My Harmon Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 sometimes sounds... strange 🤨.
It’s connected through a LG CX with HDMI eArc.
The problem When I watch a TV channel that outputs Dolby Surround (shown in the display of the soundbar) - voices (aka center channel) sounds like the treble is turned up - and they lack bass completely. It’s a tiny, sort of distorted sound. Other channels sound great (when PCM is shown in the display).
I also watch movies from Apple TV - and the problem is the same for Dolby Atmos movies: Tiny voices - no bass what-so-ever.
However, all other sounds in the movie sound great, with full depth and immersive surround.
Is this a problem with the soundbar or is it just the way it is (hope not).
TV Settings Sound out: HDMI Arc DTV Audio Setting: Auto Digital Sound Out: Pass Through eArc: On
Soundbar firmware 23.09.51.81.01

RELEASE NOTES 1.35.21.0
If you are playing on PC, outdated packages in your community folder may have an unexpected impact on the title’s performance and behavior. If you suffer from stability issues or long loading times, move your community package(s) to another folder before relaunching the title. How to install a new update safely
NEW CONTENT/FEATURES Added flight plan assistance setting for ATC in the user experience assistance settings so that users can request the ATC to favor their flight plan or world map flight settings over the current conditions. This assistance is set to “Active” by default. Active: ATC will set the active runway and approach for the departure and arrival airport based on the users flight plan or settings in the world map. Deactivated: ATC will set the active runway and approach based on current conditions only. ATC now clears a step to the next altitude some time before arriving at the previously cleared altitude, rather than once arrived at the previously cleared altitude. (Next step is issued when at 2000FT from cleared altitude rather than 250FT from cleared altitude). ATC Vectoring bug fixes: Now assigning the correct clearance when the first two waypoints were one over the other, Now assigning a new vector & clearance every time the user asks the ATC for a new vector. Added completely new Cirrus SR22T G6 model with custom engine simulation, book-accurate performance, and extensive Perspective Plus NXi features.
GENERAL BUG FIXES Several crashes have been fixed across the title Fixed localization bugs Performance optimizations for long flights. Fixed ATC that was mixing voices in localized languages Automated Weather Report temperature reading updated
MARKETPLACE Fixed an issue where the Wishlist would not sort properly in the Marketplace
MENU Fixed freeze when opening the logbook
NAVIGATION/TRAFFIC Enhanced ATC phraseology. Some of the improvements include: The removal of the word ‘for’ in altitude change requests. Eliminating the requirement to include altimeter settings in takeoff clearances.
WEATHER Snow and ice coverage accuracy has been improved in live weather Fixed an issue where the wind from a malformed METAR was incorrectly read Fixed an issue where the sim occasionally retrieves obsolete weather data Improved transition during cloud coverage updates AND fixed an issue where clouds don’t load when starting a flight.
GLASS COCKPITS GARMIN G3000 / G5000 Fixed an issue where removing an airway entry leg from the flight plan could sometimes corrupt the flight plan.
G1000 NXI Added support for hardware keyboard with new AS1000CONTROL_PAD H events. Fixed an issue where removing an airway entry leg from the flight plan could sometimes corrupt the flight plan. AP: Added support for LVL and TO/GA modes MFD: Added Page Menu popup for MFD’s Nearest Airports page. CAS: PFD Alerts softkey indicator now flashes color and changes to appropriate label with CAS messages CAS: Pressing PFD Alerts softkey now acknowledges CAS messages and cancels aural chimes CAS: Alerts now display in order of priority and time first seen SIM: Added support for knob-based XPDR code entry using H events. For aircraft developers: Made all methods in PFD and MFD plugins optional. Exported NavSystems’s class FrequencyItem and its props interface FrequencyItemProps. CAS messages may now be assigned associated Alerts messages via JS and/or plugin code Added support for control pad entry for Constraint Selector in the FPL dialog Added support for LVL and TO/GA autopilot modes Added support for control pad entry on several UI input components Added support for styling the Com selection based on the radio selected to transmit, and for both Nav and Com standby frequencies selected to edit WT21 For aircraft developers:
Added configurable side button support to the WT21
AIRCRAFT GENERAL Payload station weights that are set via SimConnect are now properly displayed in the Weight&Balance toolbar panel. Fixed – L-39 Pipsqueak – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Fixed – L-39 Sarance – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Contact Points compression under some kind of roof (bridge, cave, arch, etc.) was fixed Fixed – P-51D LadyB – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Aircraft Registration can no longer be lowercase Fixed – P-51D Miss America – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Fixed – P-51D Strega – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Fixed – T-6 Baby Boomer – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Improved aircraft simulation stability (few potential crashes were fixed) Fixed – T-6 Undecided – Unable to enter values by double-clicking on GNS screen Corrected an issue that could prevent cockpit interactions from working in some rare conditions Correct many false positive errors regarding InputEvents when loading AI planes Corrected an issue that would cause some P51 to lose power in reno races. Fixed an issue that could cause the state of Avionics circuit depend features to be toggle on and off when no MarkerBeacon circuit was present It is now possible to slow down the simulation speed to 1/8 and 1/16 of real time. EXTERNAL HUD Minimized HUD can now display more than 8 engines power values HELICOPTERS Anti-stall protection is now disabled for helicopters. AIRBUS 310-300 A310 Radio Stuck Broadcasting on KSNS ATIS After Departing KSFO. Vertical speed knob labeled as “altitude knob” in tooltip. AIRBUS A320NEO (V2) During testing of the A320neo, we encountered an application crash rate on console that is too high to pass certification. We need to address this issue before the A320 can ship. BELL 407 Rotor weight changes. Rotor brake force adjustments. Rotor blade dynamics adjustments. Throttle/governed RPM during startup and shutdown. Engine performance changes. Fuel management on the weight and balance settings. Performance data on the aircraft selection screen. Localization text changes. FADEC tooltip. Fuel Pressure gauge illumination. Cold and dark state changes. Checklist correction. Fixed checklist AutoStart. AutoStart sequence now works. BOEING 787-10 / BOEING 747-8I General performance optimizations for consoles and some hardware configurations W&B: An operational CG margin is considered now to avoid extreme CG values when loading the aircraft. SIM: ATC will now know about your planned cruise altitude and will assign you a flight level accordingly. CHECKLISTS: Fixed bug where checklists that only contain closed loop items would sometimes be skipped when entering the checklist page if all items are completed. [787] CHECKLISTS: Fixed flaps checklist items being completed before the flaps reached the selected position. [787] W&B: Corrected movement of the CG as fuel is burned by moving the tanks to the exact locations of those on the real plane. [787] EFB: Support clearing of the TOW field. [787] EFB: Cap the achievable MTOW at the certified limit of the plane. [787] EFB: Correct error message when current TOW exceeds the achievable MTOW. [787] EFB: Added Automatic brightness adjustment. [787] EFB: Fixed spelling errors. [747] SYSTEMS: Reserve fuel transfer will now not stop once started mid flight. CDU: Fix takeoff speeds being invalidated when opening TAKEOFF REF on the copilot side CESSNA CITATION CJ4 SIM: ATC will now know about your planned cruise altitude and will assign you a flight level accordingly CIRRUS SR22T G6 Completely brand-new art and model of the SR22T G6 GTS. Completely reworked flight model and performance featuring: CFD with book accurate performance and pilot tested handling. Modern propeller system. New turbo and fuel engine systems. Custom ECU, engine computer, and EGT/CHT simulation. Custom lean misfire, detonation, and engine failure simulations. Full Perspective Plus features implemented for G1000 NXi, including: Full-screen engine page with anti-ice status and fuel flow targets. Full-screen fuel management page. Weight and Balance page with graphical CG envelope. Trip planning page with automatic and manual modes. Massive suite of interactive checklists. MFD destination inf-box. PFD power gauge, GAGL indicator, GS and TAS. Frequency loading menus on airport and waypoint inf-pages. FIKI (Flight int-Known Icing) and TKS simulation. Stabilized approach system with PFD alerting and monitoring for: Bar-mismatch, crosswind, tailwind, flaps, lateral deviation, and vertical deviation (GS and GP). Updated EIS with custom reversionary mode version. Lean assist, fuel flow green band, and cyan fuel flow lean target indicators. Fully modeled GCU479 Garmin Control Unit keypad with all entry modes. Additional new autopilot mode support including LVL, TO, and GA. Large suite of accurate CAS messages including new G1000 NXi alerts acknowledgement and menu behavior. CURTISS JN-4 “JENNY” Fixed – [KO-KR] Some instruments in cockpit are not localized in Korean in Curtiss Jenny. Fixed – [Localization] Livery names are not localized in liveries page. Fixed – [pl-PL] Missing/untranslated words in checklist. Fixed – [TR-TR] Some instruments in cockpit are not localized in Turkish in Curtiss Jenny. DAHER TBM 930 Fixed broken autopilot panel backlighting. DOUGLAS DC-3 Fixed starting engine in Multiplayer causes other DC3 engines to animate starting Fixed overlapping words on the warning labels inside the cabin and on the rear cabin door. (Enhanced) Fixed Radio altimeter appearing off above 400ft. Classic 8-way Quick view controls fixed during flight. Fixed fuel pump does not indicate fuel flow from Cold/dark until after mesh switch is engaged. (Enhanced) Improved low resolution text in the Enhanced Edition cockpit. (Enhanced) Fixed missing panel texture for Beacon light. (Enhanced) Fixed HUD not correctly indicating state of flap. Fixed Decision height/Radar altitude setting knob setting does not match panel texture. Fixed fuel pump not indicating fuel flow from Cold/dark until after mesh switch is engaged. GRUMMAN G-21 GOOSE AI copilot completes checklist items for you in Evaluation mode. Attitude Indicator doesn’t provide pitch indications. Fuel drawn from wrong tank when starting Cold & Dark. Part of tooltip description for Magneto Cutoff not localized. Unable to toggle “taxi light” in cockpit–must use key binding. H-4 HERCULES “SPRUCE GOOSE” Camera Quick views fixed Engine 5-8 throttle fixed when using a gamepad ROBIN DR400 Fix Flaps looking misaligned with the wings in neutral position. RYAN NYP “SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS” Camera Quick views fixed WRIGHT FLYER Camera Quick views fixed WORLD Used more realistic mapping of wave lengths onto RBG values for the ozone layer scattering and the sun color, resulting in more realistic colors of the sky and the lighting in the world.
TOP-GUN MAVERICK Fix for the aircraft carrier wake in Maverick landing challenge that was missing
PERIPHERALS Various peripheral fixes Pause mapping on the Occulus touch left controller switched from Y to Menu button Anti Ice and Aux Fuel Pump LEDs are now working properly with Bravo Throttle Quadrant
SDK Added new Coherent calls SET_CRUISE_ALTITUDE and GET_CRUISE_ALTITUDE to get/set the planned cruise altitude the in game ATC knows about. Fixed crash when “positive_g_limit_flaps_up” parameter is present in [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] section in flight_model.cfg, but one of the parameters: “positive_g_limit_flaps_down” or “negative_g_limit_flaps_up” or “negative_g_limit_flaps_down” is missing. See SDK for details. More parameters have been added to the “[VIEWS]” section of the “camera.cfg” file to control the behavior of the external camera (“external_camera_distance”, “external_camera_follows_heading”, “external_camera_follows_velocity”). See SDK for details. Several features have been added and bugs have been fixed for the skid-type landing gear, which can now be retractable. See SDK for details. Added “set_max_compression” and “spring_exponential_fix” parameters to the “[CONTACT_POINTS]” section of the “flight_model.cfg” file. See SDK for details. DEVMODE Debug old: option to disable 30Km mesh display limit “Exponential Constant” parameter is added to the Contact Point serialization (it was missed) Aircraft debug windows stability was improved Fixed context setting of Material Editor when opening Scenery Editor Added Interactive Points state initialization via .FLT files The “gear_locked_on_ground” parameter in the [CONTACT_POINTS] section of the “flight_model.cfg” file now works for SKI and SKID type retractable landing gear. Fixed random crash when exiting the game with DevMode open AssetReload: Reload gltf lod min size Fixed some scenery option not applied during multiple selection Add SpeakerFullName in DialogAction Improved linear memory size formatting in WASM Debug window SIMCONNECT SimConnect Input Events function can now be used while devmode is disabled SimConnect Input Events shouldn’t crash the sim after going back to main menu (or restarting a flight) Ident and region are now two separate fields while requesting Facilities New Data are available through NavData API (Pavement, Vasi, Approach Lights) SIMVARS Added simvars AIRCRAFT_AGL and AIRCRAFT_ALTITUDE_ABOVE_OBSTACLES Aircraft editor Added an option to delete a parameter from the cfg file, or to reset it to its default value Added rotation Gizmo Added new parameters Added expert Mode to the editor. Expert Mode eliminate all constraint on the editor regarding conditional fields, required parameters or array sizes. Only already existing parameters and modified parameters are saved. This mode allows for greater flexibility of the editor but require more knowledge on how to configure an aircraft. Made NdArrays more flexible, avoid writing too much data per line. Fixed ctrl+f focus that would not focus parameters properly Fixed unwanted or incorrect changes when saving a file in the editor VISUAL EFFECTS EDITOR Fixed visual effect instances not being properly stopped and restarted when the Visual Effects Editor is closed New fixed orientation feature New nodes: Abs, Sin, Cos WASM Fix clipping modes (intersect, complement and Xor) for GDI+ API Fix an error in the dependencies of the VFX Aircraft Sample (and rename the sample from “SampleWasmModule” to “VfxWasmModule”) Fix a bug in CommBus API that cause first registration of an event in Wasm to be ignored CommBus : When register an event in Wasm the triplet [eventName, callback, ctx] can be registered only one time per module CommBus : New function added in Wasm : fsCommBusUnregisterOneEvent CommBus : In JS a CommBusListener has been added

This week’s vintage batch of Italian and French pens from my own collection might be the largest bunch of Wet Noodles I’ve ever offered! Nibs range from Superflex to Wet Noodle with more than half of the pens being the latter. As you can see, my collecting focus was pens with white metal trim, which all 9 pens have. Some uncommon models here, especially if you’re in the US. As always, all are fully restored and ready to write.
 
ALBUM & TIMESTAMP
 
Pastable link: https://imgur.com/a/qzjdJeU
 
Condition (n.b.): All pens listed below have been disassembled, cleaned and restored with new sacs/seals installed in the last couple months. Each of these pens is guaranteed to fill and write as designed without leaks or other problems. Nibs have been adjusted when necessary to ensure that all lay down a smooth and consistent line.
THESE PENS HAVE NO CRACKS, CHIPS, PERSONALIZATIONS, LOOSE OR MISSING PARTS, BENT NIBS, MISALIGNED TINES, BROKEN/WORN OFF TIPPING, OR THREADING ISSUES.
 
Line Widths and Writing Samples: To provide buyers with as much information as possible, I have started to adopt the following line width standards: XXF (.1-.2mm); XF (approx .3mm); F (approx .4mm); M (approx .6mm); B (approx .8mm). Nib flexibility is determined by variation (max line width under pressure) and softness (amount of pressure). Flexibility designations based on variation generally run as follows for an XF/F nib: Semi-Flex (approx. 1mm); Flex (1.2-1.9mm); Superflex (>2mm). All line width measurements are taken with a digital caliper but should be considered approximations providing a general guide. Width may vary slightly depending on type of ink and paper used as well as amount of pressure applied. All writing samples are on Rhodia dot paper using Waterman Serenity Blue.
 
 
1. 1930s-40s Montegrappa Extra (green marble w/ lizard skin window, celluloid, NPT, piston filler, SS F/M Flex/Superflex nib). This full-sized model measures 5 1/16” capped. Founded c.1912 in Bassano del Grappa, Italy by Edwige Hoffman and Heinrich Helm, Montegrappa (née Elmo) was one of the Big Four Italian makers whose products have had a profound impact on FP design to this day. The Extra was the premier model of the late-1930s and 1940s. This pen has the white metal trim and factory stainless steel nib that distinguish wartime pens in Italy during the restriction on precious metals to aid the war effort. Not a common pen to see Stateside. It’s a piston filler made of green marble celluloid with an eye-catching, transparent, lizard-skin-patterned window in the barrel for viewing ink-level. To fill simply rotate the filler-knob on the end of the barrel counter-clockwise to extend the piston, submerse the nib, then rotate the filler-knob clockwise to draw ink. To quote an Italian collector over at FPN: “Rule No. 1 about vintage Italian pens: Don't let steel nibs scare you off. Unless you're writing with hydrochloric acid, they're every bit as good as the gold nibs from the years before the gold ban.” The stainless steel Montegrappa Extra #4 nib in this pen is no exception, yielding Super-Flexible variation with Flexible softness. It lays down a smooth and consistent F/M line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.0mm) under moderate pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). A nib with particularly juicy flow that’s reliable over its full range of flex, making it a great choice for boldly shaded writing and calligraphic writing styles. Condition: excellent [B]. Nickel-plated trim is clean with no notable flaws aside from a bit of plating wear to the cap bands on one side of the cap (see timestamp photo). Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes aside from some fine scratches on the plastic between and below the cap bands. Barrel transparency is superb (DETAIL PHOTO). Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is deep and fully legible. Feed is missing a couple fins from one side, which has no discernible effect on writing performance (see DETAIL PHOTO LEFT). This pen's filling mechanism was restored in the last couple years but does have a little quirk in filling I haven’t been able to diagnose. It fills near to factory capacity smoothly with no leaks, but one must be careful to avoid extending the piston all the way down to the bottom of the ink-view window. If extended all the way down, the bottom part of the piston loses connection with the top part, requiring the section to be unscrewed to help the piston back up with a pencil eraser while turning the knob. This is a straightforward process but annoying, so I’ve always chosen to fill to just 90% of factory capacity to avoid it. A scarce pen in a striking color pattern. Price: $320 $290
 
2. 1930s-40s Montegrappa Extra (green swirl w/ lined window, celluloid, NPT, piston filler, SS XF Wet Noodle nib). This full-sized model measures 5 1/16” capped. For more on Montegrappa and the Extra, see description of pen #1 above. This pen has white metal, wartime trim and nib, but it retains the elegant roller-clip distinctive of Italian pens of the 1930s – so likely late-1930s production. It’s another piston filler made of celluloid in an interesting, green swirl pattern with a transparent, lined window in the barrel for viewing ink level. To quote an Italian collector over at FPN: “Rule No. 1 about vintage Italian pens: Don't let steel nibs scare you off. Unless you're writing with hydrochloric acid, they're every bit as good as the gold nibs from the years before the gold ban.” The stainless steel Montegrappa Extra #4 nib in this pen epitomizes this statement, being a Wet Noodle with variation and softness comparable to that of a dip pen nib. It lays down a smooth and consistent XF line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.3mm) under minimal pressure. Thin hairlines, astonishingly responsive snap-back that rivals the 14k dip pen nib in pen #5 below, and reliable flow over its full range of flex makes it an ideal choice for calligraphic writing styles such as Copperplate and Spencerian (see WRITING SAMPLE). Condition: excellent [B]. Nickel-plated trim is clean with no notable flaws aside from a bit of plating wear to the cap bands on the same side of the cap as pen #1 above (see timestamp photo). Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Barrel transparency is excellent apart from a ring of staining (DETAIL PHOTO). Filling system restored with new cork in the last couple years - operation can be a tad stiff if it hasn't been used in a while so I recommend storage filled with water. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is deep and fully legible. Price: $370 SOLD
 
3. c.1940 Aurora Selene (brown web, celluloid, NPT, button filler, Platiridio XF Wet Noodle nib). This is an oversized pen by vintage standards, having a thick girth and measuring 5 3/16” capped. Counded in 1919 by Isaia Levi and located in Turin, Italy, Aurora remains one of the most celebrated Italian makers. Introduced in 1940 amid Axis restrictions on precious metals, the Selene was their wartime button-filler and was marketed as “the pen for everyone.” In 1943 the Aurora factory was bombed by the Allies, perhaps contributing to this model’s short span of production. This example is made of celluloid in a fetching brown shell color pattern evocative of the 2nd-gen Eversharp Doric. Nickel plated clip and early-style cap bands with wider center band. One historically interesting detail of this pen is that its barrel bears the subtle heatstamped personalization of Lancia, the famous Italian auto manufacturer (see timestamp photo). To fill the pen, simply unscrew the blind cap, submerse the nib, and depress the metal button once (DETAIL PHOTO). This big pen has a strong fill and holds a lot of ink. As if the 2 pens above weren’t evidence enough of the quality of Italian steel nibs, the Aurora Platiridio #5 in this pen takes the cake. Not only is it a Wet Noodle with softness and flow rivaling that of a dip pen nib, but it’s capable of one of the widest max line widths I’ve ever measured. It lays down a smooth and consistent XF line that widens to an incredible 5B? (approx 2.8mm!) under minimal pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). Even so, it retains a superbly responsive snap-back that gives one precise control over the line under any amount of pressure. That and reliable flow over its full range of flex make it another ideal choice for calligraphic writing styles such as Copperplate and Spencerian. Note that due to the considerable space between the tines of this nib at full flex, Waterman Serenity Blue had trouble keeping the surface tension but my trusty Omas Grey solved the problem entirely, producing flawlessly reliable lines under full flex. So some experimentation with wetter inks might be in order. Condition: excellent+ [B+] assuming you take the “Lancia” marking as an interesting mark of historical provenance as opposed to a flaw. Nickel-plated trim is clean with no brassing or other notable flaws. ). Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Manufacturer imprint on the section is deep and fully legible. Price: $420 SOLD
 
4. 1930s-40s Astura Nova (grey pearl snakeskin, celluloid, NPT, lever filler, 14k XF Superflex/Wet Noodle nib). This full-sized model measures 5 1/16” capped. Astura pens were made by S.A.F.I.S., a company in Turin (fd. 1926) that would come to be one of the most influential Italian pen makers of the early half of the twentieth century (MORE INFO). They’re best known for producing pens of considerably high quality such as Radius and The King. And this Astura follows suit. It’s made of celluloid in a particularly bold and pearlescent snakeskin pattern, complemented by nickel plated trim. 14k Warranted #3 nib yields Super-flexible variation with softness verging on that of a Wet Noodle. It lays down a smooth and consistent XF line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.2mm) under very light pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). Thin hairlines, superbly responsive snap-back, and reliable flow over its full range of flex make it another excellent choice for calligraphic writing styles such as Copperplate and Spencerian. Condition: fine [C]. Nickel-plated trim shows some brassing to the clip and some of the lower cap band, which has been factored into the price. Nib has a mark on one tine that's merely cosmetic, having no effect on durability or performance. Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is deep and fully legible. Another beautiful Italian pen and another lovely writer. Price: $280 SOLD
 
5. 1930s-40s Novo Retrofit (green moss, celluloid, NPT, button filler, 14k XXF Needlepoint Wet Noodle nib). This full-sized model measures 4 7/8” capped. The only maker’s mark on this pen is a barrel imprint that reads “Novo.” But I haven’t been able to determine whether that’s a make or a model or anything about it, for that matter. It’s clearly Italian, of a quality similar to the Montegrappas and Aurora above, probably originating from one of those conglomerates that collaborated with some of the major Italian makers. In fact, the clip of this pen is identical to that of pen #2. This pen is made of celluloid in an unusual, moss green color pattern with flashes of a brighter green. Nickel-plated trim with elegant roller-clip. This pen is a button filler. To fill the pen, simply unscrew the blind cap, submerse the nib, and depress the metal button once. This pen came to me nibless but with a very narrow section, so I equipped it with a smaller, 14k, iridium-tipped Aikin Lambert dip pen nib - adjusted and tuned to match factory performance. That nib is a Wet Noodle with killer snap-back. It lays down a smooth and consistent XXF line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.1mm) under minimal pressure (probably the softest nib of the batch) (see WRITING SAMPLE). Needlepoint hairlines, effortless variation, surgically precise snap-back, and reliable flow over its full range of flex make it another ideal choice for calligraphic writing styles. Condition: excellent+ [B+]. Nickel-plated trim is clean with no brassing or other notable flaws aside from perhaps a sliver or two of high-point wear on the apex of the faceted clip. Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is deep and fully legible. Price: $270 SOLD
 
6. 1930s-40s Edacoto 02 Retrofit (coral grey pearl, celluloid, NPT, button filler, 14k XXF Needlepoint Wet Noodle nib). This is a larger Edacoto model, having a thicker girth than standard and measuring 5 1/16” capped. Edacoto (née Edac) was French maker based in Paris from 1922 to the mid-1960s. Edacotos are well-made pens known for their unusual color patterns and distinctive waterfall clip design. This one is a case in point, being made in a grey pearl celluloid with a quasi-psychedelic color pattern resembling chatoyant coral that seems to shift when the pen is turned under light. This model’s size, filling system, and trim configuration situates it near the top of Edacoto’s lineup. It is a button filler. To fill the pen, simply unscrew the blind cap, submerse the nib, and depress the metal button once. It’s equipped with one of my dip pen nib retrofits: a large, 14k, iridium tipped E.S. Johnson that’s been adjusted and tuned to match factory performance. That nib is another Wet Noodle, laying down a smooth and consistent XXF line that widens to an impressive 4B+ (approx 2.5mm) under minimal pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). Needlepoint hairlines, strong snap-back, and reliable flow over its full range of flex make it another ideal choice for calligraphic writing styles such as Copperplate and Spencerian. Condition: excellent+ [B+]. Nickel-plated trim is clean with no brassing or notable flaws apart from the top cap band having lost some of its original luster (I assume). Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Feed is missing a a fin from one side, which has no discernible effect on writing performance (see DETAIL PHOTO RIGHT). Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is deep and fully legible. Price: $310 SOLD
 
7. 1930s-40s Edacoto (grey web, celluloid, NPT, lever filler, SS XF/F Wet Noodle nib). This full-sized model measures 4 7/8” capped. For more on Edacoto, see description of pen #6 above. This pen is made of grey web celluloid complemented by nickel plated trim with deluxe, triple cap bands. SS Edacoto 87 nib is yet another Wet Noodle with flow and softness comparable to that of a dip pen nib. It lays down a smooth and consistent XF/F line that widens to an impressive 4B+ (approx 2.5mm) under minimal pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). Effortless variation, strong snap-back, and reliably wet flow over its full range of flex make it another ideal choice for calligraphic writing styles. Condition: excellent [B]. Nickel-plated trim is clean with no brassing or notable flaws apart from a pin sized spot of wear on the lever and a couple on the cap bands on each side of the cap (see timestamp photo). Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is weakened but fully legible. Price: $220 SOLD
 
8. 1930s Edacoto (grey pearl marble, celluloid, NPT, lever filler, 14k F Flex/Superflex nib). This smaller model measures 4 5/8” capped. For more on Edacoto, see pen #6 above. This one is made of grey pearl marble complemented by nickel-plated trim. 14k Warranted nib yields Super-Flexible variation with Flexible softness. It lays down a smooth and consistent F line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.0mm) under moderate pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). Strong snap-back, and reliable flow over its full range of flex make it a great choice for expressive and calligraphic writing styles. Condition: excellent/fine [B/C]. Nickel-plated trim looks clean with the naked eye but shows a peppering of wear under a loupe. Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes apart from subtle shrinkage of the cap that can’t be seen so much as felt when running a finger down it – merely cosmetic with no affect on how the cap screws on. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel is weakened but fully legible. Price: $150 $140
 
9. 1940s-50s Mercury w/ Sticker (blue swirl, celluloid, NPT, button filler, 14k XF Superflex nib). This full-sized model measures 5 3/8” capped. This mysterious pen has defied all my research efforts. It’s marked “Mercury” on the barrel in the usual place and “B-tg / SGDG / Made in France” farther up toward the section. It comes with its original price sticker, ehich reads “Mercury” and “225” penned in ink. This pen is made of a curious wrapped celluloid in blue and black complemented by heavy, white metal trim with “Bronze au Glucinium” stamped in the top of the spring-activated clip. Never seen trim made of this! Threads for the blind cap appear to be stainless steel. All this gives the pen a substantial heft in the hand. Super-Flexible 14k Mercury nib lays down a smooth and consistent XF line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.0mm) under light pressure (see WRITING SAMPLE). Thin hairlines, strong snap-back, and reliable flow over its full range of flex make it another great choice for calligraphic writing styles. Condition: excellent+ [B+]. This pen is in pristine, museum-grade condition. Nickel-plated trim is immaculate with no brassing or other notable flaws. Celluloid is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes – scarcely even any micro-scratches. Manufacturer imprint on the barrel are deep and fully legible. Price: $240 SOLD
 
 
 
Shipping: Pens purchased on the weekend are mailed on Tuesday. Otherwise they are mailed within 2 business days of payment. All pens that do not come with their original boxes are packaged in PVC or thick plastic tubes to protect them in transit. To CONUS locations the following shipping options are available:

• USPS First-Class with tracking for $5 Due to the delivery delays that continue under postmaster general DeJoy, I strongly recommend that the Priority shipping option be chosen. All packages will include full insurance (covered by me). Rest assured that a full refund is guaranteed (issued through Paypal) in the event of a lost parcel and you will not have to wait until I receive a reimbursement from the USPS.
  
• USPS Priority with tracking for $9
  

International Customers: Please contact me for shipping quote if located abroad (delivery confirmation required). (Note: due to the issues stated above, my international shipping options are currently limited. PM for more info). Please do not ask me to commit mail fraud by altering the declared value of a pen for customs. Not only am I registered as a business but shipping insurance is based on declared value.
New York Customers: For tax purposes, I am now required to add an 8% sales tax on any sale made in the state of NY. If your shipping address is in NY state, please let me know before payment to receive an adjusted total. Discounted shipping is included for NY State residents to help defray the extra cost.
Ordering: Pens are placed on hold for the first person to reply to the thread and PM me with firm request to purchase (no chat DMs please). A request with the words “I'd like to purchase [pen number]” would be best to avoid confusion), to which I’ll reply with payment details. Please note that a message inquiring into a price discount does not suffice to place a pen on hold. If I haven't received Paypal payment within 24 hrs after a hold is placed, then pen(s) may become available to the next person.
Payment, & Guarantee: Payment by Paypal only. All pens are guaranteed to be in the condition in which I've described them. If I've missed something objectionable or the filling mechanism is not fully functional, the buyer may contact me up to 7 days after receiving the pen for a full refund (issued once I receive the pen back in the same condition as sold). Buyer must ship the return no later than 2 weeks after it was delivered to receive a refund. I've sold pens online for over a decade. Please check my past listings here as well as on the classifieds and historical sales forums on FPN (username: Estragon) and FPGeeks (popcod) for some of my previous offerings.
 
 
OTHER OPEN LISTINGS

• Flexible Waterman 92 1/2
  
• Waterman Nurse’s Sets
  
• Off-Catalogue Sheaffer Stubby Balance Lifetime
  
• Psychedelic Bayard Excselsior
  
• Waterman Taperite Citation
  
• Conklin Enduras, Nozac
  

Hope someone finds this helpful!
I'm making this list every week for my newsletter, but figured you guys could benefit from it too, so here it is!
Global

• Kendrick/Drake rap feud becomes a meme phenomenon.
• AI-generated deepfakes of celebrities at Met Gala flood social media.
• Social media marketers advised to focus on entertainment over engagement.
• Social media platforms struggle with international legal obligations.
• AI and social media effectively track mental health trends.

Bluesky

• Bluesky to enhance platform with DMs, video, and custom feeds.
• Jack Dorsey leaves and criticizes Bluesky for repeating Twitter's errors.

Linkedin

• LinkedIn introduces engaging daily games.
• LinkedIn shares marketing campaign optimization tips.

Meta

• Meta debuts AI tools for ad optimization on Instagram and Facebook.
• Meta Business Suite adds new message filter on iOS.
• Meta introduces expansive paid verification for businesses.
• Meta adds advanced AI tools for advertisers to enhance ads.
• Business Suite added "Review" feature for pre-publish checks.
• Business Suite now able to manage Facebook Page broadcast channels from desktop.
• Business Suite added ablity to create ready-made Reels from desktop.

Facebook

• Facebook tests new profile picture shape in Stories.
• Meta Verified tests new discovery features on Facebook.
• Facebook renames "Orders" shortcut to "Finds."
• Facebook testing new "Upload Video" button for Pages.
• Facebook adds floating button for reporting app issues.

Instagram

• Instagram introduces four new interactive stickers for Stories.
• Instagram soon to launch Broadcast Channel for business accounts.
• Instagram rebrands spam filter feature in followers tab.
• Create QR codes for Instagram broadcast channels.
• Instagram adds camera shortcut to each story.
• Instagram enables auto-tagging of collaborative accounts in posts.

Threads

• Threads lets users control quote permissions on posts.
• Threads tests new display features for better readability.
• Threads tests in-feed post creation sheet.
• Threads now shows "Post views" in EU.

Whatsapp

• WhatsApp tests new storage management feature in iOS beta.
• WhatsApp tests "Events" feature for Communities on iOS.

OpenAI

• OpenAI developing a tool for content creators to opt out of AI training.
• OpenAI aims to increase transparency in AI content generation.
• OpenAI debates allowing AI-generated adult content.
• OpenAI evasive on whether Sora was trained using YouTube videos.

Pinterest

• Pinterest launches Media Buyer certification course.
• Pinterest allows turning Instagram posts into pins for more users.

Reddit

• Reddit adds new swipe gestures for posts and comments.
• Reddit introduces new ad formats as it goes public.
• Reddit tests site-wide French translation and sub-specific features.
• Reddit exploring monetization of its search function.

Snapchat

• Snapchat introduces Instagram-like templates for videos.
• Snapchat beta tests new "Lens Invocation" app clip.
• Snapchat adds update countdown for Plus subscribers.
• Snapchat rebrands as the 'happiest place' online for users, businesses.
• Snapchat tests profile tab for switching between profiles.

Substack

• Substack recruiting TikTok stars with new 'creator studio' program.

TikTok

• Analysis of TikTok's AI algorithms and their social impact.
• 61% of TikTok users discover new brands on the platform.
• TikTok's deep ties with ByteDance challenge its independent claims.
• Livestream shopping on TikTok complicates fake merchandise detection.
• TikTok sues US government over 'unconstitutional' ban.
• TikTok offers free webinar on campaign and creative optimization.
• TikTok to label AI-generated user content globally.
• TikTok ads boost sales of obscure book amid ban rumors.
• TikTok to discontinue Video Avatar feature on May 15, 2024.
• TikTok highlights its effectiveness in brand discovery and engagement.
• Global communications head Hilary McQuaide leaves TikTok.
• TikTok adds "Collaboration" feature similar to Instagram.

X

• X modifies blocking feature to increase transparency.
• X now allows sorting of Community posts.
• X's Stories now feature AI-driven content for Premium users.
• Elon Musk limits spam by restricting replies on X.
• EU probes X for content moderation and AI risks.
• Twitter launches Grok AI in the EU and UK
• X to let advertisers create ad audiences with AI descriptions.

Youtube

• YouTube tests Gen AI Ideas Generator in Studio with selected creators.
• YouTube simplifies ad campaign creation within its platform.
• YouTube enhances EU election integrity measures.
• YouTube introduces browser extension with wiki-like citations.

I've made this list for my purposes, but figured you guys might like it too. Collected them from multiple sources, summarized and arranged them myself. If you want clickable links, as well as Week 1 news or April 2024 news, I have them in my free weekly newsletter, (you are most welcome to sub) but for most of you this list will be probably more than enough :)
Enjoy!
Global

• Kendrick/Drake rap feud becomes a meme phenomenon.
• AI-generated deepfakes of celebrities at Met Gala flood social media.
• Social media marketers advised to focus on entertainment over engagement.
• Social media platforms struggle with international legal obligations.
• AI and social media effectively track mental health trends.

Bluesky

• Bluesky to enhance platform with DMs, video, and custom feeds.
• Jack Dorsey leaves and criticizes Bluesky for repeating Twitter's errors.

Linkedin

• LinkedIn introduces engaging daily games.
• LinkedIn shares marketing campaign optimization tips.

Meta

• Meta debuts AI tools for ad optimization on Instagram and Facebook.
• Meta Business Suite adds new message filter on iOS.
• Meta introduces expansive paid verification for businesses.
• Meta adds advanced AI tools for advertisers to enhance ads.
• Business Suite added "Review" feature for pre-publish checks.
• Business Suite now able to manage Facebook Page broadcast channels from desktop.
• Business Suite added ablity to create ready-made Reels from desktop.

Facebook

• Facebook tests new profile picture shape in Stories.
• Meta Verified tests new discovery features on Facebook.
• Facebook renames "Orders" shortcut to "Finds."
• Facebook testing new "Upload Video" button for Pages.
• Facebook adds floating button for reporting app issues.

Instagram

• Instagram introduces four new interactive stickers for Stories.
• Instagram soon to launch Broadcast Channel for business accounts.
• Instagram rebrands spam filter feature in followers tab.
• Create QR codes for Instagram broadcast channels.
• Instagram adds camera shortcut to each story.
• Instagram enables auto-tagging of collaborative accounts in posts.

Threads

• Threads lets users control quote permissions on posts.
• Threads tests new display features for better readability.
• Threads tests in-feed post creation sheet.
• Threads now shows "Post views" in EU.

Whatsapp

• WhatsApp tests new storage management feature in iOS beta.
• WhatsApp tests "Events" feature for Communities on iOS.

OpenAI

• OpenAI developing a tool for content creators to opt out of AI training.
• OpenAI aims to increase transparency in AI content generation.
• OpenAI debates allowing AI-generated adult content.
• OpenAI evasive on whether Sora was trained using YouTube videos.

Pinterest

• Pinterest launches Media Buyer certification course.
• Pinterest allows turning Instagram posts into pins for more users.

Reddit

• Reddit adds new swipe gestures for posts and comments.
• Reddit introduces new ad formats as it goes public.
• Reddit tests site-wide French translation and sub-specific features.
• Reddit exploring monetization of its search function.

Snapchat

• Snapchat introduces Instagram-like templates for videos.
• Snapchat beta tests new "Lens Invocation" app clip.
• Snapchat adds update countdown for Plus subscribers.
• Snapchat rebrands as the 'happiest place' online for users, businesses.
• Snapchat tests profile tab for switching between profiles.

Substack

• Substack recruiting TikTok stars with new 'creator studio' program.

TikTok

• Analysis of TikTok's AI algorithms and their social impact.
• 61% of TikTok users discover new brands on the platform.
• TikTok's deep ties with ByteDance challenge its independent claims.
• Livestream shopping on TikTok complicates fake merchandise detection.
• TikTok sues US government over 'unconstitutional' ban.
• TikTok offers free webinar on campaign and creative optimization.
• TikTok to label AI-generated user content globally.
• TikTok ads boost sales of obscure book amid ban rumors.
• TikTok to discontinue Video Avatar feature on May 15, 2024.
• TikTok highlights its effectiveness in brand discovery and engagement.
• Global communications head Hilary McQuaide leaves TikTok.
• TikTok adds "Collaboration" feature similar to Instagram.

X

• X modifies blocking feature to increase transparency.
• X now allows sorting of Community posts.
• X's Stories now feature AI-driven content for Premium users.
• Elon Musk limits spam by restricting replies on X.
• EU probes X for content moderation and AI risks.
• Twitter launches Grok AI in the EU and UK
• X to let advertisers create ad audiences with AI descriptions.

Youtube

• YouTube tests Gen AI Ideas Generator in Studio with selected creators.
• YouTube simplifies ad campaign creation within its platform.
• YouTube enhances EU election integrity measures.
• YouTube introduces browser extension with wiki-like citations.

I've collected these for my purposes, but you guys might find it useful too. Collected them from multiple sources, summarized and arranged them myself. If you want clickable links, as well as Week 1 news or April 2024 news, I have them in my free weekly newsletter, you are most welcome to sub :)
Global

• Kendrick/Drake rap feud becomes a meme phenomenon.
• AI-generated deepfakes of celebrities at Met Gala flood social media.
• Social media marketers advised to focus on entertainment over engagement.
• Social media platforms struggle with international legal obligations.
• AI and social media effectively track mental health trends.

Bluesky

• Bluesky to enhance platform with DMs, video, and custom feeds.
• Jack Dorsey leaves and criticizes Bluesky for repeating Twitter's errors.

Linkedin

• LinkedIn introduces engaging daily games.
• LinkedIn shares marketing campaign optimization tips.

Meta

• Meta debuts AI tools for ad optimization on Instagram and Facebook.
• Meta Business Suite adds new message filter on iOS.
• Meta introduces expansive paid verification for businesses.
• Meta adds advanced AI tools for advertisers to enhance ads.
• Business Suite added "Review" feature for pre-publish checks.
• Business Suite now able to manage Facebook Page broadcast channels from desktop.
• Business Suite added ablity to create ready-made Reels from desktop.

Facebook

• Facebook tests new profile picture shape in Stories.
• Meta Verified tests new discovery features on Facebook.
• Facebook renames "Orders" shortcut to "Finds."
• Facebook testing new "Upload Video" button for Pages.
• Facebook adds floating button for reporting app issues.

Instagram

• Instagram introduces four new interactive stickers for Stories.
• Instagram soon to launch Broadcast Channel for business accounts.
• Instagram rebrands spam filter feature in followers tab.
• Create QR codes for Instagram broadcast channels.
• Instagram adds camera shortcut to each story.
• Instagram enables auto-tagging of collaborative accounts in posts.

Threads

• Threads lets users control quote permissions on posts.
• Threads tests new display features for better readability.
• Threads tests in-feed post creation sheet.
• Threads now shows "Post views" in EU.

Whatsapp

• WhatsApp tests new storage management feature in iOS beta.
• WhatsApp tests "Events" feature for Communities on iOS.

OpenAI

• OpenAI developing a tool for content creators to opt out of AI training.
• OpenAI aims to increase transparency in AI content generation.
• OpenAI debates allowing AI-generated adult content.
• OpenAI evasive on whether Sora was trained using YouTube videos.

Pinterest

• Pinterest launches Media Buyer certification course.
• Pinterest allows turning Instagram posts into pins for more users.

Reddit

• Reddit adds new swipe gestures for posts and comments.
• Reddit introduces new ad formats as it goes public.
• Reddit tests site-wide French translation and sub-specific features.
• Reddit exploring monetization of its search function.

Snapchat

• Snapchat introduces Instagram-like templates for videos.
• Snapchat beta tests new "Lens Invocation" app clip.
• Snapchat adds update countdown for Plus subscribers.
• Snapchat rebrands as the 'happiest place' online for users, businesses.
• Snapchat tests profile tab for switching between profiles.

Substack

• Substack recruiting TikTok stars with new 'creator studio' program.

TikTok

• Analysis of TikTok's AI algorithms and their social impact.
• 61% of TikTok users discover new brands on the platform.
• TikTok's deep ties with ByteDance challenge its independent claims.
• Livestream shopping on TikTok complicates fake merchandise detection.
• TikTok sues US government over 'unconstitutional' ban.
• TikTok offers free webinar on campaign and creative optimization.
• TikTok to label AI-generated user content globally.
• TikTok ads boost sales of obscure book amid ban rumors.
• TikTok to discontinue Video Avatar feature on May 15, 2024.
• TikTok highlights its effectiveness in brand discovery and engagement.
• Global communications head Hilary McQuaide leaves TikTok.
• TikTok adds "Collaboration" feature similar to Instagram.

X

• X modifies blocking feature to increase transparency.
• X now allows sorting of Community posts.
• X's Stories now feature AI-driven content for Premium users.
• Elon Musk limits spam by restricting replies on X.
• EU probes X for content moderation and AI risks.
• Twitter launches Grok AI in the EU and UK
• X to let advertisers create ad audiences with AI descriptions.

Youtube

• YouTube tests Gen AI Ideas Generator in Studio with selected creators.
• YouTube simplifies ad campaign creation within its platform.
• YouTube enhances EU election integrity measures.
• YouTube introduces browser extension with wiki-like citations.

I was involved in a car accident on March 16th. Before I start here's some information 3 cars were involved and everyone has AllState car insurance. The at fault driver was driving East in the Westbound lane his insurance adjuster and State troopers have told me he is at fault. I was driving my father's car which I am insured on. The at fault driver has 25k Bodily injury (PIP) My father's insurance has 50k medical and 25k (PIP) The at fault driver was driving his mother's car and lives with his mother at her house.
So, I was driving West on a major toll road in Florida and someone driving East in the Westbound lanes hit me pretty much head on. I was going 66mph not sure of his speed but, as soon as he came into my view I swerved right hard to miss him and he clipped my driver side bumper and then continued to hit my car from the front bumper to the back bumper I ended up flipping a couple of times and ended up landing upside down. Luckily the people that stopped to help was an LPN, RN and a Army Medic. I was taken to the hospital along with my passenger by ambulance. My passenger was released from the ER after about 8 hours but they kept me for 4days. The main reason they kept me was because a CT Scan showed I had some liquid in my stomach and intestines area and they thought I tore something open. They also did an entire body scan that showed issues in my L1-S5 disks and also in my Cervical and Thoracic but I need to get a MRI to show the exact problems. Now I'm walking with a cane at the age of 42 I'm waking up with back pain and throughout the day my back hurts. I was going to try and settle without a attorney because the at fault driver only has 25k and I didn't want a lawyer to take 33% or more when it's pretty much shut and close type of case. But now since my back has been hurting me so much I'm wondering if I should get a attorney. Can I get more then the 25k the at fault driver has in insurance? My medical bill's already supersede what is covered by my insurance and the at fault driver so I will be left with nothing if it is true I can only get what the auto insurance covers. Can I not go after the homeowners insurance or is there a way to get more from the at fault drivers auto insurance. I've never been in this situation before and I'm just lost. Any help would be much appreciated.
One more thing, I am wondering is why wasn't the driver arrested for reckless driving, dangerous driving or vehicular assault? He has prior infractions for driving in the wrong direction with his headlights off and some careless and reckless driving citations.
Thanks in advance for any information or direction you give to me. Have a good day.

This is my first time ever dealing with a car accident or insurance so I need help knowing what my options are.
My partners car is a 2016 Toyota Prius. He was planning to sell the car to our friend for 12k and put that money towards his MBA program. I'm listed as a driver on the car and was taking it to work when someone was doing an unprotected left turn from the oncoming traffic and T-boned my car. The damage was mostly on the Left front side but the other drivers car basically shred a huge gash all along the left side to the back, side of the car. She had an Uber sticker in her windshield and said her brothers insurance will cover it. Again I don't understand ANYTHING about insurance so I'm hoping that will be the case. We make a police report, she gets a citation for failing to yield to oncoming traffic. On the police report it said that she is "Self insured" meaning she basically doesn't have insurance. Then I see her vehicle is owned by a company (I'm guessing it's through Uber) so it's not her car.
The insurance/ auto shop said the damage is pretty bad and if it's not fixable they will Maybe give us a car equal value to ours or give us money for what they think it's worth. The thing is my partner was set on selling it for 12k and if they give him a car for less because they value it for less he will be upset. How do we go about this and also make sure that the other drivers brothers insurance will somehow fix this for us??? Please I need help understanding..

This is my first time ever dealing with a car accident or insurance so I need help knowing what my options are. My partners car is a 2016 Toyota Prius. He was planning to sell the car to our friend for 12k and put that money towards his MBA program. I'm listed as a driver on the car and was taking it to work when someone was doing an unprotected left turn from the oncoming traffic and T-boned my car. The damage was mostly on the Left front side but the other drivers car basically shred a huge gash all along the left side to the back, side of the car. She had an Uber sticker in her windshield and said her brothers insurance will cover it. Again I don't understand ANYTHING about insurance so I'm hoping that will be the case. We make a police report, she gets a citation for failing to yield to oncoming traffic. On the police report it said that she is "Self insured" meaning she basically doesn't have insurance. Then I see her vehicle is owned by a company (I'm guessing it's through Uber) so it's not her car.
The insurance/ auto shop said the damage is pretty bad and if it's not fixable they will Maybe give us a car equal value to ours or give us money for what they think it's worth. The thing is my partner was set on selling it for 12k and if they give him a car for less because they value it for less he will be upset. How do we go about this and also make sure that the other drivers brothers insurance will somehow fix this for us??? Please I need help understanding..

I have this question that I asked my mentor, but he is not responding. I manually created a list of references (whenever I used to do the citations I used to enter the citation data manually like date of access, date of publish URL, etc in a separate Word file); I did not auto-generate the reference list from RAP. Is it okay if I submit the manually made reference list or do I have to list the references by auto-generating them through the bibliography section?
Also, I don't know why, but the URLs I have mentioned on the reference list are not blue. meaning whenever I click on them they don't hit the search engine. Please let me know what should I do as I don't have much time left to submit the project.

🫖 Welcome back to the Asylum write-up. This is where you live now. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
In this installment, we finally take a closer look at how Emilie Autumn's hyper-loyal fanbase gradually started losing faith in her as, among other things, it became more and more apparent that she... wasn't exactly a reliable narrator – in her semi-autobiographical book, or in general.

HOW IT STARTED: A WOMAN OF MYSTERY

Willow, weep for me Don't think I don't see This life I'm living in two But still it's something I must do I'm not unique in this Nor am I special, sweet, or kind I court a thousand smiles Yet I keep my own to hide behind (“Willow”, 2004 🎵)

I've previously referred to EA as an “expert vagueposter”, and this is relevant here.
For an artist who built her brand on a pledge of raw, rats-and-all honesty, EA has always been quite guarded about the specifics of her personal life. (Until her current partner, for instance, she always danced around calling anyone a boyfriend, even when the nature of the relationship was pretty obvious.) Her whole angle is telling “the truth”, but through whimsical fantasy. As early as the fairy-themed Enchant era, she had her own world, her own vernacular; she spoke in metaphors, in-jokes, and quirky anachronisms. Taxis were carriages, her electric keyboard was a harpsichord, she always capitalized Time and Art like Shakespeare does. On the Asylum forum, automatic word filters would change “fan” to “muffin”, “fairy” to “faerie”, “bra” to “teacup holder”, and “responsibility” to “ratsponsibility”.
She's a chatterbox who loves to share memories and funny anecdotes, but she usually keeps them short and sweet, Snapple-facts style. 📝 She's great at painting by touches in her storytelling, revealing just enough to let your imagination auto-complete the rest. 🔍 Even the most banal tidbits are very artfully told, very “on brand”, often dense with symbolism and foreshadowing – but also very abstracted.
She is especially elusive when it comes to her background and formative years. See the way she catches herself in this interview 📺📝 while describing her “favorite scar”, which is from an eel bite: “My – well, someone I knew... [gasp-laugh] had it as a pet, and...” (She was about to say “my sister”.)
In short, the way EA talks about her life is often very personal, but not all that candid – and sounds more like it's meant to provide a curated, coherent backstory for Emilie Autumn the character, rather than Emilie Autumn the person.

I'll tell the truth, all my songs Are pretty much the fucking same I'm not a fairy but I need More than this life, so I became This creature representing more to you Than just another girl... (“Swallow”, 2006 🎵)

In the beginning, this guardedness naturally contributed to the mystique. It made it all the more special when, once in a while, she would briefly drop the theatrics to share something earnest and relatively unfiltered. Like this composed, but vulnerable post from 2004 📝 about her father losing his battle to cancer, and her attempts at closure over their tense relationship. Or this 2012 anti-bullying campaign thing 📺 in which she opens up about being a target of intense physical bullying in elementary school, to a point that contributed to her being homeschooled at 9.
Fans in the early years were curious about her backstory, of course – but not too prodding or invasive, to my knowledge. I think there was an understanding that EA, like many performers, wanted to come across as human and approachable, while still cultivating an “aura” and retaining some privacy. But obviously, when she announced that she was writing a Tell-All Memoir in 2007, everyone was dying to read it. TEA TIME!

HOW IT'S GOING: A WOMAN OF... MALARKEY???

LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! (“Liar”, 2006 🎵)

As we've learned, the original 2009 release of EA's book was highly anticipated, but somewhat tainted by a bunch of shipping delays and unfulfilled promises. From the start of her career, EA had always cultivated a close parasocial involvement with her audience; many fans had as deep an attachment to her, personally, as they did to her art. So, for instance, when EA tweeted about all the personal dedications she was lovingly writing in overdue books, only for the books to arrive many months later and unsigned with no tangible explanation, it wasn't simply frustrating: it was betrayal amongst kin!
Really, it wasn't so much about fans not getting what they paid for – it was about the lack of clear communication or genuine accountability. This is pure speculation on my part, but the poppycock that EA tweeted about signing the books strikes me as the panic-lie of someone who hadn't realized just how many heartfelt, personalized dedications she would actually have to write when she came home from tour. And then she just couldn't do it, because she was overworked, paralyzed, distracted, depressed, procrastinating, whatever. Which... you know... is unfortunate, but probably not unforgivable. Especially for a touring performer who is open and vocal about their mental health issues.
I'm confident that most fans would have been happy to tell her that her well-being meant more to them than an autograph, or something along those lines. Instead, EA's cagey and avoidant demeanor around this issue left fans very salty – and newly suspicious of their favorite artist's word.
Which was regrettable timing for EA, because they had just received their copies of her memoir.
Here's a cursory look at some key biographical points that didn't hold up to scrutiny when more and more vexed fans, over the years, started looking into them.
Content warning until end of post: family estrangement, death by fire, worsening physical health issues, mention of disordered eating / weight loss / thinspiration, and LIES! LIES! LIIIIIES!

“EMILIE AUTUMN LIDDELL (BORN SEPTEMBER 22, 1979) IS AN AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER...” (Wikipedia)

Every fandom has its Holy Grail. Because a number of EA's early releases were limited pressings put out through now-defunct record labels, the EA fandom in its heyday was a collector's wonderland. 📝🦠 At the height of her popularity, the original Enchant jewelcase (the one with the puzzle-poster) could easily fetch around $500 dollars on eBay, unsigned. The handwritten lyrics of an Opheliac B-side went for $940 in 2009. Don't even ask me about the hard copies of her two poetry books: those never even popped up over the five or six years that I had various alerts set up for all EA-related listings.
But the true crown jewel of EA rarities is the untitled promo version of her (also virtually unfindable) 2001 instrumental debut On a Day... No one knows how many copies exist. The darn thing is so rare that it's not even listed on Discogs. For a while, the only picture of the elusive “Violin” promo CD that was circulated online was this one.🪞 Go ahead, click the link. Notice anything odd? That black box where one composer's birth year should be?
I'm not sure why the notorious hyper-fan who originally shared this picture on the forum in the early 2010s took it upon himself to censor it before posting. I wasn't able to pinpoint when or why people started questioning EA's age, but clearly, something had already transpired to let him know that not redacting said birth year might, uh... cause an upset. In any case: at some point, people started digging – and eventually, the unredacted version of the “Violin” tracklist (as well as public records and literal receipts from eBay auctions) would be brandished as one more piece of damning evidence that EA was indeed (gasp!) two years older than she claimed to be.
“Okay, and?” you shrug. “What's the big deal?” I'm shrugging too! What can I say? People don't like realizing they've been fooled, even about something stupid. I will note that EA's fall equinox birthday (hence her middle name “Autumn”, yes) had been somewhat significant in the fandom. Over the years, EA's birthdays had been marked by online release parties, Q&A's, community events, special merch sales... A number of fans liked donning her trademark cheek heart on September 22. It felt a bit uncanny to realize that she had been announcing a false age on those occasions. It wasn't “a big deal” so much as it was incredibly odd.
Other than being appalled that Self-Proclaimed Staunch Feminist EA would give in to the cult of youth and not cop up to her real age, many fans were just plain bewildered: who would commit so stubbornly to such an inconsequential lie? What was even the point of lying by two years only? Why did she think anyone would care that she was 28 rather than 26 when Opheliac came out? What was she possibly getting out of this...??
My completely speculative theory is that, whether it was her idea or her then-manager's, the lie originated as a marketing strategy early on in her career. The “Violin” demo was recorded in 1997, when EA was 19-going-on-20. Per the liner notes of On a Day... 📝, which came out when she was 22, the demo's purpose was to be “a sort of calling card in the classical music industry”. Evidently, that didn't work out; EA claims, in the same paragraph, to have walked out on a classical recording deal at 18 because they wouldn't give her enough creative control.
Talented and unique as she was, she was trying to break out in a notoriously elitist and innovation-resistant milieu – and unlike her, most of the 22-year-old classical violinists she was in competition with had actually graduated from their prestigious music schools. But you know what sells better than an ambitious college dropout in her early twenties? Tweaking the truth just so to market yourself as an unconventional wunderkind, barely out of her teens! Any rendition of a complex, learnèd musical piece sounds more intriguing and impressive if you think it was played by an especially young (and beautiful) person. 20 was plausible, close enough to her real age, barely a lie at all, and such a nice, round number for a debut album.
Notice how much of the On a Day... liner notes, linked above, center on her precociousness, her uniqueness, and her savant-like dedication to her craft – a focus that seems absent from the promo version (from what I can decipher in those potato-quality pictures, anyway). These talking points would provide the basis for a lot of her early self-promotion and budding stage persona in the Enchant years. Even though the EP failed to make EA a household name in the classical world, the wunderkind narrative was her “in” to grab the attention and heart of a broader audience.
And I guess she's been running with it ever since.

“MY ANCESTRY IS POSITIVELY LITTERED WITH LUNATICS AND GIRLS WHO FALL DOWN RABBIT HOLES ... MY NAME IS EMILIE AUTUMN LIDDELL. YES, THAT LIDDELL.”

Oh, come on. Much as a fan may want to believe, isn't that a little on the nose? The anglophile with an obsession for tea, clocks, and madness... is literally related to Alice in Wonderland? 🔍 Curiouser and curiouser indeed.
EA came out as Emilie Autumn Liddell in The Book – of course – in a passage where she describes an interaction with a nurse. 📝 Note how she stresses the authenticity of her name, and how not-chosen it is (and the Alice connection, which just comes up organically) by disclosing it in a scene where she's filling out paperwork.
I'm pointing this out, because it would be tempting to allow room for creative license (and the slightest cringe) in a work of creative fiction based on personal experience. Buuut... TAFWG was not marketed as fiction. The main narrative in TAFWG, according to EA, is an actual fac-simile of the journals she kept during a harrowing stay at a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital following a suicide attempt. This is something that EA has stressed from the inception of the book (and throughout all subsequents re-issues, even as the main narrative was altered and reworked), even claiming that a legal team had advised her to redact some names to avoid potential lawsuits. So, no, she's not doing a bit there.
When, after it made the rounds a few times, it became apparent that the claim didn't really make sense 📝🔍, reactions were mixed. Some older, diplomatic fans downplayed it as a somewhat embarrassing, but harmless self-mythologizing – similar in nature to her insistence on calling her electric keyboard a “harpsichord”. Devout EA apologists (commonly referred to as “bootlickers” in an increasingly polarized fandom – oh, don't worry, we're getting to that!) invoked the “life as performance art” defense: when she said it was literally her first name, she meant it metaphorically, duh! And either way, she probably had her reasons.
But others took offense at the boldness of the lie, or simply became curious. Was Liddell even her name at all?
If you've checked the link just above, you already know the answer. Per the public California birth log (a somewhat demented invasion of privacy that could well have been avoided by... not repeatedly drawing attention to a name that someone in the book calls “right out of a movie”?) : yes, no, kind of.
EA was born Emily Autumn Fischkopf* on September 22, 1977. The name came from her father, a first-generation immigrant from Germany. Her maternal grandmother's maiden name was Liddell (but no, not that Liddell, or so remotely that it doesn't matter). EA may have had it legally changed at some point in the last decade, but as of 2012, based on the public log of foreign visitors to Brazil (where she toured that year), her passport still bore the name “Emily Autumn Fischkopf”.
*No, EA's birth name is not literally “Fischkopf”. It's a non-silly German name that begins with an F. I know that it's ridiculous to clutch my pearls about EA's peace of mind now, but triggering new and disquieting Google alerts for a name she clearly wants nothing to do with (and that you don't care about) just feels... distasteful? I don't know. That info has been floating around long enough, the point has been made; this write-up is not about EA's last name, but about the fiends we made along the way! So Fischkopf it is.
Let's track the evolution here! It appears that she went by “Autumn Fischkopf” for at least part of her formative years, if we are to believe the credits from Mark Ruffalo's middling film debut 📺 (she was the child actor's violin-playing body double) and this random article about a Nigel Kennedy performance in 1997. 🔍 (That last link – possibly her first ever mention in the press? – is a niche favorite of mine. Violin superstar Nigel Kennedy calls her a “talented fiddler”, which suggests that she did have some cred and promise in the classical milieu at a young age, and that there is at least some truth to her claims of being a wunderkind. It also cracks me up that, out of all the things she's reiterated over the years, “I was born in '79” was a lie, but “I was attacked by a pet eel” was fact-checked by Nigel Kennedy.)
At some point in her late teens, she dropped the Teutonic surname and adopted the French ending of her given name (she made it a “LIE”! how poetic) to form the moniker “Emilie Autumn”. I assume that's also when she started privately going by Emilie / EA for short.
So there you have it. The damning evidence. A performing artist... changed her name. To her grandmother's name. Riveting stuff!
And to think that her fans could have carried on naively believing “Autumn” was her last name, or assuming it was a romantic nom de scène she picked during her Ren Fair phase. Or perhaps, even, not thinking much about her name at all, like normal people.
But nooo, she just had to poke the hornet's nest by making a whole thing out of it.

“MY ENTIRE FAMILY DIED IN A FIRE.”

If you've never encountered a method-acting con artist or a person who struggles with pathological lying (I'll let you decide for yourself which of these, if either, applies to EA), you probably believe that you'd spot them a mile away. And in my experience, that's exactly why you wouldn't! Whether it's compulsion or calculated strategy, successful fibbers rely on people's natural social cues (like their assumption of good faith, their confirmation bias, their empathy, their desire for validation, their fear of awkwardness, ...) to subtly direct the flow and tone of the conversation. This allows them to short-circuit potential questioning of their claims.
One such strategy, for instance, I call the “I-will-not-further-speak-about-the-incident maneuver”. Out of the blue, you drop a graphic and incisive one-liner about something horrific that happened to you, in a curt or flippant tone that throws the listener off and usually shuts them up – thus sparing you from having to back up your claim with any convincing specifics. I'm not saying that every person who does this is a liar. Horrific stuff does happen to people, and I'm not here to police how they're supposed to disclose it. I'm just saying that if you wanted to fabricate an obvious Tragic Backstory™ and smuggle it past otherwise rational, discerning and reasonably intelligent people, that would be one way to do it. Full disclosure: it does work better in person than it does over the internet, especially when you've kept a blog.
When EA curtly dropped this bomb on Twitter (in response to an innocuous fan question that mentioned her parents – the receipt has sadly been X'd out of existence), and every subsequent time a new fan found out about her family's tragic demise (“I had no idea!”), the response was typically one of shock and sadness – and, in a few heartbreaking cases, commiseration from other survivors of family-annihilating events.
Many fans already had a hunch that something was up with her family, of course. She hinted at neglect and possible abuse in her book and lyrics. A number of her fans also came from dysfunctional households, so her not wishing to elaborate on the topic would probably have been a non-issue. But now she's saying they're dead? All of them? In a FIRE?! Holy macaroni! And you know it must have been awful, because EA – the same woman who got a dozen bangers out of a three-month-long toxic relationship, and based over a decade of her work on one bad hospital stay – had never, not once, felt called to share a song or poem about how it might affect a person to... lose all of their entire immediate family to a fire. Hmm. Meanwhile, the handful of older fans who had been following her since Enchant and remembered her dad passing in 2004 gritted their teeth and rolled their eyes. “Do your research. That's all I can say.” (We'll get into the culture of censorship free speech regulation on the Asylum forum in due time.)
Before more and more embittered ex-fans started compiling and circulating the receipts in the early-mid-2010s, investigating the whole “dead family” thing was a lonely journey – a coming-of-age expedition for the critical-minded Plague Rat, trawling through free background check websites and old Wayback Machine archives, until you went “Welp, there it is, I guess” and suddenly felt older, stupider, and a little bit hollow inside.
Although I don't remember how I personally made my way to The Truth (lol) back in the day, I still have a vivid memory of the moment I found the Facebook profile of EA's Very Much Non-Deceased Mother. It was mostly posts about her costume design work. A few candid pictures with EA's siblings and their kids. Christmas, birthdays, a wedding. Just... aggressively normal stuff. It was bizarre, looking in on this family of cheerful strangers with familiar cheekbones. Knowing that, somewhere out there, was an estranged eldest daughter, who had run off years ago to become a fiddle-wielding rockstar – and was now passing them off as having all died a gruesome death, while her fans secretly stalked their family photos. (Because I know you'll be asking in the comments: yes, EA's family is aware. Her mother once posted a picture of young EA and her siblings on Pinterest, sarcastically captioned “After most of us were killed in the fire.” 📝)
Again, it's tempting to discount EA's remark as a metaphor for family estrangement, taken too literally by neurodivergent minors who just didn't understand performance art. Well. First of all, even as a metaphor... let's admit, once again, that that 2000s edginess has aged like fine milk. It's a little crass to make a “metaphor” out of a plausible, life-shattering trauma that other people actually have to live with. (Veronica lost a beloved house to a literal fire 🔍 during her tenure as a Crumpet, for instance; no one died, but that alone seemed pretty rough.)
But, more to the point, evidence suggests that EA also told this to real people in her real, off-stage life – such as her Trisol manager, who backed the claim on the official Asylum Forum in 2007. 📝 When questioned about this post on a renegade forum in 2013, he had this to say:

I was the fool in this case. EA made that up of course. It’s just one thing on a long list of things she made up. Let’s agree she’s very creative with facts if she wants people to believe a story. (...) I once had a short chat with [EA's mom] and I got the strong impression she wasn’t dead at the time. Haha.

(OK, dude, but did you or did you not sell fake EA tickets on a scammy website in 2008? Because we never did get the skinny on that.)
Fifteens years on, EA continues to insist, unprompted, that “the fire” destroyed her childhood drawings and baby pictures. 📝 This more recent Instagram post is like a Greatest Hits of her most notorious yarns, to a degree that's either premeditated trolling or a subconscious call for help. She casually, yet pointedly mentions her age in relation to a specific year... and specifically draws attention to the signature, one that she used well into the Enchant era. In doing so, she made me notice, for the first time, that the A blends into an F. As one could expect from an artsy, Renaissance-obsessed teenager, her OG signature was a freaking monogram for Emily Autumn Fischkopf. It's like “The Tell-Tale Heart” for the digital age! AM I THE ONLY ONE SEEING THIS?? 🦠

A BIT O' THIS & THAT: MISCELLANEOUS CLAIMS

Just for fun, here are other sundry “citation needed” facts that EA has claimed over the years. All are originally from the book unless sourced otherwise. Some of them may have been jokes, some of them might even be true! Whatever that word still means!

• She suffered near-fatal leukemia at age 2, but miraculously recovered. Doctors were baffled.
• She has perfect pitch and tone-color synesthesia. 🔍
• She also had a photographic memory before Ativan ruined it. That's how she remembers what the sky looked like on the day she came out of the hospital leukemia-free.
• It is well-known and well-established, among the bipolar community, that bipolar people all over the world will regularly and inexplicably wake up at 4 in the morning. 🎵 On the dot. No one knows why, but they do. Doctors are baffled.
• She can play the violin on horseback!
• The traumatic hospital stay happened before Opheliac until it happened after. 🔍 Doctors are time lords.
• TAFWVG “has been cited in text-books used as part of the psychology curriculum at Oxford University in London.” 📝 I would have intuited Oxford University to be in Oxford, but then again, I didn't go to Oxford.

ELECTRIC VIOLIN: UNPLUGGED

You know how whenever a musician starts behaving obnoxiously, old sages will come down from Mount Wisdom to advise disgruntled fans to “simply ignore [behavior]” and “just focus on the music”? Well, in the Asylum, “just focusing on the music” won't always preserve you from EA's shenanigans. This “claim” is a little different, but I've decided to include it because it is so odd, emblematic, and ultimately tragic. I also count it as “biographical”, because it involves a key tenet of EA's character sheet: the violin.
Being a kickass fiddler is one of EA's trademarks, and has always been central to her narrative; as of 2024, “world-class violinist” is still the first claim to fame she lists in the “Story” section of her official website. Which beggars the question: why won't she play it? And why won't she acknowledge that she's not playing it?
We got our hopes up in 2020, with that one post 📝 about her iconic 1885 Gand & Bernardel getting refurbished by a luthier – a thoughtful birthday surprise from her boyfriend – but despite the promising “More to come...” at the end of the caption, that turned out to be a false alarm. In truth, it may well have been over a decade since anyone has witnessed EA draw a single note from her cherished instrument.
The fact that Lord Autumn was able to sneak it out during lockdown without the Lady noticing tends to confirm that she hadn't been playing much behind the scenes. She seems to be under the impression that e-violin manufacturer Zeta is no longer in business (they did close down in 2010 🔍, but reopened under new management in 2012), which suggests that she hasn't been keeping up with the violin scene for a while. Besides, the fingernails don't lie. 🐀
As the live shows veered more theatrical with the release of Opheliac, the extended violin features from the Enchant era were cut to two main appearances per concert: “Face the Wall”, a seven-minute-short, Hendrixesque take on Arcangelo Corelli's “La Folia” – and “Unlaced”, an arpeggio-ed frenzy that was originally paired with a stilt-walking and ballet performance by the Crumpets. These two instrumental tracks remained a fixture on four successive tours. And on four successive tours, “Unlaced” was... well... clearly dubbed. 📺 She was holding her e-violin, her hands were playing the notes, but what was coming out of the speakers was indubitably the studio version.
There were possible explanations, of course. Some sound buffs pointed out that “Unlaced” has multiple violin layers, and that a live violin solo would have sounded harsh and unbalanced over the supporting tracks 🔍 – but then, why pick an unplayable song as a staple of the show?
The violin-miming wasn't even very hush-hush, she didn't try that hard to hide it – it was just never addressed or acknowledged. On “Unlaced”, Veronica was usually summoned to “play” the keyboard – and we knew that was make-believe, they had a whole skit about it. 📺 Ditto when EA would play the intro to a song, then get up from the keyboard as she started singing, and the harpsichord track just kept going. It was part of the theatrics, the suspension of disbelief; live playing just wasn't the focus.
Still, because playing two songs should have been in her wheelhouse, EA's choice to stand on stage and mime along with her own world-class violin skills was puzzling. We knew EA was capable of playing “Unlaced”: “Face the Wall” was proof enough that she could still shred like nobody's business, and some lucky fans got to hear her nerd out about pitch standards and rock some Bach at VIP showcases in 2011 (though it was always the same piece, and reportedly not always on point: “she made beginner mistakes, like weird jaw, wrist, elbow placement and tension...” 🐀). And sure, “Face the Wall” was an intense piece, but... it was one of two in the show. The same two, always. She was supposed to be classically trained...!
As EA's fabrications became more common knowledge among the fanbase, people took increasing issue with this odd staging choice – particularly after “Face the Wall” was retired partway through the 2011 tour, leaving only the pantomime, with nothing else happening on stage to distract from it. 📺 People started fixating on her constant and inexplicable tweaking of the truth. Fake name, fake age, fake promises, and now she was fake-fiddling and making a grand show of it? Was she outright mocking her audience, daring them to call her out? Milking a skill she had grown bored with, in the lowest-effort way possible, knowing that goo-goo-eyed fans would still pay to see it? Playing them the world's saddest song on the world's quietest e-violin?
The release of new album Fight Like a Girl in 2012 did little to soothe the Plague Rats' fiddle blues. The violin was much less prominent on FLAG than it had been on Opheliac and Enchant. There were almost no solos, which provided fewer opportunities for playing or miming on stage. “Unlaced” was retired from the touring setlist. One night in Texas during the 2012 tour, due to being on vocal rest, EA played the melody line of “Liar” on the violin. 📺 And that was pretty much the last time world-class violinist Emilie Autumn was heard playing her instrument, on stage or in recording – to the dismay of many fans who had loved her for it.

Can someone please grab this woman by her hand, lead her across her livingroom/bedroom/study, and point at that lonely forgotten dusty violin in a corner of hers so she remembers that she actually owns it? (🐀)

It was yet another bizarre, glaring inconsistency in EA's narrative that fans seemed expected to ignore. Another elephant in the padded room. (Personal anecdote that I don't have a receipt for: in early 2012, when I asked if there was a possibility of EA playing another baroque set for the VIP events on the upcoming tour, her then-manager responded that that wouldn't be possible because venues didn't have the proper acoustics.)
Through some her posts over the years , attentive fans pieced together the likely truth of EA's effective retirement as a violinist. It's actually quite sad, and may cast a different light on EA's artistic shift.
The 2011 tour was initially scheduled for late 2010. It was postponed because EA had been neglecting a jaw injury for years, and needed emergency surgery to avoid “serious and irreversible damage” to her one violin-holding jaw. 📝 She had the surgery early in September; in late November, she performed all over Latin America for six nights straight, and by January, she was back on tour. The same tour during which she made “beginner's mistakes” on the Bach partita, and retired “Face the Wall” for good after a few shows.
She underwent jaw surgery again in 2018, after three years of orthodontic treatment which she said had “prevented [her] from performing”. It was the first anyone was hearing of this (she said she hadn't been touring because she was writing the musical!), and it's as far as EA ever got in terms of half-addressing the obvious: that after dedicating a third of her time on Earth to her craft, after years of pushing through the pain night after night, rushing through recovery periods, and making compromises so the show could go on... she may not be physically able to play concert-level violin anymore.
Once again, something that should (and would) have elicited empathy and support from most fans turned into a point of frustration, speculation and mockery, for years – because EA continued to favor pretend-play and fantasy over the sobering, unglamorous truth. Well, at least everyone's unhappy.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS

​

Hadithism first gained traction with Muhammad Idris Al-Shafi'i some 200 years AH. He argued that Allah revealed an obligatory, extra-Quranic corpus of law in the purported Prophetic Sunnah, later transmitted through Hadith reports.
Sunnies still rehash the argument from Al-Shafi'i's original dialectic found in Kitab Jima al'Ilm, where he successfully argued for Hadithism against a hypothetical Hadith rejector. Unlike his skeptical strawman, we won't hold back any punches to demonstrate why Al-Shafi'i's argument was not just flawed, but an insult to the intellect, a criminal twisting of Qur'anic scripture, and a stain upon the character of he who parrots it.
OVERVIEW OF AL-SHAFI'I'S ARGUMENT FOR HADITHISM IN KITAB JIMA AL'ILM
PREMISE 1: Muslims must obey the Qur'an.
True.
PREMISE 2: The Qur'an said that the Prophet was sent to teach people "the scripture and the wisdom" (al-kitab wa al-hikmah): "It is He who sent among the gentiles a messenger from among themselves, reading His signs to them and purifying them and teaching them the scripture and wisdom—although they were indeed in evident misguidance before that." 62:2
True.
PREMISE 3: The "scripture and wisdom" must be two different things. The "scripture" is obviously the Qur'an, so the "wisdom" must be the Sunnah.
False.
Al-Shafi provides no evidence to back his innovative interpretation of "wisdom" as the Prophetic Sunnah. He merely speculates that since two words are used (al-kitab wa al-sunnah), it most likely means that they are two different things. Compared to Al-Shafi'i's strained speculation, we have strong reasons to believe that "al-kitab wa al-hikmah" are one thing, the Qur'an:
1.The Qur'an never makes any explicit reference to the "Prophetic Sunnah," which is not what we would expect if the Sunnah was a separate and critical bulk of Islamic law.
2.The early pre-Shafi'i tafasir do not interpret "al-hikmah" as the "Sunnah". For example, according to Tafsir Muqatil (perhaps the earliest complete tafsir), "al-kitab" refers to the Qur'an in general and "al-hikmah" refers to Qur'anic exhortations of what is permissible and prohibited:
ه{ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَابَ } يعني ولكي يعلمهم ما يتلو من القرآن { وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ } وموعظ القرآن الحلال والحرام
https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=62&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1

1. The Qur'an explicitly indicates that "al-kitab wa al-hikmah" are one-and-the-same thing:

وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلْحِكْمَةِ يَعِظُكُم بِهِ
"And remember Allah’s blessing upon you and what He has sent down to you of the scripture and the wisdom to admonish you with it." 2:231
Allah revealed the "book and wisdom" and admonishes with "it" ( بِهِ). "It" is a singular, not dual, pronoun as would be the case if the book and wisdom were two different things. Therefore, the scripture and wisdom are the same single thing: the Qur'an.
PREMISE 4: Muslims must obey the Sunnah:
False.
As we have seen, Al-Shafi failed to justify the existence of an authoritative Prophetic Sunnah in the Qur'an - even so, his argument continues that the Sunnah is obligatory to follow, evidenced by the following verses:
"But no, by your Lord, they will never attain faith until they make you judge in their disputes, then find within themselves no discomfort from whatever you have decreed and submit completely" (4:65)
"Whoever obeys the Messenger has surely obeyed Allah, but whoever turns away—then We have not sent you to be a constant preserver over them." (4:80)
Qur'an twisters often cherry-pick verses and exclude the context. Virtually all the "obey the Messenger" verses occur in sections where Allah criticizes the Hypocrites for undermining the Prophet's political, judicial, or military authority - they are not about the Prophet doling out universal and obligatory religious legislation to the common Believers.
Verse 4:65 is specifically about the Prophet adjudicating in personal disputes and implicates disputants who dislike the Prophet's judgments and seek the judgment of tyrants instead. It is not about the Prophet passing universal religious legislation.
Verse 4:80 refers to political and military obedience to the Prophet, after which it immediately criticizes the Medinite hypocrites for claiming to obey the Prophet then going on to undermine his authority and the security of the Ummah.
In addition to the omission of context (See Annex A), no pre-Shafi'i tafasir assert that those verses refer to the Prophetic Sunnah (See Annex B).
Al-Shafi'i brings out his big guns with this next verse to conclusively prove that the Sunnah must be obeyed. The average Hadithite will instinctivly proclaim this clear and powerful verse as evidence of Hadithism:
"And whatever the Messenger has given you - take it; and what he has forbidden you from it - refrain. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty." (Al-Hashr 59:7)
Amazing. That verse proves we must accept the parallel Hadithic legislation the Prophet purveyed. Alas, there is a problem...that verse is not even a verse. It is a hacked-out snippet of a verse. The verse is not a command to take extra-Qur'anic halal/haram legislation from the Prophet. When we look at the full verse and it's syntax, we find that Allah is telling the Prophet's companions to accept the Prophet's distribution of war spoils after a battle, so that wealth reaches the poor, not only the rich:
"Whatever Allah has turned over to His Messenger from the people of the towns, then that is for Allah and for the Messenger and for the relative and the orphans and the destitute and to the traveler in need, so that it does not circulate exclusively between the wealthy among you. "And whatever the Messenger has given you - take it; and what he has forbidden you from it - refrain. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty." And be mindful of Allah; indeed, Allah is stern in retribution." (59:7)
By saying, "whatever the Messenger has given you," we see that the verse is alluding to a event that already occurred (the Prophet distributing spoils). It is not an open-ended command about following general legislation in the future.
The word, "take it" implies the tangible sense of taking material spoils, as opposed to intangible laws.
"and what he has forbidden you from it - refrain."
By saying to refrain from "it," the "it" refers to a particular object, specifically the war-spoils.
Finally, pre-Shafi'i tafasir do not share his wildly distorted malinterpretation (See Annex B):
I cannot fathom why Al-Shafi would so brazenly butcher that verse and present his misleading Qur'anic hack-job as evidence for obeying the Sunnah. Did he think that no one knew or would bother checking his citation? Even more difficult to comprehend is how 1,000 years of Sunni scholarship could so mindlessly regurgitate this blatant and atrocious gaslighting of Qur'anic text.
PREMISE 5: The obligation to follow the Sunnah fell upon the Companion as it does upon us.
False.
There was no Sunnah obligation upon the Companions nor ourselves.
PREMISE 6: The Sunnah is known today through Hadith.
False.
The Hadith corpus is a hodgepodge of unreliable and contradictory claims - whatever strain of authentic reports is may contain would not encapsulate the entirety of the historical Sunnah.
CONCLUSION: The Hadith are an obligatory, parallel source of religious law.
False.
We refuted Al-Shafi'i's premises 3 (the Prophet was instructed to teach the Qur'an and "Sunnah") and 4 (the Sunnah is obligatory). Since those premises are unsound, Al-Shafi'i's conclusion is flawed.
OUR KNOCK-OUT CONCLUSION:
Hadithism grew from Al-Shafi'i's propogation some two centuries AH. Al-Shafi'i's original argument in Kitab Jima al'Ilm is still reflected in Sunni arguments today. Al-Shafi'i's argument, although logically valid, was unsound and his conclusion flawed. Al-Shafi'i's faulty premises relied on strained, unsubstantiated interpretations, the hermeneutical exclusion of context, and intentionally misrepresenting verses. Al-Shafi'i desperately tried to prove Hadithism through the Qur'an, but the torturous interpretative gymnastics he employed only prove how contrived and foreign the idea of extra-Qur'anic religious legislation is.
ANNEX
Annex A: "Obedience" context of 4:65, 80.

[Allah criticizes the Kitabi hypocrites who failed to commit to the Prophet’s political/judicial authority and sought the judgment of illegitimate oppressors instead:] 59 O you who have attained faith, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in command among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and fairer in interpretation. 60 Have you not seen those who claim that they have believed in what was sent down to you and what was sent down before you, yet they want the judgment of false masters in spite of being commanded to deny it? For Satan wants to make them stray into extreme misguidance. 61 And when it is said to them, “Come to what Allah has sent down, and to the Messenger,” you see the hypocrites barring (themselves and others) from you completely...[Al-Shafi'i's Quote:] 65 But no, by your Lord, they will never attain faith until they make you judge in their disputes, then find within themselves no discomfort from whatever you have decreed and submit completely...[Allah criticizes the hypocrites who fail to attend their military duties with the Prophet:] 71 O you who have attained faith, take your precautions, then mobilize in groups or mobilize all together. 72 And indeed, there is among you one who would certainly tarry behind; then, if a calamity befalls you, he would say, “Allah has truly favored me as I was not a witness with them.” 73 But if some grace from Allah befalls you, he would say—as if no love existed between you and him—“If only I had been with them, I could have triumphed a great triumph.” 74 Let those who sell the Earlier Life in exchange for the Hereafter combat in the cause of Allah. For whoever combats in the way of Allah, then is killed or overcomes, We will bring him a great reward. 75 And what is the matter with you that you do not combat in the way of Allah and for the ones deemed weak and oppressed among men and women and children—those who say, “Our Lord, get us out from this town whose people are unjust, and appoint for us from You a guardian, and appoint for us from You a supporter!”? 76 Those who have attained faith combat in the way of Allah, while those who have denied combat in the way of false masters. So combat the allies of Satan; indeed, the plotting of Satan has always been weak. 77 Have you not seen those who were told, “Restrain your hands and establish the prayer and bring the purifying charity”? But when combat was prescribed for them, a group of them feared mankind as only Allah ought to be feared, or even more. And they said, “Our Lord, why did You prescribe combat for us? If only You would delay it for us for a short while.”... [Al-Shafi'i's quote:] 80 Whoever obeys the Messenger has surely obeyed Allah, but whoever turns away—then We have not sent you to be a constant preserver over them. [Followed by criticism towards hypocrites for undermining the security of the Muslim community and lack of military support] 81 And they say “(We pledge) obedience,” but when they leave your presence, a faction of them conspired something contrary to what you say, yet Allah records what they conspire. So disregard them and place your trust in Allah, for sufficient is Allah as a Trustee. 82 Do they not ponder the Recital? For had it been from any other than Allah, they would have found in it much discrepancy. 83 And when a matter of security or fear comes to them, they publicize it. But had they referred it to the Messenger and to those in command among them, those who can draw conclusions from it would have learned it. And were it not for Allah’s blessing and mercy upon you, you would have followed Satan, except for a few. 84 So combat in the way of Allah; you are not responsible except for yourself. And urge the believers....[Allah further criticizes hypocrites who left the community] 88 So what is the matter with you, that you are divided into two groups regarding the hypocrites, when Allah Himself has caused them to regress on account of what they have earned? Do you want to guide those whom Allah has misguided? For whomever Allah misguides, you will never find for him any way.

Annex B: Pre-Shafi'i Tafasir failing to corroborate or contradicting Al-Shafi'i's interpretations:
62:2 "It is He who sent among the gentiles a messenger from among themselves, reading His signs to them and purifying them and teaching them the scripture and wisdom—although they were indeed in evident misguidance before that."
(Tafsir Muqatil) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=62&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
(Tafsir Gharib Al-Qur'an) https://www-altafsir-com.translate.goog/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=89&tSoraNo=62&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
33:34: "And remember what is recited in your houses of the signs of Allah’s and the wisdom..."
(Tafsir Muqatil) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=62&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1**4:65** "But no, by your Lord, they will never attain faith until they make you judge in their disputes, then find within themselves no discomfort from whatever you have decreed and submit completely" (4:65)
(Tafsir Mujahid) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=78&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=65&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
(Tafsir Muqatil) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=65&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
(Tafsir Gharib Al-Qur'an) https://www-altafsir-com.translate.goog/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=89&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=65&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US
4:80 " Whoever obeys the Messenger has surely obeyed Allah, but whoever turns away—then We have not sent you to be a constant preserver over them."
(Tafsir Muqatil) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=80&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
(Tafsir Gharib Al-Qur'an) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=89&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=80&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
(59:7) "And whatever the Messenger has given you - take it; and what he has forbidden you from it - refrain. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty."
(Tafsir Muqatil) https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=59&tAyahNo=7&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
(Tafsir Gharib Al-Quran) https://www-altafsir-com.translate.goog/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=89&tSoraNo=59&tAyahNo=7&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

[Edit] update- insurance claim is a total loss. That’s ridiculous. The car is 100% still drivable.
I was with My stepson who bought a preowned car, 2015 Kia optima, from a Nissan dealership for 12k April 1st, he put 1000 down at 16%. With his okay, not the best credit, He got approved for the loan and made sure Gap coverage is included signed all the paperwork and drove away happy.
On April 25th he got into an accident and got side swiped by A freight truck indicated to make a left but instead made a right. The part is where he might be at fault is that the off ramp from the highway is technically a 1 lane traffic stop where you can make a left or right turn and many cars, follow the leader, get into an unmarked lane to make a right. So that’s what my stepson did got into the right lane made a right and the freight truck indicated to go left also made a right wide turn.
The entire left side needs 2 doors, (drivers and drivers rear scrapped and punctured missing door handles), drivers rear view mirror, gas cap door, front bumper paint, and rear bumper. Damaged I’m guessing is between 6-10 thousand but I don’t see this as a total loss.
No citations were issued but my stepson knees felt pain and he went to the Hospital where he was checked out. They kept him overnight at the hospital for several days because they found an issue not related to the accident, high blood toxicity levels from a medication he was taking.
In the same day April 25th the car loan was transferred from the dealership to the lender and he was supposed to make his first payment on May 2nd.
So he calls the loan company but he ran his mouth saying saying he was in an accident and the loan company is thinking the car is totaled. It’s in the process of being adjusted with insurance so we don’t have an answer yet if it’s totaled or not.
The loan company is now deciding to deny and rejected the auto loan that was sent over from the dealership.
The dealership said they sent the paperwork to the loan on the 2nd of April but didn’t say they were repossessing the vehicle yet but I expect that’s what’s coming next.
I’ve never heard of this situation before. I expect this shisty business from a no credit pay here place but from a reputable business and dealer.
What’s coming next, we tried to contact a lawyer, do we get our $1000 back. Is the contact that was signed through the dealership null and void now?

Gravediggers. Corpse Grinders. Skull Takers. Every unit that shared his profession had a name that was like that. As Corporal Brandy floated silently, his body suspended in a dense salt water based solution alongside eleven of his peers, he once again thought how he liked the name of his unit the best. Ghouls. His arms were stretched out, as were his legs, secured to four corners of the hull leaving him splayed open. His wrists were tethered, his ankles were tethered, all to keep him from drifting. The water was cold, felt even through the suit even though it didn’t touch him. It was only appropriate they called vessels like the one he was in Coffins. It was long, with seven feet between floor and ceiling when one could stand in it.
The patch of his unit was a zombified corpse, walking towards the one viewing it, with their arm outstretched, a large 17 behind the shambling figure. It was laser etched on the left shoulder guard of his SVS51 body suit, the symbol of the Terran Front of laser etched on the right. Right now, Brandy knew he was flying through the void, heading towards the wreck of a Vral Light Cruiser, his unit’s speciality. A countdown on the upper left corner of his vision was reaching the single digits. No one talked, not even the squad leader. Not even command. Brandy liked it like that. He had been selected for special operations early on in his life, as most operators were. Sure, you could volunteer to join if you joined the Fleet and decided to test yourself, but most humans were already training for something like this by the age of thirteen. Jesup, one of his squadmates, he was a joiner, one that had volunteered when he was signing up. Brandy though? Brandy was a lifer.
Lifers like him were singled out in school and made aware of their tentative selection. Lifers were trained harder, tested harder. No one really minded Jesup not going through what they had been through, but it did mark him out. Hence the term, but lifers and joiners all got the same specialized training. Five seconds left. Brandy knew his job well, knew the layout of the ship well. Four seconds. Brandy clenched his fists. He felt the liquid shift, knowing their craft had hit the hull. Suddenly he was free of his constraints, floating free in the dense salt water. There was a bright light from the front of the craft, the plasma torches already burning into the Vral light cruiser hull. Three seconds. The dense salt water solution suddenly was sucked into the floor, drawing him down. He tapped his heels together, hearing an automated voice call out ‘Maglocks Engaged’, just before his feet touched the deck. He was already yanking the protective cover off of his rifle, slinging it back over his back. Two seconds. Those in the front of the line had their rifles up and ready. Brandy on the other hand, reached to his sides and drew out two long blades from sheathes locked to his thighs.
One.
He felt the compression in his chest as the breaching charge detonated, and the segmented doors of the Coffin opened. The first four Ghouls entered, no shots fired as they cleared the room. He heard a soft whisper saying, “Depressurized.” The entire deck was without atmosphere. Brandy looked to his left, and nodded once. Jesup nodded back. The pair in front of them sprinted out. Jessup and Brandy sprinted out immediately after them, Brandy drawing his blades. The interior of the Vral ship was a dismal place, and within just seconds Brandy knew what kept their grav plates powered was already down. The difference in design priorities from the Vral to the Terran Front could be seen even from the hallway they were running down. The Terran Front fleet was designed to maximize the space they had, to deliver the most punch possible for the weight class the ship in question could hit with. The chua had lent their practicality to that level of ship design. It was why the standard Terran corvette could fight completely out of it’s weight class. Brandy knew that the standard Terran corvette was more than a match for any variety of Vral destroyer, it was even said that a light cruiser would have to go blow for blow with one.
Most who heard that wouldn’t understand until they saw what Brandy was seeing now. Terran hallways were built narrow, the space an artery for personnel to move through in a very direct way. The ceilings would be laced with piping and joists, covered by protective layers of material just in case an impact threw the crew against the ceiling. Standing shoulder to shoulder, even battleship halls on Terran ships only allowed two large humans to stand shoulder to shoulder and extend their elbows halfway to touch the walls. This hallway was broad, four, no, five times the width. You would never see such a waste of space onboard a Terran fighting ship. The only exceptions to this were the larger logistics ships, the carriers, and the Antares herself. Terran ship tonnage was dedicated purely to what the ship in question was made to do. Vral ships, on the other hand, seemed to be built to not just fight space conflicts, but carry the troops for ground assault. The Vral sacrificed tonnage meant for fighting for transport. They did not have dedicated troop ships, or even dedicated logistics ships.
Brandy guessed it made sense when you never had to worry about someone being able to really hit back.
The map of the light cruiser was laid out in wireframe in the upper right of his HUD, a pulsing arrow pointing his way. As they reached the first door it was clear that whatever powered the lights also powered the doors in this section. He sheathed the blades and raised his rifle as Jessup pulled his breach bar. A moment later Jessup applied the handheld pneumatic and nodded once to Brandy, who gave an almost imperceptible nod back. Jesseup pressed an activation stud, and Brandy breathed out as the door began to open. A brief glimpse of chitin was all it took for Brandy to immediately put two shells through the door, the only audible evidence of the shots being two ticks from the recoil traveling along his armor plate. .
“Contact.” Brandy whispered even as the shells tore through the Vral floating behind the door. The Vral flew away from the impact as the door opened further, revealing more Vral, all floating, all already dead. “KIA Vral.” He whispered into the mic within his helmet. A small tone let him know his information was received. Brandy and Jessup moved into the hallway and saw why the Vral were all already dead. There was a gash in the hull almost three meters long and a meter wide. The deck had been exposed to the vacuum, and judging by the hole further down the hall which Brandy glanced through as they passed, a railgun round from a cruiser had lanced straight through the entire hull. Brandy slung his rifle and began the halting half run, half jog of moving quickly on magnetized boots. Brandy cleared an adjoining hallway before looking back to the door. The Vral dead were everywhere, floating in the vacuum, and Brandy kept having to shove the floating corpses aside as he moved. The dead didn’t stop him. They didn’t stop Jessup either.
Jessup was already setting the breacher, and Brandy’s rifle was unslung and readied. As this door opened a forcefield came to life in front of it, and a sliver of light began to show through. Brandy’s thumb flipped his rifle from semi-automatic to full. He didn’t need to speak, Jessup was already pulling his own rifle. As the door was suddenly shoved open by the pneumatic Brandy’s entire body snapped forward. The Vral that was standing by the door, who had even watched it open, made it clear that the Vral didn’t even know they had been boarded. Brandy’s rifle butt slammed into the head of the Vral, and sound returned as he moved fully through the forcefield meant to keep atmospheric integrity but not keep him out. Beyond it, Brandy saw at least twenty milling around. A damage control team. The Vral turned to the sound of one of their own skulls caving in, chitin cracking, just to see Brandy’s barrel come down. He was already moving left to give Jessup room to enter, as he squeezed the trigger. Chitin and ichor erupted, the Vral leapt at the sound, some freezing in place, some charging. Jessup came around the corner, raising his rifle, taking single shots at individual Vral who reached for weapons even as Brandy’s fully automatic spray swept the hall. Brandy was the scythe, Jessup was the surgeon.
Brandy’s ammo counter quickly was cycling down, but he hadn’t been simply praying and spraying. As his counter read zero the last of the Vral was spasming violently on the floor. He thumbed the magazine release, the hand on his grip already having reached for his right hip to draw up a fresh magazine even as the empty one slid out and began falling to the floor. “I’m close.” He said. He slammed the new magazine into the rifle, racked the slide, then slid it behind his back. He drew his blades, then began to sprint.
“I’m far.” Jessup began sprinting behind him.
The next set of doors opened automatically this time, but to a familiar scene, but the Vral were already aware of them due to Brandy having firmly announced their presence in the previous hall. Brandy never stopped his full sprint, carving through the Vral with the edges of his monomolecular blades. Every so often a shot rang out, taking one of the Vral down just out of Brandy’s reach or one that was pulling up a weapon. Brandy used the suit’s speed and strength enhancements to their fullest, barely slowing as he tore through the group, both blades cutting. Suddenly he heard the retort of full auto and spun to decapitate one of the remaining Vral to look as Jessup was emptying his magazine into an open door. Brandy let both blades drop, popping his hip to the side and curling his waist, letting the weight of his rifle carry it around his body into his hands. As the Vral tried to come into the hall they were cut down, caught in a fatal funnel of fire by their own hatchway.
“Reload.” Jessup said, tucking himself back against the wall. “Control, need sweepers. My location.” A tone was the only reply to Jessup’s words. Twelve men, organized into six teams. That was the boarding party. Each had a part to play, and as Jessup made the call for sweepers Brandy was already preparing to move. As Jessup slapped a fresh magazine into his rifle Brandy was still covering the door. The other doors in the hall remained closed. Jessup reached to a small bandolier of grenades and pulled one of the X-04 flashbangs, throwing it hard through the door against the opposing wall. A second later a dull pop sounded. Brandy and Jessup continued their run, but now both had slung their rifles. Both had blades out.
Following the skeleton map on his HUD, Brandy led the way through the next door to find the hallway empty. He didn’t mind that state of affairs at all. A dull klaxon began to sound throughout the crippled ship, and neither Brandy nor Jessup needed to be told twice that the Vral were now more than aware they had been boarded. Brandy turned down a corridor, instinctively lashing out and taking the head off a Vral had been moving towards him. “Breaching bridge.” He said into his microphone, hearing the tone of acknowledgement from Control as he saw the large bay doors that marked the command and control center of the Vral vessel they intended to take. He sheathed a blade as he came to a stop beside the bay door, out of range of the motion sensor that would open it automatically. Jessup was right behind him, freeing a hand of his own. They both reached up, yanking X-04 grenades off their pins banded to their armor. Brandy and Jessup looked at each other and nodded. As Brandy kicked out his foot to trigger the motion sensor, the door slid open. A torrent of laser fire erupted from the doorway, painting the floor and wall beyond. Brandy snapped his arm around, exposing only his hand as he threw the flashbang around the corner. Jessup’s own flashbang flew past Brandy towards the other side of the room. They both immediately pulled a second, even as the first detonated in the room beyond. Almost instantly the weapon’s fire stopped, and wails of chittering echoed into the hallway. They threw the second set of flashbangs into the door.
As the second pair of dull crunches sounded, Brandy and Jessup breached the bridge. The bridge was arrayed like a bowl, stations arranged orbiting a center divot in the deck where the captain would stand. None of the Vral in the room were standing. While flashbangs disoriented humans, essentially stunning them into stupfication, the same flashbangs had even more pronounced effects on the Vral. Most of them were simply laid out on the ground, completely insensate, and screaming incoherently in their chittering tones. Brandy and Jessup had entered having expected at least one of them to have donned protection, perhaps even a warsuit, but their boarding had caught the Vral completely by surprise. Jessup turned to the door, tapping the control panel and closing, then locking it. Brandy had already begun moving from station to station. Jessup joined him as they quickly and methodically dispatched the crew. Brandy turned and moved down into the captain’s pit, coming to the Vral that had commanded the ship.
“Attempting to access.” Jessup said, stepping to one of the panels even as Brandy reached the side of the Vral commander. Brandy watched dispassionately as the Vral’s body curled and spasmed on the ground. Without replying to Jessup, Brandy was already securing the commander. He flipped the commander over on it’s back, yanking it’s limbs together and zip tying them together.
“Control. Commander secured alive. Bridge secured.” Brandy said, and he glanced over to Jessup. Jessup looked over to him and grinned, his teeth showing through the dark tint of the armored glass of his helmet. A tone of acknowledgement came into his helmet. Brandy moved to the panels, just as Jessup was moving. “Anything yet?” He asked, letting his suit’s speakers carry his voice.
Jessup moved to another panel. “Nope. Wiped.” He said.
Brandy brought the panel to live and was already moving on, and cursed silently under his breath. Several times teams like his had breached the bridge of a Vral ship only to find what they were finding now, wiped computer cores, dead panels. Brandy continued to move panel to panel, as did Jessup, moving up the bowl. Brandy heard Jessup muttering as he went, his voice carrying because of the speakers in his suit. Brandy glanced up at the other man, then continued with his work.
“Doesn’t make any sense. We still know nothing about these bastards. Nothing.” Jessup said as he was working on the last panel on the row he was on. “Aside from the fact they melt their cores down really well.” Brandy smirked behind the tinted glass of his helmet as Jessup balled up a fist. Jessup moved up a row, then started work on another panel. “I’m beginning to think the only thing they exist for is to piss off the universe.”
Brandy couldn’t argue with that, and Jessup stopped his grumbling, continuing to check the panels.
“Control, Sweep Two is down. I repeat. Sweep Two is down.” Brandy stopped in his checks and looked up, the voice of Talb in his ear from possibly the same location he had called for sweepers to come in. He hadn’t heard a call for sweepers from anywhere else.
“That’s Vlad.” Jessup said, his voice flat, having paused himself to listen in.
“Confirm.” A woman’s voice hit Brandy’s ear, and Jessup began walking across the bowl towards him. Brandy settled his hands on the panel that he had paused midway through working. The woman’s voice keyed back into his ear, their Control, and Brandy listened intently. “Prep Sweep Two for extraction. Sweep Three and Four enroute.”
Jessup reached his side and put his hand on Brandy’s shoulder. The silence in his ears now was deafening, and he knew he should be continuing on, checking the rest of the stations, but he couldn’t move his feet right now. Brandy and Vlad were close, they had gone through basic together, they had gone through Advanced Infantry, as well as Weapons and Tactics, hell, all of their advanced training schools. When orders had come through, they had both been delighted to have twin assignments to the 17th Breacher Corps “Ghouls.” Vlad had met Brandy’s family, his mother, his father, even his ice queen of a sister who was serving as a Drone Cutter pilot. Vlad was his friend, the brother that he had never had, and now Vlad was down, somewhere on this hellhole of a ship, unable to even communicate that he was injured.
Jessup stood by him, saying nothing, and Brandy’s eyes were focused on something far in the distance, something he couldn’t even see right now. Suddenly, like his mind was pulling itself from mud, he forced himself to continue working. Jessup stayed by his side. There was nothing he could do for Vlad right now, nothing at all, and he had work in front of him that needed to be finished. Jessup went back to the stations he was working through. Brandy finished the sweep of the panels on his side. Nothing, as was usual.
He walked down the bowl shape of the Vral bridge, standing next to the Vral commander, who was now very much aware and awake, not struggling as it lay on the floor of the carnal house that was the bridge of it’s ship. He ignored it, placing his hands on the hilts of the twin swords at his sides. Jessup continued his work, a little slower than Brandy was, but then again Jessup was newer than Brandy himself was to this sort of thing. Brandy had already served for nearly eight years, and had done the tear down from the sixth Vral war, alongside Vlad. Brandy grunted and pulled up his arm, opening one of the armor plates to reveal the communications controls for his suit. He set up a private channel to Control.
“Control, BT One. Status of Sweep Two?” He asked, and he heard two clicks in response. He was being transferred to another operator. Brandy felt his entire body tensing up. He didn’t know if being transferred was a good or a bad sign.
“Bridge Team One, this is Secondary. Sweep Two is stable. Sweep One is prepping him for extraction. He took an indirect hit by a plasma round to his left shoulder. His suit took the majority but he’s going to be in the burn unit.”
Brandy breathed out, and then nodded once to himself. “Thank you Secondary.” He heard a tone in response, then he set himself back to team communications. Vlad was alive. That was good enough.
“The void will take you.” He heard the chittering sound translated, and he slowly looked towards the prone form of the commander. Brandy turned and walked over, and purposefully stepped over, the Vral. He then knelt down next to the figure. “You will not survive. We will bathe in your ashes.”
“When.” Brandy said, a dark bit of amusement in his tone. “Come on. When. Daylight’s wasting.”
“The void will take you.” The vral repeated, then went silent again as Brandy stood up and stepped over the commander once more. Jessup was coming down to meet with him in the center of the bowl.
“Good news, Vlad’s going to make it.” Brandy told him, “He’ll be in the burn unit for a bit, don’t know where he got hit, but the suit saved him.”
“Good. What’s the word from the local moral officer?” Jessup said, motioning to the vral, who was laying again in silence.
“Same as normal. We’re gonna die. Void’s gonna take us. Ashes. Dancing on my grave.” Brandy shrugged. “You know, what they normally say, that friendly little conversation.” Brandy could actually feel Jessup’s eyes rolling.
“Control, Bridge Team. Secured and detailed.” Jessup said, and they both heard the click of acknowledgement. “Another two hours maybe?” Jessup asked, and Brandy nodded. “Welp, two today, that makes six boardings for me, how many for you?”
“Fourty.” Brandy replied, and Jessup whistled low. “And that’s just these types. I was actually put on a team as a standby sweep for a battleship or two, but mostly light cruisers. No corvettes or destroyers though. They normally just send the heavies to take those. The cruisers though? Heavy cruisers? Carriers? I’ve done a few of those too, but mostly this.”
Jessup leaned against the back of one of the panels that he had checked. “What kind of team do they send to a carrier?” He asked, and Brandy laughed.
“Put it to you like this. They send units of chua war machines, and what’s called a kill team. They don’t even bother sweeping like we do with these ships, they just punch holes in every room and open them to vacuum, and the kill teams go in to make sure none of them got into a warsuit.” Brandy tapped his chest, “We barely do anything. They just turn the entire ship into swiss cheese then call us in to check panels. Kill teams are just different, but it’s an experience. You don’t get to really do much though. Go in, stay behind the kill team, and check elect…”
Brandy stopped talking and both of them listened as a tone sounded from Control, then they heard her speak. “All objectives secured. Stand by in location. Prepare for tow and extraction.”
The two of them reached out and grabbed hold of a panel, and Brandy looked over at Jessup. “Well, quicker than I thought.” Just as he was finishing that sentence the entire hull seemed to shake, and he felt a small surge of negative g force before his body adjusted. “A lot quicker.”
“What do you think they’ll get out of this?” Jessup asked as he let go of the panel.
“Oh hell.” Brandy said, motioning to the ship they were in. “Three destroyers easy. Maybe a corvette added in. Couple of fighters. Ever seen the reprocessors?” Jessup shrugged at the question and Brandy pointed at him. “When we get back, if you have some downtime, just ask to watch. It’s some impressive shit. I watched one of those crews break down a corvette in two hours.” Jessup raised his eyebrow and Brandy held up two fingers. “Two. No shit. Something like this is going to take them maybe a day, probably less than that. It’s absolute magic.”
“I was raised on the Los Angeles flats.” Jessup said, and it was Brandy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “You know, where they had one of the landfills. They said they used a reprocessor for that too.”
“Yeah, the chua know how to make the most out of everything. Did you know there used to be a floating island of plastic in the Pacific Ocean?” Brandy placed his hands on the hilts of his blades as Jessup shook his head no. “Yeah, when the chua got set up, first thing they did was clean up all of that. Tons of plastic, centuries of fuck ups, and they fixed it in barely a month. Earth was trashy, real trashy. Now we just reprocess everything.”
“I never looked into how that works.” Jessup said, then laughed when Brandy raised his fingers and wiggled them in the air. “PFM?”
“Yeap. Pure fuckin’ magic. At least that’s how it looks to me.” Brandy sighed, then he motioned to the panels. “We had the technology centuries ago but we just never refined it like the chua did. I asked how it worked and I felt like I was an ape. They felt the same way about our computers the way we feel about their reprocessors though, so I guess it evens out.”
“What do you mean?”
Brandy glanced over at him and smirked, then he motioned to his suit’s right chest pauldron, where his suit’s electronic suite for his HUD was kept. “This here has more processing power than the chua had on one of their battleships. They just didn’t focus on it like we did. The concept of a microprocessor blew their minds. We know how to store a hundred terabytes on a fingernail, they know how to break down a landfill into bars of material.” Jessup leaned back against the panel again and grunted. “Seriously, ask to watch what they do to this thing. They are going to slice it up, put the pieces into the reprocessors, and by tomorrow it’s going to be raw materials. No waste, it’s crazy.”
Brandy turned his head back to the vral laying on the floor, hearing it muttering to itself. He narrowed his eyes for a few moments, listening to the sound of the clicking, then he looked back to Jessup. “Wish that thing would just shut the hell up.” A moment later he said a bit louder, “We get it asshole. The void is coming, it’s going to take us. Ashes, death, suffering. We get it. Shut the hell up.” He pushed himself off the panel and walked to the edge of the bridge nearer to the door. “Non-stop with them.”
Jessup gestured to the commander with his head. “What are we doing with him.”
“Well, he’ll get to tell an interrogation team about the void, bet he’s got a hard on for that.” Brandy replied, then paused and glanced at the upper right of his HUD, seeing a few green dots moving in their direction. “Then they’ll just toss his ass out of an airlock. Ready to go?”
“Yeap.” Jessup pushed up from the panel he was leaning on and joined Brandy near the door and waited as they both watched the dots approaching the door. Brandy reached over and toggled the lock, and the door slid open. Four humans in construction harnesses with atmospheric suits rated for vacuum were just coming to a stop. Behind them Brandy could already see the two other members of the team coming to relieve them.
“Is that Vodka?” One of them said, a hard feminine voice coming from one of the suits. Brandy’s eyebrow perked up, and so did Jessup’s entire body. Both of them knew Janet Shippen’s voice. Janet was what Brandy’s mother would call a feral tomboy. Short, muscled, her brown hair cut in a pixie cut, who felt more at home covered in engine fluid than anything else. She was also what his father would call an absolute knockout. Jessup had met her three times and was in love. Brandy’s relationship with Janet was a private affair, but Jessup wouldn’t find out about it, no sense in breaking his heart after all. Not to mention that Brandy looked at Jessup as a friend.
“How the hell are ya Shipwreck.” Brandy said with a smirk, “I got you a nice one here. I even got you a local to keep you company, ask him about the void. He’ll tell you all you want to hear.” The two figures in the back, clad in all black with no identifying markers, looked to Brandy, who simply pointed towards the vral commander laying on the floor.
“By the way. Ran into Vlad before I came over here.” She said, coming closer to the two Ghouls. “They got him out of his suit before they sent us over. He’s got an ass of a burn on his shoulder, but he said he’s going to be a bitch about it so they’ll give you fuckers some down time.” Brandy smiled, knowing if Vlad was joking around he was more than ok. Janet motioned to the bridge, “Lot of nothing?” She asked, and both of the Ghouls nodded. “Figures. Fuckers.” All three of them watched for a moment as the two black clad humans knelt over the vral commander. “Alright, I’ve got to prep this bitch for breakdown, then I’m done for the day. Salvagers are just putting most of the wrecks in orbit.”
Jessup glanced to Brandy before speaking, “Think they want to move again soon?”
“Bet your ass.” Janet reached for her side and pulled out a data pad. “Way I see it we’re just topping off right now, waiting for some of the boats out there to get their shit together, then they are going to move us out. Speaking of moving out, bounce your asses, I’ve got shit to do so I can get off once we pull back into Antares.”
“Call us a cab?” Brandy asked, using the slang term for the shuttle that had delivered Janet’s team that would take his own back to Antares.
“Yeap. We made entrance right next to where you did.” Janet started moving into the bridge, towards a grouping of panels hard mounted to the wall. She stopped and glanced back at Brandy. “It’s been a hell of a day, almost eighteen hours. I’m going to get a stiff drink in my quarters.”
“You do that. I’m going to check on Vlad and get him settled in before I do anything else.” Brandy said, and she turned and went to the panel. Brandy was glad for the tint of his helmet’s visor or else his smirk would need explaining from Jessup who was none the wiser. Once he went through debrief and turned over his gear already knew what he was going to be doing. Straight to engineering deck C, where Janet would be waiting.
Kukat was miserable, or at least was acting like she was. Vicky was rigidly standing at attention, as was Jess, standing stock still beside Kukat’s bed. The loud exclamation that had brought them to their feet of, “What the chicken fried fuck?!” had come from the man standing in front of them. Vicky wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Jess was trying to keep herself from laughing. Kukat reached out a three fingered hand towards the man wearing a captain’s eagle on his flight jumper, a hand that had two small bow tie stickers on it.
“Torture. Help.” Kukat said, as weak as a newborn kitten, and Jess’s breath escaped her in a buzzing of her lips from someone desperately attempting to keep in her laughter. The small sheet containing bow ties, smiley face, stars, and other cartoonish stickers fell from her hand that was clenched firmly at her side. Kukat was wearing half of them. Captain Yang stared in an expression of one who is seeing something for the first time when they had believed they had seen it all. “Help.” Kukat said again, holding out her other arm which had a line of stars stuck to it all the way down to the back of her hand. Yang slowly brought his fingers up to squeeze the bridge of his nose, and then he turned on his heel and faced away from the trio. Vicky just wanted to die. The captain of the cruiser had visited them a few times in the past three days since they had been brought onboard by the Barrowmore. Kukat had been immediately rushed to start receiving medical care, Victoria Brandy and Jessica Anders had been by her side from the second they were allowed back, barring short periods where either woman needed to file their reports. The problem was, every time Captain Yang had come back to visit them, it was always at the most inopportune time. The first time he had walked in to Jess cuddling the small chua in a bed that was almost a meter too small for her. The second time Vicky had taped Jess’ hands and feet to her chair. The third time Jess had been singing a nursery rhyme to Kukat. Each time Yang had walked in, Vicky had felt like crawling in a hole, Jess had desperately tried not to laugh, and Kukat had acted like a prisoner of war. Vicky was getting the feeling the captain was enjoying these trips down to see her and her crew.
“Can someone explain to me why the three pilots that I’m supposed to award the Terran Star to are acting like toddlers in my medbay?” He said, then he turned back to face them. Vicky didn’t want to die anymore. Jess stopped laughing. Kukat’s hands fell to the heated blanket that covered her. All three of them were to awarded the highest honor in the Terran Fleet. Now it was the captain’s turn to laugh as he stepped forward and grabbed Vicky’s hand, which almost knocked her off balance as he began vigorously shaking it. “Congratulations.”
Vicky stared at him for a few long moments, trying to parse through the entire scenario in her head. None of them had paid much attention to news outside of the medbay, Vicky had barely even been back onboard the Thumper aside from downloading nav data to be included in her flight logs. “Captain…” She said, sounding to even her own ears a bit disjointed, “What did we find out there.”
“First off at ease.” Yang said, then he smirked as Jess began to self consciously pluck the stickers off of Kukat, her eyes on him, he turned his attention to her. “Your flight records and the reserve drone data is being sent back to Earth to be implemented into training.” His attention turned to all of them in turn. “You really don’t know do you?” All three shook their heads, and Vicky took a step back to stand side by side with her crew.
“We haven’t been paying much attention to what’s been coming in.” Vicky said, and she placed her hand on Kukat’s medical bed. Yang nodded, understanding. This crew was a very tight group, and he could see that even from the small amount of time he had been around them.
“You scouted out the entire Vral fleet, they were evacuating. I don’t think they expected us to move as fast as we did on them, so when we jumped into the system they were barely organized into battlelines.” Yang interlocked his fingers in front of his belt. “Because of what you got on those scans, we knew exactly what we were jumping into. We knew exactly what we would do the moment we landed and…” He paused for a moment, letting his words stand out. “... we eradicated their entire fleet.” Vicky looked to Jess. Jess’s mouth hung slightly open.
“I knew it was a fleet!” Jess said after a moment. When she had been asked by Vicky a few hours after they had gotten Kukat settled, Jess had insisted she had been trying to evade fire from point defense and laser batteries from at least twelve ships. What she didn’t know, and what would be reflected on the citation for the award she was yet to receive, was that she had been evading around thirty individual vessels weapons fire.
“Not a fleet.” Yang said, and Jess looked back to him. “It was ‘The’ fleet.” Jess looked at him in confusion for a few seconds, as did Vicky.
“Shit!” Kukat chirped, and all three humans looked down at the small, sticker covered chua. Kukat’s mouth hung open slightly. Jess looked up to Vicky, and both seemed to realize what was said at the same time. Jess’ hand shot to her mouth, covering it, her eyes wide as Vicky stepped back to lean against the wall.
Yang waited a few moments then stepped forward. “Well, I hope you three are ready.” He said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Drone Cutters are supposed to cut and run the second they get in trouble. You three…” He motioned to them with a wave of his hand. “... you stuck around, and because you did, you handed us everything we needed to go after them.” Jess’ hand came down on Kukat’s small shoulder, and one of the smiley face stickers peeled off as Kukat wrapped her hand around Jess’ pointer finger. Vicky slowly pressed her back against the wall and started sliding down it. “Basically, to be blunt, now that this has broken, every news feed in the Terran Front wants pictures of you, details on your status…” He motioned to Kukut. “... and to be honest I’ve had to keep them from taking over the ship to get to you.”
Jess and Vicky exchanged a glance, and then looked back to Yang. Kukat had not looked away from him even for a moment. Yang shrugged his shoulders and turned to the display panel on the wall, and activated it. He tapped the panel for a few moments, then the sounds of cheering came through. On the display was a live news feed, and they could hear the reporter’s voice barely above the cacophony of the crowd around her.
“... action. The news of the destruction of the fleet has sparked widespread celebrations of joy. The foot of the enemy that we have all felt over us has been cut off. Thermopylae Station, for the first time in nearly a century, is standing down from Condition One to Condition Three.” The reporter was almost shouting, and Vicky breathed out, even as she heard a low tone from Kukat, and a sob coming from Jess. Yang had his back turned to them watching, and without saying another word he turned and walked out. “Once Condition Three was set at Thermopylae, the information began to pour in from the Zzisma system as well as the planet Zvitia located there. Fleet Marshal Simmons of the Antares battle fleet will be continuing to press into former Shesvie Accordance territory once consolidation is completed.” The reporter paused, the moment she had said Antares a chant had begun, and it was overwhelming. The thunder of uncountable human voices yelling, ‘We’re Still Here’ drowned her out entirely. The reporter eventually just held up her hands helplessly as the chant overwhelmed the microphone’s input threshold, turning the people’s chanting into a dull roar. The feed cut over to an image of man behind a news desk, the ticker at the bottom of the screen citing off ship names.
“Again if you’re just joining us the Vral have been soundly beaten in the Zzisma system. The enemy’s losses have been stated as total. Fleet Marshal Simmons, commander of the Antares battlegroup, will be holding a press conference at a later date to discuss the events of today, but has released a few names to us as well as their roles within the conflict.” Jess, Vicky’s, and Kukat’s individual service portraits slowly appeared on the screen while the reporter spoke.
“Holy shit.” Jess whispered. “That’s us.” Vicky stared at the screen, even as Kukat squeezed Jess’ finge
“Lieutenant Victoria Brandy, Drone Operator Second Class Jessica Anders, and Drone Operator Third Class Kukat were conducting a routine drone sweep of the Zzisma system when they sighted the Vral. The three managed to gain enough intelligence to warrant the immediate redeployment of the Antares battlegroup which had been in rescue and recovery efforts above the chua homeworld.” Vicky just stared at the man as he continued talking on the display. “From the feeds that we have managed to confirm, the crew of the scout ship stayed while exposed and under threat and under fire until such time as the information was confirmed transmitted. All three of the scout’s crew made it back safely, although Drone Operator Third Class Kukat was reported as needing medical attention, the reasons of which are unknown, but it is reported that she is in stable condition.” Their portraits fell away from the screen as another image came up, of a chua in a captain’s uniform came up, grayed out.
Vicky just stared at the screen, Jess breathed out a breath that she didn’t even know she had been holding. Kukat leaned back into her pillow.
“We famous.” Kukat chirped.
The news reporter was still speaking, something about a battleship that had engaged the Vral, some new story of heroism. The three of them sat in silence. Vicky wanted to look to Kukat and Jess, but both of them were quiet. Suddenly Vicky and Kukat flinched as Jess erupted out of her seat. “Yeah! That’s right! What do you think now Rick?” Jess said her ex-boyfriends name with vitriol. “Who’s not photogenic now huh? Galaxy wide baby!” She whooped and Kukat stared up at her in amazement as Vicky buried her head in her hands and laughed.
“You problem.” Kukat chirped low.
“I told you you suck at picking men Kukat!” Jess proclaimed. “You still suck Rick!”

TL;DR The equity-bond spread (defined as spread = 1/CAPE - 10Y Treasury Yield) is a measure that shows stocks relative attractiveness compared to bonds. Its this metric, rather than absolute CAPE value, that should be used in making portfolio allocation decisions. Today's spread level corresponds to lower expected outperformance for overweight stock portfolios (i.e., excess returns going from 70% stocks to 80% stocks, for example, are expected to be lower compared to the historical average). It may be wise to hold a neutral or even underweight allocation to equities, given today's valuations.
Introduction
As of this writing, first drafted on April 22 2024, the Shiller PE sits at 33.27. Many analysts and investment managers will tell you to fear this number. In his latest memo, Jeremy Grantham says that today’s price-to-earnings metrics sit in the top 1% of modern history, sounding the alarm for U.S. equity bubble territory.

Well, the U.S. is really enjoying itself if you go by stock prices. A Shiller P/E of 34 (as of March 1st) is in the top 1% of history. Total profits (as a percent of almost anything) are at near-record levels as well. Remember, if margins and multiples are both at record levels at the same time, it really is double counting and double jeopardy – for waiting somewhere in the future is another July 1982 or March 2009 with simultaneous record low multiples and badly depressed margins.

I don’t think it’s quite so simple; it might not be appropriate to look at a single asset class in a vacuum the way that many in the investment community do. Is a 30+ PE high? Objectively, it sounds pretty frothy. If bonds were yielding 10%, I’d almost certainly say that bonds were more attractive. If they were yielding sub-2% like much of the post GFC decade, it might not be as straight forward. At a Shiller PE in the low 30’s, we have a very conservative 3% earnings yield (remember, Shiller averages the past 10 years of earnings) before even accounting for earnings growth. One might conclude that stocks have the slight edge in this case.
The point is, we can’t look at a single valuation metric and make an informed decision. We have to consider valuations of equities against the universe of other asset types.
With this post, my aim is to take a more holistic look at valuations - particularly valuation spreads - and see if we can’t make investment decisions based on our findings.
A Simple Visualization
A great place to start with this analysis, and the place that I started when I first began exploring this topic, is a quick visualization plotting stock yields vs bond yields. By doing so, we can start to form a picture on where we are in respect with history.
PICTURE
It’s important to point out what inferences we might try to gage from this chart.
First, intuition tells us that high earnings yields and high bond yields (as defined by the 10-year treasury, in this case) would lead to high forward equity and bond returns, respectively. So the further right on the plot we are, the higher the future equity returns might be. Likewise, the higher (vertically) the point is, the higher the bond returns should be.
With further inspection, the right most points correspond with the years surrounding the late 1910’s and early 1920’s; leading into what has been monikered the roaring 20’s.
1982 is also highlighted on this plot; which was the kickoff to one of the strongest bond and bull markets in history.
These are in-line with our expectations: high returns happen when yields are high. Duh. Don’t worry, there’s more.
More generally, the further up and to the right we are on the aforementioned graph, the better we can expect forward returns to be for a diversified portfolio.
It’s apt to point out that 2022 was basically the inverse of 1982, having the lowest bond & stock yield combination in the modern era. In fact, the post-GFC era was essentially hugging the lower bounds of both stock and bond yields compared to the pre-GFC era.
We can also start to see a shadow of how bonds and stocks might be related. Perhaps when bonds are yielding higher than stocks, stock returns suffer in relation to bonds. We see that the year 2000 (the dotcom bubble top) had equity earnings yields just over 2% (the lowest in history) while treasuries were yielding nearly 7%. We all know how that turned out.
On that note, one might hypothesize that the spread between stock earnings yields and bond yields might be a predictor on how portfolios perform over time. More on that later.
Historical Equity-Bond Spreads
Let’s first define what the Equity-Bond Spread is:
Equity-Bond Spread = (1 / CAPE) - (10 Year Treasury Yield)
PICTURE
Again, the implication is that the higher the equity-bond spread (simply referred to as “spread” moving forward) the more attractive equities are in comparison to bonds (i.e., equity earnings yield of 10% looks more attractive than a 3% bond yield, the spread being 10% - 3% = 7%)
The figure below shows us the historical distributions of equity-bond spreads. Also noted, that today’s valuations lie in the left side of the distribution.
Excess Returns
The goal of this study is to see if we can find some indication on whether the spread between stock and bond yields is predictive of future returns.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to compare a stock heavy portfolio to a bond heavy portfolio. One might argue between something super stock heavy like a 90/10 (stock / bond) vs 60/40. But let’s first look at complete opposites of the spectrum: 90/10 vs 10/90.
We’ll define “excess return” as follows:
Excess Return = (10 year annualized return of 90 / 10 portfolio) - (10 year annualized return of a 10 / 90 portfolio)
As an example, in the year 1990, a 90/10 portfolio had a 10 year annualized return of 13.6% while a 10/90 portfolio had a 10 year annualized return of 5.3%, giving an excess return of 8.3%.
Also, in the year 1990, the Shiller PE was 17.05 giving a equity earnings yield of 5.87%. The 10 year treasury yield was 8.21% at that time. This gives a spread of -2.34%.
The point for 1990 is shown on the plot below at (-2.34% , 8.3%).
The red arrow denotes where we are in 2024.
PICTURE
The big takeaway from this plot is that 1) stocks outperform bonds almost always and 2) there is a decent correlation between the equity-bond spread and excess returns. When stocks yield much higher than bonds, stock heavy portfolios tend to do better, in comparison, vs when the spread is low or negative.
But we already knew that stocks typically perform better than bonds. The better assessment might be when to overweight stocks compared to a more traditional portfolio. Or, better yet, when to take the foot off the gas on a stock heavy portfolio. So let’s do the same exercise, this time comparing a 90/10 to a more traditional 60/40.
PICTURE
I’ve left the original 10/90 comparison on the plot for the visualization. As expected, the excess returns, across the board, are less pronounced because we’re comparing a stock heavy portfolio to a slightly less stock heavy portfolio. But the conclusion is clear. The spread does appear to have an impact on excess returns. In negative spread environments, we’re not paid nearly as much for the extra risk as when spreads are positive and wide. In highly positive spread environments, excess returns can be in the range of 3 - 5%. Which, we all know, can be very impactful over the long-run.
Understanding Valuation Drivers
For bonds, valuation is pretty easy: an investor can purchase a bond for a given yield-to-maturity (although returns on bonds aren’t quite as simple).
For equities, we should examine the components of the discounted cash flow model.
In the long run, a PE ratio might be estimated as follows (this is the terminal value equation):
PE = (1+g) / (d-g)
Above, “g” is the long run earnings growth rate, and “d” is the discount rate. In the case of price-to-earnings, “d” will be the cost of equity. I won’t cover these more in depth here because this is a very simplified look, but cost of equity is essentially a measure of risk or the required expected return for the asset.
From this, we can actually glean a lot of useful information.
If the security is considered very safe (ie low risk), the discount rate “d” will be low (since the required rate of return is typically lower for a safe asset). A low discount rate in the equation above will lead to a higher PE ratio.
Conversely, a risky security will have a high discount rate, which will lead to a lower PE.
A high long run growth rate, “g”, will increase the numerator and decrease the denominator, leading to a higher PE for a given discount rate.
From these three ideas, we see that risk and growth are comingled in valuations. Something that’s low risk and has low earnings growth might actually have the same high PE valuation as something that’s high risk and high earnings growth. But the expected return will actually be higher for the high risk security.
This all just to say that while PE ratios are related to forward expected returns, they don’t tell the full story. This is an important caveat to the next section.
Current Valuations By Asset Classes
The following data was pulled from Vanguards Website.
VOO = S&P 500 BND = Bond Index
VEA = Developed International VNQ = REITs
VWO = Emerging Markets
PICTURE
This chart isn’t meant to be used to decide what asset mixture to make your portfolio. Instead, it’s meant to be used, qualitatively, as a starting point to see what asset mixes might make sense to hold.
Typically, in terms of valuations, the further up and to the right (high starting yield + high earnings growth) on this graph indicates higher predicted forward returns.
But there are trade offs. Namely, this doesn’t account, directly, for risk. Bonds (BND) is considered ‘risk-free’, but it doesn’t offer any potential for earnings (or coupon) growth. Developed international (VEA) looks attractive compared to the S&P 500 (VOO) on a starting yield basis, but it has offered less earnings growth, and comes with extra baggage in terms of geopolitical risk. But high risk does typically mean higher potential returns. The same goes for Emerging Markets (VWO), but to an even greater extent.
Does History Have to Look Like the Past
Something else to consider, especially when looking back at the first couple of sections, is “does today have to look like the past?” Do current market environment have stocks overvalued, or is it that historic valuations had stocks inordinately undervalued?
Maybe stocks aren’t as risky as we first thought. Especially in the U.S., the largest companies might not carry a ton of risk at all. In that sense, maybe it was the early days of modern capitalism that were inefficient, and we’re now getting to a more balanced regime in terms of valuations, where risk-free bonds yield in the 3-5% range, and slightly riskier stocks return in the 5-7% range. In this case, the current spread environment would make sense, where starting yields are much closer, and the earnings growth potential of stocks makes up the difference in forward expected returns. But this would be all the more reason to hold a diversified portfolio. Why hold only stocks, when stocks and bonds will give a similar range of outcomes.
Stocks also offer other advantages over bonds. Namely inflation protection. If inflation spikes, bonds an investor is currently holding will not only lose value due to rising interest rates, but the purchasing power of the dollars tied to those bonds will decline over time. Stocks are somewhat more resilient in that revenues and earnings (assuming steady margins) will rise with inflation. In this sense, stocks are actually less risky than bonds or cash.
Inflation also affects the spread in another way. The CAPE ratio uses inflation adjusted earnings from the past. What this means is that in a high inflation environment, the CAPE ratio comes down without any correction in price. We saw this in 2022 where the CAPE fell nearly 30% while the S&P 500 only fell 18%. Due to this phenomena, in a high inflation environment, the metrics used above can correct themselves even while equity prices are climbing.
Another potential issue with this study is that accounting standards have changed over time. Earnings today may not be comparable to earnings of the past. I haven’t explored these potential differences here, but it might be prudent to do so if you were to use this study for actionable advice.
Conclusions
Are we in a Bubble?
To give Jeremy Grantham a rebuttal (although, I’m sure he’s not asking for one). No, I don’t think we’re in an outright bubble. U.S. markets might be frothy, and forward returns will probably be lower for U.S. stocks, but we’ve seen in the data above that 10 year returns have been fine given any market spread and valuation. Would I be surprised if we had another bear market? No. But I’d be just as un-surprised if we average 6-8% equity returns for the next decade.
Asset Allocations
To me, when presented with the data above, it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll be rewarded for holding an overweight U.S. equity portfolio. While equities should continue to outperform bonds for the next ten years, if today’s environment rhymes with history, holding an underweight stock portfolio won’t cost us much in terms of returns. But it may come with the added benefit of lower volatility and overall risk. An underweight portfolio also still has some potential to outperform. That all seems like a good trade-off.
In addition, international (both developed and emerging) markets have relatively enticing valuations and return prospects. While there’s no guarantee that either will outperform U.S. equities, they may offer uncorrelated returns that also won’t drag too much on the overall portfolio.
In general, given the current valuation environment, a balanced portfolio might be the best path forward for risk adjusted returns.
Citations
Shiller PE and Treasury Yield Data:
https://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe
Historical Return Data:
https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodaNew_Home_Page/datafile/histretSP.html

It was just something I thought about while going through lore.
We already know that the trinity cores behave similarly to Zohar emulators. So I was just wondering if that phenomenon could apply to Matthew.
It would also explain why he never made it back to the City in the first place

Here is the list that I wrote for Georgia's post Furman execution roster for my death penalty project. Like with the previous posts, the dates aren't a precise duration of time spent on death row, but rather an approximation of their earliest known criminal activities to their executions. Many of the crimes discussed in this post are also extremely horrific, and thus please read at your own risk.
As I finished finials yesterday, the remaining states, Missouri, Virginia, Florida, and Oklahoma might be released on a quicker pace. I'm planning on doing Missouri next, but it might be split into at least two separate parts due to the currently 98 executions that have taken place.
The currently executed 77 inmates:
1. John Smith (1974-1983, electric chair): Smith and his wife decided to kill her ex husband, 38 year old Ronald Atkins, and his 29 year old wife Juanita, when they learned that the daughter she had in their former marriage were beneficiaries of the Atkins' life insurance policy. The couple and another accomplice lured the Atkins' to their home with a promise of selling them a television set, and shot them both dead.
2. Ivon Stanley (1976-1984, electric chair): Stanley and an accomplice abducted Clifford Floyd, a 46 year old insurance agent, after they lured him into the accomplice's apartment. Floyd was dragged into a forest, beaten with a hammer, and tied to a tree. He was then shot and buried alive in a shallow grave. Floyd succumbed to a combination of blood loss and suffocation and a total of $234 was stolen from him in the attack.
3. Alpha Stephens (~1961-1984, electric chair): In 1973, Stephens shot dead 57 year old Louise Mercer while robbing a grocery store her brother owned. A year later, Stephens abducted Roy Asbell, a 49 year old minister, from his home with a gun he stole from Asbell's son. Asbell tried bribing his captor with hundreds of dollars in cash for his life, but Stephens simply snatched the money away, dragged Asbell to a barn, and shot him in the head. He had a significant rap sheet that included several armed robberies, prison breakouts, auto thefts, kidnappings, and burglaries, and was first arrested at the age of 16.
4. Roosevelt Green Jr. (1976-1985, electric chair): During a robbery of a convenience store, Green kidnapped the clerk, 18 year old Teresa Allen, stole $466 from the cash register, and drove away with his loot and hostage in her car. He then raped Allen, shot her to death, and dumped her body on a dirt road.
5. Van Solomon (1979-1985, electric chair): Solomon and his accomplice Brandon Jones gunned down 29 year old Roger Tackett while robbing a Tenneco store he managed. Ironically, Solomon himself was shot by an assailant robbing his grocery store some years before the murder.
6. John Young (1974-1985, electric chair): Young attacked 6 elderly men and women with bottles, lamps, fireplace pokers, and vases in their homes, across a single neighborhood. 3 of the victims, 85 year old Coleman Brice, his 83 year old wife Gladys, and 83 year old Katie Davis, were beaten to death in the assaults. Several variables such as jewelry and watches were taken as well.
7. Jerome Bowden (1976-1986, electric chair): Bowden and an accomplice stabbed 55 year old Kathryn Stryker to death and gravely wounded her bedridden mother, 76 year old Wessie Jenkins while burglarizing their home. Several items, such a wig, a pellet gun, some jewelry, and a television set was stolen in the intrusion. The television set was sold by Bowden to one of his acquaintances. Jenkins initially survived the attack, but died from complications relating to their injuries after Bowden was indicted for her daughter's murder.
8. Joseph Mulligan (1974-1987, electric chair): As part of a scheme to collect an insurance policy, Mulligan shot his sister's estranged husband, 30 year old Patrick Doe and Doe's girlfriend, 25 year old Marion Miller, while they were driving to a party. Doe was a captain in the United States Army at the time of his death.

1. Richard Tucker Jr. (~1963-1987, electric chair): In 1963, Tucker stabbed his aunt, 61 year old Annie Armstrong, 14 times with scissors while burglarizing her home. He was released from incarceration in 1978. 6 months after being let out of prison, Tucker abducted 50 year old Edna Sandefur from a hospital parking lot while she was visiting her ill mother, and drove her to a remote warehouse. He robbed and raped Sandefur, and then beat her to death with an iron pipe. Tucker also had previous convictions of burglary and attempted rape.

10. William Tucker (1977-1987, electric chair): Tucker abducted 19 year old Kathleen Parry, a pregnant clerk, while he was robbing a convenience store she was working at. He forced Parry at knifepoint to withdraw money from the cash register, and dragged her into his car. When they drove to a chapel, Tucker stabbed her to death.
11. William Mitchell (1974-1987, electric chair): Mitchell accosted 50 year old Willard Williams while he was walking down a street and mugged him of $4. He then forced Williams to lay down and shot him execution style. In the following day, he held 34 year old Peggy Carr and her 14 year old son Christopher at gunpoint while they were opening their family owned store. Despite Peggy giving him $160, he made rape threats against her and forced the pair into a freezer. Both mother and son were shot several times and left for dead by Mitchell. Christopher died at the scene, while his mother survived her injuries.
12. Timothy McCorquodale (1974-1987, electric chair): McCorquodale and his entourage accused Donna Dixon, a 17 year old runaway, of stealing money from him and giving it to a black pimp that he thought she was having a relationship with. He bombarded Dixon with racist insults and sexual advances as he and his accomplices kidnapped her from a club. After she was taken to McCorquodale’s apartment, Dixon was bound, and repeatedly beaten and raped. They tortured her by cutting her breasts with razor blades, burned her body with cigarette butts and candle wax, and she was violated with a bottle. The abuse ended when McCorquodale broke her arms and legs, and strangled her to death with a clothesline.
13. James Messer Jr. (1979-1988, electric chair) To get back at his estranged wife for leaving him with their children, Messer kidnapped her niece, 8 year old Rhonda Tanner, while he was picking her up from school. He raped and severely beat Tanner in a forest and stabbed her to death.
14. Henry Willis III (1976-1989, electric chair): Willis and his accomplices abducted a policeman, 29 year old James Giddens, that was dispatched to stop their robbery of a food market. They took the captive officer near a lake, where he tried to escape by jumping into it. Willis and one of his partners shot Giddens dead while he was trying to swim to safety.
15. Warren McCleskey (1978-1991, electric chair): McCleskey robbed a jewelry store at gunpoint, and fired on the responding officers. One of the officers, 30 year old Frank Schlatt was killed in the shooting.
16. Thomas Stevens (1977-1993, electric chair): Stevens and Christopher Burger abducted a fellow soldier, 20 year old Roger Honeycutt, who was also working as a cab driver, when he picked them up from the enlisted men's club on Fort Stewart. Honeycutt was tied up with a cord, robbed of $20, and sodomized repeatedly by both of his captors. The pair then locked Honeycutt in the trunk of the cab, and drove it into a pond as they jumped out. Being unable to escape, Honeycutt drowned as his car sank into the pond's depths.
17. Christopher Burger (1977-1993, electric chair): As mentioned under Thomas Stevens' section, Burger assisted in the robbery, abduction, rape, and murder of Roger Honeycutt.
18. William Hance (1977-1994, electric chair): Hance, a former Marine that transferred himself to the Army, abducted at least 3 women, 32 year old Irene Thirkield, 24 year old Karen Hickman, and 21 year old Gail Jackson. Thrikield and Jackson were black prostitutes and Hickman was a white Marine servicewoman that was stationed in the same base as Hance. They were all raped and beaten to death with jack handles and tire irons. In a misguided attempt to throw off the police and attract media attention, Hance staged a convoluted hoax involving a race war between a gang of white vigilantes and a gang of black counter vigilantes. He tried to pretend that his victims were murdered from retaliatory killings between the two groups. Hance was also suspected in the murder of another woman in Indiana, but was never charged of it.
19. Nicholas Ingram (1983-1995, electric chair): Ingram broke into the home of 55 year old J.C. Sawyer and his wife Mary. He forced them to hand over $60 and their car keys at gunpoint, tied the couple together to a tree, and shot both of them. J.C. was killed, while Mary survived their ordeal. Ingram then stole their car and fled to California. While a fugitive hiding out in California, he committed another carjacking, and ran off to Nebraska, where he was detained for a DUI and deported back to Georgia to face trial. Due to being a British national, Ingram's execution sparked outrage in the United Kingdom.
20. Darrell Devier (1979-1995, electric chair): Devier lured 12 year old Mary Stoner into his car while she was walking home from school. He raped her in a forest, made an attempt to strangle her during their struggle, and crushed Stoner's head with a rock. Months before the murder, Devier was accused of raping a 13 year old girl, but the charges against him were dismissed from the lack of sufficient evidence.
21. Larry Lonchar (1986-1996, electric chair): During a dispute over gambling debts, Lonchar confronted his bookkeeper, 54 year old Wayne Smith, at his condo while pretending to be a FBI agent. In the altercation, he bound Wayne and his 24 year old son Steven with handcuffs, and shot and stabbed them to death. Wayne's girlfriend, 45 year old Margaret Sweat, called 911, and was also shot and stabbed to death while she was on the phone with the dispatcher. Another one of Wayne's sons was attacked in the incident, but he managed to survive his injuries.
22. Ellis Felker (1977-1996, electric chair): Evelyn Ludlam, a 19 year old cocktail waitress for the Holiday Inn, was lured into Flelker's clutches when he promised her work at his leather store. For religious reasons, Ludlam was disaffected with her job, and wanted a new line of work. Felker raped and strangled Ludlam to death and sexually mutilated her body. After he murdered Ludlem, Felker dumped her remains in a creek. He was registered sex offender with a sodomy conviction at the time of Ludlam's death.
23. David Cargill (1985-1998, electric chair): Cargill and his brother stormed a gas station, and forced a couple, 41 year old Danny and 29 year old Cheryl Williams, to lie on the floor. Cheryl was a clerk for the station, and Danny stopped by to help her close down after he put their sons to bed. The brothers shot the couple execution style, and stole a total of $482.79 from the register. They were also involved with several carjackings.
24. Terry Mincey (1982-2001, lethal injection): Mincey and his accomplices robbed a convenience store at gunpoint, and forced the clerk, 38 year old Paulette Riggs to empty the cash register into their bag. They shot her dead, and took 2 teenage siblings hostage that were present in the store. Coincidentally, a firefighter pulled up to the scene to refill his truck, and Mincey shot and wounded him. The siblings took the opportunity to escape and fled into a nearby field.
25. Jose High (1976-2001, lethal injection): High and his accomplices abducted 11 year old Bonnie Bulloch and his stepfather, 27 year old Henry Philips, from a gas station they were operating, after emptying the cash register. The robbers forced the pair into their car, reportedly taunted the captives about their intentions to kill them, and drove to a remote forest. They then shot Bulloch dead and wounded Philips.
26. Fred Gilreath Jr. (1979-2001, lethal injection): Gilreath's wife, 28 year old Linda, moved out of their home to escape their disintegrating marriage. When Linda returned with her father, 57 year old Gerrit Van Leeuwen, to pack up her belongings, Gilreath shot them both dead.
27. Byron Parker (1984-2001, lethal injection): Parker enticed 11 year old Christie Griffith into his car after she missed her taxi that was supposed to take her to her older brother's high school graduation. He bound Griffith to a tree, and raped and strangled her death, while his two year old son was waiting for him in their car.
28. Ronald Spivey (~1961-2002, lethal injection): While playing pool at a bar, Spivey got into a fight with 32 year old Charles McCook over money he perceived to have won, and shot him to death. A day later, he robbed a bank and took hostages. He fatally shot Bill Watson, a 40 year old off duty police officer that tried to stop him, and injured the manager, 21 year old Welton Allen. Allen tried fleeing to a nearby restaurant, and Spivey following him into it in pursuit. He fired on the establishment in an attempt to kill him, but missed and wounded an employee caught in the crossfire. Spivey then kidnapped a waitress and forced her to drive him to Alabama. She was rescued unharmed by local authorities when they pulled over and captured Spivey. A search of the stolen car found that Spivey stole a total of $360 in his robberies. His previous convictions include several counts of forgery, armed robbery, and auto theft.
29. Tracy Housel (1984-2002, lethal injection) Housel was a sexual predator and thief that victimized men and women alike between the ages of 18-45. He worked as a interstate truck driver, and picked up victims that he befriended from stops all across the country. They were driven to isolated locations, where Housel would bind, rob, and sodomize them. His killing methods were diverse and circumstantial, but Housel mostly used strangulations, beatings, and stabbings in the attacks. Housel was convicted in the deaths of Troy Smith (age unknown) and 44 year old Jean Drew, and is suspected in and/or confessed to 15 other murders. He was also responsible for several non fatal assaults and robberies. Like Nicholas Ingram, Housel's death sentence and execution sparked outrage in the United Kingdom due to him being a British national.
30. Wallace Fugate III (1991-2002, lethal injection): Fugate forced himself inside the home of his ex wife, 39 year old Pattie. He pistol whipped Pattie dozens of times and shot her dead in front of their 15 year old son. Unrelated to the case, but that son was beaten to death in the same house by his friends a year after Fugate's conviction.
31. William Putman (1980-2002, lethal injection): Purtman shot and killed 49 year old William Hodges on the side of a highway. Hours later, he snuck up on a married couple, 28 year old Kate Back and 22 year old David Hardin, sleeping at a rest stop in their car with their children (which included a 9 year old daughter, a 7 year old son, and an 11 month old daughter) and 14 year old niece. He shot David dead and tried to abduct Kate. When she resisted and screamed for her husband, Purtman shot her as well and fled the scene.
32. Larry Moon (1984-2003, lethal injection): According to prosecutors, Moon ambushed 34 year old Ricky Callahan while the later was walking to a pharmacy to buy headache medicine for his wife. Callahan was shot in the head during the attack and had $60 taken from his wallet. Moon was also suspected in the shooting deaths of Jimmy Hutcheson (age unknown) and Thomas DeJose (age unknown), several robberies, and the abduction and sexual assault of a female impersonator. The prosecution failed to convict him for the murder of DeJose on the grounds of self defense and the murder of Butcheson on the lack of sufficient evidence. His conviction for Callahan's murder is contested, as Moon and his supporters claim that a late hitman confessed to the killing.
33. Carl Isaacs (~1960s-2003, lethal injection): Isaacs, with the help of two of his brothers and a cellmate, escaped from the Maryland State prison, and fatally shot 19 year old Richard Miller when he tried to stop them from stealing a car. The group drove by a Georgia gas pump in the hopes of refilling their getaway car. However, the pump was empty, and decided to burglarize a nearby trailer belonging to the Alday family (which consisted of brothers, 62 year old Ned and 57 year old Aubrey, Ned's sons, 35 year old Jerry and 32 year old Chester, and Jerry's 26 year old wife Mary) while they were gone. When the family returned home, Isaacs and his accomplices held the entire family at gun point, gang-raped Mary several times, and shot them all dead. Isaacs had a very troubled history, and committed several burglaries and robberies as a teenager.
34. James Brown (~1968-2003, lethal injection): Brown went on a date with Brenda Watson, a 21 year old stripper. After they were drinking and partying together at a bar, Brown tied up Watson with nylon stockings, and raped and asphyxiated her by shoving panties down her throat. He had a long history involving violence towards women. One of his previous convictions involved an incident of him breaking into a woman’s home, and (non fatally) stabbing and sexually assaulting her. Brown also had a warrant at the time of Watson’s murder for aggravated robbery, kidnapping, and sexual assault charges when he lured another woman by posing as an artist in need of a model.
35. Robert Hicks (~1970s-2004, lethal injection): Hicks laid his eyes on 28 year old Joni Rivers while she was talking to her boyfriend using a grocery store payphone. He chased down Rivers when she tried to flee from him and nearly decapitated her in a frenzied stabbing attack. Rivers' shoes, shorts, and ring were taken and found in Hicks' car. Hicks was released from prison months earlier after serving a half of a 15 year sentence for sexually abusing a 16 year old girl.
36. Eddie Crawford (1983-2004, lethal injection): Crawford tried spending the night with one of his estranged wife's sisters after a drinking binge, but she ejected him from her home. Out of anger, he abducted Leslie English, her 2 year old daughter, from the girl's bedroom, and then raped and strangled her to death.
37. Timothy Carr (1992-2005, lethal injection): Carr and his girlfriend attended a party with 17 year old Keith Young. The couple decided that they wanted to rob the boy, and they lured him into a forest with the help of two other teenagers. Carr slit Young's throat, and then proceeded to beat him to death with a baseball bat. He and his accomplices stole a $125 paycheck and Young's car in the robbery.
38. Stephen Mobley (1991-2005, lethal injection): Mobley shot and killed 25 year old John Collins while robbing a Domino's Pizza restaurant he was managing. He had also held up 6 other restaurants and dry-cleaning shops at gunpoint in his month long crime spree.
39. Robert Conklin (~1981-2005, lethal injection): Conklin stabbed his boyfriend, 28 year old George Crooks, in the ear with a screwdriver in their apartment, and dismembered his body. In an attempt to get rid of the remains, he stuffed them in a garbage disposal in their kitchen and a nearby dumpster. At the time of Crooks' murder, Conklin was on parole from a 6 year sentence for armed robbery.
40. John Hightower (1987-2007, lethal injection): While under the influence of cocaine, Hightower shot his wife, 41 year old Dorothy, and his stepdaughters, 22 year old Sandra and 19 year old Evelyn Reaves, to death in their sleep.
41. William Lynd (1988-2008, lethal injection): Lynd got into an argument with his girlfriend, 26 year old Ginger Moore, over a planned vacation and shot her to death. While on the run in Ohio, he tried to hijack a car, and shot the driver, 42 year old Leslie Sharkey, in the process. Sharkey managed to crawl to safety, and notified the authorities of the attack. She died of her injuries a few days after the shooting.
42. Curtis Osborne (1990-2008, lethal injection): Osborne, a career drug dealer, shot his girlfriend's brother, 29 year old Arthur Jones, and Jones' girlfriend, 28 year old Linda Seaborne, dead in argument over money gained from a motorcycle sale. His death sentence was controversial, as Osborne claimed that his attorney denied him a plea bargain for a racist agenda.
43. Jack Alderman (1975-2008, lethal injection): In an attempt to collect a life insurance policy, Alderman beat his wife, 20 year old Barbara, to death with a wench.
44. Robert Newland (1986-2009, lethal injection): Newland went to the apartment of his girlfriend, 27 year old Carol Beatty, after a drinking binge, and tried to kiss her. When she rejected and slapped him, Newland stabbed and disemboweled her alive. Just before she succumbed to her injuries, Beatty used her own blood to identify Newland as her attacker to the first responders.
45. William Mize (1994-2009, lethal injection): Mize was a leader of a white supremacist gang called the National Vastilian Aryan Party, in which 34 year old Eddie Tucker had filed to join. When Tucker disobeyed his orders to burn down a "crack house" as part of an initiation ritual, Mize lured him into a forest and shot him dead.
46. Mark McClain (1994-2009, lethal injection): McClain robbed a Domino pizza parlor after ordering a pizza. He shot the manger, 28 year old Kevin Brown, dead and stole $130 from the register.
47. Melbert Ford Jr. (1986-2010, lethal injection): Ford had a very specific fantasy about robbing, abducting and then murdering his ex girlfriend, 30 year old Martha Matich, after forcing her beg for mercy. He decided to make his fantasies into a reality, and stormed the grocery store she worked at with the help of an accomplice he hired. Ford shot Matich and her niece, 11 year old Lisa Chapman, dead, and stole $579 from the register.
48. Brandon Rhode (1998-2010, lethal injection): Rhode and his accomplice Daniel Lucas broke into a house, and encountered the residents, 37 year old Steven Moss, and his two children, 15 year old Kristin and 11 year old Bryan. Bryan was home alone when the intruders arrived, and tried to fight them off with a baseball bat. Lucas and Rhodes quickly subdued the boy and shot him to death. Kristen and Steven were also shot dead when they returned home. Their bodies were discovered by Gerri, Steven's wife and the children's mother. The pair were career burglars, and previously targeted the Moss home weeks before the massacre.
49. Emmanuel Hammond (~1983-2011, lethal injection): Hammond, his girlfriend, and her cousin spotted 27 year old Julia Love broken down on the side of the road. They dragged her into their car after she declined their offer for a ride. Love was tied up, forced to withdraw $140 from an ATM, and raped. The attackers partially strangled Love and shot her to death in a remote forest. In exchange for having all charges dropped, Hammond's girlfriend agreed to testify against him and her cousin. He tried to hire a fellow inmate to permanently silence her testimony, but was foiled by prison officials. Hammond had numerous previous convictions, but my sources didn't disclose details.
50. Roy Blankenship (1978-2011, lethal injection): Blankenship climbed into a home of 78 year old Sara Bowen after breaking her window. He raped and beat Bowen, and penetrated her with a bottle. She succumbed to a heart attack from the stress of the assault.
51. Andrew DeYoung (1993-2011, lethal injection): Wanting to use their life insurance policies to start his dream business, DeYoung stabbed his parents, 42 year old Gary and 41 year old Kathryn, and his sister, 14 year old Sarah, to death, and unsuccessfully ordered his accomplice to kill his 16 year old brother Nathan. Nathan escaped through a window and went to a neighbor for help.
52. Troy Davis (1988-2011, lethal injection): Davis was sentenced to death for a crime spree involving several robberies, the non fatal shooting of a teenager, and the beating of a homeless man, Troy Young (age unknown). Larry MacPhail, a 27 year old police officer and security guard, was shot and killed when he intervened in an attempt to protect Young. Davis' execution was controversial, as he managed to amass a popular following that believed in his innocence during his time on death row. He previously plead guilty for a carrying concealed weapons charge, and Davis paid a $250 fine as part of a plea agreement to avoid prison time.
53. Andrew Cook (1995-2003, lethal injection): On a random whim, Cook walked up to a couple, 22 year old Grant Hendrickson and 19 year old Michele Cartagena, parked near a lake, and shot them both to death in their car.
54. Marcus Wellons (1989-2014, lethal injection): Wellons took an obsessive sexual interest in his neighbor, 15 year old India Roberts, and began to stalk and harass the girl in an attempt to groom her into a "relationship." At one point, he even pressured his girlfriend's 14 year old son to date her. His illicit pursuit of Roberts alarmed his girlfriend and she tried evicting him from their apartment. With his relationship in shambles, Wellons' behavior escalated beyond the breaking point. After he ransacked his now ex girlfriend's apartment and poured bleach on her clothes, Wellons ambushed and abducted Roberts while she was walking to school. He raped and strangled her to death with a telephone cord.
55. Robert Holsey (~1990s-2014, lethal injection): Holsey shot and killed Will Robinson, a 26 year old Sheriff's Deputy, during a robbery of a convenience store. At the time of the shooting, he was on parole for an armed robbery conviction.
56. Andrew Brannan (~1980s-2015, lethal injection): In 1998, Branner was pulled over for speeding by Kyle Dinkheller, a 22 year old deputy. While Dinkheller was trying to file a citation, Branner became belligerent, pulled an M1 carbine out of his truck, and opened fire. Dinkheller was killed in the shootout, but he managed to wound Branner in his return fire. Branner was a Vietnam combat veteran, and he tried to use PTSD as a defense for the fatal shooting of Dinkheller and previous domestic abuse charges from his ex wife.
57. Warren Hill Jr. (~1985-2015, lethal injection): Hill was given a life sentence when he shot and killed his girlfriend, 18 year old Myra Wright. His sentence escalated to death a few years later when he fatally beat his cellmate, 34 year old Joseph Handspike, with a nailed board. At the time of his own murder, Handspike was also serving a life sentence for shooting and killing a restaurant manager during a robbery.
58. Kelly Gissendaner (1997-2015, lethal injection): Out of a desire to leave their marriage and to collect a life insurance policy, Gissendan assisted her boyfriend in abducting her husband, 30 year old Douglas, from their home. Her boyfriend stabbed Douglas to death, and she set their car on fire to destroy his body. The couple were also charged with attempting to intimidate witnesses during the murder trial.
59.Marcus Johnson (1994-2015, lethal injection): After Johnson picked up 35 year old Angela Sizemore from a bar, he sexually assaulted her with a knife. Sizemore was stabbed 41 times in the attack, and her throat was cut. Her body was found in her car by a man walking his dog hours after the murder.
60. Brian Terrell (~1992-2015, lethal injection): Terrell forged up to $8,000 in checks using 70 year old John Watson's name. Watson, who was seeking a relationship with Terrell's mother, tried to make a deal that he wouldn't pursue any charges if the money was returned to him. According to prosecutors, Terrell broke into Watson's home, and beat and fatally shot him to avoid repaying the money. His execution caused controversy, as the defense attorneys claimed that the footprints at the scene were smaller then his feet, and that he was condemned only by what they perceived to be misused testimony from his cousin (that testified against him in exchange for a plea deal) and a neighbor (who allegedly claimed that they saw "someone else walk out of the home"). Those arguments were shut down by the courts, but embraced by anti death penalty activist groups and outlets. Regardless of his guilt or lack thereof, strong evidence points to him perpetrating similar armed robberies of other homes, and was on parole at the time of Watson's murder.
61. Brandon Jones (1979-2016, lethal injection): Jones was an accomplice to the above mentioned Van Solomon, and participated in the robbery that killed Roger Tackett.
62. Travis Hittson (1993-2016, lethal injection): Hittson, who was serving on the U.S.S. Forrestal, was convinced by a crewmate to kill Conway Utterbeck, a 20 year old fellow sailor, for the thrill of killing. When they were off duty, Hittson and his accomplice walked into the home of Herbeck's parents, and found Herbeck sleeping on the couch. Before they shot him to death, the pair bludgeoned Herbeck with a baseball bat. To prevent the body's identification, they chopped off his hands, feet, and head with a hacksaw, and dumped his dismembered remains in two separate burial sites across a 300 mile radius.
63. Joshua Bishop (1994-2016, lethal injection): Bishop and another man accosted 44 year old Leverett Morrison at a bar, and demand to have the keys to his jeep. When Morrison refused, the pair beat him to death. Bishop also orchestrated the beating death of 36 year old Ricky Wills for having intercourse with his prostitute mother. The prosecution declined to charge Bishop for Willis' murder, as they wanted to use it as evidence to help secure his death sentence for Morrison's slaying.
64. Kenneth Fults (1996-2016, lethal injection): Fults forced his way inside the home of 19 year old Cathy Bonds. He bound, gagged, and blindfolded Bonds with duct tape, and made an attempt to smother her with a pillow. When that failed, Fults shot Bonds in the head, stole her keys, and drove away with her car.
65. Daniel Lucas (1998-2016, lethal injection): Lucas was the accomplice to the above mentioned Brandon Rhode, and he assisted him in murdering Steven Moss and his children in their home.
66. John Conner (1982-2016, lethal injection): In a drunken rage, Connor beat his friend, 29 year old James White, to death with a whisky bottle and a stick while visiting him in his home. The two had gotten in fight when White refused to take Connor to a liquor store.
67. Gregory Lawler (1997-2016, lethal injection): Lawler and his girlfriend were walking home intoxicated after drinking heavily at a bar, and got into a fight. A witness called the police, and officers, 28 year old John Sowa and 38 year old Patricia Cocciolone, were sent to the scene. They carried Lawler's girlfriend to their car, and drove her to the couple's apartment. Lawler was allowed to walk home unescorted. When he arrived, Lawler grabbed an AR-15, and fired on the officers. Sowa was killed, while Cocciolone survived with crippling injuries and called for backup. The other officers besieged Lawler in his apartment, and he surrendered after a 44 minute standoff.
68. Steven Spears (2001-2016, lethal injection): Spears suspected that his girlfriend, 34 year old Sherri Holland, was cheating on him. He reacted to his suspicions by wrapping Holland's head with duct tape and suffocating her with a plastic bag in her home.
69. William Sallie (1989-2016, lethal injection): Sallie's ex wife, 19 year old Robin Moore, divorced him for his physical abuse and moved back to her family (consisting of her parents, 49 year old John and Linda (age unknown), and her siblings, 17 year old April and 10 year old Justin). He was able to acquire visitation rights to their 2 year old son from the courts, and used that pretext to attack the family. Sallie charged into the Moore family home, shot and killed John, wounded Linda and bound her to Justin with handcuffs, and kidnapped Robin and April. The sisters were both kept captive and sexually assaulted together in a trailer, but they were spared and released after a few hours.
70. J. Ledford Jr. (1992-2017, lethal injection): Ledford was welcomed inside a home by the wife of his neighbor, 73 year old Harry Johnston Jr.. He tied up the couple at knifepoint, stole an undisclosed amount of money and guns, kidnapped Johnston, and drove away with him in his truck. Johnston's body was later found near an abandoned building. He was half decapitated, had a knife embedded in his back, and covered with several minor stab wounds.
71. Carlton Gary (~1964-2018, lethal injection): Gary raped and murdered at least 8 mostly elderly women between 40-89 years old. Almost all of his victims were killed in their homes, but his youngest, 40 year old Marion Fisher of New York, was abducted while walking out of a bar. They were all strangled to death with nylon stockings, which is why Gary was given the “Stocking Slayer" epithet by the media. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, including positive DNA tests, testimonies from surviving victims, fingerprints found on crime scenes, and semen samples, Gary still has a vocal following trying to proclaim his innocence. He had an extensive criminal history, which started with several arson, assault, and robbery charges as a teenager.
72. Robert Butts Jr. (1996-2018, lethal injection): Butts and his accomplice Marion Wilson carjacked Donovan Parks, a 24 year old off duty correctional officer, after he agreed to give them a ride home from Walmart. They forced Parks to exit the car and the shot him in the head execution style. Both Butts and Wilson were part of a Latin Kings set, and are believed to have killed Parks to gain more prestige from their gang. Butt's previous convictions include charges of shoplifting and burglary.
73. Scotty Morrow (1999-2019, lethal injection): Angry that his ex girlfriend, 26 year old Barbara Young, broke up with him for his abusive behavior, Morrow shot her, and her friend, 21 year old Tonya Wood, dead in their home. A third woman, 18 year old Latoyna Horn, was injured in the shooting. Young's two children, a 5 year old son and an 8 month old daughter, witnessed the killings, but were unharmed.
74. Marion Wilson Jr. (1999-2019, lethal injection): Wilson assisted Robert Butts, a fellow Latin King gangster, in the carjacking and shooting murder of officer Donovan Parks. He had a lengthy and very violent criminal history, which included the non fatal shootings of a Mexican migrant worker and a drug dealer during robberies, unprovoked assaults on a classmate and a youth worker, and an arson attack on an apartment complex. His friends noted that Wilson had a penchant for animal cruelty, and they reported seeing him shooting dogs on random whims.
75. Ray Cromartie (1994-2019, lethal injection): While robbing a grocery store, Cromartie and his accomplice shot two clerks, 50 year old Richard Slysz and Daniel Wilson (age unknown). Slysz died at the scene and Wilson survived with crippling injuries.
76. Donnie Lance (~1990s-2020, lethal injection): Lance broke down the door of his ex wife's, 39 year old Sandra, and fatally shot her boyfriend, 33 year old Dwight Wood Jr.. He then used the butt of his gun to club Sandra to death. According to court documents, Lance subjected Sandra to extreme abuse during their marriage, and reportedly kidnapped and tortured her with beatings, strangulations, and electrocutions on numerous occasions.
77. Willie Pye (~1985-2024, lethal injection): Pye's ex girlfriend, 21 year old Alicia Yarbrough, had a child with another man that he believed was his. Despite his suspicions, Yarbrough and their boyfriend pushed Pye out of the child’s life. In retaliation, Pye and two accomplice’s broke into Yarbrough’s ex boyfriend’s home to rob it, but found her alone with her infant. They abducted and robbed Yarbrough of her jewelry at gunpoint, raped her for several hours in a motel room, and shot her a total of 3 times in the head. Due to reports of him allegedly being cognitively disabled, Pye’s execution sparked some controversy. He was previously convicted of burglary.

Introduction
Hi all, since I wrote the wildly popular - YSK There are free literature review mapping tools that can automatically generate relevant related papers based on relevant seed papers + visualize them in a map/graph in 2020 (See my list of citation based literature mapping tools), the effectiveness of Large Language Models (so called "AI) meant new capabilities could be added to search (I focus obviously on academic search).
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As an aside, I see many people lumping ConnectedPapers, ResearchRabbit etc into AI tools. While I think "AI" is a loose term, we probably want to distinguish tools that use LLMs and those that do not to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. ConnectedPapers for example tell me that they do not class their tool as a AI tool. Typically these tools use network or bibliometric techniques to recommend papers not LLMs. Some tools like Litmaps may be starting to use semantic search (contextual embeddings) to recommend papers on similarity of titles and abstracts but this isn't common yet. Another possible use I have seen is tools like CiteSpace use LLMs to label clusters

One of the first user facing commerical academic tools was Elicit (now Elicit.com), that was an early partner of OpenAI using GPT3/3,5 (Perplexity.ai was the general web counterpart) since 2021. Since then the number of academic search tools that leverage on LLMS have exploded.
Some of the earliest offerings are naturally from startups including Elicit, Consensus.ai, Scite.ai assistant, Scispace, OpenRead , Wonders AI , Epsilon.ai .
But traditional players in the academic search space and publishers have also responded e.g Scopus AI, Dimensions Research GPT, and Clarivate which owns a huge chunk of the academic workflow via Proquest databases and Web of Science and Exlibris Summon, and Primo have also responded with their own AI offerings that will be out by end of 2024. These include Web of Science™ Research Assistant, Proquest Research Assistant, Alethea Academic Coach.
Academic librarians reading this should be aware that in particular, Primo and Summon (which are the default search engine on most academic libraries) will launch the CDI Research Assistant by 2Q 2024, I do not believe this is a optional module, so by end of 2024, all your users will see direct generated answers!

See my list of academic search systems that use Large Language Models to generate answers (I exclude academic search that only use contexual embeddings for search ranking). I also exclude "ask PDF" type tools where you upload papers where such tools do not include an index of their own.

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Three ways - Large Language models are used to improve search
I see three main ways in which LLMs are used to improve academic search engines

1. LLMs are used to improve relevancy of search (semantic search)
2. LLMs are used to extract answers to directly answer questions by extraction of text from papers
3. LLMs are used to create "research matrix" of papers by extraction of text from papers (this is special case of #2)

See Possible impact of AI on academic search video
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1. LLMs are used to improve relevancy of search (semantic search)

This is probably the least appreciated of the changes since everything changed is under the hood. In the field of information retrievial , researchers talk about a 2019 "post BERT" (this is a "cousin" of the more famous auto-generative GPT, but both based on the transformer architecture) revolution , where the ability of search engines to understand queries and docs has drastically improved due to the incorporate of transformer based architeures like BERT, leading to huge improvements in info retrieval benchmarks results.
From the user point of view, this means that a typical "AI powered search" using contextual embeddings can "understand" natural language queries.

There are multiple terminology used to talk about this new type of search including embedding based search, neural search, semantic search etc.

Not only can you use natural language when searching, there is evidence both from formal studies and my own ancedotal testing that you actually often get better results searching in natural language than trying to search "keyword" style where you drop stop words (this can be very counter intutive after two decades of web searching).
Without going into detail, the latest information retrievial algos go beyond old bag of words techniques (BM25, TF-IDF) and can actually take into consideration not just the context of words but also the order of words. In other words the long promised Semantic Search!

If you are interested in a high level overview see this blog post

If you consider how ChatGPT can understand you well even with typos, this shouldn't surprise you!
That is why the results are actually better if you search in natural language! Google and Bing for example has already implemented BERT into interpreting search as far back as 2019! In Google's example, they show how Google is able to interprete correctly

2019 Brazil traveller to US need via

as a brazil traveller going to US as opposed to the other way around.
Let me give you an academic example. I was reading this news story from The Mirror that reported a research study on the risks of cancer by occupation,annoyingly like many news story it did not directly link to the research paper, nor give the title and author of the paper. It just stated a team from... and the journal.
By taking the full-text of the story and tossing it into either Elicit or Scispace, you would find the very first result in the search is the paper! This is amazing when you realize a lot of the text from the research paper has been paraphrased in the news and yet the semantic search was able to figure out the right paper that was closest in meaning!
Note this is not to say that keyword or lexical search is outdated, there are situations where it shines over "semantic search" for example when searching for very specific entities like proper names or protein names where you do not want "similar" entities. See for example this study.
A good way to combine two techniques is to use keyword or even boolean first, then use semantic search tools to see if you missed out anything (because a different keyword was used).
Alternatively if you have very little sense of what are the right keywords, use a semantic search based search engine like Elicit, or Scispace and look at what relevant papers appear. Then use those for structured keyword searching.

In practice many modern academic search tools like Elicit.com, or Scispace combine results from both keyword/lexical search and semantic search before reranking so you will be looking at combined results from both sets.

In pratice it can be hard to tell if the academic search you are using is using semantic search (there are lexical keyword search methods that are non-boolean) but in general if you can throw in a large chunk of text and there are still a lot of results, it is highly suggestive of some sort of closest neighbour embedding match of query and document,,,,
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Adapt your search style depending on tool
In fact there are now three possible ways of searching which can be confusing

1. Traditional Keyword search - - fasting regularly longer life spans
2. Natural language search - Does fasting regularly lead to longer life spans
3. Prompt engineering style - You are a top researcher in the area of longivitiy. Do a deep literature review on the topic does fasting regularly lead to longer life spans. Do include emperical studies and meta analysis but exclude opinion pieces...

The third style is still somewhat rarely supported by AI academic search, but some like Scite.ai assistant , Undermind.ai do so.
When using these new tools, pay attention to the hints they give on how to search, either in support documents, or the examples used in their marketing material or demos. Or if all else fails ask their engineers.
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2. LLMs are used to extract answers to directly answer questions by extraction of text from papers
This is probably the most eye catching feature for most people. These new Ai powered search, will in fact cite text from papers to generate a direct answer instead of just providing a list of documents that might answer the question!
How does this work? Almost all such systems use variants of the popular RAG (Retrieval augmented generation) technique. In a typical example, a retriever (search engine) is used to find documents (or more commonly sections of documents) that might answer the question.

How it finds relevant documents or chunked text is typically using a semantic style search from #1, though in theory it could do traditional keyword search or even ask a LLM to come up with a boolean search strategy (see CoreGPT.

The chunked text of retrieved text is then passed over to the LLM with a prompt to ask it to try to answer the question if possible with the retrieved chunks of text (typically it is also instructed to say it does not have a answer if it is appropiate).
I've seen systems use RAG to answer questions in two ways.
Firstly and more commonly, the system will generate a paragraph or two of text trying to answer your query from the top N papers in the search (e.g. Elicit, Scispace, Scopus AI). More customizable ones like Scite.ai assistant allow you to customize things like number of references, length of generated text, search strategy used to find papers, where every generated statement needs a citation (or let the model decide) or even specify they must cite from a pool of papers etc.
These new AI search indexes tend to have mostly title and abstract from sources like Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref and while this is almost always comprehensive for titles and abstracts (200 Million etc, though this inclusive set means you won't get only high impact journal papers), they tend to draw only on limited full text that is open access, this is why many tools are starting to allow you to upload full-text to supplement it. (e.g. Elicit, Scispace, Scite.ai assistant)
Secondly, there are some systems that only try to generate one answer per paper with no attempt to merge everything together into one coherent answer . e.g. Wonders AI , Studyflow , Consensus.ai used to only do this, but it now as a synethize model that creates a paragraph of answer with cites from multiple papers.
Caution : Many vendors of such tools will claim their tool is 99.9% free of hallucinations.
Often what they mean is a very limited way of defining "hallucinations". Often this is just saying that the papers cited using RAG techniques will always be real papers (as they were retrieved from search) unlike the free ChatGPT that might hallucinate or makeup papers. This is like the difference between asking you to try to remember which papers might answer a question (ChatGPT free) and asking you to use Google Scholar to find papers that are relevant first and cite them.

GPT4 (either via ChatGPT+ or GPT4 API) hallucinates less than earlier models but if it is not triggered to search it can hallucinate papers too.

The main issue is while RAG based search will not make up papers they can still "mis-interprete" papers. In other words, the generated statement might cite a paper but when you look at the cited papers, it does not support the generated statement or answer at all.
One of the earliest papers on the subject using Bing Chat, Perplexity and two other general web search using RAG, found that on average mere 51.5% of generated sentences are fully supported by citations and only 74.5% of citations support their associated sentence. It also provides a scary result where they found people who rated the generated answers as "helpful" or "fluent" these answers were negative correlated to citation precision and recall. In other words, fluent and useful answers tend to have invalid citations! If you think a while, you can understand why this is so....
There is now hundreds of papers studying when and how RAG fails.
It's a difficult problem, and there are many ways RAG can go wrong, and hundreds of proposed techniques to address this as this is an area of active research.
Unfortunately currently there isn't a lot of rigorous research out on the accuracy of RAG generated answers for specific tools, there's for example a mini study of Elicit, Consensus, Scopus AI and Scite assistant which amount other issues noted

Sometimes these tools may inaccurately conclude based on the the introductory or general statements from the abstracts instead of specific findings or conclusions, potentially leading to biased summaries. There are also instances where these tools quote secondary sources, e.g. Consensus – Ref. 4, or where Elicit and Consensus both quote a “Note” Benson (2018) – which is only a brief summary of another research article. These could also introduce inaccuracies or bias into the summary.

I can confirm from my own use this is quite common. For example, a paper may have a abstract that says "it is believed ...X" but the paper goes on to show X isn't true and this may trip up many such systems to thinking the paper says X.
Papers in areas like psychology with multi- part studies etc can confuse such systems too.
Often these systems also just generate an answer from the top N papers retrieved and because many of these systems do no weight citations and focus on pure semantic relevancy (see above), the generated answers may sometimes cite odd or very poor quality papers. Again some of the more customizable systems allow you to work around this by picking papers you want to try to use to answer or control search strategies used etc
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3. LLMs are used to create "research matrix" of papers by extraction of text from papers
Many of these AI search engines also allow you to go to individual papers and "Chat with papePDF". A more interesting approach which I first saw in Elicit.com and now Scispace is that it generates a "research matrix" of papers, where each row is a paper, and there are columns that describe the charestistics of the papers.
For example, in Elicit,com you can add columns for abstract summary, main findings, methodology, population charateristics, data set used intervention, outcome measured, limitations etc. You are not limited to those default columns and you can create your own e.g. Sample Size, use of placebo etc, discipline covered etc, the sky's the limit.
Elicit.com even allows you give specific instructions beyond just naming the columns, for example for "participants age" you can instruct it to classify into 1-12, 12-20, 20-45, 45+
As you might appreciate it, the LLM is going through each paper and try to answer the "question" such as "what is the paricipants age" and extract the answer into the table. Sometimes the LLM might not give an answer , this is particularly so if it can't find the answer because all it has access is to the title, abstract and not full-text. That is why such tools also tend to allow you to upload full-text to work on.
How accurate are such extracts, in an infograph, Elicit not only claims 98% accuracy and claims to be 13-26% in absolute % points more accurate than "trained staff" doing manual extraction! This seems to me to be a very bold claim, but as of now, I do not see any details of the study showing this
If this is true, this will be a great boon to not just usual narrative reviews but also to evidence synthesis!
Some other thoughts on use of these tools
We are in the very early stage of these tools, so many of these tools are "free". But many of them will disappear as they are outcompeted (the "moat" is very low, as many are using the same source of data from Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, OA papers, with LLM techniques that are not exactly hard to duplicate) , or just acquired so be careful about building your criticial whole workflow around them.
The source of the data underlying these tools should be considered. A lot of them use say Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex is >200M papers which is huge (Scopus is around 80M) and is typically good enough for most disciplines but it is still worth a check. For example, such sources pretty much have no clinicial trials reports so if you need those, these AI tools alone is not helpful (even if you upload them, they might not be properly parsed).
It might be that the final winners will be the established content owners because they have access to paywalled data that the startups do not. They may for example acquire the more popular ones.
While tools like Connectedpapers, LitMaps, remained free for a fairly long time and some like ResearchRabbit, Inciteful, Pure Suggest are still effectively free, these AI search tools using LLMs will be likely to be less generous because the cost of running each search is much higher due to LLM costs.
It is also unclear if the hallunication problem can be solved, but i hear many creators of these tools are taking for granted that as the base LLM model improves in reasoning etc (GPT5->GPT6 etc) their tools will also automatically improve , it is unclear though if improvements in LLM have levelled off. The more promising tool makes have their coders experimenting with various RAG techniques to improve the results.
Odds an ends
Knowledge graphs and LLMs seem to be the next thing people are trying as they are complementary technologies, where one is top down and structured while the other is bottom up and unstructured. Many ideas include using Knowledge graphs to act as a retriever to provide information of RAG systems or use LLMs to extract data for knowledge graphs. System Pro is one example.
Another interesting idea is agent based LLM type systems that

• Does multiple iterative searching (including citation searches)
• Uses GPT4 class LLMs to reason on relevancy (as opposed to using a proxy score from BM25, or even cosine similarity of BERT embeddings)
• Optimises for recall rather than precision like most tools
• Takes much longer to respond than a typical google search e.g. 5-30 minutes.

AKA It tries to mimic a real researcher. First of such tools I know about is Undermind.ai, see my blog post about this.
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What do I recommend?
There are way too many such tools for me to try everything but these are the ones I have the most experience with (because they are relatively older).

• Elicit.com - This is in my view the pioneer, and very focused on improving discovery. Their relevancy ranking is extremely good IMHO (though they don't currently weight citations so if you expect seminal papers or papers from top journals to float to the top they wont always unlike in Google Scholar). Their data extraction is quite impressive as well, but very costly as they charge using credits. The recent notebook features are nice, but there are still a lot of obvious missing features like creating subfolders for uploaded PDFs. They have been featured a few times in Nature, Science news pieces so have a strong fan base but few (I think no) University library has signed an institutional license with them yet.
• Scispace - This is very close in feature set to Scispace. I don't quite like their relevancy ranking, but their data extraction seems pretty decent. They have a nifty filter to high tier journals (based on Q1/Q2 Scimargo journal ranking) so you can use this to see only results from more prestigious journals. As of now, the free version is very generous. They seem to be focusing on covering the whole research workflow rather than just discovery.
• Scite.ai assistant - This one was a slight pivot. The original Scite.ai would (and still does)classify citations into types based on how they were used ("supporting cite", "constrasting cite", "mentioning cite"). With the launch of ChatGPT, scite.ai realized because they already store "citation statements" they could use this to feed a RAG system to generate direct answers with citations. The main weakness of Scite.ai assistant is because it doesn't actually have the whole "full text", only citation statements, a lot of the cites the assistant makes are "secondary cites". Scite.ai has an algo that tries to recognise this and "work backwards to the actual citation" but this doesn't always work. Scite assistant takes the longest to generate an answer, because it also goes through multiple rounds of self-critiques etc which is a technique to help reduce halluicination. Scite assistant currently has the largest set of settings to control the RAG generation
• Undermind.ai - This is very new and the dark horse. It's very cool to type in a long question, specify what you want , wait 5-10 minutes and see very relevant results emerge. Testing against gold standards from systematic reviews it doesnt find everything but looking at say the top 100-200 it finds, a huge chunk 70-80% of the gold standard can be found which is very impressive
• ResearchRabbit, Inciteful, PureSuggest - These are the remaining free citation based mapping literature tools that I find decent. I don't see any reason to pay for such tools.
• Perplexity.ai, Google's Search Generative experience - General RAG based web search

GRMN reported a robust Q1 2024 with a 20% revenue growth to $1.38 billion and a 39% increase in EPS to $1.42, driven by strong segment performance and new product launches.

Key Metrics

Revenue	$1381.649M	20%
Operating Expenses	$504M
	Operating Expenses Growth	11%
	Earnings Per Share	$1.42
Cash and Cash Equivalents	$3300M

Segment Performance

• Fitness (revenue - $342.892M, profit - $68M, growth - 40%) - Revenue growth across all categories, led by strong demand for advanced wearables.
• Outdoor (revenue - $366.193M, profit - $107M, growth - 11%) - Revenue growth primarily driven by growth in wearables.
• Aviation (revenue - $216.855M, profit - $52M, growth - 2%) - Revenue growth driven by OEM product categories.
• Marine (revenue - $326.736M, profit - $88M, growth - 17%) - Revenue growth primarily driven by the acquisition of JL Audio®.
• Auto OEM (revenue - $128.973M, profit - $-16M, growth - 58%) - Revenue growth primarily due to increased shipments of domain controllers to BMW.

Business Highlights

• Launched Forerunner® 165 Series running smartwatch.
• Published Garmin Health Research Glimpse focused on sleep research initiatives.
• Released annual inReach SOS Year in Review highlighting the importance of Garmin Response℠.
• Produced and launched docuseries, 7 Days Out, showcasing the power of Garmin smartwatches.
• Unveiled avionics modernization program for Cessna Citation CJ2 business jet.
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• Launched Panoptix™ PS70, the first deep water live sonar.
• Awarded new business for digital instrument clusters in 2-wheel vehicles and infotainment systems for trucks.

Guidance

• Revenue (full year): $5.75 billionM
• Earnings Per Share (full year): $5.40

Additional Notes

• Effective tax rate increased to 15.6% due to global minimum tax requirements.
• Generated operating cash flows of $435 million and free cash flow of $402 million.
• Paid a quarterly dividend of approximately $140 million.

Expectations: BEAT
GRMN's reported EPS of $1.42 for Q1 2024 significantly exceeded analysts' average estimate of $1.01, showcasing a strong performance. Revenue also surpassed the expected $1.25 billion, coming in at $1.38 billion. These results indicate a positive trajectory compared to analysts' expectations.