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?

This is so fucking embarrassing. I am not active in our department sa school, my friends are from another department so i am more familiar with the ppl there, the lower years, the tea ganun. I only know a couple of people sa isang section ng 3rd years namin, a handful of 2nd years, and yung year rep ng 1st year lang - probably my biggest mistake in college life.
We had a collaboration project with our 3rd years (I am a 4th yr student na nag-oojt so i spend even less time sa school) I saw someone cute sa mga 3rd years. He's tall, moreno, nice smile, even nicer pag kausap mo siya kasi malalim siyang tao. He has a way with words, so that and the fact that ang lakas ng dating niya; consider me charmed. I am the contact person of our group and i can say na I'm hands on. I try my best to address their concerns, guide them accordingly, and reach out din atleast sa mga mukhang approachable na students.
We had an emergency with our printing matters so i asked some of them for help, including him since apparently we live near one another. Talking to him felt so natural and comfortable, na when issues arise sa project namin isa siya sa kino-contact ko and he replies agad naman. Things escalated so quickly, we went from kaway kaway lang habang nasa event to patagong pda sa library. We went from talking about school related stuff to walking together pauwi while listening to music. From "Hello po" to "Good morning babe"
For disclaimer, I did not coerce him into doing anything with me just because I'm his senior. I do not even have the power to do so, di namin hawak grades nila nor will we be evaluating them.
When he told me na he wanted to keep our "thing" lowkey I thought it was because it's too early pa to say anything about it and when he told me na he's talking to other people, I understood that as casual dating. Which is why I was not bothered kasi "kausap" lang naman pERO PUTANGINA MAY GIRLFRIEND OF 2 YEARS PALA SIYA. Kaya pala gusto niyang lowkey kasi I'm the other woman.
I must say na I'm partially at fault for my lack of better judgment, kasi I trusted him blindly. I believed every word he said and i didn't even question it. After a few months of fucking around kasi I thought i found the guy na i can be serious with, like kahit may mga kausap siyang iba he told me na he cut them off na daw eme eme (naniwala naman ako HHAHAHAH) What I felt for him was genuine and sincere kaya I felt so betrayed na he did that to me.
I wanted to clear my name kasi apparently ung ibang 3rd year ang akala willingly ako naging 3rd party. I reached out sa friend nung girlfriend niya, i came clean. Kaso binaliktad na niya ko, he told people na he was only using me for money (may business kasi siya and gUESS WHO GOT SCAMMED, pero got my money back na), naawa lang daw siya sakin (even though sa kanya galing na he needs me more than i would need him daw). I showed his girlfriend receipts, screenshots and pictures (KASI HE SHOWED CROPPED CONVERSATIONS) and mukhang di binasa ni girl mga sinend ko. I understand na she's hurt, betrayed, and overwhelmed pero I don't get why sa akin lang ang sisi. She called me names and said offensive things which I understood naman na it was from a place of hurt.
I understand where she's coming from pero that does not erase the fact na I was hurt din. Granted na we didn't "went out" for that long pero, I honestly believed kasi na what we have is real. It's sooo fucking embarrassing kasi even though lamang ung galit ko para sa kanya, there's still a part of me na nalulungkot kasi was it all lies ba talaga. Like before the confrontation with his girlfriend he told me everything he said and did to me were sincere naman daw and that's what he felt at the moment (probably except the being single part). I know na I should stop thinking about it and move on pero part of me wants to know: alin ba dun ung totoo? why did he do that? bakit ako? bakit sakin niya ginawa un?
He has the audacity to be mad at me pa rn. Like ???? Sino ba may kasalanan sating dalawa ??? Sino ba nasa committed relationship ?? Diba ikaw naman and yet parang its my fault pa.
Ayun lang I'm feeling a mixture of anger and hurt lang talaga

Hi! First of all, sorry for my awkward English - not a native speaker. Also I tried to make it short, but maybe warning for a (slight) wall of text?
I’m taking a gap year from university to find a job due to family’s financial issues. Long story short, my parents made some bad business decisions and got scammed, which left us with an enormous amount of debt. I don't blame them one bit - we weren't exactly doing well before either, and I guess the insecurity sort of pushed them into taking unnecessary risks so that they could provide for us. Plus, I'm an adult now, and it should've been me taking care of them instead of the opposite.
The issue here is that, well, I’m sort of a loser. I’ve been searching and applying for jobs almost every day by now, but with little to no success. I could think of a few reasons why:

1. I’ve never worked a day in my life. It’s normal for where we live, but I understand it’s no excuse in this day and age. Now my CV is completely blank save for a few odd jobs I did here and there, and they don’t look very impressive on paper.
2. With the rise of AI and overall increase in literacy rate, my major (English) is oversaturated in the job market where I live. It didn’t help that I specialized in something rather useless unless you intend to go into academia (which was my intention before all this).
3. My biggest weakness so far: I have abysmal communication skills. I’ve been aware of this since I was 5, and been trying to improve ever since; but there's just always something others get that I don't, be it social cues or how to get my thoughts across clearly. It's part of the reason my parents never made me work - they just assumed, between this and my gift for studying, that the only viable pathway for me was to get as high a degree as possible and become a scholaresearcher etc. (old people's logic, but I'm ashamed to say I did believe in it, too). I did manage to score some interviews before, for jobs and scholarships, but I always failed at the talking part. I’ve taken to applying primarily to online jobs, but they get claimed fast, and hard to make good money if you aren't a highly desired professional.
4. Yes, I've tried construction/manual labor work. If the above description didn't make me look enough like a nerd before, I also have hereditary heart problems and seasonal allergy that was made worse by COVID-19. Plus, they don’t normally hire women where I live.

I'm just at a loss of what to do. I will continue to apply for jobs, of course, but the payments and bills and rent are eating up what little savings we have left - if I couldn't find a job by the end of this month, we might be homeless. I just feel so guilty because my parents put a lot of trust in me - I have always been their pride and joy, and now I can't even provide for them. My little brother is starting college this year, too. I don’t have enough time to learn a new employable skill (though I’ve been doing some free web design courses - they’re actually the most fun I’ve had these days), I don’t have money to start a business, and the banks won’t let us take out loans anymore - not even under my clean name, they screen backgrounds a lot more carefully since our economy’s in shambles and everyone's in need of help.
In short, I’m looking for advice on how to improve my employability, or some other ways to secure enough money, at least ~$400/month (converted rate) just to stay on top of our payments. Thanks for reading all this, I hope you have a great day.

I (24f) just got off the phone with my childhood bff (24f) about her breaking up with her bf (22m). We’ll call her Sarah and her ex Mike for privacy reasons. To preface, I have PTSD from multiple traumas one being from a DV relationship for 5 years with mental and physical abuse. She knows this. Since then I’ve gone to therapy, and am in a healthy happy relationship for 4 years now.
Sarah knew Mike for a couple of years before they started dating, and they probably dated for about 4-6 months. From what I was told from Sarah, Mike would buy her a lot of gifts spending hundreds of dollars at ulta, Sephora, bath and body works, you name it. Sarah really enjoyed being spoiled like this. She never talked about what they did together, how she felt, or what she does for him (no I don’t mean sex, I mean in a love language type of way). She was only happy talking about what he bought her. She’s also a college athlete running in track. She had one of her meets, and this particular meet would determine if she’d make it to finals. Her mom and Mike were there to support her. After her race, her mom wanted to see if she qualified. While she was getting up Mike grabbed her (I don’t know where and how exactly, waiting to talk more to figure out exactly I was only briefly told this) to stop her mom and told her that her mom should give her some space. Her mom said no, that she knows her daughter. He was adamant that he knows Sarah better, that she would want some space. Sarah told me she broke up for “putting hands” on her mom, and how he “handled” her mom is how Mike would handle Sarah. I agree if she does not like how he handled the interaction and it was a deal breaker for her then fine. But to say he put hands on her mom implied a lot more. I mean I think she just wanted a reason to end things without feeling bad. Am I overreacting? Am I being too sensitive since I have a personal history with abuse? Would I be the asshole for saying she was wrong for saying “putting hands” on someone is different than what she’s saying and blowing it out of proportion? I haven’t said anything yet, since I don’t know all the detail. Edit to add: Mike is a cop, & her mom is a federal agent. While telling me the gist of what happened Sarah was smiling the whole time, which is why I feel this may be blown out of proportion

I'm gonna try to make this sound as least self depreciating as possible.
For a little back story after my dad died I moved in with a friend from highschool and her mom Sally (names changed). It was supposed to be just for a few weeks until I figured something out but I kinda just never left (lol) Over the years we became closer and we see each other as family. The "problem" (for lack of a better word) with that is that they only see the good things in me. This is something I generally appreciate and was a great thing to have in my life. But they take all of my good qualities and believe that it should transfer well to me attracting and dating women. And on paper in a way it makes sense, I'm not going to list all of my good qualities cause it makes me feel wierd. But I'm told I'm a great guy.
However I'm bad with relationships. Growing up every relationship iv ever seen has been almost transactional at best, and borderline abusive at worse. My dad had a tendency to date women that would let us live with them. And my birth mother could be pretty manipulative and never got over my father. My siblings had similar problems in there lives, having children young and generally having really bad times in life. I've had several partners growing up in all of those relationships I find myself starting out with good intentions, like I really want to be a good boyfriend, but eventually I find myself hurting or manipulating my partners, Almost "getting bored" of them, then love bombing them to compensate for those feelings. And generally showing these flaws that I hate about my birth family. I'm almost sure that if it wasn't for my religious celibacy I would be a dad by now and I hate that.
Sorry I'm kinda rambling rn, the short of this is that when I'm in relationships I hurt my partner, I don't like hurting people but I can't stop, I show several narcissistic behaviors when dating and it's better if I'm just single, at least for now. Now I know it's just in a mom's nature to want there children to get a partner and eventually start a family. And since I left for college and gotten more stable in life she has been pushing harder for me to get out there and find someone. This makes me irritated as I have told pretty much everyone that I'm good and thriving being single. I also realize that her comments are based on love and I don't want to be mad about that. I also don't want to make it seem like I'm throwing that love back in her face, when all she wants is the best for me. I just want these comments to stop.
How an I tell her I'm not a good boyfriend without having another conversation about her trying to convince me that I am. That is not something I can except, at least right now and I don't want her to feel bad.

Megapost: A list of statements, press releases, and other sources reporting and expressing concern and criticism about Israel's war in Gaza and related aspects of the war. (Part 4)

Notes: This is a work that is currently in progress; please check back for updates. Titles have been edited to provide details.
Part 1 is here: https://www.reddit.com/Social_Democracy/comments/1clx1uc/megapost_a_list_of_statements_press_releases_and/
Part 2 is here: https://www.reddit.com/Social_Democracy/comments/1cmjhpk/megapost_a_list_of_statements_press_releases_and/
Part 3 is here: https://www.reddit.com/Social_Democracy/comments/1coups2/megapost_a_list_of_statements_press_releases_and/
Refugee Council of Australia: Our Letter to the Prime Minister regarding the Israel and Gaza Crisis (April 26, 2024): https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/letter-israel-and-gaza-crisis/
Statement in solidarity with student protests for Gaza [Signed by: 350.org US; 18 Million Rising; 198 methods; Adalah Justice Project; Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association; AF3IRM; Afghans For A Better Tomorrow; Al-Haq; Alliance of Baptists; American Baptist Churches USA; American Baptist Churches Palestine Israel Network; American Friends Service Committee; American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); American Muslim Bar Association; American Muslim Community Foundation; American Muslims for Palestine (AMP); Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action); Arab American Civic Council; Arab American Institute; Asian American Advocacy Fund; Better to Speak; Beyt Tikkun: A Synagogue without Walls; Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU); Blue Future; Borderlands for Equity; Borderlands Resource Initiative; Breach Collective; Brooklyn For Peace; CAIR Action; CAIR California; CAIR Minnesota; CAIR Oklahoma; CAIR-WA; California Coalition for Women Prisoners; Cameroon American Council; Carceral Tech Resistance Network; Ceasefire Democrats; Ceasefire Now NJ; Center for Constitutional Rights; Center for Popular Democracy Action; Center for Protest Law & Litigation @ Partnership for Civil Justice Fund; Chicago Area Peace Action; Chicago Faith Coalition on Middle East Policy; Christians for a Free Palestine; Civic Ark; Civil Liberties Defense Center; Clockshop; CommonDefense.us; Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP); Council on American-Islamic Relations; CWA-News Guild Local 38010; Defending Rights & Dissent; Delaware Democratic Socialists of America; Delawareans for Palestinian Human Rights; Detention Watch Network; Disciples Palestine Israel Network; Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM); Doctors Against Genocide; Dream Defenders; Dutch Scholars for Palestine; Eindhoven Students 4 Palestine; Emgage Action; En Conjunto; Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network; Faith for Black Lives; Faith in Texas; Fellowship of Reconciliation; Fight for the Future; For All; Freedom Farm Community; Freedom Oklahoma; Freedom To Thrive; Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA); Future Coalition; Gen-Z for Change; Gender Justice Action and Gender Justice; Get Free; Global Campaign to Reclaim People's Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power & Stop Impunity; Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine; Green New Deal Network; Greenpeace USA; Hawai'i for Palestine; Health Justice Commons; Helena (Montana) Service for Peace and Justice; Highlander Research and Education Center; Hindus for Human Rights; Historians for Peace and Democracy; Human Dignity Project (THDP); IfNotNow Movement; IfNotNow New Jersey; Immigrant Defense Project; Immigrant Justice Network; Immigrants Act Now; Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC); Indiana Center for Middle East Peace; Institute for Policy Studies New Internationalism Project; Interfaith Ceasefire; International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network; International Mayan League; InterReligious Task Force on Central America; Iowans For Palestine; Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); Islamophobia Studies Center; Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); Jewish Voice for Peace; Jewish Voice for Peace-Hawai’i; Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ); Just Foreign Policy; Justice Democrats; Just Futures Law; Justice for All; Kairos USA; Libyan American Alliance; LittleSis / Public Accountability Initiative; Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community; Long Island Progressive Coalition; Make the Road Nevada; Malaya Georgia; Massachusetts Peace Action; Mennonite Action; Mennonite Action WA; Migrant Roots Media; Minnesota Peace Project; Mondoweiss; Movement for Black Lives; MPower Change Action Fund; MSA West; Muslim Advocates; Muslim Community Network; Muslim Counterpublics Lab; Muslim Power Building Project; Muslims for Just Futures; Muslims for Progressive Values; National Arab American Women’s Association (NAAWA); National Domestic Workers Alliance Staff Union, CWA Local 1180; National Iranian American Council; National Lawyers Guild; National Lawyers Guild - St. Louis Chapter; National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR); National Partnership for New Americans; New Hampshire Veterans for Peace; New York City Veterans For Peace; The New Justice Project Minnesota; NH Peace Action; North American Students of Cooperation; No Separate Justice; North Carolina Peace Action; The Oakland Institute; Office of Peace, Justice, and Ecological Integrity/Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth; Our Revolution; Palestine American League; Palestine Legal; Palestinian American Community Center; Palestinian American Organizations Network (PAON); Palestinian Feminist Collective; Partners for Palestine; Pax Christi New Jersey; Pax Christi New York State; Pax Christi Pacific Northwest; Pax Christi USA; Peace Action; Peace Action New York State; Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!; Pediatricians for Palestine; People’s Action; PeoplesHub; Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies; Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness; Presbyterian Peace Fellowship; Progressive Democrats of America (PDA); Project ANAR; Project South; Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice; Reparation Education Project; Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment; Rise for Palestine; Rising Majority; Rising Tide North America; Rochester Committee on Latin America; RootsAction Education Fund; Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre; Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights; Sound Vision; Starr King School for the Ministry; Students and Faculty for Justice in Palestine at the University of Hawai’i (SFJP); Sunrise Movement; Sur Legal Collaborative; TakeAction Minnesota; Tech Justice Law Project; The Gathering for Justice; The Hague Peace Projects; The Social Justice Center; The Uncommitted National Movement; The Whatcom Peace and Justice Center; Transnational Institute; UndocuBlack Network; Unitarian Universalist Association; Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship; Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice; Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina; Unitarian Universalist Mass Action; Unitarian Universalist Peace Ministry Network; Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; Unitarian Universalist Young Adults for Climate Justice (UUYACJ); Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East; United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network; United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR); United Voices for America; Until Freedom; US Campaign for Palestinian Rights; Veterans For Peace; We Are All America; Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club; Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center; Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press; Working Families Party; World BEYOND War; Young Democrats of America Black Caucus; Young Democrats of America Environmental Caucus; Youth Leadership Institute] (April 26-29, 2024): https://www.mpowerchange.org/gazastudentprotests & https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhlWqDQghbVaPb6K7coBoi0o3w1YDfmrPOSbUw5bqNKEnrhg/viewform
Tom Hurwitz: I was arrested protesting at Columbia in ’68. Today’s student encampments carry on a proud, brave tradition: Like the Vietnam War was nearly six decades ago, to many students, Israel’s assault on Gaza feels deeply personal (April 26, 2024): https://forward.com/opinion/607021/columbia-1968-protests-vietnam-gaza-wa
‘We demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza’ – First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill tells major London demo (April 27, 2024): https://vote.sinnfein.ie/we-demand-an-immediate-ceasefire-in-gaza-oneill-tells-major-london-demo/
Nineteen American Sociological Association Presidents Endorse the Resolution for Justice in Palestine (April 28, 2024): https://www.sociologistsforpalestine.org & https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t-z9OTPbl5JB9_sKnFOqAl-bQV78qZ-SFvjjjMrPUgY/
Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton: Brief thoughts on the wave of campus protests across America (April 28, 2024): https://robertreich.substack.com/p/my-thoughts-on-the-wave-of-campus
We’re Jewish students at Columbia arrested for protesting Israel’s war (April 28, 2024): https://thehill.com/opinion/education/4626720-were-jewish-students-at-columbia-arrested-for-protesting-israels-wa
American Association of University Professors: In Defense of the Right to Free Speech and Peaceful Protest on University Campuses (April 29, 2024): https://www.aaup.org/media-release/defense-right-free-speech-and-peaceful-protest-university-campuses
Anat Saragusti: Israeli media’s inevitable hysteria over U.S. campus protests: The media’s unbending self-censorship in covering Gaza has made Israelis incapable of seeing foreign criticism as anything other than antisemitism. (April 29, 2024): https://www.972mag.com/campus-protests-gaza-us-students/
Attorneys inside and outside the administration urge Biden to cut off arms to Israel: So far more than 90 lawyers have signed on to a legal letter alleging Israel’s conduct in Gaza violates U.S. and international law. (April 29, 2024): https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/29/lawyers-israel-arm-sales-biden-00154958
Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention: Statement in Support of Students, Faulty at Columbia University (April 29, 2024): https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/statement-in-support-of-students%2C-faulty-at-columbia-university
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders: "I'm hearing disturbing reports that students face suspension if they don’t end their peaceful protests in #Columbiauniversity in the USA. This is a clear violation of their right to peaceful assembly" (April 29, 2024): https://twitter.com/MaryLawlorhrds/status/1785020792197038101
Cas Mudde: Why are US campuses facing an orgy of state repression in the ‘land of the free’? The right has painted nonviolent protests against the war on Gaza as hotbeds of ‘woke’ terrorism. It’s a pretext for repression (April 30, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/ap30/us-campus-peace-protests-overreaction-gaza
Joint letter to President Biden on humanitarian risk of Rafah operation in Gaza [Signed by: 350.org; ActionAid USA; Alliance of Baptists; American Friends of Combatants for Peace; American Friends Service Committee; Americares; Amnesty International USA; CARE; Charity & Security Network; Children in Conflict; Christian Aid; Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP); Center for American Progress; Center for Civilians in Conflict; Center for International Policy; Church World Service; DAWN; Demand Progress Education Fund; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Humanity & Inclusion; IM Swedish Development Partners; Indivisible; Islamic Relief USA; Islamic Relief Worldwide; KinderUSA; Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; MedGlobal; Médecins du Monde / Doctors of the World International Network; Mennonite Central Committee; Middle East Democracy Center; Minnesota Peace Project; MoveOn; Nonviolent Peaceforce; Norwegian Refugee Council USA; Oxfam America; Pax Christi USA; Premiere Urgence Internationale; Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness; Refugees International; Save the Children US; SEIU; The Episcopal Church; The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP); The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society; Truman Center; Vento di Terra; Win Without War] (April 30, 2024): https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/may/joint-letter-to-president-biden-on-potential-incursion-into-rafah-gaza/
Latino students are key part of pro-Palestine encampment protests (April 30, 2024): https://www.axios.com/2024/04/30/college-encampments-ceasefire-gaza-latino-students
Michael Gould-Wartofsky: Trump Is Wrong. Columbia Isn’t Anything Like Charlottesville: I survived the deadly violence in Charlottesville, and am now a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia University. To compare the two is unwarranted—and unconscionable. (April 30, 2024): https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-is-wrong-columbia-isnt-anything-like-charlottesville
United Church of Christ Officers issue statement amid ongoing unrest on college campuses; offer continued solidarity with partners and people in the Middle East (April 30, 2024): https://www.ucc.org/ucc-officers-issue-statement-amid-ongoing-unrest-on-college-campuses/
United States of America: UN Human Rights Chief troubled by law enforcement actions against protesters at universities (April 30, 2024): https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/united-states-america-un-human-rights-chief-troubled-law-enforcement-actions
A Statement From Jewish Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni Regarding Indiana University's Treatment of Student Protesters ["Actions are being taken in our name, without our consent or request. Such actions, especially those by the administration, often directly contradict the facts we see daily on the ground at campus. We condemn the actions taken by the administration, ISP, and IUPD against the students protesting on Dunn Meadow."] (May 1, 2024): https://bloomingtonian.com/2024/05/01/a-statement-from-jewish-faculty-staff-students-and-alumni-regarding-iustreatment-of-student-protesters/
Charles H.F. Davis III, Jude Paul Dizon, Jessica Hatrick, and Vanessa Miller: Police Repression Is the Problem, Not the Solution (May 1, 2024): https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/05/01/police-repression-problem-not-solution-opinion
Comment from United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain on Mass Arrests of Anti-War Protestors (May 1, 2024): https://uaw.org/comment-from-uaw-president-shawn-fain-on-mass-arrests-of-anti-war-protestors/
Fellowship of Reconciliation Stands in Solidarity with the Students (May 1, 2024): https://forusa.org/fellowship-of-reconciliation-stands-in-solidarity-with-the-students/
Juan González, Veteran of '68 Columbia Strike, Condemns University Leaders' Silence on Gaza Slaughter (May 1, 2024): https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/1/police_raid_columbia_2024_juan_gonzalez
Mike Littwin: As a veteran of the ’60s campus unrest, I know the value of free speech: Despite what you may hear, most of today’s campus demonstrations, including the one at Auraria, are typically nonviolent. (May 1, 2024): https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/01/israel-gaza-student-demonstrations-opinion-littwin/
On Gaza, NY Catholic Worker community echoes Pope Francis: 'Please! Stop the war.' (May 1, 2024): https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/gaza-ny-catholic-worker-community-echoes-pope-francis-please-stop-war
Senator Bernie Sanders: The billionaires who fund AIPAC are not only concerned about protecting Israel's actions in Gaza — they also want to protect corporate interests. That's why they are targeting progressive lawmakers who stand up for the working class and take on powerful special interests. (May 1, 2024): https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1785684580265074707
Syriac Maronite Archbishops denounce military escalation in southern Lebanon, condemn Israeli actions in Gaza and West Bank (May 1, 2024): https://syriacpress.com/blog/2024/01/05/syriac-maronite-archbishops-denounce-military-escalation-in-southern-lebanon-condemn-israeli-actions-in-gaza-and-west-bank/
The Democratic National Committee's College Democrats of America Slams Biden On Gaza And Backs Campus Protesters (May 1, 2024): https://www.huffpost.com/entry/college-democrats-of-america-statement-biden-gaza-campus-protest_n_663278fce4b0849b2edded55
Tope Folarin, director of the Institute for Policy Studies: We Stand with the Students Protesting the Slaughter in Gaza (May 1, 2024): https://ips-dc.org/we-stand-with-the-students-protesting-the-slaughter-in-gaza/
'You are our hope': Palestinian students find strength in U.S. campus protests: “I feel proud that there is a group of students who feel what we feel now — and are helping and supporting us,” said Reem Musa Suleiman Abu Shinar, speaking to an NBC News crew in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. (May 1, 2024): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/palestinian-students-support-us-campus-protests-israel-war-rcna149296
Bernie Sanders in CNN interview: 'This may be Biden’s Vietnam' (May 2, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6rQmvko18M
Catholic Relief Services representative for Gaza fears possible Rafah invasion (May 2, 2024): https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholic-relief-services-rep-gaza-fears-possible-rafah-invasion
‘Disgrace to diplomacy’: Bosnia accuses Israeli diplomat of genocide denial: Envoy to Serbia draws intense criticism for telling Russian media that calling 1995 Srebrenica massacre a genocide ‘diminishes the importance of that term’ (May 2, 2024): https://www.timesofisrael.com/disgrace-to-diplomacy-bosnia-accuses-israeli-diplomat-of-genocide-denial/
Gazans thank US university protesters as Israel calls for students to be expelled (May 2, 2024): https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/middleeast/gaza-children-thank-us-protesters-intl-latam/index.html
Helen Benedict, professor of journalism at Columbia University: ‘US student protests seeking peace in Gaza are the new anti-Vietnam War movement’ (May 2, 2024): https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/us-student-protests-seeking-peace-in-gaza-are-the-new-anti-vietnam-war-movement/articleshow/109766893.cms
Hundreds of U.S. Catholic leaders and laity sign letter urging Permanent Gaza Ceasefire and End to Injustice in Israel and Palestine (May 2, 2024): https://cmep.salsalabs.org/ps-may22024 & https://docs.google.com/document/d/16K1RvL3YdSgSChwO_eWB9iSvIglNP59ahqtAQ1aZiGM/
PREPARED REMARKS: Senator Bernie Sanders on the Nationwide Student Protests and the Ongoing Humanitarian Disaster in Gaza (May 2, 2024): https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/prepared-remarks-sanders-on-the-nationwide-student-protests-and-the-ongoing-humanitarian-disaster-in-gaza/
Recalling Civil Rights Era Abuses, Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP Roundly Condemns Rising Violations Against Peaceful Protesters and Calls for Immediate Federal Intervention ["Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) issued a statement roundly and unequivocally condemning the rising civil and human rights violations against peaceful protesters across the U.S. and issued a letter calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an immediate investigation into the treatment of peaceful protesters" (May 2, 2024): https://www.naacpldf.org/press-release/recalling-civil-rights-era-abuses-ldf-roundly-condemns-rising-violations-against-peaceful-protesters-and-calls-for-immediate-federal-intervention/
United Nations Development Programme: As war in Gaza enters seventh month, 1.74 million more Palestinians will be pushed into poverty across State of Palestine according to United Nations assessment: UNDP and ESCWA estimate more than two-decades reversal in human development— beyond earliest recorded levels of 2004. (May 2, 2024): https://www.undp.org/papp/press-releases/war-gaza-enters-seventh-month-174-million-more-palestinians-will-be-pushed-poverty-across-state-palestine-according-united
“Workers Have Power”: Thousands Rally in NYC for May Day, Call for Solidarity with Palestine (May 2, 2024): https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/2/nyc_may_day_rally_palestine_solidarity
A Message to the Protesters From Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.: A call to keep raising the tempests on campus over the Gazan horror. (May 3, 2024): https://chicagomaroon.com/42811/viewpoints/op-ed/a-message-to-the-protesters-from-reverend-jesse-l-jackson-s
Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson on Mass Arrest of Anti-War Protestors (May 3, 2024): https://www.afacwa.org/mass_arrest_right_to_protest
Rashid Khalidi, Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University: Opposed to Genocide in Gaza, This Is the Conscience of a Nation Speaking Through Your Kids (May 3, 2024): https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/rashid-khalidi-columbia-gaza-speech
“This Militaristic Approach Has Been a Failure”: Meet Hala Rharrit, First U.S. Diplomat to Quit over Gaza (May 3, 2024): https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/3/state_dept
Where pro-Palestinian university protests are happening around the world (May 3, 2024): https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/03/world/pro-palestinian-university-protests-worldwide-intl-hnk/index.html
100-year-old Jewish activist Jules Rabin is speaking up again — this time about Gaza [In a podcast on the nonprofit news site VT Digger, Rabin referred to the tragedy unfolding in Gaza as “a piecemeal Holocaust.”] (May 4, 2024): https://forward.com/culture/609442/jules-rabin-vermont-activism-gaza-ukraine-israel/
Israel will not agree to end the war with Hamas as part of any deal [“Israel will under no circumstances agree to the end of the war as part of an agreement to release our abductees," an Israeli official told ABC News on Saturday morning. "As the political echelon decided, the IDF will enter Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there - whether or not there will be a temporary ceasefire for the release of our hostages."] (May 4, 2024): https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-hamas-cease-fire-talks/israel-will-not-agree-to-end-the-war-with-hamas-as-part-of-any-deal-109924741?id=109734705
Roseann "Chic" Canfora survived the 1970 Kent State shooting. Here's her message to student activists (May 4, 2024): https://www.npr.org/2024/05/04/1249023924/kent-state-shooting-activists-protests-survivor
‘They’re sending a message’: harsh police tactics questioned amid US campus protest crackdowns (May 4, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/04/police-tactics-us-campus-protest-crackdowns
Anton Boonzaier: As a South African during apartheid, I admire pro-Palestine protesters’ tenacity (May 5, 2024): https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/05/op-ed-as-a-south-african-during-apartheid-i-admire-pro-palestine-protesters-tenacity
Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Israeli vote to shut down Al Jazeera; warns of alarming precedent (May 5, 2024): https://cpj.org/2024/05/cpj-condemns-israeli-vote-to-shut-down-al-jazeera-warns-of-alarming-precedent/
Union workers join students in rallies Saturday calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza [More than 200 people attended the Maine Labor for Palestine and Maine Students for Palestine rally.] (May 5, 2024): https://www.mainepublic.org/news/2024-05-05/union-workers-join-students-in-rallies-saturday-to-free-gaza
Oxfam reaction to Rafah evacuation order (May 6, 2024): https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/oxfam-reaction-rafah-evacuation-order
Patrick Gaspard, president of the Center for American Progress: American politicians forget: disruption and disorder are the point of protests: I have trespassed in peaceful protest. I have shut down government offices in civil disobedience. I have made the powerful uncomfortable. That’s the point (May 6, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/06/campus-pro-palestinian-protests
Save the Children warns of deadly consequences for children following new relocation orders for families in Rafah (May 6, 2024): https://www.savethechildren.net/news/save-children-warns-deadly-consequences-children-following-new-relocation-orders-families-rafah
The campus protesters for Gaza are making America great again: Readers on the demonstrations sweeping colleges and their hopes for the next generation. (May 6, 2024): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/06/campus-protests-gaza-palestine-vietnam/
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF): There is ‘nowhere safe to go’ for the 600,000 children of Rafah, warns UNICEF: With hundreds of thousands of children in Rafah injured, sick, malnourished, traumatized or living with a disability, UNICEF calls for children to not be forcibly relocated, and the vital infrastructure on which children rely to be protected (May 6, 2024): https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/there-nowhere-safe-go-600000-children-rafah-warns-unicef
US campus protests of Israeli ‘genocide’ offer hope to students from Gaza (May 6, 2024): https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/6/us-student-protests-of-israeli-genocide-offer-hope-to-students-from-gaza
Brant Rosen: We Tried to Bring Food Into Gaza—but Israel Blocked and Arrested Us: As Israel continues to starve the people of Gaza, a delegation of rabbis marched toward the Erez Crossing during Passover carrying sacks of flour and demanding a cease-fire. (May 6, 2024): https://www.thenation.com/article/world/rabbis-arrested-for-bringing-food-gaza/
Catholic Workers Movement: After Arrests, Students Renew Call for Notre Dame to Follow Catholic Teaching on War, Investments (May 6, 2024): https://catholicworker.org/after-arrests-students-renew-call-for-notre-dame-to-follow-catholic-teaching-on-war-investments/
Hala Rharrit, former State Department official: Biden’s militaristic policy in Gaza is a failure — diplomacy is the solution (May 6, 2024): https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4646237-biden-gaza-militaristic-policy-failure/
750+ Jewish Students Affirm Support for Pro-Palestine Campus Protests [In Response to Biden’s Speech, 750+ Jewish Students on 140+ Campuses Stand Against Israel's Rafah Invasion, Urge Jewish Institutional Action to Halt Gaza Assault] (May 7, 2024): https://www.commondreams.org/news/jewish-students-support-gaza & https://mailchi.mp/israelpalestinecomms/jstudents
American Friends Service Committee: T­h­e C­o­m­p­a­n­i­e­s P­r­o­f­i­t­i­n­g f­r­o­m I­s­r­a­e­l­’­s 2­0­2­3­-­2­0­2­4 A­t­t­a­c­k­s o­n G­a­z­a (Updated on May 7, 2024): https://afsc.org/gaza-genocide-companies
‘I am leaving for the unknown.’ Palestinians fleeing Rafah describe their fear and despair (May 7, 2024): https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/06/middleeast/palestinians-flee-rafah-gaza-fear-despair-intl-hnk/index.html
Kenneth Roth: Biden Should Not Stand in the Way of the ICC (May 7, 2024): https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/07/biden-israel-hamas-icc-gaza-netanyahu-arrest/
Letter by Ch. Lt Col (Ret.) Stephen Tillett to the Editor: Veteran Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza (May 7, 2024): https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/letter-to-the-editor-veteran-calls-for-ceasefire-in-gaza/2024/05/07
Three Orange County medics describe wartime health care in Gaza: A once-modern string of hospitals has been reduced to desperate physicians and others relying on wits and luck. Most of their patients are children. (May 7, 2024): https://www.ocregister.com/2024/05/07/three-orange-county-medics-describe-wartime-health-care-in-gaza/
ACLU’s national director of policy and government affairs Mike Zamore and ACLU senior policy counsel Kia Hamadanchy: A disturbing national security bill could silence nonprofits and college protests (May 8, 2024): https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4651053-a-disturbing-national-security-bill-could-silence-nonprofits-and-college-protests/
Al Jazeera shutdown in Israel spells 'dark day for democracy,' say media groups (May 8, 2024): https://www.voanews.com/a/al-jazeera-shutdown-in-israel-spells-dark-day-for-democracy-say-media-groups/7603956.html
Blinken Says Israeli Units Accused of Serious Violations Have Done Enough to Avoid Sanctions. Experts and Insiders Disagree. (May 8, 2024): https://www.propublica.org/article/blinken-israel-military-aid-human-rights-violations-leahy-law
Jeremy Brecher: Anti-Genocide Students Are Fulfilling Their Duty to Prevent War Crimes; Will You? (May 8, 2024): https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/students-prevent-war-crimes
Senator Bernie Sanders Statement on Biden’s Hold on Bomb Delivery to Netanyahu’s Government (May 8, 2024): https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-statement-on-bidens-hold-on-bomb-delivery-to-netanyahus-government/
The NYPD’s New Sizzle Reels Aren’t Just Dumb. They’re Dangerous. “This is copaganda, designed primarily to provide the mayor with political cover, but then also to show off the military might and alleged professionalism of the NYPD.” (May 8, 2024): https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/05/nypd-sizzle-reel-student-protests/
Haim Bresheeth-Žabner deplores the rot in Israeli society: 'Israel has turned into a Nazi society': The son of Holocaust survivors, Haim Bresheeth-Žabner believes the majority of Israel has been taught to normalise the occupation of Palestine (May 9, 2024): https://www.newarab.com/features/son-shoah-survivors-israel-has-become-nazi-society
‘It’s not human’: What a French doctor saw in Gaza as Israel invaded Rafah: When asked about the conditions of the hospitals he worked in, Dr. Zouhair Lahna is pained by the memories of the sick, wounded and dying. (May 9, 2024): https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/9/its-not-human-what-a-french-doctor-saw-in-gaza-as-israel-invaded-rafah
Japanese American Citizens League Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza (May 9, 2024): https://jacl.org/statements/jacl-calls-for-ceasefire-in-gaza
Republicans Funded by Arms Industry Fume Over Biden Threat to Withhold Bombs From Israel (May 9, 2024): https://www.commondreams.org/news/republicans-israel-weapons
Senator Bernie Sanders Statement on Israel’s Threat to Attack Rafah (May 9, 2024): https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-statement-on-israels-threat-to-attack-rafah/
Trapped in Rafah, I'm watching genocide unfold before my eyes: Gazan journalist Amjad Yaghi's eye-witness account in Rafah describes the horrors of Israel's ground invasion as Gazans desperately try to flee to safety. (May 9, 2024): https://www.newarab.com/opinion/trapped-rafah-im-witnessing-genocide-my-own-eyes
76 Universities in Spain Suspend Ties With Complicit Israeli Universities (May 10, 2024): https://bdsmovement.net/news/76-universities-spain-suspend-ties-with-complicit-israeli-universities
Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project: US Student Pro-Palestine Demonstrations Remain Overwhelmingly Peaceful (May 10, 2024): https://acleddata.com/2024/05/10/us-student-pro-palestine-demonstrations-remain-overwhelmingly-peaceful-acled-brief/
Biden’s arms threat to Israel ‘better than nothing’ but too late, say U.S. officials who resigned over Gaza policy (May 10, 2024): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bidens-arms-threat-israel-better-nothing-late-say-us-officials-resigne-rcna151454
Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza must end’ – Sinn Féin Chairperson Declan Kearney tells Global Anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine (May 10, 2024): https://vote.sinnfein.ie/israels-genocidal-war-in-gaza-must-end-kearney-tells-global-anti-apartheid-conference-on-palestine/
Rick Salutin: I protested at Columbia in 1968 and today’s campus protests give me hope (May 10, 2024): https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/i-protested-at-columbia-in-1968-and-todays-campus-protests-give-me-hope/article_a505c180-0e32-11ef-9615-e3f88eb6e034.html
Senator Bernie Sanders Statement on Rafah (May 10, 2024): https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-statement-on-rafah/
Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center (May 10, 2024): https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/10/middleeast/israel-sde-teiman-detention-whistleblowers-intl-cmd/index.html
U.S. medical volunteers in Rafah hospital say they've never seen a worse health crisis (May 10, 2024): https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/05/10/1250490688/rafa-hospital-gaza-israel-war-middle-east
Pro-Israel website ramps up attacks on pro-Palestinian student protesters (May 11, 2024): https://www.reuters.com/world/name-shame-pro-israel-website-ramps-up-attacks-pro-palestinian-student-2024-05-11/
Sen. Lindsey Graham says Israel should do 'whatever' it has to while comparing the war in Gaza to Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The GOP senator compared Israel’s military operations to the U.S. dropping atomic bombs on Japan in World War II, saying, “Israel, do whatever you have to do.” (May 12, 2024): https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sen-lindsey-graham-says-israel-whatever-comparing-war-gaza-hiroshima-n-rcna151828
‘Total outrage’: White House condemns Israeli settlers’ attack on Gaza aid trucks: Protesters block convoy, throw food into road and set fire to vehicles at Tarqumiya checkpoint near Hebron (May 13, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/13/total-outrage-white-house-condemns-israeli-settlers-attack-on-gaza-aid-convoy

Hello everyone! I'm a 24F year-old English/Spanish native speaker, and I'm moving to Germany in July for a scholarship/permanent residence. I would really like to improve on my German before going as it has gotten quite rusty. I studied German in college for about four years and would say I'm at a C1 level. I'm open to texting and voice messages via Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and Reddit. Here is a little about me:
-I love all kinds of metal, but I primarily listen to black metal. I go to concerts quite often.
-I love cats; I have a black cat of my own named Juno.
-I played cello for about 7 years and have been playing bass guitar for 3 years now.
-My favorite video game is Skyrim.
I'm more than happy to help you with your English and Spanish skills (if it matters, I'm Guatemalan--not that our Spanish is wildly different from other countries). Hope to hear from some of you and would love to form a long-lasting friendship! Thank you/Gracias/Danke!

[ Warning : Happy Nomad's in Hartford, CT is a scam!! ]
I don't know if anyone here is familiar with any of the marketing firms in hartford, but the one you probably know the most are the people who sell phones. the company I was with was similar, and we sold internet (frontier to be exact).
Do not work for this company! They steal your time and your money, and they will guilt trip you if you don't slave for them 80 hours a week. You stand outside all day and sell internet to people. if you don't make a certain amount of sales a week, they don't pay you but they don't tell you that.
I'm a college student who had to study for my final exams and i told them this before the week started. I had to leave one day at 4pm (they normally want us to leave around 7pm or "until we reach our goal") and the assistant manager i was working alongside with started asking me all these questions as i left. He kept saying "i must've lost my attitude" that day and asked me if i'm a "quitter".
everyone in the office is super secretive about their age, their real names and information. The boss is from liberia, and the 2 people at his side are from columbia and ghana. They all live/grew up in new york, and came to CT to start a scamming marketing business. The "boss" has weekly hangouts at his manhattan high rise apartment, where he makes everyone drink so much that nearly nobody can drive home. He also has had sexual encounters with some staff in the office and it shows in his favoritism.
This company will tell you on the job listing that you're going to be making $750-$950 a week and it's a complete lie. They waited until i nagged them to explain the pay rate to tell me that we really make $250 a week if we "make no sales". They also told me that my first two weeks of training is a guaranteed $500.
As a person whose not into marketing at all (and just looking for some extra cash as a college kid) I thought it would be a decent opportunity to take advantage of. It was hard for me to make sales after my training period, but nevertheless I was still expecting the normal pay range since I lived over an hour away and was spending my money and time commuting and staying there from 7am to 5pm each week.
The first pay week comes around (the week where i'm expecting my $500 from training) and ..nothing. Again, they didn't say anything, they waited until i nagged them about my pay to tell me that they "forgot". I was ignoring countless red flags by this point so i figured i had nothing to lose when i told them okay. I then asked them when should I expect my money. They said the next pay week. They even tried to make me feel bad for asking, passively aggressively writing my name on a white board for a reminder saying "are you happy now?".
Lo and behold, it is now the fourth week and they've only paid me $250. I stopped showing up at this point. Me and my family had to threaten to pursue legal action over and over until they finally gave me the full amount. I am not the only employee they've done this to.
Please, save yourself the time and money from joining this cult. If they've also tried to get you or if you're currently employed, please go find a comfortable job where they pay you correctly the first time and treat you like a valuable employee.

Introduction

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Zepp Tokyo for \"Quarter-Century Tour\"

^(\This article is an updated version of my "Sound Like" article from 2021. I have reposted this article due to difficulties editing the original version*, and have included additional information and recommendations based on the increased popularity of amp simulator pedals*)*

Hello fellow musicians and Ajikan fans!
I have been a fan of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION for roughly 16 years and as a guitarist was greatly inspired by the band's alt rock sound.
After a few years of research I have written a series of "sound like" articles for ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. The purpose of these articles is to provide context on how the band create their signature sound, and to support beginning musicians or tribute acts who may wish to replicate it.
At the end of each article I have drafted a Budget Rig, which you could use for both at home and in a live environment. I have also provided some general amp settings to tweak and try, which are based on the band's live sound and be can used to help replicate their tones.
This is a 3-part series and if you enjoy this article I would recommend checking out the other articles:
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 2: Kita : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 3: Yamada : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)

^{Please note that the article focuses on the band's live sound, which will be different to the albums and can vary depending on the venue. Also (and is a cliché} every musician and instrument will vary slightly due to small differences in play style and build, so also be mindful of that.)

To help you recognise the individual guitar tones, Gotch's guitar parts are normally panned to the left earphone and Kita's are panned to the right earphone on the band's albums. (On 2016's Sol-Fa, Hometown and some of the Planet Folks singles the panning was swapped, with Gotch instead in the right ear and Kita on the left)

Masafumi Gotoh

Gotch live at the 02 Islington, London, 2013
Let's start off with lead singer and rhythm guitarist Masafumi Gotoh, or "Gotch" for short. Gotch's was massively influenced by the 90's alternative rock, Power Pop and the Britpop scene, and has previously highlighted Oasis, Weezer and Number Girl as key inspirations.
As Ajikan's main songwriter, Gotch follows the principle of "less is more" - keeping the arrangements simple for listeners, but combining pop hooks & traditional Asian melodies with the band's punk rock and indie influences.
Gotch's playing style follows this principle, as he primarily uses chord shapes, bar chords or repeated phrases to anchor the band. (The simple approach also makes it easier for Gotch to sing while performing)
Occasionally, Gotch will use "octave chords" (more on octave chords below) or play riffs with open strings notes, to add further depth. A good example of this is the opening riffs to Easter, where he plays an open D string while also playing the 3rd and 5th fret of the A string.

^{Octave Chords: Octave chords is famously used in punk rock and alt rock riffs, and is when you play the same note in two different octaves. Try play a bar chord on the 4th fret of the A string, and lifting your ring finger off the D string. You should get a "C# octave chord" and will recognise it from the intro of Haruka Kanata. Octave chords are used in many Ajikan songs and by many bands, so they are good to practice!}

In more recent albums, Gotch has also experimented with moving chord shapes across the fretboard. For good examples, check out the opening of Caterpillar or the bridge section of Kouya Wo Aruke.
Gotch's guitar tends to be lower in the overall mix, with Kita acting as the band's lead guitarist and Gotch as the anchor for each song. However, Gotch tends to improvise with ambient sounds during live performances and occasionally will take on the lead role in songs like Hold Me Tight.

GUITARS:

When it comes to guitars Gotch almost exclusively plays Gibson Les Paul Jr's with P-90 pickups, and has been his preferred guitar since 2004. The P-90 pickups have a bright midrange sound in comparison to the muddier humbucker sound, which makes them better suited for Gotch's focus on chords.
Gotch main guitar is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Special
The Les Paul Jr is also lighter and have less sustain and power compared to a normal Les Paul, which leaves space for the other instruments to stand out in the mix.
Gotch's main guitar is a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Special, which he plays in E Standard tuning and uses for both recording and live performances. Gotch also uses a 1961 Gibson Les Paul Jr (with the pickguard missing) or a 2000 Gibson Les Paul DC (with a gloss yellow finish) for songs in Eb/D# tuning, such as After Dark or Soredewa, Mata Ashita.
Gotch's is also famous for using a 1975 Gibson Marauder during the band's early years. Gotch has mostly retired the guitar (due to the "lack of volume" for larger venues), but it regularly appears in MV's, band merchandise and occasionally during special events, such as the 10th anniversary shows in Yokohama.
Gotch's Gibson Marauder
Gotch occasionally uses a few rarer guitars live, such as the Gibson Custom Les Paul Junior John Lennon model (Gotch has number 54 of 300 such guitars made), and is normally played with a capo for songs such as Maigo Inu To Ame No Beat.
Gotch has also used a Gibson Hummingbird for acoustic numbers, and can be seen used in Eizo Sakushin Shu Vol.6 for the band's performance of Kaigan Doori. Gotch likes to use Tortex Flex .88mm & Tortex Flex Triangle .88mm guitar picks, which he swaps between depending on the song.
If you are looking to sound like Gotch, the best place to start would be a Les Paul Jr guitar with P-90 pickups.

AMPLIFIERS:

After originally touring with a Roland JC-22, Gotch has almost exclusively played Fender amplifiers since 2004. Gotch uses two amps when playing live, one for his "clean" sound and the other for his "heavy" sound.
The band's often implement a "quiet/loud" dynamic into their song writing, so Gotch will often switch between his amps during live performances, using a custom made footswitch on his pedalboard. (A good example of this is Mustang or Solanin)
For his clean tone, Gotch uses a Fender 65' Twin Custom Twin 15. It can be heard on Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa Ga Furu, Solanin and Wonder Future. Occasionally, Gotch will combine the Twin Reverb with a boost pedal or overdrive pedal for more clarity, with Wonder Future a good examples of this.
(1) Fender '65 Twin Custom 15 (clean tone), (2) Fender Vibro-King Custom, (3) Fender Super-Sonic 60 Head (which uses the Vibro-King as a speaker), (4) Fender '63 Spring Reverb (which runs in between the pedal board and the Super-Sonic 60, and is toggled on or off by a switch)
For his heavier tone, Gotch primarily uses a Fender Vibro-King Custom for recording and appears in most of the band's MV's. The Vibro-King/Twin Reverb was Gotch's main setup during the 2000's and can be seen together on Eizo Sakushin Shu Vol. 6.
In 2009 Gotch started to use a Fender Super-Sonic 60 Amp Head and still uses it now. Until 2022, Gotch would use Vibro-King as a "cabinet", acting as the speaker unit for the Super-Sonic. Gotch now uses a Shinos & L Rocket Head for live shows, but has kept the Vibro-king for recording sessions and MVs.
Since 2022 Gotch has used Shinos & L Rocket amp & cabinet instead of the Fender Vibro-King
Gotch "heavy" amps for songs such as Re:Re:, Haruka Kanata and Rewrite. It is important to note that Gotch prefers to use his amps to create his distorted tone, but will occasionally add an overdrive pedal for heavier tracks such as Blood Circulator & Easter.
Alongside the Twin Reverb and Super-Sonic, Gotch is known to use a Fender 63' Spring Reverb Unit. This unit only runs into the Super-Sonic and is used for additional reverb to "thicken the sound". Gotch can control the 63' Reverb with a on/off switch on his pedal board.
Other notable amps that Gotch has used are the Matchless C30 & Bad Cat 30R Head. Both have been used exclusively for recording, most notably on Wonder Future. Gotch is also known to use VOX AC15 amps for recording.
Gotch's '63 Spring Reverb Unit, along with a selection of Vortex Flex .88m picks

In terms of mics, Gotch seems to use a Shure SM57 for his Fender Twin Reverb and a Shure SM58 on his Vibro-King or Shinos Rocket. When you are trying to emulate his sound with modelling or profiling amps, it is worth experimenting with mic positioning and different mics.

If you want to replicate Gotch's amp sound then you should look to replicate his Fender amps. However the Vibro-King is a key component and are unfortunately rare, notoriously loud and expensive. For that reason, I have put together some alternatives that should get you close.

PEDALS & EFFECTS:

During Ajikan's early years, Gotch combined a Roland JC-22 with a ProCo RAT to create the "quiet/loud" dynamic of the band's early records. After buying the Fender Vibro-King in 2004, Gotch no longer required the RAT, but kept a simplified pedalboard to achieve certain tones for live performances.
Gotch's 2004 pedalboard, which includes the ProCo RAT and Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
We will cover two different pedalboards that Gotch has used during the band's career. Regardless of which pedal board you look at, Gotch's has always included an overdrive or boost pedal, a phase pedal and a delay pedal.
The boost/overdrive is used to "lift" his clean sound during ballads (Solanin, Wonder Future) or to thicken his sound for heavier tracks. (Senseless, Dororo) Gotch will normally set the drive or gain low and the volume high.
The phaser is a more sparingly used pedal to add texture and colour, but can be heard on Shinkokyū, Blue Train and Rewrite. I will include more detail on Gotch's use of delay in the sections below.
Gotch's "Classic" Pedalboard
Gotch \"classic\" pedalboard, used between 2006-2013, with Gotch's custom made footswitch on the bottom left to control the amps
Gotch started to use this "classic" board during the Fanclub tour and continued to do so until the 10th Anniversary shows in 2013. This would be the easier and more affordable board to replicate for newcomers.
Gotch's setup started with a BOSS TU-3 tuner, which he also used as a "mute" pedal in between songs. From there, his chain would run into the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, the BOSS PH-2 Super Phaser and the BOSS DD-20 Giga Delay. During the Magic Disk tour, Gotch also added a Custom Audio Tremolo.

^{The BOSS DD-20 has been Gotch's main delay pedal for twenty years and is set to "warp". On the warp setting, Gotch can keep his foot on the pedal to create swells of delays. Gotch's standard setting is 173-179bpm (beats per minute} on 1/4 (quarter) notes and then he has four presets. These are 137bpm on 1/4 (for the intro of Blackout), 154bpm on 1/4 (for Kakato de Ai o Uchinarase), 177bpm on 1/2 (for Solanin and the intro of Siren) and finally 177 on 1/4. (For the second half of Siren))

Gotch also included two footswitches for his board; The first one was a handmade footswitch, which he used to swap between the Twin Reverb and the Vibro-King/Super-Sonic. The other footswitch was a BOSS FS-5L, which he used to control the '63 Spring Reverb Unit.
Gotch's "Modern" Pedalboard
Gotch's \"modern\" pedal board.【Pedal List】(1) api/TranZformer GT (compressoequalizer) (2) BOSS/TU-3 (tuner) (3) Spaceman Effects/Atlas III (preamp) (4) BOSS/DD-6 (delay) (5) Spaceman Effects/Voyager I (tremolo) (6) EarthQuaker Devices/Avalanche Run (delay/reverb) (7) Mu-Tron/Mu-FX Phasor 2X (phaser) (8) Caroline Guitar Company/KILOBYTE (9) BOSS/DD-20 (delay) (10) Handmade/Line Selector (11) FAT/514.D (booster)(12) strymon/Zuma R300 (power supply) (13)BOSS/EV-30 (Expression Pedal) (14) BOSS/FS-5L (foot switch)
During the recording of Wonder Future and his first solo album (Can't Be Forever Young), Gotch began to experiment more with boutique pedals, and has resulted in a more complex board since 2014, allowing more ambient experiments on the band's records and during live performances.
Gotch has added a API Tranzformer GT to the start of his chain, only using the E.Q. section and tweaking the settings for each venue.
Gotch's "Modern" board now includes a variety of delay and reverb pedals, such as the Earthquaker Device Avalanche Run and the Caroline Kilobyte Lo-Fi Delay. These are combined with his DD-20 to create the ambient sounds heard on Empathy & the outro of Demachiyanagi Parallel Universe.
The BOSS DD-6 Digital Delay is set to the "reverse" mode and is used during the intro of Re:Re: and the bridge of Rewrite. Gotch has removed the Tube-Screamer from his board and has experimented with multiple alternative pedals, which includes the Xotic Effects AC Plus and JHS Superbolt.
He currently uses the Atlas III Preamp Booster and the FAT 514.D for his overdrive sounds. The 514.D only runs to the Super-Sonic to help "thicken" the distorted tone of the Super-Sonic.
Gotch has also replaced the Super Phaser with the MU-FX Phasor 2x and is using a Voyager I Spaceman for his tremolo. (UCLA & No Name are good references for the tremolo) Finally, Gotch has added an BOSS EV-30 expression pedal, which he uses to control the delay of the Avalanche Run.
If you are looking to replicate Gotch's pedalboard, the best place to start would be a phaser, delay and a boost/overdrive pedal, which would cover most of Ajikan's Discography.

Sound Like Gotch...On a Budget

Now that you are up to speed on what Gotch uses for his guitar rig, we can start to look at replicating his sound. The idea of this section is to offer affordable suggestions to replicate Gotch's tone that can be used for home use and for small live venues.
I would like to highlight that I am just writing as a fan and the equipment I recommend are purely my own recommendations. I do not have any sponsors (I wish I did sometimes) and if you find alternatives that work for you, go for it!
Gotch performing in 2022, during the Quarter Century shows in Yokohama
To buy Gotch's current pedal board alone would cost roughly £2,500 and would be unrealistic for most readers to purchase, however there are options that can get us close to Gotch's tone without breaking the bank.
The key elements to this rig are:

• A Gibson style guitar with P-90 pickups
• A Fender amp with decent distortion
• A Tube-Screamer style overdrive
• A flexible Delay pedal

Let's start with the guitar, which is both important for the P-90 tone. You should always feel comfortable when playing the guitar you pick, so I recommend trying out the guitar when possible before buying.
GUITARS
As an affordable guitar, I would suggest looking at the Epiphone Les Paul Jr. It is the entry level price for Gibson guitars (Epiphone would be the equivalent to "Squier" for Fender) and includes P-90 pickups as the standard setup. You can buy one for around £380 and should also be fairly easy to modify & similar to Gotch's sound.
Epiphone Les Paul Junior
If you do have a higher budget to work with, I would recommend the Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute DC. These were released in 2019 and you can normally find a 2nd hand version for roughly £650 - £800. (It is also the guitar I currently use!) Failing that, you can also look at the Gibson Les Paul Special for around £800.
Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute DC
AMPLIFIERS
We are looking to replicate Gotch's Fender amps, so the affordable option to start with would be the Fender Mustang GTX. The newer Mustang amps are an improvement on the original and have simulations of the Twin Reverb, the Vibro-King and the Super-Sonic.
The GTX 50 (which has a smaller speaker) is roughly £390 and the GTX 100 (which includes a footswitch) is about £510, but you should be able to find both versions for a reduced cost second hand.
Fender Mustang GTX 100
If you do have a higher budget or prefer to use a tube amp, I would recommend going for the Fender Super-Sonic Combo or the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for a solid distorted Fender tone.
Alternatively, you could consider the Fender Blues Junior, Fender Tone Master Twin-Reverb or Roland JC, and combine them with a ProCo RAT to replicate the tones from Houkai Amplifier and Kimi Tsunagi Five M.
PEDALS
To keep the list of suggestions short and simple, we will use Gotch's "classic" board as a reference and will cover most of the band's discography.
For a budget rig, I would recommend the Ibanez Tube-Screamer Mini, which is a miniature version of the standard Ibanez Tube-Screamer and sound great for the price. You could pair this up with a Boss Phase Shifter and a BOSS DD-6 Delay for around £309 brand new to get a very similar Gotch board. (You could buy them for as low as £110 combined on the 2nd hand market)
The Tube Screamer Mini is a cheap, effective overdrive pedal based on the classic TS808
For a more expensive pedalboard, the JHS Superbolt V2 was used by Gotch extensively between 2015-2019 and was once described by Gotch as "the Ajikan sound" on his blog. You could also buy the TS808 Tube Screamer that Gotch actually used for many years or the JHS Bonsai 9 which emulates multiple tube screamers.
For modulation sounds (phase, tremolo) the AmpliTube X-Vibe is one of many great multi-effect pedal on the market. If you have the money for it, you could buy a BOSS DD-20 second hand or the BOSS DD-200 to emulate Gotch's delay sound.
If you decided to go with the Mustang GTX, you would also have a selection of effects built into the amp.
THE TONE MASTER PRO? (and amp simulators)
As a final recommendation, Fender have recently released the Tone Master Pro (TMP), which is a multi effects and amp simulator.
It can be used as a device for home recording, but also as multi effects pedal in front of a standard amp or as your main amplifier when played through a IR cabinet. (I'll go into more detail in a bit!) The TMP are not cheap at £1400, so I would only advise buying one if you plan to use it as your main amp and effects board.
If you have the budget and was starting your rig from scratch I would consider checking it out, as it includes great simulations of the Twin Reverb and Vibro-King. They are also easy to transport & the Fender IR cabinets only weigh 12.5kg. (For comparison, my VOX AC15 weighs 30kg and is a nightmare to transport for shows)
The TMP is Fender's first amp simulator pedal and from what I understand the Quad Cortex DSP, the Line 6 Helix series and the Headrush Pedalboard are more popular choices. However, for the purpose of "sounding like Gotch", I would start with the TMP for its Fender selection and simplicity
The Fender Tone Master Pro can be used to simulate multiple amps & as a pedalboard for live performances

^{If you decide to buy a Amp Simulator Pedal, there are 3 common ways to use it for band practices & live settings. (Outside of just using headphones or running straight to front of house at a venue})
^{Option 1: Only use the effects on the Amp Simulator and run it into a standard amp. (Make sure to not use the cabinets settings within the pedal when doing this} You could still use the amps, however it will not always sound great with a normal amp)
^{Option 2: Use the Amp Simulator as your main amp and combining with a standard guitar cabinet. In order to do this, you will need to buy a separate power amp pedal to run in between the amp simulator and the guitar cabinet. (Otherwise you will not have any volume or oomph when you play through the cabinet})
^{Option 3: Buy a IR Cabinet. The difference between this and Option 2 is that you would not need to buy a separate power amp pedal to run into the speaker. The Fender FR-10/12 & Line 6 Powercab are good examples.}

Recommended Amp Settings

The following amp settings are based on photos gathered from live performances or from photos of Gotch's social media. Every amp will slightly differ based on your guitar or playing style, so you may need to tweak with your settings to find the right blend.
My personal advice is to not put the gain too high and to start with getting the treble and bass settings where you feel comfortable, before tweaking the mids. The P-90s have a strong midrange attack, so bear that in mind as well.
Gotch's Vibro-King and Super-Sonic
Fender '65 Twin Custom 15:
(Plugged into Vibrato 1) Vol: 3, Treble: 3.5-4, Mid: 6.5, Bass: 3.5
Fender Super-Sonic 60 Head:
Channel 1: Vol: 3.5, Treble: 4-4.5, Bass: 5
Channel 2: Vintage setting ON, Gain 1: 4, Gain 2: 0, Treble: 5-5.5, Bass: 4.5-5, Mid: 5.5, Vol: 5.5-6
Fender Vibro-King Custom (as cabinet):
Plug into the speaker input at the back of the amp, with FAT switch on.
Fender Vibro-King Custom (as amplifier):
(FAT ON) Vol: 3, Treble: 4.5, Bass: 4, Mid: 5.5 (Based on Eizo Sakushin Shu Vol.6 settings)
OR
(FAT ON) Vol: 4.5 Treble: 4 Bass: 5 Mid: 4.5
Shinos & L Rocket Head:
Gain: 7, Treble: 8, Bass: 3, Reverb: 0, Master: 7

Conclusion

I hope this has been helpful for you guys, as it has been on my bucket list for some time! Please provide some feedback as it is always appreciated and if you would like more details about the effect settings let me know.
[Update] I have now written a post on Kita's rig and Yamada's rig, which you can read below:
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 2: Kita : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 3: Yamada : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)

Little about us, we were HS sweethearts that got pregnant while still in school. Yes life changed and I as an 18yo with a kid did not have much time to hang with my old friends. Went to college and got a job and days turned into years. Now almost 30 years later she has noted I need more friends in my life. I also bounced schools a lot, 16 schools in 12 years, including 2 years at the HS we both shared so I never really formed many clsoe friendships to begin with.
I did not keep contact with my HS group of friends, pretty much dropped out and started working once she became pregnant. After I graduated HS and went to college I did not have time for college social, I mostly went to class, to work, then home. I couldn't even name a single person I went to college with not. Never really made any lasting friendships at all.
Fast forward to now and my wife has started saying I need a social circle. I am beyond confused as to why. I am fine doing things alone that she does not enjoy doing, I have my own hobbies and interests. She has a large group of friends she does things with. I guess I am just confused as to why she is pushing me to make friendships when I have been fine all these years doing things with the kids or by myself if she is not interested in what we are doing. Why is it important to have a circle of friends?
tl:dr Wife has started pushing me to make friends, but I don't really understand why.

Hey Hey the names Kacper, yes like casper the friendly ghost XD I'm a college student studying English philology but I do voice acting as a side thingy, so hope that means I have a cool voice XDDD
in my free time I like playing video games and would be nice if we could play together, especially if you can carry 🙏 (i suck 💀) I also listen to a TON of music, it's a problem at this point XDD (i had 83k minutes on my spotify wrapped, for the love of god send help). I also really enjoy stuff like writing, reading, painting, gardening (I have like 9 plants in my room rn XDD) watching movies, anime, reading manga, working out and making sculptures with clay
As for me and my personality, I'll quote my bestfriend here "he's a chill and funny guy", now you may be asking yourself: was he held at gunpoint and made to say that and yes he was XDD, dont worry he's fine...probably XD, as for looks I have short dark brown hair (growing it out) and dark brown eyes, along with glasses, I'm also average weight and I'm 189cm tall and according to another friend I have a ✨️panache✨️ voice, what does that mean? I have no clue but their pretty looney so I think its good? XDDD I also always try and make light of a situation trying to crack jokes and just overall just trying to make people happy and I've been told I'm protective of people I'm close with XDD
I would like to say one thing that may sound a bit harsh, but if your the type of person to ghost/ignore/ignore for attention or the like then don't message me, ik it can seem harsh but we're all adults here and shouldn't play those types of games.
I would prefer someone from 19-28 location doesnt really matter to me but if theirs a big time difference you should have good communication skills. Id like someone charismatic, bold, confident, loving but most importantly is someone i can have a fun relaxed, comfortable conversation with and not one where im carrying the whole thing like im sisyphus XDD. And I'd prefer if we started as friends as I don't like rushing things like this.
I would like to make this more indepth but I'm currently bothered by my brother for something and I might need to suplex him soon 🙏 XDD hoping to hear from you soon tho ☺️ (when you message Introduce yourself!)

Hey Hey the names Kacper, yes like casper the friendly ghost XD I'm a college student studying English philology but I do voice acting as a side thingy, so hope that means I have a cool voice XDDD
in my free time I like playing video games and would be nice if we could play together, especially if you can carry 🙏 (i suck 💀) I also listen to a TON of music, it's a problem at this point XDD (i had 83k minutes on my spotify wrapped, for the love of god send help). I also really enjoy stuff like writing, reading, painting, gardening (I have like 9 plants in my room rn XDD) watching movies, anime, reading manga, working out and making sculptures with clay
As for me and my personality, I'll quote my bestfriend here "he's a chill and funny guy", now you may be asking yourself: was he held at gunpoint and made to say that and yes he was XDD, dont worry he's fine...probably XD, as for looks I have short dark brown hair (growing it out) and dark brown eyes, along with glasses, I'm also average weight and I'm 189cm tall and according to another friend I have a ✨️panache✨️ voice, what does that mean? I have no clue but their pretty looney so I think its good? XDDD I also always try and make light of a situation trying to crack jokes and just overall just trying to make people happy and I've been told I'm protective of people I'm close with XDD
I would like to say one thing that may sound a bit harsh, but if your the type of person to ghost/ignore/ignore for attention or the like then don't message me, ik it can seem harsh but we're all adults here and shouldn't play those types of games.
I would prefer someone from 19-28 location doesnt really matter to me but if theirs a big time difference you should have good communication skills. Id like someone charismatic, bold, confident, loving but most importantly is someone i can have a fun relaxed, comfortable conversation with and not one where im carrying the whole thing like im sisyphus XDD. And I'd prefer if we started as friends as I don't like rushing things like this.
I would like to make this more indepth but I'm currently bothered by my brother for something and I might need to suplex him soon 🙏 XDD hoping to hear from you soon tho ☺️ (when you message Introduce yourself!)

I had a mercor AI interview thrice. and just to be sure i was not being shat on, i used the exact same words for all the interviews and steered the interviews in the same direction.
For the first 2, i got the response along the lines of "due to low quality of the interview, we won't be able to share your profile with our clients. schedule another interview". After the third interview, i got the confirmation that i had been "added to the 99-th percentile pre-vetted pool" (whatever the f-word that is supposed to mean). In addition to the name of the interviewer "John Sharma" (they might aswell have used Wolf Gupta, the prodigy), it was outright a red flag due to the following reasons: - Being the exact same interview, how did i get selected on the third attempt? was it my camera angle? was it my mic? was it my lighting? i am pretty confident all of them were good enough in all the "interviews". - When this happened, I was barely with 9 months of full-time experience. How can i even fall in the 99-th percentile of developers, that too globally?
I was still very skeptical until they gave me an interview with a YC startup. The interview went well, except that the interviewer ghosted me afterwards. Now my questions went deeper. Came across the following posts and discussions. https://www.reddit.com/resumes/comments/18qo0g2/is_this_legit_mercor_interview_anyone_eve - The comments are filled with obvious bot accounts https://www.reddit.com/developersIndia/comments/1azkwcp/mercor_interview_john_sharma_a_scam_with_ai/ https://www.reddit.com/developersIndia/comments/18suxu5/is_mercorcom_legitimate/
What I can gauge from the above is that they are taking User data to train their AI. Not sure if I did sign a clause to allow them to use my data for training, but capitalism.
Not only is that the issue, they seem to be promoting another scam, Remotasks. Where anyone who has a degree is super under-qualified
Hey
We’ve shortlisted you for an exciting opportunity with Remotasks (a subsidiary of Scale AI) because you passed our AI interview and have an impressive background. This role would pay 20 USD/hr.
Here is a description of the role: •⁠ ⁠Remotasks (a subsidiary of Scale AI) is looking for experienced software engineers to complete data generation tasks to improve the performance of cutting-edge AI models. •⁠ ⁠These tasks involve receiving a prompt that a model is unable to properly answer (for example, “plot the Mandelbrot set in Python”). Your responsibility will be to complete these tasks each day by writing both high quality code and an English explanation of your work. •⁠ ⁠Each task takes anywhere from 1-4 hours to complete and you will have the flexibility to finish them on your own time. The total workload is 40 hours per week. •⁠ ⁠If you excel in this role, you may be promoted to higher-paying opportunities by Remotasks and the Scale AI team in a management role.
If this opportunity excites you, please confirm your availability (meaning: when can you start working) to work 40 hours a week. We can arrange to send you the final short assessment.
Regards
XYZ Person
Recruitment Manager @ Mercor.com
I have hid the name of the person who sent me this (unless public demand), but it is someone who has not even finished college yet. I looked into this person's linkedin too and the career path seems bullshit at the best.
Now, they are apparently hiring for someone to manually rate the recorded interviews. Check the guidelines here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FIBpgorDbkq3cjCM1DA_fLEL7mzzHUjZsuGPSaRWmyc/edit#heading=h.b49v7mviz4ba
We are supposed to rate 15 of these 20 minute interviews, about 5 hours of work. If 50% of their "pre-vetted" pool candidates rate 15 interviews each, pretty sure that would be all the data required to train their entire AI.
What can we do to stop their evil schemes?

This will be a longer story, but I feel like sharing it because of how much this band has resonated with me lately.
So I attended high school between 2010 and 2014 and I distinctly remembered chatting with a metalhead friend over Facebook messenger about recent metal bands I should check out.
Up to that point, most of the metal I’ve listened to have been classic metal like Black Sabbath and thrash metal like Metallica and Megadeth. The only other metal band I’ve throughly enjoyed during that time was Tool.
I’m generally not a fan of metal bands with a lot of dirty vocals, but I wanted to be open minded and expand my musical palette.
The friend in question recommended me Strawberry Swisher, Part 2 and was immediately impressed. We chatted about them for a bit and I listened to DBM and pretty much stuck with that album for a while since I really enjoyed the intricate instrumentation and the dynamics between the dirty and clean vocals.
After high school though, I pretty much went on my own in terms of finding music and listened to nothing but Rock music - and all of the sub genres within - as well as jazz, hip-hop, folk and indie music. I occasionally dipped my toes back into Metal, mostly Tool and the other metal bands I’ve mentioned, and slowly got into other heavier bands like At The Drive-In, Lighting Bolt, Death Grips, and Atari Teenage Riot (all of whom I still love.)
Two years ago, I got heavily (and still am) into jam bands and have been obsessed with them to this day. But at a certain point, I wanted to take a break from the feel good, funky vibes and wanted to get back into metal; however, I didn’t want to go back to the usual bands I’ve listened to in the past and wanted to find something new.
Then this year, I started supporting this webcartoon called “Ratbasterdz,” (a show I strongly recommended to everyone here), on Patreon which has a metalcore heavy soundtrack that clicked with me even though I’m not the biggest fan of that sub-genre.
Since I was supporting the show on Patreon, I have access to their discord server and started chatting with them about different music. I eventually asked for recommendations of “progressive metalcore” groups as I really champion heavier bands that have strong musicianship.
Three of the recommendations were From Autumn to Ashes, Bring Me The Horizon, and (finally) Dance Gavin Dance. I let out a big “oh shit!” when I saw that name as I’ve completely forgotten about them for so long and, somehow, never bothered to re-listen to them.
Listening to DBD and Happiness again filled me with not just nostalgia, but a newfound appreciation of the band and I couldn’t help but feel like an idiot for not giving them another chance and missing out on seeing them live during the 2000’s and 2010’s.
While I haven’t listened to all of their albums, I’m slowly making my way through them and can’t help but love their sound, their songwriting, and their passionate performances.
Welp…that’s my boring story. In a nutshell DGD rules and I’m glad I dove back into them.
Thanks for reading!

2007, I was 10 and would turn 11 later in the year. My sister’s boyfriend was over the house a lot. He was a skater, Bam Margera type of guy who lived at the beach (albeit on the east coast) and would drive up on the weekends to see my sister. They used to listen to music on my sister’s stereo a lot. They would listen to a variety of music ranging from Grateful Dead to Staind to The Doors. However one CD would play a lot more than the others, the 1996 Sublime self titled album. She would listen to it with and without him and I would constantly hear “Wrong Way” and “Santeria” despite not knowing the title of the song or the artist. Fast forward to Summer of 2008, I was up way later than I should have been trying to remember the lyrics to “Santeria”. All I knew was “what I really wanna know, ah baby”. So I plugged that into Google and got a YouTube video for “Santeria”. From there I downloaded “Wrong Way”, “What I Got”, “Santeria”, and “Doin’ Time” onto my iPod and they were a good portion what I listened to for the rest of the summer. When my sister went to college I immediately ransacked her CD collection and downloaded 40oz, Robbin the Hood, and the Self titled.
Fast forward to early 2009, I’m still listening to Sublime almost daily. One day I’m online and I notice an article about Sublime reforming with an 18 year old named Rome Ramirez. I was very excited to see this band that I just discovered was coming back. Of course I was just excited when they changed the name to Sublime with Rome. Even as a kid I knew it was a good way of separating the two. A couple years pass and I’m not following the news on SWR until 2011 when I see they’re releasing new music on an album called “Yours Truly”. Here’s where SWR would have a knack for releasing music that coincided with major events in my life. I graduated grade school in 2011 and the soundtrack of that summer was “Yours Truly”, I would listen to every track on that album constantly. For Christmas that year I had my parents get me the physical CD. From 2011-2015 I made new friends in high school and was able to introduce a lot of them to both Sublime and Sublime with Rome.
“Sirens” came out the summer I graduated high school and almost everybody in my friend group was listening to it. I have very good memories of hearing “Wherever You Go” at the beach, driving at night with friends, and at parties. That same summer me and 3 others went to see SWR live (my first of 4 times) and it was a great experience to be able to hear the music I love played live.
“Blessings” came out the summer I graduated college and the lyrics to that album resonated with me more than the previous albums. Especially “Light On”. It was yet another summer that I was going through a life change while having new SWR music to accompany it.
Fast forward to 2023-2024, I’m now 27. The past year saw a bad breakup and a departure from a job that I really began to hate. I have not been in too many dark spots in my life, but this one required a little spiritual and emotional recovery. I can confidently say I am truly happy again. I’ve got another summer to look forward and yet again new SWR music to accompany me. This is the main reason I stick up for SWR and Rome as an individual. Their music is connected to major parts of my life. If you don’t like the music itself you’re free to bash it but I will never see the group as “hacks” as some people like to call them.

Trigger warning - religious differences
I always bragged about how awesome my extended family was. NO family is perfect, but I heard horror stories and always counted my blessings that I had strong ties with my Aunt and uncles since I was raised an only child. That was until a few months ago when my last living Aunt, whom I considered a second mom, shattered me.
Ok, some backstory here. My aunt is a Jehovah’s Witness. Now before you get all judgy, I have always loved her, my uncle and her son with all of my heart. I still do. I respect that they have found faith and live by this code on the daily. I have met many people from their congregation and loved them all (ok, a couple of exceptions). I also appreciate the community they have and love they all show each other. If it weren’t for the religion itself, I would have converted.
I, however, am pagan and have always been since I was about 5 (even the first book I signed out from the school’s library was about witchcraft). Not raised that way, but always found spiritual comfort in nature and the natural world. I have a very strong connection and dedication to my Powers That Be and work every day to help the world be a better place. My Aunt did not know my religion until about 7 years ago. That being said, she and I would have very philosophical conversations when we hung out together. Even at the age of 8, I would listen to her preach to me and ask questions to which she never had answers. I remember her telling me how only 144,000 people would be allowed in heaven and didn’t I think that would be wonderful knowing that our whole family could be together again after we died. We’d all be in heaven if we were all Jehova;s witnesses. I had gone with her many times to do field service (door to door) and asked her why they do that if there’s only a certain number of people allowed. Didn’t that lessen her chances of getting in because I’m sure there were many people more deserving than myself. How did she know for sure she’d be one of the ones to get in and was that fair to keep bringing people into the religion when all the spaces were probably already filled up?
At 8 years old, I had many questions and was just trying to figure these things out. Since she was an adult, I figured she had the answers. My questions were not with malice, just for a want of better understanding. When she didn’t have the answers, I'd ask my mother and grandmother. While they were extremely amused, they said they never understood either. They never said anything bad about her or her attempts to get them to convert, just allowed me to explore religion and spirituality as I wished so I could make my own decision of what was right for me.
Once I was an adult, I avoided talking to her about religion, but found that if I didn’t ask questions and just let her talk, it made her happy. I know she’s a good person at heart and that’s all that matters. After my Mom passed, my aunt and I talked almost every week. I loved talking to her and she became even more like a mom to me. She gave me encouragement and we supported each other through health and emotional crises. I’d make it a point to try and visit at least once a year for a few days so she could visit with my daughter and I. We’d always do lunch with her friends and I loved it. I fell in love with some of the people in her congregation and wished we could live closer to hang out more. I, however, never wavered on my spiritual beliefs, but I have never cared about the religion, race, or sexuality of anyone. If we got along, we were friends and that was that.
My aunt and I had come to an understanding that I would not convert and that we would love and respect each other regardless. Religious talk was off the table for the most part until both of my uncles (my aunt’s two brothers) passed and she had a very hard time dealing with it. She was the last surviving sibling and she was sinking into a depression. I’d talk to her at length and listen to her as she mourned the fact that she would never have contact with them (and my mom) in heaven because they never converted. When she asked me what I believed, I told her that I believed that the soul lived on after the body died and that I believed in reincarnation. I explained my beliefs were closer to hindu and buddhism than christianity (so she had context). We had very long talks and she expressed that she respected my views and actually found comfort in talking with me.
That was until my daughter and I opened our store about 3 years ago. It’s a metaphysical shop and we have crystals, teas, gifts, jewelry, candles and more (about 10% strict;y pagan). My aunt was happy for us until it dawned on her that we might sell pagan stuff. I told her what we sold and she asked me if I was a witch. I replied that I suppose that was one way to describe me, but, again, I considered myself spiritual and that I followed a path closer to buddhism, hinduism, native american. I sent a couple of pictures of the jewelry that we made and she said when we came down, we should bring the jewelry making.
We did, I brought down our best crystals to wrap and bracelet materials and my daughter and I made her a necklace with a very expensive stone (A $200 piece). She brought her friends over and they picked out crystals that they wanted, made bracelets and such. We had fun and I was happy to do it, though I wasn’t expecting people that I had never met before. Still, we had fun. My daughter and I also brought her a basket with local items from our hometown, (Raw honey, handmade stoneware mugs, cutting board, herbal tea and some other items made by us as well) She was thrilled. My aunt and uncle had taken a couple of bad falls a few months before and so my daughter and I made them hand carved cedar walking sticks as well because we knew they went for regular walks and thought it would help their balance. It felt amazing to lavish expensive and heartfelt gifts on them as I has struggled so long with money. I was finally in a place that I could do it. To say the gifts probably totalled in excess of 1K is on the low side, but I was still happy to do it.
Besides the fact that they tried converting my daughter when I wasn’t around, it was a lovely visit. The only problem I had was with a new person my aunt introduced us to. This woman, we’ll call her Dee, ignored me and only talked to my daughter. She was my age if not older, but conversed with my daughter, 17, like I wasn’t there. They traded contact info and Dee insisted that they keep in touch while my daughter was in college. Dee said she was going to keep an eye on her. I thought that was odd, but I did enjoy the feeling of having an extended family sort of since I actually had no family besides my Aunt.
Let’s jump forward to the following year and we were struggling financially. Not horrible, but unable to lavish the gifts that we did the year before. Instead, I created a beautiful aromatherapy candle, some delicious herbal teas and we found a couple of very rare antique tea cups that had amazing value to them (about $100 a piece). We made a basket for her and I decided we would cook for them. (gluten free, soy free, dairy free etc). Our visit went so well, it was great to see them. We just enjoyed hanging out with them and talking. They loved the meal we made for them and the dairy free organic chocolate I made. Everything was great until the day we were leaving. Dee showed up and again ignored me, talked to my daughter and chastised her for getting a pet snake as that was an animal associated with the devil. My daughter is one to push the envelope a bit and said how she wanted to get a tattoo as well, one of a snake. Both my aunt and Dee were shocked and said she should never get a tattoo.. Again related to the devil, I went to the bathroom as I was not involved in the conversation and knew my daughter could hold her own. Little do they know that my daughter is also trans. I told her not to say anything to them just yet. I came back to them talking about how college was going and I thought my aunt and Dee would faint when she said her college roommate was male. She quickly explained that it was fine because he was gay and how awesome he was (he is btw). She quickly realized what I meant when she saw their reaction to him being gay. It wasn’t that she was living with a boy, it was that he was gay and “why did he choose to be gay.” I tried redirecting the conversation a couple of times, but they ignored me.
They finally let it go, but just after Dee left, we were getting ready to depart as well. My aunt returned the basket I made for her (minus the expensive tea cups). She said she could not accept them as they were touched by the devil. Shocked, I asked what she meant. She said that because they came from my store, they carried Satan's influence and she could not have them in our home. Truthfully, I explained that I made those items for her and that the only things that came from the store were the teacups. She was confused why I had gotten upset. When I explained that I gave her a gift and if she didn’t want it, she could regift it or throw it away. That gift came from my heart with all the love I have for her and that I didn't need to know her opinions about the gifts because It insinuated I, myself, was evil and it was extremely hurtful. She basically continued on insisting that I was just not aware of how much Satan had a hold of me. All I could do was tell her how much I loved her and leave.
I didn’t take her calls and cried about this for over a month. I finally felt strong enough to talk to her and again she insisted that because those items touched my hands, they were influenced by satan and she wished I could understand how they just can’t have that influence in their home. Frustrated, I asked how she could shop at grocery stores or buy anything from department stores because she can’t guarantee that those items didn’t touch hands that were influenced by satan. Also , I asked her how they could have eaten the food I prepared for them and why did they even invite me into their home to begin with if that’s the way she felt about me. She suddenly needed to go.
We talked a few times since then but it always came back to religion. At one point I asked her again why she would even invite us to her home if she felt that way. Her response was to save my daughter. The pain and heartache she has inflicted is immense, but I cannot bring myself to argue the point because I’m afraid if I make my point to her, it will break her. She’s in her 80’s and I believe has the beginnings of dementia. Her religion brings her comfort and I don’t want to say anything that might make her doubt her religion at her advanced age.
I’ve decided it is probably best for both of our mental health to stop all contact with her( with the exception of sending cards telling them how much I love them) even though I’ve always seen her as a second mom. AITA for making this decision and not trying to work things out with her or allow her to believe that I still might convert?
*** Please understand this is not a bash on any religion. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever religion they wish. That includes me, so if you feel the need to bash them or me for our spiritual choices, you can move along ***
I have never felt like I needed to hide any part of me from my friends, family, and the public in general. Not until now. Buckle up, this is a bumpy ride.
I've always been kind hearted, almost to a flaw. I took care of my grandmother, my step-dad, my mom and helped with a family friend during long term and terminal illnesses. I had my daughter and, without her father's help, raised her on my own with very little to no support. I helped friends with their farm who left me homeless in the end because I want interested in an extramarital affair. I lost my home and all that I loved including my husband because he lied to me and never paid it mortgage while I was recovering from an illness. In short, I have had a tough life, but it has never made me turn my back on anyone who needed help or in difficult family when they were ignored by the others. That's just some background before I tell you this situation.
Three years ago, after a bout of covid, my daughter was suicidal. She had been in the top three of her HS class and yet at that point almost failed her junior year. Not knowing if she would have the emotional strength to face college and adulting in general, I set up a plan B for her. I started a store in her name and that way she'd have something at least to fall back on if she was unable to function in the m-f 9 to 5 world. We started slow by doing craft fairs, seeking crystals, candles, jewelry, and gifts. We were kicked out of one because the person running it assumed we were witches. She was not wrong exactly as we identified as pagan, but we lived our life closest to the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, not traditional wicca. These were people who knew us for years and were considered acquaintances if not friends.
Our business flourished and we ended up opening our brick and mortar that fall after remodeling our garage/ barn and turning it into a store front. Even though I run it for my daughter, it is hers and we work together to keep it going.
In the past few years I've lost my mom, and two uncles. I have no family besides my mother's sister and her husband which we were pretty close. My aunt knew that I was pagan and had tried recruiting me into her religion since I was 5. Even at that tender age her religion never made sense and I would ask her questions to which she never had answers. I accepted her and respected her and her religion even though I didn't agree. I loved the people she introduced me to that were in her church and I always got along with them. That is until we visited the year after we started our store. My aunt was thrilled about us bringing crystals down and making jewelry with her. We met a new friend of hers (middle aged woman) who ignored me completely and oozed affection on my daughter. She got my daughter's contact info and contacted her frequently. Trying to convert and ”save” her. My daughter wasn't having it as even though she was in a delicate state, she is very level headed and strong willed.
This year we visited and we brought herbal tea, candies, and rare vintage tea cups for my aunt. The day we were leaving, she handed back everything but the vintage tea cups and told me she couldn't accept them because they were touched by Satan (aka made by my hands). To say I was devastated is an understatement. This woman was always like a second mom to me and we had grown closer after my mom passed away. It was a 20 hour drive home and I cried most of the way. I cried for weeks after a well. Thinking of it now still brings me tears. As she was telling me that Satan had a hold on me and that she was trying to save me, all I did was remind her how much I loved her and my uncle. Every time since then that we have talked, she says the same thing, but now she told me I was a lost cause. I feel like trying to stay in touch is detrimental to her mental health ( and my own). I don't want to give up or abandon the last of my family, but I can't talk to her and endure the endless insinuations that I'm evil because I don't believe in her religion. She took a bad fall and broke her arm. The last time we spoke, she talked as if it was my fault for bringing the devil into her home.
While I could usually brush this off as delusional ranting, it hits hard because the same day she fell, my dad died. I know the Powers That Be only give as much as we can handle, I just wish they didn't have so much faith in me.
They are in their 80s. I know in all the pieces of my broken heart that they'll never be able to accept my daughter and I unless we change religions and it has crossed my mind just to say we have to put her at ease, but I can't lie like that to them and we cannot betray ourselves like that either. By

Hello Accountants, I want to enroll in an online MS in Accounting program to pursue a graduate degree. I want pay minimal (preferably $0) tuition. Prefer an online college and be accredited so I can qualify for the CPA exam. Has anyone done this before and do you recommended any particular colleges off of the OPM (I'm a current federal employee) affiliation program or picking a different university? What's the process like through HR, how convenient is it? Any other advice is appreciated it. Thank you
Cross post from fednews
https://www.reddit.com/fednews/comments/1crtrwl/need_advice_about_graduate_degree/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Little about us, we were HS sweethearts that got pregnant while still in school. Yes life changed and I as an 18yo with a kid did not have much time to hang with my old friends. Went to college and got a job and days turned into years. Now almost 30 years later she has noted I need more friends in my life. I also bounced schools a lot, 16 schools in 12 years, including 2 years at the HS we both shared so I never really formed many clsoe friendships to begin with.
I did not keep contact with my HS group of friends, pretty much dropped out and started working once she became pregnant. After I graduated HS and went to college I did not have time for college social, I mostly went to class, to work, then home. I couldn't even name a single person I went to college with not. Never really made any lasting friendships at all.
Fast forward to now and my wife has started saying I need a social circle. I am beyond confused as to why. I am fine doing things alone that she does not enjoy doing, I have my own hobbies and interests. She has a large group of friends she does things with. I guess I am just confused as to why she is pushing me to make friendships when I have been fine all these years doing things with the kids or by myself if she is not interested in what we are doing. Why is it important to have a circle of friends?
tl:dr Wife has started pushing me to make friends, but I don't really understand why.