For background, I've been playing Minecraft off and on since the late Alpha days. I used to play on a massive (for the time) economy server (Buxville, if anyone remembers that) and soon got into modded. I love exploring worlds with overhauled terrain gen and new structures and dungeons. I love setting up tech, assembly lines, and automation. I love tinkering with some of the big names in magic for all the fun toys and gadgets to play with. Yes, I do get overwhelmed sometimes and stuck trying to decide what to do and eventually I'll fall off, set Minecraft aside for a while and come back later, but I do enjoy it overall. I've played several FTB packs, SevTech, MC Eternal, Oceanblock, and probably quite a few others plus have done custom packs a few times. I don't mind kitchen sink packs, but some questing/progression for goals is always appreciated.
My girlfriend has never played Minecraft in her life, but I do think she'll very much like it. She's not a fan of "thinking" games, but she loves legos, building, and decorating as well as adventuring like RPGs. I bought the game on sale last week for her and she's very eager to play together.
Here's where I struggle: I have a very hard time going back to Vanilla now. Even with some of the recent updates (love the new cave systems, for example), the world just feels kinda barren and lifeless after years of playing various heavy modpacks and I'm never quite sure what to do with myself.
I'm looking for advice on how to best play the game that can keep me entertained without depriving her from experiencing what makes Minecraft special. If nothing else, I think you have to experience some of the jank to really appreciate what modders have done with the game.
Any thoughts?

The first time I tried to figure this out what I was told was that the buses are the same for either residential or Strip, but that for the residential pass you have to produce a Nevada ID. Today I called to confirm this because I want to get a monthly pass but saw no option for that in the non-residential passes, and the person on the phone said that you don’t have to produce a Nevada ID to ride the buses but you have to get a strip/all access pass to ride the buses on the strip.
I purchased a strip/all access 24 hour pass today because I need to get to a job interview tomorrow, and now I’m concerned I won’t be able to get to my interview (which is not on the strip). Can anyone clarify what the deal is and if I’ll be able to use the pass I purchased to get to places that aren’t on the strip? I’m relatively new to town and this has all been very confusing.

This is Pretty Long
Let me Know If I Missed Anything
Every Players Faults
Slogo: Known For His Farms And "Killer" Of The King Glowey
Forced Sale of Jelly's land
"Killed" King Glowey (Natural Causes)
Killed the Mayor Jelly
Killed beenny (By accident)
Attempted to have a troll well
Blew up Jellys 2nd pyramid
Covered Jellys 3rd Pyramid in lava
Helped Crainer Destroy Jelly's Og Pyramid
Stole everyone's stuff post Jelly Assassination
Destroyed the original Relics (Except Book Of Water)
Destroyed "THE BEAST" (Jelly's Netherite Pick)
Stolen Crainers "Crainer Tower" at Old New Squid Island
Accidental Attempted Murder of Parry (Jelly's Parrot)
Killed Anton and Banton Dog (Crainer's Dogs)
Helped to Blow Up Crainer's Enchantment Tower
Fish Torture
Set a Neighboring forest on fire with his security system
Blew Up Crainer's Sand Castle
Forced Crainer To Kill His Dogs
Crainer: Known As The Calm One and The One Usually Picked On
Destroyed Jelly's Og Pyramid
Trapped Beenny (Unprovoked Troll)
Broke his Contract (Already Punished)
Burned Down Jelly's Memorial
Burned down Jelly's K. Glowey Statue
Killed K. Glowey the 2nd
Burned down Jelly's Forest
Stolen Items from Slogo's farms
Destroyed Jelly's shop
Used a Weapon When it was Banned
Didn't Pledge To The Squid Island Flag
Stolen From Slogo's Hq
Jelly: Known As A Dictator And Is The "Poorest"
Bad Vives
Became a dictator (Became Mayor forever)
Made Crainer eat his own fish
Never Paid his 1st or 2nd tax
Blamed Crainer for the missing taxes
Destroyed Most of Og Squid Island
Partially destroyed Slogo's bork co. Hq
Destroyed Old New Squid Island
Stole Items from Slogos Farms
Destroyed most of Crainer's land (Post Jelly-Crainer 2nd War)
Killed Bobby (Slogo's Dog that died from Jelly's Lava Troll)
Burned Down Slogo's Bork Statue
Kidnapped Bobby and Anton (Slogo / Craine'r Dogs)
Blew Up Crainer's Enchantment Tower
Neglect to his Pets Beenny and Melvin
Killed Floppy (Crainer's Fish)
Helped To Kill Crainer's Dogs (Anton And Banton)
Killed Crainer In A Lava Trap
Stolen From Slogo's Hq

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Christianity of the hour is so deceived, perverted and polluted with false teachers from the pit of hell behind the pulpit, TV, radio, internet, and down the street. We see many bad fruits coming out from the churches from pedophiles, adulterous preachers and congregations, sex-crazed porn, sickness, idolators, fornicator, drunks, deceivers, con artists, etc. The list is endless. All the while, we are told we cannot stop sinning. The church is just as bad as the hospital lots of sick and dying people and they can't get a drop of the word of God for the saving and healing of the soul.
We have the other side behind the pulpit and congregation the psychotic and ungodly people who are looking for business contacts, your pocketbook, feeding your belly with food while trying to lure you into their church doctrine and church way of life. And the word of God is nowhere to be heard or found. Christians of the hour do not have a chance of getting saved.
When the church has lots of unbelief, vain deceit, sin, abominations, holidays, parties, perverted Bibles, ungodliness, unrighteousness, idols, camps, buses, Santa Claus gifts, lights and colours, Christmas trees, Easter bunny, easter eggs, Sunday School garbage, mother's day flowers, philosophy, psychology, divorce and remarriage, the doctrine of devils and seducing spirits, lies, misconceptions, wooden crosses, dramas, sports, comedians, celebrations, programs, socials, food and drink, bizarre, sales, youth clubs, dedications, funny prayers such as the sinner prayer etc. all this and no time for the bible just a verse here and winds of doctrines etc. No truth was preached except the preacher's lie of God lives in you and don't worry about a thing.
I have good news for you, I would start to worry as God does not hear the prayers of sinners John 9:31. If a sinner wants to repent and live righteously that is a different story. The church is not interested in giving up their pernicious ways and walking people to the gates of hell. When I was a sinner I did not know any better. It wasn't until one day I heard somebody read the King James bible I got convicted and God got ahold of me. I started to realize I was living the wrong way after rebelling against his words for years reading a perverted bible the NASV I won at Sunday School at my Presbyterian church not knowing anything. It wasn't until somebody started talking to me using a King James bible I got convicted and I started to develop a hunger and thirst for the bible words. The more I started reading my King James bible the more I could see I was not alright like my church said. Then one night, the Holy Ghost walked into my room and I heard a loud scream and a voice spoke and told me, "You are free from what you had. " It sure wasn't a fictional character called God the Holy Ghost that visited me but Jesus Christ the Son of God sent the Holy Ghost to put me on the straight and narrow. God the Son did not visit me another fictional character who never died for my sin or lived a day on the earth more or less has no verses or chapters in the bible. Today I am an ex-sinner saved by grace Romans 6:18, an ex-sinner is a righteous person as the words of Jesus Christ the Son of God are spirit and life John 6:63.
Amen, free from sin 27 years ago and the devil will try to tempt us and use his disciples from the church and from down the road to persuade me to follow his vain deceit to hell fire and brimstone. It pays to sin, it pays to serve the devil your wages or payment is called (death hell fire and brimstone) and not love. Jesus never preaches lies to set you free it is the truth found in his words that sets you free. We have to come out from among the churches that are keeping us in bondage and get into our bible. Most people want to stay to be a wort on a pickle instead of coming out from among them.
As an ex-sinner, I know my bible who Jesus is and who the devil is. All sin is of the devil 1st John 3:8 and all sinners will burn in a lake of fire and brimstone. Jesus told people in John 5:14and John 8:11 to "go and sin no more" Amen, Jesus is not Christmas, he is not easter, he is not this and that the church wants you to believe. Nope, he is every word of the Gospel of Christ the King James Bible. Those bible words clean you up and take sin right out of youJohn 15:3. Every preacher preached the unconditional love of God when I have good news, it is all 100% conditional. No such thing as the unconditional love of God Jesus never preached he loves everybody, ye preached he lives whosoever, the few, he that has ears to hear. God does not live everybody because everybody does not want to come to his love Jesus Christ the Son of God and not the Superstar like the church has him after a Hollywood movie gospel. Jesus was no superstar he was crucified and abandoned on the cross by God his Father as Jesus became sin for us 2nd Cor 5:21.
Amen, being a sinner, is it God's love only to be cast into hell fire after? Being a sinner is it God's life to be sick and remain sick? As a sinner, is it God's love to give you a strong delusion to believe a lie to be damned with? Nope. If God loves everybody why did he make a hell? If God lives everybody why the bible? If God loves everybody why did he send Jesus to the cross? If God loves everybody everybody why did he take me out of my sin? Come out from the church and lose from their doctrines. The sinner's prayer is a diabolical prayer made from the out of hell to deceive and bewitch you out of your salvation. No sinner's prayer in the bible as there is no prayer in the bible that can save anybody, no salvation in a prayer. There is salvation in the words of the Gospel of Christ Romans 1:16 for your soul. Going to church does not make you a child of God. Having your name on the church registry is not having your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Going to church and listening to the lies misconceptions and out-of-context scriptures of the preacher and following their programs is not being saved.
Time to awake to righteousness and sin not before it is too late. For some, it may be already as there is a fine line drawn between you and Jesus Christ the Son of God. Where that line is or was it is between you and the Holy Ghost? When God has your number you better watch your step. One lie too many or one sin too many may be your last step or your last day on earth. You better start being a friend of Jesus instead of an enemy of God, who knows when God will shut your breath or will give you a reprobate mind to do something that will cause you to go insane or die? God is a killer unless we convert to Christ Jesus the Son of God and his words mankind and churches are under his wrath 1st Thess 1:9-10. It is not to late to either choose life and live or choose death hell fire and brimstone.
John 9:31] Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Isaiah 59:1] Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: [2] But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. [3] For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. [4] None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
John 5:14] Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Rev 1:4] John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; [5] And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [6] And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
1st John 3:4] Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. [5] And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. [6] Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. [7] Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. [8] He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. [9] Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1st Cor 6:9] Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, [10] Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. [11] And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1st Cor 15:34] Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
1st Thess 1:10] And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Deut 30:19] I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Proverbs 11:31] Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.
Ezekiel 18:[4] Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Exodus 20:20] And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Romans 6:16] Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? [17] But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. [18] Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. [19] I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. [20] For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. [21] What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. [22] But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. [23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I worked for Costco for years throughout college and I’ve always trusted and known electronics are the #1 best value at Costco, but man it’s nice when it pays off. Last August I bought AirPods Pro (lightning port) at full price from Costco. $260ish with tax and did not include apple care. Today over 9 months later I retuned my AirPods (I have had some random minor issues) for a full refund and purchased the new AirPods Pro with usb-c and two years apple care for $199. I saved just over $40 after almost a year and have brand new AirPods with no issue or questions in the return process at all. Non “major sales” electronics (headphones, WiFi equipment, computer monitors ect) fall within the no limit return window. Take advantage of it whenever you can. Save your receipts (or use the app). Fun fact Mattresses also work in this way.

“This geriatric bunch in cold sleep?”
“Affirmative. But their records show that they have been in cold sleep multiple times. They should respond quickly to the resuscitation procedure.”
“But, why? Wouldn’t it be more merciful to leave them in stasis while the Jaxorians intercept us?”
“Yes, but Allyson says that these individuals are the ones who might get us out of this situation.”
“The Terran engineer? You’re trusting her?”
“In a zero-sum analysis, her suggestions have net positive outcomes.”
“Just for the record, I think this is a bad idea.” A pause. “Resuscitation sequence activated.”
“Duly noted. Alert me when they are awake.”
-=-=-=-=-=-
William Exeter hated the feeling of coming to after cold sleep. While the modern systems were better than those he first encountered, he still felt like his muscles were infused with lead and that he was suffering from a hangover that he never got the enjoyment of deserving. But hopefully this would be one of the last times he would ever have to use the procedure, and he could finally settle down.
As the capsule’s lid slid back, harsh light assaulted William’s eyes, and he squinted in an attempt to lessen the pain. The silhouette of a triangular head above him let William know that a Dravitian was checking on him. He swallowed and got his voice working so he could croak out, “I’m up, I’m up.”
“Ah, Mr. Exeter, yes? I am…” The insectoid started to come into better view to the Terran’s adjusting eyes. “Captain? Yes, Captain of this ship. I am… We all are in need of assistance.”
“Uh, what?” William’s croaking voice hid some of his annoyance. “Yeah, I’m Exeter. But if you’re going to get my help, you’re going to have to get me a Jolt. I’m still half asleep from the drugs.”
The Dravitian’s head tilted to the side in an obvious gesture of confusion, “You require an electrical discharge?”
And this was why William hated waking up among aliens. He had to explain everything to them. “A drink. ‘All the sugar and twice the caffeine.’ Bah!” He started to force his muscles into action and pushed up on his elbows, “Just get me a goddamned stimulant, okay?”
“Oh, yes. Yes. Of course!” The Dravitian’s head disappeared as the insectoid moved over to a wall-mounted workstation.
William turned his head and saw several other cold-sleep capsules with their lids open. He cleared his throat and then called out, “Venture crew, sound off...”
“Here!”
I hear you, Bill.”
From a nearby capsule there was a dry coughing, but a hand in a ‘thumbs-up’ gesture rose in response.
“Well, good, I won’t have to suffer alone.” William turned his head again and looked over the other closed capsules, “But they didn’t wake everyone, so something’s up. Try to shake this shit off and get ready, okay?”
There were murmurs of ascent and more dry coughs from the other capsules.
The Dravitian come back from the workspace and addressed William, “Stimulant beverages and some cakes are on their way, Mr. Exeter. While I know that you are still under the effects of the stasis pharmaceuticals, I do need to apprise you of our need. You know of the Jaxorians, yes?”
William’s brow furrowed, “What, those crab-guys who go around in those water-suits? Didn’t we beat them in that big war?”
The Dravitian pulled back a little, “It was a negotiated settlement, I believe, but yes, your descriptive words adequately fit the Jaxorian physiology.” He paused, “Well, the Jaxorians, and their rulers the Drasalites, are once again at war, and we are now targets. I would not have woken you , but our Terran engineer was sure that you could help.”
William frowned and shook his head, “We should have finished them once and for all when we had the chance, but we have to let the Soviets fail as Soviets, don’t we?” He sighed, “And we’re humans, dammit. Homo sapiens sapiens by fuckin’ scientific classification. We once lived on Terra, but our genus and species doesn’t change when we move to another-” He noticed the paling colors on the edges of the Captain’s chitinous facial plates and stopped his Duckman-esque rant, “Look, nevermind. How much time do we have?”
The insectoid paused, as if surprised be the direct question. “We estimate a cycle, if our engineer’s modifications to the engines hold. Our speed has been dramatically increased, but the Jaxorian ships still gain slowly. We will eventually be within the effective range of their weapons. Please, direct us.”
-=-=-=-=-=-
After some of the greasy-spoon diner-ish coffee and the supermarket quality yeast-raised, honey-glazed donuts, the four Terrans looked and felt better. William glanced at his colleagues, noting the wear of time on their bodies. He chuckled as the slightly altered movie quote of ’It’s not the years, it’s the light-years’ ran through his mind. But they’d been together ‘asleep’ much longer than they’d been awake, and they’d spent more of their ‘awake’ lives together than apart.
Tony Scarpetti’s pudgy fingers tipped his cup almost upside down as he tried to get the last drops of the coffee and granulated sugar sludge into his mouth. His once black hair was now mostly white, and his tough physique that ran circles around them on the soccer field had shrunk a bit, though he was still stocky.
Peter Hoffman had finally gotten control of his coughing, and was munching on ‘just one more’ donut, and William once again wondered where Peter fit all the food he ate in that short, diminutive frame. His signature mohawk had been fluffed up with fingers, but lacking styling gel and a razor to clean up the stubble that had grown out in cold sleep, it ended up looking more like a peaked mound than the sharp style that Peter would have usually rocked.
Alex (AJ) Johnson’s hair had finally receded so much that his braid only held back reddish hair from behind his ears, though his scraggly beard was long enough that he could probably have braided it as well. Always tall and gangly, his frame seemed a little more gaunt than William remembered, though it had been almost a decade of cold-sleep travel since they had last seen each other.
“Hey, Doctor Exeter?”
William turned his head toward the voice, and looked at the young woman with blonde hair striding toward the table where the four sat around their coffee and donuts. Her utilitarian grey coveralls had scorch-marks and grime all over, and there was some of the same on her exposed hands and face, but bright teeth were visible in her smile.
William nodded, “You must be the plucky human engineer who got us woken up before our alarm went off, huh?”
The woman nodded, still smiling widely and, as she got over to the table, thrust out her hand toward William in the manner of one who just remembered something. “Yeah, sorry about that, Doctor. I’m Allyson, and I’m the only Terran on the ship. Besides you guys, that is.”
William took the extended hand and shook it, being a little more gentle than he usually would have been, given the way that the woman’s grip and lack of fluid motion showed that she wasn’t experienced in shaking hands as a greeting ritual. But she had looked it up, and that counted for something. “Well, us humans have to stick together, right? You sure you want us geezers to help you out? Don’t you have some flashy alien tech to get away from these crab guys?”
Allyson grinned as the handshake seemed to go correctly and shook her head, “Well, if you had been four guys who weren’t from the Space Venture, I would have let you sleep and hoped that I could come up with some way to escape, but well… you are, and well…” She looked at the men around the table, “You guys solve problems, right?”
“Troubleshoot.” AJ corrected, his voice still a little rough. “We’re Troubleshooters. So we’re likely to be able to fix problems on the ship, but not necessarily the situation. It gives us an out on some problems…”
Allyson’s brow furrowed, but before she could say anything, William offered, “But we’ll try and get you out of this alive, okay?” He looked over toward AJ, “No need to haze the newb, ‘kay?”
AJ chuckled and nodded, going for another sip of his coffee.
Allyson looked between the two old men and shook her head. Weren’t these guys the stuff of legends? Why didn’t they act like it? But they were what she had. What the whole ship had. Oh, the ship, right. “And we don’t really have any xenotech. This is an old decommissioned TA vessel, a combat freighter, so it’s kind of structurally overbuilt for a freighter. It was the TAV Thuban, but after being bought up by a Dravitian company it’s now the CCV K’gara B’rak. That translates to something like ‘Ugly Worker Beetle’.”
William raised an eyebrow, “I thought those bugs didn’t like old ships?”
Allyson grinned, “They couldn’t build a new ship to these durability specs at anywhere near the sale price. I think that it vexes the Captain to no end.”
Tony finally set his cup down on the table, finished fighting with the sludge, and looked at at the woman with a playful grin, “Likely to be really upset once we get going, then…”
William grinned as well, “Well, we’ll get there as we get there. So, is Skynet running things here?”
The engineer blinked and cocked her head a little in her confusion, “Skynet? Um…” Her words trailed off as she tried to decipher the meaning.
William sighed, “Artificial intelligence. Is there one running the ship?”
Allyson shook off her confusion, “Oh, uh, no. Of course there are still core hook-ups, but the company didn’t recruit one. There are some smart systems, but they don’t come up to AI levels.”
William nodded, slowly and resignedly. He looked at the other older men, “Okay, so I guess I’ll be spending my time hacking while you guys get to have some actual fun.” He looked back to the engineer and started to get up out of his chair, feeling the ache in his lower back. “Well, let’s get me to a terminal, and rummage up some walkies so we can keep in contact.”
-=-=-=-=-=-
William glowered at the large touchscreen that sat angled on its adjustable armature, and muttered, “What fresh hell is this operating system?”
The Dravitian Captain at the nearby navigation station on the ship’s bridge looked over, “Sir, this is the newest release of the Efficient Interface. While you are viewing it in Terran Standard, it is optimized for the Dravitian language.”
William shook his head, “So other than these cosmetic changes that I can get to in settings, where can I actually get to control configurations?”
The Captain pulled back its head in surprise, “What? You can’t change the control configurations! They are all optimized!”
William sighed and shook his head, “You jammed the ‘economy’ button down, so we can’t get to the ‘power’ button. Right…” He tapped open the program that accessed the file storage and began examining what was there.
After a few minutes of the bridge crew watching the Terran scroll and tap and curse in a low voice, William let out a exuberant, “Got you, you bastard!” On the touchscreen, a simple text box came up, indicating that it was a Root Command Shell, with a blinking block cursor.
William’s fingers flew over the virtual keyboard on the angled touchscreen, and another window bloomed on the screen. He slid it off to the side, then continued to tap and another window popped up. He slid it off to the top corner of the screen. In each of the windows, progress bars slid slowly from one side to another, character strings rolling down past the bottom of the window, the screen indicator on the scroll bar on the side getting smaller and smaller as the list grew and grew.
The Captain leaned over from its workstation and observed the workings on the Terran’s screen, “What is all that? I’ve never seen this option in the interface.”
William chuckled, still typing commands in the first window, “Oh, it’s a command line interface. They just slapped your interface over the military OS, and that still had lots of useful modules and programs in archive. I can bypass the ‘pretty’ GUI you guys use and actually get to controls.” He paused, “Holy hell! They left a media archive in here. Let’s get that unpacked right now!”
A new window popped up on the touchscreen, with another progress bar. William brought up yet another window, and worked inside it, and the progress bars started to move across their respective windows faster.
The Captain cocked its head, “Sir, I find fault in your judgement that what we need in this situation is media. The Jaxorians are not known for their imaginative capabilities.” It paused, “And I think your tasks are slowing down the computational processors, which again, I find fault with in these circumstances.”
William chuckled, “Well, sure it will seem slower. I made all my operations high priorities for the processors. And you can’t expect us to do our best work in silence. We’ll need a good jam.”
-=-=-=-=-=-
Allyson led the three older men through the hatch into the huge engineering bay where the three reactors were lined up with the longitudinal axis of the ship. Aft of those, the floor fell away beyond a safety railing, so that the bulk of the four huge engines could be accessed by a network of ladders, platforms, and gantries. Most of the floor was clear, but here and there hatches, tools, and parts lay askew on the deck, and wires and tube of various sizes and colors snaked between components in a way that belied the hasty, jury-rigged engineering tasks that had been recently undertaken. A couple of insectoid engineers were working on maintaining parts of the unstable system.
“And this is the playground,” offered Allyson as she spread her arms to indicate the whole open area. “We’ve got four Hammond LS-V-3400 ion drives backed by three of the Niagara-class fusion reactors. I’ve, uh, removed some of the safeties on the engines and tweaked the safety specs on the reactors, so we’re making just over five percent above rated maximum speed.”
Tony walked away from the others to lean against the safety railing and take in the sight of the engines.
Peter glanced around the area, then noticed the machining and fabrication tools and sauntered over to inspect them, hands tucked in his pockets and his boots scuffing the floor.
The two Dravitian technicians looked up from their work momentarily, apraising the Terrans, but staying quiet.
AJ made his way over to the reactors, and frowned as he looked at the readouts showing that the reactors were running hot, right on the edge of red-line. “Cutting these pretty fine.”
Allyson nodded as she looked over toward the tall man and started slowly walking toward him, “Um, yeah. I couldn’t figure out a good way to get more output from the engines, so I was just trying to route more power through them. These are still safe, but they’ll be burning up the plating faster than they should.”
AJ nodded and continued perusing, leaning down to look into an open hatch and seeing how one of the patched in high-energy line had been connected.
Tony continued to watch the engines and called, “Hey, Allyson, these still work with Cherenkov dispersal for additional thrust?”
Allyson quickly changed her trajectory to veer away from reactors and back toward the engines, “Uh, yeah, they do. There are controllers in there that help to make the emissions more directional.” She got to the railing and pointed at an orange ring that was visible on each engine right near the aft bulkhead. “Those big electromags help control the dispersal. I have plans and simulations on the computer if you want to see how they work.”
Tony peered in the indicated direction, then nodded and turned toward Allyson, “Yeah, get me to a terminal with some VR goggles and I’ll take a lo-” His voice cut off at the sudden sound from the engineering bay’s speakers.
A syncopated drum beat sounded over the hum of the machinery, then came an almost gravelly yell-singing voice. ”Come on, feel the noise. Girls, rock your boys. We’ll get wild, wild, wild.”
Allyson’s surprised gaze swept up to the big speakers mounted in the corners of the room by the ceiling.
Grins and smiles grew on the faces of the three older men, and they all joined in with the words as an electric guitar sawed into being and the rest of the band added their voices to the lead singer on a response answer of “Wild, wild, wild!” And then the drums picked up and the rest of the instruments kicked in, bringing the song fully into swing.
The singer continued as Peter’s hands played air-drums over a CNC machine’s working space, ”So you think I got an evil mind. I tell you, honey, I don’t know why. I don’t know why.”
Allyson had never heard the song, but the beat was compelling, and it somehow invigorated the men in a way she hadn’t expected. Just out of cold sleep, in the midst of an inevitable chase, with such limited resources, they were singing along with smiles on their faces. AJ was tapping on a reactor interface, and Peter was almost dancing as he poked about her workbench storage space, going over her tools, a screwdriver and electric ratchet stem in his hands as drumsticks for his air-drums.
The Dravitian technicians huddled in a fearful pose at the sudden noise.
Tony grinned widely at Allyson’s surprise, and said loudly over the music, “William’s got good taste for montage music… Show me that terminal.”
-=-=-=-=-=-
The Captain looked over to the Terran’s workspace which was now exhorting somebeing to ‘get wild, wild, wild’ over and over again. It seemed to have some detrimental affect on the older Terran, as its head was bobbing up and down as it continued to work with the code. The insectoid in command just had to say something. “Excuse me, sir. Are you sure that the distracting audio stimulation is beneficial for you? It does not seem to be related to your current task …”
William glanced over at the Dravitian, “Look, bug-boy, the music keeps my endorphins up, and tricks me into thinking I still have all the energy of a teenager. You’re just lucky that I know what my crew likes, and that this archive is low on industrial music.” He pauses and types intensely, then continues, “So no, it’s not related, but if you really want a chance to get away from those crab-guys, this music tips the scales in our favor, okay?”
The Captain abruptly looked back to its console. “Affirmative answer, sir.”
William nodded to himself, and cocked his head as he read something off the screen. “So, a bunch of the cargo is plasma generators for terraforming?” He looked over to the insectoid who was pointedly not looking at him. “Are those things as dangerous as they sound?”
-=-=-=-=-=-
“Hey guys!” William’s voice echoed from the big loudspeakers in the engineering bay as the song came to an end.
“Yo boss!” Peter called up toward the ceiling from the tool bench where he had accumulated a selection of choice tools.
“I got control of the control code up here. Some of it’s military code under all this glossy shit. What have you guys got back there?”
Tony stood amidst a holographic simulation of an engine, and called out, “We got some damped down ion engines. The design is like the old McPherson Mark Five, and I think I can flare ‘em up the same way. Gimme six hours or so.”
AJ looked up toward the ceiling after Tony finished, “These fusion reactors are running flat out, Bill. I’m thinking about patching up a capacitor bank so we can push things farther, or at least have some extra power when we need it. Three or four hours, depending on how easy I can find the parts.” he paused, “And I’m officially putting in a request for you to put something dance-able on your wheel of steel.”
Peter called out, “And I’m just waiting for these slackers to tell me what they need. But I’m all tooled up for just about anything they want.” He grinned playfully at the other two.
William’s chuckle came over the speaker, “Gotcha. Those sound like good projects. We get a powerful flare, we’ve got a chance to run.” He paused, “Allyson, you there too?”
Allyson, still near the holographic engine display, had been turning her head this way and that to try and follow the conversation and understand what the forming plan of the ‘troubleshooters’ was. She forced herself to call out, “Yes, Dr. Exeter.”
William’s voice came from the speakers, “Okay, Allyson, I need you to take Pete down to Cargo Bay Three and help him uncrate all of the plasma terraforming engines you can find there. Pete, I want those things sky-side against the outer wall of Bay Two and fastened in place. If we need power for them, I want you to run a line back to AJ’s source, and it will need to be vacuum sealed. We’re likely to depressurize that bay so try not to make too many unnecessary holes, okay?” He paused, “And don’t worry, that bay has some speakers too. I won’t leave you silent …”
Peter grinned and nodded, then started to load tools onto a nearby hovercart. As he worked, he called out, “On it, boss! Do they have any Ramones or Dead Kennedys or anything with more energy in that jukebox? That’s my request, Mr. DJ.”
William’s voice carried his chuckle, “I’m on it, guys. I’ll keep you updated, you guys let me know the word. Out.”
As the beats of New Order’s Blue Monday started to bounce around the engineering bay, Peter looked over at Allyson, “Hey, give me a hand with some of this. We need to bounce!”
Allyson registered the words and jogged across the bay to the hovercart, “Sorry, sir, we have to ‘bounce’?”
Peter chuckled, still pulling tools from the bench to add to the load. “We have to get moving. Can we bring that welder and thermal lance, or is there a better option?”
Allyson let out a quiet ‘oh’, then shook her head, “There’s a backpack unit that can cut and weld. Much easier to move.” She pulled open a a nearby locker.
Peter grinned, “Oh, sweet! Are there two?”

Hi all, just bought my AMS with the anniversary sale, I know how to do the colour by part using the bambu studio slicer however I was wondering if it was possible to do this on the bambu handy app? Certainly not a problem if not, just wondering if I am missing something simple or if the feature does not exist
Thankyou in advance

IDEA :

Every 6 months, MEGA fans would be able to vote for one set to have a complete reprint. These sets would be sold along MEGA's online partners and MATTEL creations.
Every 12 months, MEGA fans would be able to vote for two HH wave, BB, or Figureset ( think Apex 7, Faithful vs. Fallen, or the anniversary packs ) to be reprinted.
In total, 4 items will be reprinted each year.

REASONABLE REQUIREMENTS :

Each item would have to meet the following requirements :
- All molds must still be usable ( sorry to any set that uses the old sentinel beam ).
- No exclusivity that would violate agreements made with other retailers.
- Separate votes, separate items.
- Sets cannot be already available for MSRP on major online storefronts (EE, Amazon, MATTEL Creations).
- To give MEGA time, each reprint would ship about a year and a half after the vote. Maybe old molds are hard to find or logistics need to be cranked out.
- Sets voted in will be eliminated from future votes for 3 years, before being put back to the cycle.

WHY? :

- As a vote, only desirable sets will be reissued. This will guarantee sales from MEGA's fans and also return money spent on the secondary market back to MEGA.
- Reduces the "investor" market to ash. Even if sets don't actually get reprinted, the idea that they can, will kill the confidence of scalpers and also decrease prices on the secondary market.
- Minimal R&D on MEGA's part. These sets and molds are already made and have already sold out in the past. MEGA has all the information they need to know if a set will perform well or not.
- Revive brand trust. This idea, if implemented, would be very consumer friendly and engage a fanbase who's been deprived of sets for so long. Not to mention that a fanvote will revive community discussion ( free advertising ) like never before.
- Accessibility. Many customers are frustrated that they can't get the sets they want ( Falcon Sweep ) and many are quitting the hobby. The products are not bad -- they're great --, but collecting is made hard because of distribution. A direct-to-consumer model will literally solve MEGA's problems.
View Poll

Hey all,
Just looking for some suggestions for a solid jacket and pants. Not looking for bottom of the barrel, and want protection, but also can't spend a grand on a jacket and pants.
Use case: my partner and I are about to get our first bikes. We will be using them for commuting, and also day trips and multi day tours on back roads and jeep trails. The vast majority of our time on the bikes will be under 50mph, and I'd imagine a decent amount of time on dirt roads and jeep trails.
Definitely looking for something that is good in weather, and ideally something that can be layered with wool flannels and down jackets for cooler weather, but won't roast me.
From what one sales person told me: leather is going to be better abrasion protection and is repairable, but will be hotter. Synthetic/Textile will be more breathable, but if you crash, it's toast.
For a bit I was even just looking at MX style pads to layer under either my existing gore tex jacket or my waxed canvas jacket, but I was advised against that.
I'm eyeing the Merlin Prospect Air Mesh jacket right now, but I'm also intrigued a lot by the Merlin Chase jacket.
I can provide links in comments if needed.
I'm super open to suggestions. I do want to look good, so neon yellow ADV jackets aren't really what I'm looking for, and a lot of those seem like overkill anyway.
Really, I'm open to any suggestions of models or even different layering systems. I'm also super open to just a basic overview of what I should be looking for.
The same goes for pants. There's a lot of options out there, and it's a bit overwhelming. Part of me is again intrigued by just getting some Carharts or some Fjallraven waxed pants and layering pads underneath or installing pads in the knee pad slots on either option.
For gloves, I'm not super concerned and feel confident that I can find some decent leather gloves. Helmet and boots are on their way, and I feel confident with those purchases. Went with the O'Neil Sierra II helmet and Sierra Pro boots, as I could get them at a decent discount and they seem solid for my use case (ECE rated helmet and full length ADV style boots)
Thanks in advance for the advice!

Understanding the Importance of Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis is essential for several reasons:

1. Identifying Market Trends: Understanding what your competitors are offering can help you identify market trends and consumer preferences.
2. Improving Your Offerings: By analyzing competitors, you can find gaps in the market and improve your products or services.
3. Pricing Strategies: Knowing how your competitors price their products can help you set competitive prices, ensuring profitability while attracting customers.
4. Staying Ahead: Continuous analysis keeps you updated on competitors' actions, allowing you to adjust your strategies and stay ahead in the market.

Steps to Analyze Competitors' Products and Pricing

1. Identify Your Competitors

The first step in competitor analysis is identifying who your competitors are. On Amazon, this means finding sellers who offer similar products. To identify competitors:

• Use Amazon's Search Bar: Enter keywords related to your product and see which sellers appear in the search results.
• Check Amazon's Best Sellers Lists: These lists are categorized by product type and can help you identify top competitors in your niche.
• Utilize Third-Party Tools: Tools like Jungle Scout, Helium 10, and AMZScout can provide detailed information on competitors.

2. Analyze Competitors' Product Listings

Once you have identified your competitors, the next step is to analyze their product listings. Pay attention to:

• Product Titles: Note how competitors use keywords in their titles.
• Product Descriptions: Analyze the detail and quality of their descriptions.
• Bullet Points: Examine the key features and benefits they highlight.
• Images: Look at the quality and variety of images used.
• A+ Content: See if they use enhanced brand content and how it adds value.

3. Examine Customer Reviews and Ratings

Customer reviews and ratings provide valuable insights into competitor products. Look for:

• Common Complaints: Identify recurring issues that customers mention.
• Positive Feedback: Note what customers appreciate about the products.
• Review Count and Ratings: Compare the number of reviews and overall ratings to gauge product popularity and customer satisfaction.

4. Study Pricing Strategies

Pricing is a critical factor in attracting customers. To effectively analyze competitors' pricing:

• Monitor Prices Regularly: Prices on Amazon can change frequently, so it's important to keep track of competitors' pricing trends.
• Check for Discounts and Promotions: See if competitors offer discounts, coupons, or special deals.
• Analyze Price Points: Compare the pricing tiers for different variations or bundles of the product.
• Consider Value for Money: Assess whether competitors' prices reflect the value offered by their products, including quality, features, and additional benefits.

5. Evaluate Sales Performance

Understanding your competitors' sales performance can help you gauge market demand and identify successful strategies. To evaluate sales performance:

• Use Sales Estimation Tools: Tools like Jungle Scout and Helium 10 can estimate monthly sales based on product rankings.
• Monitor Best Seller Rankings: Track the ranking of competitors' products in their respective categories.
• Analyze Sales Velocity: Look at how quickly products sell out or change in ranking.

6. Leverage Competitor Intelligence Tools

Several tools are available to help gather and analyze competitor data. Some of the most effective tools include:

• Jungle Scout: Provides comprehensive data on sales, revenue, and product trends.
• Helium 10: Offers a suite of tools for keyword research, listing optimization, and competitor analysis.
• AMZScout: Helps identify profitable products and track competitors' performance.
• Keepa: Tracks price history and sales ranks over time.

7. Benchmark Against Competitors

Benchmarking involves comparing your products and performance against your competitors. To effectively benchmark:

• Identify Key Metrics: Determine which metrics are most important for your business, such as sales volume, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction.
• Set Benchmarks: Establish performance standards based on top competitors.
• Track Progress: Regularly compare your performance against benchmarks and adjust strategies as needed.

8. Develop a Competitive Advantage

Using the insights gained from competitor analysis, develop strategies to create a competitive advantage:

• Improve Product Quality: Address common complaints and enhance product features.
• Optimize Listings: Use high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and relevant keywords.
• Adjust Pricing: Offer competitive prices while maintaining profitability.
• Enhance Customer Experience: Provide excellent customer service, fast shipping, and responsive support.

9. Monitor Competitors Continuously

Competitor analysis is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. To stay ahead:

• Regularly Update Data: Continuously monitor competitors' listings, prices, and performance.
• Stay Informed About Market Trends: Keep up with industry news and changes in consumer behavior.
• Adapt Strategies: Be flexible and willing to adjust your strategies based on new insights and market conditions.

Utilizing Amazon Seller Tools

Jungle Scout can significantly enhance your Amazon FBA business by providing comprehensive data and insights. This Amazon tool offers features like sales estimates, revenue analytics, and product trends, helping you identify profitable products and understand market demand. With its keyword research capabilities, you can optimize your listings to improve visibility and attract more customers.
The software's competitor analysis tools allow you to monitor your rivals' pricing strategies, sales performance, and customer feedback. By examining this data, you can adjust your pricing, improve your product quality, and enhance your listings to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, the tool's sales tracking features help you stay updated on market trends and shifts in consumer behavior, ensuring you remain responsive and proactive.
The tool's historical data on price changes and sales ranks enables you to make informed decisions about inventory management and promotional strategies. By leveraging these insights, you can optimize your supply chain, avoid stockouts, and capitalize on peak sales periods. Overall, this tool is invaluable for driving growth and success in your Amazon FBA business.

Conclusion

Effectively analyzing competitors' products and pricing on Amazon FBA involves a thorough and ongoing process of research, comparison, and strategy adjustment. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can gain valuable insights into your competitors, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop strategies to outperform them in the marketplace.
Jungle Scout - 35% OFF Discount (Limited Time)
An all-in-one Amazon seller tool to easily find, list, and sell 10K+/month products! Disclosure: I get a small kickback if you click through. Thanks for reading! DM if you have any questions :)

The latest Friday review and marketing insights are out on newsletter, one of the sections is below. Let me know what you think:

What did Internet say?

1. People, including some advertisers aren’t happy about unskippable ads on Instagram.
   1. In January, TikTok’s report came out sharing unskippable ads may harm engagement.
2. A new study from Pinterest is making marketers thirsty to join the platform. Why? It shares the platform generates 170% more total attention than other platforms.
   1. I love Pinterest but the platform gaslights you a lot. First, they need to highlight engaged audience on profile instead of total audience. The Total metric is similar to X’s post views. Having more total audience aka views means nothing if people aren’t engaging.
   2. About the study, Pinterest talking about a passive and active attention is important. Most marketers are only after attention as we discussed in a previous post, understanding attention theory is a must.
   3. Yes, People enjoy content on Pinterest as they claim in the study. But people aren’t happy about your ads, the study shows biased in that part.
      1. Most brands aren’t Pinterest-first, A lot of repurposing going. Making people hate the ad experience, Pinterest needs brands that follow more rules of creativity than performance.
3. Departure of Virginie Viard from Chanel is kind of being celebrated by fashion lovers.
4. GQ’s Article ‘Merch is dead’ is getting roasted by Internet’s best newsletters, short answer: Merch is very much alive. My Reads:
   1. Why is wearing merch so embarrassing? by emily north.
   2. Everything is Merch from Ana Andjelic and Eugene Rabkin.
5. Protests against AI training: Adobe and Meta are getting called out for their new terms of use.
   1. First a little rant: INSTAGRAM SUCKS FOR RESEARCH.
      1. There is a viral ‘add yours’ template where creators are sharing their anger against AI. I saw it once in a random story, I can’t find that story or template because there is no feature to do so.
      2. Hashtags no longer show the layout to see recent posts or stories.
   2. #metai #creatorsagainstai and few other hashtags highlight how artists are leaving Meta over AI terms.
      1. Part of the problem is opting out of AI training is not easy. EU’s Noyb has already filed complaint against AI, let’s see what happens in US.
6. Brand Collaborations getting love: Dunkin x Scrub Daddy and Vacation Sunscreen x Erewhon Smoothie.
7. Meta Advertisers: Music on Image Ads is a no + Meta’s test to have multiple objectives under 1 campaign is kind of useless and cash grab.
8. Against the Trend: Dr. Harini Bhat’s 20 minute-long video summary of Flight MH370 felt like a 5-minute video. A masterclass in engaging video storytelling.
9. 🍲 Chipotle: I feel bad for Chipotle’s marketing team, they created the perfect social media post. Only to have their CEO’s interview mess things up, people are now trolling his interview.
10. Recommendations: Christina Garnett’s podcast with copywriting legend, Vikki Ross + A mega post sharing e-commerce funnel creation and examples.
11. Updated Insight: The TikTok guide shared duets and stitches can help your content reach more relevant audiences, as the link juice travels from one video to other.
    1. This recent post from Joanna Williams hinted at another use-case, using amount of organic stitches and duets with creator’s video as a metric for Influencer selection.
12. The Worst: Spotify’s CEO tweets about cost of content being zero. The Online Community didn’t like that, probably because content isn’t free.
    1. Because of CEOs like him, the word ‘content’ is becoming meaningless.

Read the complete post here, and do upvote if you liked what was shared, see you on Sunday with marketing news version. 🧃

Yesterday, a dumbass server from the restaurant side of our shop was caught by a customer using the FoH restrooms, not washing their hands and then returning to the dining room to serve tables. It was gross as fuck, customer called corporate, and now we all have to use the single employee restroom in the back. For us cashiers, restroom breaks are quite tough since we’re often the only ones on the sales floor so we have to call up a manager to keep an eye on the floor. The front restrooms were quick for us to get to with multiple stalls so our useless managers wouldn’t be kept from the grill line for too long.
Thanks to Grubby McYuckyhands, it’s gonna be even harder to take a piss now

I am considering upgrading my C1 to a firebird war bond edition for $45, is this a worthy upgrade? I like to do bounties and combat, arena commander is nice too. I felt like I couldn’t do combat in my C1, and had no clue what to do with the storage. I have other ships that can run cargo (cutty black). So is this upgrade worth it or should I stick with the spirit? It is my only pledge so idk whether that influences things. I only used my cargo hold once, and that was yesterday to run 8SCU of weevil eels which glitched and were not appearing on the sale screen. Thanks

Click the link for Zinus Sale In 2024. Save some money by selecting one of the current promo codes or coupons on that page. That page is updated regularly with the latest coupons, promo codes, and deals. Take advantage of the discounts by selecting one to use.

Looking to sell some components from my first setup/build. I was originally planning on using them to build an HTPC but need funds for other things.
Would like to sell the CPU, MOBO, Cooler as a combo but am open to offers. All components are single owner, never OC'd, pet free household as well.
Would prefer sales local to or near 11385, but am open to meet in NYC or parts of LI.

Name		Price	Timestamps
i7 6700k / BeQuiet Shadow Rock LP / EVGA Z170 Stinger ITX	Great Condition - Never OC'd	$140 Local $150 Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/ASvv2BH
Corsair Vengeance LPX - DDR4 16GB 2133	Great Condition - Never OC'd	$15 Local $20 Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/nazD8k9
Corsair SF600	Great Condition - Bag, no Molex cable	$80 Local $90 Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/uAswyTd
WD SN580 1TB NVMe	BNIB	$50 Local & Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/aBrGKXT
WD SN570 1TB NVMe	BNIB	$50 Local & Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/aBrGKXT
WD SN570 500GB NVMe	BNIB	$45 Local & Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/aBrGKXT
WD SATA SSD 1TB	BNIB	$40 Local & Shipped	https://imgur.com/a/aBrGKXT

I need to minimize (which I have been doing a lot) but some items are proving to be hard. Here are some examples. I need advice. I think for most of these items I would sell them for the right price, but I hate to just donate them (I know that sounds selfish - but these items are sentimental).

• A cake plate given to me by my ex's parents - I love the plate, it is my taste in style but I rarely use it. But whenever I look at it I think about my ex's family.
• Papasan chair - This chair is my favorite chair but I don't have room for it in my townhouse that I share with a roommate. It is big. I have listed it on Marketplace and had multiple inquiries but no sales. If I could sell it I would. I hate to just get rid of it.
• Children's books - I have quite a few. I did narrow some down, but I'm not sure how many I should scale it down to.
• Fox cookie jar - I love and collect foxes. I have had this cookie jar since I was about 19 or 20. I had it in my first apartment and then it was in storage for my home I was building with my ex (that didn't work out). Now I have it in my townhouse. It kind of brings up bittersweet feelings for me. Maybe it's time to let it go?.
• Guardian angel figurine - My late Nana gave me this, my late aunt (her daughter) had given it to her. It's special for sentimental reasons and passed down by family, however it doesn't really match anything I have and it kind of weirds me out a little. I might donate it somewhere it can be displayed but I'm not sure. I feel like I "should" keep it.

I need advice peeps! I think I feel as though if I get rid of these items I am getting rid of those memories and that time period of my life. It's like tangible bits of the past will be gone.