I've got many years of experience in building, upgrading and repairing PCs, both as a job and for fun, but I haven't strayed from the standard desktop for awhile. The last time I worked with a smaller form factor was using a board that fit in one of the early Shuttle PC toaster cases, circa '04. I've also worked up machines with micro-ATX boards.
The searches I've done on this subject have largely returned information targeted at servers of one type or another. The target for this build is desktop use only. It's not just about running Linux on low-end hardware. I've got an old Chromebook that would work, but where's the fun in that?
I live in a very rural area (a farm in the southeastern USA) that has frequent power outages due to seasonal storms. Power restoration can sometimes take several hours. The system I'm going to build will be running on a UPS, but I have limited resources to purchase one. It's very quiet out there, and I prefer to keep it that way. The less power required and noise (and heat) generated, the better.
I'm seeking to build a relatively quiet fanless PC with low power requirements. I'm primarily looking for motherboard/processoRAM recommendations. Mini-ITX is preferred. I already have some 2.5" SATA drives to use. Hardware RAID options (at least RAID 1) would be a huge bonus but are not required. High performance (2024 gaming, etc), is not required, although I wouldn't turn it down if it's possible.
The PC will only be normally tasked with web browsing, some video playback (YouTube, low-res Prime, etc) and some open-source office software. I know there are vendors who offer complete package PCs like this, but I'd like to build one for the experience and for maximum compatibility with Linux (probably Debian, maybe Ubuntu). If it could run Windows 11 and not wheeze that would be swell, but that's not the target. I might run some older Windows apps thru WINE, but they aren't resource intensive; I've run them on much older Linux systems than what's currently available.
I'd prefer something with an external power supply that would fit in small form factor case, but this is not a deal breaker. A similar desirable case size would be the Shuttle XPC Slim. As far as vendor or manufacturer goes, I'm agnostic. Whichever one offers better options for this purpose is the one I'd rather go with, although I would strongly prefer to use a vendor that ships from the US.
For the mobo/proc/RAM combo, I'd like to stay under $400 US. Preferably *way* under but if it meets and surpasses all the requirements I could go that high. I've gone through a few vendor sites and compiled some shopping carts to get an idea, but it would be very helpful to see if anyone has had success with similar builds.
Thanks for any suggestions and for the community input in general.

I'll go first. Swiss International/Grid Systems (this is my go-to/bread 'n butter)... but for personal works, humor, illustrative, and hand lettered

Disclaimer:
This post has heavy spoilers to the story of the version 2.2 and maybe to something else. Good luck to read all of this. I yap for Ena and maybe repeat myself little too much. Mentioned characters:
Sunday
Robin
Aventurine
Dreammaster
Bronya
Seele
Cocolia
Mentioned Aeons:
Ena
Xipe
Hooh
Long
Oroboros
Qlipoth
Mentioned organisations:
Beyond the Sky Choir
Astral Express
Family
In loving memory: Ena the Order “The one who transcends the many”
In loving memory of Tazzyrronth the Propagation “The Sand king”
In loving memory of the Great Tatalov “The Garbage King”
So, the original intent behind this post was to create a lot of puns about Order and Sunday (for example something like Golden Order Radagon Sunday, “I will have order” with Sunday and a falling train instead, Sunday working in a delivery and saying that someone’s order was cancelled).
But then I started remembering all parts of Penacony storyline that have fascinated me. And one particular part master stroked me. When Sunday used his “tell the truth or die in 24 hours voice magic” he used not the power of Order, but Harmony – the Path he supposedly deliberately left behind and betrayed.
How can I be so sure, that he didn’t use the power of Order, making it look like the power of Harmony? Well, nor Dr. Ratio, nor Aventurine, nor Welt, nor (most importantly) Robin didn’t notice any sign that the Order was used and that the power on display did in fact belong to Harmony. And mind you, all of them are quite clever, experienced and hard to deceive. And in Aventurine’s conversation with Acheron in the Horizon of existence, Acheron (who as Self-Annihilator isn’t affected by the illusions of Order and can see through them) referred to the brand, used on Aventurine as the “brand of Harmony”. And the last proof is that when Sunday uses this power, he makes a call (or if you are a pun enjoyer like me, “an order”) to Xipe, referring to THEM as “Triple-faced soul”.
So, this was a really long and a roundabout way to prove that even with his supposed devotion to Order, Sunday still remains the Pathstrider of Harmony (and the laws of the HSR universe dictate, that you become a Pathstrider by following a philosophy of a particular Path). While being a Pathstrider of two Paths is not called impossible in the game, and Harmony and Order mostly overlap, there are some key differences between them. It means, that Sunday to some extant still believes in a philosophy of Harmony and is not a complete devotee of Order, how some people could have believed.
So, the goal of this post is to delve on the philosophy of Ena and Harmony through Sunday’s story, words, thoughts and actions. And to make some obnoxious theories, but that’s later.
So, let’s begin!
Ⅰ
In his childhood, Sunday alongside Robin, was called by the Dreammaster “two best interpreters of the Great One”. That means, that as a child, Sunday was extremely close to the philosophy of Harmony.
Let’s remember what Harmony embodies as a philosophy:
“Then, they say, O you who have reached the end, enter into the paradise that envelops all! Join this great choir and feast, listen to the beating of billions upon billions of hearts, holding you in THEIR embrace...”
“To battle the brutality of the laws of the universe, intelligent lifeforms must discard their cowardly selfishness and the differences between individuals, fusing into one singular melody — to have the strong help the weak, and to protect life with death.”
That is what Harmony preaches and Sunday was a follower of this ideology. Harmony preaches selfless people not only helping and uplifting each other to build “the paradise” (a prominent theme in Sunday’s thoughts) bit also welcoming every other willing person. Harmony philosophy is about acceptance, forgiveness, cooperation, that no person is beyond redemption, that in every person has inside of them the force that genuinely cares for others and strives for good. Harmony preaches something like this: “Because if it is possible for every person to become a member of Family’s shared paradise, then we should at lest try to welcome them in it.” That’s why Harmonic Strings (Emanators of Xipe) are not people and are actually manifestations materialized as the responses to the Hive Mind’s demands. It is a seemingly naïve and romantic ideal for the sometimes and indifferent brutal universe of HSR that requires great kindness, compassion, understanding, belief in other people, ability to see the better in other people and uplift them. And Sunday-follower of Order reflects on that:
"When I appeared as a child, my speech, mindset, and soul reflected immaturity and innocence."
"As I grew into adulthood, I left behind my childlike side."
Sunday (as shown in the quest) was a person of great understanding, compassion, and love for other living beings, full of desire to protect them (bird, Robin, other people). He was able to embrace even the worst people if they would show even the slightest glimpse of desire to redeem themselves and change for the better, like people who allegedly sold their own children. It is notable that he both acts as a follower of Harmony and an enforcer of Order conspiracy because of these very character traits. The motivation is the same, just the choice how to act based on this motivation is different between him and Robin because of different experiences.
As the ardent believer of Harmony, the seed of doubt in his mind was planted ironically by the very followers of the Harmony -the Family. And the disillusionment about Harmony also began, when his belief in other people was tested. When asking Xipe to clear his doubts, Sunday asks three questions:
“Who can judge the strong when their power hides their crimes?”
“Who can vouch for the weak when they will pay any price to survive?”
“If "the strong defending the weak" is truly the foundation of paradise, then who is responsible for the suffering and anguish in this wretched world?”
The questions display that the preached Harmony doesn’t work as intended. The extremely hard ideal to follow was exactly too demanding for numerous people who couldn’t stand up to the responsibility that came with upholding it. Also, as displayed both in the main quest of Penacony and in numerous events and side quests, flaws and imperfections of Family(note: of the Family on Penacony) are numerous. We have an entire “Ode to Fool” in the Grand Theatre about internal bloodthirsty war between the Family, where two of the seven families of Penacony ceased to exist. When even Family: those who preach the Odes of Harmony don’t act as they preach, are not harmonious, don’t show compassion and forgiveness, it is extremely hard to still believe in its teachings. And from that, the belief in people starts to slowly crumble as the very belief in a possibility of a paradise preached by the Xipe, is tested.
That is what turns him to Order. The feeling that while the paradise of Harmony is theoretically possible, how much suffering must people experience before it actually arrives. And when will it arrive? And IF it will arrive? These doubts in human inherent desire to change for the better leads to the idea: “And what if they don’t change? Then why take the risks? Why not to create something that guarantees their safety, happiness and protection?” His desire for Order is still born from his love for humanity.
Ⅱ
And while the shift in beliefs did in fact happen, it wasn’t completed and some beliefs in Harmony remain, alongside doubts about the philosophy of Order.
To prove that, let’s remember the Grand Theatre part of the quest (“Everything that Rises Must Converge”).
Before that Dreammaster has a particularly interesting conversation with Sunday. Sunday not only changes their plan, taking Robin’s place in the plan and then he asks Dreammaster why Penacony was the chosen planet to bring “paradise” of the Order. If he was completely convinced, why would he pose these questions?
Sunday several times brings the part of 107,336 souls of the Oak Family in his monologues. Why? Because he uses them to give self-validation to his beliefs. It comes not only from his desire to grant “paradise” to everyone (and this guys as stated dreamed about the paradise of Order), but also from his self-perceived responsibility as the Head of the Oak Family to stand up to wishes and desires of his subordinates, to protect them, and as the man with greatest position among them, to fulfil the hardest task. Because if people he is in charge of follow and support his views, not only it gives him more belief in his set of beliefs(ha), but also gives him even greater responsibility to prove that their faith in him, in Order is not misplaced.
In first two acts he displays before us shortcomings of the Harmony, trying to display himself as the ardent believer of the Order:
In the first act “Ode to Prisoner” he says that the freedom was not really achieved in Penacony’s great Independence War, posing a doubt that the ideal of Harmony even existed in Penacony since the very beginning.
In the second act “Ode to Fool” the theme of not so harmonic Harmony remains. Sunday talks about internal civil war between the Family, that eradicated two of the seven families on Penacony. How “harmonic” it is!
But in the last and most important act “Ode to Order” has a surprisingly different theme, hidden in it.
It is supposedly talking about the future of Penacony, but there is something more if you listen to its content once again:
General: “Without a ruler who would protect the weak and fight back against the tyrants?”
Chansellor: “We must assist each other in protecting the weak, just as we must assist each other in opposing the tyrannical.”
This dialogue argues that the very measures Sunday preaches, are not required for the coexistence and unification are also an option. Case of how differently Order and Harmony solve one problem.
Jester: “Without a ruler, who will make the stars follow their paths, the tides rise and fall, and allow life to grow?”
C: “These things did as they will long before the ruler appeared, just as they will continue to do with rulers gone.”
Where the Order requires an all-mighty divine king, controlling the world (like God-Emperor of Mankind from Warhammer), Harmony simply says that actually such beings are not needed.
Minister: “However, now that we have bid farewell to our ruler. Who shall take their place?”
C: “We no longer require a ruler, for we were originally all rulers who stand above all things.”
Once again, order preaches about the ruler on the top of everything, the one who has all of the rights and makes all of decisions. But harmony doesn’t work that way. Harmony preaches that if every person has equal rights to enter its paradise, then they are essentially equal. Where Order differentiates people and treats them differently according to THEIR criteria, harmony does not as THEY are all-embracing.
The choice of the position of Chansellor as the one giving answers is deliberate. It is another innuendo on differences between Harmony and Order. In Order king takes the power and pushes everyone under his control. Chancellor, as the representation of Harmony in this argument, is a position not a person. He is subject to change, unlike king. Unlike king, Chancellor is chosen among the people, by the people. He serves as one man being the voice of many people, for they have chosen him as a Chancellor because their ideals are the same and thus, they have entrusted him to fulfil their ideals in reality in their stead.
Some people were not satisfied that the arguments were not posed against Sunday by the Astral Express. Well, this entire act serves as a counter to his arguments, showing the point of view of Harmony arguing against the necessity of ideals of Order. Most importantly, they don’t disprove hid arguments completely, but rather pose a possible alternative take on things.
The Clockwork doesn’t work on puppets because they are “satisfied”. But what gives satisfaction: Order or Harmony? In my opinion, Harmony. Remember: in THEIR paradise there is “peace bestowed, sorrows and strife released.”
The “king” in the text obviously refers to Ena the Order, and the last talk from the “Future” in the act is about “final rites” to the king, that there is no need to seek THEIR existence, nor remember THEM. It illustrates the final confusion of Sunday: if Ena didn’t fight back while being consumed, if the philosophy of Harmony prevailed in the confrontation among the Paths, why try to restore the Order?
And after that particular act he chose to reveal to us the finale of Ena’s story. That THEY were banished to oblivion by the united will of the people who defied Order. And THEIR death was praised alongside praises for the appearance of Harmony – the ideal that prevailed on Penacony in the end.
And that is what actually 3 is actually about. Puppets(Members of the Beyond the Sky Choir) ask what they and everyone else should do after the “king(Ena)” disappeared.
They feel no safety and out of their comfort zone when the one that controlled everything about their lives suddenly disappeared. And Chancellor’s answers are the representation of the ideology of Harmony, that you don’t need to be controlled to strive in life, for that there is more to universe and that the “king” is not actually required for betterment of society, that society can harmonize and evolve on their own, that the unity of people can replace the “king”. Ironically, “the Ode to Order” doesn’t glorify Order but rather disproves it from being the one and only universal truth.
In this act Sunday actually reveals, intended or not, that he doesn’t disprove Harmony’s ideal, that he subconsciously feels that it can stand on par with the ideal of Order.
Then, Sunday poses between us three questions, each one has different answers depending on your set of believes: order or Harmony. Notice, that Sunday doesn’t give his own answers to the questions.
“Is darkness equal to daylight?”
This question is very metaphorical. Radiance and light, eradicating darkness and giving protection to those under the light are a repeated theme in the ideology of the Order (“I shall ascend to the heavens, becoming the scorching sun. Bathed in my light, my people shall flourish, while all evil shall be eradicated” / “Those who live in the shadows do not bear the right to tread the illuminated stage.” / “I now permit you to gaze into the sun [hardest line in the game btw]”) But radiance is also a term sometimes used to describe Xipe. The greatest difference lies in the fact that what Order will not tolerate (“darkness”), harmony will be able to co-exist with and eventually embrace. So for Order they are different, but for Harmony not at all.
“Are sinners equal to the righteous?”
Order punishes the unjust and uplifts the righteous. For it, they are not equal. But for Harmony they are, mostly because before Xipe the very concept of sinners doesn’t exist. Harmony is all-embracing, for everyone can change for the better and be redeemed.
It is a discourse in philosophy: first question was about whether are you able to tolerate something that goes against you. While Harmony can, Order cannot (Sunday can as literally shown in the quest so he leans more to Harmony in that part). Second question was about whether people can change for the better and be redeemed. Order doesn’t believe in it, Harmony does.
“If you are born weak, which god should you turn for solace?”
It is another question to choose between philosophies because Sunday struggles to choose himself. If you are weak and you bow before someone(“king”) for the protection then this is a choice befitting Order, but if you choose to cooperate with others, uplift one another and “listen beating of billions of hearts holding you on their embrace” then this is the choice of Harmony.
Notice, that Sunday doesn’t consider us as enemies at all. As he says: “I genuinely wish to avoid a violent clash with my esteemed guests from afar.” When Astral Express team asks Sunday why did he invite us to the duel, he responds: “Because our shared goals give equal weight to the beliefs we strive for.” He regards everything happening more like a debate of two equally valid philosophies. Even in the fight with him (second one) he still invites us to join his chorus of Order. And he says “our final talk is concluded” only when he turns into his Embryo of Philosophy form, when literally everyone who could has risen against him. And then he reveals his true emotions:
“If your ‘paradise’ can save more people, sever my path with your hands”
He knows he is not infallible, that his plan can be wrong, that there is a possibility of making better choices, better decisions. And he asks us to prove, that Harmony after all is a stronger concept then that of Order. And his quote before that really makes everything extremely ironic:
“If we had never experienced solitude, how could we embark on different paths?”
Once again, this solitude refers to the times when he still completely followed Harmony. Yet he was the only person on the entire Penacony because of his great compassion, who actually followed what Xipe preached. Yet, in this he was alone. How can you be in Harmony with anyone, if you are alone. The irony is in the fact, that if Robin didn’t leave Penacony, of if he met another genuine believer, he wouldn’t have turn to Order and he would remain under Xipe. With many similarities of Order and Harmony: the epitome of Order is loneliness, being a sole ruler of everything, the epitome of Harmony is a unity of numerous people.
“And thus, my talk about Sunday has concluded. Next part is about Ena.”
Ⅲ
While his monologue about history of Ena can also be interpreted as parts above, it is much more interesting to discuss it when talking about Ena THEMSELVES.
“Let us commence with the dawning of the world… After the Dusk Wars, darkness veiled the sky, and chaos consumed the earth. Ena the Order emerged, destined to restore all existence. That marked the first day.”
The Dusk Wars are one of the most ancient (if not the most) periods of history we know about. Ena emerging at that time, makes THEM one of the oldest Aeons alongside Long, Hooh, Qlipoth and Oroboros.
” THEY gathered nebulae and forged them into picks, thus creating a grand lyre with black and white keys. Strike the white keys, and the sun rose. Strike the black keys moon and the rose. And so the cycle of day and night arose. That marked the second day. “
“THEY transmuted streams of stars into inked nibs, creating symbols to be pronounced and counted. THEY molded stardust into flowing rivers, assigning the righteous upstream and the unjust downstream. Thus, all things were marked and the world learned to discern between good and evil. That marked the third and fourth days. “
“THEY used the planetary rings to establish the law, forging a code of conduct among the masses. A grand lyre with black and white symbols of articulation and numerical notation took the form of musical notes. The downward-flowing river became a melody, and the cannon of law dictated the form. Thus, all mortals found their unique place within this symphony. That marked the fifth and sixth days. “
Ena, as we know was a control freak, at much bigger scale and extent, then Sunday could have ever hoped to become. We know that «Ena's harmonic songs seems to align within a three-dimensional framework, akin to an emperor maintaining hierarchical order among all creatures» Not only people, but the movement of celestial bodies were under THEIR control. THEY wanted to and almost controlled everything in the known cosmos. So, THEY were the only person responsible for everything. And when THEY were consumed, the manager of everything disappeared and the scales of order and discord lost their balance. That is why Hooh intervened and took THEIR responsibilities.
“THEY imbued world with meaning, perfecting all things in the heavens and earth. Then, THEY rested from the labors of creation. Yet, all beings cried to Ena – ‘Under the banner of the Order, you have defined all things in the Cosmos… but this made us realize that we are but puppets in your hands!’ – Thus, on that day, all beings united and cast the Aeon into the abyss of oblivion. That marked the seventh day. “
And this is the most interesting part. We know that Ena was consumed by Xipe, so why does Sunday refer to THEIR death as an action, made by humans?
As we know, Xipe “hails from multiple harmonious celestial words”, “a plural Aeon” and “THEY are the amalgamation of thousands of entities”. Thus, I pose that Xipe ascension was not a process of accension of a one person who somehow become an Aeon, but rather that several beings in a moment of unity (of “harmony”) were ascending as one. Next bit is purely theoretical:
But who could provide such unity before the existence of Harmony? Only the Beyond the Sky Choir – followers of Ena could understand the true extent of Ena’s control over everything and unify to create a change. Thus, mortals ascended into Aeon, befitting their shared beliefs, and from the Beyond the Sky Choir, Xipe arose with a new symphony of Harmony.
ⅠⅤ
Also, some other interesting bits from 2.2. storyline:
The most overlooked part of 2.2 quest for me is that part before boss battle when Sunday says that he doesn’t intend to either resurrect Ena or become a new Aeon of Order. While the actual possibility of such actions remains “enigmatic, we can now speculate that it could be possible to take control of a masterless Path or revive its master. I speculate that when we finally reach strongest Emanators level of poweallies/etc. the enemies we will be facing before actual Aeons will be unique beings like that: fallen Aeons in the process of resurrection or people in the process of becoming a new Aeon of a Path without one.
Another interesting bit of lore about Ena is that while she was “consumed” by Xipe, her Path still lingers in the cosmos masterless. While it was known about Paths of other fallen Aeons it is interesting that even assimilation by a broader concept Aeon isn’t enough to completely eradicate the Path from the face of the cosmos.
Some other connections that I noticed about Sunday while rewatching 2.2 quest were surprising even for me. Name a planet where the ruler intentionally left their subordinates in ignorance about the truth about the events for the sole reason of protecting them? It’s Belobog with Bronya and Seele (I could talk about similarities and differences of Bronya and Sunday but that would make already long post even longer). And this is why Ena was able to persuade Qlipoth. Because Qlipoth shares with THEM that general theme of protection. Because their Paths partly overlap. Because Preservation is about keeping everything dangerous behind the walls (in this case dangerous information about Cocolia), and everything inside the walls is safe, protected, or you could say “in Order”.
Ⅴ
P.S. I feel like in this quest there is still so much more to discuss(and I could write EVEN MORE), but this long wall of text is already too out of character from me as a humble follower of Enigmata.

Someone in a thread here mentioned Zybourne Clock—that game pitch on the SomethingAwful Forums that was just a bunch of badly-drawn concept art and way-too-ambitious, unconnected plot beats—and it gave me a brain blast thinking about all the little forum start-ups I've seen in my time, posted by excited kids who love drawing their OCs and imagining cool fight scenes, but don't actually know anything about game design or roadmapping a project.
I'm a big fan of the animatostreamer Khonjin, and one of his big, lifelong projects is the realization of a story called "Supermental," first seen in a now-deleted forum thread (I forget the name of the site, was one of those small-batch Jcink forums) where the idea was first pitched as a game that would be enormous in scope, an epic story, and combine "eight genres of gameplay in one game, including rhythm, RPG, fighting game mechanics, platforming, and more." That the thread was so old when I discovered it and everyone in it had likely been kids when it had been made told me that this incarnation of the game would likely never exist in any form, and the sheer scope and size of the game projected with nothing to show for it but pages of character desisgns and a single GIF of a platforming segment made in Game Maker was one of those really incredible high water marks left by the boundless ambition of youth.
At the time, Khonjin's primary work of note, the animated web series Khonjin House had concluded with a severe escalation in stakes and a direct lead-in to a new animated web series called Supermental, along with an accompanying ARG, so everyone who was invested was scrambling for clues across his entire history on the internet. We were also trying to figure out what Supermental was going to be about. Not even the the original game dev thread had any answers as to what the plot actually was. The discovery that the projected main protagonist of that old game idea, Jack, was the prototype for Jack Pent, the main antagonist of Khonjin House, definitely seemed to indicate some kind of relevancy, though.
Khonjin House had been full of little, unexplained names and references that were definitely going to be important to Supermental, and the fan speculation leading up to the little bits of reveal we got in the series proper was some of my personal favorite fandom activity I've ever participated in. Finding out who Smack was—a character who was often mentioned by name in the series but never seen—and then finding out that he and Pent hate each others' guts and have been trying to kill each other, AND THEN finding out Supermental was going to be prequel and that they used to be best friends was an incredible wave to be on.
And then we got the announcement: the Supermental animated series on YouTube was just to get the fans hyped up for the Kickstarter for the Supermental game, revived after all these years!
Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. The Kickstarter had an intriguing animated trailer, but no gameplay. Not even a mention of what gameplay would be like. We did get an update later on, showing it would be a SRB2-like 3D platformer with 2D sprite characters, but by then, the momentum had been lost. I donated to the Kickstarter, as did several fans, but we never reached funding and the project was canned.
All that was left was the ARG, which was still ongoing and was supposed to reveal what Supermental was actually about once it was solved. Unfortunately, the last shot in the foot for the whole thing came when Khonjin lost patience with everyone for taking too long to solve the clues and just lore-dumped the whole thing.
The plot of the game ended up being a super personal extended metaphor for gender dysphoria and transitioning, inspired by the struggles of a close trans friend of Khonjin's who had died. It felt like a story he had really wanted to get out into the world at all costs, for many, many years by then, ultimately resigning to a bitter, 2 a.m. paragraphs-long lore dump in a Discord channel. The mystery was over. I still have no idea how that would have translated to a platformer game, but hey—Super Paper Mario did alright, so who knows.
I still think about that a lot. Supermental for me is the reigning king of that sort of incredibly ambitious creative project you undertake with your friends when you're young, firing off aimlessly in any direction, struggling to be born, picking up more meaning and consuming other ideas as you grow alongside it. It's been a minute since I checked in on the status of anything related to it, and since Khonjin—to my knowledge—has uploaded or said anything pertaining to it, but I would like to see it realized in some form one day.
So, what are some of your favorite stories of stillborn projects? This isn't about Scalebound or shit like that. I want stories of game projects you discovered in forums when you were in high school that had tons character art but no one on the team who knew how to program. Kickstarters you were interested in but knew had no chance in Hell of clearing even a fourth of their funding goal because they didn't have a single screenshot of in-engine visuals on the page. Even other well-known failure stories are welcome here; I'm interested in learning about more infamous failures like Zybourne Clock as well, thinks y'all might no about, but that escaped my radar. Doesn't have to be games either; movies, animations, 'zines, comics... anything.

Hey everyone! I’m new to Reddit and on mobile, so apologies for any formatting errors and for the length of this post.
Basically, I have a name picked out. I use it on all my socials that my family/friends don’t follow me on and when I need to give a name at a coffee shop/restaurant. Additionally, I work at a job where I have to introduce myself to customers and I’ve been using my chosen name when my boss isn’t around, and hearing myself say it (and hearing customers address me by it) has been really validating for me. I’m pre-everything (hoping to start T when I can get an appointment with a trans-friendly doctor in my town) and don’t pass as masc super well despite my best efforts so being referred to by a masculine name felt really good. The main problem is that I’m struggling with how to tell people.
At this point, I’m fine with using my chosen name as more of a nickname, with my legal name being on documents and the like. I’ve mentioned it to my parents and they’ve been super supportive of everything. I just don’t know how to broach the subject with people who’ve known me my whole life, especially since I haven’t really found a definite label for myself in terms of gender. It’s a pretty traditionally masculine name, and while I’m pretty sure I’m some flavor of transmasc, I don’t think I’m 100% a trans man, if that makes sense (I’m using they/them pronouns, but I prefer masc terms of address to feminine ones (ie sir vs ma’am)). I’m probably overthinking this, but I’m worried they’ll think I’m jumping in too quickly or overthinking things. I really only came out as anything other than a cis woman this past December.
So, does anyone have any advice on how to start that conversation? Or, alternately, are there any reasons I shouldn’t/should wait a bit?

I was thinking about some kind of blockchain like system that does actual useful calculations instead of just guessing random hashes. After talking with chatgpt about it this is the report it spat out about this idea after making a few suggestions. Apart from scalability and privacy issues do you guys think the core concept of this could still be applicable in lets say 5 years? Or will something like this probably become hopelessly outdated? Also I have to note that however the system is designed it will always be (a lot) slower than a direct API call but for processing/filtering/labeling large amounts of data this could be useful I think.
Comprehensive Report on Proposed Blockchain System for LLM Validation
Overview
This report outlines a proposed blockchain system designed to manage and validate responses from large language models (LLMs) in a semi-decentralized environment. The system integrates a blockchain architecture with advanced validation mechanisms to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of data handled by LLMs.
System Goals

• Accuracy: Ensure that all LLM responses are accurate and trustworthy.
  
• Decentralization: Maintain a level of decentralization that prevents manipulation and promotes transparency.
  
• Efficiency: Process validations quickly and effectively, utilizing the computational power of validators optimally.
  
• Scalability: Design the system to handle growth in the number of transactions and validators.
  

Components of the System

1. Blockchain Infrastructure

• Type: Permissioned blockchain with elements of public access for transparency.
  
• Consensus Protocol: Hybrid model combining Proof of Stake (PoS) with Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) principles.
  
• Smart Contracts: To automate the validation process, rewards distribution, and penalty enforcement.
  

1. Validator Nodes

• Roles:
  
  • Regular Validators: Perform initial validation of responses from LLMs.
  • Master Validator: Acts as a final check on disputed or flagged responses.
• Selection Criteria: Validators are chosen based on stake, reputation, and random selection for the master role on a rotating basis.
  

1. Validation Process

• Initial Validation: Performed by multiple validators independently to ensure initial accuracy.
  
• Dispute Resolution: In case of discrepancies, a secondary round of validation is triggered.
  
• Master Validator Oversight: Functions as a tie-breaker and auditor, with decisions subject to community review.
  

1. Economic Model

• Staking: Validators must stake cryptocurrency as a form of security deposit, forfeitable in cases of fraudulent validations.
  
• Rewards: Validators earn rewards for each successful validation and for participating in dispute resolutions.
  
• Penalties: Loss of stake and temporary or permanent ban for repeated inaccuracies or fraud.
  

1. Security Measures

• Sybil Attack Prevention: Requires proof of work/stake for new validator identities.
  
• Audit and Transparency: All validations are logged and available for public audit.
  
• Adaptive Security Protocols: Dynamic adjustments to security measures based on detected threat levels.
  

1. Governance

• Decentralized Governance: Validators and token holders can vote on major decisions and updates to the protocol.
  
• Community-Based Oversight: Community members can propose changes and participate in governance through token-based voting systems.
  

1. Implementation Stages

• Prototype Development: Develop a minimum viable product (MVP) focusing on core functionalities.
  
• Pilot Testing: Deploy the system within a controlled environment to test its functionality and gather feedback.
  
• Full-Scale Rollout: After successful testing and iteration, launch the system for public use.
  

Challenges and Mitigations

• Scalability: Potential bottlenecks in processing validations as the network grows. Mitigation: Implement sharding techniques and optimize consensus protocols.
  
• Centralization Risks: Over-reliance on the master validator. Mitigation: Rotate master validators and implement multi-tier validation processes.
  
• Security: Risk of collusion among validators. Mitigation: Use random selection for master validator roles and enforce strict penalties for collusion.
  

Conclusion
This blockchain system aims to provide a robust, scalable, and transparent framework for validating LLM responses. By balancing decentralization with efficient oversight, the system ensures the integrity and reliability of data crucial for various applications. The adoption of this system could pioneer new standards for blockchain-based validation mechanisms in AI-driven environments.

Hello, I'm a 23-year-old male in his 4th year of college and will soon graduate in the next three months. I'm writing this entry because my life for the past four years has been that of repeated cycles and familiar shame. On the outside, people see me as a pretty social guy who is active and has it all together. But on the inside, I feel like a mess.
I often experience periods in which I go through the same cycles. In these past years, however, I've picked up on more journaling, meditation, psychedelics, camping, and even have had therapy for short periods. All of these have been super helpful in helping me understand myself better and deal with daily problems. However, I feel like I return to the same cycle. I've come to realize that I carry with me a lot more shame and guilt than I expected.
T This cycle involved making some changes at the start, slowly falling off, and being disappointed that I fell off. It was almost like I knew this was going to happen, and I would repeat the process, saying, "This will be the time I actually change."
For context, I have a condition called auditory processing disorder, a hearing condition that can take on many forms. My issue at a young age was confusing sounds from each other. For example, my brain thought the letters R and L sounded identical. This led to me not being able to speak/utter a pronounceable word until I was 5, and I had to go to hearing therapy for nine years to learn how to speak correctly. I have a speech inducement now, but for the most part, I sound standard except for sometimes messing up. Either way, this has always made me feel self-conscious and inferior to others, especially when they would laugh or make fun of how I spoke. I've gotten over it for the most part, but it still annoys me. Hence, I carry a lot of shame with me.
I felt like my shame had only evolved more throughout the years with my body, my sexuality, my social standing, my habits, etc. For a while, I was a self-improvement junkie wanting to constantly be better for others, even if it meant sacrificing things I liked or was interested in for other people. For my body, it meant skipping meals so that my six-pack could be available; my sexuality meant not being curvy or big girls from fear of what others might think of me.
I have a hard time accepting myself for who I am, and pretty much every time I've tried to change my life has been out of shame. Very rarely has it been out of self-love or care, and it feels gratifying and right when I do make a change on that front. However, when it comes to things I would like to change, like my porn use, time management, and overcoming fears, I feel like that desire for change stems from shame. I don't know how to stop the cycles from repeating and how to build self-compassion/love properly. I would appreciate any advice or personal stories anyone has.

Hello everyone,
I want to buy the v1 max but there no azerty version of it.
Can I buy it and just swap the letter to have a azerty version and ofc change the touch in windows ? I dont care if the shift, delete, and crt cant be changed. I only care about the letters. I use an azerty keyvoard at works and not a devloper or programer so it useless to me to learn qwerty.
Thank you for your help.

I (33F) worked at a hotel from the age of 19 and fell in love with the industry. Because of this I got an associate degree in hospitality management and within 5 years found myself as a Director of Sales (DOS). I was really good at my job; so good, in fact, that we were able to get government employees to stay with us paying the difference out of their own pocket. For context –
Government rate was $89.00, guests would pay $109.99.
Please note that hotels are allowed to limit the amount of government rate rooms they give out and are not required to provide the government rate all the time.
My hotel was a sizable, profitable, and specialized hotel that was a magnet for businesses and government employees alike. And during this time there was a huge government event happening in town. My hotel was visited by many different government group leaders asking for the government rate and one leader agreed to sign a contract for the $109.99 rate, we’ll call this leader Jim.
Jim and I got along wonderfully; he was grateful to stay at my hotel and so was the rest of his team… well, all but one.
This one, a male in his late 50s maybe early 60s came to the front desk one day to inquire about getting a room for the time of the event. The conversation went through the normal ringers of the guest attempting to negotiate the rate and my front desk agent (FDA) responding she couldn’t do it and the rate was $109.99. This man, “Kevin”, began to bark orders at the FDA who stood there taking it until she couldn’t anymore. “I’ll get my manager” was her final response to him before she came to me.
My office was nearby, and I heard the whole thing. She came into my office and took some deep breathes. “FDA, please sit down, have some water and I’ll take care of this.” I made sure she could collect herself before I went out to greet him and here’s the conversation that happened.
Me: Hello sir, you had a question about our rates?
Kevin: Yes, I’m with Jim’s group, my name is Kevin McKevinstian and we have a negotiated rate here.
Me: Yes! Jim agreed to the $109.99 rate, when would you like your reservation to begin.
Kevin: That’s not the government rate, the government rate is $89, and we can only get refunded $89.
Me: I understand but we aren’t offering the government rate, we are offering the negotiated rate of $109.99 or the standard rate of $209.99.
Kevin: But the government rate is $89.
Me: Yes, I’m aware but we aren’t offering it, would you like the rate of $109.99.
Kevin: This is not a smart business move, you should be giving all your hotel rooms for the government rate and filling up your hotel.
Me: While I appreciate your advice, that’s not the direction we’re taking.
Kevin – seeing my nametag as “DOS”: Do you have a degree?
Me, a bit shocked: Yes, I do, my degree is in hospitality management.
Kevin: What level is your degree?
Me: I don’t believe that’s any of your concern. Now would you like this room at the $109.99 rate?
Kevin: No, you should give it to me at the $89. It’s a better business practice to open all your rooms for the $89 so you can fill your hotel. You need to go back to school and study business. The hotel will not be financially successful if you don’t take the government employees at the government base. It’s bad business.
Me: I won’t be doing that at this moment, and I will not be providing any rooms at the government rate. Would you like this room at the $109.99? We only have a limited amount of these rooms, so I suggest you make that choice now.
Kevin: No, I will take my business elsewhere and you need to go back to school.
And he leaves.
After taking a few deep breathes I returned to my office to be praised by my FDA only to be laser focused on my desk. I flicked open my email and started a new email that said something to the extent of this –
“Hi Jim,
Hopefully you’re well. I need to inform you of an interaction I just had with one of your employees. (insert above interaction summary, not done for word count guidelines). Upon his exit I’m here to email you in case he comes to you with his version of the story. I do not wish to harm our working relationship together, but I was stunned enough by this interaction that I felt you needed to know.
Thank you and have an amazing day.”
About 10 minutes later, Jim emailed me back apologizing profusely for the attitude of his employee and assured me he would handle it from here. I heard a few days later that Kevin went and stayed at another hotel for the government rate and was fired from his position because his mistreatment of many staff members from both the committees he was working with and those hotel staff members. Jim brought me apology cookies which I shared with my FDA as she took a lot of the crap from Kevin, and we all lived happily ever after… except for Kevin who lost his job. Oh well.

I developed ptsd from abuse I received at my university. I’ve made a lot of strides since my time there and I’m proud of how hard I’ve worked on my mental health. Today I got one of those dumb alumni emails and it sent me spirally a bit today. I have always unsubscribed from those emails but they always keep coming. I’m just so tired of every so often getting a random email from them and feel the bottom drop out from underneath me. It took me three hours to get myself grounded again and I still feel jumpy. I am going to escalate my attempts to get them to stop by mailing an actual physical letter saying I want them to delete my info. I just didn’t need this today. Thanks for letting me rant.

So my brother in law works for ups, he referred me as a preloader. I have 2 felonies, one for firearm without permit and one pwi for marajuana, these happened when i was 18 years old, im currently 25 and a COMPLETELY different person, just looking to get my life on track with a decent career. Got the email this morning that they are “not moving forward with my application”. I thought they were an equal opportunity employer i always see how felons get hired here, and even know a few.. is there somebody i can call or explain myself to so maybe they will reevaluate me?

Hello, I am just trying out Avalonia, and am having issues with MessageBox.
These are my imports:

using Avalonia; using Avalonia.Controls; using Avalonia.Interactivity; using Avalonia.Markup.Xaml; using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.IO; using System.Linq; using MessageBox.Avalonia; using MessageBox.Avalonia.DTO; using MessageBox.Avalonia.Enums; 

This is the code where it goes wrong:

 var messageBoxStandardWindow = MessageBoxManager.GetMessageBoxStandardWindow(new MessageBoxStandardParams { ContentTitle = "Test", ContentMessage = "Test", ButtonDefinitions = ButtonEnum.Ok }); 

I installed the package, using Rider and the nuget tool, and also did it in terminal just in case.
This is my csproj file:

  WinExe net8.0 enable true app.manifest true       Condition below is needed to remove Avalonia.Diagnostics package from build output in Release configuration.     

Any help would be appreciated!

Hi! I made a post a while back asking for advice and now I need your help again. I'm now set on buying a miele C3. I tried The C3 complete/comfort (the one with the switch on the handle and not on the vacuum body) and I loved it, it was really easy to clean small corners and crevices and switching the power levels without having to go back to the main machine to switch modes (Idk if it makes sense). What I want to ask is if the handle is known to have problems or malfunctions overtime, I was wondering if the -/+ buttons may stop working overtime with repetitive switch on off, kinda like on normal remote, where sometimes the buttons are worn out after a few years! I wanted to know if this was a concern anyone pointed out or If I'm being paranoid. I had bad experiences before with "fancy" appliances and thinking if the standard buttons on the body of the machine would be more resistant to repetitive use and easiecheaper to fix if they eventually break. Thank you!

Hello, I'm a 23-year-old male in his 4th year of college and will soon graduate in the next three months. I'm writing this entry because my life for the past four years has been that of repeated cycles and familiar shame. On the outside, people see me as a pretty social guy who is active and has it all together. But on the inside, I feel like a mess.
I often experience periods in which I go through the same cycles. In these past years, however, I've picked up on more journaling, meditation, psychedelics, camping, and even have had therapy for short periods. All of these have been super helpful in helping me understand myself better and deal with daily problems. However, I feel like I return to the same cycle. I've come to realize that I carry with me a lot more shame and guilt than I expected.
T This cycle involved making some changes at the start, slowly falling off, and being disappointed that I fell off. It was almost like I knew this was going to happen, and I would repeat the process, saying, "This will be the time I actually change."
For context, I have a condition called auditory processing disorder, a hearing condition that can take on many forms. My issue at a young age was confusing sounds from each other. For example, my brain thought the letters R and L sounded identical. This led to me not being able to speak/utter a pronounceable word until I was 5, and I had to go to hearing therapy for nine years to learn how to speak correctly. I have a speech inducement now, but for the most part, I sound standard except for sometimes messing up. Either way, this has always made me feel self-conscious and inferior to others, especially when they would laugh or make fun of how I spoke. I've gotten over it for the most part, but it still annoys me. Hence, I carry a lot of shame with me.
I felt like my shame had only evolved more throughout the years with my body, my sexuality, my social standing, my habits, etc. For a while, I was a self-improvement junkie wanting to constantly be better for others, even if it meant sacrificing things I liked or was interested in for other people. For my body, it meant skipping meals so that my six-pack could be available; my sexuality meant not being curvy or big girls from fear of what others might think of me.
I have a hard time accepting myself for who I am, and pretty much every time I've tried to change my life has been out of shame. Very rarely has it been out of self-love or care, and it feels gratifying and right when I do make a change on that front. However, when it comes to things I would like to change, like my porn use, time management, and overcoming fears, I feel like that desire for change stems from shame. I don't know how to stop the cycles from repeating and how to build self-compassion/love properly. I would appreciate any advice or personal stories anyone has.

Not the anattractional spectrum, I'm refering to the anattractional orientation. Unfortunately, because of being neurodivergent I don't understand concepts like attraction or relationships in general(not even familiar or friendships), I started to question myself as anattractional bc my relationships in general have to be defined by the other person, but it stills bugs me that even after being explained by therapists how relationships work or should be I still can wrap my mind around it to understand it or even know if im feeling it. Is not that I don't care for them, is just that in general for me socialising and keeping myself around people is pretty exhausting, and in the mayority of times I don't define my relationships with others bc it makes me feel uncomfortable. I was thinking about Nebula-anattractional? Bc I'm neurodivergent and I usually get confused around relationships.
Also sorry if my English is not perfect :' Thanks! ❤️❤️❤️

Hi everyone, I'm a fresher, living in Japan and currently working for an outsourcing company. The job, as its title, requires me to relocate a lot as my company sends me to the customers office, and the tasks I'm doing everyday (the contract describes it as an infrastructure engineer, but all they are giving me are just getting server and network statistics figures, visualize them in excel files for report) make me feel uncomfortable and a little worry about my career, so I'm planning to hop to another environment. My aim is to becoming a strong technical and skilled, at least for .NET ecosystem. After 3 years being a truly self-taught developer (since I have learned anything from the traning college school here, except Japanese language), I have a strong knowledge, not only coding with OOP, but also frameworks like AspNetCore (mvc, web api), EntityFramework, a little of frontend like vanilla JS and recently VueJS, some basic database querying with PgSql, MsSql and Sqlite, some of the patterns like MVC, MVVM, DDD. I have gained all of the knowledge from anywhere that I can find in Google, mostly stackoverflow (although sometimes the answers tend to be someone's opinion rather than standard). I'm able to apply those knowledge well into my personal projects (one of them is quite complex, at least for me, it's an internal management software for spa and treatment center).
My questions are:
-Are those knowledge and experience, although mostly being from self-taught and personal projects rather than company's and large team projects, enough for a fresher dev who doesn't have proper CS degree from a university? - What is a freshejunior dev who has self-taught background expected to be a potential choice to be hired if he doesn't have any experience from "real" projects, considering that he has quite strong knowledge? - What should I focus and explore next to gain more technical knowledge or soft skill to make me more attractive to the interviewers and less overloaded in the next job, considering that I will have to keep "self-taught" until I find the job?
I'm almost lost and don't know what to do, your advices will surely help me and people that have the same background and situation as me a lot.

Hi folks. I'm a pretty much experienced software developer.

• Currently working on a local, pretty unknown company with skilled people.
• Products are not well known, so the company.
• Getting decent, market standards base payment with no side benefits.

Recently started a job search for gaining experience and build a better career path. Have a good resume with interesting tasks but not getting much interviews from the well-known companies.
However, got an offer from a global, tier 1 company and I'm highly interested in the product. But: * Got a downlevel offer. * Base payment is almost %50 of my current base payment and the startup offers I got. * Total compensation is equal to my current base payment.
Thinking about should I accept this offer. * It may stand well on my CV and let me get offers from more interesting companies at future. * I can gain experience and prove my skills there.
Don't know how should I end up with in this situation. What would you do in this situation?

P.S. The Bejeweled video also contained several easter eggs for Speak Now TV being the next re-recording. The music video for I Can See You, a Speak Now vault track, was released toward the beginning of the Eras tour. Joey King and Presley Cash, who were in the Mean video as children, were also in the I Can See You video. Taylor wrote on IG that she wanted them specifically. The video for “Mean” (2011) features Taylor Swift performing in a variety of music hall-style sets. Taylor spends most of the video playing banjo in a string band, and then transitions to a Broadway stage in a fringe dress, reminiscent of the Ziegfeld Follies era. 

Loie Fuller’s break into show business was playing banjo in a Buffalo Bill touring show, from which point she went to New York. For her breakout role in a New York theatre, critics reportedly said she could sing but she couldn’t dance - similar to Swift’s inspiration for the song Mean. Fuller went on to be one of the most influential figures in modern dance. 

The first world problem: I got approved by MB for a card I have no use for! Like, LITERALLY! 🤣
The query: For those whom have experience, can I call MB hotline to have them convert the card to MASTERCARD WORLD or platinum (the prior is my preferred MB cc), the very moment the card gets delivered and activated via their MB app?
The research: Per agent, conversion cannot be processed until end user activates unwanted cc. I find this hard requirement wasteful..seeing as bank ends up spending for courier service and packaging (remember paper - wood- trees?) for not. UnionBank and BDO were able to make charge card type without needing me to activate their respective cards 🤷‍♂️
The ranting: For reference, cl is lowish at 425k per MB hotline. Per research, it should be enough for the MB Mastercard world cc. However, if I am mistaken re figure, then MB Mastercard platinum will do - at least I still get the 50 percent discount on some restaurants (the biggest reason for the card). MB
The “even more” ranting: 🤣 Cashback visa does not work for me as I NEVER do grocery shopping since I always dine out. I also do not pay tuition fees nor purchase physical or electronic books! 🤣
The answer?: 🤷‍♂️ Xxxxxxx.
The Gratification: Thanks everyone 🙏 and a good night, este, morning 😁

I'm in Minnesota. There was damage to our house from a hail storm last August. We were solicited by a construction company to fix the damage, where they would work with our insurance company and the only thing we would have to pay is our deductible. The damage was: roof, windows, interior damage from leaking, garage door, gutters.
When the construction company/general contractor (GC) got into it, they said that there was more damage to the roof and windows than our insurance company (IC) was providing funds for. The GC and IC couldn't come to an agreement, so our GC told us that it would need to go to appraisal. The GC provided us with the appraiser they use in these situations and told us everything we should communicate to our IC. We made sure to get a supplement to our contract with the GC to ensure we would not have to pay for the appraiser. An award was given from that appraisal and the GC seemed happy with the result.
The GC then scheduled a subcontractor to do the work on the interior damage (drywall/etc.). When that subcontractor came, he said there was much more damage than what was provided in the scope of the claim, about $3,000, so he went back and worked out a new estimate/invoice with the GC, about $10,000, and then the GC and I went to our IC to get an addendum to the claim. Our IC refused, saying they wouldn't allow any addendums. The GC said this was odd since it's fairly standard to get addendums when additional damage is found. The GC suggested I talk with my IC agent to see if he could help.
I did that, and my agent seemed confident that an addendum would be possible and he went off to talk to the claims department. When he finally came back, he said he was previously confident because he didn't realize an appraisal was done, and that since the appraisal was done everything awarded in it was now set in stone. Since only $3,000 was awarded in the appraisal for the interior work, that's what we have to work with.
Our GC has now sent us an invoice for the balance due for work completed (roof and windows), but I explained if we paid them that invoice in full ($33,000) we would not have enough money to fix the interior damage (we only have $38,000 left from the claim money). He said that doesn't matter, you need to pay for work we've completed. We offered to put the money that's supposed to go towards the garage door and gutter replacements towards the interior work since the former is only superficial dings/etc and that the interior damage is more important to get fixed. They also talked to the drywall subcontractor and he was willing to come down too, but we were still $3,000 apart.
I asked why we were expected to pay for this out of pocket when we were only supposed to have to pay our deductible, and the GC said it's not their fault the appraiser didn't come on site to inspect the interior damage. I said it was the GC that said to do an appraisal and to use this appraiser, and we were never asked to coordinate anything so it should fall to the GC to make sure that happens. The documents the GC sent us from the appraiser also states the GC should be onsite with the appraiser when the appraisal happens. The appraisal also awarded some Overhead and Profit, and I suggested the $3,000 that we're apart should come from that since it was a failure in coordination which what Overhead is supposed to be. The GC said there was no O&P awarded in the appraisal, so I screenshotted where the appraisal award states that, and he replied he's not going to argue with me anymore about it, and that we need to pay for work done or "next steps" will be taken.
The only recourse the GC has suggested for us is to file a claim with the state commissioner. Our IC agent was skeptical this would do anything since everything the IC has done is above board.
The Payment Terms in our contract says that we need to pay them the initial insurance check plus the deductible upon delivery of materials, and then the balance is due upon completion of the work. I replied to their invoice email saying that work has not been completed since there's still the interior, garage door, and gutter work that is not done yet. They said they only invoiced for work they've done (true), and that they don't do everything listed on the claim, that they are an exterior construction company that does roof and window work, and don't do that other work. They work with our IC to get monies for us to so we can have that work done. That we need to pay the invoice for work done or penalties, interest, and liens will be issued.
I said their contract says that they will fix all damages laid out in the insurance claim, quoting back their contract to them that says:
"By signing this contract, you authorize [GC] to discuss the damage to your real property with your insurance company for the purpose of coming to an agreement on project scope and price. Upon agreement by [GC] to the scope and price as defined on the insurance loss statement provided by your insurance company, you authorize [GC] to complete the replacement of said damaged property with ~no additional cost to you except for the insurance deductible,~ subject to terms and conditions on the reverse side. Payments will be made as outlined above.
ADDITIONAL TERMS - Page 2

1. Performance Guidelines. Contractor agrees to complete the Work set forth in this Contract in accordance with manufacturers' specifications for installation of all materials and all applicable construction codes. You acknowledge receipt before signing this Contract of these Performance Guidelines as required by Minnesota Statute 326B.809(b)."

I have not gotten a reply back from them after I sent that on Friday. Today is Tuesday.
I spoke with the appraiser and asked why an onsite inspection wasn't done so the interior damage could have been inspected and a appropriate award given for the damage. He said that even if the appraisal was done onsite, he would not have been able to award any more money than the $3,000 because the bid the GC put in for the appraisal only had $3,000 for the inside work. He's legally not able to award more than that bid the GC gave him.
So to me, it sounds like the GC made the mistake of asking for an appraisal without first getting an accurate estimate of the inside work, and because of that, we are stuck with only $3,000 for the inside work when it'll cost $10,000 to complete.
The contract says that we can pay contractors to complete work and deduct that cost from the contract price. The email from them discussing the invoice also says as much, that we can use the claim money to get the work done ourselves.
So I was thinking about saying we will do the rest of the work ourselves, and subtracting from the contract price ($85,000 that was awarded in the appraisal) the garage and gutter work that's in the claim, plus the interior estimate that the GC worked out with the subcontractor ($10,000), leaving a balance of $25,000 instead of the $33,000 they invoiced for. I'd send this check in the mail and consider the project with them complete.
I assume they'll file a Mechanic's Lien after that and will have to sue us in civil court to enforce it, and after researching it looks like I don't need an attorney in Conciliation or District Court to defend myself in MN. I feel fairly confident in presenting my side of things before a judge. The only concern I have right now is if the judge decides in favor of the GC and we have to pay for the GC's attorney fees. Otherwise I'm fine leaving this to a judge to decide. I understand where the GC is coming from, that they want to be paid for the work they've done, but to me it seems like it was their mistake that got us in this situation, and we're entitled to have our house's damage repaired just as much as they are entitled to being paid for work done.
What advice would you give me in this situation? Should I follow through with paying them $25,000 and allow them to file a lien? How much in attorney fees would you guess I'd be on the hook for if the GC wins before a judge? Is there a better option for me to take?
Thank you for reading if you've made it this far.

So I’m 22.. going to turn 23 in September. Inter ab tak clear nahi hua hai. Koi work experience nahi. Koi Network connection reference nahi. Mujhe dar lag raha hai ki ab kya hoga, agar September mein attempt de bhi diya toh 23 saal ke insaan ko kounsi company articleship ki opportunity degi in Mumbai. I’ve been good academically during my school and college life but CA f’ed my life. Now I continuously have suicidal thoughts. Cause I don’t like studying the same thing again & again (I’ve been giving inter since Jan 2020) and I see no future. Like career ka koi ata-pata nahi and us anxiety se padhai nahi ho rahi. Can someone break it down to me ki step by step what should I do? How do I financially & career wise help myself and how do I look for articleship later and basically how do I deal with this whole mess😭