupidly walking around my house with my phone filming, hoping that some random deceased person with unfinished business will show up to, I don’t know, have a chat. I wish I could say that other people’s judgement doesn’t affect me, but that would be a lie, so, going in to high school, I had to socially tone down my interest for those things in order to have friends. None of my friends and classmates knew about my persisting passion for ghosts and creepy stories.

I realize that keeping this such a secret is a bit ridiculous, especially approaching my 18^th birthday, but, you know, it would be even weirder to reveal it after hiding it for almost 6 years like it was something super taboo. So here I was, I started hiding my passion at 12 to avoid other’s judging it, and I’m now still hiding it at 17 to avoid others judging the fact that I hid it… A bit pathetic I got to admit.

Anyway, everything started a few days ago. I have an art history class at school and the teacher really likes to give us big works of research. This time, he had a new idea, the whole class will be divided into groups of two, and each group will receive a building from our city that the teacher had choose for his architectural and artistic interests, and we’ll have to give it a visit and write an analysis on the different things we’ll notice and link it to what we saw in class. Since all the buildings were not public places, he had asked the authorization of every property’s owner.

Honestly, this could have been worse. This actually sounded kinda cool to do. Now, what I was concerned about was who will be my partner. Obviously, I was hoping for one of my friends. After explaining the rules and exact instructions for the work, he started to announce the groups. I was waiting to hear my name, anxious, as all my friends were slowly starting to be put into their groups.

“Joshua!” The teacher said (yeah that’s my name). “You will be with…” I was holding on to my chair. “… Elizabeth!”

I turned to Elizabeth, and we looked at each other. Neither one of us seemed excited. It wasn’t a terrible pair, I thought to myself, I just didn’t know what to think of it exactly. Elizabeth was a pretty popular girl, not that I was an outcast or anything, but she was still way more popular than me. I didn’t know much more about her, despite the fact that we were in the same class since my first year of high school, but it looked like she was going to be an okay partner.

The teacher then gave us our building. I won’t reveal the real name of what he gave us so I’ll call it “Guaraldi’s Street 22”. Apparently, it was a pretty old house that had somewhat of an historic value to it. The teacher gave us some information so we wouldn’t stumble there without any prior knowledge. The owner was an old woman who had always lived there. She was apparently very glad to open her doors to young students and was ready to answer any questions we could have. He warned us that she had a weak audition and that we would have to speak loudly. The teacher then recommended us to do a little bit of research before going there, so we could already have some idea of where we were entering.

I then found myself in front of Elizabeth. I think the last time we even talked to each other was months ago when she was distributing a test to the class and that I said “Thanks”, so, yeah, not a lot of background. I noticed, and I don’t know why it took me so long, I guess I never paid much attention to her, that she was dressed in kind of an old style, she wore some clearly used dungarees. The date the teacher had scheduled for our visit was on Sunday, and we were Thursday.

“So, hum, I guess, we can both do research on our side, and we’ll meet, maybe at lunch break tomorrow to get on the same page. Is that good for you?” She asked me.

“Yeah, that’s good, we can do that.”

“Okay, then, see you tomorrow.” She said.

“See you.”

On that she turned her feet and left for her break. The rest of the day went by and I got back home. As usual, my mom wasn’t there, she often has to work late as she’s a single mom to me and my little sister Rosa. I ate my diner and went to my room. I opened my computer to start my research. It wasn’t hard to find information, even though things were repeating themselves a lot: “so much historical meaning for the city”, “a perfect example of “art-deco” architecture”, “a house filled with stories”. There was a lot of talk by local medias about it, but not much actual facts.

It was so weak, that I had to go to page 2 of the search results on google, or, as I like to call them, “the abyss of the internet” (I’m exaggerating a bit, but it’s not often that you have to go there).
Then, something caught my eyes. It was a forum about paranormal experiences, and the address was mentioned on a post. I immediately clicked on it and read the whole thing. It wasn’t exactly the most thrilling story I’ve read, but here’s what it basically said.

Apparently, the owner opened the house as a cottage during the summer, and the person posting was narrating what he experienced during his passage there. He described a very special and kinda suffocating vibe that was apparently all around the house, and the feeling of being observed all the time. He also talked about hearing voices at random moments. They were brief but often mentioned his name. The end of his testimony talked about his last night, when he said he saw a little child with no facial expression in front of his bed, who slowly started to climb into it and grabbed his legs, trying to pull him outside of his bed. The poster said he eventually succeeded to push the kid away, despite his unreal strength, and that the boy ended up running out of the room, laughing. When he spoke to the owner about it the next morning, she said that it must have been his imagination playing tricks on him, as she didn’t believe in paranormal and that nothing similar ever happened to her.

This wasn’t much, it could have been a complete lie, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t peak my curiosity. The story was as basic as it could be, but it was so specific for it to happen in that place, which was absolutely not famous, and even less for any paranormal events. I kept that in the back of my mind and continued my research, but I didn’t find much more, so I went to sleep.

As I was lying in my bed, I was thinking. What if the person who posted his story said the truth. This was the first time I was going to enter somewhere that old and charged with history, this could be the perfect place for my first ghost-hunt. But of course, I was going for school and won’t be alone, plus, it’s not really respectful to the owner, who kindly opened the doors of her family house to us. And even if I wanted to, I’d be constantly with Elizabeth, so, it was not really an option. I looked at the EMF meter I received for a birthday on my shelf and thought to myself that this would be for another time.

The next day, as planned, I met with Elizabeth at lunch break. We started to share the results of our research, where I did not include the post from the forum for obvious reasons. We talked a bit before coming to a clear conclusion.

“Yeah, the thing is, we have the same exact stuff, there isn’t much interesting infos to be found online, except very surface level stuff.” She said.

“Yes, I think we should prepare the questions we want to ask the owner instead.” I answered.

“You’re right, do you think you can have yours for Sunday?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

We exchanged a bit more and eventually went back to class.

On Saturday, I prepared a few questions to ask the owner.

Then came today, Sunday. The meeting was planned at 11AM. I woke up normally, took a breakfast, got dressed, everything. Before leaving my room, I took one last look at the room and I saw my EMF meter. It was like he was begging me to take him. I grabbed it and left. I didn’t know if I would actually use it, but I had it. It had an option where instead of lighting the small lamps he was vibrating, so I activated that and put it in my pocket.

I arrived at the house and Elizabeth was already waiting for me. We knocked and we could hear the owner walking towards the door saying “Yes, yes, just a second.” She opened and she looked like the sweetest thing ever. She was short and had a naturally kind face. We could see that she was clearly dressed and make up for the occasion. She welcomed us and let us in happily. The hallway was very pretty, I understood why our teacher got us this house, it was indeed very interesting. The walls were covered with paintings and old pictures, mostly portraits. On everyone of these, the people had a very serious look, but that’s not unusual for old pictures.

We walked to the living room where she served us tea and we sat together.

“So, I think you have some questions for me?” She asked. You could see that she was very glad to talk. “Don’t be shy, I’m open.”

Elizabeth started to ask her first question then I did, and we could ask her everything.

The house was her family’s for many generations, but it hadn’t always been theirs. All the persons in the hallway, paintings or pictures, were previous habitants of the house, and they went as far as the 15th century, so, yeah, it was all pretty old. She said they could only know the identity of some of the first generations but that a lot of the people were non identified. She answered a lot of other questions regarding the architectural and artistic heritage of the building, and she was surprisingly very interesting to listen to. Her enthusiasm and kindness were contagious, and we both couldn’t help but ask more questions.

Eventually, we arrived to the end of our list, and it was time for us to visit, take notes, analyze, all that. She asked us not to touch anything, as a lot of things had a lot of value, but let us wander free in the house. She said she’ll be making cookies for when we’ll be done. Elizabeth and I found ourselves alone in the living room and finished our tea.

“God,… She’s adorable.” Said Elizabeth with a smile.

“Yes, she’s so sweet, I wasn’t expecting that.” I said.

“Let’s, maybe start with there.” She said, pointing to the room besides us.

We got up and entered it. The walls were covered by huge bookshelves. Elizabeth started to take notes, looking at the room, and I started inspecting the books. There was probably a more than a thousand books, and some of them looked super old. I read the titles of some of them, and the least I could say was that it needed to be rearranged. “Cooking Asian Food”, “Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince”, some old book with the title erased, and even a CD in the middle, it was a bit random.

We eventually moved on to the hallway. It was a bit oppressing with all those eyes who seemed to observe us. Elizabeth did mention how it felt a bit weird and we started to take notes again. At some point, my look stopped on one painting at the back of the hall. It was a young lady, dressed classically, maybe a bit poorly even, for someone who would have lived there. She was kinda pretty, if I’m being honest. But the reason why it caught my eyes was that it was the only one who was smiling. All the other people represented looked dead serious, but her, she smiled. A sweet, even caring and warm smile. I noticed that it seemed like she was staring at me. Of course, a lot of paintings give that same impression, but it was more intense on her.

My heart skipped a beat. I was sure that I just saw her winked to me. I let out a gasp. I was convinced she winked at me. The vibe went from slightly oppressive to extremely heavy. Then we both heard it.

“Elizabeth.”

An unrecognizable voice had just whispered. Elizabeth turned to me.

“Did you say that?” She asked.

“Elizabeth.”

A younger voice this time. We were facing each other, so we knew it couldn’t be one of us this time, and the owner was in the kitchen. Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide and she slowly walked towards me.

“Elizabeth.”

She jumped.

“WHAT THE… fuck?” I let out. We were looking around us.

“Joshua, I don’t like this…”

“Yeah, me neither.”

We were frozen in place, with all the paintings looking right to us.

“Elizabeth.”

That time it was a deep voice, and it came from behind us. We turned. Slowly, all the faces of the paintings and pictures started to clearly move. They were opening their eyes wide and opening their mouths, maintaining their serious, and now even melancholic look.

“Holy shit, holy shit, what the fuck is that, what is it!” Elizabeth was mumbling, panicking as I was starting to breathe faster.

All the people started to say her name together on repeat: “Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth…” I turned my head to the painting of the young lady from earlier, and she was the only one that wasn’t moving, still the same smile, she looked at peace.

I don’t remember exactly what I was whispering at that moment, but we were both freaking out.

We heard some scratching noise. Long, dirty hands with sharp nails, almost inhumans, were piercing the pictures and paintings. The eyes of the people were becoming all black, and their jaws were opening more than humanly possible as they kept on repeating her name. The hands were all getting closer from us. We were now touching one another, completely surrounded by those hands. Then, they moved way faster and a lot of them got their nails right into Elizabeth’s skin and pierced it while descending all over her body.

She screamed loudly out of pain. It was a terrifying scream. All the hands got to their pictures and back inside of it while closing what they pierced. Soon, the pictures and paintings were back to normal, but Elizabeth was bleeding from all over her body and was on the floor, crying. I got to her level and tried as much as possible to reassure her, but I wasn’t very effective as I was myself in shock and terrified.
We heard the owner walk towards us.

“What’s happening to you two? I heard screams, are you okay?”

She entered the hallway and saw the scene. She looked completely shocked.

“But what happened?” She asked.

Both of us were unable to answer to her, we had no idea what to say that wouldn’t make us sound crazy, so we just looked at her with whatever faces we were making at that moment. She didn’t wait long and went to take a first aid kid. She sat down and put some bandages all over Elizabeth, as I was reflecting on what happened. When she was done, we both wanted to leave, so we said that we had what we needed for now. She looked sorry and packed some cookies for each of us. As we opened the door to leave, she articulated one last phrase.

“I hope you’ll come back.” She had a look and a tone of sadness. We got out and were now on the street.

We both looked at each other. She was covered in bands, like she got into a huge fight. I started to speak but she lifted her hand.

“Not today. Another one.” She said. “I’ll see you at school.” And she left.

I got on my way too and gave one last look to the house. The old owner was watching me from her window, and I couldn’t tell what her expression was.

I was too tired so I ignored it and went back to my house.

I’m posting this now that I’m back at home. I have no news of Elizabeth, but she did add me on Instagram, so…

I have no idea what I should do now, I have so many questions, so, if anyone has any theories, I’ll take it. I’m also open to questions of course…

PowerShell noob... Was looking for an easy way to install multiple apps on multiple devices with minimal effort.. you need the application name and app ID, lemme know any feedback, I know it can be improved.
takes a list of apps and app IDs, checks if they are already installed, if not, goes to try and install them from company portal, checks a few times to see if it can detect the app, if it can't it moves on to the next one and logs it.
Ideally I'd like to be able to pull back installation error codes but I'm not sure how to.
# Function to check if an application is installed already
function IsApplicationInstalled($appName) {
$installed = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product Where-Object { $_.Name -eq $appName }
return [bool]$installed
}
# Define log file path
$logFilePath = "installation_log.txt"
# Create or append to the log file
$logFile = New-Object System.IO.StreamWriter($logFilePath, $true)
# List of app IDs and Names
$applicationInfo = @(
@{
Id = "AppID"
Name = "AppName"
}
# Add as many as you want in the format of ID = application ID from company portal, Name is the name it will show up as in Control Panel
)
# Loop through each app
foreach ($appInfo in $applicationInfo) {
$appId = $appInfo.Id
$appName = $appInfo.Name
# Checks if the app is installed
$isInstalled = IsApplicationInstalled $appName
# Log installation status
if ($isInstalled) {
$logFile.WriteLine("$appName - Installed already, skipping app")
Write-Host "$appName is already installed. Skipping..."
} else {
$logFile.WriteLine("$appName - Not installed, attempting to install")
Write-Host "$appName is not installed. Installing..."
}
# If the application is already installed, skips to the next application
if ($isInstalled) {
continue
}
# Opens Company Portal at the app to be installed
Start-Process "companyportal:ApplicationId=$appId"
# Waits for Company Portal to load (adjust sleep time as needed)
Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
# Load System.Windows.Forms assembly
[void][System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName('System.Windows.Forms')
# Sends Ctrl+I keystroke to initiate install as you can't interact with Company Portal otherwise
[System.Windows.Forms.SendKeys]::SendWait("^{i}")
# Generic amount of wait time to allow application to install (adjust sleep time as needed)
Start-Sleep -Seconds 20
# variable to hold the product name
$productName = $null
# Counter to track retries
$retryCount = 0
# Loops until productName is not null or retry count reaches 5
while ($productName -eq $null -and $retryCount -lt 5) {
# Get the product name using the application name and checks if it is found on the machine
$product = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product -Filter "Name='$appName'"
if ($product -ne $null) {
$productName = $product.Name
Write-Host "$appName is now installed"
$logFile.WriteLine("$appName - Now installed")
} else {
# Output message if the product is not found
Write-Host "App not yet detected: $appName (Retry: $($retryCount + 1))..."
$logFile.WriteLine("$appName - Not installed (Retry: $($retryCount + 1))")
# Increment retry count
$retryCount++
# Wait for a while before retrying
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
}
}
# Check if the retry count reached 5
if ($retryCount -ge 5) {
Write-Host "Skipping $appName due to maximum retry count reached. Please contact IT Support for further assistance!"
$logFile.WriteLine("$appName - Skipped (Maximum retry count reached). Please contact IT Support for further assistance!")
continue # Skip to the next application
}
}
# Close the log file
$logFile.Close()
# Open the log file
Invoke-Item $logFilePath

I was taking a first look into how to create a custom inspector tool using plugins last night (which, I found actually really simple thanks to the fact that the editor uses the same UI tools as the engine itself), but I was having a strange issue when it came to calling functions on the object within the _parse_begin EditorInspectorPlugin function. Even though the object did indeed contain the function in question, I'd get an 'Nonexistent function' error thrown when trying to call it. I've trimmed down the functionality to just the issue in question for brevity.
Here's the code for the plugin:

# plugin.gd extends EditorInspectorPlugin func _can_handle(object): return object is CustomNode func _parse_begin(object): var label = Label.new() label.text = str(object.get_test_name()) + " Editor" add_custom_control(label) 

Here's the code for my custom node file that is in the scene:

# custom_node.gd extends Node class_name CustomNode var name = "Test" func get_test_name(): return name 

So, when I open the CustomNode in the inspector, it throws an error in the console:
res://addons/test/plugin.gd:11 - Invalid call. Nonexistent function 'get_test_name' in base 'Node (CustomNode)'.
Clearly, it doesn't think that the object parameter has this function when it tries to call it, but when I print out the results of object.get_method_list(), I can see it right there in the output list that the function exists. object is just an Object type, so I was considering that maybe it only provided a top-level version of the parameter, but when I attempt to read or write values on object directly (such as by replacing the erroneous line with label.text = object.text_name + " Editor") then it works without issue!
So, clearly it's passing the proper object through, but there's something I must be missing about why it can't call functions when it can still access variables from the object. Of course, I could write any code that interacts with these values within the function file, but that's not the best code practice to alter variables of a class like that outside of the class in question. I'm sure there must be some way to get the functions running properly.
Anyone have any ideas for what I might be doing wrong?

So I had the intention of writing this for some time. I will give a brief rundown of my relationship to Wikipedia, but that is not necessary for the main point of my opinion.
The main point is that while Wikipedia has a quantitative superiority, qualitatively Encyclopedia Britannica is superior. The specific trigger that motivated me to write this was when I was looking up articles on Johannes Gutenberg.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Gutenberg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg
I will not delve on the specific qualities of clarity and intention behind the writing in the Britannica article as compared to Wikipedia's, but I think it is evident if one reads the Wikipedia one first and the Britannica after.
It so much more tailored for what a 'reader' expects to get from the text. Wikipedia seems to be not written with a conception of what the readers 'must get'. It is made up of bland information. It doesn't try to touch the reader, it is lifeless. Reading the Wikipedia's article, the aspects of the story, of the biography, don't stick in the mind. Just blobs of timid reporting, holding hands with the reference latched to it.
When you read it, even the most 'well written' ones, with gold or silver stars and so on, it seems nothing gets through seamlessly.
This probably stems from not giving authority to an authoritative authoeditor to make their decision on what to leave out and what to put in. The article referenced was written by a specific man Hellmut E. Lehmann-Haupt and by the editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. So the Wikipedia editor may feel like it's too much work to 'encroach' in other contribuitions and remake the whole text to be more 'proper'.
I also wanted to write this, because there is a pervasive good will towards Wikipedia everywhere, specially on the internet. Searching on this subreddit, I couldn't find any similar opinion. Except from more academic proficient folk, I almost hear no suspicion, scepticism or hesitation towards Wikipedia on these levels (quality of writing/quality of knowledge/quality of what makes a good encyclopedia article).
Now with that out of the way, my relationship with Wikipedia, which is not required reading. First, I was positive towards it, in my teens. I read a blogger which had good opinions about it. In his youth he would say he looked with glowing eyes to the Barsa encyclopedia. And when Wikipedia arrived, with its aura of freedom of information and thought of the new internet, he liked it. He liked the way it functioned, with a peer network anyone could participate to deliberate on what should be done, what policies should exist and when it should be enforced in this or that way. Politically, he made metaphors on how politics could work more like that, with direct democracy being a possible horizon to go towards.
So I used Wikipedia in this period, until the next epoch of my attitude towards Wikipedia, in this naive way. Not looking up the sources, just reading the summary phrases in the article; not realizing what sources were allowed or not (and the implication this has on a correct assessment, to reach the truth). But I did read some discussions between editors in some articles.
Amusing disputes, where policies were cited left and right and long discussions followed on the correct application of said policies. A little bit of cynicism started to be picked up by me, regarding who won the disputes and how and why.
Anyway, my second contact with differing inclinations towards Wikipedia was brought by Nathan Rich, by some videos of his on his Youtube channel. In some videos, he shows the bias of The New York Times, and of Wikipedia, all regarding China. This made it patent to me that media can be biased, in subtle ways, which when you are properly on the know (with the 'They Live' glasses on your nose) in very unsubtle and laughable ways.
The disputes on Wikipedia could be won if a relentless enough editor kept at it, almost like a lawyer; or better, similar to how a judge can, in weighting the interests and rights of opposing parties, sway either way according with its moral/ideological inclinations.
This view of judges grew out of watching American contract law lectures by Yale University, available on Youtube, which gave me a sense on how there is a lot of gray area in deciding the 'common good'. And lectures and books by Ian Shapiro, also from Yale and available on Youtube, which showed me a biased judge which subtly had defended a member of the capitalist class, using legal justification which passes as good enough for the system, despite being arguably not in accordance with the law, according with Shapiro's judgment.
Anyway, the next epoch of big blocks of views I was exposed to, was from the Youtube videos of BadEmpanada ('The Holodomor Genocide Question: How Wikipedia Lies to You' by BadEmpanada). He showed also how Wikipedia articles can be biased. They almost certainly are regarding political matters, where there is concentrated interest in swaying public opinion and forming a status quo of consent and hovering consensus. The references allowed, western 'free press', are heavily biased. Noam Chomsky and the other guy's Manufacturing of Consent became clear in my mind. There was no free press. Journalism wasn't a glamorous endeavor, with the pen of justice and truth as its symbol. It is a clown show, for the most part.
BadEmpanada showed the efforts put in bot farms and manual troll farms to create a specific consensus of what is and is not common sense (I did not find the video now). In particular, the efforts of the country of [You may not have "" in your post body.] (now I think I may have that word in the post; the country is Israel), also on Wikipedia if I am not incorrect. Creating task forces to 'litigate' on the Talk section.
Another contact was with the video 'How Wikipedia Got Ex Machina (2014) Wrong' by Shaun. The author has a positive outlook towards Wikipedia, but points out another fault in qualitative quality of the writing. There is also a right wing (libertarian) channel with a video criticizing Wikipedia, which is the only video I agree after watching a couple of his later.
More recently, yesterday, I entered another epoch. 'Wikipedia Donations Exposed. The Truth.' by Logically Answered, put Nupedia vs Wikipedia on the spotlight, and it makes it clear Wikipedia only 'won' because of numeric advantage, outputting more articles. That Wikipedia has articles other Encyclopedias don't have, well ok; that is not my point, good for Wikipedia I guess. And Wikipedia shennanigans on how it asks for money, and how the money is not spent to improve the aspects of the quality of writing, just adds to all this unpopular opinion.
In conclusion, wikipedia is too highly regarded, with at most some criticism about how it is not a 'source' in itself, but none about the qualities which make an encyclopedia article good as an encyclopedia article. The criticism seems to rest mostly on the bias regarding political/social articles, and how one should approach the references. But there is a general sense that despite that, with the right approach, it is a good resource to learn about a subject. My disagreement is regarding that; as a learning tool, it is often ignored how lacking in intention the writing is. Sometimes I read some paragraphs, and nothing is apprehended truly. If you pick the first reference of a Wikipedia article, often used in the first paragraph to define the subject of the Wikipedia article, and compare that unobstructed definition with the Wikipedia's introduction/definition, the difference is stark. One coldly 'informs' and the other richly entails meaning and comprehension.

Hi, I am studying maths and currently use LaTeX to take my notes in class in real time. This has been effective so far, however the main drawback appears to be when my lecturer draws diagrams to make examples clearer, I have no real way of doing this in LaTeX at the moment. For context, here is a snippet from my notes. I have a few potential methods:

• TikZ - I have all but discounted this as becoming fast enough at TikZ to use in real time seems nigh impossible / not something I'm interested in pursuing.
  
• Creating a more functional workflow using inkscape and VS Code, which I'm somewhat hesitant to do given the overall increased complexity of drawing vector graphics on a laptop.
  
• Switching to obsidian, and using my iPad to draw the diagrams and my laptop to write the notes. Any suggestions along these lines would be appreciated although this probably isn't the place!
  

Some ideas I have had yet not been able to find anything about online:

• Some way of annotating onto pdfs with apple pencil without the annotations being removed upon recompiling my LaTeX documents. This would be a somewhat messy but easy and effective solution if this is possible.
  
• Perhaps the ideal workflow would be some way of drawing / creating quick vector images on my iPad and then having them pop into my LaTeX documents quickly. I currently use OneDrive to store my LaTeX files which makes me think this is a potentially valid approach, however I would very much appreciate suggestions on how to achieve this.
  

If anyone has had any similar experience, please let me know.

I am currently in Tier-2 CSE, I have total 8 'F' Grade, I have no will to even sit and study for 1 hour, I don't know why i am doing like this, i feels like i am very very exhausted. All this 1 year I was like,
I just wakeup, use phone in class, attend labs (didn't try to understand anything just did watching what everyone is doing, no understanding), come to hostel browse internet, game or reels or youtube, then sleep.
I didn't even studied anything during examination,I don't know why, I just can't understand what is happening to me, my mind already gave up, i now feels like i can't even pass anything no matter how much i studied.
In one of the end sem exam of 2nd sem, I knew answer of a question but i didn't have the will to write it on paper, and I didn't write it. In all the exams i just sit, look into the question paper, look into board.
Each paper can only get cleared in parallel, like 1st sem subjects can only be cleared in 3rd, 5th & 7th sem or summer term. And i can get take maximum 1 subjects in 1 term. If i am not limited to take limited cource.
Dean said, from the next sem, my credit will be get reduced to only 4 cources until i reach CG of 5. then after that i have to clear those cources which get removed due to credit limit.
I am thinking that i don't have any intrest left in any of these stuffs, i just want to leave it
I feels all the money is wasted now. I was good till 10th, average in 12th (48k in mains),Sometimes i feels like i should just get a basic job which i can get now(if).
I am going to tell my parents (fat bhut rhi h)that i have failed and now i will discontinue my studies and and will ask if i can join my their business.
Have anyone face similar issue, How did you face this?

This story was inspired by the following prompt: https://www.reddit.com/humansarespaceorcs/comments/1cqvbwk/humans_are_known_for_building_veryvery_large/
General Kim was awakened from a sound slumber by klaxons. Years of military training kicked in and he was out of bed in record time. Checking the data pad briefly while pulling on his uniform he saw something terrifying.
“Attack in progress. Launch in 10:34.”
An attack? Who? Where? How? What kind? General Kim was soon out the door to his quarters. He was at his battle bridge before the launch countdown had reached 10:00. Similar scenes were playing out throughout the ship, as generals checked in with their battle bridge statuses.
In the ship’s primary bridge, two kilometers from General Kim, Admiral Sol looked at her command display with satisfaction. 100% readiness in less than two minutes. She was pleased. She addressed the 10,000 soul the crew over the PA system. “An allied colony is under attack by enemies unknown. Wormhole travel will take approximately twenty minutes and thirty-four seconds. Prepare for battle.”
General Kim scrolled through the scant field assessment data. There wasn’t much. A large multi-species colony was being bombarded from orbit. No signs of enemy ground forces. The primary wormhole comms array was out, but an old Subspace system was still functional after 120 years of dormancy. “And THAT,” said General Kim, “is what preventative maintenance is for.”
“General, sir?”
“Sorry. Just thinking out loud. Their W23 system is down but they’re still in touch using an SB-Class 3.”
“I think I’ve seen one of those in a museum!”
“Our grandparents saw them in museums. You make do on the rim.”
Launch and wormhole transit went off with clockwork precision. Soon, the ship exited its artificial wormhole. It was immediately bombarded by the unknown hostiles. Explosions of varying kinds went off on the ship’s hull, ripping gashes in her armor.
“Damage report?” Admiral Sol asked.
“Ablative armor at 97%. No other damage reports.”
“Excellent. Inform me when the preliminary weapons analysis is in.”
Meanwhile, the Admiral's counterpart in the invading fleet, Imperial Agent Skrald, was still screaming, “What is that THING?”
“I’ve seen moons smaller than that ship,” said one of his lieutenants.
“We have to have a record of it. You can’t build something that big in complete secrecy!”
“Imperial Agent Skrald, I think it’s the, “Blade of Scoth.”
“That ship’s an old myth! It can’t possibly-“
“We've carved a notch!”
“Send the biggest we’ve got,” the Skrald replied.
A “notch” was a divot in the ship’s hull of the right shape to prevent weapons files from glancing off the armor.
“We’re being hailed, sir!”
“Tell them we don’t talk to burnt food and end the transmission,” the Admiral replied.
Imperial Agent Skrald watched with glee as the missile made contact with the notch and detonated.
On her ship, Admiral Sol asked for another damage report.
“Lower-port ablative armor section 374 at 40%, pinata layer is fully exposed.
“Can it take another direct hit?”
“It was only a gigaton blast. One more should make a perfect crack.”
“Excellent. Order the candy away from the blast point just to be safe.”
“Already done ma'am.”
“Make a note to find out who gave that order so I can commend them on their quick-thinking.”
“Yes Admiral.”
While the invading fleet pivoted their attention to the new ship, a second Terran vessel, the “Rule of Two Rogers” exited its artificial wormhole on the far side of the planet. A swarm of smaller craft flowed from the ship into the atmosphere below.
Imperial Agent Skrald, ignorant of the “Rule of Two Rogers,” was shouting with excitement. “Hit it again! Fire another!” The second missile flew through space, connecting with the underlayer exposed by the last missile. At first, it looked like the ship was spewing out debris, but the debris started flying in formations and shooting at his ships.
On the human ship, the Admiral smiled with satisfaction as she heard the report, “Piñata 86 has been breached. The candy is flowing. I repeat, the candy is flowing.”
“All stations, fire at will,” she replied.
The eyes of Imperial Agent Skrald opened wide as the surface of the massive ship lit up with a multicolored array of missiles, lasers, torpedos, and something that seemed to fire AFTER destroying one of his ships.
“It’s a rainbow of death,” he said, shocked into immobility by the way his fleet was being erased. He came back to his senses when his ship was rocked by debris impact from his erstwhile fleet.
“It’s too big to land!” He yelled. “All ships to the surface! I repeat, all ships retreat to the surface!”
The debris tore off one of his ship’s nacelles. “Did we need that to land?” He yelled.
“Only to get home sir,” an officer replied.
“Good.”
Admiral Sol watched the battle with satisfaction. This was the Blade of Scoth’s first battle in over 100 years. As a descendant of the famous Ambasador Sol, she took her guardianship of the BoS very seriously. A report came up on her screen. The hostiles had been identified. It was one of the Naga Imperium factions, or they were at least using the faction’s ships, weapons and known tactics. “Bastards,” she muttered.
“Admiral?” Lieutenant Cutter said.
“Analysis says it’s the ‘Naga Imperium of the Bone.’ The colony's 20% Naga. They’re slaughtering their own. Have we established direct contact with the colony yet?”
“Not yet Admiral. They don’t seem to have any short-range communications working. We’re still limited to what’s coming over their old subspace system.”
On the planet below, Sally McCool, a Naga hatched and raised in the colony, like her parents and grandparents before her, looked to the night sky. The missiles had come down, glowing brightly as the stars before they impacted. Now, the bright glowing objects had become larger, but many were breaking up and vanishing into nothing. Were these larger bombs, or was the enemy tumbling out of space?
She watched with growing horror as one approached the ground near the south okra field. She took a deep breath, and braced herself to be vaporized by whatever was about to land. Unable to watch, she curled into a ball on the ground, hoping death would be quick. She expected a nuclear flash, obliteration before hearing the blast. Instead, she heard a massive crash, crumpling metal and exploding components, and a long grinding sound as something huge cut into the soil. A rain of stones and soil covered her.
Sally looked up, and took several seconds to process what she was seeing. It hadn’t been a bomb. It had been a ship, and it had just crashed into one of their fields, carving a huge channel as it ground to a halt. A cloud of smoke was rising. Suddenly, a disk-shaped ship shot through the cloud of smoke. She recognized it from her history classes and old war movies. A flying saucer, painted with concentric circles of red, white, and blue. It was a Steve. A Steve class fighter. They were special. Why were they special?
Another saucer flew overhead. This one was red and yellow.
Sally remembered why the Steve battle saucers were special. They were exclusive to a ship called “The Rule of two Rogers.” The Steves were for battle, and this red and gold ship, as it landed she remembered, “It’s a Fred!” She yelled. She waved her arms, calling out to the ship. “We have injured! We have injured!” The side of the saucer opened up, and a multi-species crew of medics poured out.
While medics swarmed the colony providing aid, the best day of Skrald’s life had turned into the worst in a matter of minutes. He looked around his battered bridge. Even the emergency lighting could only manage flickering glimpses of the sparking wreckage around him. The only functional display was informing him the sewage system had ruptured and was pouring into what remained of the ventilation system.
“Is anyone else alive?”
“I TOLD you it was the Blade of Scoth you idiot!”
Skrald straightened his posture as much as the sharp pains in his abdomen would allow. “How DARE you speak to a member of the Imperium that way! I’ll eat you myself for that!”
“Good luck with that. I’m surrendering to the colony.”
“THEY’LL EAT YOUR FLESH AND MAKE SHOES FROM YOUR HIDE!”
“How’s that any better than you eating me?”
Outraged at the insolence, Skrald lunged in the direction of the taunting underling, smashing his snout against a hunk of metal he hadn’t noticed in the dim, flickering light.
Hours later, sunrise came to the battered colony. Most of the fires in the colony proper had been put out, but some of the Naga wreckage was still burning bright. Emergency contamination domes had been put up over the upwind wrecks, to contain as much of the toxic smoke as possible.
General Kim was on the ground, commanding the cleanup crews from both ships. He’d taken a brief break from those responsibilities to speak to one of the captured Naga.
“The guy in the fanciest duds tried to eat you when we took you into custody. Why?”
“I used to be a pilot,” she said. “Until that moron weaseled himself into enough power to do THIS!” She opened up her arms, as if to gesture at everything around her. “The only reason I’m even here is because I objected to this madness. That royal waste of scales wanted to personally mock me when he won. He even put that in writing on the paperwork for my ‘Away Without Leave’ warrant.”
“Weren’t you on his bridge?”
“Yes. You look confused, or at least that’s what my translator is telling me about your expression.”
“I don’t have a lot of combat experience. Nobody does these days, but hand-picking someone for your bridge crew because they have no confidence in you sounds like a bad idea to me.”
“This whole mission was nothing but bad ideas.”
“Please, tell me more.”
Meanwhile, in the darkness of space, a third ship of Capybara / Human design moved silent and unseen. Complex sensor arrays had been tracing the path the invaders had taken, seeking their origin. Data flowed in on interstellar communications problems, often evidence of ships passing though communications tunnels. The Starship Peggy Carter and her crew were on the trail, and the ship had a reputation to uphold. Latin mottos had fallen out of favor decades before she was built, so her motto was written in English.
“Those we fail to defend, we will avenge.”

Excuse me as I rant!
How long are we supposed to withstand the mediocre work and appalling behavior of current college students? How long is the pandemic going to be blamed for students who come late to every class (or don't come at all), don't submit assignments, can't write a cohesive sentence, refuse to better themselves, but expect to pass classes with Bs and higher? How is it fair to these students and to the faculty who have to teach them? Many of my first-year students are at 9th-11th grade reading and writing levels. They cannot read academic articles, yet using them is a requirement by the department. I spend so much time finding grammar resources, teaching them how to read and write like college-level students, just to get reprimanded by my department for doing so (I teach English, so huh?!). Is this what being burnt out feels like?

Pitch
Recruiting 4 Sorcerers (Magic not from entity or study) Only;

• Willing to deeply homebrew characters
• Three sessions -> Campaign for good fit
• Su@12p-4p EST

Thou were not born of thy own choosing
Whence you grieve, cry, or laugh
Tis as if you bring tragedy, rain or sunlight
Unexplained happenings follow you
And if anyone knows what you really are
They will kill you ..
Hide yourself, and silence your heart
Hunters seek those like you for in this world
.. You are monsters
Our story begins with the plights of your characters and how they were able to overcome them .. Or how they were succumbed to
You discover the nature of your afflictions .. And now you must survive
The world hunts sorcerers like dogs hunt confused and lost birds
But if a lost bird lives long enough to be found. It may spread it's wings and fly
Good luck
Introduction
Hello, my name is Inkh-Su (인수). I have been roleplaying since 2009 and started playing D&D 2018. I am hoping that you will be interested in my homebrew world of Myhrr. It is a work of consistent passion. I have passed 50 pages of content and have handcrafted over 30 explorable cities, tile-by-tile.
Myhrr is a living world developed by the DM, and a story lead by the players.
I prefer players who want to emotionally invest in NPCs, their party members, and their own characters. My aim is to naturally draw characters together into an interweaving story of relationships, action, and heroism.
My five main inspirations are The Books of Magic, Berserk, Merlin, Odin Sphere & The Last Unicorn.
I adhere to rules that maximize your exploration and sense of curiosity. I don't try to predict players, I just adapt to their actions. I study player strengths & weaknesses to spotlight them and write a balanced story. Depending on backstory, I grant geographical, social, and historical information.
Much of the world is a medieval, war-torn, feudalist place that has just found a respite from war. Power wavers with uncertainty, under the constant threat that war will return. Nobles attempt to secure peace alongside bloodstained battlegrounds. Royalty seizes power by sword, flame, accusation and subterfuge.
Whilst the faith in currency is unshaken, Trade is unstable. Promises are rare. The hunt of witches, warlocks, wizards and druids is ceaseless in a war against the unholy forces of magic and devilry.
Myhrr is plagued with economic inequality and xenophobia. Whilst half-orcs, tieflings, and goblins are capable of citizenship they are treated as second class citizens. Faced with the constant truths of their loathsome origins, demonic history, and biological differences they find little respite among other races.
Where half/elves are constantly bombarded with opportunity, these marginalized races find none.
Dungeons in the world are difficult to find. One requires research of the hundreds of books in the world, or a quick tongue and a fast blade, to take such information. Yet there are riches, power, and secrets hidden away behind the abominations of the deep and the traps that lay within. Those who seek answers in the hidden places of the world are at true risk of death or worse.
Think fast or die, traps don't wait and neither do monsters.
The core of every event lies a mystery. A quandary of history, social intrigue and chasing after evidence. Ancient secrets, political dealings, and criminal ones. The world's history is extensive but only a player who wishes to know the lore of the world will discover it.
One of the things I'm proud of in my game are its people. I've been roleplaying for over a decade and believe that every NPC will have more depth than any player will care about. Ingrained into the world and its culture; they have fears, desires and interact with an intelligence befitting of their environment.
Magic comes with a constant emotional and social contract. Only four classes are considered magical. Sorcerer, Druid, Warlock, and Wizard. All other classes use non-magical flavored versions of their spells. Each class uses magic uniquely, yet none of it is as reliable as sword or bow. Magic, no matter it's origin, has a will of its own.
Most cultures believe sorcery, druidry, and wizardry to be witchcraft.
Sorcerers do not have control over their innate power without having control over their own hearts. Druids must build a true relationship with nature and balance. Warlocks are required to debate and negotiate with cruel devils. Wizards are mysterious and grow in power as they follow a path of wonder.
The world has several holidays and I'd love to watch your character celebrate too.
Finally, the game is played with a flowing system of time. Time moves regardless of what your character is or isn't doing. Players who act quickly, describe their actions, act their dialogue and invest their hearts will quickly find themselves escaping the arm of mere RAW rules and mechanics.
I am rewarded by players who will sit after a game and theorize about NPCs, History and Intentions and have plans on how they want to act on the world. Reactive players are alright, but players who develop a judgment and work to act on that judgment are rewarded.
I am also rewarded by characters who act on and with emotionality to NPCs and with each other. My favorite moments are listening to the building moment of character clashes and support when they make discoveries that reveal pieces of themselves and each other.
World:

• Five Deities are confirmed fact
• One gold crown can buy a farm
• Literacy is rare and valuable
• Magic is feared, for it is fearful
• Xenophobia is alive and strong
• Guilty until proven popular is justice
• Evil is real, Orcs, Warlocks and Devils are Evil
• Printing Press is not yet invented

Game:

• Low Fantasy, a medieval setting with few magical elements
• Start Lv1
• LGBTQQIP2SAA friendly
• Session 0 required
• 4hr minimum sessions
• Available Races: Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Half-Dwarf, Dragonborn, Half-Orc, Halfling, Tiefling, Kenku, Goblin, Leonin, Minotaur
• Available Classes: Sorcerer
• VTT: Web-based
• Required: Chrome/Firefox + Discord + DNDBeyond + Microphone + Headphones
• Schedule: Su@12p-4p EST
• Game Start: As players are ready
• DM calls DCs && Open rolls

Table Culture:

• Roleplay & immersion heavy
• Mature, supportive & collaborative play is required to join

If you're interested:
Send me a chat with

• Age / Pronouns / Timezone
• A general character personality & motivation pitch
• An activity your character would initiate with a party
• In your opinion, what makes a good/bad playeDM
• What is your opinion of Magic in a setting where it’s demonized ?
• What does Magic mean to you ?
• Describe when you’ve connected with another party member
• Describe an example of environmental creative problem solving
• Does your character create ? If so, how are they creative ?
• What emotional state does your character often find themselves ?
• Discord handle

Looking forward to hearing from you : ]