Intro

It’s not much of a stretch to say that violence is the primary form of interaction in video games. With a handful of exceptions, most video games involve guys whacking other guys, with varying degrees of brutality. Even chill games fall into this - Stardew Valley has sections with combat in them! Considering the pervasiveness of violence in video games, there has been a ton of amateur and academic commentary on the topic. However, while this is a well-established school of thought, I haven’t seen people try to apply this to Fire Emblem specifically.
So, let’s do that now! In this post, I’ll be exploring how violence in Fire Emblem is implemented - what limitations are placed on violence, how it warps wider game and narrative design, and what it implicitly says and does not say. I hope this post doesn’t come off as too early-2010s “makes you think”-y, but I do think there are multiple interesting things worth talking about here!
Despite the length of this post, "a brief discussion" is an appropriate title, as we won't be able to go into depth on everything. After all, video games are holistic works, so the attitude towards violence is relevant to every aspect of their design. However, I have managed to wrangle some of these threads into the following structure: first a discussion on the fundamental mode of interaction in Fire Emblem, then how stories are constructed with regards to violence, and ending with the aesthetics of violence and how they relate to characters. Also, as FE is a huge series, be aware that I am gonna be making some broad statements which may not apply to each individual plot point of every game. I actually planned to write 3 case studies around Thracia 776, Fates, and Three Houses (which have the most interesting attitudes to violence in the series IMO) which point out these deviations, but this post is way too long and full of tangents already. If people are interested, I’ll make a followup to this post which goes into them in more detail. Also also, because of the nature of this post, I’ll actually give a useful TL;DR for once:
TL;DR: Nintendo games must be fun mechanically, and they can’t be too uncomfortable narratively. If you try to provide a counterpoint by saying “oh this Kirby final boss is super dark it eats 100 morbillion galaxies”, you do not deserve rights. IntSys has to keep to this as a 2nd party publisher, but they also have to deal with the fact that their games are at least nominally about ‘war’ (or at least they put their toes into that particular thematic pool). This conflict between making a fun video game for children/teens and the wider framing of the narrative leads to interesting narrative and aesthetic tensions. also fun is cringe, misery is based

“Do you like hurting other people?” (or The Fundamental Mode of Interaction)

OK LISTEN I KNOW I LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT I DIDN’T WANT TO COME ACROSS AS A EARLY 2010s “VIOLENCE IN VIDYA BAD :O????” PERSON BUT I SWEAR I’M GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS
The best place to start when talking about violence in video games is to think about the primary form of interaction in said game. In the case of Fire Emblem, this is in the in-chapter gameplay. Sure, in objective terms the player moves arbitrary objects across a 2D grid which perform subtraction on arbitrary objects controlled by the computer, but this is always framed as controlling a squad of soldiers to engage in (typically lethal) combat with enemies (who are normally also soldiers). When you’re not doing this in-chapter gameplay, you are preparing for the next chapter of combat. This involves surveying the area of combat, preparing weapon loadouts, etc, however more recent entries also include light life-sim-esque elements. To summarize, Fire Emblem’s interactivity involves ordering violence as well as the preparations to order said violence.
For players, this strategic thinking is extremely fun and is the primary draw of the series! You have all these tier lists of who’s better at killing, discussion of the maps where you do the killing, complaints about the length of gameplay sections where you don’t do killing, etc. This is by design, as while I don’t know the core brand tenets of Nintendo, I imagine the Reggie quote “If it isn’t fun, why bother?” is carved into a solid gold statue of Mario in the office lobby. This then is enforced on all associated studios, including IntSys and so Fire Emblem. While I would disagree with that Reggie quote (especially the bit where he says “If it’s not a battle, where’s the fun?” which is a wild statement to make about an entire medium), this approach to making games is ultimately fine, and so IntSys tailored the strategic gameplay to be satisfying to your dopamine receptors. You could analyse what the normalisation of violence even in ‘just for fun’ games says about wider gaming culture, but I won’t get into that here. In any case, let’s dig into a few specifics of FE’s interactivity.
One thing that’s interesting with regard to strategy games is the detached perspective of the player. You order units and observe the resulting violence, but it’s not tactile, you don’t directly swing the sword or shoot the bow or cast the spell like with action games. This adds a layer of separation between the player and what fundamentally happens, at least within the framing that the game provides. It’s not like Call of Duty, where your relationship to the violence is very visceral, where you view everything down the barrel of a gun. OK, I probably shouldn’t use a series that I have very little personal experience with (I only listen to the supplementary lore material, so let’s talk about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. While you’re not directly in the driver’s seat, John Sekiro reacts to your every input with extreme responsiveness, so overcoming the game’s challenges i.e. stabbing people is incredibly visceral and satisfying. While this violence is fantastical in nature, there is sufficient blood and explicit sword-action to clearly say “oh yeah you are violently killing all of those bozos with a katana”. Coming back to FE, not only are you far more detached from the violence, it is presented in an extremely cartoony manner… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, we’ll get to the aesthetics later. Point is, Fire Emblem gives the viewpoint of a stoic commander, who Does What Needs To Be Done™, and not the viewpoint of an actual soldier who has to do the actual killing.
Now let’s view the player’s perspective on violence from a different angle. Fire Emblem intends for its combat to be relatively relaxed on the player side of things - the turn-based nature allows the player to calmly think through all of their moves, and you typically have perfect information on the enemies. The only exceptions to this are Fog of WaSame Turn Reinforcements, which are rare and typically unpopular amongst the fanbase. This leans into ‘combat as sport’, where (going back to the Reggie quote) you have a fun time picking apart a puzzle with the tools you have, and we all collectively enjoy this! This is a valid way of designing strategy games, and I like what IntSys has done. However, it’s not the only way of making these games - for example, in Total War you have to juggle all your battalions in real time whilst the enemy is bearing down on you, and the XCOM games always have Fog of War and limited information on the enemies, with you never knowing what kind of awful new monster is going to suddenly charge at you. Don’t get me wrong, neither of these follow ‘combat as war’, the principle that violence should properly mimic the stress, tension and unfairness of actual conflict. Hell, neither of them are particularly mature either - Total War is the strategy game equivalent of smashing action figures together, and XCOM emulates a pulp sci-fi alien invasion story. However, the additional pressures these games have make them hew slightly closer to actual conflict, putting you more in that mindset in a way that the clean fun Fire Emblem doesn’t really do. Again, I want to say FE’s approach to violence in in-map gameplay is fine, but when all three of these franchises have an explicit narrative framing of ‘warfare’, it does make Fire Emblem’s narrative a little more… stretched.
Finally, I want to briefly mention the maps. To steal from a brilliant Jacob Geller video, these are Worlds Designed For Violence. At least outside of the Kaga games, the maps you fight on are primarily designed around how the player interacts with them, i.e. fights on them. While I imagine the narrative designers and artists at IntSys are involved throughout the map design process, the gameplay flow probably takes precedence most of the time. Maps are not designed to resemble realistic places that you have to fight through, they are instead designed primarily to provide fun gameplay experiences before being dressed up by the artists to look realistic/fit the specific story beat. This is a more consistently entertaining approach to map design - heaven knows we have a lot of Kaga castle assault maps which are as fun as actually assaulting an entrenched position IRL - but this lack of friction could potentially take the bite out of the intended vibe, neuter any commentary on violence throughout the story.
You may have noticed that we’ve only talked about the “in-map” gameplay for now, when there’s an entire second half of these games, i.e. all the gameplay between the maps. Don’t worry, we’ll get to all of that, but this may fit better in:

Something something “ludonarrative” something something (or Narrative Implications)

(To clarify, here I’m going to talk about the wider plots and narrative structure as opposed to characterisation, as that fits more into the aesthetics of the series)
It’s not bold to say that the narratives of games have to warp around the core gameplay structure. Especially in AAA video game production, the narrative designers usually have to take a back seat to the systems and level designers, at least outside of the initial rough outline they provide in the original game pitch. In this case, the job of the writer is to form vaguely coherent connective tissue between individual levels, setpieces and expensive pre-rendered cutscenes. This must be a very difficult job, and is probably the reason why most video game stories are the way they are. I am not privy to IntSys internal meetings, but I imagine they abide by this paradigm, trying to give a reason for why you fight 20 battles which roughly align with plot beats that were decided years ago.
Put another way, the writers of Fire Emblem must contrive a reason why the characters fight a vast number of violent battles in a strategic manner. This has a pretty easy solution - war! We have found something it’s good for, as whenever the gameplay designers decide that an extra map is required, the writers can just insert “oh no there’s a blockade of enemy soldiers in the way, guess you gotta kill them all”. This is the case for almost all the games and is a fair enough narrative choice, as it’s frankly one of the few scenarios where you could reasonably contrive so many battles, but it’s worth examining this in a bit more detail.
Even in the framing of warfare, there are still a lot of skirmishes, which sometimes the narrative or tone fails to support - or at least, their presence means that violence isn’t taken that seriously. Let’s take an example from early in Awakening: Emmeryn sends the Shepherds to negotiate an alliance with Regna Ferox. On the way, they are ambushed by Risen on the Northroad (1), have to fight the border guards who think Chrom is a bandit I think??? (2), and then after arriving they need to take part in Regna Ferox’s ritual combat to secure their alliance (3). These beats aren’t necessarily bad, and I actually think Awakening uses these opportunities quite well: the Risen are established as a constant threat to the world (except not really in the main story but that’s a whole other thing), “Marth'' gets more development, we set up Regna Ferox as fighty people who like to fight, and while the middle encounter is very tenuous it does set up a funny joke in Cynthia’s paralogue. However, I want to communicate that if the map/encounter designers need X maps between plot points A and B - in this case, needing low-stakes trials in the tutorial period - then there’s gonna be a fair bit of narrative filler. That is to say, there must be multiple combat encounters that kinda just happen, which makes violence a lot more casual in the narrative. See also the myriad examples of “oh shit random bandits attack!”, used to have a lower stakes map, with bandits appearing and vanishing as needed. This works fine enough in the context of ‘combat as sport’, allowing your favourite scrunglo to build up a triple-digit body count, but this casual attitude circumvents potentially interesting ideas with regards violence. Taking the example further, banditry and its causes are never seriously explored, as bandits are just treated as a filler enemy (except in Based As Hell Thracia 776).
Another narrative consequence of needing so many fights is that… you need to fight. That is to say, any anti-war sentiment or appeal to diplomacy in the series is fundamentally undercut by a) strategic combat being a core appeal of the series and b) narrative beats needing to be structured around fighting enemies. It’s a struggle to have moments of diplomacy and reconciliation when you had a fight within 3 minutes of said moment, lest some people start screaming that things are getting boring. This also makes any appeals to pacifism kinda moot. Xander’s quote about “war bad” in Conquest is utter bullshit, as a huge part of the marketing around that route focuses on the coolness of the tactical combat and its challenge. Eirika and Ephraim can never be equal, because Ephraim’s “fighting is fucken awesome” is encouraged by the gameplay, and Eirika can NEVER save 11037 because we need a final boss and no-one else fits the bill.
Speaking of, in video games it’s best practice to have a big bad guy you fight at the end of the story, the toughest mechanical challenge coinciding with the narrative climax. In Fire Emblem, you have one grand final battle which decides the fate of the war and/or world, before cutting to a brief wrap-up and then credits. This is an attempt to make these games satisfying, which is fine, but this is at odds with an anti-war message (which FE often gestures towards) - that is, actual wars tend to be deeply unsatisfying in a narrative sense! Oftentimes, after a decisive battle, things just kinda keep going for a little while afterwards with casualties continuing to pile up until peace terms are agreed. In the few cases where there is a final battle, it’s more of a formality as the decisive moment occurred months ago. See World War 1 and… World War 2 for examples of each, not to mention a whole host of war-related books and films. The problem with doing this in a video game is that it would require having multiple one-sided fights past the most climatic fight, which would be unfun, and we return to that fucking Reggie quote again. While video games can effectively explore this anti-war narrative space - This War of Mine is a fantastic example - it just doesn’t gel with the fun games that IntSys wants to make. I bring this up in the context of FE because Fire Emblem has such an aesthetic focus on warfare compared to other video games, so it sticks out even further. Even in FE6/FE9 where the war is effectively over in the final few maps, the enemies still remain extremely challenging, because if they didn’t things would be boring.
A few minor things that didn’t fit in above before we wrap up this section. First of all, in making an action packed story, Fire Emblem neglects an important aspect of army life in warfare - the “hurrying up and waiting”. In the majority of cases, the breaks between fights is under 10 minutes, it’s just glossed over. Fire Emblem Three Houses is the exception to this, but there it’s more framed as school life. Some people may say “what’s the point in having large amounts of timewasting where nothing happens in my game about war” and to that I would say fuck you, I want to play Jarhead Emblem. Next, Fire Emblem involves fighting people AND monsters, but these targets are typically given equal narrative weight, outside of maybe a funny line of dialogue about someone being afraid of monsters. In 99% of cases, enemy soldiers you fight have no more humanity than literal monsters. The death of any of your beloved soldiers is a tragedy with big sad death quotes, the death of those poor fuckers is quite literally a statistic which is proudly used to rank how well your guys have done at the end of the game. Finally, the limited scope of the violence the series can show limits the potential impact of scenes. In some cases, this is good as the implication is enough, e.g. the ‘Monica’ scene in Sacred Stones is wonderfully grim and would be weakened by anything explicit. However, a number of other scenes are neutered by the limitations on violence. This fundamentally relates to the aesthetics of the series:

insert prozd tweet/skit here (or Aesthetics, Tone, and Characters)

I’ve been talking a lot about ‘the violence committed’, and this might have seemed a bit weird to you. It’s a true statement, but because the violence is mostly cartoony and abstracted - bad guys disappear into nothingness, there’s no blood, etc - it’s hard to think of it in that way. It’s basically impossible to place Fire Emblem in the same artistic sphere as, say, All Quiet on the Western Front. This aesthetic sense was partially tech-limited in the early NES and SNES games, which was grandfathered into the more graphically complex titles, but it’s also related to how the aesthetics unavoidably warp the tone of the work. IntSys needs their games to be relatively lighthearted and unconcerned with the consequences of its violence, as one of the core appeals of these games is the charming cast of characters. As you would expect, it would be a lot harder to appreciate your goofy blorbos and their lighthearted chats about nothing if you could see the brutal consequences of their triple digit body counts. If violence was more realistic, there would be a lot less “ooh I like training and/or this one hyperspecific food” or “I like peace, but I guess violence may be possibly needed sometimes” and there would have to be a lot more trauma and dourness. There are also age rating concerns, as you can’t exactly sell Come And See Emblem to pre-teens. And once more, to clarify: Fire Emblem as it exists now is fine! I like the lighthearted tone of this series, and I like the characters that reside within it. However, a few problems do arise from IntSys’s approach to violence, as occasionally they brush up against darker ideas but (due to similar reasons to the above) they can never commit to them, which neuters their potential impact. This is especially troublesome with regards to characterisation, as the little dudes are a core appeal, so if something is off that could cause problems. In a sense, at points we have severe aesthetic tension.
A fairly useful case study to see how this affects characterisation is with Mozu in Fire Emblem Fates. Mozu is a charming character, a genial country bumpkin with a bit of an edge at times, who has fond memories of her hometown. This lines up with the lighthearted tone of her recruitment paralogue, where (checks notes) her entire village gets massacred by inhuman monsters, with her mother literally being murdered right in front of her, and she joins up with Corrin’s party because there is literally nothing left of her old life. I understand that people who experience extreme trauma do still manage to live meaningful lives, and that IntSys wouldn’t want to have a character who is a barely functional traumatised mess for 90% of the campaign. However, this doesn’t explain the sheer dissonance between the relatively normal and well-adjusted Mozu who quietly remembers her lost loved ones, and the fact that her village got My Lai’d a handful of weeks ago in the game’s timeline. IMO this would work a lot better if there were a few survivors (instead of literally everyone else dying), with Mozu actively choosing to leave her old life to help others instead of being forced to leave by circumstance. This reduction in scope would mitigate the dissonance between the character and what actually happens to her. This is by far the most extreme example in the series, however I’m sure you can think of others. My issue here is not with having ‘normal’ characters, or with them suffering tragedies, my issue is the dissonance between the two when viewing the scope of said tragedies. This is just one way the series wants to get into darker territory, then swiftly backing off instead of delving into the consequences.
This aesthetic restriction also affects the potential impact of dramatic scenes in the main story, limiting what the focus of these scenes can actually be. This little bit will involve heavy spoilers for Genealogy of the Holy War and Spec Ops: The Line (I KNOW THESE GAMES ARE VERY DIFFERENT WITH VERY DIFFERENT INTENDED DEMOGRAPHICS IN VERY DIFFERENT CULTURAL CONTEXTS, SHUT UP). Both have a very important narrative moment around their midpoints, involving fire magic/white phosphorus respectively. In each game, the deaths that occur are utterly horrific when you think about them. In FE4 the focus is on the drama of the plot twist and effects on the characters, with the actual effects of the violence being left to implication. We don’t know if this was the original intent of Kaga and the team, or if this was enforced by various tech- and publisher-related restrictions, but in either case we do not see anything explicit. In any case, in Spec Ops: The Line, the horror and graphic nature of the violence is completely inescapable, and therefore forms the core of the turning point of the story. The specifics of the violence itself are crucial - the game does not work if you don’t see the consequences of the white phosphorus - and it leads beautifully to the complete descent of its endgame. You may be saying “of course you couldn’t show that violence in FE, it’s a kids game” which is true, and in any case the scene in Genealogy is very good, even without showing the violence. I imagine if we get a remake in the year 202X we wouldn’t see anything explicit anyway, partially due to the publisher but also because the scene doesn’t necessarily need it. The point I am trying to make is that the aesthetics form a limitation on what Fire Emblem can explore, narrative space that the series fundamentally cannot reach.
One more thing, and this isn’t really about the games themselves but the impressions leading into them, and how the aesthetics can affect that. Do you guys remember when the intro cutscene of Three Houses was released a few weeks before release? I do, and I also remember the collective shock of the community when seeing the early previews. It was so drastically different to everything that had come before, and consequently was really intriguing - you can see a lot of speculation in the above comments. To clarify, I don’t want to pretend that 3H is some kind of super mature ultra gritty war story, or that blood = good game, but that beginning cutscene gave one hell of a first impression. Even though the game isn’t that much darker than any other FE game, the sheer unexpectedness put people off-kilter in a kinda awesome way. Does the game actually deliver? YMMV, but I think this (and some of the later cutscenes, such as the mid-game Dimitri one) work quite well. Sometimes, a little injection of harsher violence can go a long way.

Conclusion

Frankly I don’t really have a conclusion, sorry. As you can see, there are so many disparate strands, I can’t possibly make one grand thesis statement. Maybe the inherent contradictions of having warfare in a family friendly video game weakens the potential end result? I guess, but I don’t want to imply that what we have now is bad, as it is pretty good tbh. So, uhh…
…
OK, if I had to say something, it’s more about the process of making this. Having to try and think about how violence intersects with a video game you like takes you in a number of different directions. Ultimately, this process was really fulfilling for me, and I would recommend that you do the same (for FE or anything else)! Trying to analyse something you enjoy from a perspective not usually applied is pretty neat. If you guys have any thoughts (on the points above or your own), I’d be very interested to hear them!
Also, if people are interested, I’ll try to make a few case studies. I would focus on Thracia 776, Fates, and Three Houses, as (when thinking on this topic) I found that these games were consistently the most intriguing, with the most interesting relationships to violence. This would probably take a while though, as I am gonna be very busy in June, and I probably won’t have time this month either.

I graduated with my RN’s in 2018, I was unable to secure a new grad position, at the time I assumed I just couldn’t work as an RN. I continued to work as a disability support worker, I’m still currently working as one.
During the pandemic, AHPRA re-newed my registration however I didn’t take advantage of the pandemic to try to get into nursing, so my registration lapsed in 2022.
I saw a post recently of someone who hadn’t nursed in ten years but somehow got their registration and was looking for work, someone recommended they do a re-entry graduate certificate of nursing.
My question is, is this route viable for me? It seems to be aimed at nurses who worked as nurses but have had breaks and let their registrations lapse. I’ve never worked as an RN, only AIN and DSP. If I do this certificate, would I be able to realistically get a job?
I was never too interested in working on wards or acute settings. I used to want to be a mental health nurse.
I’ve gotten pretty bored of disability work even though it’s quite comfortable so I’ve been looking at where to go from here (I don’t want to go into management). Any advice?

Only reason for update is OLED if it's necessary for you.
M4 will not improve your drawing skills, you do.
ZBrush will likely work on every M iPad Pro
No, you don't need 13", you probably will be ok with 11". IT fits in the most suitcases, bags, handbags e.t.c.
Yes, it's probably FOMO, emotions and you can have a nice vacation instead of buying a new device
No, you can draw with old stylus as well as with new one
WWDC is just over the corner and if it's needed for AI stuff - you can update, but mb it makes more sense to skip 1 version and get iPad Pro with M5.

Tired of your emails feeling as exciting as a Monday morning alarm?
Introducing my TOPS framework that not only helps you to write like a pro but also automates your way to inbox domination.
Imagine crafting personalized messages at scale without lifting a finger (well, maybe just one to click 'send').
No more manual outreach drudgery; just efficient, effective email campaigns that bring in results.
That's how...I've helped my clients book 10-15 calls every month without depending on paid ads.
If you're still on the fence, remember: even the best writers started somewhere.
Why not start with me?
Cheers to crafting emails that slay,
Noman Chief Email Evangelist

I have an X Pro S and it’s been working great for me but I’m just curious as to how it stacks up against other manual and electric grinders.
I’m not really concerned about whether it’s a “better” grinder functionally or workflow wise than others. Everyone has their workflow preference and I get that. For instance, I happen to prefer the hand grinding experience and I know others really dislike it.
I’m more wondering about the quality of coffee it produces compared to other grinders.

Can not manually arrange the icons anymore in the home page . In the app pages it is working . 6.4 built 021 Google Pixel 7 pro. Android version 14

Many people are calling for Ned's head lately.
I don't think he's been perfect. He has a positive reputation around the league at least as a person and businessperson. That doesn't mean he's a good scout.
I think it's important to separate hirings into categories one would attribute to the owner, the coach, or the general manager, even though it is reportedly a collaborative process and Paulson has to sign off on everything. It is also essential to note that different coaches have different systems, styles, strategies, and tactics. Players identified as having the skills, disposition, mentality, etc. for particular purposes under a particular coach may not work as well in different circumstances. For example, I'll suggest that having a slow right centerback isn't as much of a problem with a right fullback who can track back, central midfielders who can help cover, and an offense that defends higher, doesn't turn the ball over so often, and is effective in attack. Also, given the relatively sudden and unexpected departures of Porter and Wilkinson, and the transition periods between coaches and scouting/technical staff, it's important to note that there were times when there weren't people in particular roles and the styles, tactics, strategies, philosophies, etc. weren't clear or changed.
While I have no proof and Ned has expressed his enthusiasm for and confidence in Neville, I very much feel like Phil is Paulson's guy. It was said that he had a rapport with Paulson. I don't expect Ned to say anything publicly that isn't supportive. Maybe he actually believed Neville was the best candidate and maybe he still believes he's a good coach.
Using Wikipedia, I documented which players signed with the club or had their contracts extended while Ned was in different roles.
When he was promoted to Technical Director, he was specifically credited with scouting specific players. He's also credited with finalizing the deal with Evander in late 2022, after GW was fired but before he was officially GM. The rumor is that the deal was going to fall apart before Ned took over negotiations. I've italicized those players that Ned might have been involved in scouting, recruiting, signing, or extending who are still on the team. I've also indicated when I think it's pretty clear when a player was brought in by a coach because of some past association. I may be wrong about some and may have missed some. I know there is incomplete information but I only tried so hard. There are also situations where the player was technically signed to an extension in one year but it was effectively for the next season. The distinction between preseason and summer transfer window signings isn't always obvious. Also, many of these players were scouted for some time before a decision was made to sign them and an opportunity presented itself. For example, Wilkinson talked about wanting Lucas Melano for some time. I think Porter was big on him too. We had our eyes on Yimmi Chara for a long time too. Considering that, I'm not inclined to credit Ned with 2017 signings at all, and don't think he had much to do with the renewal or financial decisions until 2023.
Director of Scouting and Recruitment - November 2016
2017 Season
Signings

• Andres Flores - Gio
• Modou Jadama

Extensions/Renewals

• Jeff Attinella
• Kendall McIntosh
• Zark Valentin - Porter
• Dairon Asprilla
• Jack Barmby
• Bill Tuiloma

2018 Season
Signings

• Julio Cascante
• Foster Langsdorf
• Eryk Williamson
• Jorge Villafaña - Returned. Originally signed as a Porter player.
• Steve Clark
• Andy Polo - Ned is credited with scouting him. GW took credit for his extension.
• Cristhian Paredes - Ned is credited with scouting him.
• Samuel Armenteros
• Tomás Conechny

Extensions/Renewals

• Zerek Valentin
• Jeremy Ebobisse
• Modou Jadama
• Bill Tuiloma
• Foster Langsdorf
• Kendall McIntosh

Technical Director - December 2018
2019 Season
Signings

• Marvin Loría - Ned is credited with scouting him.
• Renzo Zambrano - Ned is credited with scouting him.
• Claude Dielna - Ned is credited with scouting him.
• Aljaz Ivavic
• Brian Fernandez
• Jorge Moreira

Extensions/Renewals

• Sebastian Blanco
• Diego Valeri
• Bill Tuiloma
• Steve Clark
• Jeremy Ebobisse

2020 Season
Signings

• Yimmi Chara
• Blake Bodily
• Jaroslaw Niezgoda
• Chris Duvall
• Pablo Bonilla
• Zac McGraw
• Felipe Mora
• Dario Zuparic

Extensions/Renewals

• Dairon Asprilla

2021 Season
Signings

• Larrys Mabiala
• Santiago Moreno

2022 Season
Signings

• Justin Vom Steeg
• David Ayala
• Justin Rasmussen
• Diego Gutierrez
• Claudio Bravo
• Juan David Mosquera

Extensions/Renewals

• Felipe Mora
• Zac McGraw
• Diego Chara
• Cristhian Paredes

General Manager - December 2023
October 2022 - GW Fired
2023 Season
Signings

• Evander - Neville said that he had wanted Evander at Miami.
• Miguel Araujo
• Antony
• Eric Miller
• Frank Boli

Extensions/Renewals

• Nathan Fogaça

2024 Season
Signings

• Kamal Miller - Neville guy
• James Pantemis - Neville guy
• Trey Muse - Neville guy?
• Maxime Crepeau - Neville guy
• Jonathan Rodriguez

Extensions/Renewals

• Juan David Mosquera
• Santiago Moreno
• Eric Miller

Do we blame these guys going forward?
Jack Dodd - Technical Director - April 2023

• Former Director of Scouting for Toronto and a scout for Liverpool and Crystal Palace

Nacho Leblic - Director of Scouting - February 2024
With all of this info, I think we can blame Ned in whole or in part for the following current players being signed and / or having their contracts renewed:

1. Rodriguez
2. Evander
3. Loría
4. Williamson
5. Moreno
6. Mosquera
7. McGraw
8. Eric Miller
9. Fogaça
10. Antony
11. Mora
12. Diego Chara
13. Araujo
14. Paredes
15. Ayala
16. Mabiala
17. Asprilla
18. Kamal Miller
19. Muse
20. Crepeau
21. Pantemis
22. Sulte
23. Zuparic
24. Ikoba
25. Bravo

Gee, that's the entire roster. Realistically though, I'm only crediting him for 2023 and maybe Rodriguez. He wasn't really GM until Evander at the end of 2022. GW, Paulson, Porter, Gio, and Neville all have had input and in many cases more authority in decision-making up to that point.
Which players came and went under Ned's watch should we not have signed or not let go?
And which players who are still on the roster just objectively suck and aren't MLS-level players? As starters or depth? Who doesn't even have any potential? Who has aged out? Who is good but doesn't fit the system? Who doesn't fit Neville's system but fit Gio's? Note: this is all in MLS-level terms.

1. Rodriguez was great but is now just good and arguably doesn't fit the system. He's a second striker but we only play with one forward. I don't think the 4-4-2 we tried against Seattle was a good idea. Obviously, it didn't work. Maybe a diamond of Evander, Chara, Ayala, and Paredes. We'd need more defense to cover for Mosquera getting forward and Moreno tucking in. But I digress...
2. Evander is good but poorly utilized and inconsistent. He plays to the level of his teammates. He's not a leader. Could he be great? Probably not as a 10. He's got flashes though, so I hope I'm wrong.
3. Loría in my eyes isn't MLS level and hit his ceiling. I'll accept arguments that he's a good sub for the money.
4. Williamson is good but oft-injured, and inconsistently plays to the level of his teammates.
5. Moreno is inconsistent, sometimes played out of position, doesn't fit the system, but has potential. He takes chances, which I respect, but maybe doesn't have the best judgement. Maybe he can learn. I hope so. He tries. He's good. He could be great. He probably shouldn't be the starter all the time.
6. Mosquera is a good winger but terrible fullback. Or maybe he's a good wingback but terrible fullback, depending on how you define the roles. Maybe he has potential. I increasingly doubt it. He doesn't seem to have the mentality for it. He's Alvas Powell 2.0. I'd love to be wrong. He tried last match. If he becomes a good fullback he'll be great overall.
7. McGraw is good but terrible in the system, especially when Mosquera doesn't track back. He's just too slow and sometimes has poor judgement.
8. Eric Miller is good as a sub right fullback and decent as a sub left fullback.
9. Fogaça isn't good and has no potential. I'd love to be wrong. I like his workrate but he's not MLS quality and never will be.
10. Antony is good, not great, and maybe has potential. His first touch is garbage, he's one-footed, and he doesn't make smart runs. He fast though. I don't think he can succeed on a shitty team like ours because he won't see the ball enough. Ideally, he'd understudy to a great winger and learn from them.
11. Mora is surprisingly good. He's opportunistic. He's a leader. He's committed. He puts in effort. I still don't think he's a DP and I'd kind of prefer he was a subto an even better forward but it's hard to argue with success.
12. Diego Chara. He's still very good. People who say he's lost a step are confusing his inability to cover everybody else's mistakes, and his own occasional lapses, with having lost it. He's barely lost anything. He'd look better on a team that wasn't absolute ass. It's sad for him.
13. Araujo. I think he's good but just too slow for this system. His passing is good and he's good with the ball at his feet. His positioning and judgement seem fine, generally. I'd bet he'd look better on a better team too. I could say the same for some former centerbacks as well.
14. Paredes. He's good. He's developed and grown on me. He's pretty consistent and generally puts in effort. He rarely pisses me off. I'd hoped he'd develop into a 6 but that's apparently not to be. I think he's hit his ceiling. He's a great rotator or sub. Not a star.
15. Ayala. He's good. Could become great if he can stay healthy and get more development. I'm worried about his injury history. He's a bit small and can get pushed around a bit.
16. Mabiala. He's just too old and slow now. Good dude. Maybe his last extension was too long. I think the tactics are especially bad for him but he wasn't good enough last season either. Father Time just caught up faster than we expected.
17. Asprilla. Is he good? I don't think he really is. But his moments of sheer genius, his workrate, and his heart make him great. As a sub. Flare counts for a lot. I love it when Asprilla dazzles.
18. Kamal Miller. He's good but too slow for the system.
19. Muse. No idea man.
20. Crepeau. He's great but we sure haven't given him a chance to be great for us yet.
21. Pantemis. He's good and could be great.
22. Sulte. I've only ever seen him be awful. I wish him the best but have no reason for optimism, especially since Muse came on.
23. Zuparic. He's the best player in the league, obviously. He's good. Maybe he was great once. He's not good enough for the system at least. If Neville ever substantively changes tactics I think he could be solid for us again. Seems like his attitude may be a problem though. Who knows what to believe?
24. Ikoba. Absolute mystery to me. I assume the worst from context clues. Wish him the best. I think he, Sulte, and all who came before underscore how wretched our academy system is. Who do we blame for that? Does it matter? I think it does. I'd love to develop cheap players we could sell to reinvest in the club.
25. Bravo. He's great. He could be brilliant. He makes the occasional mistake but that's the price of greatness. He takes risks. He's a fighter too. Love this dude but he still gets underrated and shit on. We're so much better with him on the team. How often do we have good fullbacks, especially a left back. Him, Moreira, and Villafaña are kind of it, right? Farfan showed promise but bringing Jorge back stunted his prospects with us?

I think we are less than the sum of our parts. I don't think too many of our players are scrubs. We have too much invested in central midfield, centerback, and keeper. Central midfield was complicated by injuries and Chara's insane longevity. Our poor DP signings hurt our ability to move on from them in terms of timing and money. Ivacic was still on the books well into the last transfer window. Mabiala is taking up roster and cap space. Zuparic is questionable. McGraw and Araujo just don't seem to be good fits for the system that Neville is trying to implement. Kamal Miller isn't either but Neville doesn't realize that. I'll suggest that Mosquera not defending hurt the CBs last season too, along with the missing attacking DPs.
I don't know what we can realistically do about our problems near-term. I don't think Nevilleball works even with a right fullback who can defend and faster centerbacks. That would help. But the lack of off-the-ball movement, lack of ball progression through midfield, lack of creative runs, poor passing, low pressure, shitty zonal marking on set piece defending, not closing passing lanes, not stepping to the ball; not making incisive, line-splitting passes; not communicating, poor rotations, not making the final pass or taking shots in the box, passing back all the time, slow build-up, not covering the far post, injuries... It's a lot. Some of these problems predate Neville, so he ought to have accounted for them and adjusted accordingly. The FO has denied lack of talent is a problem. That leaves coaching and attitude or mentality. Attitude and mentality often come back to coaching IMHO.

I own a tab ultra pro. The auto rotate seems to be buggy for me. I have to restart every now and then or just use the rotate manually feature. Is this a known issue? Is theresa fix for this without restarting the tab?

Hey, swappers, contemplating selling this to make a change. Anyone need a decently packed 6L system? Will be keeping my two SSD’s currently installed. Have the BNIB 1TB SN850X for this build.
Been using it for productivity workstation, as well as 1440p 144hz and 1080p 280hz gaming. Very much enjoying the look and small size of the case and build.
Local only near Longmeadow, MA or Enfield, CT border area. Asking $1200 cash, $1250 Paypal Invoice. NOT shipping, just giving the option to use PayPal.
Timestamps and more Photos of build
Parts List:
CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X under a Noctua L9a chronic black cooler
MOBO: Gigabyte B550i Aorus Pro AX
RAM: 32GB Gskill 3600C16
GPU: RTX 4070 Super FE
PSU: Corsair SF750 with custom cables from DreamBigbyRay on Etsy
CASE: Velkase Velka 7 Rev 2.1 bundle
SSD: BNIB 1TB WD BLACK SN850X buyer’s choice if installed or not, pick Windows 10 or 11.
I have all the boxes for the hardware, handle comes with the Velka7. Most manuals too.
Thanks for looking, cheers.

I’ve purchased AirPods Pro 2 in Nov 2022, until then I’ve changed my ear tips with fake ones in Dec 2023. Now they got too sticky,stinky and slightly yellow. I’ve ordered official tips from Apple Store, is it worth it ? Or do we have any better and cheaper options?

Hey guys I have a OnePlus 9 Pro which I bough on May 2022.
Since then I have run into many issues as follows:
Green line (got replaced for free from op) - Sep 2023
Battery bulge (paid 1900 rs at op) - Apr 2024
Got green line again - May 2024
Because I have gotten green line again even on my replacement display, I really don't want to use this phone again as it will just again get lines 6-7 months down the line and who knows if spares are still available?
So I fought with them for either giving me a voucher or take this phone for exchange.
They accepted to take my 9 Pro for 27k and I'm able to buy the op12 16-512 for 43k (514USD).
Should I get it? I really didn't want to get another OnePlus but since this is a really good offer I'm contemplating about it.
Let me know your experience with the phone and will I get lines on the op12 too?

Hello There,
Over the past 5 months I have tested probably around 20 of these AI undressing websites. I wanted to share my experience with you after my comparisons.
AI-Nudes. app: From all the sites I tested I was quite impressed with this one. AI-Nudes had the most realistic results. Compared to the others, it's also the cheapest one. Pro: they allow fully nude undressing without needing to buy premium which the others don’t. :)
Undress. app, Undress .cc, Undress. love and Nudify. online: All of these look like they are from the same owners. They also provide good results, but are more expensive.
Ainude. ai: This one is good for anime style results if that’s what you’re into. Not the most realistic results I was after, but I understand the appeal.
What Do You Guys Think? Let me know

GPT-4o is available for all free users so the question arises. Do you really need PRO subscription now?
I want to find out by comparing the models on 3 different tasks.

Task 1: Summarize

Prompt: Summarize article from URL: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o and provide key takeways.

Spoiler: GPT-4o wins this round
GPT-4o Response
OpenAI introduces GPT-4o ("o" for "omni"), a multimodal model that processes text, audio, and images, offering real-time responses and improved multilingual support. GPT-4o is faster, cheaper, and more versatile than its predecessors, excelling in vision and audio tasks. It integrates safety features and undergoes rigorous evaluations. Initially available in text and image modes, with audio and video capabilities to follow, GPT-4o aims to enhance human-computer interactions.
Key Takeaways:

1. Multimodal capabilities (text, audio, image).
2. Real-time processing.
3. Improved multilingual performance.
4. Faster and more cost-effective.
5. Enhanced safety and rigorous evaluations.
6. Gradual rollout of features.

For more details, visit OpenAI's announcement.
GPT-4 Response
The article introduces OpenAI's new flagship model, GPT-4o, which stands for "omni." This model integrates text, audio, and image inputs and outputs for a more fluid human-computer interaction. It boasts improvements in language processing, especially for non-English languages, enhanced audio and vision understanding, and better performance metrics while being faster and more cost-effective. GPT-4o combines these functionalities in one model, unlike previous versions that used separate models for different tasks, offering quicker response times and more contextual interactions. It is currently being rolled out, with plans to gradually introduce more features and capabilities.

Task 2: Brainstorming

Prompt: Summarize article from URL: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o and provide key takeways.

Spoiler: It's a tie
GPT-4o Response

1. Holographic Personal Assistants: Develop AI-driven holographic assistants that provide real-time, immersive support for both personal and professional tasks.
2. Eco-Interactive Art Installations: Create eco-friendly public art installations that generate energy through interactions with viewers, blending sustainability with creativity.
3. Augmented Reality Storytelling Parks: Design theme parks where visitors experience stories through augmented reality, blending physical environments with digital narratives for immersive adventures.

GPT-4 Response

1. Virtual Reality Time Travel Agency: A service that provides hyper-realistic virtual reality experiences allowing customers to "visit" any historical event or era.
2. Personalized Dream Streaming: A platform that records, analyzes, and allows users to share or revisit their dreams in high-definition video.
3. AI-Curated Life Paths: An AI-driven service that analyzes a person's talents, passions, and life data to suggest personalized, optimal career and life choices.

Task 3: Creative Writing

Prompt: Write humorous email to my boss explaining why I'm not coming to work today.

Spoiler: GPT-4 wins this round
GPT-4o Response
Dear [Boss's Name],
I hope this email finds you in good spirits and free from any surprise mythical creature invasions. Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that I won't be able to make it to work today due to an unexpected and rather unusual circumstance.
As I was getting ready to leave for the office this morning, I encountered a particularly tenacious unicorn in my backyard. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Unicorns don't exist!" But believe me, this one was very real, very sparkly, and very insistent on staying put.
Despite my best efforts to coax it away with promises of rainbows and magical meadows, the unicorn refused to budge. It seems it has taken a liking to my garden gnomes, which is both adorable and problematic. The local authorities and animal control were no help, as they understandably don't have a protocol for unicorn-related incidents.
As a result, I'm currently in negotiations with a local wizard who specializes in mythical creature relocations. He assures me that he can safely transport the unicorn to a more appropriate habitat, but it will take most of the day to complete the spell.
I apologize for any inconvenience my absence may cause and assure you that I will be back at my desk as soon as this magical situation is resolved. In the meantime, I will be available by phone and email if you need anything urgent (assuming the unicorn doesn't eat my Wi-Fi router).
Thank you for your understanding and patience with this rather fantastical predicament.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
P.S. If you hear rumors of a rainbow appearing over my neighborhood, don't be alarmed. It's just the unicorn's farewell gesture. 🌈
GPT-4 Response
Hi [Boss's Name],
I hope this message finds you well—or at least better than I am currently faring. I regret to inform you that I am unable to make it to the office today due to a highly unusual and unexpected situation. This morning, as I was preparing to brave the perilous journey to work, I stumbled upon a daunting challenge... a jigsaw puzzle!
You see, last night, I made the mistake of saying, "How hard can it be?" while looking at this 5000-piece enigma. Little did I know, it took this as a personal challenge. I’ve been recruited by the pieces themselves, which have conspired to keep me at home until the entire landscape is meticulously pieced together. They have taken my cat as a hostage, who, as I type, is comfortably sleeping atop the partially completed puzzle.
Despite my best efforts, every attempt to leave has been thwarted by another piece mysteriously fitting into place, compelling me to continue. It’s a vicious cycle, but someone has to solve it, and that someone appears to be me.
On a more serious note, the real culprit of my absence is a stubborn cold that has decided to visit me without an invitation. I thought it best to keep my germs confined to the puzzle battlefield, rather than share them with the team.
I will be checking my emails regularly in between my bouts with the puzzle (and my sneezes), so I should be reachable for any urgent matters. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Wishing you a less eventful day at the office!
Best regards,
[Your Name]

Summary

GPT-4o: Good for simple tasks. It's also much faster than GPT-4. It looks like a really good replacement of GPT-3.5
GPT-4: Still better option for complex tasks that require multiple steps.
PS: IF you want to see me doing more experiments like this: join my ChatGPT newsletter

Academic workers in UAW 4811 are voting Monday-Wednesday this week to authorize a strike against the UC's violent police assault of peaceful anti-genocide protesters. All those who participated in the 2020 and 2022 strikes know from the experience of those struggles that the union has no interest in carrying out a real fight. In those struggles, the UAW bureaucracy used every trick to disorient, discourage, and demobilize workers, to limit the struggle, and to maintain their own privileged positions within the union and the Democratic Party.
Regarding Gaza, the UAW bureaucracy has completely lined up behind the Biden administration and its support for Israel's genocidal war. At the UAW's Community Action Program conference in January, president Shawn Fain enthusiastically endorsed Biden reelection bid, while pro-Palestinian protesters were physically dragged out of the conference.
At this point, any delay in strike action is unacceptable. Neither students nor workers, and certainly not the Palestinians, can wait any longer.
Graduate student workers must mobilize now to countermand this slow-motion sellout. They should organize their own rank-and-file strike vote and form their own strike committees, separate from and uncontrolled by the UAW apparatus, to enforce their democratic will.
From https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/05/14/rcls-m14.html
On Monday, 48,000 University of California academic workers and members of United Auto Workers Local 4811 began electronically casting their ballots to approve a strike authorization. The vote is scheduled to last through Wednesday.
The UAW was forced to call the vote as a result of massive anger among grad students and academic workers to an attack by armed Zionist counter-protesters—abetted by the police, UC administration and UAW leadership—on the UCLA Gaza Solidarity encampment two weeks ago. While police did nothing for hours as the encampment was attacked by right-wing thugs, the following night, police returned to conduct mass arrests of peaceful students and workers.
The strike authorization vote places the rank and file in direct conflict with the UAW leadership, which fully endorsed President Joe Biden’s 2024 candidacy despite his genocidal and warmongering policies. After an over week-long delay in calling the vote, Local 4811 finally announced the vote but rendered a possible strike contingent on whether “circumstances justify.”
Moreover, the union unilaterally calls for the infamous “standup strikes” and reserves the right to restrict them to selected campuses only, for the purpose of limiting as much as possible the impact and effectiveness of strike action. The “standup strike” pro-corporate tactic inflicted a massive defeat on autoworkers last fall. Instead of calling the entire membership on strike, UAW president and Biden’s biggest fan Shawn Fain left workers on the job at the most profitable plants, betraying workers’ readiness to fight.
In addition to limiting the action to an “Unfair Labor Practice” claim against the UC system and “standup strikes,” the UAW is also undercutting workers’ action by limiting the duration of the strike to less than two months. In a ballot shared with the World Socialist Web Site by a member of Local 4811, the UAW wrote, “The strike will end on all campuses no later than June 30th, 2024.”
Despite the attempt by the union to smother and curtail strike action, the authorization vote is a highly political expression of workers and students who are overwhelmingly opposed to war, the genocide in Gaza and those primarily responsible for it, namely the state of Israel and the Biden administration. Anger and opposition to the criminal onslaught of Palestinians and imperialist war is mounting in country after country...

rant on justifying my purchase

Battery Life

Something I have noticed not many people have been discussing is the ever so slight increase in battery life by 9.2% on the 11 inch model compared to the m2 11 inch iPP. You can even notice this in Dave2D’s recent iPP review video where the 11 inch model runs slightly longer the 13inch M4 in his tests
screenshot of Dave2D's battery life comparison slide
battery size comparison b/w iPad Pro 11 M2 2022 and iPad Pro 11 M4 2024

Binned SoC

As much as its annoys me that apple chose to hide the higher core count processors under different storage options. The silver lining here is that instead of the (arguably more important) efficiency cores it loses a performance core, so only sustained loads would see a very slight performance hit. Mobile chips always prefer to send load towards efficiency cores first and only spin up perf cores when necessary. And since the efficiency cores on m4 are anyways crazy powerful the only noticeable difference here should be a further increase in processor efficiency. Which means that the 9 core SoC missing a perf core should have a slight edge in batter life over the 10 core on since it has 25% fewer perf cores to power.
I expect the base (256-512GB) version of iPP 11 to be endurance champ in the entire iPad lineup

Round 1, Pick 26 - Graham Barton, C, Duke:
NFL: The Buccaneers fortify the offensive line with an experienced player who offers position flexibility. His elite presence on the interior should help elevate the run game and keep Baker Mayfield upright.
CBS Sports: A. This is a great pick. They have major issues at center and a question at left guard and he can play both. I love this pick. Barton will move inside from tackle, but he can play there in a pinch too.
ESPN: The Bucs got their top pick of an interior offensive lineman in Barton, who can immediately step in to fill the void left by center Ryan Jensen's retirement. While all but four of Barton's offensive snaps over the last three seasons have come at left tackle -- where he allowed just one sack in 2023 and two in 2022 -- he played 446 snaps at center as a freshman, which is his most natural fit and what caught the Bucs' eye. He plays with a great base, a good anchor and a "nasty temperament" that the Bucs' front office covets.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Likes his coffee hot and water cold which is actually reasonable.
Round 2, Pick 57 - Chris Braswell, DE, Alabama:
NFL: It's not often that a player with two college starts lands inside the top 60 picks, but Braswell did emerge last season as a jack of all trades for the Crimson Tide. At the very least, he could be a terrific special-teamer, but the Bucs likely hope to develop Braswell's pass-rush arsenal and squeeze even more out of his terrific athletic profile.
CBS Sports: A+. Had early RD2 grade on this outside rusher. Length, methodical pass-rush moves, deceptive power. Very productive generating pressure at Alabama. Sets a sturdy edge. A need in the post Shaq Barrett era.
ESPN: While the Bucs did sign Randy Gregory in free agency, he'll likely wind up being more of a rotational player opposite second-year edge YaYa Diaby. What they've needed is a replacement for Shaquil Barrett, who departed for the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Braswell's three forced fumbles in 2023 were tied for the most in the SEC, while his 42 pressures were the third most in the SEC. His eight sacks were tied for the fifth most in the SEC after having 2.5 sacks from 2020 to 2022. He also had 53 coverage snaps in 2023, which Todd Bowles does ask of his edge rushers. Braswell played 41 games with Crimson Tide but only made two starts, both of which came last season.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He only likes the yellow part of the gummy worm.
Round 3, Pick 89 - Tykee Smith, S, Georgia:
NFL: Smith has a Mike Edwards-like projection, so it's easy to see why the Bucs took Smith here, in the same range they drafted Edwards in 2019. Although Smith is undersized and not an elite athlete, he has the nose for the ball and enough special-teams value to be a contributor in Year 1.
CBS Sports: B-. Slot defender / safety hybrid closer to slot CB size but doesn’t have those quicks. Surprisingly powerful hitter at his size and plays with a lot of conviction when tracking the football. Super-smart in coverage. Reads QB’s in a flash which helps him play faster than his timed speed.
ESPN: The Bucs see Smith as a nickel, and he played 80% of snaps in the slot with Bowles keeping a close watch on the UGA program, where his son, Troy, plays. They started undrafted free agent rookie Christian Izien last year and signed Tavierre Thomas in free agency, but their secondary as a whole needs more takeaways, which is where Smith comes in. His four interceptions in 2023 were tied for the third most in the SEC. He was also one of three FBS players with four or more interceptions and two or more sacks in 2023 alongside Michigan's Mike Sainristil and UNLV's Cameron Oliver.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Ribs. This man loves ribs. Cannot get enough ribs!
Round 3, Pick 92 - Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington:
NFL: A smooth-moving slot or outside receiver, McMillan returned from injury to help the Huskies make it all the way to the national title game. He has big mitts, good hands and more juice than he's sometimes given credit for. This is a really nice weapon to add to the Bucs' WR room.
CBS Sports: B+. Crafty, complete wideout with a trademark trait. Runs quality routes. Adequate separation. Not a burner. Not slow. Tracks it with good concentrations. Not a huge YAC type nor someone who thrives when leaping for the football in traffic. Robert Woods type with a bit more juice.
ESPN: The Bucs declined No. 3 wide receiver Russell Gage's option this year, and he was released. Mike Evans will also be 31 and Chris Godwin enters the third and final year of his contract, worth $20 million per year. McMillan can line up inside or outside but 33 of his 45 receptions came out of the slot in 2023, and he caught six passes out of the backfield. He's also a master of the post route. His six touchdown catches on post routes since 2022 are tied for the most in the FBS, while his 253 receiving yards on post route concepts since 2022 are the 10th most in the FBS.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Still willing to try and get the band back together.
Round 4, Pick 125 - Bucky Irving, RB, Oregon:
NFL: Bucky to the Bucs keeps the run on Ducks going. He's not terribly fast but can get up to max speed quickly and might end up as a decent complement to Rachaad White, even if they do similar things well.
CBS Sports: A. Bad testing figures - - despite reasonable speed - - but one of the most elusive, hard-to-corral RBs over the last few drafts. Smaller stature. Decent contact balance too. Weapon in the receiving game, and of course, out in space. Fun addition.
ESPN: The Bucs have had the league's worst rushing attack over the last two seasons (82.9 yards per game) and wanted to bolster competition. Irving is 5-9 and 192 pounds and ran a 4.55 40-yard dash at the NFL combine -- 14th among 20 running backs. While his testing was not great, the tape shows production. He topped 1,000 rushing yards in each of his two seasons at Oregon, including 1,180 with 11 touchdowns in 2023. He broke or evaded an FBS-high 144 tackles since 2022, and he had 896 rushing yards between the tackles in 2023, averaging 7.1 yards per rush. His 56 receptions last season led all FBS running backs.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He once ate an 8 layer peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Round 6, Pick 220 - Elijah Klein, OG, UTEP:
NFL: With 55 college starts and good length, Klein has a chance to make it in Tampa. He's stiff and might be an inside-only blocker, however.
CBS Sports: C. Smooth operator at guard. Quality run-blocking abilities. Opens the gate too soon in pass pro and not ultra experienced there. Not many true sets in college.
ESPN: The Bucs didn't re-sign Matt Feiler or Aaron Stinnie, who both started at left guard last season. Along with Cody Mauch, they finished with a combined 70.2% run blocking win rate among guards -- 16th in the league last year. None of them finished in the top 50 in pass block win rate either. The Bucs did sign free agent Sua Opeta from the Philadelphia Eagles, and Klein will compete with those two. Klein allowed 1.3% pressures at UTEP and in 45 games, he allowed four sacks with a 1.6% blown run block rate. In 2023, he allowed one sack all season.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Always wondered how Raymans hands worked if he doesn’t have arms.
Round 7, Pick 246 - Devin Culp, TE, Washington:
NFL: Culp shocked a few people when he ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, but his 230-pound frame figures to limit his role quite a bit. Even so, Culp improved each college season and has some unrealized potential as an H-back.
CBS Sports: B+. Smaller, speedster H-back TE type. Was very underutilized at Washington but flashed when given the opportunity. Made some impressive snags in traffic. Not much YAC-wise but can run away from second-level defenders if given space.
ESPN: The Bucs' 502 combined yards from tight ends last year was third worst, and they needed to bolster competition at the position. At 6-3 and 231 pounds, Culp ran a 4.47s 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, which was the fastest among tight ends this year. But he'll need to improve as an in-line blocker, which is where his size is a concern. He's also had some drops with six (8.8% drop rate) in 28 games.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Has soft hands… both ON and OFF the field.

Em um curto espaço de tempo minha vida foi colocada de cabeça pra baixo, passei por um período de estresse gigante onde não conseguia ficar em casa por 1 hora se quer sem nada pra fazer, cada segundo meu estava ocupado, nada que fez bem pra minha cabeça por sinal. Em 2020 desenvolvi fortes traços de depressão, tive que fazer acompanhamento com psiquiatras e psicólogos, pensei ter superado, mas não acredito que realmente superamos isso, mas sim que aprendemos a lidar com isso, apenas uma opinião própria (todos que estiverem passando por isso, busquem ajuda, nada fará ser fácil a luta, mas pode torna-la mais suportável). Não havia me recuperado e precisei mudar de cidade, no contexto eu estava entrando no ensino médio, nunca tive muitos amigos, mas só de pensar em começar de novo eu já pensava em desistir, posteriormente descobri que essa ansiedade social se tratava de autismo, mas estou me apressando. Eu me mudei, tive que começar do 0, mudar planos de faculdades e vestibulares, virar noites não faz justiça ao que fiz para tentar o meu máximo, na metade de 2022 eu já estava me adaptando ao local e as pessoas, todo mundo era muito receptivo comigo, mas eu sempre fui muito retraído, nessa época eu conheci um garoto, eu comecei a namorar ele, eu pensamentos giravam entorno dele, ele era lindo demais, gentil demais, legal demais, nunca me vi merecedor dele, a mãe nunca aceitou ele, se eu tinha problemas então ele tinha desastres diários, sofria abuso psicológico principalmente, mas também fisicamente, ele também tinha muitos pensamentos suicidas o que nos fazia uma boa dupla kkkk. Ele estava decidido a sair do Brasil e ir pro Japão, eu amava tanto ele que decidi que iria com ele não importasse o que, sim sempre fui burrinho assim, eu realmente amava ele e queria casar com ele a todo custo, porém teve um dia que ele sumiu, ele sempre dava boas sumidas, eu sabia que estavam tendo brigas intensas na casa dele, de madrugada ele me mandou mensagem, ele disse que queria fugir, não de casa, para fora do país, ir embora de vez, é claro que eu disse que não poderia, ele insistiu e eu não mudaria de ideia não importava o quanto ele tentasse, queria ir embora com ele, mas queria que tudo fosse feito da forma correta para não termos dor de cabeça, naquela noite eu cometi uma burrada, não, a maior burrada que já cometi, eu ainda não estou pronto pra falar sobre isso, mas ele sumiu, ele parou de falar comigo em 100% e sumiu da minha vida, eu entrei na faculdade que eu queria, quero ser professor algum dia, eu superei ele dia após dia, mas eu me dei conta de uma coisa, o sentimento de quando eu estava com depressão estava aqui, não depois desse acontecido e amor perdido, desde sempre, ele nunca foi embora, eu apenas aprendi a ignorar o olhar do abismo, mas ele sempre esteve me observando. Perceber esse sentimento lá e pior, que ele nunca havia ido embora me fez perceber não conseguiria me livrar dele, não foi medo que me tomou conta, foi puro desespero, eu perdi meu chão, como um Deus onipotente estivesse me dando uma sentença eterna e inevitável, ali, eu quis desistir. Não sei o que me fez/faz continuar existindo com esse sentimento de merda, vazio, incompleto e afins, mas eu sigo um dia de cada vez. Buscar um motivo na vida é ínfimo se vc está nessa situação, buscar um motivo para vc é muito mais importante que um sentido universal,enco três sua força, não de um passo muito longo, mas sim um de cada vez.

First off who thought it was a good idea to make the retrieve site ID page once you fill it out hoping for some help show a tiny box in the bottom left that will show your case ID for 3 seconds then dissappear? Till I happened to notice the box that hides behind the cookie icon I probably have made 40 cases thinking that tool wasn't working.
I see that maybe the case ID was on some export I could have done when the old portal was up? I never received an email about migration or data backup at all, and only learned about any of the migration today.
I had to manually make a broadcom account today. It looks like if I was able to make a profile then I could just add my license keys to my profile then download the software (workstation pro 17-perpetial)?
I can only imagine how bad this is for the corporate customers at the moment. Seems all their chat is down as well.

Current version: V52079
profile Current Version: V52000
The broadlink app says the Firmware is up to date, but it's never updated. Where do I find manual update URLs?
(I noticed this while investigating the fact that the device does not show temp or humidity in either the Broadlink app or HomeBridge plugin)

I grew up hoping to animate for a major company like cartoon network or Disney. As I grew older and became more disillusioned with major corporations, I hoped to start my own animation studio. But now, as a 26 year old with a history of having panic attacks at work and very little experience animating, I realize even this is realistic. Especially considering that I haven't been able to get a an animation degree, had a lot of issues focusing enough to my schoolwork in on time and with school stress. Now I sit here having lost my job at yet another restaurant job, I wonder what my best path is. I do kinda wanna do art as a career, but speaking realistically, my brain doesn't seem like it'd handle the stress associated with most animation careers. Plus I've found I'm extremely satisfied when I work manual labor. I don't have to think to hard abt wat I'm doing and I just like seeing my hard work pay off in such a visible way as manual work does. In fact, one of my favorite past job was when I had a Christmas season job at UPS. I don't think I've felt as satisfied with a job as I was driving around the snow rural Midwest seeing all those lonely lil cabins, tiny lil townships near frozen lakes, and eating soup mid shift while talking about life with my driver companion. I'll be honest, I'm kinda torn here, is there a way I can make a balance between manual work and my creative ambitions?