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Prometheus's defences had started to fail, as it took increased amounts of fire, from drones and ships of the Kirosian and Cerian space fleets. The situation was beginning to get grim, as Beyond's forces were reduced to only forty ships. It seemed as if any cries for help, would get lost in the depths of space.
However, a light began to shine on the visitors from Earth, as over a thousand Azurian ships, came in alleviating the pressure. The entire armada and reserve.
The one leading the charge, broadcasted a message to his fleet before the attack. "My people, and those of you watching back home. Today we have watched members of our clan die on this forsaken planet. Right now, our benefactors and the future Queen of Azuria are at risk of perishing to the monsters who threaten our very way of life and our existence... Forgive this selfish king, but will you follow me into battle and help me save my granddaughter and our allies?!"
Everyone watching, roared in response and stomped in rhythm. "Hai!"
Akio smiled. "Then, let us be victorious!"
The broadcast ended, as his ship, the Azure Dragon, descended towards Rennaya, ignoring the barrage of missiles fired by the Pandora. Akio looked back with a pained look, at the remaining, twenty-two Hashin with him, standing in formation by the bay door.
"I have seen all of you, grow up, trained you and guided you. I have seen you find love, be hurt, and find true happiness. Each of you are my kin, nothing can hold us back when we work together and no one can stop us." He took a deep breath, then continued. "However my comrades. Today is the one day, you are excused from your duties. This mission is out of respect for my child and the level of danger is much more than I can even anticipate. I will not fault any of you or hold a single grudge if you feel like walking out of that door right now."
None of the Hashin, flinched, nor budged, they didn't doubt each other either. Making Akio's lips tremble. "Do you know what I'm asking of you? You're lives, will be forfeit the moment we enter Rennaya."
Roku stepped up, unveiling his mask. "Do not disrespect us, Akio. Our honor was tarnished, the moment we let our prince die alone out there. We are failing right now to protect our King. Please allow us, to protect the next Queen and our Elder. For Azuria "
He glanced back at the soldiers. "Isn't that right?!"
They stomped to rhythm, in agreement. "Hai!"
The General smiled at his King as he watched a tear roll down the man's cheek. "Cheer up old friend. Let us die with you." He said, as one by one, the Hashin began jumping out of the bay doors.
Outskirts of Senae, Atlas vs Tobi & Osei...
Osei launched several volleys ahead, as he called on lightning to reinforce himself. Atlas was elated, dissipating the volleys with electric volleys of his own, then blocked his charge, as he reached out and manifested an intricate sword out of the ground below. Which slipped into his hand, just in time to block a flaming strike from Tobi, coming from behind him and managed to push him back.
"Bring it on!" He yelled out to the brothers, while unsheathing his own sword with his other hand, then began simultaneously parrying and striking back at them both.
He broke the deadlock, then twirled around quickly in place, creating a hurricane barrier, pushing them both back. Then threw the sword he created, at Tobi, who managed to deflect it, with quick reflexes, however, the force of the impact stung his hands, distracting him for a second.
A chance the emperor did not hesitate to take, as he dodged a charge from Osei and instead, teleported behind Tobi, while raising his own sword, high above his head.
"No!" Osei yelled out.
Atlas's eyes glimmered, as he smiled, seeing both of the brothers in despair. "Imperial Judgement, Execution!"
The wind followed the emperor's strike, erasing the landscape behind Tobi, as a massive fountain of blood, sprayed out of a gaping new cut, diagonally down his chest. He dropped to the floor, dozens of meters from his original position, as he held onto his chest, freezing his wound and convulsing. It was taking everything he could, to not fall unconscious, however eventually, the darkness took over.
"I... I... I won't forgive you!" Osei yelled out furiously, losing it, as Atlas laughed out loud.
Then, he glanced back at him, soaking in the torment, he was putting the prince through. "Don't worry, he won't die. I still need him. I just wanted to make sure he had a good nap." He said, pointing his right hand at Tobi's body, as a coffin of ice, swallowed him and began healing his wound back, slowly.
Osei could not believe, the situation they were in. It felt surreal after everything he had been through. Something deep within him, began to snap, as years of trauma, boiled up to a single point. He lunged, at full speed, striking Atlas' sword, with overbearing might, and pushed him flying back into an area away from Tobi. "You bring disaster with you, everywhere you go. You're existence, is the only one, this galaxy... No, this universe never needed!"
Osei struck down as the emperor hopped to his left, freezing the prince's sword to the ground. Osei managed to break his hands-free and followed up with a high kick to his face.
Atlas bent back, nearly missing the strike, then gave him two quick punches. One to his face, the other in his gut, bursting forth a beam of ice, as it crashed him through several hills.
Osei got up, coughing blood. "Not yet! Thunder Raika!"
Lightning crashed down, meeting an umbrella of ice, that the emperor managed to raise in time, with its hilt redirecting the charge into the ground. "It's over. Just give up. You did your best."
Osei clenched his fists, seething. What must his people be thinking of him? What would his parents do?
He felt as if he had failed them and could no longer take it anymore. "Not yet. As long as I draw breath..."
He placed his hands together, condensing a massive amount of electricity within a small violet sphere, dozens of times over. "Remo Raieqa!" It shattered forth, beaming violently and eating away the landscape on the way, to Atlas.
Atlas raised a finger, as a sphere of ice, held together an unfathomable amount of pressure, causing cracks in the sphere itself. Then, he launched it towards Osei's incoming attack. "Wind Sovereign!"
The shockwave, followed by a razor blast of wind, dispersed his beam in half and dissipated it as it crashed into Osei's chest, knocking him off of his feet, and crashing him through the terrain. Osei was having a hard time, keeping his eyes open. He felt bruises and fractures in multiple parts of his body. "I've failed." A tear fell down his cheek, as his regrets ate him up.
"No, my son." His eyes glanced to his left, as he raised his head. It was as if he was daydreaming, with illusions blending in with reality.
"Mom?" He asked, unbelieving of what he was seeing.
She smiled while keeping her hands above his chest, healing him, as someone else knelt to his right and spoke. "We failed you."
He glanced at the face of a very familiar man. One wearing a crown, with a remorseful and saddened expression. "Dad? But how?"
His memory took him back to the explanations, the Novas and Tobi gave of the ethereal plane. However other than Tobi, the others had only seen one or a few Rennayans each.
Zenu shook his head. "We should have been certain of you and your brother's safety, from the very beginning. The life you've had to go through. I can never forgive myself for that."
Safiyah was fighting back tears, but she took over. "We are so sorry. Will you forgive us?"
Osei, laughed, with tears escaping his eyes. "I've never blamed you for anything. I wish things never went the way they did. You were the greatest parents. My only regret is not having enough strength to restore Rennaya myself."
He covered his eyes. "I'm sorry father, I'm no prince. I've failed to keep my brother safe and I've failed to bring justice for our people."
Zenu smiled. "If we can be forgiven, then you can too. Come on, get up."
Osei pondered about what he meant, but as he got up, slowly, his eyes grew wide. Standing around them, with Waio in front, were hundreds of millions, if not a billion people.
Safiyah spoke up. "My little Osei, no one blames you for anything, you've far exceeded what was expected of you and gave hope to the galaxy once more. You have done your part. Let us help you, with what you want to do. However, I would advise you to take your brother and escape immediately."
Osei was a little dumbfounded to be once again, seeing so many of his people. It was a little difficult for him to speak. "Thank... You."
He shook his thoughts away, remembering his mission. Then he reached his hand out, as his sword, flew back into his palm, hilt first. "I have to keep my little brother safe. My people, I ask of you, please lend me your strength."
They all began to kneel and punch the ground, as their fists broke through into a deep abyss of darkness. Each of their eyes, began to glow, like a domino effect. They all smiled and spoke together. "Yes, Your Highness."
Osei was stunned, as multiple branches of energy began, opening up, within his body.
Waio spoke up. "Do not be alarmed, my pupil. Of course, you're affinity is high with your people. All of Rennaya once celebrated your birth as a sign of hope, prosperity, and good times to come."
Seeing Waio again, made it hard for him to keep his composure. He continued to look around, remembering all of the faces, of people he used to know, as his parents placed their hands on his shoulders, then spoke in unison. "Whatever you do from now on just know, that we are proud of you and we will always love you, no matter what."
He nodded, as his tears dried up, along with them all disappearing, as Atlas broke the silence. "I was waiting back there, expecting you to come back up. You know, with how you couldn't forgive me and whatnot, but instead I find you bawling your eyes out here. What's the matter with you?"
Osei wiped his eyes, then swung his sword to his side, and released all of the built-up energy he had gathered. A skull with markings similar to Tobi's manifested over his face, then crumbled apart, as his eyes, glowed bright blue, with purple and black veins, coursing through his body, pulsing in intervals. His hair flashed full silver, then settled, mixing evenly with the rest of his jet-black hair.
Mist escaped his mouth, with each breath he took, as rings of fire crushed the ground, followed by tremors and thousands of lightning strikes. He had reached his peak.
"Sorry for the wait. I'm alright now. Let's settle this." He spoke calmly, as the tension, rose between them. They stared each other down with pure malice. Yet the emperor could not help noticing, the phenomenon occurring around him.
He laughed, realizing what was happening. "It would seem, the reports were true. The suits that have been granting your human allies, abilities, can also bring about miracles near death. It was tragic what happened on Valtorin, but it was a truly valuable experience. Luckily our drone captured everything, but to be witnessing it myself here... I'm getting even more excited."
Osei, cracked his neck, then crouched, charging up electricity, as his sword caught fire. Then he struck vertically, ripping apart the ground between them, as the aerial strike jetted with at an incredible speed.
Atlas was surprised by Osei's growth. Forcing him to shift into second gear, as he raised a steel wall out of the ground. Which forced him to drop Tobi out of his chamber and woke him up, as he wondered where his brother went.
Atlas drew his sword, coating it in fire. "I raised you. Yet, you dare stand against me!"
Osei laughed out loud. "Every living moment under you was hell. You're just a robot, gone wrong. It's time for you to get tossed to the junkyard."
The emperor glared at him, a vein nearly bursting out, on his temple. "I see, you're prepared to die."
They lunged at each other, bringing absolute devastation to their surroundings, as both of them aimed for the kill. Osei broke the deadlock, jumping back, then pointed a palm at the ground, as it started to rise. "Doteko Ohoni."
A gigantic replica of him rose out of the ground, with its inner body fueled by lava and its outer covered in titanium, diamonds, & other gems. In its hand, a sword the size of a building maintained violent, violet flames coated over it, as lightning continuously struck it.
Atlas's eyes grew wide, then he turned around, to retreat in the opposite direction while preparing a condensed sphere of lava. However, the giant lunged after him and swung vertically with precision, before he could escape.
The emperor spun around just in time, thrusting the sphere at the giant's sword, to mitigate some of the force as he was sent flying across the country. He tried regaining mobility, midflight, but the winds were too much, that's when he saw a looming shadow, covering the sky, and beginning to descend.
Atlas immediately threw his hands into the air, trying to launch anything to protect himself on time. However violet lightning struck the giant, aiding his descent down even faster and leaving a devastating impact on the face of the planet.
Osei hovered over, feeling the emperor's life force, still burning strong below. "You don't deserve any mercy!" He yelled out, knowing he could still hear him, then raised his right hand to the sky. It began to rain and then seconds later, the rain clumped together while freezing into sparrows, charged with electricity.
He watched as the remains of the giant was split in half, by a beam of lava. As it broke apart, he didn't hesitate and dropped his hand. "Kraman Armada!"
Millions of sparrows crashed down onto the emperor, cutting him up, and bombarding him with intense stings and surges. Then, froze him in a massive iceberg of birds, shocking him nonstop with tens of billions of volts.
Osei crouched down and gathered all of his energy to the edge of his blade, then burned it hotter than ever, with fire & electricity, as dark clouds supplied him with an endless capacity. He frosted his hands over to protect himself from the heat, as a superheated coat of magma pulled itself together over his blade, adding to the firepower.
He thought of everyone he needed to do this for and sealed his resolve. "Let's finish this."
Atlas was trapped, defenceless as he tried to melt himself free. Regardless of anything he could have done, it would have been too late, as Osei shot out of the sky, like lightning.
"Raieqa Omega!" He yelled before he cut through the ice and Atlas at the same time. Wiping out the entire landscape around and behind Atlas, as he whizzed past, sheathing his sword.
He turned around cursing, as multiple side effects started to take effect on his body, disorientating him, as he watched Atlas stitch back the half of his body that had nearly been cut clean. "I missed." He whispered to himself.
Atlas noticed, that several of his circuits were not working the same, since his core was nicked. He glared at Osei, with a deadly look. "You've gone too far!"
Osei smirked, knowing he struck a nerve. "I could say the same for you!" He heaved, trying to catch his breath. 'Hold on Osei, just one more.' He told himself, as he gathered up the last of his energy within him and formed a stance.
Atlas looked down at the ground, as his anger boiled over the top. All five of the elements began to rampage all around them, simultaneously. Disappearing as each one laid waste to the environment. His hair began to flash silver, as earthquakes raged the continent.
Osei's eyes grew wide, as he noticed the emperor's energy skyrocketing.
His eyes went white, then slotted back to a glowing bloodshot red. New pressure emanated from him, making the air, seem heavier to breathe. As he spoke, his voice sent chills down Osei's spine. "It's time to end this."
Osei, clenched his teeth, leaping at lightning speed. "Raieqa Omega!"
His sword, this time, collided with Atlas's, but the force of the emperor swinging back, sent him flying back over half a kilometre. Osei dropped his sword, unable to hold onto it, as he skidded, crashing across a field. He quickly got up, putting all of the energy he could muster into a condensed violet flaming sphere, charging it with electricity, and spinning around a core of magma.
Frost covered his hands, as the heat of its orbit, began cutting into his palms. He thrust it forth, just in time as the emperor landed in front of him. "Seiaqa Ultimate!"
Atlas smirked as he raised his hand at the incoming blast. Then it began to split around him as it seemingly struck an invisible barrier in front of it. Visible only as it began to crack.
Osei staggered, letting up in disbelief that it had done nothing to the emperor. He watched as Atlas raised a finger toward him, with a disappointed, yet saddened expression. "You were a good warrior. You just didn't know, who you were up against." He spoke calmly, as the sky seemed to go dark, raining with occasional rings of thunder, while he darted his finger in five thrusts at Osei's body. "Particle Decimation."
Tobi had just arrived. Just in time, to watch his brother drop to the floor.
Notes:
Raika means bolt in Rennayan.
Remo means concentrated in Rennayan.
Raieqa means shock or volt in Rennayan.
Saieqa Ultimate is ultimate lightning in Rennayan.
Kraman and Doteko Ohoni (Stone King, possibility) were taken from the Ghanian language and used as part of the Rennayan, but I may have misplaced the translations.
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Attributes

Character attributes suck, and your game sucks because you're stuck on them:

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It's 2024. Let's put down the keyboard, take a step back, and think.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it: design, write and publish\* a tabletop roleplaying game*\* for 2+ players by July 1st. Any genre, any setting, any length, art, AI art, no art, layout or no layout whatever.
The only stipulation is this:
The only attributes you can have in your game are the five senses: Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch. You don't have to use all five, but you can't introduce any additional attributes. The attributes must have some actual mechanical/systematic function in your game but I don't care how you use them.
A long-form RPG will get bonus points over a short-form/one-page RPG, but a one-page RPG will get more points than a long RPG that isn't about anything.
* Publish meaning anything from a reddit post to a website to a PDF to an actual printed game, free or for sale. The only rubric is that it's gotta be made available to the public somehow so Someone Who Is Not You could access, read and run/play the game.
* Game, not system. I want to see games that have a point. I don't want to see another method for figuring our if a sword did damage to a goblin or not.
Oh and just one more thing, just like you don't comment on posts in Albuquerque, don't feel like you have to comment on this post. It's okay to just not like something, privately.

Hi, i have multiple excel files (.xlsx) around 18-20. I want to merge all the data of this excel into single excel file without data getting duplicate. Few columns are same but few are different, although the data values can be similar as well. OR I want to merge this excel files into a database from scratch !!!
Any step by step proper help or some tools to do it quickly would be appriciated.

Turned off the internet. Got a Sangean AM/FM radio set and am loving it. I’m using a dipole antenna with a 10’ cable connected to the coaxial connection on the set. Problem is, my favorite station has a lot of static, EXCEPT, when I’m fiddling with the cable trying to get rid of the static. Also, I once stepped on the power cord with a bare foot and the static diminished as well. Obviously, I’m somehow grounding or adding reception power when I handle the cables. Why is that? Is there a way to get the same results without me physically being part of the equation? Thanks.

(tl;dr included)
In less than a year, I've become the new senior support agent. Over agents who had been set up to get the position, who had been sort of told they were going to get the position.
That's right. I'm finally off of the phones, and I did it even though I have the least amount of experience at the company than the rest of the department. In the spirit of helping others succeed, I'd like to share how I did it.
(Full disclosure: prior to working for this company, I had over three years of IT experience with one other employer, where I was also promoted to Tier 2. I also have a B.S. in CS. All other forms of employment in my life revolved around customer service, which I used to my advantage in the interview process to land this job. If I started over, here are the tips I'd want to learn first over everything else...)
tl;dr Do the work, assist your supervisor, find your niche, lean on customer service, learn how to troubleshoot, volunteer for the difficult stuff, learn how to research, document everything, keep a positive attitude, get lucky.

* Do. The. Work. I'm not saying you have to kowtow to the machine, or go full nepotism (that's actually fairly harmful to your chances, I would argue); but the reality was clear that I was the only one doing work consistently. Our team is entirely WFH, and after having commuted an hour and ten minutes for my previous employer, I wasn't going to squander this opportunity. Your employer is going to give you goals to meet. If they're realistic, and the employer doesn't then exploit your efforts, do them. That's it. To be honest, despite doing this work, I would often cut corners and treat myself to some down time. WFH, baby. But when the chips were down, I did what I needed to do. Most others didn't.

* If your supervisor asks you a favor, do it (within reason). I understand there are a lot of employers and supers out there looking to take advantage of their workers. You have to make that call yourself. But I felt confident that mine were not taking me for a ride, and when they asked me to tackle something, I did it. I told them, no problem, I've got you. I'm here to help you. Because I'm happy to have this job, and I want to succeed here. My super would often apologize for asking me to do so much. Apparently this is because the other agents would tell them no, they have too much to do already. Don't get me wrong, there were times when I had to turn something down, but more often than not I jumped in to help when I could.

* I found my niche. I have really bad ADHD, and I have to write everything down. That includes solutions to problems. So I became really good at making my own knowledge bases. Guess which department didn't have a knowledge base? Yep. I made the KB for our team, and I continue to maintain it. I shared it with other supervisors, I shared it with other relevant departments. It got me noticed. Figure out what you're good at, find opportunities to put it to use.

* Customer service. Nobody likes customer service, least of all me. But you know what? That's also an opportunity. Leaning on customer service is how I landed this position in the first place. Be nice to your customers, and on average you'll become The Guy. They'll mention how helpful and kind you are to the right people. They'll call in to the queue and make cases specifically asking for you. Again, this will ideally get you noticed by the right people. I've been on customer calls with my peers. I would often be horrified hearing the things they've said to customers. I'm talking inappropriate comments, passive-aggressiveness, shutting down questions and requests, take your pick. That sort of stuff does get reported, and you will be known as 'that person'.

* Troubleshooting. It becomes more and more clear now that I'm a senior agent, and I see the Tier 2 cases, that some people are just better at troubleshooting than others. Some cases from Tier 1 will have a paragraph (yuck, use bullet points instead), while others will have a single sentence. That's right, people will constantly escalate cases with a single sentence that boils down to, "I don't know, I can't figure it out," and they won't even bother to write up WHAT they did. Even if you're not the best at thinking of all the possibilities, document your process fully. It makes a huge difference. My escalation notes would clearly state the current case issue at the time, all the relevant people, files, screenshots, steps, all laid out in an easy to read format. You can begin this process as soon as you get the ticket. My strategy is, treat the case like you're going to escalate from the beginning, and document the notes as such that someone else will take over when you've exhausted your knowledge. Most of the time you end up finding the solution yourself if you keep track of it all as you go along.

* Do the hard stuff (within reason). For two months I was asked to cover another department that was on fire. It was Hell. Absolute Hell. I kept statistics of my calls and cases, and it was literally 5x my normal workload, and the customers for this particular department were positively miserable to work with. But I did it anyway. I learned a ton about several platforms my peers will never touch. Again, this got me noticed by the right people. I don't want to advocate destroying your health for your job, however. Despite the stress, I knew that if things got truly bad, I would intervene on my own behalf. Remember to take care of yourselves.

* Research. Nobody else seems to like researching anything. We have several knowledge bases available to us (including the one I made), and it seems like nobody else uses them. Very often I'll find the answer to a problem by knowing what keywords to search, and then I take that article and incorporate it back into my own KB for the future. Now a case that took an hour will only take 5 minutes... if you take the 5 minutes to actually try to FIND the answer. Most of the time, my peers will run the typical troubleshooting steps, shrug, and send the case along. A little bit more effort on your part will get you noticed. Do it. Even if you don't find the answer, write on the case notes that you tried searching in XYZ places and was unable to find anything.

* Stay positive. It's tough. It's really tough. But staying calm and positive really does make a huge difference for yourself and for the morale of your customers and peers. Being the one with the level head in a catastrophe will let you stand apart from those who give up or become mega salty. You don't have the answer to a question? Tell them, don't worry, I'll research this and get back to you. We'll figure this out. I'm here to help you. I've worked with clients who are absolutely ruthless, and they turn into teddy bears when I say this stuff to them. They're so used to being shut down that they become aggressive, but if you let them know you actually care and will help, you'll see a huge difference. Did the system just go down and your team is freaking out? Bring in some much needed levity. Don't worry guys, someone just plugged in the toaster oven. Let's find a workaround until it's back up. Things happen, no need to suffer twice.

• I got lucky. I'm not going to claim every single thing I did led me to this promotion. A lot of it just had to do with dumb luck. It was lucky that I found the job posting, lucky that I got the job, lucky that the department evolved in such a way that I was finally placed in this position that I'm in. Lucky that my coworkers seemingly didn't care, or rested on their laurels. So don't beat yourself up if things don't turn out the way you wanted.

If you do all of this, or are already doing this, one could make an argument that it's better to find other opportunities that will take notice of your efforts and reward you in kind.
I hope this helped someone today.
Hang in there, keep going, keep learning, and keep taking care of yourself. You've got this.
Edit: adjusted formatting.

TL;DR: Product Demos are usually far more impressive than actual application and LANGUAGE IS HARD.
This will come off cynical, because when it comes to AI I am HEAVILY cynical, but I figure Burnie and Ashley, as two people who have been involved with gaming and tech as long as they have, would not be so quick to gush on Product Demos. We have seen time and time again that the product promised is rarely the product delivered and that when one can control the circumstances under which a technology is demonstrated it is far easier to get it to function than when you hand it to an ignorant, malicious, or lesser-skilled end-user.
Now, on the subject of Universal Translators, the reason it doesn't exist is simple. Linguistics consists of:

• Phonetics/Phonology (Sounds {or signs} within all languages/within a single language) -Morphology (Word meanings and word part meanings) -Syntax (Language Structure which varies from language to language) -Semantics (Utterance meanings) -Pragmatics (Utterance meanings within given context)

Computers and programs are pretty decent at the first two parts within a general prescriptive sense, but the problem is once you can start altering the structure of a sentence, using euphemisms and innuendo, or just completely change the tone of what is said through stress and emphasis it gets difficult to program AI to expect and adapt to that.
The big example I'll give is from a few years back, the former president was giving translators a headache because of you took the literal words he said and put them on paper it is an incoherent mess, much of the communication comes from implication and the ability to connect references to other events. When you translate literally it just looks like word salad.
That's an extreme example, but one I'll take a small step forward with is that regional variation exists that doesn't always directly translate even if both are technically speaking the same "language".
If you want to understand Semantics/Pragmatics, think of memes. Memes have a literal meaning and a contextual meaning, and it is easy to see how an unfamiliarity with a meme format would make it difficult to translate a usage.

Is terrible. It offers no benefit and a lot of potential for abuse. In games with competition where players vote on their competitors, giving them the ability to hurt (the update states it will have a negative impact) other player’s score is the first step in creating both an unfair and unbalanced system (these kill gacha games). There will be a punishment for people who abuse it, but that also has massive problems. This game is too big for devs to check every single “off theme” flag BEFORE results are in. That means players are going to be stuck with bad scores, and players will probably have to report something multiple times for them to look at you. How bad are the punishments for reporting things off theme going to be? If it’s too weak, problem. It solved, if it’s too strong you again create fear of using that feature.
This also isn’t good for f2p or people who missed limited shops/gachas. There are plenty of comps where I’ve had to be creative slightly off theme because I didn’t have any of the options to make the specific prompt, or I haven’t seen the movie it’s based off of so I go off the tags. Now that could be voted off theme. The fact that it negatively impacts you is the problem. It limits creativity out of fear of getting a worse score.
Look, I’m sorry some people don’t like seeing wings or fairy dresses when they vote, just don’t vote for them or skip it. This new function stems from player demand for it and has the ability to really hurt the game

I get that not everyone is the same. I get that some autistic people need full-time care. I get that some autistic people are aggressive. I get that some people have severe developmental disorders. I get that being a caretaker is frustrating.
But every single time, I see a post like "My daughter is 20 yo and can't even wipe her own ass, I get angry when low support needs autistic people minimize/glamorize autism".
Umm, nobody is glamorizing autism except for maybe a few aspie supremacists that are criticized by the community. The savant trope is pushed by neurotypical filmmakers, not by autistic people. I don't get why these parents don't redirect their frustration towards the government that fails to step up. I do however think there should be more representation of high support needs autism.

I'm completely new to modding any console, idek where to start and how not to brick my ps3 by accident (again).
Can someone suggest any tutorials where they explain clearly the steps of jailbreaking a ps3 (if jailbreaking is even the right word for it).
What I want to know the most is : -what apps(?) do i need to get on the console to be able to install new games without a disc/emulate ps1, ps2 games? -Is Hen required if I have a super slim? -Will the console be loud af after jailbreaking (and is there a fix to it)? -Will i get banned if i only play single player games? -Are achievements still a thing?

Hello everyone, I have a question for those who completed step 1 or half through.
I've started my preparation for Step 1 from scratch and I want to ask that How can i retain information from the Mehlman's PDF or First Aid and Qbanks .
Because i'll give exam after an year as my basics are weak, then i won't have time to revise each and everything and go through it again

Many goblins ask, "Which battle pets sell the best?" This is a question I've tried to answer with the new Battle Pet Marketshare by Saddlebag Exchange.
Why Battle Pets Are a Hidden Goldmine
Battle pets are the cousin of transmog, they are an often ignored market, leading to low competition across many realms for high-value collector items. This niche market for collectors offers nearly unlimited upside if you find the right realms and pets to sell. Best of all, you can trade battle pets cross-realm on a single account through your pet journal, even if you don't have a second account.
How to Identify High-Value Battle Pets
Our new search tool estimates the daily gold earnings of any battle pet on any given realm by comparing TSM sale rates to the minimum prices on your realm and the TSM average price. This helps you identify which pets are worth investing in and works well with our other tools.
Steps to Maximize Your Earnings:

1. Identify Profitable Pets: Use our Battle Pet Marketshare tool to find pets earning the most gold.
2. Acquire Pets: Whether you prefer crafting or buying, our shopping list and Azeroth Auction Assassin Sniper can guide you.
3. Find the Best Deals: Our best deals search helps you buy pets at the best prices.
4. Sell Smartly: Use our export search to find the best realms for selling, comparing prices to population data to avoid wasting time on low-population realms.

By following these steps, you can effectively tap into the lucrative market of battle pets in WoW, ensuring maximum gold earnings with minimal competition.
If you're serious about increasing your gold in WoW, the battle pet market offers a unique and profitable opportunity. Utilize the tools and strategies mentioned to get started and watch your gold pile up!
For more detailed guides and tools, visit Saddlebag Exchange or join our discord.
TLDR: My personal favorite is the Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling its a top rated battle pet with ok sales stats that is cheap to make. I already had an alt with the recipe so I just made them and sold them cross realm for some nice passive income. The search has some custom filters for crafted pets and top rated pets if you are a crafter.

Hi, David here!
Everyone has flaws and imperfections, either physically or personality wise.
Don’t get hung up on things about yourself which may be unalterable.
Don’t always be trying to overtly hide such flaws. The insecurity shown when trying to hide a fault often comes off as being way less attractive than the actual fault itself.
Obsessively trying to hide a fault highlights a person’s insecurity and shows low self-confidence.
In the cases where the fault could potentially have an impact on your performance, it’s often much more effective to directly address the issue upfront, and call out the elephant in the room as it were.
But for the scenarios where the fault is inconsequential, you could choose to address it instead in a more nonchalant manner. If the fault does not matter to you, why should it matter to other people?
You can joke about your flaws, but do not do so in a self-deprecating kind of way. If you joke about yourself in a self-deprecating kind of way, then you are probably hoping that people will laugh with you instead of just at you. And while perhaps funny, this does not make you look attractive.
However, being able to openly joke about yourself in such a way that you are not simply searching for approval from others, shows that you are truly comfortable with who you are.
You can also re-frame a fault as a positive.
Being overly defensive or qualifying oneself let’s someone know that they have successfully accomplished getting under your skin, which may have been their very intention. Completely ignoring such remarks or either responding nonchalantly or with a joke is often a much better response.
There are actually many benefits to having flaws:
When you accept a flaw and remain confident despite it, more attraction and/or respect can be generated than if you lacked the so called flaw altogether.
Especially if the flaw is physical. Internal confidence is a way more attractive than some external superficial flaw.
If the flaw is blatantly obvious, and yet you conduct yourself as if it has no drastic effect on your self-worth, it shows great self-confidence.
Similarly, if others try to actively attack you over a flaw, but you remain nonreactive, confident and well-grounded despite their provocations, you can come off looking even better than before.
Faults can also allow other people to find you more accessible and relatable. People can’t identify and connect well with others who appear perfect.
And finally, learning to overcome certain shortcoming in life is what allows you to build resourcefulness, character and work ethic.
​
BTW, I just finished putting together my dating advice eBook "How to Date Any Girl" version 4.0 and would LOVE to get some honest feedback from you!
I decided to give it away for free for the time being.
​
The eBook is 27 pages long and gives you a practical step-by-step solution to meeting women (15+ years of knowledge put into it).
You can get the eBook by clicking here!
​
This book is the result of going out and socializing with girls for over a decade. I have put in there all the fundamentals I have learned over that time so I would really appreciate all the feedback I could get!!
​
What are your thoughts? Do you have any tips to add?
Let's discuss in the comments :)
Thanks for reading and have a GREAT day!
David Davidson

LinkedIn can be a sales goldmine when used strategically.

Among all the social media platforms out there, LinkedIn stands out as the go-to platform for professional social networking.

But with over 900 million people using it, how do you stand out?
It requires more than a compelling bio and a polished profile image.
Do You Know??

According to the latest statistics, 40 million people use LinkedIn every week to search for jobs, and three people a minute are hired on the site.

This article will cover:

1. Keywords
2. Headlines
3. Profile completeness
4. Job title optimisation /Work Experience
5. URL Optimization

What Is LinkedIn SEO?

How Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) works for LinkedIn???

LinkedIn SEO is all about optimizing your profile and content to boost your visibility and ranking, offering a myriad of opportunities for career progression, business networking, and establishing a prominent presence within your industry.
When you fine-tune your profile’s headline summary, work experience, and skills section with specific keywords, you can boost the likelihood of appearing in LinkedIn’s search results.
Imagine someone searching for specific keywords or skills related to your professional background – a well-optimized profile significantly increases the chances of your profile being featured in their search results.
On top of that, LinkedIn profiles can also show up in traditional search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google, expanding your online presence.
Beyond profile optimization, the impact of SEO extends to your content. LinkedIn posts and, particularly, articles have the potential to rank within LinkedIn’s search engine, showcasing your expertise within the platform.
Furthermore, these articles, with their long-form nature and valuable insights, can also rank on traditional search engines, leveraging LinkedIn’s high domain authority for increased visibility both on and off the platform.

Why You Need to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile:

An optimized LinkedIn profile is one where every part of your personal profile is filled out and shows audiences what you do, who you are, and what you are an expert in.

This helps your profile rank higher in LinkedIn searches and builds trust among those who might want to connect or follow you.

Do You Know??
Even more compelling? Some 44% of LinkedIn users earn more than $75,000 a year. That’s a considerable bump up from the national median income of $68,703 per household.
Let's Dive in:

6 steps to help improve your LinkedIn SEO optimization for better results.

Step 1: Keywords.

A keyword is a word or phrase that searchers enter into a search engine. Learn more about Keyword Research. Examples of keywords and phrases include:
Example:
In seo bint e jamil, 'Digital Marketing Manager' is the keyword.

• Freelance Digital Marketer
• Certified Digital Marketer
• Best Digital Marketer

For LinkedIn, create a list of 7-10 words or terms that your ideal client would use when searching for the service you offer. For example:

• SEO Digital Marketer
• Digital Marketer Agency
• Digital Marketing Expert

Now, use these keywords throughout your profile in as many sections as possible, including your:

• Headline
• Role descriptions
• Skills and endorsements
• Skills and endorsements section. LinkedIn prioritises skills already in its database, so when adding a new skill, start typing it, then select the most relevant suggestion that appears.

Step 2: Profile Completeness

To rank highly your profile will need to be 100% complete, with every profile section completed. Consider using bullet points rather than paragraphs, and format the text so it’s easy to read.
Let’s take a look at what you should focus on to fully optimize your LinkedIn profile.

1: Images Optimization:

When you’re setting up your profile, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a solid profile picture.

LinkedIn can be a sales goldmine when used strategically.LinkedIn can be a sales goldmine when used strategically.

Among all the social media platforms out there, LinkedIn stands out as the go-to platform for professional social networking.

2: LinkedIn Background Photo:

Background photos are like billboards. You can use this space to show your accomplishments and awards or offer free resources.

LinkedIn Background Photo Optimization
You should also:

• Add a tagline to inform visitors about who you are and what you do
• Include your website URL and social media handles
• Include a call-to-action (CTA) or provide clear instructions on how users can get in touch with you
• Make sure you avoid placing any important information on the bottom left — it won’t be visible

3: Craft a Keyword-Rich Tagline /Headline:

Your LinkedIn headline sits just below your profile image and name. Customising your headline is not only critical for SEO, it’s also an important part of your personal brand - how people view and perceive you on the platform.

LinkedIn automatically populates your headline with your current or most recent position – however, you have the option to customise it. Remember, you want the headline to create an informative and impactful snapshot of yourself.
Linkedin Headline Optimization
When creating your headline:

• Include your role title
• Include your industry
• Include your specialty
• Use all of the 120 characters available
• Steer clear of emoji use

Headline Example:

For a digital marketing manager, a similarly optimized tagline could be, "Innovative Digital Marketing Strategies to Elevate Your Brand's Presence" — placing the target keyword "Digital marketing strategies" prominently at the start.

4. Featured Posts on LinkedIn

The Featured section on LinkedIn is a space on your profile where you can highlight important content.

LinkedIn Featured Section
It’s near the top, below your photo and headline. You can use this section to showcase:

• Articles or blog posts you’ve written
• Videos
• Images, graphics, or infographics
• Documents, like case studies or whitepapers
• Testimonials or other achievements

Featured content isn’t permanent, so you can change it up to include new content as regularly as you like!

5.Create a Compelling “About” Section

The About section is the meat of your Company page. Here, you have the space to go into more detail, telling the story of your brand and naturally incorporating relevant keywords throughout.

About Us LinkedIn SEO
Here are some components to consider including in your About section:

• Your brand vision. Articulate the impact your company aspires to have.
• Mission statement. Use action-oriented language to describe how you plan to achieve your vision.
• Company values. Articulate your brand values to showcase your company culture and principles.
• Brand differentiators. Clarify your brand’s positioning to differentiate your company and its offerings from competitors.
• Products and/or services. Provide short overviews of your main offerings using clear, searchable terms.

Here’s an example of the beginning of an About section for a data analytics company:

At ABC Company, we democratize data analytics, enabling businesses of all sizes to unlock insights through our intuitive, AI-powered analytics platform.

Finally, you can add in some “Top skills” as a way to remind readers what your services are. This also presents another opportunity to add in your keywords.

6.Work Experience

When I’m looking at someone’s experience section on LinkedIn, I’m looking to see if they meet the criteria of the role beyond a job title. Their job duties and achievements give me a better understanding of their scope of knowledge and specific skill sets this role needs.

LinkedIn “Work Experience” section

Fields for LinkedIn experience entries

Each position on LinkedIn has a combination of required (*) and optional fields:

Required fields for LinkedIn Work Experience entries

Title*

List your position title, including any relevant keywords. Sometimes job titles benefit from being revised for common searches.
Example: "Content Marketing Manager" might be more search-friendly than "Manager, Marketing Content."

Company name*

Many companies already have a company profile on LinkedIn and will autocomplete from the LinkedIn Company Page in the dropdown as you type.

Employment dates*

This is usually shown by a start and end date. If you’re currently working in the role, click “I am currently working in this role” and it will automatically list your end date on your profile as “Present.”

Industry*

This doesn’t display on your profile. Select the best match and keep going.

Optional fields for LinkedIn Work Experience entries

The profile gets much more interesting with the additional, optional work experience fields including:

Employment type

Location

Sharing the location can give people reviewing your profile a sense of where you’ve worked (and where you’re likely based).

Location type

Choose from On-site, Hybrid, and Remote. Showing that you have experience working in a certain capacity can be valuable to some recruiters and employers. Example: If you have a work history in remote roles, you may be a strong candidate for additional remote roles.
Description
This is a written summary, usually two or three sentences long, that allows you to show your job duties, achievements, and expertise. By including relevant information with a few highlights and key accomplishments, you can improve your odds as a job seeker.
Pro tip: To further optimize your LinkedIn profile, consider using ChatGPT for your LinkedIn summary.

7.URL Optimization

LinkedIn allows you to personalise your URL, changing it from the automated URL, which is usually quite long and contains a random assortment of numbers. Upon updating make sure you update your email signature, business cards and other marketing collateral.
URL Optimization in LinkedIn SEO

• Standard URL example (not optimised): https://www.linkedin.com/in/seo-bint-e-jamil323389/
• Custom URL example (optimised): https://www.linkedin.com/in/seo-bint-e-jamil/

To change your LinkedIn public profile URL:

For LinkedIn Public Profile URL:

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
   
2. Click View profile.
   
3. Click Edit public profile & URL on the right side.
   

• You’ll be redirected to the Public profile settings page.

1. Under Edit your custom URL on the right side, click the Edit icon next to your public profile URL.

• It'll be an address that looks like www.linkedin.com/in/yourname.

1. Type the last part of your new custom URL in the text box.
   
2. Click Save
   

Drive Results with LinkedIn SEO Optimization

By enhancing the different components of your LinkedIn profile page with a strategic approach to LinkedIn SEO optimization, you’ll be much more likely to appear in search results. This will go a long way toward increasing your visibility and helping drive more business opportunities. Remember that SEO isn’t just a one-time effort, but rather an ongoing process that requires regular attention and updates to deliver your desired results.

The Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya has been plagued by numerous terrorist activities, primarily attributed to the presence of Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia. The camp, which hosts over 211,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia, has become an area of concern for terrorist activity. due to the lack of effective security measures and the presence of armed bandits and Islamist militias.
The escalation of attacks by Al-Shabaab has prompted UNHCR and its partners to significantly scale back their operations in the camps. The Kenyan authorities have imposed a curfew in the camps and have deployed more police, with reports of mass arrests and beatings of refugees during police sweeps for Al-Shabaab fighters.
The ability of Al-Shabaab to operate within the camps and in surrounding areas such as Garissa seems to confirm the fears of many Kenyans, who believe that Dadaab is being used as a base for militants. An opinion piece in one of Kenya's largest newspapers, The Daily Nation, compared Dadaab with the refugee camps set up in Goma in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide: Dadaab presents a huge threat to Kenyan security. Like Goma, the refugee camp is probably crawling with militia. What better way for Al-Shabaab to penetrate Kenya's borders than to become refugees within our borders? R. Warah, Dadaab Refugee Camp Poses a Huge Threat to Kenya's National Security, The Daily Nation, 23 October 2011.
The presence of armed bandits and Islamist militias, as well as periodic outbreaks of clan feuding, means that the threat of violence against humanitarian workers is very real. The UN mission in Dadaab operates under UN phase three security restrictions stipulating travel by convoy and with an armed police escort, no free movement of staff without armed guards in the camps, and a curfew for humanitarian workers, who have to be in a secure compound from 6 pm to 6 am.
The Kenyan government has accused refugees of being a security threat and Dadaab the operational base from which Al-Shabaab launches its attacks. However, human rights groups have termed the repatriation program as far from voluntary, accusing the Kenyan government of scapegoating refugees and failing to provide concrete evidence for its claims.
The Kenyan government faces a significant challenge in balancing its responsibility to protect its citizens with its humanitarian commitment to refugees. Dadaab has strained resources and created security concerns, particularly with the presence of Al-Shabaab. The government prioritizes the safety and security of all within its borders and views the repatriation of refugees as a key step towards achieving that goal.
The situation has been further exacerbated by the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa, which has led to thousands of repatriated Somali refugees returning to Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp to seek relief. The Kenyan government's ban on the registration of new refugees has left these returnees without access to aid programs.
The Dadaab refugee camp has become a volatile situation due to the presence of Al-Shabaab and the lack of effective security measures. The camp has been plagued by numerous terrorist activities, and the Kenyan government's efforts to repatriate Somali refugees have been met with significant challenges and criticisms.
Citations:
Conflict and deteriorating security in Dadaab
The lives of refugees - Africa Is a Country
Security a Major Concern in Dadaab refugee camp - CGTN Africa
Dadaab weak link in fight against terrorism - Daily Nation
The Dadaab Refugee Complex: A Powder Keg and It's Giving Off Sparks
Dadaab Refugee Camp: DadaabNet Implementation Guide - NetHope
[Protection Monitoring in Kenya: Garissa & Turkana Counties](https://reliefweb.int/report/kenya/protection-monitoring-kenya-garissa-turkana-counties-dadaab-kakuma-kalobeyei-protection-monitoring-risk-and-trends-july-december-2023)
Reflections on Kenya and the Dadaab Refugee Camp
Camps and counterterrorism: Security and the remaking of refuge in Kenya
Kenya and the Securitization of Refugees - The Security Distillery
Kenya, Al-Shabaab, and East Africa's Refugee Crisis
World's largest refugee camp scapegoated in wake of Garissa ...
Saving Lives Together in the Dadaab refugee camps of Kenya
Camps and counterterrorism: Security and the remaking ... - Sage Journals
[Refugees Camps and Security of Host Community: Case of Dadaab](https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/22923)
Kenya Gambles on Closure of Somali Refugee Camp to Halt al-Shabaab ...
Has Al Shabaab Infiltrated Dadaab Refugee Camp? - YouTube
The Securitisation of asylum
TSG IntelBrief: Al-Shabaab's Strategic Move Into Kenya - The Soufan Center
Combating Terrorism and Managing Asylum Seekers and Refugees ...

The American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War jointly released a report，China's Roadmap to Peaceful Reunification.
"From Coercion to Surrender, How China Can Conquer Others Without Fighting."

Mid 2024
After Lai Qingde took office, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council severely condemned him.
Several People's Liberation Army ships passed through Taiwan's contiguous zone in an unannounced exercise.
The Rocket Force regularly conducts missile tests over and around Taiwan.
Planes of the Chinese Air Force enter the air defense identification zone every day and begin to frequently approach the Taiwan contiguous zone.
The first article on the unofficial "peace platform" was published by a Chinese scholar, trying to build on the Fujian-Taiwan economic integration plan.
End of 2024
Xi Jinping said in a speech that "the time has come to solve the Taiwan issue."
High-profile Chinese civilian and People's Liberation Army scholars have commented proposing an unofficial cross-strait "peace framework."
China has stepped up its global information operations and accused the United States of trying to provoke a military conflict over Taiwan.
Early 2025
The National People's Congress revised the 2005 Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China to establish strict but unclear penalties for individuals who engage in separatist behavior.
The People's Liberation Army has begun higher-intensity drills that coincide with regular closures of air and sea areas around Taiwan.
The Coast Guard, with the support of the Navy, began to conduct ship inspections of cargo ships heading to Taiwan
Mid 2025
Chinese customs announced a ban on specific products imported from Taiwan.
The ministries of foreign affairs and commerce met with neighboring governments in Asia to reassure them of the escalating threat across the region and to re-emphasize trade and investment ties.
End of 2025
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission directed key Chinese state-owned enterprises to stockpile essential goods in anticipation of potential U.S.-led containment efforts.
China has threatened to sanction U.S. companies in Taiwan that may have ties to the defense industry.
Early 2026
China has successfully normalized shipping inspections and stepped up PLA activity in the contiguous zone, with PLAAF bombers now regularly flying around Taiwan.
The People's Liberation Army regularly conducts missile flights over Taiwan's territory, including ballistic missiles that passed through Taiwan's airspace for the first time (in fact, they have already passed through it).
The ministries of foreign affairs and commerce announced trade negotiations with the United States.
Mid 2026
China imposed previously threatened sanctions on U.S. companies selling products with potential defense uses in Taiwan.
Taiwanese authorities have reported a significant increase in the frequency of DDoS and ransomware attacks on their networks.
Chinese customs have imposed broader restrictions on multinational companies doing business in Taiwan.
Taiwan's anti-China hawks and some other politicians have received death threats from Taiwanese organized criminals.
End of 2026
For the first time, Chinese elites have directly commented on the proposed unofficial "peace framework". Some prominent Taiwanese commentators have also begun to raise objections.
The Rocket Force conducts missile firing exercises in waters outside the second island chain and conducts follow-up exercises regularly.
China announced a long-term "rotational deployment" of People's Liberation Army personnel to the Solomon Islands.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Front Work Department led a regional propaganda campaign condemning "Japan's militarization of the Ryukyu Islands".
North Korea claims it has successfully developed technology to miniaturize nuclear warheads that can equip its longest-range missiles. Previously, seismic readings suggested it was an underground nuclear test (old news).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued vague threats to countries around the world, warning governments to avoid alliances with Taiwan and the United States.
Early 2027
The People's Liberation Army has conducted an even more brazen air and sea blockade while targeting radar on some Taiwanese military platforms.
Coast guards sunk and occasionally boarded ships that resisted inspections.
Taiwanese authorities reported a cyber attack on an LNG terminal, and the Chinese government pressured LNG producers to cancel contracts with Taiwanese companies.
Taiwanese companies face growing regulatory hurdles and unannounced restrictions in mainland China, hampering their business.
The Ministry of Commerce announced the suspension of ECFA.
North Korea launched multiple sets of long-range missiles over Japan.
Groups affiliated with the United Front Work Department and the Ministry of National Security have used China's claims that the Ryukyu Islands are militarized to encourage local Japanese residents to protest against Japanese and U.S. troops stationed there.
The Rocket Force now joins the Navy and Air Force in coordinated joint long-range missile exercises to strike simulated targets beyond the second island chain.
Bomb threats disrupt Taipei's MRT system.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning for Japan following the anti-China violence at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The United States and China announced the signing of a major trade deal.
Taiwanese authorities reported that a chemical factory in Tainan was damaged by unknown saboteurs.
Mid 2027
Large-scale ransomware attacks have been reported across major economic sectors in Taiwan.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force forced a Taiwanese cargo plane to land in China and detained the crew.
China and its allies have vetoed a U.N. resolution condemning pressure on Taiwan.
The People's Liberation Army's electronic warfare operations often interfere with high-level Taiwan-U.S. communications.
Rumors circulated on Taiwanese social media about Taiwanese officials formulating a wartime escape plan.
Chinese-influenced Taiwanese media spread rumors that Beijing would introduce a new model of unification.
China-influenced Taiwanese media amplified a Taiwanese business leader and political commentator's proposals on how to prevent further escalation.
Intrusions by Chinese air and maritime military platforms regularly reach Taiwan's 12-nautical-mile border, while Rocket Force missiles frequently intrude into Taiwan's airspace during tests and exercises.
A joint exercise between the Chinese navy and a regional partner entered the Taiwan contiguous zone.
Swarms of drones from China frequently appear over Kinmen and Matsu.
The People's Liberation Army and Coast Guard began a close blockade of Taiping Island in the Nansha Islands and authorized the use of lethal force to implement the blockade.
End of 2027
Several North Korean stray bullets hit a South Korean navy patrol ship near the Northern Limit Line near Seoul.
China sanctions senior Japanese officials who meet directly with Taiwanese officials.
Chinese media across Asia spread rumors that Japan's prime minister had launched a program to develop nuclear weapons.
The United Front Work Department and the Ministry of National Security secretly use violence to attack Taiwanese politicians and others who use proxy organizations.
The People's Liberation Army coordinated a missile attack on Pengjia Island, killing and injuring dozens of Taiwan Coast Patrol officers.
China’s cyberattacks and sabotage on Taiwan have targeted critical infrastructure including water, electricity, sewer and food distribution networks.
Chinese affiliates in Taiwan have spread rumors that Taiwan's president is considering developing nuclear weapons.
The United States' refusal to respond forcefully to China's attack on Peng Jiayu has seriously damaged U.S.-Taiwan relations, while China has stepped up information operations targeting the American public.
A cyberattack led by the Strategic Support Force (which no longer exists) caused Taiwan’s early warning system to broadcast false missile warnings to the Taiwanese public.
China-owned Taiwanese media openly supports a "peace framework" with China.

Countermeasures proposed by think tanks against this roadmap:

1. The US does not establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but treats Taiwan as a sovereign country and safeguards all Taiwan's sovereignty.
   
2. The U.S. military wears civilian clothes, enters Taiwan as tourists, and then joins the Taiwan military to perform tasks.
   
3. The U.S. military conducts regular sea and air patrols in the Taiwan Strait and conducts joint exercises with the Taiwan military to prevent Taiwan from being blocked.
   
4. Taiwan has strengthened its network security and stockpiled disaster relief and survival supplies and equipment to prevent hacker attacks, water and power outages, network interruptions, and air traffic (road) blockades.
   
5. Taiwan has established its own Merchant Fleet to prevent foreign merchant ships from going to Taiwan for fear of mainland sanctions.
   
6. The US and Taiwan are strengthening cognitive operations globally and on the island to make the world support Taiwan independence and not dare to abandon Taiwan, and to make the island dare not surrender.
   

Read the full report.

This is the strategy I used recently to get my first Roc very early on in the game - before even making my full diamond armor set. It's quite easy to do and overall I think it takes less time and is safer for any gear you have than the "intended" way, that being hunting and killing or soulgazer-ing multiple Rocs and then hunting for trolls for materials for the saddle.
Part 1: Needed materials (minimum, you can add other stuff for utility or whatever)

• Multiple shovels (1-2 diamond shovels should do the trick, or their equivalent durability-wise of iron shovels)
• Some basic materials for a small temporary base - blocks, furnace, crafting table, bed, etc.
• A boat
• Soulgazer
• Soulstone
• Name tag
• Basic Saddle
• ~20 bones
• 20-30 river fish
• At least level 1 in treasure hunting skill ("L" hotkey) - the more, the better
• A few stacks of easily breakable blocks (dirt will probably be your first choice here)
• Any of the matierials mentioned in Part 2 as things to farm that you might already have

Part 2: Strategy

1. First you obviously want to get everything mentioned above. Everything can be found easily in many structures around the world, both safe and unsafe (villager "mansions" with basements, battle towers, etc.)
2. Next, you want to have waystones at specific locations
   • In a snowy biome, close to ice villages (the common small ones), best to have a few of these
   • In a regular plains or forest area with a nearby rivelake/sea
3. Once you've found those, the next step is to make a small base in the plans/forest area. Obviously, make sure it's not near a dragon and also not near a village (unless you don't care about keeping villagers alive in that village). You'll be spending quite a bit of time here now
4. Before your first night, get at least 5 Silex meat from the nearby body of water. If near an ocean, Ika and Crab meat works too. Cook the meat and make your first avian treats
5. Once night falls, wait for a Roc variant to spawn (Scarlet or Golden) -> variants give double knowledge when using Soulgazer (or avian treats if still at knowledge level 1), giving +200 instead of +100 and therefore requiring only 5 interactions with the Soulgazer. Place your boat near your base, then lure the Roc to it by holding your avian treats. Once it's in the boat, use your name tag on it so it doesn't despawn, then use your Soulgazer and go to sleep.
6. From now until you make the Roc your pet:
   • Keep it daytime the whole time (sleep as soon as you can)
   • Use your Soulgazer on the Roc when you can
   • Keep farming Silexes/Ikas/Crabs for their meat and making avian treats
   • While waiting for new ones to spawn, start digging dirt. Once you have about a stack or 2, just start building a pillar and then digging down. This will give you some random stuff occasionally due to Treasure Hunting skill. The chance of getting any drop at all is 5% per level of the skill, and out of those 5% approximately 0.016% is the chance for a Troll Tusk (this is 0.016% per each block, which equates to about a 1% chance in any 64 dirt blocks broken), which is the main thing we're after here. This might sound like a very low chance, but considering how many dirt blocks you'll end up breaking the chance is actually quite high. At level 2 Treasure Hunting, I gotten both of my Troll Tusks (one for avian saddle, other one for dragon saddle) within 20 minutes of placing and breaking dirt. On top of this, you can get some other stuff as well, including enchanted stone tools (usually with quite good enchants), enchanted diamond sword, dragon bones and even a pig spawner!
7. Once you have level 2 knowledge of the Roc, you can start taming it with your treats. On average, you'll get 50-100 taming points per treat, and you'll need 1000 total for the Roc to be tamed. This means that most of the time 20-30 treats should be more than enough. After the Roc is tamed, make sure to use the Soulstone on it so it can respawn when it dies!!!
8. If you still haven't gotten a Troll Tusk, keep digging for it. If you have, move on to the next step.
9. Now take all your river fish and any dragon bones you're fine with trading and go to the ice villages (wool armor highly recommended). Find a Fisherman (they usually have a spear in their hands) that's buying the river fish at a 1:1 ratio and sell your fish for Sapphires. You can do the same with your Dragon Bones at a Shaman.
10. Next, find a Craftsman and level him up fully (usually 1-2 trades are enough for him to level up once, I just went with the cheapest one and spent maybe 5-10 Sapphires to level him up fully). His final trade will ALWAYS be Ice Troll Leather. You should have enough Sapphires left over to buy 3 pieces of leather, but if not just get more by finding and trading more river fish and Dragon Bones. Shamans will also buy Blaze Powder, so that's another alternative for getting Sapphires.
11. Only the last material left for the saddle now: 2x Amphitere or Stymphalian Bird feathers. Unfortunately, hunting and killing them is damn near impossible in early game (as most RLCraft players know). Fortunately, however, you don't have to do that. You can get both of the feathers in those small floating structures high up in the air (kinda like small "cubes" with a single chest in the middle). Just pillar up to them with your easily-breakable blocks, optionally take a few lockpicks with you in case the chest is locked (or do what I did and look for a different one, they're very common) and see if you got lucky. From my experience, at least half of the chests will have the feathers in them and there will always be at least 2 feathers if they are in there. Added bonus is that you can often find Potions of Wings in the chests too (seems to also be at least half the time), which give you free flight for 3 minutes and can make finding more of these structures a lot easier and faster if you get unlucky with the first one.

And there you have it, you now have all of the stuff you need to craft the avian saddle and a Roc to use it on! A quite simple strategy that requires about as much effort as hunting for trolls for the materials would, but a lot safer and requiring very minimal gear. Plus added bonus from all the additional stuff you get thanks to Treasure Hunting.

Once upon a time in a far off land called, "The South", where very little good happened ever. There lived a boy with a staunch belief in right and wrong and how wrongs need to be righted. One day at school he witnessed the most asinine of the football bros walk past where the special education kids sat multiple times and make fun of them. Once. Twice. Three times.
That was when the Football bro's fate began to change. The boy kissed up to the bro all week, we'll call the bro "Chad" 17M. I, the boy 17M, the following Monday, get invited to sit at the Football bros lunch table. I tell Chad I'll grab his chocolate milk for him. I do grab the chocolate milk, but abscond with it into the kitchen with the lunch ladies. They all watch warily as I open Chad's milk and take a sip. I then empty a decent amount of chocolate flavored laxative into his milk. I stir until it has completely dissolved. I return with his milk, plotting as he drinks. Half an hour into lunch he begins hunching over and guarding his stomach. Now is my time. I switch seats with one of the guys to sit next to Chad. He says something about needing to go to the bathroom. One thing I know about Football bros? They're complete a-holes. I tell the guys I think Chad might pee himself. Every single guy gets up to block him from leaving one after another until the most ungodly shart is heard. They all freeze. They all step aside. He runs from the lunch room, all eyes on him, and is out of school for the rest of the week.
That's what you get for sh*tting on the Special Education Kids.
*bum roasted*

On Feb. 9, 2022, I officially became "Homeless" on state record and applied for rent and housing assistance in Knoxville through KCDC/Section 8.
Per today's date:
Zeitraum = 825 days aka 27.123 months. This is exactly the length of time I've been surviving homeless.
It wasn't until THIS YEAR that my name "officially" has gone from being on their "PRE-waiting list": aka the long-ass waiting list you're on BEFORE graduating to the "OFFICIAL" waiting list.
*Btw, no one informed me of this being their process. I waited for many hopeful months while living out of my car, waiting to be called that I contacted them to get the news of only being on the PRE-waiting list- List. Good shit...
So, I decided to visit KCDC in-person last week to speak to them about my still pending status and ask if there were any actions I could take to help my chances of having a place to call home...
FYI: The Broadway location is ONLY for applying to any of their listed complexes. Unfortunately, ALL their waiting lists are also completely full.
*The Harriet Tubman location is for applying or relating to receiving vouchers for financial rental assistance.
FYI: you can ONLY APPLY for a voucher between their generous hours of 8AM-3PM only on the 2nd WED of each month, just fyi for any new applicants.
All I was told at each location was to "continue waiting" and that I would one day be contacted whenever my name came up.
The housing costs in Knoxville, especially have risen quickly dramatically even since when I very first began applying and they'll continue this trend.
**BTW, they're SHUTTING DOWN our Homeless Shelter on Broadway due to a LACK OF FUNDING (good timing), so yet another option we can all cross off our lists of any places to lie our heads down at night.
Pretty ironic that TN is the FREAKING VOLUNTEER STATE, considering... "GO VOLS", am I right??
See news link here: https://www.wate.com/news/knox-county-news/the-foyer-a-low-barrier-knoxville-homeless-shelter-set-to-close-as-officials-seek-new-operato
Oh yeah, HOMELESSNESS IN TN is also now a CLASS E FELONY!
*You are automatically disqualified from receiving public assistance such as Section 8 and SNAP benefits unless you've fully paid off ALL FEES (up to $3,000 for being homeless) and have fully completed your probation period! *KEEPING THINGS REALLY CLASSY, TN! 😜 (Also, you can't sleep in your vehicle at any rest stops, either. Also illegal. You can sit there in your car for only 3hrs max.)
"In Tennessee, felonies are classified from A to E, with Class A being the most serious and Class E being the least severe. A Class E felony in Tennessee is the lowest level of felony. It includes offenses such as theft of property valued at $1,000 to $2,500, certain driving offenses like third or subsequent DUI offenses, stalking, and forgery. The typical punishments for Class E felonies in Tennessee include: 1. One to six years of imprisonment (PRISON TIME, not jail), and/or 2. Fines up to $3,000. (Also, just pointing out that with any Class E felonies, being the "least" serious felony, if any fines for the offense are deemed as "unspecified" in their books, they then have the capability to charge an offender up to $50,000.)
However, these punishments can vary based on a variety of factors such as the exact nature of the crime, whether or not the defendant has a prior criminal record, and other relevant factors considered by the court." See specifics here: https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-40-criminal-procedure/tn-code-sect-40-35-111/
Covertly, they've named this abomination as the:
"Equal Access to Public Property Act of 2012.” Makes it sound so helpful and positive for us, doesn't it? Thanks, guys! LOL!
See below what all is covered, including: **If they happen to search and find any of your stored belongings (likely being at times literally their entire life's possessions, including if they find you've stored your food somewhere) the police will immediately confiscate it, and then you will have a total of 90 days to go to them and claim all your belongings or else they'll consider it as "abandoned property". You must detail exactly where on the property that they found your items, so that they then will slap you with a Class E Felony, charge you a "holding fee" for whatever amount of time they "stored" it for you, also stating that "the court shall include an order of restitution for any property damage or loss incurred as a result" of you or your belongings being present on the state property. But hey, at least you get your items back!
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2021/title-39/chapter-14/part-4/section-39-14-414/#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20offense%20for,agency%20responsible%20for%20the%20land.
My Story: (if you've made it this far and give any shits about hearing it for the sake of context.)
Around 1 year-deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, I had been living in an expensive house centered in the North Knox Historic District, working FT at a job I'd spent the past few yrs diligently climbing their ladder, and splitting the house payment with my then, Fiancee of 5 1/2 yrs. He began dating a different girl, had moved her into our house, while stating that "If I didn't stop being depressed, he was going to kick me out". Unfortunately, the house had been put solely in his name when bought. You see, my grandmother had just passed from COVID-19, my childhood best friend had just passed away, and I had been informed suddenly that my 84yrs-old dementia-ridden Father was getting worse and also nearing his last days. Not long after, my older sister contacted me acting upset, stating that he now needed to be on continual watch for FT care, so I packed my things, left my fiancee and my then home and moved in to care for my late father. Eventually, I had to leave my job to fulfill my caretaking duties but I don't regret being there for my father but it grew to be very difficult times, as it was for many those yrs. Dad passed away Jan. 31, 2022. My mother immediately inherited the house at his death, per their messy divorce agreement many yrs before. She so graciously left no time after me literally watching him take his very last breath in the bedroom down the hall from my own for her to serve me immediate eviction papers, now forcing me to leave the home that I grew up with my father in, while being raised. This house, I had only 1 year previous, agreed to my mother and sister when they had requested this of me, quit my long-term, FT job, losing all my sources of income in order to live with and solitary care for my father. (Everyone else- meaning my mother and 3 sisters -were all "too busy" to help me out or give even short breaks. I'm informing you of this, so that anyone that ever says to themselves, "why don't they just go live with family", can comprehend how that's not an actual option for everyone, so when the systems are failing, ppl aren't always on the streets or living out of their cars bc of drug problems or laziness or whatever other common misconceptions I've heard from ppl that are limited in grasping these situations for others. That last month that he was still alive, they all "forbade" me from leaving the house at all nor having any visitors "for his health", despite my deep despair from watching his health ferociously decline, resulting in my very rapidly declining mental health and massive weight-loss and over-exhaustion. Upon receiving my eviction notice, I then immediately began applying for Section 8 assistance. I had no one left and nowhere to go. It's like this for a lot of people. Don't assume ppl always have any other options available, is my point of giving so much backstory. Not exactly trying to "victimize" myself here for pity. I'm strong, I've got this. Just trying to get some points across for when you judge another's situation that you don't know.
Ok, here's the last I'll say about all this. Just humor me and try to consider what I'm pointing out here.
Every single one of us local TN natives have seen through the years how various homeless individuals will bravely step into some of our favorite local diners, gas stations, retail stores, etc. Them, asking employees permissions for maybe utilizing a restroom, some cold water or a drink, often after them walking around most the day (shelter kicks everyone out once it's morning), often after being in our unforgiving weather or high temps. Sometimes, they're asking even for a small bite to eat or leftovers from the kitchen. SO MANY times throughout the years, we've all been standing by, as we witness some enraged employee or the manager angrily decline, followed with often loud threats of calling the cops on them, etc in an attempt to motivate them to not come back asking later, as now they see how many of their annoyed paying customers are actively shaking their heads and shaming their whole interaction with rotten looks of disgust.
I mean after all, our businesses ABSOLUTELY can't be taking any risks of "losing their dedicated customers, just BC some "lazy bums" keep showing up, "always asking for free handouts" and "scaring away our business".
Really, it's best to just not give them anything in the 1st place cus ya know, just like strays, they'll "just keep showing back up"...
Right?
Excluding sometimes a random kind individual's exception, for the most part this mindset I'm highlighting here has most often worked as an sorta unspoken "Golden Rule" when we're relating to how we'll decidedly "handle" our large and growing homeless population.
Now that our housing prices have fully skyrocketed, with increases markedly on the rise almost immediately after the COVID-19 Pandemic that left so many of us without income that was supporting our access to necessities. Many, many "middle-class" individuals who were previously working averaging their 5 days/week (ty past labor strikes enforcing our allowance of 2 days off) and living comfortably on their 40hrs/week paychecks are currently struggling to find availability and also afford even a 1br ran-down apartment in our "lower-class" neighborhoods. Most are now working multiple jobs trying to keep up, and childcare isn't offered for free, so it keeps everyone from having opportunities to not only spend time raising their children vs random strangers who are also overworked, but how can you save money when you're losing part of what you earn, just to be able to go to work and not be fully abandoning your children to fend for themselves if left home alone?
Often, homeless ppl can be seen all throughout our city, and guaranteed to be growing in mass numbers when inching closer toward that underpass leading up to the Historic Gay St./Downtown/UT campus/Cumberland Strip. *It's really fairly ironic I've thought, how so much of our income has always been made/spent here, however we're required each time, to first drive through the huge crowd of terribly unfortunate ppl left standing without their bare necessities, often left to sleep outside the packed shelter when it hits capacity, which is always a guarantee. They're not left outside strictly bc they're "on drugs", like a lot have been led to believe.
Lastly, but oh of such an amazing relevance-
**Here's some realism surrounding our cultures' universally pre-conceived (disconnected/egotistical and mis-informed), accepted stigma that states the following phrase:
"These ppl just won't get a job bc they're SO LAZY and just want to live off all us hard-working American's tax dollars...blah blah blah.." Employers won't hire if you don't have an address and the shelters fail to deliver anyone's incoming mail, nor do businesses want to hire a homeless person showing up without proper hygiene or attire or any kind of criminal record. Also, transportation is a bitch. KAT bus costs money, and is very limited on its area services. By walking such lengthy distances, not only can your safety be at risk (especially for Females or any shifts beginning or letting out after dark) but you're gonna be super sweaty and gross by the time you actually arrive to then work a full shift, if you can even somehow make it on time every day by walking for hours before and then after every single shift that you show for.
This isn't any kinda "new" issue for the poor, btw. Don't be such heartless fools, making someone else's situation about "you".
Life's realities can forcibly humble an individual, catching us off-guard for what we'll often end up facing. Always count your blessings and never assume you know anything about anyone else's struggles or how they got there. We're all just trying to survive in this place.
Thanks for reading and hopefully this info helps bring insight to whomever reads this. Good luck out there, I mean it. We got this. ❤️

So today I woke up and had to force myself to eat & I felt off, I still hauled my ass to the gym but the music was too loud, the lights were too bright and innocent people were infuriating me for no reason so I left.
For the FIRST time in years I got home and realised I’m teetering on the edge of a meltdown and a huge burnout.
I know that when I’m burnout and or I’m having a meltdown I get very snappy and I’m not nice to be around because I’m trying to regulate my own emotions and feelings so I simply don’t have the capacity for others in times like these I have to put myself first which is something as a single mum I often struggle to do.
So I came home and although the urge to simply lay down and do nothing was strong I forced myself to tidy my room and sort my wardrobes and drawers because I know when I’m burnout looking in cupboards that are messy p*** me off and makes things even worse.
I then texted my daughter in school explaining I’d be buying them the pizza meal deal from Tesco because I don’t have the capacity to cook when I’m like this, I’ve explained they will likely need to head away to bed a little earlier so I can fully decompress
I have already picked my favourite movie for tonight (revenge of the sith I’m a huge SW fan) and will buy my favourite comfort foods which include sour patch kids and some sort of dairy free chocolate will schedule 2 days off of the gym and tonight enjoy my burnout in a clean and tidy space- and probably steal a couple of my daughters melatonin to help me sleep (she also had adhd and autism)
I’m going to make a conscious effort to put my phone on the other side of the room so I can’t scroll and just relax!
I just feel proud that my self awareness enabled me to see what was coming and take active steps to reduce any fall out .
I do strongly believe I have ASD as well as ADHD I just don’t think I have the energy to go through diagnosis
Hope you all have a great day, if you have any self care tips you use during burnout I’d love to hear them 💖