Just as the title states, my PC seems to turn randomly while gaming. I first noticed this when playing Helldivers II and would always occur right when a 40 minute mission would end and transition back to HQ. Figured this may be some weird optimization messing with my computer but when playing Manor Lords, it seems to be shutting off at random intervals. This doesn't seem to occur with other games I've been playing recently as well such as My Time at Sandrock, Diablo IV, and Valorant. So this seems likely to be some spike hitting a security threshold and, as a safety measure, shutting everything off, right?
Well, this seems very likely to be a failing PSU not delivering enough power. So I bought a brand new PSU to replace this one and all the cables associated. Note that I've been using the PC for maybe 4 years with the current configuration without issue until recently, so no new hardware changes have occurred. After changing the PSU out, the issue persists. I checked Event View which indicated some issues but I cleared these all up and now I'm not getting any more errors but again the issue persists.
I've deleted and re-added all new drivers. Ensured Windows is most up to date. I ran tests with HWi and I'm not seeing anything that looks like overheating. Logs showing up to the point of the crash show a core temp hovering around 43C and GPU shows 85C, which is more on the warmer end but I don't think its really at a breaking point.
I ran Heaven Benchmark with no issues averaging the same temps. I ran Cinebench with no issues. I'm reviewed many forums facing the same issue but am at a loss of what it could be.
UserBenchmarks: Game 48%, Desk 85%, Work 48%
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X - 82.2%
GPU: AMD RX 580 - 52.9%
SSD: Sandisk S3 1T02 1TB - 94.7%
HDD: WD Blue 2TB (2015) - 59.4%
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 4x8GB - 74.9%
MBD: Gigabyte GA-AX370-Gaming 5

WEEKLY COVID STATEWIDE REPORT FOR MAY 14, 2024
TOTAL NEW COVID CASES REPORTED WEEK (Sun-Sat) OF: 02/04-02/10: 6,191 (VDH corrected from 5,663) 02/11-02/17: 5,432 (VDH corrected from 4,814) 02/18-02/24: 4,978 (VDH corrected from 4,494) 02/15-03/02: 3,891 (Figure is estimated from VDH data) 03/03-03/09: 3,134 (VDH corrected from 2,843) 03/10-03/16: 2,118 (VDH corrected from 1,909) 03/17-03/23: 1,764 (VDH corrected from 1,591) 03/24-03/30: 1,667 (VDH corrected from 1,449) 03/31-04/06: 1,255 (VDH corrected from 1,273) 04/07-04/13: 1,232 (VDH corrected from 1,113) 04/14-04/20: 1,151 (VDH corrected from 1,029) 04/21-04/27: 991 (VDH corrected from 899) 04/28-05/04: 885 (VDH corrected from 782) 05/05-05/11: 730 (preliminary figure) Counts reported after 4/30/24 may be incomplete
VDH's reporting of the numbers above (Sun-Sat) is by illness date.
COVID CASES SINCE LAST REPORT BY DAY This runs report day to report day, not Sun-Sat Case numbers are from the previous day unless indicated otherwise Previous week's cases day count in parentheses after this week's day count Report covers 05/08/2024 to 05/14/2024

Wed: 162 cases (142) Thu: 138 cases (155) Fri: 180 cases (130) Sat: 149 cases (125) Sun: 91 cases (65) Mon: 51 cases (74) Tue: 157 cases (127) 

As counts reported after 4/30/24 may be incomplete, I will not be computing percentages as accuracy can not be guaranteed
Total new cases reported (Wed-Tues): 928 (818 previous Wed-Tues) 7-day average of new cases: 132.6 (116.9 last report) Cases per 100,000 Population: 1.494 (1.317 last report) Some Figures and Percentages are usually slightly rounded by VDH
The 13-week graph has been posted. Curve shows a +13.45% increase. This may or may not be accurate due to voluntary reporting.
REPORTED DEATHS PER WEEK Week of: 04/07-04/13: 8 (VDH updated from 6) 04/14-04/20: 14 (VDH updated from 5) 04/21-04/27: 1 (VDH corrected from 5) 04/28-05/04: 3 (VDH corrected from 2) 05/05-05/11: 3 (preliminary figure)
The VDH death rate is never put out completely up to date due to delays in death data, which can run months. The death data above has been corrected to current reported deaths from VDH sources and is always subject to change.
The larger updated death chart covering more past weeks has been uploaded. Gray shaded areas are subject to change.
CURRENT POSITIVITY RATE AS OF MAY 10, 2024 CDC Region 3 7-Day Positivity Rate: 2.2% (was 2.9% (CDC corrected), -24.14%) US National level is 3.1% (was 3.2%, revised, last week). Highest is Region 9 (AZ, CA, NV) at 6.3% These are preliminary figures which the CDC may revise next week.
Tests this week were done on 2,438 samples.
The large jump last week in Region 2 stayed flat. Not sure what's up in Region 9. Most of the country is still going down or holding steady. Even with the big jump in Region 9, the National Average managed to decline.
Region 3 is still in the "Very Low" range, and still under the National Positivity Rate.
HOSPITALS
NOTE: COVID-19 hospital reporting requirements expired April 30, 2024. Data may be incomplete after this date.
Hospital report is partial.
VDH reported a decrease of -11.8% in ER visits last week that were diagnosed as Covid (0.30% of visits). Corrected last four weeks are now listed as 0.42%, 0.37%, 0.34% and 0.30% of ER visits. Virginia remains at a minimal level for ER Covid visits. Graph posted. This graph has no special wording on it about the end of hospital reporting, so I believe this chart may be one of the only ones that is accurate week-to-week.
Admissions: Incomplete data. Shows a huge drop (-90% to last week's -50%). The stopping of reporting, has made, for now, the hospital admissions graph useless. Graph is not posted. But.....
VDH reported an decrease of -15.5% in Covid bed use, at 0.60% of beds being used (both adult and pediatric) for Covid. The last four weeks run 0.77%, 0.68%, 0.71% and 0.68%. Virginia remains at the Minimal Level for Covid bed use. Graph posted. While not complete, as VDH knows which hospitals reported in, they can divide the total beds in those hospitals with the number filled with Covid patients and get a fairly good idea of what it happening. While not perfect, this may be the best figure for now of hospital admissions for Covid.
FINAL NOTES
Due to the voluntary reporting, we have a conflicting situation of an increase in reported cases against a probable drop in Hospital admissions (and definitely in ER visits for Covid). I think we will have to look for long trends to get an idea if things are increasing or decreasing. The PCR figure movement and wastewater will also probably help.
LAYOUT
First up is the total number of new Covid Cases for last week based on Sunday to Saturday. As the corrections VDH is putting in a week after the initial release makes following a trend impossible, I have stopped computing in this area as it would probably be incorrect.
Next is a listing of the cases from the last report to this one. It usually runs from last Wednesday to Tuesday, but could move based on holidays.
Reported deaths are next, which are based on Sunday to Saturday for the weeks listed.
The CDC Region 3 7-Day Positivity Rate is next, which at the moment just confirms or changes what the CDC put out Friday. They do another run on Monday nights taking a second look at things.
Hospital information for last week is next.
VDH's main summary page is located here. You can see all the latest trends at the link above - most graphics are interactive
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES ABOVE
Total New COVID Cases Reported Week (Sun-Sat) Of: cases reported for last week running Sunday to Saturday.
Reported Deaths Per Week: Number of deaths reported in the week (Sunday-Saturday) to VDH by dates listed.
Covid cases since last report by day: The previous 7-days since VDH's last update listed by day.
7-day average of new cases: Average number of daily COVID cases over the last 7-days
Cases per 100,000 population 7-day average: Within 100,000 people, how many were positive for COVID on a rolling 7-day cycle.
CDC Region 3 7-Day Positivity Rate (if included): The last state average percentage of PCR coronavirus tests performed that are positive. The lower the better.
Hospitals: Hospital information for last Sunday-Saturday.
Data from VDH, CDC
Edit: formatting

So this is a bit different as I have a college degree in math and have done college physics and can't exactly figure out my highschooler sister-in-law's homework. It's obviously using a shortcut, and I want to know if the shortcut is valid and I simply don't know it or if the book is simply wrong.
Question:
A tape was attached to a moving trolley. The trolley was moving progressively slower due to a constant frictional force.
Chart: (Apologies for the bad formatting)
Interval, Displacement in mm, Time in s:
1, 36, .6
2, 30, .6
3, 24, .6
4, 18, .6
5, 12, .6
​
3.1 Calculate the magnitude of the average velocity of the trolley during the second interval
(It will be 30/.6 = 50 mm/s)
3.2 Calculate the magnitude of the average velocity of the trolley during the fifth interval
(It will be 12/.6 = 20 mm/s)
3.3 Calculate the average acceleration of the trolley
Here's where I get stuck. Looking at the level of the course she is in, it seems fairly obvious that they want her to take the change in velocity and divide by the time. But the velocities that she has calculated are *average* velocities. And she hasn't exactly learned calculus or has a chart to give her the instantaneous velocities.
I think the book wants her to take the previous two answers and get the average acceleration from those. That would give a change of -30 mm/s in velocity over 1.8 seconds, so about -16.67 mm/s^2.
You seem to be able to do the same thing by realizing that the difference between each section is -6mm, so that would be a change of -10mm/s in velocity each section, and since each section is .6 seconds, that also gives you -16.67 mm/s^2.
So it's fairly obvious to me that that is the number the book expects from her. But I know enough calculus and physics that I'm very hesitant to try to get the average acceleration from average velocities, as I'm pretty sure that doesn't work. My question is, is there a built in assumption here (like constant acceleration) that makes this shortcut correct, or is the book flat out wrong? Trying to explain the math to her is much harder when I'm not even sure if the book is correct!

A delicate young man with pallid skin and dark circles under his eyes sat on a weathered bench opposite the police station. He held a cup of coffee in his hands—not the cheap synthetic kind available to those in the slums, but genuine plant-based coffee, a luxury usually reserved for higher-ranking citizens. It had cost him nearly all his savings, yet Sunny chose this day for a bit of indulgence.
After all, he was at the end of his road.
Basking in the warmth of the extravagant beverage, he lifted the cup to relish its scent. With a cautious sip, he winced.
"Ah! So bitter!"
Staring down the coffee with a deep sigh, Sunny persevered, taking another gulp. Despite its bitterness, he was set on enjoying the full value of his purchase—regardless of his protesting taste buds.
"I should've opted for real meat instead. Who would've thought actual coffee could taste so foul? At least it'll keep me awake," he mused.
Gazing into the void, he began to nod off, only to jolt himself awake with a slap to the face.
"Such a rip-off," he muttered.
With a shake of his head and a few choice words, Sunny downed the rest of his coffee and rose to his feet. The affluent residents of this part of town hurried by the small park, casting curious glances his way. His haggard appearance, accentuated by cheap attire and sleep deprivation, made him stick out. His thin, pale figure contrasted sharply with the robust passersby. Enviously eyeing their stature, he aimed the cup at a nearby bin.
"That's the difference three square meals a day make," he scoffed.
The cup missed its target, landing on the pavement. Sunny sighed, retrieved the cup, and made sure it went into the bin this time. A wry smile on his face, he crossed the street and stepped into the police station.
Inside, a weary officer cast a brief glance at him and frowned in clear distaste.
"Are you lost, boy?"
Sunny surveyed the surroundings with interest, observing the reinforced armor on the walls and the barely concealed turret nests in the ceiling. The officer appeared scruffy and stern. It seemed police stations were consistent everywhere.
"Hey! I'm speaking to you!"
Sunny cleared his throat.
"Uh, no."
He then scratched the back of his head and continued:
"Under the Third Special Directive, I am here to turn myself in as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
The officer's demeanor shifted from annoyance to caution. He scrutinized the young man anew, this time with a sharp gaze.
"Are you certain you're infected? When did the symptoms begin?"
Sunny gave a nonchalant shrug.
"A week ago?"
The officer's complexion turned noticeably paler.
"Damn."
Then, with a swift movement, he hit a button on his terminal and shouted:
"Attention! Code Black in the lobby! I repeat, CODE BLACK!"
***
The Nightmare Spell emerged several decades ago, during a period when the planet was beginning to recover from catastrophic natural disasters and ensuing wars over resources.
Initially, a new ailment causing widespread fatigue and drowsiness didn't garner much attention. However, as people began to succumb to an abnormal sleep from which they wouldn't awaken, even after several days, governments started to panic. By that time, it was too late for any response to make a difference.
As the afflicted began to die in their sleep, transforming into monsters upon death, the world was unprepared. These Nightmare Creatures swiftly overran national defenses, casting the world into utter disarray.
The nature of the Spell, its capabilities, and methods to combat it remained unknown.
Ultimately, it was the Awakened—those who had endured the Spell's initial onslaught and returned alive—who halted its destruction. Wielding extraordinary powers gained through their Nightmares, they reestablished peace and forged a new semblance of order.
Certainly, it was just the initial catastrophe unleashed by the Spell. However, for Sunny, it seemed irrelevant — until recently, when he began struggling to stay awake.
For the average individual, being selected by the Spell could be as dangerous as it was fortuitous. In school, children were taught survival skills and combat techniques in case they were affected. Affluent families employed private tutors to instruct their offspring in various martial arts. Members of the Awakened clans even possessed potent heritages, harnessing ancestral Memories and Echoes during their inaugural journey to the Dream Realm.
The wealthier your family, the greater your odds of enduring and ascending as an Awakened.
Yet for Sunny, an orphan who devoted his days to foraging rather than education, the Spell's choice offered no prospects. For him, it signified an almost certain demise.
***
Minutes later, Sunny yawned as several policemen busied themselves securing him in restraints. Shortly, he was strapped into a bulky chair, an odd hybrid of a hospital bed and a torture device. They were in a room located in the police station's basement, encased by thick armored walls and guarded by a daunting vault door. Nearby, officers stood against the walls, clutching automatic rifles with stern looks etched on their faces.
Sunny was indifferent to them. His only concern was his overwhelming desire to sleep.
At last, the vault door swung open, and a gray-haired policeman stepped through. His face bore the marks of experience, and his stern eyes seemed to have witnessed countless horrors. After inspecting the restraints, he cast a swift glance at his wristwatch before facing Sunny:
"What's your name, kid?"
Sunny blinked several times, struggling to focus, then squirmed in discomfort.
"Sunless."
The elderly policeman lifted an eyebrow.
"Sunless? That's an unusual name."
Sunny attempted to shrug, but his body refused to cooperate.
"What's unusual about it? At least I have a name. Where I come from, not everyone is given one."
He yawned before continuing:
"It's because I was born during a solar eclipse. My mother was quite the poet."
Hence his peculiar name, and why his younger sister was named Rain… at least, when she was still with them. Whether it stemmed from poetic flair or sheer indolence, he couldn't tell.
The policeman gave a gruff sound.
"Should I get in touch with your family?"
Sunny shook his head.
"No need. There's no one left."
For a moment, a shadow crossed the policeman's face before it settled into a grave expression.
"Alright, Sunless. How long can you remain awake?"
"Uh… not very long."
The policeman exhaled deeply.
"In that case, we don't have time for the complete procedure. Resist sleep as best as you can and pay close attention to what I'm about to say. Understood?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued:
"What do you understand about the Nightmare Spell?"
Sunny looked at him with uncertainty.
"About as much as the next person, I suppose? Isn't the Spell common knowledge?"
"It's not the glamorous stuff you see in dramas or hear about in propaganda broadcasts. How much do you truly understand?"
That question was difficult to answer.
"So, I just enter the Dream Realm, slay some monsters to complete the First Nightmare, gain magical powers, and become an Awakened?"
The veteran policeman shook his head.
"Pay attention. When you fall asleep, you'll be transported into your First Nightmare. Nightmares are trials crafted by the Spell. Inside, you'll encounter monsters, but you'll encounter people as well. Remember, they aren't real. They are merely illusions created to challenge you."
"How can you be certain?"
The policeman fixed him with a stare.
"I mean, nobody really grasps the nature of the Spell or its mechanics, right? So how can you be sure they aren't real?"
"You may have to eliminate them, kid. It's better for you to consider them as mere illusions."
"Oh."
The aged officer paused for a moment, then nodded and resumed speaking.
"Much about the First Nightmare is left to chance. Generally, it's not meant to be excessively difficult. The predicament you find yourself in, the tools at your disposal, and the creatures you must overcome should all fall within your capabilities. After all, the Spell conjures trials, not death sentences. Your particular situation does put you at a disadvantage, but remember, children from the outskirts are resilient. Don't lose hope just yet."
"Mm-hmm."
Sunny's drowsiness was intensifying, making it difficult to keep up with the conversation.
"As for the 'magic powers' you inquired about... indeed, you will acquire them if you endure the Nightmare until its conclusion. The exact nature of these powers will depend on your inherent affinities and your actions during the trial. However, you'll have access to some of them right from the beginning..."
The old policeman's voice was fading into the distance. Sunny's eyelids were so heavy, it was a struggle to keep his eyes open.
"Remember: your first task upon entering the Nightmare is to assess your Attributes and your Aspect. If you're assigned a combat-oriented Aspect, like a Swordsman or an Archer, you'll find things more manageable. If it's complemented by a physical Attribute, all the better. Since Combat Aspects are quite common, there's a good chance you'll receive one."
The light in the armored room was fading.
"If you're unfortunate enough to have an Aspect unrelated to combat, don't lose heart. Sorcery and utility Aspects have their own merits; you just need to use them wisely. There are no truly useless Aspects. Well, almost none. So do whatever it takes to survive."
"Surviving means you're on your way to becoming an Awakened. But if you perish, you'll create a portal for a Nightmare Creature to enter our world. That would mean my colleagues and I have to intervene. So, please, Sunless, don't perish."
Sunny, already drifting to sleep, felt somewhat moved by the officer's plea.
"And try not to perish immediately. It will be hours before the nearest Awakened can arrive, and we'd really prefer not to confront that creature alone..."
'What?'
With that final thought, Sunny succumbed to a profound sleep.
Darkness enveloped everything.
And then, from the shadows, a vaguely familiar voice echoed:
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]
****
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Just as the title states, my PC seems to turn randomly while gaming. I first noticed this when playing Helldivers II and would always occur right when a 40 minute mission would end and transition back to HQ. Figured this may be some weird optimization messing with my computer but when playing Manor Lords, it seems to be shutting off at random intervals. This doesn't seem to occur with other games I've been playing recently as well such as My Time at Sandrock, Diablo IV, and Valorant. So this seems likely to be some spike hitting a security threshold and, as a safety measure, shutting everything off, right?
Well, this seems very likely to be a failing PSU not delivering enough power. So I bought a brand new PSU to replace this one and all the cables associated. Note that I've been using the PC for maybe 4 years with the current configuration without issue until recently, so no new hardware changes have occurred. After changing the PSU out, the issue persists. I checked Event View which indicated some issues but I cleared these all up and now I'm not getting any more errors but again the issue persists.
I've deleted and re-added all new drivers. Ensured Windows is most up to date. I ran tests with HWi and I'm not seeing anything that looks like overheating. Logs showing up to the point of the crash show a core temp hovering around 43C and GPU shows 85C, which is more on the warmer end but I don't think its really at a breaking point.
I ran Heaven Benchmark with no issues averaging the same temps. I ran Cinebench with no issues. I'm reviewed many forums facing the same issue but am at a loss of what it could be.
UserBenchmarks: Game 48%, Desk 85%, Work 48%
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X - 82.2%
GPU: AMD RX 580 - 52.9%
SSD: Sandisk S3 1T02 1TB - 94.7%
HDD: WD Blue 2TB (2015) - 59.4%
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 4x8GB - 74.9%
MBD: Gigabyte GA-AX370-Gaming 5

Introduction

1. Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?

• This would be the first dog that I own entirely myself. I previously owned a Labrador with help from my family and loved him, but would not be able to look aftewalk a dog of that size on my own due to poor physical health. I really enjoyed training my Labrador and would look forward to training a new dog.

1. Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?

• I am open to both.

1. Describe your ideal dog.

• I would like a small-medium dog who can act as an emotional support companion for me. They cannot be super high energy or very strong as my fitness level/health is not very good, however I am more than willing to commit to at least a walk (1-2 hours) and playtime every day. I would need a cuddly dog that is easy to train, obedient and calm. Due to a member of the household being allergic to dogs, less shedding is preferred but not essential.

1. What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?

• I am thinking that some form of spaniel would be good for me. I love Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and they may be a good match, but I am concerned by the health issues they can possess. I also think Cocker Spaniels are a possible good match. I really like Corgis but I think they may be too high energy?

1. What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?

• I really enjoy training my dog, so I would like to teach them basic obedience and then further tricks if they enjoy training.

1. Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?

• No.

Care Commitments
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?

• I would love to hang out with my dog most of the time. I work short shifts 2-3 days a week and would be home otherwise.

1. How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?

• I would be able to bring my dog for walks of at least an hour's duration every day, plus playtime. These would be slow leisurely walks as my physical fitness is not very good.

1. How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?

• I am open to learning how to groom my dog as best as I can. If not I am willing to pay a professional.

Personal Preferences
10) What size dog are you looking for?

• I would like a small or medium sized dog. They would sleep with me in my room.

1. How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?

• Not much barking as I live in a shared household. Shedding would preferably not be too much but can be dealt with. Slobber preferably not much but is not a deal breaker.

1. How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?

• Not important, while it would be nice to be able to have the dog off-leash I will likely keep them on a lead when out and about.

Dog Personality and Behavior
13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?

• Very snuggly!

1. Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?

• Eager-to-please

1. How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?

• I want a dog that is friendly to strangers and visitors.

1. Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?

• No, I would like my dog to be friendly to other dogs.

1. Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?

• I would need my dog to be friendly, calm and responsive to commands

Lifestyle
18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?

• I will be home most of the time. I work infrequently and people will most often be home when I am not there.

1. What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?

• The others in the household would also like a calm and quiet, friendly dog. One enjoys walks and will be able to walk the dog or take them places if I am unavailable. One member of the household is allergic to dogs but does not mind some shedding.

1. Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?

• No

1. Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?

• No

1. Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?

• No

1. What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?

• Ireland, no

1. What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?

• Irish weather is all over the place, haha. Tends to be rainy or cold but can sometimes be sunny.

Additional Information and Questions
25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.

• Due to being autistic I would like a dog that will not be too difficult for me. I'm very dedicated to looking after the dog as best as I can, but could not have a dog that is too challenging to train or too strong for me to walk. I would love a dog who will be my friend and companion and enjoy cuddles.

Round 2, Pick 33 - Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State:
NFL: After trading back twice on Thursday, the Bills stick at 33 and take a big, physical and athletically gifted target. Coleman isn't fast and isn't a deep threat, but he can win in a variety of ways. But who will Josh Allen's deep threat be? Stay tuned.
CBS Sports: C-. “X” receiver for a WR-needy team. Plays faster than his combine speed but doesn’t separate consistently and isn’t as good of a contested-catch wideout as his size and highlight-reel would indicate. Young though.
ESPN: After trading back twice, the Bills addressed the team's most significant position of need with Coleman, a big outside receiver with the ability to make splash plays -- 12 receiving touchdowns on contested catches since the start of 2022, second-most in the FBS, however, only a 31.7% contested catch percentage in 2023 -- to create separation and a release that general manager Brandon Beane described as "about as good as any." Beane acknowledged that while he's "probably not" going to run away from defenders, Buffalo feels his play speed is faster than the speed he showed at the combine -- 4.61 40-yard dash -- also noting that they liked his athletic ability that came from playing basketball. The Bills needed starting-level talent at outside receiver and Coleman, who turns 21 in May, fits into what Buffalo was looking for, while the team was still able to move back and add picks.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Believes that knitting is the original “Netflix and chill”.
Round 2, Pick 60 - Cole Bishop, S, Utah:
NFL: Safety was a big need for the Bills, and they go back to the Utes for help after taking Dalton Kincaid in Round 1 a year ago. Bishop is a very good athlete and field general who can play the post safety spot and cover a lot of ground. He played like the QB of the Utes' defense the past two years and could be a rookie starter for Buffalo.
CBS Sports: A-. Large, intimidating safety with magnificent movement skill. The QB of the defense. Aligns everywhere. Can wear many hats. Excelled as slot defender and vs. TEs in coverage and runs the alley on outside runs as well as any safety in the class. Ball skills and tackling must improve. Short arms. Need filled.
ESPN: Another pick for the Bills in the second round, another big need addressed. Drafting Bishop adds someone who can compete for a starting role this season, in addition to being a potential answer in the secondary after moving on from Jordan Poyer this offseason while Micah Hyde continues to contemplate retirement. Bishop has the ability to move all over the field, along with speed -- 4.45 40-yard dash -- and many of the qualities and instincts the Bills look for at the position.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He always weebles and wobbles, but he won’t ever fall down.
Round 3, Pick 95 - DeWayne Carter, DT, Duke:
NFL: When I first watched Carter at the Senior Bowl, I wrote in my notes: "rolling ball of knives." Carter's game doesn't have a lot of pretty to it, but he's a scheme disruptor with his low center of gravity, ferocious style and nasty demeanor.
CBS Sports: B+. Active, high-energy interior rusher who’s on the ground a bit more than what’s desired because of his frenetic style. But it also gets him to the football more often than most DTs. Flashes of swim move and spin just needs to utilize them more. Length is a plus and he works hard vs. run. Some power too. Fills niche need on Buffalo’s defensive front. Needs to use his length better on passing downs.
ESPN: Using the pick acquired via the trade with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, the Bills addressed another hole with Carter bringing depth at defensive tackle. The three-technique tackle will have the opportunity to continue to develop -- potentially as Ed Oliver's backup -- adding to a defensive tackle room that has limited young talent. The Bills didn't draft a defensive tackle last year due to the way the board fell, but the team was able to add to the rotation early this year.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Still says ‘weeeeeeeeeee’ when on a playground swing.
Round 4, Pick 128 - Ray Davis, RB, Kentucky:
NFL: Davis has overcome a lot to reach this level, and though he lacks long speed, he can be a Zack Moss-like player for the Bills. Davis' vision and wicked spin move have left a few defenders in a blender.
CBS Sports: C. Compact, older RB with plus stop-start ability, married to his feet well. Can deploy multiple cuts in a run to make defenders miss. Good, not amazing overall elusiveness though. Quicker than fast too. Will work hard to fight through contact. Has the skills to be fine complementary RB in NFL.
ESPN: With Davis, the Bills add a needed bigger back -- 5-foot-8, 211-pounds -- to pair with James Cook, but also someone who has the ability to catch the football (seven touchdown catches in 2023, tied with Najee Harris for the most by any SEC running back in a season in the last 25 years). Buffalo had a variety of veterans complimenting Cook last season, but Davis, 24, will give Buffalo a power runner and another younger presence in the room, albeit with plenty of collegiate experience from two seasons at Temple, two at Vanderbilt and one at Kentucky.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: This divorce is taking forever Erica why are you doing this?
Round 5, Pick 141 - Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, C, Georgia:
NFL: He's a tough, durable competitor with good anchor strength and three years starting experience for an SEC power, although SVP's lack of athleticism and smaller frame might make him a center-only projection.
CBS Sports: A-. Multi-year starter in the SEC with wrestler’s mentality. Battles through the whistle every snap. Mobility stands out. Explosive short-area quicks. Doesn’t have supreme length and clearly has to add weight/strength to his game. Methodically carries out run-game duties with ease. Second-level climbs etc. Older prospect but comes with high floor.
ESPN: This offseason, the Bills moved on from the team's starting center, Mitch Morse, and backup Ryan Bates. Last year's left guard Connor McGovern is set to slide over to the starting role. Adding Van Pran-Granger brings depth at center -- he allowed one sack his entire career in 1,337 pass-blocking plays, according to Sports Info Solutions -- and a strong candidate for the future at the position with significant starting experience (he started the last three seasons at center for Georgia).
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Is constantly telling people how different things are on Linux.
Round 5, Pick 160 - Edefuan Ulofoshio, LB, Washington:
NFL: In recent years, Buffalo has taken some interesting shots on linebackers in Rounds 3-7, and Ulofoshio continues that trend. He was one of the final players in my top 100 prospect list with his excellent speed, intense style and special teams experience, even if injuries have clouded his projection.
CBS Sports: A-. Six-year LB who starred for a long time as a full-time player in Washington’s program. Big-time tester and it shows on the field. Just takes a second to diagnose. Keen block-avoider as he’s sifting through traffic. Smooth athlete all around but doesn’t quite play to his workout. Reliable tackler who also flashed coverage skill down the seam. High-floor pick here. Crowded LB room.
ESPN: The Bills lost major special teams contributors this offseason, including linebacker Tyrel Dodson and defensive back Siran Neal, while captain linebacker Tyler Matakevich remains a free agent. Ulofoshio adds depth to the linebacker room, but perhaps more importantly, he can find a role on this roster as someone who can make an impact on special teams, an area of priority for the Bills. He has experience from playing six years at Washington, and while he dealt with multiple significant injuries in 2021 and 2022, he played every game in 2023 and earned Washington's Guy Flaherty Most Inspirational Award, the program's oldest and most prestigious honor.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: DROP TABLE card_facts; [please crash your pc, reader].
Round 5, Pick 168 - Javon Solomon, DE, Troy:
NFL: Solomon was a highly productive rusher the past few years in an unusual frame. He's short and undersized at 6-foot-1 and 247 pounds but with nearly 34-inch arms and huge hands. That extra length helps Solomon get to the quarterback, along with his quick burst and non-stop motor. An interesting study for sure.
CBS Sports: A. Burst, bend, speed predicated outside EDGE. Small frame but serious length. Unique build. Doesn’t get engulfed by bigger blockers as much as expected because of his speed-to-power conversion. Hand work is good, not amazing and can flatten to the QB. Motor hums on every play. Bills needed this type of quick winner on the outside.
ESPN: Solomon provides depth at edge rusher, another position of need for Buffalo. He led the FBS with 16 sacks last season and totaled 31.5 sacks since the start of 2021 (also most in the FBS), in addition to 49 career tackles for loss (third in Sun Belt history). Being a Day 3 selection, finding a special teams role will be important for Solomon. He'll also have the opportunity to develop behind the likes of Greg Rousseau, Von Miller -- someone that Solomon has modeled his game after -- and AJ Epenesa.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He once painted the walls of a Buccees stall, hasn’t been back since.
Round 6, Pick 204 - Tylan Grable, OT, UCF:
NFL: He's a converted Jacksonville State tight end who became a solid left tackle the past two years at UCF. Grable is a quality athlete with great length and potential to be groomed at center, even if he's still learning how to play O-line.
CBS Sports: B. Height and length type at OT who probably plays guard at the next level. Smooth athleticism and can sustain speed throughout the play. Not just quick. Hands are more active and heavy than they are accurate. Good depth add here with positional versatility. Can grow into his frame.
ESPN: Grable started his collegiate career as a walk-on tight end at Jacksonville State, but transitioned to offensive line starting in 2019 and then started 27 games at left tackle while at UCF. He will compete for a roster spot in an offensive line room with veteran players, and said he's prepared to make a switch to a different position if needed. General manager Brandon Beane said that Grable is "gonna have to continue to work on his lower body strength, his power to move guys in the run game, but has great feet you know for pass pro."
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Still refers to Google DUO as Google MEET.
Round 6, Pick 219 - Daequan Hardy, CB, Penn State:
NFL: His return skills might be what keeps him in the league, as Hardy lacks the mass and strength to hold up full time on defense, but sub-4.4 speed is always appealing in a DB.
CBS Sports: A-. Case for most sudden, twitch-up athlete at CB in the class. Super speedy too. Plus recovery talent. Explosiveness in every movement. Not always sticky in coverage but does have high-caliber reps. Check Ohio State game. Erratic tackling and hard to get off blockers because of his size. Chippy in trying to make plays on screens.
ESPN: Hardy brings depth at the cornerback position and skills as a returner. In 2023, he tied the Penn State record for most punt return touchdowns in a season (two) and finished seventh in punt return average (14.6) in school history. Beane noted that if not for the new return rules, he's not sure if they would have picked Hardy, but "this guy can play one of the backup corner spots, but also he's a really nice returner." Buffalo lost multiple players at the returner spot in free agency, and with more focus on it going into this season, Hardy will have the opportunity to compete for the role.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Owns the complete N64 collection including a CIB Conkers.
Round 7, Pick 221 - Travis Clayton, OT, England:
NFL: The Brit, who is 6-foot-7 and 301 pounds with 35-inch arms, ran a 4.81-second 40-yard dash at South Florida's pro day and immediately put himself on scouts' radars late in the process. He's a total project but might be a terrific find with some seasoning, thanks to those unusual athletic traits.
CBS Sports: C+. At 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds with 35-inch arms and a sub 5.00 40-yard dash, this is a ridiculous athlete who is new to football from London.
ESPN: Despite the Bills never seeing Clayton play football, he's an intriguing addition to develop. The initial projection is as an offensive tackle for the 6-foot-7, 303-pound boxer and former rugby player from England after offensive line coach Aaron Kromer came away from watching tape of his workouts. Notably, he ran a 4.79 40-yard dash, faster than all offensive linemen who competed at the combine in the last 10 years. He'll have an opportunity to show the Bills exactly how his skills will translate and what he may be capable of in the NFL, especially as he does not count for a roster spot as part of the International Player Pathway program.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Just like a fantasy draft, the true sleepers can be found in round seven.

If you ask other RVers which national park is their favorite, someone is bound to mention Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. It's a camper's paradise with wide open space and panoramic views.
Most evenings, the landscape glows at golden hour, and the sky turns from red hot at sunset to dark blue and star-filled at night. You can enjoy the remoteness of the park but also its proximity to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
Take the time during your visit to enjoy the endless roads of the desert landscape, play on the rock formations, and, of course, marvel at the Joshua Trees.

Why Visit Joshua Tree National Park?

The first reason to visit Joshua Tree National Park is to see its famous and fascinating Joshua Trees. Since the Mojave desert is the only place in the world where they grow naturally, Joshua Tree National Park is the best place to see them.
These trees range between 15-40 feet tall and can live an impressive 150 years. They’re members of the Yucca family and appear as though they're from a different planet, with limbs unpredictably jetting out like they have their own minds.
Another great reason to visit Joshua Tree National Park is the warm weather and abundance of sunshine. It’s no secret that RVers love to snowbird and the Californian desert is a wonderful place to be during the spring and fall months. You’ll enjoy sunny days and clear nights, perfect for dry camping with solar panels.

When to Visit Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is open year-round, but the best times to visit are during the spring and fall months. Park elevations range from 536 feet to 5,814 feet above sea level, so expect conditions to vary depending on where you go in the park.
Here’s more information on the seasonal weather in Joshua Tree.

Spring

Spring is a very popular time in the park because the temperatures range from the mid-60s in February to the mid-70s in April. Depending on the year, wildflower blooms can be seen in the latter part of spring at the lower elevations within the Pinto Basin.

Summer

Due to extreme desert heat (+100℉ days are the norm), the park is pretty quiet during the summer. Late in the summer, monsoon season hits Joshua Tree, which cools down the daytime temperatures but can also lead to flash flooding in valleys and ravines.

Fall

Monsoon season continues into the fall, but it soon gives way to one of the best times to visit. Temperatures from August into October fall from the upper 90s into the low 80s, and evening temperatures range from the low 70s to the low 50s, on average.

Winter

In the heart of winter, the park's average daily temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is perfectly comfortable, but the nights get cold and often drop to freezing. Overnight temperatures in December and January average in the mid-30s.
Check the park’s website for the latest weather alerts and condition updates.

Where to Stay

Joshua Tree National Park is pretty remote and expansive. You'll want to stay a few days. Unlike other national parks, there are no lodges or resorts for overnight accommodations. There are eight developed campgrounds, however, and camping out under the stars at Joshua Tree is an unforgettable experience.
Here are a few important things to be aware of ahead of time if you plan to camp in Joshua Tree.

Reservation versus First-Come, First-Served

Four of the developed campsites require reservations. They’re larger than the first-come, first-served campgrounds, and some offer water and flush toilets. These campgrounds fill up very quickly. We recommend planning well in advance.

Reservation Required Campgrounds

• Black Rock Campground
• Cottonwood Campground
• Indian Cove Campground
• Jumbo Rocks Campground

Black Rock and Cottonwood are the most developed campgrounds (water, toilets, sanitation dump) and are the only campgrounds you can stay in if you have a larger rig.
Black Rock has six sites that can accommodate rigs with a total length (tow vehicle included) of 38-40 feet and seven sites up to 42 feet. Cottonwood has around twenty-five campsites that can accommodate rigs slightly longer than 35 feet.
Indian Cove and Jumbo Rocks both have a few spots for RVs up to 35 feet in total length. If you have a rig larger than 35 feet, site availability may be considerably limited.

First-come, First-served Campgrounds

These campgrounds are great options if you have a smaller rig and the good fortune of securing a site. During the popular season, these campgrounds fill every weekend and often during the week, as well.

• Belle Campground
• Hidden Valley Campground
• Ryan Campground
• White Tank Campground

These are primitive campgrounds, so you will need to bring (and carry out) everything you’ll need during your stay.

Staying Outside the Park

If you’re unable to find a site in the park or you’re looking for a campground with more amenities, here are a few nearby campgrounds:

• TwentyNine Palms RV Resort and Cottages: About 10 minutes from the north entrance.
• Sam’s Family Spa and Resort: About 45 minutes from the main visitor center.
• Catalina Spa and RV Resort: About 50 minutes from the main visitor center.
• Palm Springs Oasis RV Resort: About 45 minutes from the south entrance.
• Indian Waters RV Resort and Cottages: About 30 minutes from the south entrance.

Invest in a Good Sam Membership and save 10% on nightly stays at Good Sam Campgrounds.

Tips for Your Camping Stay

• Reservations for the reservable campgrounds can be made up to six months in advance.
• Reserve using the links below or by calling 1-877-444-6777.
  • Black Rock Campground
  • Cottonwood Campground
  • Indian Cove Campground
  • Jumbo Rocks Campground
• No campgrounds in the park offer electric RV hookups.
• Generator use is restricted to 7-9 am, noon-2 pm, and 5-7 pm.
• Hammocks are not permitted in campgrounds and must be hung from rocks or climbing bolts elsewhere to protect the park’s sensitive vegetation.
• Backpacking is permitted in the park, but it requires more advanced planning and preparation.

How To Get Around

Nestled between I-10 and California SR 62, Joshua Tree is located in Southeastern California and is easy to access. Several towns nearby, including Palm Springs, Indio, and Twentynine Palms, make perfect supply stops before entering the park.
Indio is the last best stop on I-10 if you’re entering the park from the south. The park’s south entrance is located off Exit 168, about 30 minutes east of Indio. The park also offers a west entrance on Quail Springs Road, about 10 minutes southeast of the town of Joshua Tree. And the north entrance is just ten minutes south of Twentynine Palms on Utah Trail.
Several paved roads allow you to traverse the park, but going from site to site can require long drive times. The most frequented sites are located near the northern edge of the park, so if you’re coming from the south along I-10, you’ll be driving through the park for an hour or so before you spot your first Joshua Tree.

Places to Go

There are many places to visit in the park that offer a variety beyond the infamous trees. It’s a unique location that features the intersection of two desert ecosystems.

Cholla Cactus Garden

The Cholla Cactus Garden is its own special area and is unlike any other part of the park. Be sure to enjoy the flat, ¼-mile nature trail to get the best look at the cacti. This patch of cacti is incredible because it mostly consists of Teddybear Cholla, which is the star of the cactus world.
The Cholla Cactus Garden is so impressive, and you’ll love snapping photos of these majestic plants. Their beauty changes throughout the day depending on how the sunlight hits them. A small word of advice, look but don’t touch. Ouch!

Arch Rock

Arch Rock is a very popular rock formation located a half-mile from White Tank Campground. The loop trail is easy to follow and a perfect activity for the whole family. Of course, the Arch Rock itself is the thing people most want to see, but there's lots of space to wander around and explore the other rock formations, too.
It’s also a very popular place for night photography and stargazing. If interested, White Tank Campground is a really convenient place to stay because of its proximity to the trailhead.

Keys View

Keys View is a popular lookout that offers incredible panoramic views of the park and the Coachella Valley. If beautiful scenery is your thing, make sure to visit Keys View. It’s about a 20-minute drive from the main road to the lookout via Keys View Rd.

Ryan Mountain

One of the most popular activities in the park is the hike to Ryan Mountain. This 3-mile round trip trail leads to the summit, where you’ll be treated to sweeping 360-degree views. The hike is listed as challenging by the NPS, so be sure to bring plenty of water and expect changing weather conditions.

Things to Do

The combination of the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert makes Joshua Tree a wonderful desert wilderness to explore. Here are some of the most popular activities in the park:

Hiking

Hiking is a great way to get off the road and experience more of the desert landscape. The National Park Service offers plenty of safety tips for hiking in Joshua Tree, and here are some of the park’s most popular trails:

• Barker Dam Trail: An easy 1.1-mile trail with interpretive exhibits containing information on park history. It’s a popular place for viewing bighorn sheep from a safe distance.
• Oasis of Mara Trail: A 0.5-mile trail to explore a desert oasis and learn how it’s harbored human and animal life for centuries.
• Lost Horse Mine Trail: A moderate 4-mile out and back trail to explore what was once the area’s most successful gold mine.
• Mastodon Peak Trail: A moderate 3-mile loop trail with an optional scramble to the top of a granite peak.
• Lost Palms Oasis Trail: A challenging 7.5-mile out and back trail down a canyon to one of the park’s most remote fan palm oases.

The Park Service DOES NOT recommend attempting challenging hikes in the heat due to the elevated risk of sun exposure and dehydration.

Mountain Biking

The majority of the park’s paved roads are not suitable for road cycling. However, several backcountry roads are perfect for mountain bikes. There are even three campsites within Ryan Campground dedicated to cyclists.
Be aware that bikes are only allowed on roads open to vehicle traffic but that the main park roads do not offer bike lanes or wide shoulders. Consult the park’s website for safety tips and road recommendations before biking in Joshua Tree.

Photography

Photographers love Joshua Tree because of the variety it contains. From sunrise to sunset, photographers can find landscapes, animal inhabitants, and even human visitors to place in frame.
Commercial photography does require a permit, and if you’re interested in expanding your knowledge, the Desert Institute offers field courses in partnership with the Joshua Tree National Park Association.

Stargazing

Stars can be hard to come by in urban areas like San Diego and Los Angeles, but Joshua Tree is a different story. Designated as an International Dark Sky Park, it offers some of the best stargazing in all of Southern California.
After the sun goes down, keep your headlamp in red light mode to preserve your night vision. Your eyes will need less time to adjust when you lie down to see how many shooting stars you can count!

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing, in addition to bouldering and slacklining, is another great activity to enjoy in the park. To date, there are more than 8,000 known climbing routes, over 2,000 bouldering problems, and numerous natural rock gaps that make the perfect spot to set up a slackline.
On a busy weekend, the park may have hundreds of climbers enjoying their slice of this monzogranite mecca. So be sure to follow Leave No Trace Principles and familiarize yourself with the park’s climbing management plan before your visit.

What to Bring and How to Prepare

• The desert can be dangerous, and the weather can change quickly. Check the forecast frequently and pack layers to prepare for changing conditions.
• The remote location means there is no cell service in many parts of the park. Communicate your plans to loved ones or authorities ahead of time, especially if traveling alone.
• Investing in a cell signal booster may improve cell reception in areas with limited service.
• A quality camping cooler is a great way to keep food and beverages cold in the heat of the desert.
• Bring an extra canopy tent and ensure your awning is in good condition so you can escape direct sunlight during the heat of the day.
• Keep up with air conditioner maintenance to regulate the temperature inside your RV.
• For the latest info on visiting Joshua Tree, visit their website: Joshua Tree National Park.

Brief History of Joshua Tree National Park

Despite its harsh desert environment, humans have inhabited the area that is now Joshua Tree for more than 5,000 years. In the modern era, the biggest threats to this natural environment were land developers and cactus poachers.
In the late 1920s, a Pasadena resident named Minerva Hoyt began voicing her concerns about the unregulated removal of cacti and other desert plants to be used in home gardens throughout Los Angeles.
In a relatively short time, her conservation efforts resulted in the formation of the Joshua Tree National Monument in 1936. The original protected area encompassed roughly 825,000 acres but was reduced by about 265,000 acres in 1950 when the Park Service excluded certain mining parcels in the eastern part of the park.
On Halloween in 1994, the Desert Protection Bill passed and Joshua Tree was elevated to national park status. The bill also added back approximately 234,000 acres of what had been lost in the 50s.
Plan your next trip to the national parks in an RV. Rent an RV, trade-In your RV, or buy a new or used RV and start traveling for less than $5 a day.
Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park? Share your tips and advice in the comments below.

Hei, hi and hello!
I’m Onsie Onsfjord or Fjord feel free to call me whichever is not mind to me.
I’m a 26-year-old English Norwegian who’s mainly lived his whole life in the United Kingdom and graduated from university with a degree in Computer Networks and is now working as a DIE for the NHS (Digital Infrastructure Engineer).
Caught you off guard with that job title acronym huh? Yeah, trust me when I first started it had me in fits of laughter, but you get used to it after a while.
So a bit about me; - I’m an introvert and tend to avoid public crowds, events and such and just try to vibe with friends on a nice game of anything (which you’ll see below) - I’m an avid IT nerd and will most likely remain this way for my whole career as IT is my education and career at this point - On top of IT you guessed it I’m also a very big avid “gamer” I mainly play PC and PS5 games with my current interests being in Helldivers 2, Star Wars: The Fallen Order, and Jedi: Survivor amongst a few other things like WoW, CoD, SWTOR and so on. - I love learning, whether it be history, game lore, languages, cultures, etc. You name it, and I’ll probably be interested in it (Trust me, you give me a flag of any country, and I’ll be able to tell you the country’s name and political structure. - I’m also an avid book reader and you’ll most likely see my shelf full of different manga from all types of genres, I don’t particularly watch anime, I mainly read instead because I find it more “interesting” for better or not. (Not that I'm opposed to watching it) - I’m trying to learn to cook myself but not very good at it as my most recent attempt I ended up giving myself food poisoning so it’s sufficient to say you will have a big gamble if you’d like me to cook ha-ha. - I do watch football from time to time and do support a few clubs from around the world (mainly northern Europe, the UK, and the US) feel free to guess if you’d like! - I’m currently on a VLCD and have lost about 2 stone within 1 month which I’m super super happy about.
In terms of looks and such I’m what an average 26-year-old would look like who is 6’1/6’2 with a picture on request.
Please don’t judge too much as I’m still working on improving myself.
What am I about? I’ve always made it a goal to help, care for, and support those close to me, whether it be friends, old friends, or the equivalent of my family. They’ve been there for me, and I’ll go hell and back for them as they’ve stood by me through thick and thin, even through the loss of other close friends; they’ve picked me up and brushed me down and set me straight to which I will always forever be in their debt and have helped them being.
Whilst I’ve been shot and backstabbed by many of those who I thought were close to me I just try and see the positive and avoid the unnecessary drama and arguments as life is just way too generally short for that kind of stuff and we should all get along with each other in my mind.
What am I looking for? I apologize if this comes off as really picky - Someone in the realm of the US, Canada or Europe - Someone between the age of 20 to 28 years old - Someone who has an interest in IT, manga, gaming, and such (It’s easier to talk to people with the same interest I’ve found though you don’t need to work in IT at all) - Just be a kind honest individual who I can back and vice versa. Be there for each other.
I am looking for a monogamous and serious relationship and not a friendship, however, I’m fine with starting out as friends whilst getting to know each other etc.
The end? Well, I’d like to say that this was the short and sweet version of myself without giving much more away about me but hey hopefully you’ve stayed this far and if you have, I have a very small simple request for you!
If you do decide I’m someone you’d like to get to know and all of that stuff then when messaging me, please make a somewhat attempt of an introduction (I’m not asking for the mass of paragraphs or anything) just a hi, your name (doesn’t have to be your real name), where you’re from, how old are you, what you do, hobbies, etc and we’ll go from there!
Low-effort chats & messages will be removed also, so I know that you’ve made it this far please put your answers to this question (wrong answers don’t matter, it’s what is attempted counts)
“I was born in the winter on a remembrance day, which day was this?”
Take care and hope to see your message 😊

Hei, hi and hello!
I’m Onsie Onsfjord or Fjord feel free to call me whichever is not mind to me.
I’m a 26-year-old English Norwegian who’s mainly lived his whole life in the United Kingdom and graduated from university with a degree in Computer Networks and is now working as a DIE for the NHS (Digital Infrastructure Engineer).
Caught you off guard with that job title acronym huh? Yeah, trust me when I first started it had me in fits of laughter, but you get used to it after a while.
So a bit about me;

• I’m an introvert and tend to avoid public crowds, events and such and just try to vibe with friends on a nice game of anything (which you’ll see below)
• I’m an avid IT nerd and will most likely remain this way for my whole career as IT is my education and career at this point
• On top of IT you guessed it I’m also a very big avid “gamer” I mainly play PC and PS5 games with my current interests being in Helldivers 2, Star Wars: The Fallen Order, and Jedi: Survivor amongst a few other things like WoW, CoD, SWTOR and so on.
• I love learning, whether it be history, game lore, languages, cultures, etc. You name it, and I’ll probably be interested in it (Trust me, you give me a flag of any country, and I’ll be able to tell you the country’s name and political structure.
• I’m also an avid book reader and you’ll most likely see my shelf full of different manga from all types of genres, I don’t particularly watch anime, I mainly read instead because I find it more “interesting” for better or not. (Not that I'm opposed to watching it) - I’m trying to learn to cook myself but not very good at it as my most recent attempt I ended up giving myself food poisoning so it’s sufficient to say you will have a big gamble if you’d like me to cook ha-ha.
• I do watch football from time to time and do support a few clubs from around the world (mainly northern Europe, the UK, and the US) feel free to guess if you’d like!
• I’m currently on a VLCD and have lost about 2 stone within 1 month which I’m super super happy about.

In terms of looks and such I’m what an average 26-year-old would look like who is 6’1/6’2 with a picture on request.
Please don’t judge too much as I’m still working on improving myself.
What am I about? I’ve always made it a goal to help, care for, and support those close to me, whether it be friends, old friends, or the equivalent of my family. They’ve been there for me, and I’ll go hell and back for them as they’ve stood by me through thick and thin, even through the loss of other close friends; they’ve picked me up and brushed me down and set me straight to which I will always forever be in their debt and have helped them being.
Whilst I’ve been shot and backstabbed by many of those who I thought were close to me I just try and see the positive and avoid the unnecessary drama and arguments as life is just way too generally short for that kind of stuff and we should all get along with each other in my mind.
What am I looking for? I apologize if this comes off as really picky

• Someone in the realm of the US, Canada or Europe
• Someone between the age of 20 to 28 years old
• Someone who has an interest in IT, manga, gaming, and such (It’s easier to talk to people with the same interest I’ve found though you don’t need to work in IT at all)
• Just be a kind honest individual who I can back and vice versa. Be there for each other.

I am looking for a monogamous and serious relationship and not a friendship, however, I’m fine with starting out as friends whilst getting to know each other etc.
The end? Well, I’d like to say that this was the short and sweet version of myself without giving much more away about me but hey hopefully you’ve stayed this far and if you have, I have a very small simple request for you!
If you do decide I’m someone you’d like to get to know and all of that stuff then when messaging me, please make a somewhat attempt of an introduction (I’m not asking for the mass of paragraphs or anything) just a hi, your name (doesn’t have to be your real name), where you’re from, how old are you, what you do, hobbies, etc and we’ll go from there!
Low-effort chats & messages will be removed also, so I know that you’ve made it this far please put your answers to this question (wrong answers don’t matter, it’s what is attempted counts)
“I was born in the winter on a remembrance day, which day was this?”
Take care and hope to see your message 😊

Today’s review is for Tales of the EdgeWorlds Volume 1 by Shawn Frost. I was given an ARC copy back in July of 2023, but didn’t finish reading it until recently because I bogged myself down with too many activities, and something this long takes me a while. I will go through the things I liked about it, the things I hated, and wrap it up with a score from 1-10. My scoring system goes through 5 key components, with each one going over the creative aspect and the technical aspect. I will explain that part when we get to scoring later on, so let’s plow on through.
This is a collection, about 266 pages long, and is meant to be the first installment of a comedy series. Shawn runs a Youtube channel where he covers lolcows and does gaming streams, so comedy should come naturally to him. As a volume, this holds 4 short stories, each one holding about 8 chapters, with each story running for about 20k words. Technically, we can say it’s 4 novelettes, but as I explain the situation, you’ll see why they are so long. The plot may seem complex but the main characters go through the same situations: the dimensional merge occurred, between all of our creative properties and C-197, with a group of rambunctious penguins doing mercenary work.
Sadly, it’s not really the Chris-Chan version of a dimensional merge, so we do not see Sonichu or any of that wacky world… yet. It's volume 1, so it's too early to say it's not open to the possibilities. The style runs close to internet memes and those old Newgrounds cartoons, with the focus aimed at action scenes and descriptions of the creative world around their setups. But, as you read through the massive amount of descriptions and banter, you'll realize that very little happens in each story. I would say each one is very simple and with a low reading level needed to get through them, which is a double-edged sword in this case.
I say this because the writing tries too hard to claim a joke was made when it wasn’t really a “ha-ha” joke to begin with. It’s more like “ah… humor is detectable somewhere in these pages” kind of comedy. It relates to the offensive animals of Fritz the Cat, where the comedy comes from the absurdity of a setup, rather than a punchline that is found. Unfortunately, because the satire is absent and it focuses too much on the premise, the result becomes more like my favorite episode of Heil Honey I’m Home, minus Hitler and his annoying neighbors. The banter bogs down the pacing, turning each chapter into a short, yet overly long, sample of a scene, chained together by constantly shifting points of view.
Thankfully, this simple way of approaching a story allows a casual reader to speed on by. Things are easy to follow and characters are easy to remember. The main cast of Edgy, Jeff, Todd, and Hylus are separated by their brand of chaotic addictions. Addiction to drugs, addiction to hentai, addiction to video games, addiction to murder; all greatly expressed in what are meant to be running gags that resemble a sitcom cast. The ship they travel around in, from job to job, can easily be imagined as a "That '70s Show basement" version of the ship in The Orville, as each story goes to different planets where they meet different aliens.
There is enough in each story to understand what is going on, with the stories more as an exploration of lore than an exploration of character or theme. The lack of focus, as well as the indifferent prose, harms the way each tale is told. I would never say these are bad ideas or bad concepts, just bad ways to get them across. High concept, low composition. I would say the main value is from the promise of more to come than what is presented in the pages.
Time for the rating, which will be given between 0-2. 1 point goes to the technical aspect and 1 point goes to the creative side of things. Flaws within a point will reduce it into smaller decimals, but a single aspect is not able to entirely kill a story on its own. If it’s all technical or all creative, a story will be treated as mediocre. Even if I like something, it is still possible to get a 5/10, meaning it’s not suitable for the average reader who is more accepting of a 7 or an 8.
Plot: 1.5 Things happen and people go places in the form of a violent travelog. The pacing bogs down the destination with tourist traps.
Characters: 1.5 The characters play their roles well, even though their roles don’t play well with the plot. Their banter and quirks fall flat in parts.
Prose: 1 With clear points between A and B, wet and sloppy ideas are delivered dry and brittle. With each paragraph shoving lore down the reader’s throat, it can become death by a thousand detours.
Theme: 1 There is a great message about how chaos and anarchy transforms people into primitive animals. Unfortunately, the author couldn’t find it in the infinite vastness of subspace.
Setting : 2 It is a world you want to know more about and look forward to the next bit of info. Creative, exotic, to the proper point of chaotic, yet still comprehensible. Everything about this book is in the setting.
Final verdict: 7/10
The book is niche, it takes a while to heat up, and even then it’s as appealing as a mystery flavor hot pocket. If you’re into absurdity, you will enjoy it. I just wish the absurdity had some life behind it. There is room for expansion and I hope that opportunity is taken.

Genocide looked to the sky. He thought of his mentor. The one who had saved him. He remembered his childhood. How powerless he was. He remembered the anger. He never wanted to hurt anybody. He thought of all the times he showed compassion. How much they hurt him for it. He saw the world before him, a graveyard. Humans. People that were supposed to be made in the image of some divine creator. They were but maggots feasting upon his remains. They ate away at his very being until nothing human remained. His thoughts were no longer his own. He had no joys in life that mattered. He hated humanity more than he could love anything about himself. He remember his first killing spree. Being gunned down by police. Left for dead. He remembered a hooded figure moving towards him. Getting closer the more he neared his death. He saw its pale face. Its impossibly black eyes. It was a man. This figure in question appeared to be of Japanese nationality with long, straight, loose hair. It emanated extreme malice. It offered him a choice. A purpose. Power. He thought the figure a reaper but it identified itself as Amakusa Masataka. Masataka guided him on how to kill and gave him specific locations to kill people in. In a sense, he became a hitman for quotas of people. He inquired what Masataka was. The presence of evil, his ability to appear and disappear at will, how he could control what people could see him and what people couldn't. While vague, years of killing for this being offered some insight. Amakusa Masataka belonged to a group of people not of this world. His people had been corrupted by a dark force long ago and had aligned themselves with the warlord who had subjugated their version of Japan. Their dark high priest assisted the warlord along with two others. These four rulers in turn served a larger order. The four were tasked with bringing about the end of the current world as an act of retribution for some fallen deity. Masataka's people acted as covert operatives for this empire. They were feared across the land and were collectively referred to as "Shinigami". An agent of the coming apocalypse, a servant of evil possessed by the will of those gods of death, Genocide would walk the earth.
Genocide stepped toward the station. A police cruiser rammed into him. He pulled out a knife and stabbed the hood of the car. The inhuman force of the knife created sparks which burst the engine into flames. The car crashed into a streetlight and exploded. A second cruiser neared the scene. No way a man could have done this. Yet still, out of the fires Genocide strode forth. It set upon the second vehicle, shooting out it's tires while jumping 9 feet into the air. The car tries to reverse but crashes into a wall. Genocide lands on the hood and kicks through the front window. Glass shatters under its boot, blinding the two officers inside. Genocide shoots one of the officers with a shotgun, killing him. The second officer in the passenger seat readies his pistol and takes aim. Only two shots fired, both directed at Genocide's head. It casually cocks its neck to avoid them. Then it grabs the officer's arm, breaking it. Genocide uses its free hand to grab the officer's head and bangs it into the dashboard no less than 5 times. The skull is shattered on the final impact. Genocide jumps off the car and continues on his mission.
Detective Evans speaks through a megaphone," This is your first and final warning. Stand down or we will use any and all means at our disposal to put you down." Genocide dropped its shotgun and raised its hands. A group of five SWAT team members rushed out the station, surrounding Genocide with riot shields. An officer accompanies them, edging behind the figure to apply handcuffs. Suddenly, Genocide springs to life , grabbing the officer behind him. He flips the officer over his head, slamming him into the pavement at his feet. Then Genocide stomps his head causing it to burst. Genocide drops a flash bomb from his coat sleeve, blinding the SWAT team as he draws his knife. He drives it into one SWAT member, the knife puncturing the shield and piercing his chest. Genocide kicks the corpse away withdrawing his knife. He goes to another, this time using the end of his boot toe in a rising kick to disarm their shield. He grabs them by the throat and drives the knife slowly into their eye socket. Another is tackled to the ground and beaten to death despite still being under the shield. Another is picked up and thrown into the fires still burning from the first auto incident. In no time, Genocide stood before an indistinguishable mass of gore, blood streaking across his black leather outfit. He laughed" So this is all you can give me. I'm not entertained." Officers took aim from the station windows, and snipers did so from other rooftops. Genocide laughed maniacally as he was rained down upon from all sides by a hailstorm of bullets. His body convulsed, but he did not fall. Moments more and he was on his knees. Still though, their efforts were futile. Gracia looked out and saw a black mist coalescing around the man in black. His blood. Blood erupted from his body only to transform into this dark mist that reentered his wounds. Genocide screamed. No. It was just an elevated pitch in his laughter. Optimism failed everyone yet again. Gracia saw Genocide holding something in his right hand. She could only make out a beeping red light. Genocide pushed the button triggering the carefully concealed explosives he laid in preparation for this event. C4 explosives went off in all the places he saw fit. The sniping posts he couldn't reach. The assault of lead lightened. Then Genocide drew an RPG from...somewhere. He collected himself and fired at the station's entrance. The explosion shook the station. From inside, the lights began to flicker. Communications were down on all fronts. Had he modified the rocket with some type of EMP? Not good. Amisdst the confusion Genocide entered using smoke bombs to mask his presence. Moving like a shadow, he killed everyone in the lobby silently with his knife. He made his way to the holding cells. Still they chanted. Still they praised. Still they raved for the arrival of genocide. Genocide shot the lock opening the cell. Jim Jimenez walked out and bowed before his master. Genocide smiled. He couldn't have imagined how proficient he had gotten with possession. Well, not quite possession. He had known of the Shinigami's ability to share their thoughts and emotions with humans. Shinigami like his mentor were ancient. They had so many years of memories, such strong a hatred for life that they overwhelmed the personality of the victim. The victim sees themselves as one of them. Shinigami can't force the will of the victim, so they find those who are already similar to them in some way. Genocide found the collective universal distrust of police to be a prime sentiment to capitalize on. He armed the inmates, infecting them with samples of his own dark essence.One particular inmate caught Genocide's eye. He knew the man's work. An arsonist. The one whom he recalls was responsible for blowing up his first car way back in high school. Rather than a standard firearm, Genocide gave the man a random assortment of grenades containing a special surprise. Genocide showed them visions of anarchy, of sending a message to a society that used and disregarded them. While this was also true of how he felt, years of living in darkness had changed him. He needed no purpose. No end goal. No justification. He just wanted to watch the world burn.
Genocide's small army broke off to engage several different wings of the station. Genocide went to the security room. He found Wayne, his informant, playing some FPS on one of the monitors. Wayne took of his headphones and asked," You kill everyone yet?" Genocide responded," No. You should get going before that happens. Your life becomes fair game if I run out of pigs to cook." Wayne clapped his hands, "Aight, GC my man, say less." He packed his things and left. Genocide drew a twin pair of handguns and laid waste to the station. He followed a group that took cover in the men's restroom. Kicking open multiple stalls he was surprised to find...nothing. Where had they gone? He turned around and saw his mentor, Masataka, smiling at him. It looked like him. Long, dark hair, black clothing, and soulless, empty eyes. But it wasn't. It was Genocide's own reflection in the mirror. Genocide smiled. He didn't notice the changes at first. They must have happened gradually. Subconsciously. From the final stall, an officer sprung into action, rushing Genocide, hitting him point blank with a shockgun round. Genocide felt the tingling sensation electrifying his body and grew numb. In spite of the pain, he took a single step. Then, another. He came within striking range of the officer and snatched the shockgun. Two more officers erupted from another stall, battering him with baton strikes. Genocide felt nothing. He clutched the shockgun in his hand like a bat and went to work pulverizing his attackers. An officer kicked in the bathroom door, a woman holding a pistol. She fired multiple times to no effect. Genocide stood covered in blood. He even let her reload. Twice. He wanted to see her despair. Her hopelessness. He walked towards her, shrugging off bullets as they pierced his body. His wounds healed nigh instantly due to the dark essence he had been imbued with. He held her face with both hands, lifting her body off the ground. As she screamed, he used her head to shatter the restroom mirror, running down the full length of it while smashing her into it at several points. He dropped the remains of what he held, washed his hands with soap, dried them, then exited the restroom.
The inmates that rallied for the cause of genocide attacked the station. Fortunately, they were nowhere near Genocide in terms of power and only carried one type of firearm each. They shared his healing ability but could be killed quite easily. Gracia encountered a sniper on the end or a west wing hallway. Other officers waited behind corners unable to get close. Gracia noticed the faulty lighting. In this hallway, the lights flickered in intervals of 3 seconds. Finding a pattern and timing her movements, she rushed the sniper at the exact moment the lights went out. Running the length of the hall, Gracia zigzagged, dodging the sniper inmate's bullets. She jumped on a wall, ran 3 feet on it, then kicked off it, pouncing on the assailant. She fired five shots into him, making sure to hit the brain and the heart. Two severe injuries that were impossible for Shinigami essence to heal simultaneously. Elsewhere, Evans took on another escaped inmate. A vehicular arsonist named Carson. Carson had a bag filled with an assortment of different grenades and was happily giving them out like candy on Halloween. "A flash bang here, a bit of tear gas there. Oh. Wait! Was that an ice grenade? Did the explosion freeze your leg to the floor? Whoops. Maybe a fire grenade will melt that for you. Hold on let me get one fore you," Carson rambled gleefully. Evans looked at the carnage before him. Officers burning. Officers partially frozen in blocks of ice. He took a breath and aimed his wristgun. He steadied his right forearm. Carson readied to throw a random grenade. Evans shot it the moment it left Carson's hand. The grenade exploded directly in front of Carson. Both Evans and Carson looked at each other in shock. Confetti. A party grenade? Carson quickly fumbled for another but was tackled and restrained by several officers. Meanwhile in the South wing, Lary had some colleagues set a trap for another shotgun toting inmate. He had them bait the inmate and flee. Giving chase he turned a corner and ran straight into Lary's fist. The inmate recovered and motioned to shoot Lary. "Let's tango. " Lary gave the code word. Nearby officers activated a device. A signal jammer of sorts. The inmate shoved the barrel of his gun into Lary's gut and pulled the trigger. Nothing. The special signal jammer in question was designed for firearms. It was a last resort as it left officers just as defenseless. Lary was having fun. He boxed the inmate in hand to hand combat. Despite the inmate's enhanced strength, Lary's technique pulled through. Lary ducked under one of the inmate's wide punches and did some type of rising uppercut where he jumped off the ground while spinning. One of the other officers whispered" The rising dragon." Lary smiled giving a thumbs up" Yeah, it was a rising dragon uppercut. Saw it in one O my kid's vidya games. Thought I'd try it out while I'm jacked on adrenaline".
Jim Jimenez looked long and hard at himself in the mirror. He was in the women's restroom. Some brainless woman had broken the men's restroom mirror with her face. For the first time in a long while Jim could think clearly. He was becoming sane. At the least he was no longer a raving lunatic. The life essence of the dark gods had healed the wounds to both his body and his mind. He saw his face, his scraggly dirty beard. He found a razor and shaved. He trimmed his beard somewhat. He liked it. He washed his hair. It fell down his face like silk, no longer greasy. His bloodshot eyes once burning with crazed intensity had cooled. He blinked. Just for a second, he saw the man known as Genocide. The man that attacked him. The one that killed him and gave him new life. The drug dealers. The police. They were all the same in his eyes now. They were all to blame for the world being what it is. Jim wanted to hate them. He wanted to take revenge, but he felt nothing. It didn't matter. He knew he was wronged, could logically justify acting against them, but he just didn't care anymore. About anything. He was finally free. Sensing his presence was no longer needed here, Jim vanished into the night. He needed to find someone who had had the answers he needed. Himself. Who had he been? Who was he now? Who could he become? Where was he going? So many questions to ponder indefinitely. So much time left in the rest of his life.
Genocide ran down the station's halls raining hailstorms of bullets upon its occupants. He had a handgun in each hand as well as a wristgun on each wrist. This effectively gave him 4 separate firearms that he could use simultaneously. Lary regrouped with Gracia, Evans, and a handful of others. They radioed all surviving officers near Genocide to flee to the roof. This plan had been set in motion days before the assault and had been kept hidden from most of the force. The plan involved scheduling flights for several helicopters to arrive at some point after Genocide arrived. There would be no way for him to prepare for them and pre-scheduling their arrival ensured they arrived regardless of if they were called or not. Lary and the others set about preparing the second jamming device. Genocide stood among a hallway of bodies. He saw one man clinging to life trying to crawl away. He decided on trying that other thing he saw his master do. He grabbed the dying man and pinned him to the wall. Slowly he drove a knife into his chest. As the man's life slipped away, something else entered his body. Genocide channeled a small amount of his essence into the vessel. He had steadily done this with other casualties around the station whose bodies were somewhat salvageable. He dropped the body he was holding and looked upon the others. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his eyed were black, both sclera and iris. The scene before him changed. Genocide had a vision. He saw a dead gray wasteland littered with bodies. These people however weren't cops and wore traditional Japanese attire. In his hand wasn't a gun or knife but a short sickle akin to a farming tool. He heard a dark voice call out to him. Slowly, the corpses around him began to rise, now mere puppets bound eternally to their master's whim. The bodies sold to the reaper who had claimed their lives. Genocide's vision ended. His eyes had returned normal. Around him, dead cops began to rise. His dark essence had entered their bodies and reanimated them. He sent his dead army to attack the officers fleeing to the roof of the station. These zombies swarmed the stairwell giving chase to the few survivors. There were five of them. They had two flights of stairs to climb and a horde of their former colleagues close behind them. One officer tripped and was set upon by the horde. The zombies didn't bite them but held them firmly in place. The other four officers stared down wondering what to do. They could hear Genocide chuckling. They could hear humming. They could feel the temperature rising. Their colleague and the two zombies holding him were hit by an enormous green fireball. Genocide had fired a Magnum Opus and had charged the bullet to level 3. The Magnum Opus was simply a magnum that shot fireballs, with bullets that could be charged by holding down the trigger. It had three levels of charges. Level 1 was a small reddish ball of plasma. Level 2 was slightly larger and yellow. Level 3 was the maximum charge and resulted in a large slow moving green blast of energy. The officer was ignited and Genocide watched gleefully as the force of the blast sent him flying through a wall. The four officers continued up firing occasionally to slow down the zombies. Soon they made it to a door leading to the roof. Before one officer could reach it, he was sniped by Genocide, a bullet to the head killing him instantly. The remaining three made it out. They regrouped with the others already there, 12 in total, including Lary, Evans, and Gracia. This would be their final stand. They just had to hold out until Genocide made it up there. They just had to keep Genocide occupied until the helicopters arrived. Genocide slowly ascended the stairs behind his horde. On the roof, the remaining survivors faced off against waves of the undead. Evans recognized the attackers. These zombies were being controlled by nanomachines. He heard the stories of several weapons encountered by soldiers on the battlefield. These creatures were called Metaldeads as they were reanimated via machines. They had been officially banned by most of the worlds' governments for being unethical. However, this did not stop the technology from being spread still between shady organizations, terrorists, etc. Evans wondered how Genocide got this form of nanotechnology. Evans long speculated that the dark essence used by most of the killers they encountered was a a form of nanotech however it was different from anything else he had seen or heard about. The dark essence seemed to be an amalgamation of other types of nanotech. Evans had to save his inquiries for later. He reloaded his wristgun and took aim at the approaching group of Metaldeads. Gracia steadied her handgun and shot two Metaldeads in the head. From the single door countless arms seemed to spill forth from the darkness. The other officers took turns firing in intervals. this allowed them to create a steady stream of fire where no more that three guns needed to be reloaded at once. The horde seemed to thin out over time as if they were making progress. In actuality, the Metaldeads were just making room for Genocide to enter. Genocide exploded in a sprint from the door. Everyone fired upon the killer. Genocide had now chosen a wrist mounted mini flamethrower to use as his weapon. He stormed past the oncoming bullets taking some damage, but refused to slow down. He unleashed a stream of fire that caught five of the officers in one fell swoop. Gracia fired five rounds into Genocide's face. He stumbled back. Lary took the chance to fire several mine gun bullets at Genocide's feet. The mines quickly detected his movement and exploded. In seconds, Genocide was on his back.
Staring at the night sky Genocide saw the moon. He reached for it. He called for the darkness to give him more power. His wounds began healing. In the sky he could hear the whirl of propellers. There were six helicopters in total. The first two had evacuated the survivors while the others stayed to engage Genocide. Genocide got up and unstrapped the sniper rifle from his back. He stood before the searchlights as a black silhouette, cornered but unwilling to back down. Lary stared down at him smiling. "Okay!" He shouted, "Let's Tango!" Upon this declaration the second jamming device was activated. Now, isolated on the roof, Genocide's guns couldn't be fired and the helicopters were out of range of the device. Now Genocide stood like a sitting duck. A helicopter fired a rocket. Genocide side stepped and grabbed it. He turned his body redirecting the rocket to hit another helicopter. As it exploded Genocide drew his knife and threw it at another helicopter. Behind the knife was such force that it shattered the helicopter window's glass, embedding itself in the pilot. This helicopter too went down where it exploded. "Holy clucknuggets!Did you see that!?" Lary said dumbfounded. Evans looked out the helicopter door he was in jaw open in shock. "There's no way." He collected himself quickly and radioed the remaining two helicopters to keep moving and to use their machineguns as much as possible. The helicopters reigned down upon Genocide tearing apart his body. Shreds of leather and darkened blood sprayed across the pavement of the roof. Gracia watched as Genocide's body was destroyed repeatedly as it tried to heal. Surely he had to stop at some point. After 10 minutes the helicopters had exhausted their cache of ammunition and soldiers opted to fire their own rifles and occasionally throw grenades. After about six minutes, they too had run out of bullets. Genocide stood unfazed. He had long since healed himself and now appeared intangible with gunfire seeming to pass through his body. His coat once ripped , now appeared whole though on closer inspection seemed to writhe. Gracia looked in horror as she remembered the tales her adopted father had told her. Tales he had in turn heard from his predecessors. Every so often officers had reported encounters with ghost like beings cloaked in a cloud of living dark mist. The beings were rumored to be responsible for the deaths of multiple people ranging from scientists, veterans, mafia, politicians, etc. They were seen near such crime scenes and even more shockingly appeared around several sites where suicides were committed. These beings were reportedly impervious to bullets and filled anyone who got near with an impending sense of dread. If Genocide was connected to them or somehow turning into one , there was little chance they would be able to defeat him. Gracia's fears were confirmed when she saw that Genocide's leather coat had been destroyed and he had replaced it with the dark mist coalescing from his own spilled blood. The dark mist, swirling, grew larger and several tendrils sprouted out from it. Gracia could briefly make out a figure standing next to Genocide. A hooded figure cloaked in the same black substance. The figure stared up at her with soulless, blackened eyes which seemed to beckon her to jump from the aircraft she was standing in. Compelling her to give in to the death that plagued the earth. Genocide kneeled to his master. The Shinigami, Masataka stared down at his disciple. "You have done a great service to us. Even now the sealed god stirs in its slumber. Its...Awakening will soon be upon us. It calls out for war. It begs for famine. It longs to continue its conquest. We are the death it so desires. The death that is necessary for this civilization to grow. Use the power that I have bestowed upon you. Finish the mission as you see fit." The Shinigami vanished and Genocide stood.Genocide stared at his hands. He remembered the first killing spree. He was on a bus. It stopped. A woman got on the bus and walked to the back smiling as she passed him. Something about her eyes unnerved him. They were so bright but something dark reflected inside them. He ignored the thought and put in his headphones. In minutes he had dozed off. He jumped awake. He looked around and froze in panic. All around him, everyone had been hacked to pieces. He saw the driver, actively being stabbed by a masked assailant. The mask, painted white with black eyeholes, stared back at him. It raised a finger over where its lips would be. Even under the expressionless visage, he could feel that same smile. He ran home that morning. He went to his room to find it destroyed. His posters, his computer, his tv, everything, had been ruined. He turned around and saw a man at the end of the hallway holding a sledge hammer. "The hell you been, boy?", his stepdad sneered. The man dropped his hammer and walked closer, veins pulsing with rage. He tried to explain how his car had caught fire forcing him to walk 4 miles to the nearest bus stop, but the man's fist was faster than his words. "Boy!Answer me when I talk to you!!" the man says as he backhands the taste out of the would be Genocide's mouth. He took that beating for several minutes before being left to stare at his ransacked room. He hated how his stepdad went out of his way to destroy the things he loved. Soon, another set of footsteps could be heard. It was his mother standing behind his locked door. She didn't knock, or say anything. She just stood there, doing nothing as always. He never knew if she came to talk to him or apologize. All he knew was that she could never bring herself to speak to or even acknowledge him. Maybe out of guilt or perhaps shame. A year or two later after he had had enough he ran away from home. Living out on the streets alone, without friends, or family, he would embark on countless killing sprees. These killings weren't of his own volition however. He was coerced by some corrupt officers from The Unit. They made him kill on their behalf. Sometimes they were protesters, sometimes they were drug dealers, other times, petty criminals they couldn't be bothered to process. It was routine for him to be used to kill entire houses of drug riddled addicts. During one such venture he entered a drug den, killing the dealer as instructed. He took out several junkies before turning to leave. A woman who survived her injuries clung to his heel begging him to stop. Looking down he aimed the handgun he was carrying at her head of long disheveled brown hair and fired. Feeling nothing, he kicked her body aside like trash when it hit him. Her face. This woman had been his mother. What was she doing in a place like this? He felt a shock of emotion. He wondered if she had always been like this, or had she changed after he left. He never made amends, but decided to stop killing from then on. The unit did not like that. Once it became apparent that he was no longer of use to them they started a manhunt to apprehend him with lethal force. They found him. They killed him. But he survived.
He remembered the girl on the bus. He remembered her eyes. Those of a sadistic killer. Still there was something else inside them. Something faint but deeper. So. Much. Sadness. Just like him. He felt the hatred begin to spread. His purpose, he decided, was to make all humans rot in the hell they created for him.
These people, he thought to himself, these living diseases, all needed to die. Their struggles, their problems, they spread like cancer to others. The only cure for humanity's sin, its collective wrongdoings, was genocide.
Around him, dark tendrils continued to form and expand, spinning in a vortex. Genocide pulled out two pistols. He squeezed the triggers to no effect. "As I see fit, huh? Hehe." He squeezed both guns in his hands, breaking them into pieces. He concentrated. In his hands, two more guns materialized now completely black due to being forged from the dark essence. Forged by his will. Immune to the jamming device that shut down conventional firearms. He raised his arms at each remaining helicopter and opened fire. Countless tendrils whipped out and slashed at his targets joining the dark essence bullets. It was chaos. Dark tendrils and bullets tore through every direction as Genocide spun and swirled around in 360 degrees firing randomly with purpose. A tendril pierced Gracia's right arm, another, her abdomen. She was however, fortunate, as the other passengers of her helicopter were dismembered. She barely had time to jump from the vehicle before it crashed. She fell 2 yards onto solid concrete. She felt immense pain as her right shoulder shattered on impact. She looked up to see Genocide's blade like appendages ripping through the other escape helicopters. She rolled onto her back and tried to steady herself. Within seconds her body began to repair itself. The nanocells inside her had saved her life but were now depleted. She would need another supplement lest she receive another fatal injury. The standard nanocells she and the others had were much less potent than those of the killers they faced. In truth, they had only minimal strength boosts being able to lift 5-8 more pounds than before and healing being limited to one or two fatal injuries so long as death didn't occur instantly. Gracia blacked out. She awoke the next morning in a hospital. There the doctors refilled her nanocells. She learned that the station had been left in ruins. Genocide had detonated some type of minature nuke following his rampage. He always blew up the stations as if to send a message. Gracia looked out the window thinking about why she became a cop. Twice her family had been murdered by them. Her biological family had been killed in an on record drug raid committed by a group of corrupt officers called The Unit. She had been adopted by another officer that arrived at the scene who found her as a child hiding in a closed. Sadly, he too was killed for trying to expose the activities of The Unit. Gracia joined the force to avenge both losses and bring justice to the killers that disguised themselves as normal people. Law enforcement was neither good, nor bad. It depended upon the people that made it up. In the dying corrupt world Gracia lived in, she vowed to be a beacon of light. Evans laid in a bed adjacent to Lary. "That damn Genocide's somethin else in' he?Like the stories you told us were understatements. That man could legit not die at this point in the story. Like he has friggin plot armor or somthin.'' Evans cut him off" I get it. We all got our asses handed to us. But did you see that ..thing that appeared next to him. Right before he created that black vortex that wiped us out. That must have something to do with his power. Maybe there's a still a way to stop him."Lary chimed in," That fella looked like he was on the way to a black metal concert wit all the black facepaint he was wearin' Creeped me out to be honest." As the survivors mulled over their predicament, the cycle of evil continued to spread elsewhere.
Budley flips through the pages of a magazine. He checks his watch. He looks around the gas station and doesn't see any customers. Seizing the opportunity, he puts in his headphones and begins playing an imaginary guitar as he jams to a progressive deathcore album. Oblivious to the screams coming from outside, the store clerk moves on to thumping two candy bars on the counter to simulate drums. Budley sees that his shift has ended and begins locking up the store. He sweeps the aisles and jumps as a shadow appears behind him. He turns and sees a well groomed bearded man dressed in a black hoodie, black shirt, and black and gray camo pants. The man holds out his hand and smiles. Budley rings up the pack of nicotine substitute gum. "Tryin to kick the habit huh?" Budley asks. The man replies, "Somethin like that. Gotta get my priorities back in check. Focus on the things that really matter. That damn KonCreep's a hell of a band aren't they?" He nods to the playlist on Budley's phone. "Yeah, they're killer. just got into them a month back." Budley answers. "You know, I'm something of a musician myself. Maybe you'll hear of me on the news someday." Jim Jimenez says as he sees himself out. He walks to the back of the building and passes an ominous form of graffiti. A woman lays unmoving and above her, written on concrete in red is a message that simply says "Genocide Reigns".

Synopsis:
Carlos was an ordinary software engineer on Earth, up until he died and found himself in a fantasy world of dungeons, magic, and adventure. This new world offers many fascinating possibilities, but it's unfortunate that the skills he spent much of his life developing will be useless because they don't have computers.
Wait, why does this spell incantation read like a computer program's source code? Magic is programming?
___
Here we go with book 2!
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Carlos lounged comfortably on one of the mayor's fancy sofas. At 23 years old with a healthy body he really didn't need cushioned upholstery, but he liked how it felt. Honestly, he was probably more comfortable with high quality furniture than someone of his relatively low-income background should be in this world. Spoiled by the mass production factories of modern Earth, I suppose. All of this stuff here is probably handmade. Er, make that definitely handmade. Unless they have magic factories I haven't heard about, or something. He mentally shrugged. There was no point trying to change his attitudes toward furniture now. While this world might have higher prices for a lot of things than he was used to, he was also a lot richer than he was used to thanks to having become a noble lord. People would expect him to treat fine furniture as cheap because of his station.
I might have the physical habits of a couch potato, but at least I don't look like one. Too skinny. Not as skinny as Amber, though. He smiled as he watched the young woman next to him on the sofa continue animatedly expounding on their recent adventures together. She was lanky, with few curves to speak of and spindly limbs, far from any conventional picture of feminine beauty. Her hair, a slightly lighter shade of brown than his own, was cropped short. He thought she was 18 or 19 years old, but wasn't sure. Have I really never asked her age before? ... Would that be a rude question here? Regardless of her age, she had grown her confidence a lot since their first meeting a few weeks ago. She'd found her footing in a new life that she'd seized with utter determination, and he saw no sign of the shyness that she'd first greeted him with. The way her potential was finally blooming was beautiful to watch.
Carlos turned his gaze to the sofa across from them and carefully held back from laughing at the expressions Trinlen was making as Amber wrapped up explaining the events and developments they'd gone through since their introduction to him at the Royal Mage Academy. Carlos had contributed a fair amount to the explanation at first, but Amber had taken to it with enthusiasm when she arrived, and he could tell she was enjoying it. The young man in front of them, newly graduated from said academy, was on the edge of his seat and leaning forward, hanging attentively on every word. His casual attire, plain and made of cheap materials, looked thoroughly out of place on the finely embroidered velvet of the sofa, but he'd shown no sign of even noticing the finery around him. Excitement warred for control of his face with surprise, disbelief, envy, and dismay.
Amber finished her impromptu monologue, and Trinlen slowly schooled his face into a neutral expression. His voice was tense and tightly controlled. "So... In short, you're telling me that in the mere two weeks since you met me, you discovered a mana-poaching conspiracy of nobles, were abducted right under the noses of two royal guards without them even noticing, absorbed mana so fast that you gained 6 levels in a day and a half - so unfair, by the way - somehow learned an obscure portal spell from just its name and description, found evidence of a conspiracy against the Crown, and personally met a princess." He paused, then threw his hands up as he wailed in frustration and disappointment. "And I missed it!?"
Carlos threw back his head and burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. Trinlen just sounded so much like a little kid who'd barely missed out on a candy store giving away its entire stock for free. It was such an incredible light-hearted contrast with how everyone else viewed these same events that the sheer ridiculousness of it was overwhelming. Amber joined the laughter a moment later, shaking her head in amused disbelief, and after a few more seconds Trinlen started chuckling too.
Carlos's laughter eventually trailed off, and he took a deep breath to settle down. "Thanks, Trinlen. It's been a very stressful two weeks, and laughing like that helped release a lot of it. Feels good. Anyway, what have you been up to? I thought you would take a whole month to graduate?"
"Technically I only said 'next month', not that it would be at the same point in the month. But yes, this is earlier than I expected. The normal graduation ceremony is still a week and a half away." Trinlen shrugged. "They didn't explain the reasons, but after what you said I'm guessing your meeting with the princess prompted her to do something. The vice headmaster called me to his office yesterday morning, a few teachers grilled me on my classwork, and they declared I'd passed my exams. Then they told me to pack because I'd be teleported to my new employers the next day, and here I am." He sighed. "Hmph. Now I won't get to humiliate Norla in front of the whole academy when she gives her speech." Then he perked up and grinned widely. "But it sounds like you two are going to be so much fun that I'll get over it in no time!"
"I'm not sure if I agree with your idea of fun, Trinlen, but if it motivates you to help us more then that's good enough for me." Carlos chuckled again. "Anyway, do you need some time to get settled in? You might need to think about lesson plans for us too. We don't need just catalogues of incantations to learn anymore, at least not for simple ones, but I believe you learned other things in the academy too. You mentioned creating your own spells, as I recall."
Trinlen nodded. "I did mention that, yes. I'm guessing your lack of need for a catalogue is because of your newfound ability to somehow pull entire incantations from thin air? You'll have to at least tell me about the limitations of that so I'll know what I still need to teach you, but yeah, there are other things. For one thing, there's your sloppy terminology! Why does no one outside of the academy care about properly distinguishing between the states of mana? Is it really that hard to understand that calling aether, mana, and essence all by the same term obscures your meaning and often causes confusion? Or are people so stupid that they can't even understand the difference?"
Carlos blinked and exchanged a look with Amber. His comprehension aid informed him about the distinction the instant Trinlen spoke the terms. That would have been nice to know earlier. The comprehension aid is a house secret, so we should let him explain. "At least for us, it's just ignorance. I don't think I've even heard the other two terms you mentioned, and certainly no one ever explained them. So, what is the difference?"
Trinlen paused, cocked his head for a moment, and slowly deflated after his impassioned rant. "Yeah, okay, that's fair. I don't think I ever heard about it before going to the academy either." He sat up straight. "Aether is what you've been calling ambient mana. It's thin like air, and it's everywhere. Its only use is converting it to mana or essence. Mana, using the term with proper precision, is thicker but still fluid like water. It exists primarily in people or creatures and is used as fuel to supply power for spells and magical effects. Essence is hard and solid. It is the material that soul structures are made of, as well as the forms of active spells and enchantments. Am I clear so far?"
Amber answered first. "Yes, I'm familiar with each of the forms you described. I have questions about more details - so many questions - but you should get properly settled in, and maybe eat lunch, before we really get down to it. Have you spoken with Mayor Stelras yet? Do you have lodging sorted out?"
"I went by his office first. He's having someone take my luggage to an inn. The Adventurer's Haven, I think? He said something about a 'low-value target' and having an empty suite already booked." Trinlen's eyes widened. "Waaait a minute. Is he putting me in the room you two were abducted from?"
Carlos shrugged. "Sounds like it."
"Nice! Think there'll be any evidence left of how it was done?"
"Haha! Probably not by this point, but you're welcome to look. Now go get unpacked, eat a meal, and start planning your lessons for us. I'm glad you're here, but we have some other things to do too."
Trinlen nodded and stood up. "Sure. I'll be back before you miss me."
Carlos waved as Trinlen sauntered out the door. He and Amber sat in companionable silence for a while as he felt the mana - or essence? - of Trinlen's soul moving off into the distance. "Well. That was interesting. It's good to have him, but I was expecting a bit more time to think and plan before he'd get here."
"Yeah." Amber stretched and then leaned back into the sofa's cushions, luxuriating in their soft firmness. "So, how much are we going to tell him? How useful will his knowledge even be for us, now that we have, what did you call it, the reference documentation? That bit about the states of mana is good to know, but is it really relevant and important, and how much more can there be that's not in the documentation?"
"Be careful talking about that out loud, remember?" Carlos relaxed and draped his arms across the sofa's back as he focused his mind on their mental bond through Purple, their friendly dungeon core. [On Earth, we made many languages similar to the language of incantations, and we had the reference documentation for all of them. We even published that documentation free for everyone to have. Teachers for those languages were still useful, and even critically important for many people. Having access to knowledge doesn't mean you automatically understand how to properly apply it. There may be related knowledge we have no idea even exists. There could be techniques and patterns for how to use the language that are simply outside the scope of the documentation. Perhaps most importantly, a teacher can use their experience to notice a student's mistakes and correct them before they become problems.]
[Hmm.] Amber bit her lip, thinking. [Like how I knew about making soul structures and synergies between them, but had no idea about the importance of being able to examine and fix them, I suppose.]
Carlos nodded. [Yeah. And that's a really simple example. I know some that are a lot more complex, though I'm not sure how many of them are even applicable for incantations. Inversion of control, dependency injection, factory patterns...] He shook his head. [Just the context knowledge needed to be able to fully understand those could take days or weeks to teach well enough for you to use them. I could maybe explain the basic ideas faster with some simplified analogies, but that would lose so many details that I doubt it would still be useful.]
Amber paused. [... Even my comprehension aid is baffled by the terms you just said. It translated the individual words that you said, but all I got for the phrases is a confusing jumble.] She chuckled. [Anyway, I concede the point. Trinlen will still be able to teach us important and useful things. We still need to decide what secrets to share with him.]
[A lot depends on how good he is at keeping secrets. We don't actually know him all that well yet. He's certainly fun, and he seems clever, but for assessing his integrity we're leaning pretty hard on just a janitor vouching for him.] Carlos frowned in thought. [In order for him to do his job, he needs to know that we can only "pull an entire incantation from thin air" if it's a simple one. He does not need to know the full details of help, however, and most certainly does not need to learn to use it himself. That secret is a very sensitive one, where even just letting too much knowledge of it spread would lose us a major advantage.]
[Definitely. No casting help where he can hear it, and don't say anything about it that's not directly relevant for his teaching, either. Not until he's earned our full trust.] Amber lapsed into silent consideration. [We should introduce him to Purple. We'll kind of have to at some point anyway, and the really valuable thing there is Purple himself, not just the knowledge of his existence.]
Carlos nodded. [True. I think that probably is the least sensitive of our house secrets, and being able to call him through a bond with Purple would be useful.] He chuckled. [And maybe his cleverness will end up producing some good ideas for Purple to use. See if he can find a more productive outlet than pranks for his creativity. And then... If he keeps that secret well enough for long enough, we can consider trusting him with more secrets.]
Amber sent back wordless agreement.
Carlos started sitting up, lifting himself out of the comfortable cushions. "Well, we should get some food ourselves, too. And maybe introduce Trinlen to everyone else along with Purple." He stood up and spotted a letter he'd set aside when Trinlen arrived. "Oh yeah, and what do you think we should do about Kindar?"
"Wait, what's this about Kindar?"
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I’m about to post a slightly edited version of a comment I (35f) left on someone else’s recent post. We’re working on it, but I need support in supporting my partner (48m, father of my 2-year-old twins) through his addiction. Anyone who suffers from this or is with someone who suffers from this knows it isn’t something you just talk to anyone about. 1. it’s embarrassing 2. they tend to immediately tell you to write the person off bc they’re “disgusting” and too far gone 3. you love the person and don’t want others to think or talk negatively about them.
Anyway, here is a very, very short summary of what I’m currently dealing with, and what I have dealt with for much longer than my comment (the copy/paste below) portrays.
Idk, I just need someone who gets it. I’ve cried the last two times we’ve had sex because this relapse was the first one that shocked me. I’d truly believed that he was clean, whereas I’d always doubted him before. Now I feel like I have lost the ability to talk freely about my feelings with my best friend, because I don’t want to kick him while he’s down, and everything that needs to be said (for now) has been said. That doesn’t mean the hurt or paranoia (?) just evaporates.
Keep in mind I was replying to someone else, so there are parts that relate directly to that comment.
Here it is (edited to make more sense in this context):
i’ve been deeeep in the trenches with my partner, too. he has been seeing a counselor (who also suffered from porn addiction) on and off for two years. he loves him; that is key. when he sees him weekly, he is good. he has relapsed a few times, despite the “fail safe” of me having complete access to his phone via “myactivity.google.com”. we are logged into his gmail on our respective phones, and even incognito use shows up as “used google chrome”, but it will have no additional details attached, signaling incognito. yes, he has deleted activity during relapses, but sooner or later, they’ll miss something. guarantee it. Tbh, checking his activity online is secondary. His “tells” are setting earlier alarms (more time in the morning while everyone else sleeps), taking an abnormal amount of time “changing the wash over”, constantly having “stomach issues” which cause him to be in the locked bathroom, sometimes for an hour+, and so on.
I know that it’s just like any addiction. HE has to want it. I was addicted to opiates, and I know that no one can force you or convince you to get clean. I also know how hard it is and how easy it is to relapse and justify as “just this one time.” what matters most to me are the following points: 1. he willingly goes to counseling 2. he does not push back on me checking on his usage and instead asks me to please check his activity so he’s less likely to relapse, knowing something could (will) slip through the cracks 3. when he has relapsed, and I called him on it, his very first reaction was to call his counselor. he did not try to justify or lie.
all that being said, i’m at my breaking point. it cannot happen again without him coming to me and telling me he slipped, rather than me finding out on my own. I have asked again and again only for honesty, not perfection. (struggling with my own addiction, I know temptation sometimes wins. it’s not ok, but what’s worse is deceit,) I will not do it again. I cannot let it consume me. He knows I mean it. When I caught him this past time, I did not cry, did not pack bags, did not yell. I told him I was sorry he was overwhelmed enough to feel that relapse was worth it, and I believed in him. but enough was enough, and I would love and support from a distance. (edit: if I’m being honest, this isn’t true. I said all of that in May 2023. we have since moved six states away from everyone we know and love, and everything I own is here. the government won’t pay to ship all of my things back like they paid to get them here when he was hired into his current job. I no longer have a house or a job there, and because public transportation is so readily available, we didn’t replace my car when it had to be scrapped; I have nothing of my own, even though my mom would let us live with her in a heartbeat. I gave him another chance because not doing so was harder. If it happens again, I don’t care about my stuff. The twins and I will go home and stay with my mom. Stuff is stuff. My babies living in a healthy environment is the most important thing in the world to me—my feelings are secondary. for now, staying here is what’s best, as their father and I are continuing to work through it, as outlined below.)
I went as far as to email his counselor, and he (bf) thanked me for it, surprisingly. I knew ethically he couldn’t respond, but I want him to have 100% truth so he could help accordingly. He put my bf on a strict plan, and he has been sticking to it. The most important thing is that he has ZERO phone usage when he is home, except to check bus/metro times or when his daughter, who lives in another state, is playing softball and his ex wife is sending him updates. otherwise, as soon as he steps in the door, it goes straight to the drawer. (he works at the pentagon in a division that requires top secret clearance, so his phone is not on him during the day and he clearly cannot indulge in that environment).
I fully understand that this has nothing to do with me or his love for me or attraction to me. we have sex often, it’s passionate and fulfilling for us both. not to get too personal, I just want to state that I know he enjoys it, because we typically will have sex for an hour+, and he cums an average of six times. I know he sometimes doesn’t even masturbate (very likely often no erection) when watching. I mean, he’ll turn it on for three mins if he gets the chance, just to get the dopamine hit. it’s that hit of dopamine and, as fucked up as it is, a sort of “companionship” (bf’s word) that requires no effort that keeps the hold on him.
there is much more to the backstory, including him being raped (let’s called it what it is, it was not assault) when he was 10. a 17-year-old girl decided to “teach him what girls like”, which ultimately led to her “showing him” how to have sex. again, he was 10. she was 17. He also did two combat tours in Iraq. there is just so much trauma, but these are all reasons, not excuses. If someone does reach out to me, I’ll share aspects of our relationship that are also relevant.
Anyway…does anyone want to talk? This is my throwaway, but I still get alerts.
apologies for typos or just generally shitty writing—I don’t feel like going back to reread everything.

I have some experience with VBA programming but this is my first project where I am doing a lot of computations. I'm building a montecarlo simulator for which I calculate certain financial metrics based on simulated energy prices. In this project I will need to simulate energy prices between 15 to 30 years in the future, I am interested in the monthly and yearly price data. The mathematical model I am using to simulate energy prices works better when time intervals are smaller. I'm wondering wether to simulate prices on a daily or monthly frequency. Of course, daily would be better however it will also get computational heavy. If I project energy prices for the coming 30 years over 400 different iterations I will need to calculate 365*12*400 = 1,752,000 different data points. My question to whoever has experience with computationally heavy projects in VBA, is this manageable or will it take forwever to run?
P.S I currently I have only programmed the simulator for energy prices. For the sake of experimenting I simulated 5,000,000 prices and it took VBA 9 seconds to finish running. This is relatively fast but keep in mind that the whole simulation will need to take average of daily prices to compute the average price for each year and then calculate financial metrics for each year, however none of these calculations are that complex.

A couple years ago I woke up in the middle of the night and shared this extremely vivid dream on actingclass. I’m glad I did, or I would have forgotten all about it. I think it’s time to share it again and remind some of you who might have seen it. Here it is. It’s a wild one!
I was working in the Amazon forest with people who were born, first, as tiny little flies, but quickly turned into human beings. But their life cycle was extremely short, and they were aging at an incredibly accelerated speed. And I was there because many of them wanted to learn acting before they died. So I was trying to teach them. Some at their bed side as they turned into very old people. But they still wanted to learn, working until they took their last breath.
One gray old man was about to die and I could see his spirit start to leave his body. I felt so bad that he hadn’t achieved what he hoped. But just as I thought he was gone for good, his spirit returned to him and he opened his eyes and ask me to tell him more.
I don’t know why these people wanted to act. They wouldn’t live long enough to have careers. But it was what they wanted, even on their deathbed, so I was there with them until they couldn’t hang on any longer.
It’s not so hard to interpret this dream. It’s kind of the way I feel now, knowing there are so many of you out there, ignoring what your heart has been telling you for years. If you are 20 years old, 70 seems a long ways away. But I am looking back from 69, and it seems like yesterday I was 20. We do all have a limited time on this earth. If we were more aware of it, we wouldn’t waste the precious time we have. And I think we are all born with our dreams and inclinations planted within us that need to be fulfilled. It may not make sense, but that desire is there and it will never go away. You already know—it hasn’t gone away yet.
If acting is your deepest desire, I do want to help you achieve it in your lifetime. I don’t want you to run out of time. You are blessed with a long life so you CAN achieve so much. But it is only a blink of an eye in reality. You can’t take it for granted. It will be over before you know it. At 69 years old, my desire is to help everyone to be able to fulfill their dreams. That is my passion. I know I don’t have forever to do it. So take advantage of this opportunity while you can—me wanting to help you. In fact, treasure every moment of your life and use your time to do what brings you joy and fulfillment.
What do you really mean when you say “I don’t have time? Plain and simple it’s that you haven’t made acting one of your priorities. If something is important to you, you will find a way to fit it into your schedule. You know, even as busy as you are, you waste time on things that don’t help you to move forward. Think about it! And try some of these alternatives:
1. Wake up Earlier! Set your alarm 15-30 minutes earlier. Read one of my WRITTEN LESSONS. Read them in order. Or watch one of my VIDEO LESSONS and work your way up from the bottom to the top. Leave comments on both so you can go back and remember what you learned. I will respond to you and keep track of what you are learning and give you pointers.
2. Go to bed later. If you’re not a morning person, maybe devoting some time to learning about acting would be better right before bed. It’s the commitment that counts. Do what I described above. I will be there to help.
3. Commit to One of my Weekly classes Check out YESTERDAY’S POST. It describes a step be step plan to become a professional actor. When you become a committed member of my student body you will be in the loop for whatever you should do next. But making yourself answerable to going to class and rehearsing with scene partners is a way to make sure you don’t let time slip away. It will change your life and help you to become “Acting Focused”. When you “don’t have time”, you sometimes need to commit to something in a definite way—like getting a trainer at the gym. I did that so I had to show up at appointment times. It made me find time. It got me in shape. My acting classes are like going to the “Acting Gym”. They will get you in shape for what you need to become a professional actor. A new session of “Intro to Acting” starts tomorrow.
4. Visit actingclass at least once a day! I want to encourage everyone to visit actingclass, every day. It’s almost impossible to take in all the information that is available here, but do a little at a time and get started. Just reading the student’s comments below the hundreds of posts and lessons is awe inspiring.
5. Get One on One Help And if you want to start putting all those concepts and techniques into practice and you really have no time to join any of my scheduled classes, try taking a couple private lessons. Together we can take you to a whole new level of understanding. HERE is the post that describes all the possibilities and costs of working with me on Zoom.
I know you are busy. But are you too busy to do what your heart desires? Make time. Make a commitment. I’m here to help you every step of the way

What are your experiences with memory loss due to your epilepsy? I'm talking long or short-term.
Lots of us experience the loss after an episode.
How is that for you? Do you remember the whole day up to the episode? Do you black out? Do you have auras, and if so, do you remember the day that they showed up or the days before and after?
Please share your experience with memory loss. I have had a very hard time lately and need some support over this.
I have grand mals. I used to average 4 per day. They started at 17- can't find any reason, not eligible for any surgery due to the electrical activity not being isolated - aka they'd have to take my whole brain out, lol. Thanks to medicine, I am now down to just a few episodes a year! They range from 2-6 seizures within a 48-hour period, usually.
Without medication, my seizures are very long. The longest I've spent convulsing at one time was 17 minutes. I have almost died multiple times and experienced wild injuries from it.
Epilepsy lost me a full ride athletic scholarship to the best place in the world (unimportant, being relatively vague for internet reasons, haha). It has taken too much from me. But we just keep swimming. Ironically, another activity I'm not supposed to participate in.
Anyway, I'm just giving some background info. Feel free to share yours, too.
My brain damage is awful. I'm able to learn new skills/information, but if I don't repeat it every day, I lose it in about 4 days or so. I mis-remember many things and have lost a LOT of long-term memory. I don't remember childhood, and I can't remember what my family's voices sound like when I'm away from them for just a week or so. One of my favorite things to do is research, but it seems pointless in the long run. I still do it as a hobby, seeing as how it is fairly risk-free.
I was away from someone who was apparently one of my best friends for just a few years. When we reconnected, I didn't even know their name or face. I thought they were joking until they showed me pictures.
My short term is very bad as well. When I feel down about these things, I watch 50 First Dates to remind myself that people still care about me, good or bad brain, haha. It hurts because I am (not to brag) VERY smart. I have so much potential, but epilepsy kills it.
I could say a million more things, but I wanted to vent & ask about your experiences. You're never alone.
Cheers to good health, guys
edit lol, forgot the point of my title
I have all these issues, but I can learn songs within a day and always retain the lyrics and flow. Even just hearing a couple of seconds of a song clip, I usually can easily identify it. The brain is a wild instrument. I just wish I could tune mine.

Hello, to begin with I want to add that I never judge people by their look and I do not make assumptions based on that, but in this story I will describe the people as they looked so u can feel it more.
The story that happened to me today:
I had a broken arm and went to the doctor today. In our country, the waiting time in hospitals for such a check is up to 3 hours. The waiting rooms are post-communist, old, white walls and blue uncomfortable chairs. After about half an hour of waiting in a waiting room full of people of all ages, who were also after some sort of injury, a 2-meter middle-aged man came to the waiting room, who at first glance looked somewhat strange. He sat down on a chair and his girlfriend or sister came behind him, I don't know what of those two it was, but she looked even weirder than him. The guy had a tucked-in T-shirt in his pants with the inscription PRAGUE and the Czech flag on the front of the t-shirt. He had rustler pants pulled up high. His posture was stooped. He had brown, thinning hair and thick-rimmed glasses. Blue eyes that only had an empty look. Huge palms, since he was about 2 meters. The woman who was with him was missing several teeth. She was overweight and of average height. She was wearing gray leggings, a t-shirt that was short so part of her stomach was visible, and an unzipped dark green jacket. Both of them showed that they were not completely in order and looked a little dirty, but not like street dirty, more like they just dont take care of them self AT ALL dirty. The woman looked much dirtier. They sat down not far from me and at first it was quiet. Subsequently, the guy started talking, first in silence and to himself, he started commenting everything around him. For example, another patient in the waiting room was wearing a cap and the strange guy said. "Look, the moron still has his cap on. Can you understand that?!? haha" He always laughed really unpleasantly after one of his drastic comments. Horror type laugh. He could be heard and people were looking around at him. As we were all waiting in the waiting room, a nurse came out and according to the ordinary number, called a very old lady who had broken her arm and was going to be checked. The strange guy was sitting closest to the door, so everyone was walking around him. As the grandmother slowly got up from her chair (obviously because she is old), the strange guy aggressively shouted: "WELL MOVE, MOVE, COMMON!!!" Everyone pretended not to hear him and no one ever spoke up. As he commented, he said something that I didn't fully understand, something like: "And what does this tattooed moron think of himself???" That should have been on me because I was the only one in the waiting room with tattoos on my body. So I looked at him and asked him: "You talking to me?"
The strange guy aggressively raised his voice and answered: "YES, I SAID THAT ABOUT YOU AND WHAT DO YOU CARE, DO I MIND YOU?" type shit, to which I replied that he was shouting in a waiting room full of people like he is out of his fucking mind and that's when it started. The guy started almost shouting on entire waiting room: "OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND? YOU CAN BE SURE THAT I AM OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND, I'M 100% SCHIZOPHRENIC. I WILL KILL YOU AND I WILL NOT EVEN GO TO JAIL. THEY WILL JUST LOCK ME IN AN INSTITUTE AGAIN :)… YOU WILL END UP UNDERGROUND BECAUSE GOD DOESN'T WANT YOU IN HEAVEN! YOU WILL DIE!!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT, AT LEAST THERE WILL BE ONE LESS BRAT. A VEIN IN YOUR NECK WILL RUPTURE AND YOU'LL BLEED OUT, YOU'LL SEE. BUT I DON'T WANT TO RETURN TO THE INSTITUTE... I DON'T WANT TO RETURN. MRS. GUIDE I DONT WANT TO GO BACK”. The woman who was with him just watched blankly, motionless, without emotion. I didn't answer him, I shook my head and gave a thumbs up as he aggressively said he was going to kill me. I felt a slight fear and a rush of adrenaline, of course I did nothing. WTF? The guy was visibly sick in the head and god knows what would happen if I reacted to this. Afterwards, he kept talking. Totally random stuff. "Look at how he stares at the phone, that's even worse than alcohol, he's addicted. I saw that on TV" again at me. The woman was silent. A hospital bed arrived in the waiting room, on which lay a very old grandmother who had probably fallen and hit herself somehow. She was lying and holding her head up, she told her daughter that it doesn't hurt, when she hold her head up like that so she has to have her head up. The guy heard it and to the entire waiting room: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO. THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS DIE. HAHAH. OTHER THAN THAT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. HAHA :) NO ONE HAS TO DO ANYTHING BUT EVERYONE HAS TO FUCKING DIE. END UP UNDERGROUND. HAHAHAHA. PSST PSST… SHUT UP, BE QUIET” he said to himself and started rocking in his chair. As the patients went in order, he was angry that there were people ahead of him. The nurse called the next patient in line to the ambulance. It was a mother with a baby in a stroller. The guy said out loud, "WHY ARE YOU GOING? YOU AND YOUR CHILD ARE SOMETHING MORE?”. No one in the waiting room noticed him, people just nodded their heads. After the check-up, the mother and the child came out of the doctor's office and this strange guy said: "WHAT, YOU'RE FINALLY GOING AWAY. WHY WERE YOU THE MAIN???" The woman said with a very calm tone: my child is sick. The strange guy: "And you work?! You have a job!?" The woman said yes and when she saw that he was aggressive, she started walking away. While she was walking away, the guy was talking louder and louder at her: "DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID? SHE THINKS I'M STUPID AND THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT SHE'S ON KINDERGARTEN WITH HER BABY! HAHAHAHA” . It was really terrible, I was really afraid that he will attack somebody. The guy also said things like: "NO. NO. I DON'T WANT TO GET MY HANDS DIRTY AGAIN. Pssst, psssst. SILENCE!..... I have to drink, I have dry in my mouth. dry like sahara i am. DRINK, BECAUSE YOUR KIDNEYS WILL DRY UP!” The doctor called number 12 in, which was me, and this strange guy was sitting about 2 cm from the door to the ambulance. He said something again, but I didn't even listen to his words anymore, I was just careful when I walked by, that I wouldn't get hit or that something would poke me. I went to the doctor and the doctor asked who was screaming like that. I told him what it was about and he told me that I shouldn't pay attention to such people. He checked my hand and I went away. As I was leaving, the guy was talking loudly: "NOW GO. AND YOU HAVE FREE TIME, EXCELLENT HAHA” . And I walked away.
All this was very strange and my first encounter with such a sick person. ou could see on him that he really mean those things. The whole time I had a very bad feeling. The guy looked exactly like some kind of psychopath, like some serial killer who keeps the heads of his victims in the refrigerator so that he can feel dominance over them forever type shit and cant tell the difference between good and bad. I wouldn't be surprised at all if in a few years I see him and his wife in the news that a dead body was found at their home.
Did you have any encounters like this? I want to know

I am new to this mbti and enneagram stuff, but I did look into cognitive functions a bit but I still am not sure which fit me, it might be because I am still pretty new. This is mostly a hobby for when I am bored and want to think, because I like to play with outside systems like this.
• How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
I am 16 years old, male , just your average quiet teenager that sucks at introspecting and wants to look cool to others yet does nothing to impress others (other than looks)
that sounded oddly specific.,.....
whatever
• Is there a medical diagnosis that may impact your mental stability somehow?
not really, not that I know of..
• Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
I grew up in a poor family (duh), then just like your average adult couple they divorce, usually I'd stay a lot with my mother and she would teach me about morals which I now see some as stupid but either way I kind of "took" her morals and my dad's too. Kind of had to grew up early and take care of my smaller brother by substituting being a dad , and I have a lot of influence over my brother , and we would switch places a lot but the only comfort I had was in games, interacting with others on the games ,making fun of others and overall having a good time being accepted
• What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
At the moment I have no job, I do karate and I could teach others but I don't have the stuff necessary like: a place to train others, I am not at the highest level yet, customers and this is mostly the main things.
But I would really like to continue on this path of gym and karate since I already have an edge and kind of be under someone's wing to help me
• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
Mostly depends, on my mood sometimes I despise being alone and feel miserable being alone with my thoughts(and is mostly why I spend a lot of time on my computer despite not wanting to do so) or if the people in my circle kind of make me have a bad time then I would want to withdraw and get my energy back , usually I am very loud after I get comfortable with the other person and know what they are capable of
• What kinds of activities do you prefer? Do you like, and are you good at sports? Do you enjoy any other outdoor or indoor activities?
Like I said above I do Karate , I recently reached the brown belt ( YIPPPIE me) and me and the outdoors have a bad history but as of now I prefer to have a balance of both but mostly I would like to focus on real life things, especially when it comes to careers
• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
I am not too curious of stuff that is deep , it makes me feel miserable, but usually I get random questions sometimes and it makes me search , but not too deep into it just enough to have the idea cause I see no point in diving deeper. Usually when I even get these questions is from either talking out loud or just looking around me so it's mostly environmental (I think not too sure of this)
• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
The only time I like leading is when I have knowledge and know I am the best to do it, if someone else is better then I'll let them do their thing but usually I wouldn't fully obey them I would kind of give some counter-arguments if there is room for some.
Even when I lead, others do listen to me and usually I am confident in doing it, kind of like that one quote of Sun Tzu:" Go to war only if you know you will win" , which my friend told me recently.
As for the style not too sure what it would really reference, but I would say I think of people as cogs in the machine
• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
Not too sure what to say on the "coordination" part but I for sure love working with my hands, especially when I cook for myself or others, and like I already mentioned I do karate so of course I like practicing with my hands improving my technique
• Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
no I am not artistic at all , I don't really look into it at all since I don't consider it worthwhile but as a kid I did like drawing cause I was good at it and I got recognition for my drawings from other classmates and that would fuel me to make me like drawing cause the teacher liked it, others too and yeah.. Untill it kind of stopped receving the feedback and such
• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
I don't like to think of the past too much , especially when I think of myself, it's mostly negative things but I try to see the bright side of what I've achieved and such, because I wasn't healthy (even now I feel like I am not healthy but it's clearly better), I used to be chubby kind of fat , and before getting into karate I did handball where we trained physical condition and other things , and we had to do sit ups but due to me being fat I couldn't and others looked at me and started joking even the trainer and because of that I quit..
The present could be good but I am indifferent towards it I don't really work towards anything specific I like to remain a little reactive and eventually get help from others into shaping my future life.
And like I said I try to remain reactive of the present, I don't like planning too far ahead because it could be too early to plan and there might be more to do
• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
I don't get asked for help frequently but it's either I help the person because I see they are struggling or they asked me and it goes two ways: 1. I agree and do the job or 2. I tell them "no" and go back to what I was doing (eventually feeling guilty I didn't help but I don't like being used for other's advantage)
• Do you need logical consistency in your life?
Yeah , it's pretty important people shouldn't only run on feelings but kind of fit some systems into some kind of framework, not really think about it 24/7, but make sense of it that is how I like to do it.
Even with this system of cognitive functions I try to understand it but sometimes it's a bit too abstract, I prefer more practical examples to fully understand the idea behind it
• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
Not too much but not too less, usually I prefer it to not be feeling sad that I am "closed off somewhere" and not doing something, isolated from the world , especially with no computer atleast to go on the internet and joke around and chill with others(but of on a common task or else I will mind my business).
But I strive to be efficient in what I do over time , even if it's for a game that is pointless
• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
Simply no, I never was able to do this exactly , well maybe after I get to know the person a bit and see what they could do.... but I am not.
Also just read what controlling others mean , and I could see myself taking charge and just doing everything myself....
But I still feel like I don't, but I can see how I could, but I won't because I don't have the skill and it wouldn't be good
• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
Well probably just ,out of boredoom, playing games but not a wide variety which gets boring quick but familiarity bias is a thing.. and doing karate which energizes me almost everytime and anytime even if I don't feel like it and force myself. I just like when it goes well with others it and being liked by others, energizes me
• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
To be honest I didn't really pay attention to how I learn I just learn to get good grades in school and make it, yeah not too much here but I struggle with things that don't really add up to me or I don't see the logic behind
Usually I don't need explanations from the teacher I kind of tend to see the logic behind everything mostly without asking much information since some subjects have systems that are easily to juggle with(like math but I sometimes struggle with calculating in my head)
• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
I try to simplify strategizing, yes having a plan in depth is good but people for sure won't like if you are gonna stick to one rigid plan , which is why you have to make it kind of like a team thing even if I do make a rigid plan I try to make it sound simple and to the point based of data that others and I know, even making decision off the data my group knows
• What are your aspirations in life, professionally and personally?
Probably to feel happy I achieved something and doing something in the outside world, eventually influencing others
• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
Mostly personal stuff , and emotional situations, my emotional inteligence is bad and I am bad at emotions too, atleast handling the emotions of others, but sometimes I try to let them vent to me and help them a bit and try to be empathetic even tho I don't show it too much, mostly I show it through acting tho
• What do the "highs" in your life look like?
Positive outlook on life, relationships are well but I don't worry about them too much unless there is an obvious problem and really liking to hang around others, and especially having something going on for myself
• What do the "lows" in your life look like?
the first thing that comes to my mind is: withrdawn, melancholy and just starting to critique everyone in my head but not really telling them, yeah sometimes I may start bluntly joking about other's and stuff and even situtations, I try to poke fun and when it kind of fails I feel like withdrawing from others since it doesn't work Melancholy litteraly makes me feel miserable about everything, mostly makes me feel depressed. I do tend to feel it often but I try to supress it trough doing things, like playing on the computer , youtube and such (everyone does this to some extent)
• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
I find myself daydreaming when bored and not really anything is going on but I do tend to be mindful of what others do in case they try to harm me...
But even if I daydream it's mostly about what everything could have been, kind of like what I could have done or what I could do and how it would end up/ ended up, but it does happen quite a lot
• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?
Not too sure if I would ever get there but thinking out loud here so , probably about some random stuff in my head unrelated to my situations untill one thought hits close to home and I go into some deeper stuff , and usually when I get deeper into things I tend to feel miserable, my friend (who is INTJ btw) said that my negative depressing thoughts that I hate match the thinking of the philosophy of "Nihilism" which is kind of true....
• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
I try and not stay too long on it but sometimes I might run back and forth if I am not too sure, but I try to stay decisive , because being indecisive a lot is bad..
• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
I kind of look down on emotions , yes I feel them but I just tend to ignore and repress them sometimes, but I vent to closer friends from time to time, but this is mostly because my parents would misinterpret my emotions...
My mom would just over moralify everything and bring it to a stupid extreme which is unrelated..
and My dad would just make fun of them , but sometimes he would give me spot on answers which are exactly what I need
• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
Not really , even if I do it's in a way to shut off the conversation, because I don't like having conversation with no point
• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why?
I don't really mind rules , but I don't pay attention to them too much(because no need to worry if you don't go out of your way to try something that could count as "breaking the rules") mostly to the general ones which could punish you very harshly but overtime they could be exploited and I do that when I am confident I won't be caught or it won't punish me
I also took the mbti test from Michael Caloz site (I saw people doing this one a lot so I figured I might give it a try for this post :D)
statistics of functions
the top result (followed by ESTP and then ESTJ, in that order)
I saw other posts also mentioning this, and I figured I would too
I took this test a bit rushed cause I needed to do something..