Background: My brother and I have a very strained relationship dating back to childhood and a traumatic upbringing. Our mom died back in 2015, she had 2 cats - I took the boy and he took the girl (my brother hated the boy). In 2/2023, I went on a cruise with his wife/my SIL and found out just how much of a toxic and abusive person he is. He’s also a functioning alcoholic/drug addict. Anyway, after a particularly loud fight they had in front of me, I lost my shit on him and told him he was a narcissist and undeserving of his wife and he needed therapy. He basically told me to F off and die. Her and I remain close and they are currently separated pending divorce. Him and I gradually started communicating again over the last year.
Situation: FF to 12/2023, he asked if I could take the cat for now since his lease was up and his new place didn’t allow pets. I was ok with that. When she came, she had a few masses and a very bad case of ear mites so I took her to the vet 1/2024. Breast cancer and at 12, she had never been to a vet and was never spayed (which caused her cancer, common in cats if not spayed). I told him, he told me to just put her down, but they told me they could remove the masses so I said I would rather try surgery. He said he wasn’t paying, I told him I would. A month later as they were preparing for surgery, it was noted she had progressed rapidly (more visible masses) and she was deemed terminal but luckily asymptomatic so I took her home on palliative care/hospice. During this entire time, he never came to visit, never brought food or litter, never offered money to care for her, nothing - not even a text. I didn’t consider her a burden though and I had 3 other cats. Last week she started showing symptoms and I told him it was time. I scheduled it for 5/10 and he said he’d be there. He texted me an hour before and told me he couldn’t make it, “sorry, just put her on ice and I’ll get her later”. So, I went. Alone. And I loved her very much despite only have her a short time, she followed me everywhere, slept with me or on me, and just made this place her home. My eldest helped me bury her in our garden. Yesterday, he lost his shit on me and said “it’s not your fcking cat, you fcked up, you’re unhinged, you can’t make the decisions, if you needed supplies then you should’ve asked, I wanted to bury her and you fcked that up…” it went on and on like that until I blocked him. My SIL said she could see both sides but several of my friends told me she became my cat when he showed numerous times he couldn’t be bothered with her. Now I’m feeling so guilty wondering if I should’ve just let him have her; however, I feel like he was fine with me doing the dirty work and now wants to be the martyr so I don’t know.

TL;DR: I compared window tinting companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, with particular interest in Llumar IRX and Air for my 2023 Tesla Model Y. I listed the exact products and the quoted prices for them.
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ln0hXgWZsLaA--Hca3hguYWNYfP9odCxEOHVoCHpvP4/edit?usp=sharing
Hello, I hope you're well.
I have a 2023 Tesla Model Y and decided to tint its windows. I primarily wanted tint for:

• 2 Front Door Windows: Llumar IRX 25 or 30
• Windshield (visor strip only): Llumar IRX 25 or 30
• 2 Rear Door Windows: Llumar Air 80
• Back Window: Llumar Air 80

(Llumar IRX is infrared-rejecting ceramic window tint; Llumar Air is clear window film.)
I threw together a Google Sheets spreadsheet for my own tracking as I looked into 55 businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area that are listed as Llumar dealers or have at least a 4-star Yelp review. This is by no means scientific nor comprehensive, but I figured someone may find it helpful.
Many of these shops have been mentioned in this subreddit before, but rarely are the exact products and their prices stated. (Many people don't even seem to know which brand nor tint type they got installed on their cars.) Thus, I am sharing this data I compiled in May 2024 for transparency for customers - and potentially businesses - in the Bay Area.
The ranking is a bit loose: In the first section, it's sorted by price; in the latter sections, it's sorted by Yelp ratings with the number of reviews taken into consideration.
Note: A post titled "All Things Window Tint" in the TeslaModelY subreddit is a great guide (shoutout to u/_cr0001/).

TL;DR: I compared window tinting companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, with particular interest in Llumar IRX and Air for my 2023 Tesla Model Y. I listed the exact products and the quoted prices for them.
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ln0hXgWZsLaA--Hca3hguYWNYfP9odCxEOHVoCHpvP4/edit?usp=sharing
Hello, I hope you're well.
I have a 2023 Tesla Model Y and decided to tint its windows. I primarily wanted tint for:

• 2 Front Door Windows: Llumar IRX 25 or 30
• Windshield (visor strip only): Llumar IRX 25 or 30
• 2 Rear Door Windows: Llumar Air 80
• Back Window: Llumar Air 80

(Llumar IRX is infrared-rejecting ceramic window tint; Llumar Air is clear window film.)
I threw together a Google Sheets spreadsheet for my own tracking as I looked into 55 businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area that are listed as Llumar dealers or have at least a 4-star Yelp review. This is by no means scientific nor comprehensive, but I figured someone may find it helpful.
Many of these shops have been mentioned in this subreddit before, but rarely are the exact products and their prices stated. (Many people don't even seem to know which brand nor tint type they got installed on their cars.) Thus, I am sharing this data I compiled in May 2024 for transparency for customers - and potentially businesses - in the Bay Area.
The ranking is a bit loose: In the first section, it's sorted by price; in the latter sections, it's sorted by Yelp ratings with the number of reviews taken into consideration.
Note: A post titled "All Things Window Tint" in the TeslaModelY subreddit is a great guide (shoutout to u/_cr0001/).

TL;DR: I compared window tinting companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, with particular interest in Llumar IRX and Air for my 2023 Tesla Model Y. I listed the exact products and the quoted prices for them.
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ln0hXgWZsLaA--Hca3hguYWNYfP9odCxEOHVoCHpvP4/edit?usp=sharing
Hello, I hope you're well.
I have a 2023 Tesla Model Y and decided to tint its windows. I primarily wanted tint for:

• 2 Front Door Windows: Llumar IRX 25 or 30
• Windshield (visor strip only): Llumar IRX 25 or 30
• 2 Rear Door Windows: Llumar Air 80
• Back Window: Llumar Air 80

(Llumar IRX is infrared-rejecting ceramic window tint; Llumar Air is clear window film.)
I threw together a Google Sheets spreadsheet for my own tracking as I looked into 55 businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area that are listed as Llumar dealers or have at least a 4-star Yelp review. This is by no means scientific nor comprehensive, but I figured someone may find it helpful.
Many of these shops have been mentioned in this subreddit before, but rarely are the exact products and their prices stated. (Many people don't even seem to know which brand nor tint type they got installed on their cars.) Thus, I am sharing this data I compiled in May 2024 for transparency for customers - and potentially businesses - in the Bay Area.
The ranking is a bit loose: In the first section, it's sorted by price; in the latter sections, it's sorted by Yelp ratings with the number of reviews taken into consideration.
Note: A post titled "All Things Window Tint" in the TeslaModelY subreddit is a great guide (shoutout to u/_cr0001/).

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0eBOkY9d8yXTTJMyARi9in
Starting around the 12 minute mark, but I highly recommend listening to the entire episode because they are really inciteful into preparation and self evaluation.

• "Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong" from transport to training facilities to whatever the "wall of holes" was and they describe the organization of the meet "unprofessional and insulting" to the athletes.
• They considered leaving within a day of arriving. They describe having not had a good experience at the Pan Am Championships in 2023. Which they also describe as a ship show. These guys really really didn't like Colombia.
• One of them (sorry I can't recognize voices but likely Felix Dolici) said that the morning of the All Around he already declared that whatever event finals he made he's dropping. He just wanted to do his job for the team and go home.
• Descriptions of the training gym included: animal feces, a crocked ring frame, no mats under the high bar (literally no mats, just concrete). They were using giant blocks of foam to soak of rain leaking from the roof.
• The women's uneven bars kept splintering and had to be replace them 4 times. Finally they were replaced with a set of gymnova bars from somewhere.

If you will recall this was also the competition that had a rain delay in the middle of the women's comp day because of the leaking roof.

Jordan 1 bred 2016 size 11.5 $350
Nike dunk ugly Xmas sweater (ankle padding has been removed) size 11.5 $400
Jordan 1 pine Green size 12 $200
Jordan 6 Gatorade coffee dye custom size 12 $75
Jordan 1 low shadow size 12 $40
Air Max 90 Flyknit Black/sail size 12 $25
Air Max 90 Flyknit multicolor size 12 $25
Air Force 1 premium craft size 12.5 $40
Vans ultrarange yellow size 12 $20
Vans ski hi mte size 12 $30
Looking to downsize and trade through tradeblock Looking for size 12 in any of these and open to other offers.
Jordan 3 patch
Jordan 3 winterized
Jordan 6 Bordeaux
Jordan 1 all star
Ajko low bred/Shadow
Jordan 6 ts British khaki
Nocta af1
Jordan 1 zoom
Jordan 4s
Jordan 1 origin story
Nike zoom fly be true
2002r protection pack
Nb 998 c note
Kyrie 3 samurai
UNDONE X SIMPLE UNION: AITOHEIWA AUTOMATIC
Seiko Presage SRPK46 or SRPK48 (open to any gold cocktail time)

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
Mainly gaming, like rdr, subnautica, Minecraft, probably some horror games, and more that I can't think of.

1. >**What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
2. $900. BUT I would like to stay in the range of $850.
4. >**When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
5. I would love to buy it in a week or so.
7. >**What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc\)**
8. Just the PC parts, and tower. Not the monitor or kb or mouse.
10. >**Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?**
11. Florida. The nearest Microcenter is 7 hours away so unfortunately no :/
13. >**If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.**
14. I have a glorious model O, and a royal kludge RK84 keyboard. (Im going to be buying a 1080p 144-165hz monitor.)
16. >**Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?**
18. I don't really know, and I dont know much about it.
20. >**Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)**
22. 32gigs of ram, 1tb of ssd/nvme. 2tb looks like it might be out of budget.
24. >**Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?**
26. Not a really big case, but I don't want a mini (I think) so more of a mid-tower maybe? Also, **some** rgb would be nice. Doesn't have to be all out rgb everywhere. Would like a white case.
28. >**Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?**
30. Doesn't need to be included in the budget.
31. >**Extra info or particulars:**
32. Wi-Fi on motherboard.

I am trying to use Python to read in a PDF form so that I can fill all the elements and then create a new filled in PDF. I found code from this repo and everything works correctly for the most part, but some elements aren't being recognized. Below is what the form looks like when I am editing the elements: https://i.sstatic.net/oTn5wiGA.png
However, when I run my code most but not all of the elements get filled in. In this example I am filling each box with "STRING". https://i.sstatic.net/AQn06u8J.png
In my code, when I list all of the element names ("other, route_to_1, route_to_2, etc) all the names are correct and have been checked over and over. When I debug my code and look at the variable that stores all the form elements, it's simply misreading some of the elements. I am not sure what is causing this. Whether Acrobat made the form incorrectly, or if there's a problem with the code. Any help is appreciated. Here's the code I have:
create_pdf.py

from pdf_processing import ProcessPdf DATA_OBJECT = { "other": "string", "route_to_1": "string", "route_to_2": "string", "route_to_3": "string", "route_to_4": "string", "route_to_5": "string", "route_to_6": "string", "route_to_7": "string", "route_to_8": "string", "route_to_9": "string", "route_to_10": "string", "route_to_11": "string", "route_to_alt_1": "string", "route_to_alt_2": "string", "route_to_alt_3": "string", "route_to_alt_4": "string", "route_to_alt_5": "string", "dep_aerodrome": "string", "dep_elev": "string", "dep_atis_id": "string", "dep_atis_freq": "string", "dest_aerodrome": "string", "dest_elev": "string", "alt_dest": "string", "alt_elev": "string", "chan_id_1": "string", "chan_freq_1": "string", "chan_id_2": "string", "chan_freq_2": "string", "chan_id_3": "string", "chan_freq_3": "string", "chan_id_4": "string", "chan_freq_4": "string", "chan_id_5": "string", "chan_freq_5": "string", "chan_id_6": "string", "chan_freq_6": "string", "chan_id_7": "string", "chan_freq_7": "string", "chan_id_8": "string", "chan_freq_8": "string", "chan_id_9": "string", "chan_freq_9": "string", "chan_id_10": "string", "chan_freq_10": "string", "chan_id_11": "string", "chan_freq_11": "string", "chan_id_alt_1": "string", "chan_freq_alt_1": "string", "chan_id_alt_2": "string", "chan_freq_alt_2": "string", "chan_id_alt_3": "string", "chan_freq_alt_3": "string", "chan_id_alt_4": "string", "chan_freq_alt_4": "string", "chan_id_alt_5": "string", "chan_freq_alt_5": "string", "course_1": "string", "course_2": "string", "course_3": "string", "course_4": "string", "course_5": "string", "course_6": "string", "course_7": "string", "course_8": "string", "course_9": "string", "course_10": "string", "course_11": "string", "course_alt_1": "string", "course_alt_2": "string", "course_alt_3": "string", "course_alt_4": "string", "course_alt_5": "string", "dep_clearance_id": "string", "dep_clearance_freq": "string", "time_off": "string", "dep_app_cont_id": "string", "dep_app_cont_freq": "string", "dist_1": "string", "dist_2": "string", "dist_3": "string", "dist_4": "string", "dist_5": "string", "dist_6": "string", "dist_7": "string", "dist_8": "string", "dist_9": "string", "dist_10": "string", "dist_11": "string", "dist_total": "string", "alt_route": "string", "alt_app_cont_id": "string", "alt_app_cont_freq": "string", "dist_alt_1": "string", "dist_alt_2": "string", "dist_alt_3": "string", "dist_alt_4": "string", "dist_alt_5": "string", "ete_1": "string", "ete_2": "string", "ete_3": "string", "ete_4": "string", "ete_5": "string", "ete_6": "string", "ete_7": "string", "ete_8": "string", "ete_9": "string", "ete_10": "string", "ete_11": "string", "ete_total": "string", "ete_alt_1": "string", "ete_alt_2": "string", "ete_alt_3": "string", "ete_alt_4": "string", "ete_alt_5": "string", "eta_1": "string", "ata_1": "string", "eta_2": "string", "ata_2": "string", "eta_3": "string", "ata_3": "string", "eta_4": "string", "ata_4": "string", "eta_5": "string", "ata_5": "string", "eta_6": "string", "ata_6": "string", "eta_7": "string", "ata_7": "string", "eta_8": "string", "ata_8": "string", "eta_9": "string", "ata_9": "string", "eta_10": "string", "ata_10": "string", "eta_11": "string", "ata_11": "string", "eta_total": "string", "ata_total": "string", "eta_alt_1": "string", "ata_alt_1": "string", "eta_alt_2": "string", "ata_alt_2": "string", "eta_alt_3": "string", "ata_alt_3": "string", "eta_alt_4": "string", "ata_alt_4": "string", "eta_alt_5": "string", "ata_alt_5": "string", "dep_gnd_cont_id": "string", "dep_gnd_cont_freq": "string", "tas": "string", "mach": "string", "dest_tower_id": "string", "dest_tower_freq": "string", "leg_fuel_1": "string", "leg_fuel_2": "string", "leg_fuel_3": "string", "leg_fuel_4": "string", "leg_fuel_5": "string", "leg_fuel_6": "string", "leg_fuel_7": "string", "leg_fuel_8": "string", "leg_fuel_9": "string", "leg_fuel_10": "string", "leg_fuel_11": "string", "leg_fuel_total": "string", "alt_altitude": "string", "alt_tower_id": "string", "alt_tower_freq": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_1": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_2": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_3": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_4": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_5": "string", "efr_1": "string", "afr_1": "string", "efr_2": "string", "afr_2": "string", "efr_3": "string", "afr_3": "string", "efr_4": "string", "afr_4": "string", "efr_5": "string", "afr_5": "string", "efr_6": "string", "afr_6": "string", "efr_7": "string", "afr_7": "string", "efr_8": "string", "afr_8": "string", "efr_9": "string", "afr_9": "string", "efr_10": "string", "afr_10": "string", "efr_11": "string", "afr_11": "string", "efr_total": "string", "afr_total": "string", "efr_alt_1": "string", "afr_alt_1": "string", "efr_alt_2": "string", "afr_alt_2": "string", "efr_alt_3": "string", "afr_alt_3": "string", "efr_alt_4": "string", "afr_alt_4": "string", "efr_alt_5": "string", "afr_alt_5": "string", "cont_fuel": "string", "cont_fuel_1": "string", "cont_fuel_2": "string", "cont_fuel_3": "string", "cont_fuel_4": "string", "cont_fuel_5": "string", "cont_fuel_6": "string", "cont_fuel_7": "string", "cont_fuel_8": "string", "cont_fuel_9": "string", "cont_fuel_10": "string", "cont_fuel_11": "string", "alt_fuel": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_1": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_2": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_3": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_4": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_5": "string", "dep_tower_id": "string", "dep_tower_freq": "string", "lbs_ph": "string", "lbs_pm": "string", "dest_gnd_cont_id": "string", "dest_gnd_cont_freq": "string", "notes_1": "string", "notes_2": "string", "notes_3": "string", "notes_4": "string", "notes_5": "string", "notes_6": "string", "notes_7": "string", "notes_8": "string", "notes_9": "string", "notes_10": "string", "notes_11": "string", "notes_12": "string", "alt_gnd_cont_id": "string", "alt_gnd_cont_freq": "string", "notes_alt_1": "string", "notes_alt_2": "string", "notes_alt_3": "string", "notes_alt_4": "string", "notes_alt_5": "string", "alt_time": "string", "route_dest_iaf_fuel": "string", "route_alt_iaf_fuel": "string", "approaches_fuel": "string", "in_air_used_fuel": "string", "reserve_fuel": "string", "rwy_length_dest": "string", "lighting_dest": "string", "fuel_dest": "string", "ils_dest": "string", "loc_dest": "string", "asr_dest": "string", "par_mins_dest": "string", "tac_mins_dest": "string", "arr_gear_dest": "string", "pubs_dest": "string", "notams_dest": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_1": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_2": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_3": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_4": "string", "etc_dest": "string", "last_cruise_req_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_req_fuel": "string", "bingo_req_fuel": "string", "last_cruise_appr_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_appr_fuel": "string", "rwy_length_alt": "string", "lighting_alt": "string", "fuel_alt": "string", "ils_alt": "string", "loc_alt": "string", "asr_alt": "string", "par_mins_alt": "string", "tac_mins_alt": "string", "arr_gear_alt": "string", "pubs_alt": "string", "notams_alt": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_1": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_2": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_3": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_4": "string", "etc_alt": "string", "last_cruise_res_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_fuel": "string", "add_res_fuel": "string", "stto_fuel": "string", "total_req_fuel": "string", "total_aboard_fuel": "string", "spare_fuel": "string", "last_cruise_total_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_total_fuel": "string", "bingo_total": "string", "waypoint_1": "string", "waypoint_2": "string", "waypoint_3": "string", "waypoint_4": "string", "waypoint_5": "string", "waypoint_6": "string", "waypoint_7": "string", "waypoint_8": "string", "waypoint_9": "string", "waypoint_10": "string", "waypoint_11": "string", "waypoint_12": "string", "waypoint_13": "string", "waypoint_14": "string", "waypoint_15": "string", "waypoint_16": "string", "clearance_cleared_to": "string", "clearance_altitude": "string", "clearance_freq": "string", "clearance_transp": "string", "clearance_route": "string" } data = DATA_OBJECT output_file = 'final_pdf.pdf' temp_files = [] pdf = ProcessPdf('pdf_temp/', output_file) ''' PDF_TEMPLATE_PATH = path/to/your.pdf ''' data_pdf = pdf.add_data_to_pdf("Blank Jet Log Fillable.pdf", data) temp_files.append(data_pdf) 

pdf_processing.py

import os import re import fitz # requires fitz, PyMuPDF import pdfrw import subprocess import os.path import sys from PIL import Image ''' replace all the constants (the one in caps) with your own lists ''' ''' FORM_KEYS is a dictionary (key-value pair) that contains 1. keys - which are all the key names in the PDF form 2. values - which are the type for all the keys in the PDF form. (string, checkbox, etc.) Eg. PDF form contains 1. First Name 2. Last Name 3. Sex (Male or Female) 4. Mobile Number FORM_KEYS = { "fname": "string", "lname": "string", "sex": "checkbox", "mobile": "number" } This FORM_KEYS(key) returns the type of value for that key. I'm passing this as 2nd argument to encode_pdf_string() function. ''' FORM_KEYS = { "other": "string", "route_to_1": "string", "route_to_2": "string", "route_to_3": "string", "route_to_4": "string", "route_to_5": "string", "route_to_6": "string", "route_to_7": "string", "route_to_8": "string", "route_to_9": "string", "route_to_10": "string", "route_to_11": "string", "route_to_alt_1": "string", "route_to_alt_2": "string", "route_to_alt_3": "string", "route_to_alt_4": "string", "route_to_alt_5": "string", "dep_aerodrome": "string", "dep_elev": "string", "dep_atis_id": "string", "dep_atis_freq": "string", "dest_aerodrome": "string", "dest_elev": "string", "alt_dest": "string", "alt_elev": "string", "chan_id_1": "string", "chan_freq_1": "string", "chan_id_2": "string", "chan_freq_2": "string", "chan_id_3": "string", "chan_freq_3": "string", "chan_id_4": "string", "chan_freq_4": "string", "chan_id_5": "string", "chan_freq_5": "string", "chan_id_6": "string", "chan_freq_6": "string", "chan_id_7": "string", "chan_freq_7": "string", "chan_id_8": "string", "chan_freq_8": "string", "chan_id_9": "string", "chan_freq_9": "string", "chan_id_10": "string", "chan_freq_10": "string", "chan_id_11": "string", "chan_freq_11": "string", "chan_id_alt_1": "string", "chan_freq_alt_1": "string", "chan_id_alt_2": "string", "chan_freq_alt_2": "string", "chan_id_alt_3": "string", "chan_freq_alt_3": "string", "chan_id_alt_4": "string", "chan_freq_alt_4": "string", "chan_id_alt_5": "string", "chan_freq_alt_5": "string", "course_1": "string", "course_2": "string", "course_3": "string", "course_4": "string", "course_5": "string", "course_6": "string", "course_7": "string", "course_8": "string", "course_9": "string", "course_10": "string", "course_11": "string", "course_alt_1": "string", "course_alt_2": "string", "course_alt_3": "string", "course_alt_4": "string", "course_alt_5": "string", "dep_clearance_id": "string", "dep_clearance_freq": "string", "time_off": "string", "dep_app_cont_id": "string", "dep_app_cont_freq": "string", "dist_1": "string", "dist_2": "string", "dist_3": "string", "dist_4": "string", "dist_5": "string", "dist_6": "string", "dist_7": "string", "dist_8": "string", "dist_9": "string", "dist_10": "string", "dist_11": "string", "dist_total": "string", "alt_route": "string", "alt_app_cont_id": "string", "alt_app_cont_freq": "string", "dist_alt_1": "string", "dist_alt_2": "string", "dist_alt_3": "string", "dist_alt_4": "string", "dist_alt_5": "string", "ete_1": "string", "ete_2": "string", "ete_3": "string", "ete_4": "string", "ete_5": "string", "ete_6": "string", "ete_7": "string", "ete_8": "string", "ete_9": "string", "ete_10": "string", "ete_11": "string", "ete_total": "string", "ete_alt_1": "string", "ete_alt_2": "string", "ete_alt_3": "string", "ete_alt_4": "string", "ete_alt_5": "string", "eta_1": "string", "ata_1": "string", "eta_2": "string", "ata_2": "string", "eta_3": "string", "ata_3": "string", "eta_4": "string", "ata_4": "string", "eta_5": "string", "ata_5": "string", "eta_6": "string", "ata_6": "string", "eta_7": "string", "ata_7": "string", "eta_8": "string", "ata_8": "string", "eta_9": "string", "ata_9": "string", "eta_10": "string", "ata_10": "string", "eta_11": "string", "ata_11": "string", "eta_total": "string", "ata_total": "string", "eta_alt_1": "string", "ata_alt_1": "string", "eta_alt_2": "string", "ata_alt_2": "string", "eta_alt_3": "string", "ata_alt_3": "string", "eta_alt_4": "string", "ata_alt_4": "string", "eta_alt_5": "string", "ata_alt_5": "string", "dep_gnd_cont_id": "string", "dep_gnd_cont_freq": "string", "tas": "string", "mach": "string", "dest_tower_id": "string", "dest_tower_freq": "string", "leg_fuel_1": "string", "leg_fuel_2": "string", "leg_fuel_3": "string", "leg_fuel_4": "string", "leg_fuel_5": "string", "leg_fuel_6": "string", "leg_fuel_7": "string", "leg_fuel_8": "string", "leg_fuel_9": "string", "leg_fuel_10": "string", "leg_fuel_11": "string", "leg_fuel_total": "string", "alt_altitude": "string", "alt_tower_id": "string", "alt_tower_freq": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_1": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_2": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_3": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_4": "string", "leg_fuel_alt_5": "string", "efr_1": "string", "afr_1": "string", "efr_2": "string", "afr_2": "string", "efr_3": "string", "afr_3": "string", "efr_4": "string", "afr_4": "string", "efr_5": "string", "afr_5": "string", "efr_6": "string", "afr_6": "string", "efr_7": "string", "afr_7": "string", "efr_8": "string", "afr_8": "string", "efr_9": "string", "afr_9": "string", "efr_10": "string", "afr_10": "string", "efr_11": "string", "afr_11": "string", "efr_total": "string", "afr_total": "string", "efr_alt_1": "string", "afr_alt_1": "string", "efr_alt_2": "string", "afr_alt_2": "string", "efr_alt_3": "string", "afr_alt_3": "string", "efr_alt_4": "string", "afr_alt_4": "string", "efr_alt_5": "string", "afr_alt_5": "string", "cont_fuel": "string", "cont_fuel_1": "string", "cont_fuel_2": "string", "cont_fuel_3": "string", "cont_fuel_4": "string", "cont_fuel_5": "string", "cont_fuel_6": "string", "cont_fuel_7": "string", "cont_fuel_8": "string", "cont_fuel_9": "string", "cont_fuel_10": "string", "cont_fuel_11": "string", "alt_fuel": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_1": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_2": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_3": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_4": "string", "cont_fuel_alt_5": "string", "dep_tower_id": "string", "dep_tower_freq": "string", "lbs_ph": "string", "lbs_pm": "string", "dest_gnd_cont_id": "string", "dest_gnd_cont_freq": "string", "notes_1": "string", "notes_2": "string", "notes_3": "string", "notes_4": "string", "notes_5": "string", "notes_6": "string", "notes_7": "string", "notes_8": "string", "notes_9": "string", "notes_10": "string", "notes_11": "string", "notes_12": "string", "alt_gnd_cont_id": "string", "alt_gnd_cont_freq": "string", "notes_alt_1": "string", "notes_alt_2": "string", "notes_alt_3": "string", "notes_alt_4": "string", "notes_alt_5": "string", "alt_time": "string", "route_dest_iaf_fuel": "string", "route_alt_iaf_fuel": "string", "approaches_fuel": "string", "in_air_used_fuel": "string", "reserve_fuel": "string", "rwy_length_dest": "string", "lighting_dest": "string", "fuel_dest": "string", "ils_dest": "string", "loc_dest": "string", "asr_dest": "string", "par_mins_dest": "string", "tac_mins_dest": "string", "arr_gear_dest": "string", "pubs_dest": "string", "notams_dest": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_1": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_2": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_3": "string", "fuel_packet_dest_4": "string", "etc_dest": "string", "last_cruise_req_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_req_fuel": "string", "bingo_req_fuel": "string", "last_cruise_appr_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_appr_fuel": "string", "rwy_length_alt": "string", "lighting_alt": "string", "fuel_alt": "string", "ils_alt": "string", "loc_alt": "string", "asr_alt": "string", "par_mins_alt": "string", "tac_mins_alt": "string", "arr_gear_alt": "string", "pubs_alt": "string", "notams_alt": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_1": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_2": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_3": "string", "fuel_packet_alt_4": "string", "etc_alt": "string", "last_cruise_res_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_fuel": "string", "add_res_fuel": "string", "stto_fuel": "string", "total_req_fuel": "string", "total_aboard_fuel": "string", "spare_fuel": "string", "last_cruise_total_fuel": "string", "map_to_iaf_total_fuel": "string", "bingo_total": "string", "waypoint_1": "string", "waypoint_2": "string", "waypoint_3": "string", "waypoint_4": "string", "waypoint_5": "string", "waypoint_6": "string", "waypoint_7": "string", "waypoint_8": "string", "waypoint_9": "string", "waypoint_10": "string", "waypoint_11": "string", "waypoint_12": "string", "waypoint_13": "string", "waypoint_14": "string", "waypoint_15": "string", "waypoint_16": "string", "clearance_cleared_to": "string", "clearance_altitude": "string", "clearance_freq": "string", "clearance_transp": "string", "clearance_route": "string" } def encode_pdf_string(value, type): if type == 'string': if value: return pdfrw.objects.pdfstring.PdfString.encode(value.upper()) else: return pdfrw.objects.pdfstring.PdfString.encode('') elif type == 'checkbox': if value == 'True' or value == True: return pdfrw.objects.pdfname.BasePdfName('/Yes') # return pdfrw.objects.pdfstring.PdfString.encode('Y') else: return pdfrw.objects.pdfname.BasePdfName('/No') # return pdfrw.objects.pdfstring.PdfString.encode('') return '' class ProcessPdf: def __init__(self, temp_directory, output_file): print('\n########## Initiating Pdf Creation Process #########\n') print('\nDirectory for storing all temporary files is: ', temp_directory) self.temp_directory = temp_directory print("Final Pdf name will be: ", output_file) self.output_file = output_file def add_data_to_pdf(self, template_path, data): print('\nAdding data to pdf...') template = pdfrw.PdfReader(template_path) for page in template.pages: annotations = page['/Annots'] if annotations is None: continue for annotation in annotations: if annotation['/Subtype'] == '/Widget': if annotation['/T']: key = annotation['/T'][1:-1] if re.search(r'.-[0-9]+', key): key = key[:-2] if key in data: annotation.update( pdfrw.PdfDict(V=encode_pdf_string(data[key], FORM_KEYS[key])) ) annotation.update(pdfrw.PdfDict(Ff=1)) template.Root.AcroForm.update(pdfrw.PdfDict(NeedAppearances=pdfrw.PdfObject('true'))) pdfrw.PdfWriter().write(self.temp_directory + "data.pdf", template) print('Pdf saved') return self.temp_directory + "data.pdf" def convert_image_to_pdf(self, image_path, image_pdf_name): print('\nConverting image to pdf...') image = Image.open(image_path) image_rgb = image.convert('RGB') image_rgb.save(self.temp_directory + image_pdf_name) return self.temp_directory + image_pdf_name def add_image_to_pdf(self, pdf_path, images, positions): print('\nAdding images to Pdf...') file_handle = fitz.open(pdf_path) for position in positions: page = file_handle[int(position['page']) - 1] if not position['image'] in images: continue image = images[position['image']] page.insertImage( fitz.Rect(position['x0'], position['y0'], position['x1'], position['y1']), filename=image ) file_handle.save(self.temp_directory + "data_image.pdf") print('images added') return self.temp_directory + "data_image.pdf" def delete_temp_files(self, pdf_list): print('\nDeleting Temporary Files...') for path in pdf_list: try: os.remove(path) except: pass def compress_pdf(self, input_file_path, power=3): """Function to compress PDF via Ghostscript command line interface""" quality = { 0: '/default', 1: '/prepress', 2: '/printer', 3: '/ebook', 4: '/screen' } output_file_path = self.temp_directory + 'compressed.pdf' if not os.path.isfile(input_file_path): print("\nError: invalid path for input PDF file") sys.exit(1) if input_file_path.split('.')[-1].lower() != 'pdf': print("\nError: input file is not a PDF") sys.exit(1) print("\nCompressing PDF...") initial_size = os.path.getsize(input_file_path) subprocess.call(['gs', '-sDEVICE=pdfwrite', '-dCompatibilityLevel=1.4', '-dPDFSETTINGS={}'.format(quality[power]), '-dNOPAUSE', '-dQUIET', '-dBATCH', '-sOutputFile={}'.format(output_file_path), input_file_path] ) final_size = os.path.getsize(output_file_path) ratio = 1 - (final_size / initial_size) print("\nCompression by {0:.0%}.".format(ratio)) print("Final file size is {0:.1f}MB".format(final_size / 1000000)) return output_file_path 

Note: I'm going off of what I've read here regarding pity, which is that starting from pull 74 the rate increases by 6% for each single pull until hitting 100% at 90 pulls. If I was misinformed on that, you can ignore most of this lol. The math for the first 73 pulls still holds up though!
Note 2: I'm literally in the bottom 6% for luck according to the Star Rail Station warp tracker so none of this math applies if you're me or like me, we are cursed
Soft pity kicks in at 74 pulls, with your rate increasing steadily from there. Up to and including pull 73, the rate is 0.6%. Mathematically speaking, your chances of getting a 5-star before the 74th pull is ~35.6%, or a bit over 1/3. On average you should expect to get your 5-star early about 1/3 times (a good math reason to not build pity on a banner where you don't want the banner character, if you needed another one).
The math for your first 70 pulls is as follows - remember that these percentages are cumulative, the rate for any particular 10 pull up to 70 is going to be a flat 5.84%.

• 10: 5.84%
  
• 20: 11.34%
  
• 30: 16.52%
  
• 40: 21.4%
  
• 50: 25.99%
  
• 60: 30.31%
  
• 70: 34.38%
  

After pull 73, the numbers ramp up pretty rapidly. By pull 76 the likelihood that you will have gotten a 5-star (cumulatively) is > 50%. By pull 80 it's > 90%. The numbers below are the percentage chance for that particular pull, followed by the cumulative chance of you getting a 5-star by that point, and then just for fun the likelihood that after that pull you still won't have a 5-star.

• 74: 6.6% (39.81% / 3 in 5 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 75: 12.6% (47.39% / ~1 in 1.9 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 76: 18.6% (57.18% / ~1 in 2.3 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 77: 24.6% (67.78% / ~1 in 3 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 78: 30.6% (77.64% / ~1 in 4.5 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 79: 36.6% (85.82% / ~1 in 7 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 80: 42.6% (91.86% / ~1 in 12.5 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 81: 48.6% (95.82% / 1 in 25 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 82: 52.6% (98.10% / 1 in 50 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 83: 58.6% (99.25% / ~ 1 in 133 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 84: 64.6% (99.75% / 1 in 400 chance chance of no 5-star)
  
• 85: 70.6% (99.93% / ~1 in 1430 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 86: 76.6% (99.99% / 1 in 10000 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 87: 82.6% (99.998% / 1 in 50000 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 88: 88.6% (99.9998% / 1 in 500000 chance of no 5-star)
  
• 89: 94.6% (99.99999% / 1 in 10 million chance of no 5-star)
  
• 90: 100%
  

Takeaway: it is more likely to get a 5-star in a single pull than it is to ever get to 85 or higher on pity. And if you've ever hit 90 pity - maybe buy a lottery ticket?
Final bit of math for fun: if you're the sort of person who does 10-pulls exclusively, what is the likelihood that you will get a 5-star if you do a 10-pull when you have 70 pity? This throws away the cumulative data for the first 70 pulls since we're assuming you've gotten this far without getting one.
The ten pull from your 71st to your 80th pull has a 87.7% chance of yielding a 5-star independent of previous pulls. That's about a 7/8 chance for that ten-pull in particular. If you are trying to optimize and use as few pulls as possible on a given banner it definitely makes the most sense to do single pulls at this point - again ignoring all previous pulls, going cumulatively from pull 70, on average you will get a 5-star at approximately pull 77 (as opposed to pull 76, going cumulatively from 0).
All of this information is probably not all that useful. But I was very bored.

I know the comics are not everyone's cup of tea, but since they are "canon," I was wondering if these are the right endings I picked up for each of the series regulars from Buffy and Angel (NOTE: Adding Faith, Andrew, Kennedy, Fray, into the mix, becuase for all intents and purposes Faith, Andrew, and Fray -- and arguably Kennedy, were basically upgraded to regulars through the comic series).
I didn't include updates for the characters that likely would have been a regular in Seasons 9-12 or the spinoffs, or the brief Angel & Faith spinoffs and Angel Season 6 continuation but that we met during the comic book run -- talking just ones that appeared on the shows (and Fray).
So tell me, comic book readers, if these are right?
Buffy - Alive w/Scoobies
Willow - Alive w/Scoobies
Xander - Alive w/Scoobies
Giles - Alive w/Scoobies
Cordelia - On a higher plane (Deceased but still communicates? Is that not deceased officially?)
Angel - Alive w/Scoobies
Oz - Alive
Spike - Alive
Anya - Still deceased
Riley - Alive
Dawn - Alive w/Scoobies
Tara - Still deceased
Faith - Alive w/Scoobies
Andrew - Alive w/Scoobies
Kennedy - Alive? (Not sure)
Doyle - Still deceased
Wesley - Still deceased
Gunn - Alive?
Fred - Alive and split from Illyria??? (Not sure here)
Lorne - Deceased (or rose to a higher plane?)
Connor - Alive (at college?)
Illyria - Alive but co-existing with Fred? (Not sure)
Harmony - Alive and still reality TV famous? lol
Fray - Alive back in 23rd century

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

Voting ends today in the Maryland, Nebraska, and West Virginia presidential, congressional, and local primaries.
Per Ballotpedia, Maryland's topline election is the US Senate race, but there are various other state-level and local offices on the ballot. In addition to the primaries for federal offices in West Virginia today there are also primaries for governor and other state executive offices; the state house and senate; the state supreme and intermediate appellate courts; and one ballot measure. Nebraskans are voting on most offices apart from the governor.

Maryland

Resources

• WTOP: Maryland 2024 primary election voter guide: Everything you need to know
  
• Fox5DC: Maryland Primary Elections 2024: What's on the ballot in each county
  
• Maryland Matters: A glance at what to do, where to go to vote in Tuesday’s primary election
  

News

• The Baltimore Sun: Polls open Tuesday morning for Maryland’s primary election following middling early vote turnout

Analysis

• The Washington Post (soft paywall): Decision day in Md.’s hotly contested Democratic U.S. Senate primary Whoever wins Tuesday will shoulder the responsibility of holding the deep-blue state’s open seat against an onslaught of spending from national Republicans who see former governor Larry Hogan’s candidacy as a generational opportunity.
  
• The Washington Post (soft paywall): Maryland’s competitive 6th District primaries to set stage for November Democrats have lobbed personal attacks. Republicans’ leading candidates are an election-denying former gubernatorial contestant and a more moderate alternative.
  
• Politico: 3 reasons Maryland’s Senate primary is a must-watch race
  

Results

• USA Today: Maryland Statewide and Presidential Primary Results
  
• WBAL: Baltimore election results: 2024 mayor's race primary election
  
• WTOP: 2024 Maryland Primary: Local primary election results
  
• The Baltimore Sun: Maryland primary live coverage
  

Nebraska

Resources

• Nebraska Secretary of State: 2024 Primary Sample Ballots
  
• Nebraska Examiner: What to know before you vote in Nebraska’s first statewide election with Voter ID
  
• KITV: Decision 2024: KTIV’S coverage of the 2024 Nebraska Primary Election
  

Analysis

• Nebraska Examiner: 18 legislative, education races will be narrowed in Nebraska’s primary election
  
• AP: The Nebraska GOP is rejecting all Republican congressional incumbents in Tuesday’s primary election
  

Results

• Nebraska Secretary of State: Election Results
  
• ABC: Nebraska 2024 primary results
  

West Virginia

Resources

• West Virginia Secretary of State: [GoVoteWV](GoVoteWV.com)
  
• USA Today: West Virginia voting FAQ
  

News

• WCHS: About 90,000 ballots cast during early voting in West Virginia, down from previous years

Analysis

• Mountain State Spotlight: Thousands of West Virginia voters lack choices on their ballots. Here are the consequences of uncontested elections
  
• AP: AP Decision Notes: What to expect in West Virginia’s primaries
  
• AP: Election deniers: West Virginia voters must pick from GOP candidates who still dispute 2020 outcome
  

Results

• West Virginia Secretary of State: Election Results
  
• NPR: West Virginia Results
  

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In this guide, I'll showcase the new features of the CO-OP, starting with the changes to your characters, the actual gameplays and some tips and tricks. At the end, there'll be unanswered questions by me and the community.

CHARACTERS

CO-OP Captain

• CO-OP team has new slot: The "CO-OP Captain" slot (MUST be filled)
• Captain abilty, special and super ability of CO-OP Captain replaced by new types of abilites:

CO-OP Captain Ability: Based on TYPE

LvL 1) [TYPE]'s ATK 4.5x, HP 1.25x, other's ATK 4.25x LvL 2) 4.75x, 1.25x, 4.5x LvL 3) CD -1, 5x, 1.5x, 4.75x, HP 1.25x LvL 4) CD -1, 5.5x, 1.5x, 5.25x, 1.25x LvL 5) CD -2, 6x, 1.5x, 5.75x, 1.25x 

CO-OP Special: Based on RUMBLE STYLE

ATK LvL 1) [10] 250.000 DMG (ignore ALL), type slots to matching, CD -2 LvL 2) [10] 500.000 -2 LvL 3) [10] 1.000.000 -2 LvL 4) [10] 1.500.000 -2 LvL 5) [10] 2.000.000 -2 DEF LvL 1) [14] 1 hit (!) 50% DMG red., heal 60x char's RCV LvL 2) [14] 1 60% 70x LvL 3) [14] 2 70% 70x LvL 4) [14] 2 80% 80x LvL 5) [14] 2 90% 90x RCV LvL 1) [12] -1 debuffs, heal 50x char's RCV LvL 2) [12] -1 60x LvL 3) [12] -2 60x LvL 4) [12] -2 70x LvL 5) [12] -2 80x SPT LvL 1) [14] Slots (incl. BLOCK) to matching, CD -1, +1 buffs LvL 2) [13] -1, +1 LvL 3) [13] -2, +1 LvL 4) [13] -2, +2 LvL 5) [12] -2, +2 DBF LvL 1) [13] +1 Delay, -1 enemy effects LvL 2) [13] +2 -1 LvL 3) [12] +2 -1 LvL 4) [11] +2 -1 LvL 5) [11] +3 -1 BAL LvL 1) [08] 15% HP cut, heal 05x char's RCV (ignore max HP), -1 Bind/Despair LvL 2) [08] 15% 10x -1 LvL 3) [08] 20% 15x -2 LvL 4) [08] 20% 20x -2 LvL 5) [08] 25% 30x -2 

CO-OP Action: Based on CLASSES 2 turns -30% [1st CLASS] and -20% [2nd CLASS] resistance
Rarity and character don't matter.
New stats

• Luck: Better clear rewards (max. 99)
• CO-OP Status: More base stats as CO-OP captain

New items

• Luck Drop
• CO-OP Medals

Power-ups

• CO-OP Captain: 1x Medium Support item & 100x CO-OP Medals
• CO-OP Special: 1x Sugo Rare Manual & 100x CO-OP Medals
• Luck (see TIPS): 1x Luck Drop & 100x CO-OP Medals
• CO-OP Status: +10 (!) CC

GAMEPLAY

Quests

• Multiple difficulties available:

​

Apprentice: 3 Stages, 40 Stamina Captain: 4 40 Warlord: 5 40 Emperor: 5 40 King of Pirates: 5 40 Infinitum Sea: 6 40 

• Partipicipation in CO-OP quests only possible through rooms.

Rooms

• Creatable after selecting quest difficulty.
• Consist of two players.
• May be open for public or protected by filters (Friends and/or Alliance) or a password.
• Also joinable through search, auto matching or pick one of the given list displayed after selecting a difficulty.
• List may also be updated.
• After joining, guest player must press "Ready", so that the host player may start the quest.

Stages

• After taking your turn, next turn goes to partner.
• Only current player gets debuffs from enemy.
• By using new mechanic "SKIP", you can change current player WITHOUT triggering next turn.
• SKIP can't be used twice in a row.
• Stages 3 - 6 consist of mini bosses and one boss in the final stage.
• The mini bosses always do the same actions.
• The boss may be one of many, each haveing their own behaviour.

TIPS

• In contract to bosses, behaviours of mini bosses aren't noted in the quest guides, so find a way to remember them.
• Luck is also attained through a 6* RR dupe (+2), a RR 5* dupe (+1) and for every fifth LvL (+1).

QUESTIONS

• Does CO-OP Status only affect stats in CO-OP mode?
• Who gets the first turn in a run?

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.

Barron, Laird. “Jaws of Saturn.” The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. Night Shade Books, 2013.

Summary

Carol is Franco’s girl, and when he learns a two-bit stage magician is practicing hypnotism on her, Franco goes to pay the old man a visit. But Phil Wary is no mere purveyor of parlor tricks. The line between dreams and waking, between our reality and one of monstrous dimensions, erodes, as Franco and Carol find themselves ground to bits between the “Jaws of Saturn.”

Characters

• Franco - a private security attache and enforcer. Well groomed, well read, well armed.
• Carol - Franco’s lover and resident of The Broadsword Hotel.
• Phil Wary - an elderly resident of The Broadsword and career stage magician; also a powerful practitioner of the Black Arts.

Story

In the lounge of the Broadsword Hotel, Carol tells Franco of a dream she had of her former lover Marvin Cortez. Franco tries to explain it away as mere messages from her subconscious, but he’s also jealous. In her room, they engage in vigorous sex and Franco observes that, for a moment, one of her irises is inhumanly oblong. He doesn’t know what to make of this and presses Carol on her current state of mind, especially her recent weird dreams. She admits she’s been visiting old Phil Wary in his apartment upstairs, paying him for hypnosis sessions to help kick her smoking habit. That’s all Franco needs to know. This old sheister is trying to get into Carol’s pants and he’s screwing with her head. He’ll pay Phil Wary a visit. But first, he falls asleep and dreams of lovely, voluptuous Carol standing frozen in the Broadsword lobby as a shadow of “colossal dimensions” looms over her.
Franco is a bodyguard/enforcer for millionaire Jacob Wilson and is no stranger to intimidation, violence, and murder. He ferrets out Wary’s number and rings him up. Wary dismisses Franco contemptuously over the phone (“You sound like an oaf, a knuckle dragger.”) so Franco breaks into his apartment where he confronts the old man about making moves on Carol under the guise of therapeutic mesmerism. Phil Wary is both sardonically condescending and oddly patient with Franco, giving him more than one opportunity to walk away. But Franco is consumed with (perhaps nurses) his jealousy and strikes Wary across the face with a belt, ordering him to stay away from his girlfriend. Franco’s action does not have the intended effect. Wary shakes off the blows and effortlessly subdues Franco.
Wary stows the bound Franco in a closet, on tiptoes with a belt tightened around his neck, and leaves the door ajar so he can watch as Carol enters for her hypnosis session. Something’s wrong about the closet: he can’t see its ceiling. The dimension of height goes up and up into darkness. Franco struggles to maintain consciousness and can only watch as Wary entrances Carol then guides her to his apartment wall where he pulls back a flap of old wallpaper and has her look through a hole at… Franco doesn’t know what she could possibly be seeing other than the back lot of the Broadsword. Wary releases Carol from the trance and sends her on her way. Now Wary leads Franco to the wall, telling him, “All this flesh is but a projection. We are the dream of something greater and more dreadful than you could imagine. To gaze into the abyss is to recognize the dreamer and in recognition, to wake.” He forces Franco’s eye against the hole in the wall. Franco passes out. When he comes to, he receives a call on Wary’s phone from his boss Jacob Wilson, who fires him on the spot. Wary offers tepid consolation before ejecting Franco into the hall. Franco suddenly wakes in Carol’s bed, screaming.
Franco and Carol’s nightmares intensify as the boundary between dreaming and waking life erodes. Their nightmares increasingly feature familiar locations distended into cyclopean dimensions, and threats from above - at first tendrils descending from the sky, then the hand of a giant. In desperation, Franco returns to the Broadsword, packing his pistol, but the opportunity to kill Phil Wary has passed if it truly ever existed. He has a vision of Carol in the vaulted hotel lobby and, above them, Wary - now a colossus like the titan Saturn in de Goya’s famous painting - towers above them. The giant picks up Franco and raises him to its face - but Franco “had a long, agonizing moment to recognize his own face mirrored by the primordial aspect of the giant.” Franco is devoured.
There’s a brief coda where Franco (?) wakes, a giant in an ancient or future world, and is joined by his titanic lover. Together they loom over “all the tiny houses and all the tiny works of men.”

Analysis

As I write this, I have just woken from a dream. In the dream, I am asleep and dreaming of looking at a reproduction toy catalog and, sure enough, there are three pages of the old Micronauts toy line with which I am still obsessed. I wonder if these toys will ever be reissued. Then I wake up. There’s a book at the far end of the bed. It’s out of reach and I’m still sleepy and don’t want to stretch to grab it. I wonder, as I so often have: if I focus on that book and believe that waking reality is mine to shape as I do in dreams, can I make that book really leap into my hand? I do, and it does! I double-check to be sure I’m really awake. Yes - yes, I’m awake! This is finally, really happening! I try it again, pulling a rock from the ground through telekinesis. It’s easy. I have come into my own, a demigod among men. Then I wake up, for real this time.
My subconsciousness giggles. Pwned again.
All this to say: it’s disconcerting when the line between dreaming and waking consciousness breaks down, which is what’s happening for Franco and Carol, and at a scale that defies Euclidian geometry.
In fact, Franco’s experience is like stumbling onto the Devil’s Narnia. The closet in Phil Wary’s apartment - like C.S. Lewis’ coat-filled wardrobe - opens onto an impossibly large dimension, one lighted not by a snow-strewn lamppost but a hideous red light. For both Franco and Carol, the gulf between dreams and waking reality is melting away. The dreaminess/nightmarishness doesn’t make their experiences of this other (truer?) world any less real. Again, the occultist tells Franco, “We are the dream of something greater and more dreadful than you could imagine. To gaze into the abyss is to recognize the dreamer and in recognition, to wake.”
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children’s true identity is revealed as the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve. Franco and Carol’s journey in “Jaws of Saturn” makes them a kind of Adam and Eve, but of a titanic cast. Their early sex scene shows Franco on the verge of an atavistic state, nearly unbridled from the abstraction that is modern human consciousness. The knowledge he seeks - what is Wary doing to Carol? - opens the door on a transformation that grounds him, bringing him closer to the true, perilous state of being alive, an atavistic state that finds its ultimate form as a titan in the post-civilization world of the coda. And herein we see a common journey for the Barronic hero: the search for Cursed Knowledge begins the Unraveling/Unveiling of Reality culminating in a Hideous Fate which leads to one’s Ultimate Form. (Note: Laird has a story titled "Don't Make Me Assume My Ultimate Form.”)
As I write this, my daughter has just called me from DC, upset by terrible dreams of a book that looks like the Bible, but it’s not the Bible, and our cat Izzy who died a few weeks ago has returned, but she keeps fading in and out of view. In her dream, my daughter is scared to get on an elevator because she’s on roller skates and the people in the building say the elevator is really slow, but the doors open, she gets in and the elevator moves so fast she’s floating. When it stops, the doors open onto a garden filled with people who want her to read a passage from the book that’s not the Bible: it’s Zanderthonis, book 2, chapter 3. And she keeps trying to wake up from the dream so she can tell someone about it but she can’t escape the building.
All this to say: Watch out, friends. The dreams, they’re catching.
Connections to other stories:

• The setting of “Jaws of Saturn” is the Broadsword Hotel, seen previously in “The Broadsword.”
• Carol’s former lover is Marvin Cortez, protagonist of “The Imago Sequence.” She mentions him to Franco, and Franco knows who he is. Franco works for Jacob Wilson, nephew of Teddy Wilson whose disappearance is mentioned in “The Imago Sequence.”
• “Hand of Glory” - Phil Wary - under his pseudonym Helios Augustus - sets Johnny Cope on the trail of Conrad Paxton.
• It’s not insignificant that “Jaws of Saturn” clearly ties together the transhumanism stories of The Imago Sequence to the Old Leech stories of Occultation by placing Franco’s and Carol’s conversation about Marvin Cortez in the Broadsword Hotel where Pershing Dennard ran afoul of the Children of Old Leech.

In part VI, the doctor examining Franco checks his eyes and says “something about coloboma.” ClevelandClinic.org notes: “The most recognizable and common colobomas affect your iris (the colored part of your eye) and cause your pupil (the dark center of your eye) to have a keyhole shape.” In other words, what was happening to Carol is now happening to Franco, and the change is the key to unlocking the underlying reality of the world.

Discussion

1. What did Franco see through the hole in the wall in Phil Wary’s apartment?
2. What’s the significance of Saturn, and specifically the de Goya painting of Saturn eating his children?
3. Did I miss connections to any other Laird Barron story?
4. Which Broadsword resident has the worse fate? Pershing Dennard (“The Broadsword”) or Franco (“Jaws of Saturn”)?
5. Which other Barronic heroes undergo the ordeal of Cursed Knowledge > Unveiling Reality > Hideous Fate > Ultimate Form?

I am getting back into learning Cybersecurity and wondering what is the best app in your opinion for note taking. My main priority is some type of pairity with Mac. Any bells and whistles are a plus. Don’t mind paying for it, but not into subscriptions rn(Don’t need another bill)
My setup: M1 12.9 IPad Pro Magic Keyboard Pencil 2

I’m a 22 year old female he’s a 48 year old male. I’m a basic and he’s a paramedic. We’ve both been in the game for about 3 years. He’s a horrific driver (tried to fucking kill us), likes to diagnose patients with zero imagining, has no capacity recognize that he might be wrong, and is disrespectful as hell as to anyone and everyone.
When we met, he explained to me that he was working on being less of a perfectionist and less nitpicky to his partners. He told me that he had a lot of issues with partners at a nearby company and eventually left for whatever reason. I took into account that he is a perfectionist, but I didn’t fully grasp the extent of his “perfectionism.” I’m a super open and accepting person. I can work with just about anyone. This guy is insane. He has two DUIs, an open container charge, and a felony. He also has a legal guardian. The reason for his conservatorship isn’t pubic but I’m going to assume it has something to do with the fact that he’s fucking crazy. His ex wife has a restraining order against him.
He’s PHYSICALLY abusive. I asked him (kindly) to stop pushing the gurney into me. He kept running into me with it and it was impacting our ability to cohesively operate the gurney. I was more than willing to work on resolving the issue, but I was met with hostility and aggression. He then intentionally pushed it into me MORE and pushed me into the pole to type the code in outside of the hospital (with both of the patient’s bare feet pressed against my arms and my butt pressed against the gurney). I had already requested if we could switch sides and he states “I guess you’re not even capable of holding a gurney” in a condescending tone. He did not let me switch sides. Another time, instead of asking me to move over or saying “excuse me” while I was in his way, he threw an elbow into me. This was the point where I began to see that he was frustrated with me. The reason he was frustrated is because he asked me to put the patient on the monitor and fire told me to wait until we got her downstairs (she was on fire’s monitor at the time). I listened to fire’s direction since he had exited the room to retrieve something from the truck. I thought that he would understand. He was unable to see that I took direction from the other paramedics on scene and he viewed this as disobedience/disrespect.
His “perfectionism” seems to be rooted within the inability to recognize an alternative perspective. For example, he tells me that he places IVs into the external jugular vein “all the time.” An RN at the hospital tries to call his bluff and he DOUBLES DOWN on his claim. The RN explains how this is incredibly risky and should only be done in dire situations. He argues that it’s not risky and that people even request them. The RN explains to me that he was a paramedic for several years before becoming a nurse, and that my partner should NOT be doing EJs as often as he says he is. He continues to argue and the nurse challenges him on his IV skills. The nurse brings out an ultrasound and asks him to use it to get an IV on a tough stick. He agrees and tries to use the ultrasound machine to get an IV on a random person after we had already been status checked (when we’ve been at the hospital for 30+ minutes and dispatch wants us to go available). He was ultimately unsuccessful.
He thinks that I cannot help lift patients. We had a call where a 255lb woman fell and couldn’t get up. I got into the typical front lifting position, he got behind her, and then he told me to step aside because he’ll be the only one lifting anyway. Another time we were at the hospital doing a sheet transfer with an average weighted male. He got on one side, I got on the other, and he said “I can’t do this by myself, I’m gonna need some actual help.” He did this another time on a call when we were going to move a patient to the gurney. He asked a fireman to grab the left leg, the fireman was on the other side of the room and I was right there, so I took the initiative to grab the leg. He was really irritated about it. Nobody else was. It was an easy lift.
Horrific and dangerous driving: He opposed traffic at a high speed on a one lane airport ramp and narrowly avoided being hit. He told me to go to airport arrivals (after I objected!!). I let him know that the clearance was too low and I no longer feel comfortable navigating the situation. He proceeded to oppose traffic at 30-40mph down the worst possible path. It was a one-way ramp with a very narrow lane along a curve with zero visibility and zero space to pull over. Another vehicle began driving in reverse and the car behind that one had to swerve to avoid rear ending them. I yelled at him to turn around. He yelled back and said “there’s no room.” I told him to “make a 12 point turn if you need to.” He insisted on NOT using sirens to do this and I turned them on anyway. Not a single car on that ramp would be able to see that we were traveling head-on towards them at a high rate of speed due to the curve, but they’d be able to hear us with sirens. He complied and made a multiple-point turn (he fully backed into the curb while doing so), then drove into oversized parking. He proceeded to tell me (at the top of his lungs) to “shut the fuck up,” and yelled “I’m so done with you.” I explained to him that it was reasonable for me to be scared when he put us in a very dangerous situation. He screamed at me some more, we went into the call, got cancelled, then he called the supervisor. I went into the back of the ambulance for a minute to process what just happened, my partner was nowhere to be found, so I got in the driver’s seat and relayed cancel 851 by fire over the radio. He ripped open my door and said “get out. I’m driving.”
He told me I’m “disgusting” when I asked what I did wrong. He told me I was disgusting the day prior as well. I actually recorded the second one (I was recording because I was TERRIFIED and he was angry)
Became wildly offended when I let him know that he left a IM syringe+needle on the back of the gurney and that it fell out on the floor at the hospital. The nurse noticed it and became concerned. I didn’t say this with any sort of intention of offending him, but it did indeed offend him. Not only did he recap the used needle, he threw it on the back of the gurney and forgot about it.
He likes to sit in the EMS room and write his report while getting status checked multiple times as well. A supervisor even called him while we were in the EMS room and he lied to them by saying “we’re just now getting the patient off the gurney, we’ll go available soon.” We had unloaded the patient long before that and were completely ready to go available several minutes prior. This was the first time we worked together. On the 3rd shift we had together, I went into the EMS room and asked him if he knows that we have 30 minutes to go available (we had gotten status checked). I figured that he might just not be aware of the rule since he is still new to the company, but he took great offense to my question and stormed off. I thought that he was storming off to go available, but no, he was storming off to sit in the back of the ambulance and attempting to transmit his vitals. The service is poor at this particular, so vital transmission is slow IF it actually goes through. He somehow blames this on me, even though I’ve explained to him that they’ll transmit in an area with better reception. Obviously I still hit the ‘retry’ button several times to make him happy.
He became frustrated on our first shift when I preferred that we post within 1 mile of our post. He wanted to get food and I explained to him that we have to post within 1 mile of our assigned post. He called me a goody-two-shoes and I explained to him that I don’t want to get in trouble for posting more than a mile away.
He told me that he has been “warned” that I’ve been written up multiple times for behavioral issues as a means to justify him telling me to “shut the fuck up” about him opposing traffic in a very dangerous situation. I have never ONCE been written up for a behavioral issue. I asked if he was mistaking me for someone else or if he had received misinformation, but he continued to stonewall me. All forms of communication where he was not screaming at me, he was stonewalling me.
He never had my back. He waited in the truck while I was in a woman’s second floor apartment ama’ing her by myself. I was up there for a while because she was very talkative, and he never once came back up to check on me. On a different call, an ETOH male patient would not stop hitting on me. He saw that I was very uncomfortable and I motioned to him for help. He walked away without saying a word. This was a very unique experience, as just about every other provider that I’ve worked with had my back (male or female) when situations like this arose.
He accused me of flirting with the fire department instead of paying attention on calls. I don’t even know how to flirt. I just thought it was common courtesy to be friendly & helpful with the people you run calls with. I read the patient’s medications to fire when they asked if I had them which upset my partner as well.
Each time I tried to speak he intentionally raised his voice to talk over me and cut me off. I was not allowed to speak to patients whatsoever. I was to be seen not heard.
A fire crew complained to me about him on a call saying that he wouldn’t even let them finish the assessment they started. I do agree with them fully. Every time they tried to speak he just kept talking very loudly over the top of them.
Issues with a respiratory distress call for a 30/40 year old female: He got upset when he asked me to grab him an end tidal and I handed him a booger. Apparently he wanted the end tidal that connects to CPAP but did not verbalize this. On that same call, he asked fire to give the pt albuterol through the CPAP. The fireman asked for clarification on where the albuterol is supposed to go and he ignored it. The fireman dumped it into straight into the mask instead of the nebulizer and the patient started screaming that they swallowed all of it. He then stated that her lungs were completely full of fluid (to me, fire, and the hospital staff) and had me drive code 3 to the hospital. We got to the hospital and he starts shouting “where’s the bed, where are we taking her?!?” in a frantic tone. He does not wait for a response before we take her into a random room (that they did not agree to) and get her on the bed. Rapid imaging was done on the pt and the doctor said (in front of everyone at the nurses station) that the pt didn’t have any fluid in her lungs & it was an anxiety attack.
He accused me of playing “games” and pulling shenanigans throughout the entirety of our shift. Stonewalled me when I asked him to explain what/why/how I was pulling shenanigans because I was truly unaware of what I was doing that caused him to treat me so horribly. Communication was non-existent

So I'm an out gay guy from a Rural and Religious area in the US. Due to this my family is not exactly stoked on me and always encouraged me to hide myself in public because of how people would react to me. For context, I was living with my Granny and Grandaddy at the time to help take care of them as they were having a harder time doing things around the house. My Grandfather was able to drive and such, I couldn't but was learning, and he would help me get to work and back. I would spend a lot of time doing things for them, fixing the house up where I could, and also just kept them company. It was honestly a good time aside from my Aunt and Uncle holding over that I couldn't be myself while I lived there. I had to pretend to be straight so I didn't embarrass the family.
During this period I was on a dating website, this was before the apps really got a start. I had just gotten over a period where I was recovering from a bad bad break up that ended in violence. I wanted to get out there again so I thought I'd give it a try, I wanted to find some happiness. Sure enough, I began talking to someone, we'll call him Lion. Lion was very sweet, very understanding about the situation I was in, so we kept talking for quite a while. Lion lived a few hours away so we weren't able to just drop things and go meet whenever, plus we didn't want to rush things. I also knew my family wouldn't have been too keen on me meeting someone. The rule was I couldn't be seen in public with a person, and honestly I wasn't keen on inviting someone over to my grandparent's house, not just for the embarrassment of not being in my own place, but I didn't want to risk them if things didn't end up well after meeting someone for the first time. Strangers be strangerin.
A good deal of time had gone by and I was really falling for Lion. We talked every day. We got along well. Any disagreements were squashed fairly easily. I thought, I really need to start thinking about myself here, so I thought I'd say let's meet. We made plans and I became so excited. This was the time when Facebook was pretty new and I was in my 20s and still pretty naive to the consequences of posting all good news you have on social media. I posted about him coming to visit on the day he was coming. All hell broke loose.
My aunt, who was not on my friends list, had someone report to her about things I posted. Next thing I know I'm getting phone calls by all sorts of family members calling to cuss me out for daring to invite someone over. No, I wasn't having him come to my grandparent's house, I was walking to a gas station and was going to meet him there. They demanded that I tell him not to come to town as if they owned the whole place. I got pissed off and told them I'm taking care of my grandparents when they don't want to have anything to do with them and I deserve a little bit of happiness, so I told them all to fuck off.
On my way to the gas station I saw my cousin driving up and down the road, a school road, above the speed limit. He would swerve as if he were threatening to hit me. I flipped him off. I got to the gas station in one piece and waited for about 2 hours for him to show up, I couldn't reach Lion because he had no signal heading up the mountain to get to me. He finally gets there, we embrace. I tell him about what was going on and that we should probably go someplace else since my cousin followed me. He was so understanding. It was a great day, my phone was off, and we just had a lot of fun. He drove me back and I made it home and went to bed after I got the call he made it back home.
The next day I go to work and my family started calling my work place. I obviously wasn't allowed to take the phone off the hook because customers may call and need help. It was absolute torture. I was given an ultimatum, I refuse to see Lion again and maybe they'll let me continue living with my grandparents. I flipped and told my Aunt to go fuck herself and hung up. At the end of the work day my dad shows up and tells me I'm not allowed over at my grandparent's tonight. I couldn't go home and even get my toothbrush. So I said fine, I give in and go to my dad's. My dad is a pastor who has put me through conversion therapy. He lectures me the whole way, said I had this coming. Blah blah blah. I called Lion and told him everything. He said fuck them and told me if I needed to I can move in with him. I was VERY hesitant about that. We had one date, a great date, but still. I had to think about it.
The torture with my family continued and I finally gave in and said ok, I'm coming to stay with you. Lion and I made plans, I put in a two week notice, I did NOT post about it online, and on my last day I told a few people I'll be leaving and would like to see them one more time before I leave home. I didn't even tell my dad I was leaving, I just packed my shit and left. I said my goodbyes and we left. Since then, my family said I abandoned my grandparents. Honestly I love my grandparents very much and always will, and I always think back on things because I wished I could have been there during some harder times like when my Grandaddy fell and hit his head, he died a week later. My Granny is now in a nursing home because she can't care for herself. I hate so much that this is how things ended up and I still find myself crying over it.
Was I an asshole for leaving?
Note, I am still with Lion. It'll be 12 years this July. He has a daughter who accepts me as her step-dad. She has two kids of her own who I love very much. I don't regret being here, I just hold guilt that my grandparents have ended up the way they have.