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To help reduce the repetitive questions, here are a few of the cheapest systems we are willing to recommend for a computer desktop:
$100: Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers Amazon (US) / Amazon (DE)

• Does not require a separate amplifier and does include cables.

$400: Kali LP-6 v2 Powered Studio Monitors Amazon (US) / Thomann (EU)

• Not sold in pairs, requires additional cables and hardware, available in white/black.
• Require a preamplifier for volume control - eg Focusrite Scarlett Solo

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

I am the IT Director for a country club and a constant nuisance factor for me is our "setup" for handling broadcast TV in member and staff areas, approximately 35 TVs in 7 buildings, including a free-standing restaurant building with 12.
Up until about 15 years ago, we had a "centralized" DirecTV setup -- a stack of DTV STBs in a closet with IR repeaters and the signal delivered to the sets via some low-tech direct connection (maybe coax, it was long enough ago and wasn't working here permanently at the time nor was I involved in it). We only had maybe 8 TVs at the time. That setup got ditched due to rain fade issues (or so I'm told) in favor of a Comcast cable based solution, which will still use. A Comcast STB at every location :-(.
The recent breaking point has been a mix of issues, from Comcast's "business" TV support being pathetic on every level, losing sporting events to streaming channels thanks to our "business" TV being basically Comcast's consumer product, and F&B staff being super frustrated juggling a dozen remotes and walking around to switch channels.
Our GM has struggled to stop looking at this like consumer home TV/streaming until recently. He thinks logging into Amazon on every TV is the fix for Thursday Night Football, as just one example.
My wish list of things:

• Centralized channel control in every viewing area (roughly 7-8 areas) -- but must be dead simple enough for a 23 year old F&B employee to operate
• Ability to inject arbitrary HDMI-based content on any TV, but we don't do any custom in-house video and this would largely be for private member events
• Eliminate STBs at every TV
• Not cost $100,000

We have a coax drop and an ethernet drop at every TV. Our Ethernet network is actually half-decent, we have multicast capable switching, dual 10G links between buildings. Our campus network is routed, with a /23 per building (/22 in the clubhouse).
Right now the biggest pain point is at the standalone restaurant due to 12 TVs and a high membeleadership emphasis on sports programming. My not-super-well-informed fix idea for this location is:
1) Switch to DirecTV for Business -- AFAIK, DTV for Business doesn't lose sporting events when they go streaming (Thursday Night Football, that Peacock game during the playoffs) and hasn't lost our local baseball team's regional sports channel. They have an app for centralized control of STBs.
2) Rack the DTV STBs in the data closet, and distribute the signal to the TVs using Brightlink HDMI over IP devices. Staff can change channels using the DirecTV app. An extra Brightlink converter can be used for member provided content or other events.
I think this would work, but then I start reading about stuff like the COM3000 unit and wonder if it would solve this problem campus-wide, though I worry it would be overkill for us. We're "big" by local standards, but not like some major Florida resort.

Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is the subject of heated debate. How are mast cell activation syndromes defined? Which diseases are included? What is the diagnosis and treatment of mast cell activation syndrome? Prof. Dr. Knut Brockow, Clinic and Polyclinic for Dermatology and Allergology at the Biederstein, Technical University of Munich answers these questions in an interview with MeinAllergiePortal.
Mast cell activation syndrome: The most important facts!
-The prototype of mast cell activation syndrome is recurrent anaphylaxis
-Other forms of idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome are being sought; however, there are mainly symptom descriptions where the diagnosis cannot be made
-Clinical suspicion of MCAS is based on recurring allergy-like symptoms on the skin, nose, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and circulation
-The diagnosis of MCAS is made according to recognized international criteria based on three criteria
-MCAS is often suspected even when symptoms are inappropriate and the diagnosis is unclear; the suspicion is then not helpful for patients
-The same medications are used to treat MCAS as are used to treat allergies, in particular antihistamines and cromoglicic acid
Prof. Brockow, what kind of disease is MCAS?
Mast cell activation syndrome is not an established diagnosis, but rather a concept. Historically, this concept arose because an increasing number of patients came to the doctor's office with complaints that gave the impression of having been triggered by mast cells. These patients sometimes showed symptoms similar to those of allergic reactions, anaphylaxis or mastocytosis, but a clear diagnosis for these diseases could not be made. Nevertheless, it was suspected that there could at least be a connection with mast cell diseases. Unfortunately, the term MCAS created more uncertainty than understanding. This is because MCAS is now thrown around as a diagnosis for many patients with many symptoms and an unclear diagnosis. This is not helpful for patients and fuels short-term hope of diagnosis and cure, which cannot be fulfilled later.
Is MCAS an autoimmune disease?
No, in autoimmune diseases mast cells are not primarily involved and not as lead cells, but lymphocytes that attack the body's own structures, in some cases by forming antibodies.
Is there a connection between mast cell activation syndrome and autoimmune diseases?
No, there is no known connection between MCAS and autoimmune diseases. It has also been claimed by specific authors that other diseases, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are related to mast cell activation syndrome. However, there are no good arguments for this. Unfortunately, such claims are easy to make and difficult to refute.
What is the cause of mast cell activation syndrome?
Mast cell activation syndrome is actually more of a symptom description than a diagnosis in its own right. Mast cell activation syndrome is fully applicable to recurrent anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions in several organ systems such as the skin, respiratory tract, digestive tract and circulatory system), for example due to insect bites. All the criteria for mast cell activation syndrome are met here. Severe allergic reactions are the most common cause of MCAS. However, although the term MCAS is correct in this context, it does not provide any additional information, as patients with such events are better described as patients with a diagnosis of anaphylaxis or allergy, and the term MCAS is somewhat confusing.
Is mast cell activation syndrome genetic?
MCAS itself is not genetic, but patients with the genetic disease mastocytosis often suffer from anaphylaxis, particularly to insect venom, and therefore MCAS. In addition, it is currently being investigated whether people with genetically determined hereditary alpha-tryptasemia suffer more frequently from MCAS.
How did the term mast cell activation syndrome come about?
There were many patients without a clear diagnosis, some of whom predominantly showed the symptoms typical of mast cell diseases. Accordingly, the experts dealing with mast cell diseases saw the need to develop a concept that took into account the “undiagnosable” symptoms of the patients. In the course of this, the terms “mast cell activation” and “mast cell activation syndrome” were defined. In addition, an attempt was made to sort all mast cell diseases into a classification with regard to mast cell activation. However, the difficulty in classifying these complaints is that many of the complaints described by patients are subjective, relatively non-specific and can be both organic and psychosomatic.
How have you defined mast cell diseases and which diseases do they include?
Mast cell diseases are defined as recurring chronic symptoms that are compatible with mast cell activation.
Mast cell activation is classified on the basis of three criteria:
Recurrent typical clinical symptoms in at least two organ systems
An increase in mast cell mediators can be detected in the blood, most frequently by determining the serum tryptase level during an acute attack
Good response of symptoms to anti-mast cell mediator-directed therapy, especially H1 antihistamines
What types of mast cell disease are there?
The classification of mast cell diseases associated with mast cell activation syndromes defines three groups:
1. primary mast cell activation syndrome
Primary mast cell activation syndrome is explained by a clonal expansion of mutated overactive mast cells. It manifests as systemic or cutaneous mastocytosis. If these criteria are not completely fulfilled, but clonal mast cells have been detected, it is referred to as monoclonal mast cell activation syndrome.
2 Secondary mast cell activation syndrome
Secondary mast cell activation syndrome is present when clear triggers of mast cell activation are known. There are established terms for secondary mast cell activation syndrome that we are more familiar with, such as “anaphylaxis” to a known trigger. The classification in the second group of mast cell diseases is therefore merely a reclassification. Examples of mast cell activation are physical urticaria or cold urticaria. Allergies such as pollen allergies are also secondary mast cell activations, as hay fever also causes symptoms typical of mast cell diseases. In pollen allergies, mast cell mediators are found in the blood serum and drugs directed against mast cells have a good effect. If the symptoms recur in several organ systems, this is referred to as mast cell activation syndrome.
3. tertiary or idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome
Tertiary or idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome refers to mast cell diseases whose triggers are unknown. This group would include, for example, chronic spontaneous urticaria, which has additional symptoms in other organs. Here we know that mast cells are activated, but not by what. This group of idiopathic mast cell activation syndromes would also include patients with as yet undescribed clinical pictures who do not fulfill the diagnostic criteria of known mast cell diseases, e.g. allergy, anaphylaxis, but in whom the disease is triggered by mast cells. In these patients, however, the connection between the symptoms and the activities of the mast cells must be proven.
Does this mean that tertiary or idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion?
Idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome can be described as a diagnosis of exclusion insofar as the prerequisite for the diagnosis is that there is no other disease causing the symptoms. However, the symptoms described are often very, very unspecific and could also be caused by a variety of other diseases. However, there are the three criteria for mast cell activation syndrome already mentioned. If these are not all fulfilled, this diagnosis cannot be made.
How common is mast cell activation syndrome?
Anaphylaxis and severe recurrent allergies are not uncommon and represent the vast majority of appropriate cases for MCAS. In addition, mastocytosis patients often have multiple anaphylaxis and therefore also MCAS. However, our initial idea of finding a new disease, idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome, has not yet been confirmed. There are many patients with many symptoms for whom a clear organic diagnosis cannot yet be made. However, it is almost never possible to prove that a defect in the mast cells is primarily responsible for the symptoms. Many of these patients describe symptoms that could fit, and in some patients anti-allergic drugs also have a positive effect. But in only very few patients can an increase in mast cell mediators be detected during an acute attack. I now believe that somatic stress disorders could play a significant role in many of the patients examined.
Histamine intolerance is also a diagnosis of exclusion, is there a connection with mast cell activation syndrome?
Histamine intolerance can cause similar symptoms, but is not a mast cell disorder and has nothing to do with MCAS. When mast cells are activated, the messenger substance histamine is released, which in turn can cause symptoms. In histamine intolerance, the mast cell is not activated - it is not involved in any way. Rather, histamine intolerance describes patients with an increased sensitivity to histamine, which is supplied, for example, via the diet. This can lead to similar symptoms, but in contrast to mast cell activation syndrome, histamine intolerance has a clear trigger, histamine. As a result, the symptoms occur after eating histamine-rich foods, but disappear again if the patient follows a low-histamine diet. A test is also available to diagnose histamine intolerance.
So there are also patients with suspected mast cell activation syndrome who cannot be assigned to a classification group, even though they have corresponding symptoms?
There are many patients in whom no mast cell activation syndrome can be detected despite suspicion. They do not fit into one of the three groups. However, this also used to include monoclonal mast cell activation syndrome. These patients showed anaphylaxis and a KIT mutation, but not the full criteria for mastocytosis. In the meantime, a separate disease diagnosis has been created for these patients. The independent accepted disease of these patients therefore lies between mastocytosis and normal findings.
We thought that there might be other forms of idiopathic MCAS with clinical pictures that have not yet been described. However, this is not supported by the findings to date. There are patients who show symptoms but do not meet the necessary criteria for idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome. In these patients, the diagnosis remains unclear. In how many of these patients functional physical complaints play a role still needs to be investigated.
Are there risk factors that favor mast cell activation syndrome?
There are hardly any recognized studies on this. In a study conducted by Cem Akin in the USA, patients were examined who met the three criteria for idiopathic mast cell activation syndrome. They had the right symptoms, there was an increase in mediators and their symptoms improved with treatment. It was shown that many of these patients suffered from urticaria factitia, a scratch-induced urticaria, abdominal pain and flushing.
Recently, a genetic trait was discovered, hereditary alpha-tryptasemia with elevated basal serum tryptase levels. In patients with this trait and insect venom allergy, the severity of the allergic reaction appears to be increased. It is also discussed that the frequency of mast cell activation syndrome is increased in patients with this genetic trait. However, the published studies are not yet unanimous in this respect.
What symptoms can occur with MCAS?
The following symptoms could be signs of mast cell activation syndrome:
MCAS symptoms on the skin:
Appearance of sudden intense redness (flushing)
itching
wheal formation
Deep wheal formation (angioedema or Quincke's edema)
MCAS symptoms on the nose:
Nasal congestion
Nasal itching
MCAS symptoms in the airways:
Swelling of the upper airways
Wheezing
Shortness of breath
MCAS symptoms of the digestive tract:
Vomiting
abdominal pain
diarrhea
Systemic MCAS symptoms:
Syncope - where you suddenly lose consciousness, but only for a short time
Sudden drop in blood pressure
Allergic shock
These symptoms can occur together or individually. In principle, symptoms must occur in two or more organ systems for MCAS. These symptoms, together with the typical skin changes and anaphylaxis, are also typical of mastocytosis.
Are muscle pain and hair loss also symptoms of MCAS?
No, why would anyone think that these symptoms are primarily caused by a malfunction of mast cells? Mast cells are not important cells for muscle pain and hair loss.
How is MCAS diagnosed?
MCAS is a diagnosis of exclusion, i.e. there is no mast cell activation syndrome test. However, this does not mean that all other diseases must be ruled out before a diagnosis of MCAS can be made.
When testing directly for mast cell activation syndrome, three criteria would be examined, all of which must be met, not just two:
First, there must be a matching of symptoms to see if the above symptoms are leading, recurrent and occur in at least two organ systems.
Is there a substantial or complete improvement in the clinical symptoms when taking anti-allergic medication, antihistamines or cromoglicic acid? Then this criterion would apply.
The blood levels of tryptase in the serum can now be examined at two different points in time. This would check whether there is an increase in mast cell mediators or tryptase in the blood serum in a highly symptomatic phase or during a seizure compared to a time when there are no symptoms.
What does the tryptase level in the blood mean in the diagnosis of mast cell activation syndrome?
If the mast cell mediator tryptase rises by 20 percent of the basal value, i.e. the initial value, + 2 ng/ml during such an episode, the diagnosis of mast cell activation syndrome has been made without the need to rule out other diseases beforehand. However, taking blood samples to determine the tryptase levels is very time-consuming, because a blood sample should be taken in the normal state and then another blood sample should be taken during a seizure or a highly symptomatic episode. This means that the patient must see a doctor in good time for a blood test during the acute phase. If these tests are negative, mast cell activation syndrome cannot be confirmed.
Elevated tryptase levels also play a role in anaphylaxis, is there a connection with mast cell activation syndrome?
Anaphylaxis is an extremely strong mast cell activation, the “prototype” of mast cell activation, so to speak. The tryptase level rises, so that it is considered an indicator of anaphylaxis. Here too, the basal value is measured and compared with the value during an episode. The relevant factor is the resulting increase in the tryptase value. The therapy against mast cells is effective in this case. In this respect, anaphylaxis is the classic form of mast cell activation syndrome.
The tryptase value also plays a role in the diagnosis of mastocytosis, what are the correlations here?
Mastocytosis patients also have an elevated baseline tryptase level. This is therefore an indication of mastocytosis and an indication for a final diagnosis by means of a bone marrow biopsy. However, there is also a mastocytosis-independent correlation between tryptase and anaphylaxis. People who have a higher number of mast cells often develop more severe anaphylaxis than people with fewer mast cells. The tryptase basal value is therefore considered a kind of indicator for the total mast cells in the body. For example, insect venom anaphylactic patients with elevated basal mast cell tryptase levels in the blood are at increased risk of severe anaphylaxis.
What can be done against MCAS and which medications help?
The aim of treatment for mast cell activation syndrome is to slow down the effect of the overactivated mast cells and to calm the mast cells. In particular, the avoidance of allergic triggers is available for this purpose.
Histamine receptor blockers are tried as medication to block the effects of mast cell activation by histamine. Mast cell stabilizers or blockers of mast cell release, cromoglicic acid, can also calm the mast cells. Cromoglicic acid is also used in mastocytosis patients. It is important to know that the use of cromoglicic acid is not advisable if the attack has already run its course. On the other hand, many patients achieve a significant improvement in symptoms if cromoglicic acid is taken continuously as a preventive measure and in a sufficiently high dose. This has also been shown to be the case with antihistamines.
Another option would be leukotriene receptor antagonists and corticosteroids in the short term, but never over a longer period of time.
Unfortunately, many patients with previously unexplained complaints are given a suspected diagnosis of MCAS in the hope that this knowledge will lead to better treatment or perhaps a cure. However, apart from the drugs mentioned, which can also be used on a trial basis in cases of suspected MCAS, there are no other useful drugs available. In this respect, the suspicion of MCAS unfortunately does not offer patients any additional treatment options.
Are there foods that activate or deactivate mast cells?
No such foods are known in humans. Of course, it is possible to bombard mast cells in a test tube with high concentrations of food and measure whether the natural activation of mast cells is increased or reduced. However, such tests are generally not meaningful for humans when consumed.
Can naturopathy help with mast cell activation syndrome?
I don't know how it could help. Naturopathy is the attempt to achieve a positive effect through naturally occurring active substances. Is the avoidance of allergens in our natural environment already naturopathy?
Could certain vitamins, for example vitamin C, be beneficial for MCAS?
This is claimed by a few doctors without any convincing results. Vitamin C is also said to help against seasickness. After all, vitamin C, taken in normal amounts, is not harmful and is beneficial. Sometimes the conviction that a substance is good for you also helps. That's why the experiment doesn't bother me.
Is it possible to prevent mast cell activation syndrome?
Yes, by avoiding MCAS with a known trigger. This is the case with allergies. In the case of allergies and recurrent anaphylaxis as a form of MCAS, omalizumab, an antibody against immunoglobulin E, can also be used in individual patients.
Prof. Brockow, thank you very much for this interview!
https://www.mein-allergie-portal.com/mastozytose-mastzellaktivierungssyndrom-mcas/925-idiopathisches-mastzellenaktivierungssyndrom-ein-neues-krankheitsbild.html

Obvious example is Wonder Woman, since she's one of DC's most iconic superheroes and it would be a good way to showcase her rogues and supporting cast. Lesser-known example would be the Power Pack, as they just feel particularly-suited to one, as it stars a superhero team of a similar age as its target audience, as well as the original comics actually featuring real-life issues facing youths like child abuse and runaways.

I came across this very good video, he is Israeli, he flew to US to speak to student protesters in Washington DC, he starting talking with this young American Jew Pro-Palestine protester, you will see the protest organizers tried to stop them from talking… then plot twist two older Palestinians pulled him aside and wanted to continue talking with him without the protesters interferring/ chanting loudly. https://youtu.be/bngdpQOG3BM?si=TutfpzuienKmKy6l

1. Always stay calm. Dont raise your voice, dont raise your fist…if it gets a bit loud, try to calm down the situation. We are in the campus of a prestigious university, we can have a civil conversation without the need to raise our voice.
   
2. Know your FACTS. And know the “facts” of the opposite camp. Do your homework and try to debunk them at home with facts. He could have gone one up, by showing the facts on his phone. I have no idea what is a Cohen DNA.
   
3. Talk coherently, one point at a time. It may surprise you…. some of their “understanding” may shock you. You might need some time to wrap your head around this reply. I bet he too is shocked and needs a moment to digust want new facts you saying. This young American Jew thought he was ethnically Polish.
   
4. To dispel a myth, you need to peel it like an onion, layer by layer, exposing the misunderstanding / fallacy…its a bit like playing chess… you are thinking 5 steps ahead, you are just guiding him and helping him reach the logical conclusion you want and have foreseen. Of course he thinks he reached his own conclusions himself, but you led him there.
   

Example: A Christian that no longer believes in Jesus, they are no longer a Christian. A Muslim that rejects Muhammed they are no longer a Muslim. If a Jew doesnt believe in HaShem or Adonai, is he still a Jew ? Yes he is still a Jew, because Judaism is more than just religion. Judaism is an identity of an ancient civilization.
This American Jew thinks there are thousands and thousands of Palestinian Jews practising Judaism in Palestine. The Israeli is so shocked he doesnt know how to respond. What does a Palestinian Jew even mean ? (Now current). He brushed it off as that doesnt exist. He could have show demography of Palestine, how many “Palestinian Jews” live in Palestine. This is where phone comes in handy.

1. Be prepare to condemn your side for the things you disagree with. An Israeli criticizing Nethanyahu is common. A Palestinian criticizing Abu Mazen is common.
   
2. Stop using buzzwords …Genocide. Apartheid. Colonist. Ethic Cleansing. Terrorist. Baby killer. He didnt give many examples of the Palestinian side. It doesnt help the conversation. If it does pop up, start by agreeing on the definition, and go from there. To better relate to the opposite camp, say it but without using these buzzwords. Preventing us from understanding the complexities. Say Palestinians go through checkpoints.
   
3. Aparheid system is a system with one government, one country with different rights for different people. All Israelis including 20% Arab/Palestinian population have full equal rights. Then in West Bank, separate land under the Palestinian Authority. Obviously, those Palestinians living there dont have rights to Israel. And vice versa. Gaza was under the separate authority of Hamas. People living in Gaza do not have rights to Israel. And vice versa. Three separate lands with different jurisdictions with different population.
   

At least he explained it in a very simple manner, simple enough for the other person to understand.

1. Those student protest chants…9:38 are full of hate. These chants are not people wanting peace for Middle East. “God willing, Allah will take your life” ? No wonder some Jewish students are intimidated and afraid. And that young American Jew support these chants? See the person you are conversing as a human beings, you dont have to like him, just be courteous.
   
2. Dont make it personal. Separate this person you speaking to from the others. I done nothing to you, I was born in 1993, I have nothing to do with it. You wont say every action of a Palestinian represents all Palestinians. Abu Mazen doesnt represent me (Palestinian). He is $#@&* Just because there are leaders who are wrong, that doesnt mean all those people are responsible for those leaders.
   
3. There is good people and bad people in this world. There is good Palestinians and bad Palestinians. Abu Mazen is bad person. You would say that is not Palestinian, that is Abu Mazen. There are also good and bad Zionists, Israeli or Jew.
   
4. I dont agree with this, but its a tactic. Together we (Israeli and Palestine) blame someone else for our problems. He picked British. The Britished started this conflict. They pitted Jews against Arabs, in their divide and conquer strategy. I think maybe blame UN, everyone thinks UN is incompetent.
   

—————
I want to add I dont think its the responsibility of Israelis to teach young Pro-Palestinian American Jews what is Judaism, what is a Jew, etc.. I feel that’s something American Jewish community should be able to help teach/ guide them. If Israelis are going to be starting conversation with anyone about peace in Middle East, they will talk to Palestinians…not white or American Jewish Pro-Palestinian protesters.

I’ve been blown away by the level of responsiveness and expertise from Redditors for a few related topics which have been a huge help to me. Thanks in advance for any feedback here and I hope I’m in the right place!
I’m in a level of ‘negotiation’ with my Employer (a global Tech company) about a relocation from Southend, SE England to either Alpharetta or Tampa as part of a promotion within my existing Team on what is expected to be a ‘3 year gig’ (at which point the company is expected to be sold which would inevitably see changes of personnel almost certainly those who I am currently ‘negotiating’ with!). Naturally there are a million and one things to consider, especially as a (married) father of two young children.
As I await more formal details of the offer (including the $!), I am trying to speed through all the various research needed which I am simplifying into the below, in order to make negotiations effective and ultimately lead up to a point where I will be able to make an actual decision (likely in the next two weeks)

1. Understanding the ancillary costs associated with relocating to the US as well as the expected on-going living costs in either location (to also include the likely requirement to relocate BACK in ~3 years time)
   
2. Understanding which of the many risks associated with this opportunity I should attempt to have mitigated by my Employer
   
3. Understanding any fundamental blockers/showstoppers that could prevent the move from being viable
   

I’m starting to build up a picture across all three but there were some specific questions I’d really appreciate some insights on. We’re mostly concerned about the number of ‘hidden’ costs there may be, to the extent where the financial gains we are expecting could end up being significantly diminished by the end of the 3 year period (our main objective here is primarily to financial gain – to ideally outright purchase a large family house back in the UK after 3 years and not primarily the ‘experience’ for our family, which we would of course consider a bonus).

• (re: 1) What are some of the more ‘obscure’ costs which I may not have factored in?

·

• I have been told informally that the company would fund my ‘relocation costs’ but those have not been specified and nor is there a dedicated function within my company to support this. I suspect the onus may be on me to even negotiate these elements. What could be considered normal and reasonable? The obvious costs which I would assume to be covered would be the travel expense including shipping of likely clothing and other valuables we’d want to take with us (see below), VISA, documentation etc.. But there are plenty of other expenses which I am not sure are a direct expense or not and therefore do not know whether to push for their inclusion? Such as preliminary trips to the location (with or without family) to visit potential areas to stay, temporary accommodation (hotel? Serviced apartments?) temporary car-hire? Getting US driving license? Storage of furniture and equipment back in the UK (for use in 3 years)? Relocation of household Pet? Advance on salary for settling in (and deposit for house rent etc.)?
  
• Are there costs in ‘moving’ money from my UK bank account to US (as part of the move) and also moving money back after 3 years? All being well, I am hoping for a sum of $300K-$500K to ‘return home’ with after the term
  
• What would a general/sensible approach be to finding accommodation – renting a hotel/serviced apartment for 1-2 months to allow us to visit neighbourhoods and find a suitable property which I assume would usually be on a 12 month contract?
  
• Use of storage for 3 years in UK – I am weighing up the pros and cons of renting out our current family house (3 bed Semi) furnished, which would likely mean we would not need to pay for any storage for the duration, and could make use of Parents’ house for storage of any equipment/items which we would not want to take with us, nor leave in the house (but want to use on our return). The alternative would be to empty the house and rent-out unfurnished and to likely incur costs of £10K-£13K overall to keep it in storage – which would certainly be worth more than the items/furniture themselves. I have read that there are insurance implications with renting out furnished houses and also that renters would be more likely to ‘move on’ in a furnished house. We’d not be fussed about the furniture being damaged, and we would probably replace on our return regardless, so with the potential extra rental cost there could be a £13K-£16K swing? What’s normal/usual to do in this situation?
  
• Is it considered normal to move into a fully unfurnished rental property and purchase new furniture? There doesn’t seem to be a market in either area for Furnished rentals, from what I have seen. Is it normal and reasonable to purchase mostly second hand furniture, electricals etc. at the start of the term and sell on after 3 years to recoup some funds? Or not realistic?
  
  • (re: 2) What risks/outcomes could and should I be asking (vs mandating) my Employer to mitigate contractually? I’m acutely aware of the general ‘hire and fire’ culture in US although I have a very long tenure at this company (~25 years) and with the promotion/relocation being one of strategic importance (which the Company approached me on) I would have some reason to be confident that at least the company would not enforce a negative scenario on their terms?

·

• If the family doesn’t settle adequately in one of the locations, should I be able to relocate to the other? Accepting the company would not pay for that relocation
  
• If I elected to leave the company, I should be free to do so? Although it would mean having to find another company to sponsor VISA otherwise I would need to return home
  
• Protection against redundancy – moving to a general US contract would leave me with little protection and perhaps a standard ‘one week’ notice period. Should I request an abnormally long notice period – for example, 6 months? My priority would be to protect myself against the Company making me redundant, not giving myself the flexibility to move to another company whilst there (I have no desires to leave the company in the short or mid term). Assuming a notice period would maximise my chances to find alternative employment without having to go back home?
  
• Protection against dismissal/performance-related firing – could/should I request a bespoke compensation in the event of this? If I was to have to relocate back home with no VISA then I would incur additional relocation costs and also significant additional costs related to new agreements in the US (house rental etc.)
  
  • (re: 3) Interested to know if there are others who have emigrated and any nasty surprises? For example, I have read about the challenge in building up credit rating in the US and how long that may take? I have a (UK) Amex card which I will port to a US card when over there and use it as much as possible and set up a US bank account as quickly as I can.

Entirely personal, but also wondering on recommendations for Alpharetta vs Tampa? It would seem cost of living would be comparable (of course, dependent on neighbourhood) with the major differences being probably differences in climate, and I suspect Tampa would be generally much busier, perhaps less safe? For a reasonable 3 bed house it seems around $3K rent per month is the norm, with Alpharetta prices seemingly due to proximity to the tech hubs and Tampa due to the pull of the beaches, climate?
My Wife and I are very excited about the prospect, just trying to be as cautious as possible especially given this will be likely to move quickly!
Many thanks in advance
Mark

As we get into the new season, I just thought it would be fun to track and discuss the themes and motifs this show has kept up throughout the seasons so far so we can see how they play out in Season 4:)
NOTE: I have not read many spoilers. I don't mind if they come into the discussion, but please mark with a tag for anyone who doesn't want to see them!
Honestly, when I really laid all these out, it made me appreciate the writing so much more, even in moments I didn't really care for the first time around.
Plus analyzing stuff like this is fun for super cool people. Join me!
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• What it Means to Save Someone

This is probably the main theme of the series and the thing that becomes the biggest downfall for all our protagonists. "Saving Someone" has now become something that puts the viewer on edge.
How many times has a character exclaimed "I'm trying to save you," when actually all they're doing is trying to serve their own selfish agenda and alleviate their own guilt or affirm their image of themselves?
I could seriously write a whole essay about this and how it ties to the idea of What it Means to Be a Hero. But feel free to discuss it more in the comments.

• Subverting "Truth, Justice, and the American Way

The Boys is constantly exploring how Vought and The Boys bend the truth to serve their own agenda and are constantly asserting that the definition of truth typically belongs to whoever has the power (Power being another big motif).
Justice vs. Vengeance is also a big one that keeps coming up. Starlight is arguably the only character who is earnestly pursuing true justice on this show and tbh, it cramps everyone's style. MM and Hughie also great characters to follow for this because they are both genuinely trying to do the right thing and are often seduced by Butcher's much more attractive Vengeance call.

• Mother and Father Relationships

This is another one that could turn into a whole essay and one that I'd probably have to go back and take more notes to explore. But I think it really ties into this idea of Power and Responsibility. Because isn't that the cornerstone of what it means to be a parent?
Children are seen by society as the ultimate innocents who must be protected at all costs, but they are so often abused and exploited by the people who are supposed to protect them - Even when it's unintentional. Parents so often see children as extensions of themselves rather than individuals. Simply tools to affirm their own existence or be mirrors of themselves (which ties into the whole selfish "I'm trying to save you" theme).
We see this explored with Ryan a lot, but this was beautifully culminated at the end of S3 when MM realizes he needs to be honest with his daughter about what he's been going through, not to justify his mistakes, but to show her respect and acknowledgement of a two-way relationship.

• Power in the Hands of Women and Power in the Hands of POC

Oh man. This is another one that's like... A whole ass paper.
Super powers are definitely a vehicle to explore societal power with woman and POC on this show and the daunting idea that even with superpowers or wealth, race and gender can still be used as kryptonite.
We see it touched on in the ongoing discussions of how to properly "play the game" and achieve real power.
We see the Power and Women explored pretty in depth in Season 2, but Ashley is a really awesome ongoing exploration of this theme through a gender lens as she rises to power at Vought.
A Train and Noir are an obvious example of this exploration through a racial lens, but it's definitely also been touched on through pretty much every character of color on this show. I think they really got into it in a really interesting way on Gen V as well, but I don't want to bog this down any harder.

• Gender Roles and Toxic Masculinity

Just making sure everyone is on the same page - Toxic Masculinity does NOT mean that masculinity is inherently toxic. It is meant to focus on the unhealthy presentations and expectations of performing the role of "being a man."
Toxic Masculinity really became the focus of Season 3. We see that most clearly in the character of Soldier Boy (though I do worry that due to Jensen Ackles natural charisma, it didn't quite achieve the impact the writers intended), but also in Hughie.
Although many people (including me) felt like it was a disappointing step back for Hughie, I'm actually leaning back the other way on the rewatch. I think that the feeling powerless (which is something we feel as ordinary citizens all the time) moment Hughie had when he realized all the work he did with Neuman was built on a lie probably threw a lot out of whack. It makes perfect sense that the comments about his vulnerability and softness might start hitting a little differently than they used to.
Frenchie and MM on the other hand, are great examples of characters of healthy masculinity in their willingness to share power, be vulnerable, and self reflect so that they are able to support the interests of their loved ones.

• What is REAL Power?

This is the final theme I'll mention because it's a big one and I think it's going to be important in the upcoming season. Where does real power come from? Money? Strength? Social influence? Knowledge? Relationships?
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Okay I'm tired of typing and it's likely that only four people will comment on this if I'm lucky.
I hope you enjoy discussing (feel free to add your own big themes if I missed any) and I hope that being aware of these themes make the upcoming season more fun to watch.

Hi everyone,
I frequently see people here buying macs with apple silicon instead of going with an nvidia machine. What's the logic behind that?
I think Apple's MPS is too primitive still. It doesn't support lots of operations (4bit quantization most basic example) that cuda does. I have mac and I usually (%99 of the time) have to go to a cloud environment that has cuda support. Even for the most basic things.
Even a simple text generation. When I put models to the mps text generation is significantly slower compared to even most medicore nvidia gpu.
What am I missing what's the advantage of apple silicon here?

Welcome to /Psychotechnology!

Psychotechnology is an umbrella term describing the various traditions, practices, rituals, sciences, and tools that allow humans to improve their physical, psychological, and material well-being at both the individual and collective levels. This subreddit is dedicated to exploring these diverse approaches, fostering discussions, and sharing insights on how they contribute to our well-being.

What Counts as Psychotechnology?

Religion

Religions are organized systems of beliefs, rituals, and practices that often involve a commitment to a higher power or spiritual force. They provide moral frameworks, community support, and a sense of purpose. Examples include:

• Christianity: Based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, emphasizing love, forgiveness, and salvation.
• Islam: Founded on the revelations given to the Prophet Muhammad, focusing on submission to the will of Allah.
• Buddhism: A path of practice and spiritual development leading to insight into the true nature of reality, founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).
• Hinduism: A major religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, developed from Vedic religion, encompassing a variety of practices and beliefs in karma and dharma.
• Judaism: The monotheistic religion of the Jewish people, rooted in the Hebrew Bible and centered on the covenant between God and the Israelites.

Spiritual Traditions

Spiritual traditions encompass a wide range of beliefs and practices that focus on personal spiritual development outside the confines of organized religion. Examples include:

• Paganism: A group of contemporary religious movements influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe.
• Occultism: A category of esoteric beliefs and practices that involve the use of magical rituals, symbols, actions, gestures, and language.
• Druidry: A modern spiritual or religious movement that generally promotes harmony, connection, and reverence for the natural world.
• Wicca: A modern pagan, witchcraft religion that emphasizes the worship of nature and the practice of magic.

Psychological Sciences

Psychological sciences involve the systematic study of the mind and behavior, often employing empirical methods and therapeutic techniques to improve mental health. Examples include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): A type of psychotherapy that helps individuals change negative thought patterns and behaviors.
• Mindfulness: The practice of purposely focusing attention on the present moment—and accepting it without judgment.
• Group Therapy: A form of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time.

Exploring the Similarities

Despite their differences, religions, spiritual traditions, and psychological sciences share common goals and practices aimed at enhancing well-being. Here are some examples of specific practices within each category that might achieve similar benefits:

Meditation and Prayer

• Buddhist Meditation: Buddhist practices like Vipassana or Zen meditation focus on mindfulness and developing insight into the nature of reality.
• Christian Prayer: Engaging in prayer, whether communal or private, fosters a sense of connection with the divine and provides comfort and guidance.
• Mindfulness Meditation: In psychological sciences, mindfulness meditation helps individuals cultivate present-moment awareness and reduce stress.

Rituals and Ceremonies

• Hindu Rituals: Daily rituals such as puja involve offerings to deities and serve to reinforce religious devotion and community bonds.
• Wiccan Sabbats: Celebrating seasonal festivals, Wiccans honor nature cycles and engage in rituals that foster a sense of community and spiritual connection.
• Behavioral Activation: In CBT, establishing regular routines and engaging in enjoyable activities can enhance mood and overall well-being.

Ethical Guidelines and Moral Development

• Islamic Ethics: Following the Five Pillars of Islam provides a moral framework that guides behavior and fosters community cohesion.
• Pagan Ethical Codes: Many Pagan traditions follow ethical guidelines such as the Wiccan Rede, which advises against harming others.
• Values Clarification: In psychological sciences, helping individuals clarify their values can guide behavior and decision-making, promoting a sense of purpose and integrity.

Community and Support Networks

• Jewish Community Life: Participating in synagogue activities and Jewish festivals creates a strong sense of community and mutual support.
• Druid Gatherings: Modern Druidry often involves gatherings in nature, fostering a sense of belonging and connection to the natural world.
• Group Therapy: Provides a supportive environment where individuals can share experiences, gain insights, and build connections with others facing similar challenges.

Personal Growth and Self-Improvement

• Christian Confession: The practice of confession and seeking forgiveness can lead to personal growth and emotional relief.
• Occult Practices: Practices such as shadow work in occult traditions encourage deep self-reflection and personal transformation.
• Cognitive Restructuring in CBT: This technique involves identifying and challenging negative thought patterns, promoting mental resilience and personal development.

Why These Practices Matter

By examining these diverse practices through the lens of psychotechnology, we can appreciate the shared human endeavor to enhance well-being. Whether through religious devotion, spiritual exploration, or psychological techniques, these practices offer pathways to improved mental health, stronger communities, and a greater sense of purpose.

Key Benefits Across Practices

• Stress Reduction: Practices like meditation, prayer, and mindfulness help manage stress and promote relaxation.
• Emotional Support: Community activities in religious and spiritual traditions, as well as support groups in psychological practices, provide emotional and social support.
• Moral and Ethical Guidance: Ethical teachings in religions and spiritual traditions, and values clarification in psychology, help guide behavior and decision-making.
• Personal Insight: Reflective practices in all three domains foster self-awareness and personal growth.

By framing these diverse concepts as sharing a common goal—directly and indirectly enhancing one's personal psyche—this subreddit aims to provide a platform for exploring and discussing these varied approaches, both their merits and drawbacks. So please create discussion threads, share books/articles/videos/podcasts, and other resources! Feel free to ask for questions and advice, and share any personal stories you have!

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To keep our community welcoming and productive, please adhere to the following guidelines:

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Welcome to /Psychotechnology!

I’ve been blown away by the level of responsiveness and expertise from Redditors for a few related topics which have been a huge help to me. Thanks in advance for any feedback here and I hope I’m in the right place!
I’m in a level of ‘negotiation’ with my Employer (a global Tech company) about a relocation from Southend, SE England to either Alpharetta or Tampa as part of a promotion within my existing Team on what is expected to be a ‘3 year gig’ (at which point the company is expected to be sold which would inevitably see changes of personnel almost certainly those who I am currently ‘negotiating’ with!). Naturally there are a million and one things to consider, especially as a (married) father of two young children.
As I await more formal details of the offer (including the $!), I am trying to speed through all the various research needed which I am simplifying into the below, in order to make negotiations effective and ultimately lead up to a point where I will be able to make an actual decision (likely in the next two weeks)

1. Understanding the ancillary costs associated with relocating to the US as well as the expected on-going living costs in either location (to also include the likely requirement to relocate BACK in ~3 years time)
2. Understanding which of the many risks associated with this opportunity I should attempt to have mitigated by my Employer
3. Understanding any fundamental blockers/showstoppers that could prevent the move from being viable

I’m starting to build up a picture across all three but there were some specific questions I’d really appreciate some insights on. We’re mostly concerned about the number of ‘hidden’ costs there may be, to the extent where the financial gains we are expecting could end up being significantly diminished by the end of the 3 year period (our main objective here is primarily to financial gain – to ideally outright purchase a large family house back in the UK after 3 years and not primarily the ‘experience’ for our family, which we would of course consider a bonus).

• (re: 1) What are some of the more ‘obscure’ costs which I may not have factored in?
  • I have been told informally that the company would fund my ‘relocation costs’ but those have not been specified and nor is there a dedicated function within my company to support this. I suspect the onus may be on me to even negotiate these elements. What could be considered normal and reasonable? The obvious costs which I would assume to be covered would be the travel expense including shipping of likely clothing and other valuables we’d want to take with us (see below), VISA, documentation etc.. But there are plenty of other expenses which I am not sure are a direct expense or not and therefore do not know whether to push for their inclusion? Such as preliminary trips to the location (with or without family) to visit potential areas to stay, temporary accommodation (hotel? Serviced apartments?) temporary car-hire? Getting US driving license? Storage of furniture and equipment back in the UK (for use in 3 years)? Relocation of household Pet? Advance on salary for settling in (and deposit for house rent etc.)?
  • Are there costs in ‘moving’ money from my UK bank account to US (as part of the move) and also moving money back after 3 years? All being well, I am hoping for a sum of $300K-$500K to ‘return home’ with after the term
  • What would a general/sensible approach be to finding accommodation – renting a hotel/serviced apartment for 1-2 months to allow us to visit neighbourhoods and find a suitable property which I assume would usually be on a 12 month contract?
  • Use of storage for 3 years in UK – I am weighing up the pros and cons of renting out our current family house (3 bed Semi) furnished, which would likely mean we would not need to pay for any storage for the duration, and could make use of Parents’ house for storage of any equipment/items which we would not want to take with us, nor leave in the house (but want to use on our return). The alternative would be to empty the house and rent-out unfurnished and to likely incur costs of £10K-£13K overall to keep it in storage – which would certainly be worth more than the items/furniture themselves. I have read that there are insurance implications with renting out furnished houses and also that renters would be more likely to ‘move on’ in a furnished house. We’d not be fussed about the furniture being damaged, and we would probably replace on our return regardless, so with the potential extra rental cost there could be a £13K-£16K swing? What’s normal/usual to do in this situation?
  • Is it considered normal to move into a fully unfurnished rental property and purchase new furniture? There doesn’t seem to be a market in either area for Furnished rentals, from what I have seen. Is it normal and reasonable to purchase mostly second hand furniture, electricals etc. at the start of the term and sell on after 3 years to recoup some funds? Or not realistic?
• (re: 2) What risks/outcomes could and should I be asking (vs mandating) my Employer to mitigate contractually? I’m acutely aware of the general ‘hire and fire’ culture in US although I have a very long tenure at this company (~25 years) and with the promotion/relocation being one of strategic importance (which the Company approached me on) I would have some reason to be confident that at least the company would not enforce a negative scenario on their terms?
  • If the family doesn’t settle adequately in one of the locations, should I be able to relocate to the other? Accepting the company would not pay for that relocation
  • If I elected to leave the company, I should be free to do so? Although it would mean having to find another company to sponsor VISA otherwise I would need to return home
  • Protection against redundancy – moving to a general US contract would leave me with little protection and perhaps a standard ‘one week’ notice period. Should I request an abnormally long notice period – for example, 6 months? My priority would be to protect myself against the Company making me redundant, not giving myself the flexibility to move to another company whilst there (I have no desires to leave the company in the short or mid term). Assuming a notice period would maximise my chances to find alternative employment without having to go back home?
  • Protection against dismissal/performance-related firing – could/should I request a bespoke compensation in the event of this? If I was to have to relocate back home with no VISA then I would incur additional relocation costs and also significant additional costs related to new agreements in the US (house rental etc.)
• (re: 3) Interested to know if there are others who have emigrated and any nasty surprises? For example, I have read about the challenge in building up credit rating in the US and how long that may take? I have a (UK) Amex card which I will port to a US card when over there and use it as much as possible and set up a US bank account as quickly as I can.

Entirely personal, but also wondering on recommendations for Alpharetta vs Tampa? It would seem cost of living would be comparable (of course, dependent on neighbourhood) with the major differences being probably differences in climate, and I suspect Tampa would be generally much busier, perhaps less safe? For a reasonable 3 bed house it seems around $3K rent per month is the norm, with Alpharetta prices seemingly due to proximity to the tech hubs and Tampa due to the pull of the beaches, climate?
My Wife and I are very excited about the prospect, just trying to be as cautious as possible especially given this will be likely to move quickly!
Many thanks in advance
Mark

My Results
I have been lurking for a month or so by now, and I have recently started a blog. I love reading all of the experiences people share on this subreddit, so I thought I would contribute and share my results so far as someone who has started a blog in 2024. A bit of backstory about myself: I have been working with WordPress since 2018 and have been supporting local businesses in my city through freelance work. I usually help with website support, marketing, design, SEO, and online business solutions. Recently, I wanted a playground where I could play around with SEO without disrupting my clients' businesses, and this is where my blog was born. The problem I find with SEO is that it is challenging to understand, and the amount of oversaturated content claiming "how to easily rank top 1 on Google" has left me frustrated and eager to tackle this problem with a more hands-on approach, rather than watching how others claim they can easily do it. I have been enjoying blogging so far, treating this more as a hobby and learning experience instead of trying to make it a full-time endeavor. I do work full-time and, on top of that, freelance, so it's hard to get much free time anyway.
So, what have I been blogging about? Right now, I am focused on blogging about the top businesses and things to do in my city, and I've been very satisfied with the results so far. Trying to keep it in tune with what I currently do, my blog has aligned really well with my day-to-day grind. I just want your thoughts on these results. I know it's not a million clicks in the first month, but there is still something here: people are clicking, impressions are being made!
My blog is set up through WordPress, Elementor, and Rank Math for SEO. Before launch, I prepared around 5 posts of 500-1200 words each and then went live. After that, I tried to post every couple of days to keep pushing out content, and right now I am sitting around 20 blog posts. Most of my blog posts are very similar, making it pretty easy to push out content. I know it is frowned upon, but it has been super helpful to me to use AI to help me with writing. Of course, I adjust it to add my own twist to the writing style, but I think AI has saved me a ton of time helping generate ideas and general layouts for articles.
Recently, I have been focusing more on creating a social media presence, which has played a key role in boosting overall blog performance. For example, I am writing an article on the best bubble tea in my city. Once the article is live, I will share it on Facebook, Instagram, and tag the business's page. More often than not, this business will share my post and bring in more traffic. I am always so happy when a Facebook page with 10,000 followers likes and shares my post! After social media, more than half of my traffic came from Facebook. Instagram has not been as successful, but I am still trying to work out ways to help bring in more traffic. In time, as I grow my following, I'm sure the time spent on social media will be worth it.
Let's dive into the results: In the first month of blogging, I am at about 55 clicks and 1,800 impressions. A lot of my posts are ranking in the 10-20 position on search results, not the best but understandable for a new domain with little to no backlinks. However, there are still a few of them with lower difficulty where I am able to rank in the top 10. So far, it has been very satisfying to learn more about SEO, dive deeper into analytics, and learn more about how I can improve these rankings so I can help other businesses I freelance with improve their own SEO scores. Let me know your thoughts on these results so far, and if you have any suggestions, I would love to learn more about them! Officially not a lurker anymore, I'm happy to contribute statistics about my journey so far and excited for another post at 6 months!

For example, I was recently looking into making some concepts for ancient warriors support but my mind kept mixing up the Wei and Wu monsters attributes due to dynasty warriors where Wei characters like Cao Cao generally use ice (water) and Wu characters like Sun Quan use fire so having those attributes swapped in yugioh kind of gave me a headache (shu is fine though. They generally use lightning so wind makes sense). PS if anyone has played Dynasty warriors, romance of the three kingdoms or just in general has interacted with anything related to the book or historical timeframe, what people or moments do you think would work for good yugioh support? Currently leaning on the battle of fan castle.
Anyway, that’s my headache brought up. What about the rest of you?

I’ve noticed a sentiment on college subs in general that WGU is a “scam” and is on the same level as something like the university of phoenix
I say this as someone who didn’t go to wgu. I went to one of the “traditional” public engineering schools. It took 4 years and honestly if I could’ve worked on my own pace I could’ve finished in 2-3.
I honestly think it’s incredible what WGU is doing. I have a few friends/coworkers that went and finished school quickly and cheaply.
Instead of me feeling jealously/resentment I realized WGU gave these people an opportunity for an education they most likely would’ve never gotten (for example, one was a single father and had to work full time to support his child. Do you think going to school part time for 4-5 years was a valid option for him?)
First off, it’s accredited. By the same accreditation body that accredits schools like the university of Washington and BYU. It’s even ABET accredited, which is a HUGE deal for anything stem related, basically the gold standard for science accreditation.
Next, it’s a non profit. It’s not a for profit school like university of phoenix.
Lastly, the way it’s structured is just legendary. Listen, traditional college in some ways feels like a scam. You can’t go on your own pace, it literally feels like it’s designed to make you stay as long as possible so the university (even if it’s a public one) so it will make as much money as possible. Especially the transferring credits part.
WGU goes on 6 month terms. However, you can take as many classes as you want in that 6 month term.
If you have the time to do the work (which mind you according to the accrediting bodies has the same amount of rigor as traditional classes) why can’t you accelerate it?
It seems like traditional college students are jealous/mad that someone can complete a degree in 1-2 years time instead of 4. Why is this a bad thing?
It’s cheap, it’s accredited, it’s do at your own pace so you can do it while working, it seems great.
Now will it have the same weight as something like a LSU degree? No, but it’ll check that degree checkbox.
I hope college goes the way WGU has. It feels like traditional school feels more like a cult and an exclusive club nowadays. Oh you didn’t take 4 years at a traditional school and pay as much money as possible and be in a privileged position to not have to work full time? Your degree is a scam then.

I’ve noticed a sentiment on this sub and other college subs in general that WGU is a “scam” and is on the same level as something like the university of phoenix
I say this as someone who didn’t go to wgu. I went to one of the “traditional” public engineering schools. It took 4 years and honestly if I could’ve worked on my own pace I could’ve finished in 2-3.
I honestly think it’s incredible what WGU is doing. I have a few friends/coworkers that went and finished school quickly and cheaply.
Instead of me feeling jealously/resentment I realized WGU gave these people an opportunity for an education they most likely would’ve never gotten (for example, one was a single father and had to work full time to support his child. Do you think going to school part time for 4-5 years was a valid option for him?)
First off, it’s accredited. By the same accreditation body that accredits schools like the university of Washington and BYU. It’s even ABET accredited, which is a HUGE deal for anything stem related, basically the gold standard for science accreditation.
Next, it’s a non profit. It’s not a for profit school like university of phoenix.
Lastly, the way it’s structured is just legendary. Listen, traditional college in some ways feels like a scam. You can’t go on your own pace, it literally feels like it’s designed to make you stay as long as possible so the university (even if it’s a public one) so it will make as much money as possible. Especially the transferring credits part.
If you didn’t know, WGU goes on 6 month terms. However, you can take as many classes as you want in that 6 month term.
If you have the time to do the work (which mind you according to the accrediting bodies has the same amount of rigor as traditional classes) why can’t you accelerate it?
It seems like traditional college students are jealous/mad that someone can complete a degree in 1-2 years time instead of 4. Why is this a bad thing?
It’s cheap, it’s accredited, it’s do at your own pace so you can do it while working, it seems great.
Now will it have the same weight as something like a LSU degree? No, but it’ll check that degree checkbox.
I hope college goes the way WGU has. It feels like traditional school feels more like a cult and an exclusive club nowadays. Oh you didn’t take 4 years at a traditional school and pay as much money as possible and be in a privileged position to not have to work full time? Your degree is a scam then.

Hello,
I'm going to start off with some details about myself, to give sort of a background to my question; I am a Jewish Israeli, living in Israel since birth, not too religious but not against it in any way, unless it is enforced by the government (like in Israel, but that's another conversation entirely).
So lately I have been seeing a lot of celebrities and specifically musician supporting the Pro-Palestinian side of the current conflict in ways that I cannot tolerate, the most recent example I've seen is Eric Clapton setting up a concert to raise money for children in Gaza (while playing on a guitar painted with the Palestinian flag, but let's ignore that), which is great, but failing to acknowledge the Israeli casualties OR the hostages..
Now to my question; Way back in the past, another musician I enjoy called Zakk Wylde had a concert in Bethlehem, PA and recently it got me thinking that it might had to do something with the fact that he is a devoted Christian (calling himself "a soldier of Christ" at times). Do Christians make it a point to visit Bethlehem as it's the birthplace of Jesus? Do Christians have a certain opinion or another regarding Israel/Palestine because of the fact that Bethlehem is located in Palestinian territory?
Disclaimer: I am nothing more than a not-so-religios Jew who understand nothing about Christianity and seeks education on the matter, If I've said something offending or came across as such because of the way I worded my question, I apologize. I am here for information alone.

As we are getting a trailer for a much changed version of the Second Age today, I decided I would share what a first season in a series might look like for the story of Tolkien’s Second Age, while staying very close to the timeline and characters. I’ve taken some ideas I’ve seen from other creators who have made similar attempts at this, namely Council of Rings and Tolkien Untangled, but most are my own. As of now I’m not aware of a complete outline that exists for the first season of this sort of adaptation. In any case, this outline is essentially a summary of a complete text with 10 chapters that exists but is still in progress.
I’ve split the season into 10 episodes, as I think that’s ideal, and into pairs of 3-episode arcs I call Sagas, which will cover certain time periods. The whole season takes place between SA 725 and SA 1600. At first I started with a compressed timeline that would start in 1200, the year Annatar arrives in Ost-in-Edhil, and Tar-Aldarion would essentially switch places with Tar-Surion. I think that the actual timeline allows for a very interesting look at the differences in passage of time between elves, Númenoreans, and Middle Men. The drawbacks of the actual timeline are that Aldarion dies close to mid-season, whereas in the compressed timeline we could follow Aldarion as he ages throughout the season.
That being said, there are still a few alterations and non-canon additions. The big alteration is that Annatar steals the nine when he leaves Eregion around SA 1500, instead of when he destroys Ost-in-Edhil around SA 1695. The other non-canon additions are Middle Men characters, which there are few examples during this time period, that Annatar can begin to seduce with the Rings of Power.
This was just a bunch of fun for me, but I hope this effort will demonstrate that we can have a great story that stays faithful to Tolkien’s timeline and characters.

Sagas of the Second Age: Season 1
Saga 1 (Episodes 1-3): The Mariner (SA 725-750)
Elrond. In the first prologue scene around SA 440, Elros as an old man arrives in Mithlond to visit his brother Elrond. Elros is fulfilling a promise to Elrond to visit him when he senses death is near. The two brothers spend time together before Elros departs back for Númenor.
Aldarion. Three hundred years later around SA 725 in Númenor, Aldarion and Erendis witness the corination of his father Tar-Meneldur in Armenelos. The next day, Aldarion sets out from Númenor with his grandfather to spend a year at the court of High King Gil-galad, but he is told by Meneldur not to go beyond Mithlond. Eventually, Aldarion decides to travel outside Mithlond, against his father’s wishes. Elrond offers to join him, seeing an opportunity to spend time with his brother’s descendant. Together they discover the dwarf cities of Ered Luin, and then the future site of Vinyalondë at the mouth of the Gwathló. Aldarion discovers the that the Men of Middle-earth are not as evil as he was told by his family in Númenor, and that some even speak the same language of the Edain that he does. Elrond and Aldarion then travel to Amroth’s kingdom in Belfalas. While Amroth is showing Aldarion the black lands of Mordor in the distance, they are ambushed by orcs, and narrowly escape with their lives. Before departing back for Númenor, Aldarion says goodbye to his new friend Elrond and the High King Gil-galad. Back in Númenor, Aldarion meets Erendis again and proposes to her. She asks if he is done with his travels, he says he is, and she accepts.
High King Gil-galad. Gil-galad endeavors to heal the trauma of Middle-earth. While Aldarion is travelling the lands of Middle-earth, he goes to settle a conflict between kingdoms of Gwaithirum and Breeland. A battle ensues between these kingdoms of Men and Gil-galad is unable to stop it. Before Aldarion departs back for Númenor, Gil-galad tells him that he would very much welcome his help in mediating the conflicts of the tribes of Middle-earth, as Aldarion speaks their language. Gil-galad perceives the return of the shadow of Morgoth, and departs to discover the source.
Galadriel. By lake Evendim, Galadriel admits Celebrimbor into her company. Despite the history of their families and some initial distrust between them, they realize they have a shared vision for continuing the great works of Gondolin. Together they discover the dwarf kingdom of Kazad-dûm. Galadriel is able to convince the dwarves of the mutual benefit of their cooperation in crafting. Durin III is eventually convinced, he agrees to allow and to help with the establishment of the future capital of Eregion: Ost-in-Edhil. There the works of the Noldor and dwarves will benefit each other for many centuries.

Saga 2 (Episodes 4-6): The Stirring of Númenor (SA 1075-1350)
Elrond. About three hundred years later in SA 1075, Elrond arrives in Númenor to see his friend, now king, Tar-Aldarion. He is also tasked to ask the Númenoreans to prepare for war, as Gil-galad is now certain of the return of the shadow of Morgoth. Tar-Aldarion, now an old man, has reached an age where he must yeild the sceptre, in the tradition of the Kings of Númenor. He decides to leave Númenor’s official response to Elrond as a decision to his sucessor. Aldarion has only had one daughter Ancalimë with Erendis, and it is clear that there has been much friction in the marriage. His sister’s son Soronto is the nearest male heir. This situation causes a conflict in Armenelos between supporters of Soronto and supporters of Ancalimë, also between those who want to heed Gil-galad's call and those who don't. Ancalimë is seen as the elf-friend, while Soronto is staunchly against the armament of Númenor. Aldarion decides to change the law succession in Númenor in favor of Ancalimë. When Ancalimë is crowned, she reverses her initial position to heed Gil-galad, and decides to preserve Númenor as a land of peace.
Galadriel. Ost-in-Edhil is a great city now, and both elves and dwarves are seen thriving. A visitor from Aman arrives who calls himself Annatar. He demonstrates himself to be akin to the Noldor in his love and expertise with crafts, and says he was a student of Aüle. He wins the favor of Celebrimbor and the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the crafter's guild, and soon becomes the favored partner of Celebrimbor. As the friction between Galadriel and Annatar increases, Annatar moves the Gwaith-i-Mírdain turn on Galadriel. She decides to depart to Lórinand by route of Kazad-dûm with her daughter Celebrían, while Celeborn stays behid in Eregion. Galadriel is graciously welcomed in Kazad-dûm, and her relationship with the dwarves grows greater. At last, she arrives in Lórinand and meets the King Amdír.

Saga 3 (Episodes 7-9): The Rings of Power (SA 1500-1590)
Celebrimbor. More than a hundred years later, sixteen Rings of Power are forged in Ost-in-Edhil. Celebrimbor and the Gwaith-i-Mírdain agree that seven of the rings should be gifted to the dwarven kings, as a token of thanks for their help in building Ost-in-Edhil. Celebrimbor, however, decides that the rings are too dangerous for Men. Annatar and Celebrimbor have a heated disagreement on this point, and Annatar accuses Celebrimbor of withholding the bliss of Aman from Middle-earth. Annatar absconds with the remaining nine rings. Sensing that he has been deceived, Celebrimbor crafts the Three in secret. He gives two to Gil-galad, and the remaining to Galadriel, and admits that he was wrong to doubt her.
Gil-galad. Minastir, the heir of Númenor, stays in the halls of Gil-galad as Aldarion once did. Minastir meets with the descendants of the Middle Men Adlarion befriended, though many more generations have passed for them than for Minastir. Aldarion’s travels are a tale that some believe to be myth. Gil-galad and Minastir travel the lands of Eriador and mediate the conflicts of Middle Men.
Elrond. Elrond travels to Númenor for the first time in several hundred years on order of High King Gil-galad to implore once more that the Númenóreans to prepare for war. Tar-Teleprian, the second Queen of Númenor, rules in Númenor now. When Elrond arrives and presents the request of Gil-galad, there is a conflict between supporters of Ancalimë’s policy of isolation and those who believe that they should heed Gil-galad, the latter being lead by the Lord of Andunië – Silmariën’s heir. When Elrond presents further evidence that the shadow of Morgoth has returned, Tar-Teleprian ultimately decides that Númenor must prepare for war.
Annatar. Annatar begins seducing the Kings of Men and gifting rings. Annatar arrives in the halls of a Gwaithirum king called Halmir, a descendant of one of the generals of the battle in the first saga. Annatar tells Halmir that the Noldor are withholding the power of prolonged life from mortals, and gifts him a ring. As Halmir is an elf-friend, his ancestors all being loyal to High King Gil-galad, he refuses Annatar’s suggestion. Eventually, Halmir succumbs to his curiosity and doubt and puts the ring on, entering the Realm of Shadows. He perceives immediately that his decay has been slowed, and indeed that the Noldor may have deceived him.

Saga 4 (Episode 10): Orodruin (1600)
Sauron crafts the One Ring in Orodruin, and Barad-dûr, the largest fortress ever built, has been completed. We Annatar standing on at the height of Barad-dûr wearing the One, below his vast legions of orcs.
As soon as the One Ring has been crafted, Galadriel, Celebrimbor, and the others realize they have been deceived and that Annatar was in fact Sauron, and they remove their rings.
The Men who received Rings of Power from Sauron realize too late they are deceived, as they are completely subservient now to the will of Sauron.

When Arindam came to Permit a month ago and asked if we could support RBAC on Supabase, our answer was Of course, why don't you try it yourself? We hadn't expected that he would give us back an excellent advocacy piece on extending Supabase authorization with Permit using our RBAC feature a month later. We are thankful to him for that.
The piece he shared is featured in our blog here - https://www.permit.io/blog/how-to-implement-rbac-in-supabase
And the example code here - https://github.com/permitio/permit-supabase-example
The next step? Using Permit for fine-grained authorization with ABAC and ReBAC in Supabase. Can't wait!

I don't even know where to start, there is a huge amount of information that I wanted to share with you here.Let's start with perhaps the most common types of fraud.Theft of your credit and debit cards.There are several ways that you can part with your money from your cards.But where do the scammers get this data from?
The most common ways are
--You got to a phishing payment link,e-commerce
--Leakage of your data from the sites where you made the payment
--You have brought virus software to your PC by downloading a malicious file from an unknown source (Internet, flash card)
--You have got to a phishing site for authorization of an apple, Google, Samsung account, etc.
Now in order
You wanted to buy a product online on an unfamiliar site at a very attractive price.Despite the fact that the site inspires confidence, has an SSL certificate, the correct legal address, a beautiful domain name and other parameters, this is not an indicator of its reliability.After making a purchase, you will even receive a receipt for the cost and delivery time to your email address.And you are happy that you have saved a lot of money, keep going about your daily business. Next, it all depends on the methods of debiting funds from your bank card. It will be used either almost immediately or a little later.
The case is as follows. You regularly purchase any goods over the Internet in a local or large online store.For ease of use, your card and billing address are stored in these stores.Hackers study the attack vectors on these stores, exploit the vulnerability and gain access to the database of stores where you previously purchased goods.Your card data is usually encrypted, but not always, there are also methods for decrypting this data.This is how your card data gets to the attackers.
Do you like free software, movies and games downloaded from Torrent and unofficial sites?
Then the malefactor is already in your computer.There is a huge amount of malware for PCs on both Windows and macOS.All this malware has different tasks.We will focus on the stillers class for example.Stiller is a malicious software that extracts all information from your PC and sends it to an attacker.I will list only some parameters and data that stiller can extract, these are:versions of all software installed on the PC,IP address,time zones,keyboard layouts,fonts,autofill of any browser,cookies,hardware wallets and much, much more.As a rule, your credit cards, which browsers keep so carefully, are located in the autocomplete lines.All other information such as billing can also be extracted from the log taken from your PC.
The most insidious way - these are phishing authorization sites.I'll give you a simple example: your iCloud ran out of storage space, and you wanted to buy additional space in the cloud.You logged into safari on your iPhone and entered an icloud request.You click on the first link in the search results, this is what everyone would do, even me.This link was an advertisement, but the domain was original, the ORIGINAL CARL!!!Next, you are redirected to an icloud-type authorization page icloud.scamdomen.com you enter your login details, you are asked to enter a confirmation code on your device, you confirm, that's all.You can say goodbye to your Apple ID and iCloud for at least a month, because hackers will get into your apple ID, delete your devices, change your password and phone number.And then they start using your information, connected payment methods, viewing your photos and videos, studying your notes, applications, and so on.As a result, Apple ID support will restore your Apple ID, but only after a month.
Now we have looked at the most popular ways to steal your data, in my next posts I will try to analyze each category separately so that you better understand how to protect yourself. Now let's talk about the safety recommendations.I understand that half of what I'm going to say is actually corny, and you know it without me, but nevertheless, it works and provides you with protection.
-Do not use the same password on different services
-Do not specify your first name, last name, date of birth in the password
-Use at least 12 characters in the password, using special characters
-If possible, use only prepaid cards with a known balance to pay at unfamiliar stores/locations
-If possible, do not use the standard autofill functions for usernames and passwords on a PC and smartphone, use only specialized applications in which you can install two-step verification.
-If possible, use a two-step verification
-Use only licensed software
-Install and use antivirus software on your computer and smartphone
-Do not download files to your computer and smartphone from unknown sources
I would like to end this post with this, I hope this information will be useful for you.Take care of yourself and your loved ones!

In a bold move aimed at preserving the fragile Arctic environment, Norway is selling a significant portion of state-owned land on the Svalbard archipelago. This unprecedented decision, announced on May 14, 2024, marks a pivotal moment in the region's history, blending conservation efforts with sustainable development.

The Svalbard Archipelago: A Unique Ecosystem

Svalbard, located midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and unique biodiversity. Home to polar bears, reindeer, and numerous bird species, the archipelago is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and scientists alike. However, the region's delicate ecosystem faces increasing threats from climate change and human activities.

The Sale: Objectives and Implications

The Norwegian government aims to ensure that the land sale aligns with the principles of sustainability and environmental protection. Prospective buyers are required to present detailed plans demonstrating their commitment to these values. This approach is intended to attract environmentally conscious investors who can contribute to Svalbard's long-term preservation.

Balancing Development and Conservation

One of the primary goals of the land sale is to strike a balance between development and conservation. The government hopes to promote responsible tourism and scientific research while minimizing the environmental footprint. This strategy includes encouraging eco-friendly infrastructure projects and supporting initiatives that enhance the local economy without compromising the archipelago's natural beauty.

The Role of Tourism

Tourism plays a crucial role in Svalbard's economy, drawing visitors eager to experience the Arctic wilderness. However, the influx of tourists poses challenges, including potential disturbances to wildlife and increased carbon emissions. By involving stakeholders in the decision-making process, the Norwegian government aims to implement sustainable tourism practices that benefit both the environment and the local community.

Scientific Research and Innovation

Svalbard has long been a hub for scientific research, with institutions studying climate change, glaciology, and Arctic biology. The land sale is expected to bolster research efforts by providing new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Researchers will have access to new sites for field studies, facilitating a deeper understanding of the Arctic ecosystem and informing global climate policy.

Conclusion

Norway's decision to sell land on Svalbard represents a forward-thinking approach to conservation and sustainable development. By prioritizing environmental protection and responsible investment, the government is setting a precedent for how fragile ecosystems can be preserved while fostering economic growth. As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change, Svalbard's example offers valuable lessons in balancing human activities with nature's needs.

Exploring Email Integration in Flutter Apps

Integrating email functionality within Flutter applications offers a seamless way for users to communicate directly from their mobile or web applications. Flutter, being a versatile framework for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase, provides developers with a plethora of options for incorporating external services such as email. This capability is especially crucial for apps requiring user verification, support communication, or the ability to send notifications directly to users' email addresses. By leveraging Flutter's robust ecosystem, developers can enhance user engagement and provide a more cohesive application experience.
On the other hand, PHP stands as a powerful server-side scripting language that's widely used for web development and can serve as a backend for sending emails. Combining PHP with Flutter enables developers to create a secure and efficient email sending mechanism. This integration allows for handling the email sending logic on the server side, thereby offloading the heavy lifting from the client application. It ensures that the email functionality is not only efficient but also secure, as it leverages PHP's advanced features for email delivery, including handling SMTP protocols and securing email content against potential vulnerabilities.

Command/Function	Description
mail()	Sends email from a PHP script
SMTP Configuration	Server settings for sending email
Flutter Email Package	Flutter package for sending emails

Enhancing Communication in Flutter Applications

Integrating direct email functionality into Flutter applications opens a new realm of possibilities for app developers and business owners. This feature is not just about sending messages; it's a strategic tool for enhancing user engagement, providing support, and facilitating transactions. For instance, a Flutter app that allows users to directly contact customer support or receive transactional emails without leaving the app significantly improves the user experience. This direct line of communication can be crucial for feedback collection, user retention, and even for marketing purposes. By implementing email functionalities, developers can craft personalized user journeys, send updates, or promotions directly to their users' inboxes, thereby fostering a stronger connection between the user and the application.
From a technical standpoint, the integration of email services within Flutter apps involves a combination of client-side and server-side operations. While Flutter provides the frontend interface, the backend, possibly powered by PHP, handles the actual email sending process. This separation of concerns not only makes the application more scalable but also enhances security by keeping sensitive information on the server side. Furthermore, it allows for more complex email functionalities to be implemented, such as automated emails triggered by specific user actions or scheduled newsletters. By leveraging these capabilities, developers can create more dynamic, responsive, and engaging applications that stand out in a crowded digital landscape.

Email Sending Function in PHP

PHP Scripting

Flutter Email Integration

Flutter Development

import 'package:flutter_email_sendeflutter_email_sender.dart'; final Email email = Email( body: 'Email body', subject: 'Email subject', recipients: ['example@example.com'], cc: ['cc@example.com'], bcc: ['bcc@example.com'], attachmentPaths: ['/path/to/attachment.zip'], isHTML: false, ); await FlutterEmailSender.send(email); 

Streamlining Email Capabilities in Flutter Apps

Implementing email functionality within Flutter applications offers a significant advantage, providing a direct and efficient communication channel between the app and its users. This feature can elevate the overall user experience, offering immediate access to support, information, and services directly through email. The integration facilitates various functionalities such as account verification, password resets, notifications, and promotional communications, which are essential components of modern mobile applications. It not only enhances user engagement but also supports a robust framework for personalization and targeted communication strategies.
The technical integration of email services in Flutter involves leveraging existing packages and server-side technologies like PHP for backend processing. This approach ensures a secure and scalable system for handling email operations, including sending and receiving emails, managing templates, and automating communication flows based on user actions or preferences. Moreover, the ability to incorporate advanced features, such as attachments, HTML content, and custom headers, allows developers to create a comprehensive email solution that can adapt to various business needs, making Flutter an even more versatile platform for app development.

FAQs on Email Integration in Flutter

1. Question: Can Flutter apps send emails without opening a mail client?
2. Answer: Yes, by using backend services like PHP to handle the email sending process, Flutter apps can send emails directly without requiring the user to open a mail client.
3. Question: Is it secure to send emails from Flutter apps?
4. Answer: Yes, when implemented correctly with secure backend services for email sending, it's secure. It's crucial to ensure data protection and privacy measures are in place.
5. Question: How can I implement email functionality in my Flutter app?
6. Answer: Implementing email functionality involves using Flutter packages for email sending and configuring a backend service (like PHP) to process and send emails.
7. Question: Can I send emails with attachments from Flutter apps?
8. Answer: Yes, emails with attachments can be sent from Flutter apps by handling attachment uploading and email sending on the server side.
9. Question: How do I handle email templates in Flutter?
10. Answer: Email templates are usually managed on the server side (e.g., PHP). The Flutter app can trigger emails based on user actions, and the server processes the template sending.
11. Question: Can Flutter apps receive emails?
12. Answer: Directly receiving emails within a Flutter app is not typical; instead, email interactions are usually managed through backend services.
13. Question: What are the best practices for sending emails from Flutter apps?
14. Answer: Best practices include using secure and reliable backend services, ensuring user data protection, and providing clear user consent for email communication.
15. Question: How can I test email functionality in Flutter during development?
16. Answer: Use testing and development services like Mailtrap to simulate email sending and receiving without spamming real users.
17. Question: Are there any limitations to email integration in Flutter?
18. Answer: The main limitations stem from the backend email service used (e.g., rate limits, security policies) rather than Flutter itself.
19. Question: Can email functionality in Flutter be used for marketing purposes?
20. Answer: Yes, with proper user consent and adherence to email marketing regulations, Flutter apps can utilize email for promotional communications.

Final Thoughts on Flutter's Email Integration Capabilities

Email integration within Flutter applications represents a pivotal enhancement in how developers can interact with their user base. By facilitating direct email communications through the app, developers unlock a myriad of functionalities that significantly contribute to the user experience. Whether it's for verification, support, or marketing purposes, the ability to send and manage emails directly can drive engagement, improve customer support, and boost the overall utility of the application. Moreover, the combination of Flutter's frontend flexibility and PHP's robust server-side processing offers a balanced approach to implementing these features securely and efficiently. As mobile applications continue to evolve, integrating such comprehensive communication tools will be crucial for developers looking to create more interactive, user-friendly experiences. This capability not only demonstrates the versatility of Flutter as a development platform but also highlights the importance of effective communication channels in the digital age.
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