I am a mechanical engineering student currently doing an internship as a controls intern. Whilst doing my internship I have realised that whilst I do enjoy control systems all of the cutting edge work I was interested in is overkill in most systems and most control problems get solved by slapping on a PID or often just a PI controller and altering the gains till it works. I also didn't enjoy that all of the logic was created in simulink and then C code was generated to be compiled and flashed onto controllers.
The jist of this post is that I am looking for a field of work that involves maths and programming. I do enjoy working with embedded systems and writing C and C++ code also. If DSP is also similar to controls where the heavy mathematical work is pretty much non-existent and all the code is generated, then I would be interested in some other recommendations that, even if they don't involve embedded systems, involve some fun math and complex programming.

Good evening everyone, I hope you're doing well! My name is Reese, and I'm twenty two years old. I'm looking for some roleplay partners to get into some long-term, detailed roleplays! As someone who's very interested in roleplaying and expanding worlds, I would love to find some like minded individuals who are interested in finding their favorite fandom worlds and adding immense amounts of depth and intrigue.
When it comes to my preference, I prefer making original characters first and foremost. I can do a world where our characters exist alongside the canon characters or, and my preferred style, either all original characters who stand in the future that the canon characters created for a next generation type of plotline. I like making characters of all colors and creeds, characters who are all different types. I think that it makes for a way more interesting world, so I would appreciate it if you're able to meet me with those things. I tend to write one to several paragraphs per response, and would love it if you could meet me in that distance.
When it comes to my top verses and muses right now, they are listed below.
• Bleach (Caught up on Manga)
• Jujutsu Kaisen (Caught up on Manga)
• One Piece (Caught up on Manga)
• Blue Lock (Caught up on Manga)
• Haikyuu (Anime-Only)
• Kimetsu no Yaiba (Caught up on Manga)
• Tokyo Ghoul (Manga Version)
• Sakamoto Days (Caught up on Manga)
• Blue Exorcist (Anime Only)
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Caught up on Manga)
• Tokyo Ghoul (Manga)
• Naruto (Caught up on Animanga)
• Boku no Hero Academia (Caught up on Manga)
• Persona 3/4/5
• Ace Attorney (Original Trilogy)
The fandoms that are bold are the ones I'm looking for primarily, but feel free to choose any of the fandoms I have listed! I look forward to roleplaying with some of you. I will do my best to be active, I am working on being better when it comes to that, and I would love to chat OOC and talk about our characters, create some memes, and just have a good time together and enjoy our roleplay.
If you've made it all the way here, thank you so much for your time. If you would like to roleplay, please hit me up with whatever fandom you're interested in, what color is your favorite so I know you've made it this far, and any ideas you may have! Thank you so much for your time, and I hope you all have a great rest of your evening.

Good evening everyone, I hope you're doing well! My name is Reese, and I'm twenty two years old. I'm looking for some roleplay partners to get into some long-term, detailed roleplays! As someone who's very interested in roleplaying and expanding worlds, I would love to find some like minded individuals who are interested in finding their favorite fandom worlds and adding immense amounts of depth and intrigue.
When it comes to my preference, I prefer making original characters first and foremost. I can do a world where our characters exist alongside the canon characters or, and my preferred style, either all original characters who stand in the future that the canon characters created for a next generation type of plotline. I like making characters of all colors and creeds, characters who are all different types. I think that it makes for a way more interesting world, so I would appreciate it if you're able to meet me with those things. I tend to write one to several paragraphs per response, and would love it if you could meet me in that distance.
When it comes to my top verses and muses right now, they are listed below.
• Bleach (Caught up on Manga)
• Jujutsu Kaisen (Caught up on Manga)
• One Piece (Caught up on Manga)
• Blue Lock (Caught up on Manga)
• Haikyuu (Anime-Only)
• Kimetsu no Yaiba (Caught up on Manga)
• Tokyo Ghoul (Manga Version)
• Sakamoto Days (Caught up on Manga)
• Blue Exorcist (Anime Only)
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Caught up on Manga)
• Naruto (Caught up on Animanga)
• Boku no Hero Academia (Caught up on Manga)
• Persona 3/4/5
• Ace Attorney (Original Trilogy)
The fandoms that are bold are the ones I'm looking for primarily, but feel free to choose any of the fandoms I have listed! I look forward to roleplaying with some of you. I will do my best to be active, I am working on being better when it comes to that, and I would love to chat OOC and talk about our characters, create some memes, and just have a good time together and enjoy our roleplay.
If you've made it all the way here, thank you so much for your time. If you would like to roleplay, please hit me up with whatever fandom you're interested in, what color is your favorite so I know you've made it this far, and any ideas you may have! Thank you so much for your time, and I hope you all have a great rest of your evening.

With the release of GPT-4o and seeing its great demos of being a tutor by itself. I can easily see people learning, along with other stuff, English and improving their writing skills totally from an AI. Now that AI will in turn teach the way it writes.
Hypothesis: When such a practice becomes really common, then we won't be teaching AI to write like us, but rather its way of writing will become a standard. And I am differentiating between the two as right now you can quite easily distinguish between an AI generated text vs human by using other models.
So, then even human will be producing "AI Generated" content?

UDIO users ask for stem separation feature all the time. This is a really important feature that would be extremely useful. But is it possible to implement it as everyone imagines it inside UDIO? Probably not.
Considering the specific nature of neural networks and AI music generation, it is simply not technically possible for UDIO to split a finished composition into separate stems. I can't know exactly how the UDIO algorithm works, but most likely the composition is generated from a cluster of noise, which with each iteration acquires the shape (sound) that was specified by the prompt. Therefore, you can split the composition into stems only after it is completely done, using additional software like Demucs, Splitter, Lalai.
The disadvantage of this method is that the stem separation algorithms are still not working perfectly, so each stem after separation includes some amount of artifacts. Keeping in mind that the AI generated tracks themselves contain some artifacts, after stem separation these artifacts sometimes become so numerous that the stems can become unusable.
After thinking about this problem, I came up with the idea that perhaps we should go the other way around. I will not describe the technical aspects, but will try to present only the basic idea.
The key requirement for the realization of this idea is itself an important feature that has been long awaited. It is the option to generate purely solo tracks. Imagine, you press the button "solo stem generation" and write the prompt "acoustic guitar, flamenco, Spanish theme" and then you get a guitar solo track. This option in itself is already extremely powerful, people will be absolutely delighted as everyone will be able to enrich their own compositions without having to generate a whole song in UDIO. This option will be even more effective when UDIO will be able to generate audio with specified tempo and tonality, and based on custom midi. These features have already been mentioned many times, so I won't focus on them.
Obviously, to be able to generate solo tracks with high quality you need a training date, but there should be no problem with that. For this time tens of thousands of sample packs with all kinds of individual instruments have been created and recorded in perfect quality. Most of these samples are perfectly categorized by tempo, tonality and genre. And if that's not enough, think of the thousands of albums and recordings of concerts and live performances of any solo instrument.
So we have the ability to generate a solo track, we've got our flamenco guitar. Now the main power of UDIO comes into play: it keeps the context.
UDIO understands prompts and is able to evolve, change, and remix an already finished composition based on what has already been generated by the user's request. The same logic can now be applied to our guitar solo track.
I'm asking UDIO to generate a few more solo tracks ("funky bass guitar", "Motown drum section" and "female vocals, sustained notes"), keeping in mind the context of our already generated guitar. Because of that, these tracks will probably be in the same pitch, tempo and overall feel as the first track, since it is the source of the context.
With this feature, users will be able to generate entire songs as separate tracks. If you want, you can generate an entire orchestra or Gregorian chorus in separate stems, which you can then edit and mix as you like. The creative possibilities of this feature are endless.
Most likely, this feature will have to be monetized, as it will multiply the number of generations and the load on the UDIO's servers. But I'm sure there will be plenty of people willing to pay for this feature.
I hope I've made my point. I may have been a bit optimistic, since I mostly just used my intuitive understanding of how the UDIO works, but at least I tried.

Hi friends, We recently started writing about Danish idioms on our newsletter the Simple Danish Newsletter - I also started posting them here on Reddit, but I have not been great at keeping up, and so now I am 12 weeks behind here on Reddit, and rather than space out 12 different posts, I thought I would do one big post and hopefully get back on track with the postings 😅 So here’s a bunch of Danish idioms for you!
At have det som blommen i et æg
Litterally; to feel like the yolk in an egg. I like this idiom a lot because of how visual it is. It means that you feel good, you feel comfortable, protected, and in the right place.
For example:
A: Se de søde killinger der sover.
B: Åårh, de har sikkert som blommen i et æg.
En heldig kartoffel
Literally, a lucky potato. If someone is especially lucky, in Danish ,you can call them a lucky potato. As far as I can read, the expression comes from an old sailors game, where you would pass a potato around in a circle, and a person in the middle would try to catch it. If the person in the middle could not catch the potato, it was said to be a lucky potato.
For example: A: Jeg har fri på fredag, så jeg kan nyde det gode vejr.
B: Din heldige kartoffel.
A: Har du hørt at Jonas har vundet i lotto? B: Sikke en heldig kartoffel!
En varm kartoffel
Something can also be a hot potato. It is the same expression as in english, where an issue can be a hot potato. Something so hot that it is painful to touch, and so something you would want to avoid. This expression is less used in Denmark, and mostly by newspapers or the older generations.
Lokummet brænder
Litterally: The toilet is on fire.
Either you are in big trouble or you are about to be in big trouble when your toilet is on fire.
Lokum in Danish used to refer to the old shed behind the house, where hole-in-the-ground-with-seat type toilets with no running water were found. Nowadays the word can also refer, with some disgust, to normal toilets.
For example:

• Danskerne er gode til at få psykologisk hjælp når lokummet brænder.
  
• Når lokummet brænder, ved jeg at jeg altid kan regne med dig.
  

Så er den ged barberet
Litterally translating to; then the goat is shaved. Means that something is done or solved. You can use it if you got an annoying task out of the way, either by avoiding the task entirely (and then ironically using så er den ged barberet to humorously say that it was easy), or by actually finishing it.
Example 1: Jeg skal lige færdiggøre den sidste del af præsentationen, og så er den ged barberet.
Example 2: FCK scorede et hurtigt mål mod Brøndby, og så var den ged barberet.
Hvor kragerne vender
Where the crows turn around is used to to mean the same as in the middle of nowhere, although I like the illustrativeness of the Danish phrase much more than in the middle of nowhere. It means somewhere so far away, that even the crows don’t dare go there. You can for example say; Rasmus er vokset op på landet. Der hvor kragerne vender. Or if someone asks you what you did this weekend, you can say: jeg var ude at gå en tur, helt derude hvor kragerne vender. Or if people ask you where you are from: jeg er fra en lille by ude hvor kragerne vender.
Den der kommer først til mølle, får først malet
Litterally; The one who arrives first at the mill will get milled first. This is pretty much the the Danish equivalent of first come, first serve, mixed with a bit of the early bird gets the worm. However in everyday life, you pretty much only hear the first part; først til mølle or you might see something like; “efter først til mølle princip” which was recently added to the Danish dictionary. You might see the phrase if you are looking at items being given away for free or being sold online. I can definitely see how the isolated phrase can confuse new learners though: “Selling sneakers. First to the mill.”
So now you know 😊
at spille kong gulerod
At spille kong gulerod, to play king-carrot. You can use this expression if someone is acting arrogant, cocky, or superior in a pretentious way. You can for example say du skal ikke komme her og spille kong gulerod if someone is being pompous around you. The phrase apparently comes from an old french, satirical opera from 1872, where vegetables from the garden take control over France. Or so I’ve heard. Don’t cite me on that.
At købe katten i sækken
Literally meaning to buy the cat in the sack. To buy the cat in the sack, means you got cheated in a trade, or that you were not diligent enough when checking what you were buying and got something not worth a lot. You can change the person or the idiom in the idiom as in jeg har købt katten i sækken meaning you already made the bad deal, or you can say hun køber katten i sækken in the 3rd person future tense if someone is going to make a bad decision. You can use it as a warning to someone Pas på du ikke køber katten i sækken if you think there’s a risk they will not make a good choice later.
At gå som katten om den varme grød
Litterally; to walk like the cat around the hot porridge. We use this idiom when someone hesitates to speak directly about a sensitive subject, when they skirt around the issue. I imagine a cat, interested in eating a nice bowl of hot porridge, but the cat is hesitant because it is afraid of burning its tongue.
Example: I forbindelse med spørgsmålet om klimaforandringer, gik politikerne som katten om den varme grød.
at skyde papegøjen
To shoot the parrot, or to have shot the parrot, means to be very lucky. It can also mean to have gotten hold of a very valuable object or person. It is in a sensee the opposite of having bought the cat in the sack. Here’s a few examples:
Rasmus har skudt papegøjen med hende Antonina. Hun er godt nok sød. Jeg har skudt papegøjen her I weekenden på loppemarkedet.
Det med småt
“that with small/little” or more legibly: the fine print.
Har du læst det med småt? Did you read the fine print? You will often see this when websites are trying to be transparent or quirky about their terms and conditions. So you might encounter a link or a website titled “det med småt” if you are trying to buy something.
That was all for now 😅 I apologize in advance for formatting problems, as I am writing this on mobile as apparently this is the only way Reddit will allow me to post multiple images.

My Results
I have been lurking for a month or so by now, and I have recently started a blog. I love reading all of the experiences people share on this subreddit, so I thought I would contribute and share my results so far as someone who has started a blog in 2024. A bit of backstory about myself: I have been working with WordPress since 2018 and have been supporting local businesses in my city through freelance work. I usually help with website support, marketing, design, SEO, and online business solutions. Recently, I wanted a playground where I could play around with SEO without disrupting my clients' businesses, and this is where my blog was born. The problem I find with SEO is that it is challenging to understand, and the amount of oversaturated content claiming "how to easily rank top 1 on Google" has left me frustrated and eager to tackle this problem with a more hands-on approach, rather than watching how others claim they can easily do it. I have been enjoying blogging so far, treating this more as a hobby and learning experience instead of trying to make it a full-time endeavor. I do work full-time and, on top of that, freelance, so it's hard to get much free time anyway.
So, what have I been blogging about? Right now, I am focused on blogging about the top businesses and things to do in my city, and I've been very satisfied with the results so far. Trying to keep it in tune with what I currently do, my blog has aligned really well with my day-to-day grind. I just want your thoughts on these results. I know it's not a million clicks in the first month, but there is still something here: people are clicking, impressions are being made!
My blog is set up through WordPress, Elementor, and Rank Math for SEO. Before launch, I prepared around 5 posts of 500-1200 words each and then went live. After that, I tried to post every couple of days to keep pushing out content, and right now I am sitting around 20 blog posts. Most of my blog posts are very similar, making it pretty easy to push out content. I know it is frowned upon, but it has been super helpful to me to use AI to help me with writing. Of course, I adjust it to add my own twist to the writing style, but I think AI has saved me a ton of time helping generate ideas and general layouts for articles.
Recently, I have been focusing more on creating a social media presence, which has played a key role in boosting overall blog performance. For example, I am writing an article on the best bubble tea in my city. Once the article is live, I will share it on Facebook, Instagram, and tag the business's page. More often than not, this business will share my post and bring in more traffic. I am always so happy when a Facebook page with 10,000 followers likes and shares my post! After social media, more than half of my traffic came from Facebook. Instagram has not been as successful, but I am still trying to work out ways to help bring in more traffic. In time, as I grow my following, I'm sure the time spent on social media will be worth it.
Let's dive into the results: In the first month of blogging, I am at about 55 clicks and 1,800 impressions. A lot of my posts are ranking in the 10-20 position on search results, not the best but understandable for a new domain with little to no backlinks. However, there are still a few of them with lower difficulty where I am able to rank in the top 10. So far, it has been very satisfying to learn more about SEO, dive deeper into analytics, and learn more about how I can improve these rankings so I can help other businesses I freelance with improve their own SEO scores. Let me know your thoughts on these results so far, and if you have any suggestions, I would love to learn more about them! Officially not a lurker anymore, I'm happy to contribute statistics about my journey so far and excited for another post at 6 months!

Introduction

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

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

Hello fellow musicians and Ajikan fans!
I have been a fan of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION for roughly 16 years and as a guitarist was greatly inspired by the band's alt rock sound.
After a few years of research I have written a series of "sound like" articles for ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. The purpose of these articles is to provide context on how the band create their signature sound, and to support beginning musicians or tribute acts who may wish to replicate it.
At the end of each article I have drafted a Budget Rig, which you could use for both at home and in a live environment. I have also provided some general amp settings to tweak and try, which are based on the band's live sound and be can used to help replicate their tones.
This is a 3-part series and if you enjoy this article I would recommend checking out the other articles:
Sound Like ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Pt.2: Kensuke Kita (2024 version) : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 3: Yamada : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)

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

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

Masafumi Gotoh

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

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

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

GUITARS:

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

AMPLIFIERS:

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

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

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

PEDALS & EFFECTS:

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

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

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

Sound Like Gotch...On a Budget

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

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

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

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

Recommended Amp Settings

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

Conclusion

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

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

I hear a lot of authors and writing advice books saying, if you've got it, you'll know, you'll just have to write, and if you don't then you don't have what it takes.
I used to have that urge. I've always wanted to be a writer and it's only in the past few years I've really begun to believe I can do it (after developing a growth mindset, optimism, etc...). But a decade of crappy mind-numbing jobs and adult stresses seems to have left me uninspired/unmotivated to write. I just experience a sort of mental emptiness when I try. Sometimes when I wander the streets at night or go for walks in the countryside get a glimpse of ideas, but I get home and the ideas' lustre fades away almost as soon as I'm in the door.
Does everyone who writes have the feeling that they absoloutely must write? Has anyone lost that feeling and then found it again, and if so how did you rediscover or nuture it?
Edit: I don't think I'm asking about self-discipline. I can physically sit down and tap the keys. I think I'm struggling with the idea generation and recovering the passion I used to have.

Maybe it is because I suspect I am autistic, but how can anyone filter what is a good post for this subreddit? Does random even exist? Like if you ask a computer to generate a random number, there is a complex algorithm behind it.
The anecdote about Steve Jobs asking to have a random pattern on a wall and then being dissatisfies so they created a algorithm for it. Why can't a vent be random. I can vent about the random-girl characters or manic pixie girl and I can soapbox about how we do not need electric toeclippers.
How can anything write anything random. And then there is a rule, no nonsensical spam/shitpost. But they seem to fit under random, and how do I know if I am being random or not or. even worse, being spam or nonsensical?

I had a good mom, a single parent who sacrificed much for me to give me a childhood full of positive memories. Even though I was raised as an only child in a single-parent household, outside of what I guess is a normal amount of frustration that comes from homework and school bullies...it was fine. My childhood was fine. I felt loved. My home was safe.
My mother died 16 years ago, almost to the day. In a twist of sardonic fate, it was on mother's day, that year that she passed. And it was there that my CPTSD began, at fifteen years old, with the series of family members and family "friends" that I ran away from home from or escaped to. Emotionally abusive, manipulative, truly unempathetic wastes of flesh that opened my eyes to nothing besides that the world is a vast, venomous pit full of snakes and liars.
I posted two years ago about wanting to die, and the comments here encouraged me to keep going. I pressed on, spent even more money, but finally found myself in a situation that was better than I could have dreamed, and started to heal. A whole year I got, having peace, feeling creative again, making small progress on my health, having hope.
A month and a half ago it all went to shit in a way so specific to me and my struggles that it feels as though some unseen entity is stalking me, ensuring that I suffer just enough to continuously generate it despair to feed off of. I guess hope just exists only to make the pain that much harder when it vanishes. At this point I no longer believe it is possible for me to keep trying to find what I need, and I'm done. I'm sick of trying, sick of being ill. I can't keep pushing myself, I can't keep allowing myself to hope just to get disappointed, to put faith in a universe that clearly has it out for me to only torture me, to prevent me from stabilizing my life and moving forward on all of the hopes and dreams I've carried and sat on in the hopes I could survive long enough to bring them to fruition one day.
I'm so, so tired. I have given life almost everything I can think of. There are still technically options, but I don't have the inner resources to access them. I simply cannot. I don't want to do this anymore. Even a cancer diagnosis would have been easier. Sadly, I'm being evaluated for that, too.
I'm writing a fanfiction with a friend, promised her I'd finished it, but I'm hanging on by a thread. A human can only go for so long, can only try so much before they just throw up their hands and give up.
I see so many people on here convinced that they won't pass their trauma on to their children. That they will do the work, that they won't abuse them, that they will make sure they are loved. And that's a laudable goal. My mother was raped, emotionally abused my her own mom as a child, beaten by previous partners, and despite all this, I know she loved me, and I appreciate her. It did not negatively effect her parenting me.
But she wasn't the only human in my world. And even if I had no other caregiver, even if my environment had been supportive despite her death, anything can cause CPTSD. Not just a parent's lack of love. Siblings. Abusive partners. Cruel bosses at work. School bullies. Displacement. Being perpetually poor. Spending decades lost in chronic illness.
This might be controversial, but I have to say my truth.
Being a good parent is not enough to stop your child's suffering. And when you bring them here, in the this world of endless madness and unequally distributed trauma, remember that that's what you risk. Their pain, their misery, their anguish, their desire to die, and even, eventually, their very death, caused by factors entirely out of your control. Do not bring a child here unless you are sure you can live with this reality. Do not bring a child here if you are not prepared to feel guilty.
This isn't a suicide note. But in three months when my friend and I finish this fic, I can't say with confidence that that will any longer be true. I read u/f1nal-exit's post. And then I took a break, waited a few days, and read the comments. And it became clear to me then, that the people who care can't help me, and the people who could help me don't care.
My mother birthing me was the cruelest mistake of her life. I wonder how she would feel now, knowing the daughter she birthed no longer has desire for little more than to die.

Hello! I just started dabbling with Python and came across a script on Github that I want to try. The issue is it requires me to pass the location of a source file as well as a location to place downloaded files and I'm not quite sure how to do this. I've tried different things like attempting to define variables in different ways, but no luck as I'm consistently getting syntax errors or what I've done is not defining it properly. The script is the following and the Github states to pass the source file as the first argument and the download location as the second argument. Would someone be able to help me understand where this should be defined and how to do so? Again, very new and inexperienced with Python and I get that this is probably advance for a beginner. Edit - Formatting

#!/usbin/env python # -*- encoding: utf-8 """ Download podcast files based on your Overcast export. If you have an Overcast account, you can download an OPML file with a list of every episode you've played from https://overcast.fm/account. This tool can read that OPML file, and save a local copy of the audio files for every episode you've listened to. """ import argparse import datetime import errno import filecmp import functools import glob import itertools import json import os import sqlite3 import sys from urllib.parse import urlparse from urllib.request import build_opener, install_opener, urlretrieve import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET def parse_args(argv): """Parse command-line arguments.""" parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__) parser.add_argument( "OPML_PATH", help="Path to an OPML file downloaded from https://overcast.fm/account", ) parser.add_argument( "--download_dir", default="audiofiles", help="directory to save podcast information to to", ) args = parser.parse_args(argv) return { "opml_path": os.path.abspath(args.OPML_PATH), "download_dir": os.path.abspath(args.download_dir), } def get_episodes(xml_string): """ Given the XML string of the Overcast OPML, generate a sequence of entries that represent a single, played podcast episode. """ root = ET.fromstring(xml_string) # The Overcast OPML has the following form: # #  #  #  #  # ... # ... #  #  # # Within the  block of XML, there's a list of feeds # with the following structure (some attributes omitted): # #  #  # ... #  # # We use an XPath expression to find the  entries # (so we get the podcast metadata), and then find the individual # "podcast-episode" entries in that feed. for feed in root.findall("./body/outline[@text='feeds']/outline[@type='rss']"): podcast = { "title": feed.get("title"), "text": feed.get("text"), "xml_url": feed.get("xmlUrl"), } for episode_xml in feed.findall("./outline[@type='podcast-episode']"): episode = { "published_date": episode_xml.get("pubDate"), "title": episode_xml.get("title"), "url": episode_xml.get("url"), "overcast_id": episode_xml.get("overcastId"), "overcast_url": episode_xml.get("overcastUrl"), "enclosure_url": episode_xml.get("enclosureUrl"), } yield { "podcast": podcast, "episode": episode, } def has_episode_been_downloaded_already(episode, download_dir): try: conn = sqlite3.connect(os.path.join(download_dir, "overcast.db")) except sqlite3.OperationalError as err: if err.args[0] == "unable to open database file": return False else: raise c = conn.cursor() try: c.execute( "SELECT * FROM downloaded_episodes WHERE overcast_id=?", (episode["episode"]["overcast_id"],), ) except sqlite3.OperationalError as err: if err.args[0] == "no such table: downloaded_episodes": return False else: raise return c.fetchone() is not None def mark_episode_as_downloaded(episode, download_dir): conn = sqlite3.connect(os.path.join(download_dir, "overcast.db")) c = conn.cursor() try: c.execute("CREATE TABLE downloaded_episodes (overcast_id text PRIMARY KEY)") except sqlite3.OperationalError as err: if err.args[0] == "table downloaded_episodes already exists": pass else: raise c.execute( "INSERT INTO downloaded_episodes VALUES (?)", (episode["episode"]["overcast_id"],), ) conn.commit() conn.close() def _escape(s): return s.replace(":", "-").replace("/", "-") def get_filename(*, download_url, title): url_path = urlparse(download_url).path extension = os.path.splitext(url_path)[-1] base_name = _escape(title) return base_name + extension def download_url(*, url, path, description): # Some sites block the default urllib User-Agent headers, so we can customise # it to something else if necessary. opener = build_opener() opener.addheaders = [("User-agent", "Mozilla/5.0")] install_opener(opener) try: tmp_path, _ = urlretrieve(url) except Exception as err: print(f"Error downloading {description}: {err}") else: print(f"Downloading {description} successful!") os.rename(tmp_path, path) def download_episode(episode, download_dir): """ Given a blob of episode data from get_episodes, download the MP3 file and save the metadata to ``download_dir``. """ if has_episode_been_downloaded_already(episode=episode, download_dir=download_dir): return # If the MP3 URL is https://example.net/mypodcast/podcast1.mp3 and the # title is "Episode 1: My Great Podcast", the filename is # ``Episode 1- My Great Podcast.mp3``. audio_url = episode["episode"]["enclosure_url"] filename = get_filename(download_url=audio_url, title=episode["episode"]["title"]) # Within the download_dir, put the episodes for each podcast in the # same folder. podcast_dir = os.path.join(download_dir, _escape(episode["podcast"]["title"])) os.makedirs(podcast_dir, exist_ok=True) # Download the podcast audio file if it hasn't already been downloaded. download_path = os.path.join(podcast_dir, filename) base_name = _escape(episode["episode"]["title"]) json_path = os.path.join(podcast_dir, base_name + ".json") # If the MP3 file already exists, check to see if it's the same episode, # or if this podcast isn't using unique filenames. # # If a podcast has multiple episodes with the same filename in its feed, # append the Overcast ID to disambiguate. if os.path.exists(download_path): try: cached_metadata = json.load(open(json_path, "r")) except Exception as err: print(err, json_path) raise cached_overcast_id = cached_metadata["episode"]["overcast_id"] this_overcast_id = episode["episode"]["overcast_id"] if cached_overcast_id != this_overcast_id: filename = filename.replace(".mp3", "_%s.mp3" % this_overcast_id) old_download_path = download_path download_path = os.path.join(podcast_dir, filename) json_path = download_path + ".json" print( "Downloading %s: %s to %s" % (episode["podcast"]["title"], audio_url, filename) ) download_url(url=audio_url, path=download_path, description=audio_url) try: if filecmp.cmp(download_path, old_download_path, shallow=False): print("Duplicates detected! %s" % download_path) os.unlink(download_path) download_path = old_download_path except FileNotFoundError: # This can occur if the download fails -- say, the episode is # in the Overcast catalogue, but no longer available from source. pass else: # Already downloaded and it's the same episode. pass # This episode has never been downloaded before, so we definitely have # to download it fresh. else: print( "Downloading %s: %s to %s" % (episode["podcast"]["title"], audio_url, filename) ) download_url(url=audio_url, path=download_path, description=audio_url) # Save a blob of JSON with some episode metadata episode["filename"] = filename json_string = json.dumps(episode, indent=2, sort_keys=True) with open(json_path, "w") as outfile: outfile.write(json_string) save_rss_feed(episode=episode, download_dir=download_dir) mark_episode_as_downloaded(episode=episode, download_dir=download_dir) def save_rss_feed(*, episode, download_dir): _save_rss_feed( title=episode["podcast"]["title"], xml_url=episode["podcast"]["xml_url"], download_dir=download_dir ) # Use caching so we only have to download this RSS feed once. @functools.lru_cache() def _save_rss_feed(*, title, xml_url, download_dir): podcast_dir = os.path.join(download_dir, _escape(title)) today = datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d") rss_path = os.path.join(podcast_dir, f"feed.{today}.xml") if not os.path.exists(rss_path): print("Downloading RSS feed for %s" % title) download_url( url=xml_url, path=rss_path, description="RSS feed for %s" % title, ) matching_feeds = sorted(glob.glob(os.path.join(podcast_dir, "feed.*.xml"))) while ( len(matching_feeds) >= 2 and filecmp.cmp(matching_feeds[-2], matching_feeds[-1], shallow=False) ): os.unlink(matching_feeds[-1]) matching_feeds.remove(matching_feeds[-1]) if __name__ == "__main__": args = parse_args(argv=sys.argv[1:]) opml_path = args["opml_path"] download_dir = args["download_dir"] try: with open(opml_path) as infile: xml_string = infile.read() except OSError as err: if err.errno == errno.ENOENT: sys.exit("Could not find an OPML file at %s" % opml_path) else: raise for episode in get_episodes(xml_string): download_episode(episode, download_dir=download_dir) 

Hi,
I am trying to write a DSC config which ensure a domain group is member of the local admin group.
I cannot find a way to do these without credentials which does not make sense to me. The machine is domain joned so it can read the AD and since DSC is running in system contect i would assume it should work.
But i cannot find a way. Is there or we have to enter a credential when we generate the DSC config file?

I plan to elucidate a lot of material in this group, because a lot of the attacks revolve around the character of "pedophile" Mohammad, but few are aware of the historicity of the rest of the characters in the fantasy cult of Islam.
Aisha is one such character. In my day to day life as a pretentious Shia Muslim, I curse this nonexistent character all day long. (The Shia version of Islam, in contrast to the Sunni version, reveres different characters from Islamic history, and hates a certain set of them), but in my Ex-Muslim mind, when I'm alone, I know that just as is the case with Mohammad himself, Aisha did not ever actually exist either. As I've continued to say, a lot of the fairytales of Islam are amalgamations from various different sources that existed before, during, and after the creation of Islam concocted into a cult of religion.
Noteworthy hatred that Shias have for this character includes the fact that IF Mohammad actually existed, he is regarded as a pedophile by the rest of the world through HER narrations.
But one thing that strikes me in particular about this fairytale character, is an Islamic battle, known as "the battle of the camel." In that battle, according to the myth of Islamic history, Aisha was riding a red camel, and was leading an army against Ali Ibn Abi Talib, a very legendary Islamic character that I plan to deconstruct later on.
In the Shia world, Aisha is regarded as a whore. To backup this claim, Shias cite several Ahadith from Sihah al-Sittah (the 6 Sahih sunni works of Ahadith), from her narrations about breastfeeding men, to her narrations about cleaning cum, to her narrations about a man sleeping over at her place and then washing cum off his clothes the next day, to a lot of other sexual Ahadith that she has narrated in the Sunni works of Ahadith.
A nickname that the mythical prophet of Islam gave to his mythical wife, Aisha, is "Homayra." Which simply means "the Little Scarlet/Red One."
In the case of Aisha, we have 3 things to note: 1. Red Camel 2. Whore of Arabia 3. Homayra (Scarlet/Red)
The book of revelations in the Bible extensively talks about the whore of Babylon, along with other passages in throughout the Bible. The whore of Babylon used to ride a scarlet beast, and she is oftend depicted in red dresses, etc.
In the case of the whore of Babylon, we have 3 things: 1. Red beast 2. Whore of Babylon 3. Red dresses
It is interesting to see that when the Abbasid Islamists were creating their fairytale Islamic religion, where they got their plentiful sources of inspiration from. Neither did Mohammad himself, nor did any of his friends, wives, or enemies ever actually existed.
While other ex-Muslims are using the Sihah al-Sittah and the Quran to create a picture of Mohammad in their heads as a barbaric pedophile mass murderer, and then proceeding to denounce his religion; I am arguing that all of it is fake and a fabrication of later generations, who were simply writing stories. Through government coercion and political support, these stories were later used to create a full fledge cult that was shoved down people's throats through several centuries of propaganda.
Persians of those times were very good at the art of propaganda. Even the word "Media" is Persian 🤦🏻

As a student navigating the ever-evolving landscape of academia, I've often found myself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of essays and assignments that pile up on my desk. It's during these moments of academic stress that I've turned to innovative solutions, one of which is the utilization of AI essay writers. In this article, I'll delve into the advantages and disadvantages of employing such technology, drawing from my own experiences and research.
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Furthermore, AI essay writers can serve as invaluable learning tools. By analyzing the essays produced by these programs, students can gain insights into effective writing techniques, formatting styles, and even subject matter expertise. It's akin to having a virtual writing mentor at your disposal, offering guidance and constructive feedback whenever needed.
Another notable advantage of AI essay writers is their potential to reduce academic pressure. For students juggling multiple responsibilities, such as part-time jobs or extracurricular activities, the ability to offload some of the writing workload to AI can alleviate stress and free up valuable time for other pursuits.
However, it's essential to acknowledge the limitations and potential drawbacks of relying too heavily on AI essay writers. One significant concern is the risk of plagiarism. While these programs are designed to generate original content, there's always a chance that the output could resemble existing material, leading to accusations of academic dishonesty.
Moreover, there's a danger of dependency on AI essay writers inhibiting students' own writing development. Writing is a skill that improves with practice, and by bypassing the effort required to craft essays manually, students may miss out on valuable learning opportunities.
Additionally, there's the issue of cost. While some AI essay writing services may offer free or low-cost options, others come with subscription fees or pay-per-use pricing models, which can quickly add up for budget-conscious students.
In conclusion, the decision to use an AI essay writer is a personal one, contingent on individual circumstances and preferences. While these tools undeniably offer convenience, efficiency, and potential learning benefits, they also pose risks such as plagiarism, stunted writing growth, and financial investment. As with any academic resource, it's crucial to approach AI essay writers with caution and use them judiciously, supplementing rather than replacing traditional writing practices.
For those considering utilizing such services, I would recommend exploring reputable platforms like SharkWriter.ai, which prioritize quality, originality, and user satisfaction. However, I urge fellow students to exercise diligence, maintain academic integrity, and view AI essay writers as supplements rather than substitutes for their own writing efforts.