7 continents of the globe cut outs

I have consistently had issues getting PCVR to run decently. I've tried air link with dynamic and fixed bitrates and cable getting 2.7 Gbps throughput. I've downloaded OpenXR toolkit and messed around, I've changed graphics settings, I've changed render resolutions, I've confirmed the key registry pointed to the correct run times, ive confirmed oculus debug tool was set to default values and 0's where applicable, I've tried restarting and resetting, . . . The list stretches.
I have an: - AMD Ryzen 7 3800X - RTX 2070 Super - 16 GB Trident 3600MHz DDR4 - 2 TB SSD
Runs what I play and more @1440p high and/or ultra all day. Medium on some reeeeally intense games. Can't for the life of me get it to stop lagging after playing for a few minutes. I used to run a Valve Index no problem so I can only assume it's a Quest 3 issue.
If i try to run Half Life Alyx, it runs flawlessly for a few minutes until i either hit a loading screen from dying or moving to a new area, open up the meta menu, or steam overlay menu, and then it stutters like crazy, stops head and controller tracking (at least visually), jittery flashing screens, runs at 1 frame a millenium, and then when i can finally get back into the normal gameplay, it will now have microstutters until i restart.
Microsoft Flight Simulator was even worse. runs beautifully on my PC, straight down to 13 fps as soon as VR is activated and tracking starts lagging behind and feels like its actually running at a frame an eon.
I can't figure out the problem and all the googling I've done is people having only some of my symptoms, never all of them.

To get things out of the way, I'm 24 working for a aerospace company. I've been with them for 1.5yrs mainly as a Software Engineering Aide making 47.7k (was making 45k but I got a raise). My main goal is to gain enough experience so I can move somewhere else. I need the necessary skills/experience to work for a place in a different state, but I'm not sure when "enough is enough".
I've worked under devops and have experience with Linux VMs and GitLab. I've done lots of work with Docker containers, I can write scripts, and I can work in a team.. But how can I advance my career enough so I can move and find a place out of state? I'm not sure if my 2 associate degrees will cut it so I'm banking on my experience so far.
Also my work is a mix between classified and unclassified. I can't share my work outside the workplace.

You guys that study SVA do you think you have learn a lot?
I study SVA1 50% on distance so it’s 10 weeks. No lectures, no extra study materials from the teacher. Only study from a textbook, one chapter. That’s it. The rest I have to google or ask someone. I asked the teacher one time because I didn’t understand some stuff, and she said I should google it. So I’m not even sure why I study.
I feel like I’ve wasted almost 10 weeks because I haven’t learnt anything. All my knowledge is from grundläggande level. I did all the homework, never turn in assignments late, went through all the chapter, did all online exercises at least 4 times. When I studied grund level, I got G in everything, and nailed all the tests. Even kapiteltest I would get really high scores.
Today I had a reading exam (NP). After first 15 minutes I knew that I would fail. There were 25 pages. I think there were 7-8 articles or more. Some are very long, and wow…they were on another level. All articles I’ve read in the textbook were easy compare to them.
And during the exam, the teacher didn’t explain anything. The exam had two parts, B and C. I checked all the pages, and was shocked because it was too much and too little time. We got only 3 hours. I tried to calm down, and stay positive. I thought to myself that I could do it. Just relax and read all of the articles carefully.
I looked at the clock, and I had one and a half hour left. I was at page 8. Then the teacher said “Sorry to interrupt you guys but you don’t need to do part C”. Part C started at page 20 or so. I almost said wtf out loud. So I stressed myself out for nothing. I lost all the concentration because this wasn’t the first time the teacher did something like this. She was really bad at communication throughout the whole course. She never explained things. I asked her something, and it took days for her to answer. I asked her last Tuesday about which dictionary we could use in the exam and she replied yesterday. A day before the exam. Like wtf. What was I supposed to do if no library were open?
I have two exams left, and to be honest I don’t care if I pass or not. I chose a distance class because I got really stressed from studying Swedish a year straight. I thought I could study on my own pace, but I didn’t even get study materials that would help me improve my skills to pass the NP. I’m really disappointed. ☹️

So my first job was being a cashier at a grocery store. Since then, I’ve been promoted twice and technically work for a new company now (buyout). So I’ve got about 4 years of management experience.
But a few months into working for the new company, I switched to third shift because I was on the verge of quitting (went through three store managers in a few months).
I decided I didn’t like third shift and newest store manager saw my work ethic and experience and decided he’d rather have me on days anyway.
Problem is that I took a pay cut to go to third shift, and I’m already over the new company’s max pay for my new, slightly lower than before nights, position. I could transfer to a big store and get a little more money, but I’d be giving up my set schedule and flexibility.
I could shoot for an entry level warehouse job, but the reason I like my current job is that I basically run around putting out fires. I don’t think I’d last in a career where I do the same thing over and over, day in and day out. Also I’m afraid of heights.

My friend and I became friends at the beginning of the school year- I am very shy so it was a big thing for me to reach out and actively try to be friends with this person. We were like a duo and had very similar senses of humor and similar interests. Recently, He started dating one of our other friends, and I reacted awfully. I tried to remain mature and tell him honestly that it made me uncomfortable, that I knew that was a me problem, and that I wanted some distance. Then we were okay again for a little bit, and I thought that being honest with him about my feelings of jealousy would help, but it made things worse. Him and his boyfriend tried to stage an intervention with me about my behavior, but since it was unexpected and in front of other people I basically ended up having a meltdown/panic attack and uncontrollably crying. I kept on repeating the mantra that I didn't deserve friends and I had the idea in my head that the best thing was to just cut them off for their betterment. I laid low for about a week but the tension was just unbearable, and I was extremely depressed. I gave my friend and his boyfriend both apologies and acknowledged my actions, and my friend said he needed some time to think. Then this morning he texted me asking for space and to not talk about him, and confided in me that my actions really hurt him. I guess I just don't know what to do- I don't want to be the villain in this story but now I can see what my self sabotaging behavior has done to me. I've ruined a friendship, and I feel helpless right now. I need advice on how to improve or come back from this/get over my feelings of jealousy/apologize more then I already have?

Previously I posted this: https://www.reddit.com/LastEpoch/comments/1ce0vdm/i_spent_hours_testing_transplant_rubber_banding/
To summarize, I observed that the rubberbanding effect of Transplant. As the time played grew, I began to see an effect after Transplant that would yank me back to the original Transplant target location after a delay. The delay (Time to Rubberband, if you will) grew completely at a linear rate. About 1.7s / hr.
It seems like most people don't experience this problem, but I've spotted posts of others that do.
I've spent a lot of time testing this and trying to rule out issues. In all my testing, I discovered something surprising about my PC. I'm having a small amount of drift in my clock. I'm slowly losing time. Comparing my PC clock vs NIT Internet Time Service, my PC clock is falling behind at almost exactly the same rate that my rubberbanding is growing!
Last Epoch Rubberbanding amount after 1 hour played:
From my last video after 60 minutes, I was rubberbanding 51 frames (on 30 FPS video).
51 frames to rubberband / 30 Frames per second = 1.7 second rubberband time
PC Time Drift
In 30 minutes of clock testing, I observed 0.845s of drift.
0.845s / 30m * 60m/1hr = 1.69s/hr
Conclusion
I would have trouble proving this with 100% certainty without access to some other systems with LE and some minor clock drift, but the fact that the hourly drift and hourly rubberbanding times are within 0.01s of each other seems too close to be a coincidence.
How this can be tested:
Time drift on PC was verified in 2 ways:
On the web:
NIST Time Server, https://time.gov
Windows Command Line:
w32tm /monitor /computers:time.windows.com,time.nist.gov
PC Problem? I guess? Is it also a bug for Last Epoch?
Now, this is being caused by an issue with my system, sure. But it sure looks like that when a game session starts that some kind of timer is being initialized on client side that is being used as part of the Transplant (and perhaps other traversals) code. It isn't updated until you re-log or die and respawn.
I think there's an assumption that the timers will be in sync with the sever, and in theory they should be very very close. Though, a tiny amount of clock drift is not that unusual. So while mine might get bad very quickly to being unplayable in an hour, someone with a more normal level of drift might notice a minor rubber band effect after 2 or 3 hours of play (without death).
In the Meantime...
I'm also contacting my PC support. It's a 5 month old PC under warranty, so I'm definitely getting this looked into.
TLDR : I believe PC Clock Drift seems to result in Transplant rubberbanding

Male, 26 years old, healthy. 192cm 90kg.
So last week I shaved myself and cut myself a bit on my throat. The following days a small abscess appeared.
I started putting zinc ointment on it and erythromycin, because I wasn’t sure if it wasn’t acne. (Context, the doc gave it to me, since I have back acne and he said I can use it on pimples on my face aswell - if I have some which is rarely the case)
It started to get better, but I planned to show it to the doc next week since I was going anyway because of my pollen allergy.
So tonight I washing my face and somehow when I looked down it just burst open.
It is a bit above the adam‘s apple, so I guess the pressure just became too much?
I immediately took some cotton and high percentage alcohol (70%) to clean it. Since it was already open I pressed the rest out too, but it was already nearly empty.
So I kept putting alcohol on it, and then I put a patch on it.
I googled what to do, but didn’t find any info. It just said that I will have a sepsis now. I don’t how likely that is, but it said I should look for fever and shills. Which is even more unfortunate, since I’m sick since yesterday, with a sore throat etc and I already feel relatively miserable.
What should I do now? Was my reaction the right one? Should I put erythromycin on it to kill the bacteria?
Thanks

Male, 26 years old, healthy. 192cm 90kg.
So last week I shaved myself and cut myself a bit on my throat. The following days a small abscess appeared.
I started putting zinc ointment on it and erythromycin, because I wasn’t sure if it wasn’t acne. (Context, the doc gave it to me, since I have back acne and he said I can use it on pimples on my face aswell - if I have some which is rarely the case)
It started to get better, but I planned to show it to the doc next week since I was going anyway because of my pollen allergy.
So tonight I washing my face and somehow when I looked down it just burst open.
It is a bit above the adam‘s apple, so I guess the pressure just became too much?
I immediately took some cotton and high percentage alcohol (70%) to clean it. Since it was already open I pressed the rest out too, but it was already nearly empty.
So I kept putting alcohol on it, and then I put a patch on it.
I googled what to do, but didn’t find any info. It just said that I will have a sepsis now. I don’t how likely that is, but it said I should look for fever and shills. Which is even more unfortunate, since I’m sick since yesterday, with a sore throat etc and I already feel relatively miserable.
What should I do now? Was my reaction the right one? Should I put erythromycin on it to kill the bacteria?
Thanks

I hope this is the right subreddit, flair, and has a reasonable length. If it doesn’t, please tell me and I’ll change it to fit the requirements.
My younger brother (16m), let’s call him Nathan (false name), is currently having a ton of issues and my family and I (17m) feel like we have played all of our cards and don’t know what else we can do for him. Nathan has Bipolar I, ADHD, dyslexia, and even though he isn’t professionally diagnosed, we suspect he also has Autism. He is currently on medication for his Bipolar but he isn’t on any for his ADHD. He also gets seizures when he becomes too stressed. He is on a DUI at school and has a lot of support there regarding teachers and faculty. He used to have a psychologist but they terminated him for stupid reasons that he had no control over. He has been in the mental hospital before back in elementary, as he used to be much worse back then. He also has a background of violence (his violence would only be directed to me and our Mother(40f), but he hasn’t been violent for 3-4 years). He also has done self-harm in the past, but they were pretty minor. Nathan and I also have no insurance but we are about to get on our Mother’s plan. Nathan also has ways of coping and knows what to do if he becomes too angry, but I feel like there could be more that could be done. We live in a household with 7 people. We live with our Papa (Mother’s Dad) and his twin brother, who sleep in the living room, Grandma and Grandpa (Papa’s parents) who sleep in the master bedroom as they own the house, our Mother, who sleeps in her own room, and Nathan and I, who share a room. We also have one dog. Okay, now to the issue.
Nathan has lately been on the computer 24/7 and we feel it has negatively affecting him and he simply is unable to see it like that. We feel that the computer has begun to consume his life. He spends all day and night talking to his online friends playing Minecraft with them. He communicates with them on discord and has constantly communicating with them. He has been spending all night talking to them even though he should be going to sleep for school and has been struggling getting up to get ready for school and been falling asleep at school. He has been saying that he has been struggling going to sleep at night and believes he has insomnia (our family has a history of insomnia). I believe his sleeping issues is a result of his computer use. Before, he never really struggled going to sleep but now he has been having a ton of issues doing so. I won’t be surprised if he has/started to have insomnia because of this. As a result of the obsessive computer use, he has begun having back-lashes on not just our Mother, but our Grandma (we currently live with our Grandma and Grandpa), which isn’t good for her health.
He doesn’t know how to be quiet on the computer, especially at night. He is loud and often yells while on it. Our Papa and Mother can hear him at night. It has started to become a really serious issue. I’ve been professionally diagnosed with Insomnia and struggle falling asleep. Nathan’s inability to be quiet at night has started to affect my ability to sleep. I’ve used to being able to ignore it pretty well, but it has become a very serious issue lately and I have been having a very hard time falling asleep for school. I also won’t be surprised if it has also started to affect Papa’s ability to sleep as well, as he is right next to our door as we are right outside the living room.
His online friends aren’t much better. Him having online friends isn’t abnormal at all, but his current online friends I feel aren’t good for him. They actively encourage him to stay up all night with them (they are all around the same age as Nathan, or at least that is what they say). Nathan often falls asleep while on call with them, and they regularly wake him up, as they don’t want him falling asleep on them. He has an online girlfriend, in which to my knowledge she is the only one who is trying to get him to sleep at night (in which he refused to do so). He has been hanging out with them too much, as he isn’t just neglecting his real life friends but his older online friends too (in which I prefer a whole lot more than his current ones, which he became friends with 1-3 weeks ago). He used to be more active and hang out with his real life friends often, but he wants to stay inside 24/7 now and doesn’t hang out with his real life friends outside of school anymore. He is way too naive and too trusting of his online friends. As a result, he is easy to take advantage of. One example of this was that several of his friends apparently had a house in our city and Nathan wanted to get a job so he can help pay for the house (I don’t think they even showed evidence that this house was actually real). Our Mother luckily cut down that idea immediately. He is also surrounded by people who are suicidal online, which isn’t good for his mental health at all.
On top of neglecting his real life friends, he is also neglecting his family. He is really close to our Mother and I. He used to watch anime with our Mother, but he no longer does so. Nathan and I also used to watch anime together, play games together, and chat but we barely do any of that stuff anymore. He also would be eager to go out of the house with family but he no longer wants to. He either wants to hang out with his friends or is too tired to do so. Recently, he didn’t go to our cousin’s graduation and even my induction ceremony for National Honor Art Society because he was too tired. It also has been months since he went to our other cousins house as he is either too tired or wants to stay home (she isn’t our actual blood cousin, but we see each other as such. Nathan is really close to her as well). I admit I’m obsessed with my phone, but I know when I need to put it down and it hasn’t consume my life like it has Nathan. I’m an introvert and I don’t prefer going outside of the house, but I have been going outside the house with our Mother quite often. Nathan used to do the same but he no longer wants to.
With all this information, you may be wondering why we haven’t taken away the computer yet. There is a reason on why we haven’t. This is because if we did, he will become violent. If he does continue going on the computer at night, our Mother will take away the computer at night. Nathan knows this. She also is wanting to turn off the internet at night and before he goes to school, but we don’t know if we could do that just yet. One manipulative and toxic thing he does, which is extremely unhealthy, is that if our Mother threatens him with punishment, Nathan threatens his own life to try to get out of the punishment. This never works on our Mother as she knows these are hollow threats and she used to do the same (actually she used to be much worse and actually attempted suicide before. I don’t think Nathan even has the will for suicide) so she knows the signs and how to deal with the situation. I think he does this since he is constantly surrounded by people threatening their lives online, he now sees this as normal. Since he sees this as normal, he has begun doing the same to not just our Mother but other people (I’m guessing he learned to do this as he probably seen this work before with his friends doing the same).
All of this cumulated into Monday morning. The day before, Nathan was asleep all day and was up all night on the computer. He was being so loud that I had a very hard time falling asleep and it began to annoy me incredibly. I don’t know when he fell asleep but it’s obvious he stayed up all night, even though he knew we were going to school in the morning. We usually get up around one hours before school starts to get ready. This is also when he gets his medicine. When it was time to go, Nathan was still asleep in his pajamas. I couldn’t get him to wake up, and our Grandma had to be the one to wake him up (our Mother was at work). Our Grandpa had to drop me off at school without him, go back home, and then drop him off to school (we go to the same school). He was hard on our Grandma, in which I assume it took a little while to finally convince him to get up and get ready for school. This is incredibly stressful for our Grandma and is definitely not good for her health. As a result of this, it simply became too much for all of us and we need to find a way to get him help.
The Mental Hospital is our very last option, and we don’t want this at all. We simply don’t know what else we can do for him, as he needs help. Is their other methods/ways we can use to help him or is the mental hospital our only option? Btw, no methods/ways/punishments that include any sort of violence, as this won’t help him at all and he will retaliate back with more violence (our Mother is a lot more stronger than Nathan and she has incredibly hard punches. She has never punched Nathan before, but she has slapped him. Even though our Mother doesn’t like this, she will defend herself against Nathan if she ever needs to do so. She’ll never throw the first punch but she won’t hesitate to throw hands back. On the other hand, I’m incredibly weak and will fold like a lawn chair.)
tl;dr, My younger brother’s computer use has started to consume his life negatively in all aspects and we don’t know what else to do, as he simply refuses to see it like that.

Hi - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of the week's top stories, which I cover in depth with sources in the full edition. Let's dive in...
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STAT OF THE WEEK: Kohl's sales have shrunk by $2.3B since 2019. During that same period of time, the company lost 1.3M customers who no longer shop with the retailer.
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BigCommerce is exploring a sale after attracting takeover interest, according to sources who chose to remain anonymous due to the confidentiality of the information. The sources said that BigCommerce asked investment bank Qatalyst Partners to solicit interest from potential buyers that include private equity firms, but that the discussions are at an early stage and no deal is certain.
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Squarespace announced that it will be going private in a $6.9B all-cash deal with private-equity firm Permira, who agreed to pay $44 per share (a roughly 30% premium). Although Squarespace never lost 90% of its share price like BigCommerce, it has experienced a tumultuous time on the market since its IPO in May 2021 — opening around $49.50 and at times trading in the low $20s. Shares rose nearly 13% to $43 in pre-market trading upon release of the news.
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ByteDance filed a lawsuit in US federal court seeking to block the new law that would force the sale or ban of the app within the country. The lawsuit challenges the law on constitutional grounds, also citing commercial, technical, and legal hurdles, as well as opposition from Beijing. Legal experts say the legal battle will play out in the courts in coming months and likely will reach the Supreme Court.
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OpenAI unveiled its newest model, GPT-4o, designed to turn ChatGPT into a digital personal assistant that can engage in real-time, spoken conversations and interact with users using text, screenshots, photos, documents, and charts. The new version of ChatGPT also has memory capabilities, which means it can learn from previous conversations. It will be available to both unpaid and premium customers alike. OpenAI also announced that it would be launching a desktop app with the GPT-4o capabilities, giving users another platform to interact with the technology outside of a web browser.
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Amazon launched in South Africa last week, marking its first marketplace in sub-Saharan Africa, and bringing its total number of marketplaces worldwide to 22. To launch the new marketplace, Amazon is offering free delivery on first orders and on subsequent orders above R500 (about $27), access to 3,000 pick-up points, status updates via WhatsApp to track orders, 30 day refunds, and 24/7 customer support. The marketplace was supposed to launch in the country in 2023, but got delayed due to changes in priorities within Amazon.
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In an unlikely partnership, Instacart is partnering with Uber Eats to expand into the restaurant delivery business. Instacart will add a new tab for restaurant delivery to its app in the coming weeks, the listings will be provided by Uber, and the food will be picked up and delivered by Uber Eats drivers. Customers will receive the same prices on both apps and Instacart will receive an affiliate commission on orders. It's a strange partnership though given that Instacart and Uber Eats actively compete on grocery delivery. Are they planning to merge? Uber says no.
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Apple's advertisement for its latest iPad Pro sparked criticism for showing an animation of musical instruments, paint cans, cameras, record players, and other symbols of creativity being crushed by a giant machine, with the output being the new iPad Pro, which the company says is the thinnest Apple product ever. In this context, “crushing” was supposed to symbolize “consolidating” and “compacting” — with the visuals meant to showcase how the new iPad Pro puts the power of all these tools into the hands of creators in one thin device. However online commenters criticized the ad as insensitive and as symbolizing a “destruction of the human experience.” The ad hit the web on Tuesday, and by Thursday, Apple issued a mea culpa and apologized for the campaign.
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Google is encouraging merchants to enable conversion annotations on their Google Shopping ads, which offer social proof that highlight a product's popularity. Conversion annotations like “best selling” or “3K shopped here recently” would provide visual cues about a product’s popularity or sales performance directly in the ad unit. Annotations like these are par for the course with e-commerce retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and Temu, which all employ similar tactics. They can provide valuable info for shoppers and also help with conversions. However they also open data privacy concerns, given that Google is not the actual retailer or marketplace selling the items, so a merchant would have to share this purchase history data from their e-commerce platform with Google — which technically most already do by giving access to GA4.
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Shein is attempting to join the National Retail Federation as it pursues regulatory approval to go public in the US. The company believes that NRF membership would boost its chances of receiving SEC approval. However so far, Shein has been rejected numerous times. An anonymous source familiar with the matter said someone with heavy influence at the NRF is strongly against the Shein's admittance. However board members who spoke to CNBC said that Shein's membership application hadn't come up in meetings, and that they aren't involved in deciding which companies are granted access.
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Amazon is leading the way with selling home goods, capturing 18.8% of consumer home furnishings spending, compared to Walmart's 7.3% market share. Notably, Amazon’s gains in the furniture category come in spite of the company’s decision to phase out two of its three furniture brands last year.
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Stanley, which is projected to do $750M in sales this year, up from $73M in 2019, after seeing its water bottles become a status symbol thanks to TikTok, is now expanding into trendier accessories. The company is launching a line of bags called the All-Day Collection which include a mini cooler, backpack cooler, and Quencher Carry-All, designed for someone to sling their Stanley over their hip.
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Jack Dorsey left the Bluesky board and deleted his account on the service he helped kickstart, claiming that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. Dorsey says he never intended Bluesky to be an independent company, but rather, an open source protocol that Twitter was supposed to be the first client of. He also confirmed that he is financially backing Nostr, another decentralized Twitter-like service popular among crypto enthusiasts and run by an anonymous founder.
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Amazon is deploying 50 electric trucks in California, which it claims is the largest EV fleet in the country, as part of its mission to eliminate pollution from its global operations. The trucks will be integrated into first-mile operations, moving goods from container ships at the ports to fulfillment centers, as well as middle-mile operations, transporting packages from fulfillment centers to delivery centers.
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Wix launched a new tool called AI Portfolio Creator, which allows a user to upload and organize large-scale image collections, select the type of portfolio they want, and then have the AI tool sort and generate a portfolio with clustered images, recommended titles and descriptions, and personalized layout options.
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Amazon is now requiring all dietary supplements to be verified by a third-party testing, inspection, and certification organization — which is something that not even the FDA requires. Amazon is the largest supplement retailer in the US ahead of Walmart and Target, and its new requirements are expected to put more pressure on the industry, which is being scrutinized more than ever.
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Alibaba is revamping its flagship retail website Taobao for the first time in seven years with a focus on providing a smoother search and buying process. The website overhaul comes ahead of the 618 sales event, China's second-largest annual shopping event. A few weeks ago I reported that Eddie Wu, the CEO of Alibaba Group, would now be directly overseeing its domestic e-commerce arm which includes Taobao and Tmall Group, and it sounds like he's hitting the ground running with his new responsibilities.
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Amazon is hosting its first-ever Amazon Book Sale, a new shopping event starting on May 15th that offers up to 50% off print best sellers and up to 80% off Kindle Books. The six day shopping event will exclusively run in the US, and Prime-membership is not required to take advantage of the deals.
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FTX reported that nearly all of its customers will receive the money back that they are owed, two years after the cryptocurrency exchange imploded. The company owes about $11.2B to its customers and estimates that it has between $14.5B and $16.3B to distribute to them. The caveat is that customers will receive the USD value of their holdings at the time of the exchange collapse, and not the actual crypto holdings themselves, which means that they'll miss out on all gains during the past two years during which BTC went from around $16k to now over $60k. Better than nothing though, that's for sure.
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800,000 consumers in Europe and the US were duped into sharing card details and other sensitive personal data with a network of fake online designer shops operated from China, which comprised one of the largest scams of its kind with 76,000 fake websites created. The scammers used expired domains to host its fake shops in order to help avoid detection by websites or brand owners, and more than 1M orders were processed in the past three years alone.
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Beyond Inc, which owns Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, and Zulily, reported that its Q1 net loss swelled to $72M from $10M a year ago, while its operating loss widened to $58M from $8M. The company's active customers grew to 6M, up 26% from nearly 5M a year ago, however, its average order value dropped to $173 from $220 a year earlier.
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TikTok will begin automatically labeling AI generated content when it is uploaded from certain platforms like DALL.E 3, Adobe Firefly, Photoshop, and Microsoft Copilot. TikTok will also start attaching Content Credentials to content, which will remain on the media when downloaded, allowing other platforms to read the metadata.
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eBay is testing an Add To Cart button in search results that opens a Quick View window, allowing buyers to skip the listing page. Technically the button should probably not be labeled “Add To Cart” since it doesn't perform that action, but rather, displays a quick view window with three buttons: Buy It Now, Add To Cart, View All Details. Sellers are worried that buyers will miss crucial details in the product description that may lead to increased returns and negative feedback.
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Amazon is planning to launch its fleet of drones in Tolleson, Arizona, but the city's extreme temperature is hampering its efforts. Drones can't operate in temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that Tolleson crosses for a full three months of the year.
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A US district judge dismissed X's lawsuit against Bright Data, a data-scraping company accused of improperly accessing X system and violating X terms and state laws when scraping and selling data. The judge basically said that if X owned the data, it could perhaps argue that it has exclusive rights to control it, but then X wouldn't be able to enjoy the safe harbor of Section 230, which allows the platform to avoid liability for third-party content. Can't have it both ways!
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Nintendo is discontinuing its X integration for the switch on June 10th, which means users will no longer be able to post screenshots or videos to the platform from their device. The drop in support also affects games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which had game-specific options to send out tweets. Microsoft Xbox dropped support for X in April 2023 and Sony Playstation dropped the service in October 2023 due to the increase in X's API access fees.
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Amazon claimed that its recordable incident rate — a metric that comprises all injuries requiring “more than basic first-aid treatment” — at its US warehouses has improved by 24% since 2019. However the National Employment Law Project challenged Amazon's injury data in a report last week, claiming that Amazon's overall injury rate in 2023 was 71% higher than that of other employers in the sector at 6.5 cases per 100 workers.
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Amazon Ads announced three new advertising formats for streaming TV including shoppable carousel ads, interactive pause ads, and interactive trivia ads. Amazon did not say when the new ad types would officially launch, but noted that it will formally present them at a presentation on May 14th.
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Meta is rolling out an expanded set of generative AI ad tools that can create full image variations with text overlays, expand images to fit across different aspect ratios, and generate alternate versions of headlines and other ad text. The features will become available globally to advertisers by the end of the year.
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Square introduced a tool called Square Kiosk to allow self-service ordering at fast food restaurants. The device is a combined software, hardware, and payment solution that allows customers to select exactly what they want with customization options, upgrades, and add-ons.
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The European Parliament announced new measures to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU, including reduction targets of 15% by 2040 — which sounds far away but is only 16 years away?! As part of the new rules, the EU will set maximum empty space ratios for e-commerce transportation, ban certain single-use plastic packaging types, and beverage distributors and take-away food will have to offer consumers the option of bringing their own container.
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Indians who pre-ordered Teslas in 2016 are giving up and seeking refunds of their deposits after Elon Musk canceled another visit to the country last month. Disillusioned Tesla enthusiasts in India say they will now buy a car from the company only if they see it in a showroom, or they'll buy a different electrical vehicle from a company that actually exists in the country.
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Target is limiting its Pride Month collection to select stores this year instead of rolling out the merchandise nationwide like it typically has for the past decade, due to backlash the retailer experienced last year. Last May customers in certain stores knocked down LGBTQ+ merchandise displays, angrily approached store employees, and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.
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E-commerce spending from Jan 1 to April 30, 2024 rose 7% YoY to $331.6B, according to Adobe Analytics. One trend Adobe identified during the period is a shift of online spending to purchasing the cheapest goods across personal care, electronics, apparel, home & garden, furniture, and grocery.
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Plus 7 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest, including Shopify's acquisition of Peel, a tool that integrates with a merchant's tech stack including Klaviyo and Recharge and helps them analyze their sales data to improve customer retention.
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I hope you found this recap helpful. See you next week!
PAUL Editor of Shopifreaks E-Commerce Newsletter
PS: If I missed any big news this week, please share in the comments.

I’m a new fan of the W and wondering is it common, or has it happened at all, for a player to be cut as a rookie and still carve out a career in the W?

I'll be visiting Anchorage May 20-24 and have some free time in the evenings and early morning that I'm looking to make the most of! Looking for suggestions for guided or self-guided tours/excursions to get out into nature. Can rent a car if necessary.
Basically, my free time/earliest departure from Anchorage is:

• Mon - after 7:30p
• Tue - after 7:30p
• Wed - after 6p
• Thu - after 5:30p
• Fri - before 11a flight

It looks like the Alyeska Tram opens on Thursday tenatively, not sure how late they run. Also read to rent a bike and hit the coastal trail (seems good for Mon/Tue?). I'd like to hike Flattop mountain on Wed if possible, any thoughts on if that's doable?
Ideally would love to see one of the glaciers up close as well - are any accessible for an evening guided or not?
Any/all suggestions are welcome!

If you're interested in baby registry boxes but don't know which one to try or how to even sign up for them I have some info for you here! I got boxes/bags from Target, Walmart, Amazon, Hey Milestone, Babylist, and Similac and I'm still waiting for a box from Enfamil. I'm not an influencer or someone paid by these companies I just really like surprise boxes of stuff. I have pictures but I don't know how to add them. Anyway onto the lists.
Target:
How to get: This appears to have changed recently. According to target.com you join the Target Circle rewards, create a baby registry, add 10 items, and spend $10 from registry (either yourself of someone else). You have to pick up the bag in store with a barcode they give to you and it can be somewhat difficult to get since supplies are limited. When I did this in March all I had to do was create a registry and then go to the store to pick up the bag.
Items:
1 Philips Avent Natural Bottle
1 Dr Browns Anti-Colic Bottle
3 pack sample of Huggies Special Delivery Diapers
2 pack sample of Millie Moon Diapers
16 count sample of Huggies Natural Care wipes
10 count sample of Honest plant based wipes
10 count sample of Water Wipes
2 count sample of Lansinho breastmilk storage bags
2 count sample of Lansinho disposable nursing pads
1 count sample if Boogie Wipes
1 sample of Dreft scent booster for laundry
1 sample of Palmers stretch mark lotion
1 sample of Dapple bottle and dish soap
1 sample of Pedialyte
1 sample of Auqaphor baby ointment
1 sample bottle of Aveno baby wash and shampoo
1 sample tube of Triple Paste diaper rash cream
All coupons are through Target Circle rewards
Walmart:
How to Get: Sign up for a registry at Walmart. Click this link https://walmart.cesampling.com/babybox/soldout and fill out the form and it would be shipped to you for free. Unfortunately these boxes have been sold out since last year but maybe they will restock. I only got one because my OB’s office gave it to me at my first appointment. You’re not missing much by not getting one.
Items:
1 Dr Browns Anti-Colic Bottle
3 pack sample of Huggies Special Delivery Diapers
16 count sample pack of Huggies Natural Care Wipes
1 sample of Arm & Hammer baby laundry detergent
1 sample bottle of Johnson’s head to toe wash and shampoo
1 sample bottle of Aveno baby wash and shampoo
1 pack of milestone month cards
Insert cards (not coupons) for Gerber, WaterWipes, Liquid IV, Aquaphor, and Arm & Hammer
Amazon:
How to Get: Have an Amazon prime account. Create a baby registry. Add 10 items to your baby registry. Purchase $10 worth of items from registry (either yourself or someone else). Wait for the items to ship and then add the baby welcome box to your shopping cart. There should be a $35 coupon applied when you go to checkout.
1 Newborn Swaddle size 36in x 36in
1 Amazon Essentials 3-6 month onesie
1 Mam Anti-Colic Bottle and Pacifier set
1 Bessie's Best lactation cookie
2 count sample of Lansinho breastmilk storage bags
2 count sample of Lansinho disposable nursing pads
1 sample of Aquaphor baby ointment
1 sample of Palmers skin therapy oil
1 sample of Palmers stretch mark lotion
50% off coupon for Shutterfly
10% off coupon for Amazon Essentials (items must be from a list compiled by Amazon)
$20 off coupon for Tylenol Smart check digital ear scope
$200 off Factor meal delivery service
Inserts (not coupons) for Palmers, Aquaphor, Baby Breeza, Mam bottles/pacifers
A card booklet with ideas for the registry
Hey Milestone:
How to Get: Hey Milestone is not a registry. They make three different baby boxes you can choose from and you just pay shipping. If you’re considering multiple boxes it’s best to get them all at once because the shipping will be cheaper. Shipping for one was $12.99. I only got one, the pregnancy box, so I can't tell you what you may expect from the other two. Check them out here: https://www.heymilestone.com/
Items:
1 full size Boudreaux’s Butt Paste butt barrier
1 Herobility 5 oz bottle
1 sample pack of Bamba peanut butter puffs
1 Kudos diaper with 10% off coupon
1 Dr Browns pacifier
1 Nanobebe hospital go-bag kit (includes pacifier, 2 breastmilk bags, 2 nursing pads, 20% off coupon)
2 count sample of Lansinho breastmilk storage bags
2 count sample of Lansinho disposable nursing pads
1 Preggie Pop
1 Bessie’s Best lactation cookie
10 count sample pack of Zahler prenatal vitamins
1 sample of Bella B nipple butter
1 sample of Bella B cradle cap be gone shampoo
1 sample tube of Eucerin baby sunscreen
1 count sample of Jack n Jill baby gum and tooth wipes
1 nail file with info for Mother’s Milk Bank
10% off coupon for Boudreaux’s Butt Paste butt barrier from Amazon
$130 off good chop meat delivery
16 free meals from Hello Fresh
$1 Bamba snacks
1 insert for Forsite 350 genetic testing
Babylist:
How to Get: This one is by far the most involved process. Create a registry on Babylist. Enter in your baby’s due date, you address, and first and last name. Add three items from the Babylist shop. Add three items from other stores (you can do this by putting a plug-in from the website on Chrome or Firefox. More detailed instructions on the website). Complete 40% of your registry checklist (you can do this by just checking items off yourself). Spend $30 from your registry (either yourself of someone else). Once these things are done you can pay $8.95 for shipping or you can chose simple shipping and it’s free.
Items:
1 Herobility 5oz bottle
1 Philips Avent Naturel bottle
1 Monica and Andy baby hat
1 Small Story 0-3 month onesie and 20% off coupon
1 Parker bib with 15% off coupon and a chance to win $200 giveaway
1 Nanobebe first pacifier
2 pack sample of Kudos diapers with 10% off coupon
2 pack sample of Healthy Baby diapers
2 pack sample of Parasol diapers
10 count sample of Honest plant based wipes
10 count sample of Water Wipes
10 count pack of motif medial breastmilk bags and 15% off coupon
1 sample tube of Noodle & Boo body wash and shampoo
1 sample tube of Noodle and Boo lotion
1 Bessie’s Best lactation cookie
2 count sample of Lansinho breastmilk storage bags
2 count sample of Lansinho disposable nursing pads
1 sample of Wellements probiotic and $15 off coupon
1 sample tube of Aquaphor baby ointment
1 sample of Desitin
1 sample of Palmers skin therapy oil
1 sample of Palmers stretch mark lotion
1 sample of Bird&Be vitamins and 15% off coupon
1 sample bottle of Vivi & Bloom body wash and shampoo
2 samples of Triple Paste diaper rash ointment and $2 off coupon
Coupon for a free onesie from Oso and Me ($32 value)
Coupon for free 8x8 photo book from Shutterfly
Coupon for a free will from Trust & Will
Coupon for free Swaddle from Little Unicorn
1 insert for babylist health for information on free breast pumps
Similac
How to Get: Sign up to my Similac rewards at https://www.similac.com/rewards.html . It’s completely free. I do recommend using an email you rarely use though and don't put in your phone number.
Items:
1 7 oz can of Similac 360 Total Care formula
1 7 oz can of Similac 360 Total Care Sensitive formula
1 sample of Pedialyte
Coupon for 1 free session at JC Penny portraits and 1 free 8 x 10 print
Coupons for $50 off Similac formula (They will send more in the mail once you use these)
16 free meals from Hello Fresh
Coupon for 50% off Shutterly
Coupon for $20 off Lovevery play kits
Coupon for $3 off Pedialyte
A collection of 12 gift cards to places I’ve never heard of ranging from $60-$30
Enfamil:
How to get:
Sign up for Enfamil Beginnings at https://www.enfamil.com/baby-formula-coupons-samples/ . It’s completely free. I do recommend using an email you rarely use and don’t put in your phone number. I’m still waiting on my Wonder Box to come. They tend to ship close to your due date so I may get it soon.
Overall thoughts: I enjoyed the fun of going through the boxes to see what I got. The Walmart one is no great loss to anyone not able to get one. I was disappointed with the Amazon one because I expected it to be a bit better based on what others had gotten. Plus I didn’t get the Dude Wipes people were getting and I was looking forward to them lol. The Babylist box was the best of the bunch, which is good considering the hoops you have to jump through to get it. Hey Milestone was great for the butt paste and bottle alone. I was also really pleased with the Target bag. These are just the things I got and each box/bag may be different.

Just wanted to share to whoever finds this helpful as I found other posts also did for me when I started.
Context:
Just passed security+ 701 last week. Started studying for A+ last year around October so roughly about 2 months studying for each exam so 7/8 months to get all certs. Average 4 hours a day studying 5 days a week. There were days I felt burnt out so took some more days off. (No IT background , passed each exam first time so its possible)
Resources used/Tips:
'Professor Messer' on YouTube he goes over all the exam objectives and his lessons are concise and easy to understand. https://www.youtube.com/@professormesser
'PowerCert Animated videos' on YouTube also helps with explaining specific concepts and topics with animation which makes it very easy to visualise and understand. https://www.youtube.com/@PowerCertAnimatedVideos
'ankidroid' mobile app on google play store to create my own flash cards from my notes and regularly go over them to help retain the info learnt. There is also a web version 'ankiweb' if you are unable to get the mobile version.
I also used ChatGPT to explain/simplify concepts I didn't understand. HIGHLY USEFUL honestly farrrr better than just searching google.
Once I am done with learning I used 'Examcompass' to also test my knowledge and see if there is any learning gaps. (Note that the questions are not phrased like the exams but are instead just meant to test your knowledge.) https://www.examcompass.com
The last thing is, I bought Jason Dion practice exams for the exam that I am taking on Udemy website and went through them (The questions are meant to be tailored to be like the real exam and that is very helpful) He also goes over the answers and explains why the answer is correct and why the others are wrong. Very Important to understand the why and not memorise answers.
Exam tips: 'Flag' the PBQs (they are the first 4 or 5 questions you get) and come back at the end to do them as they can seem overwhelming at first glance and you might end up wasting too much time on them or it might put you off and you'll feel you jammed before you even get to the questions and at that point you might even given up mentally. (Almost happened to me on my first exam and so I learnt my lesson)
I found that the real exam questions are worded in a way that can make it a lot more complicated and confusing which can put you off so be aware and read the questions more than once! Recognise any key words/concepts that will help you narrow down the possible answers through process of elimination (give yourself a reason why it cant be this answer or that answer). E.g. if the question is about wireless networks then the answer is unlikely to be about cat6 cables. Also for some questions you might get to 2 answers that are both valid so choose the best/most suited answer based on the scenario/context of the question.
Closing point:
I honestly thought I failed each exam and was surprised each time with a pass. I am religious and I believe my faith certainly also played a part not even kidding! Once I had finished prepping the best I could, I just left it to God and trust and prayed that all goes well with the exam. It certainly helps relief some tension and pressure. Of course faith without works is dead, still got to put in the work and he will get you across. (Passed within less than 20 marks from the pass mark for all exams)
Now time to start looking for work I'll share my experience with that also once I'm through God willing! 😊Christ did it all !

First day was great. Maybe it’s because it was Sunday and there were a proper mix of players. I’m not a great player to be honest. But considering I made it to finals I thought maybe I wasn’t that terrible. It’s definitely a different level compared to Rivals, at least for me. One thing I had to get use to was the constant press. I managed to win 3 and lose 4 on my first day which actually felt great. My wins weren’t stressful and my losses were usually one goal apart or on penalties so I felt good about myself.
Then I logged on today…
I just wanna say I know people have been boycotting this game and rightfully so for what’s been going on. I feel bad for playing but I do find it pretty fun (at least until today) and I wouldn’t be buying any packs anyways.
Anyways. I just played two games and the confidence I had yesterday is just completely gone. I thought I had the press pretty much well figured out, but I guess there’s an extra level above that skilled players have when it comes to pressing. There was really no way forward and I was out in positions where I should have passed to my fullbacks rather than a knee jerk reaction pass forward. I found it extremely difficult to get past the midfield or even lay off a pass to my forwards, having to resort to longballs and crosses, which only really worked at the end of the match as a consolation goal.
I look at my stats after each finals match to see where I can improve from and also see what passes my opponents make to maybe be ready for it next time. Yesterday I found the 424 formation very annoying, as it was so easy for my opponent to just give a direct pass to their forwards from the wing and dribble into the box, cut inside and either score or pass and dribble until i eventually concede. But even then, I was able to go forward, evade the press, counter, play the way I like to play and score. With today’s two matches, there was such a huge skill gap.
My first opponent always somehow found a way to win the ball from me. I noticed it immediately how physical it felt when playing against him and somehow no fouls were given. He consistently managed to block my passing lanes, stop me from going forward into favorable spots, and winning possession from me by somehow physically dominating every single person on my team. I don’t usually play cutbacks but even when I thought it was the only way through, I don’t get even near the box to be a threat. Not only that, but whenever he took back possession I feel like he had his players go in the box and he would just direct pass into the half spaces and dribble forward. After scoring maybe the first or second goal, he would take possession away from with a press then pass it back to his fullbacks and just lob it back and forth from lb to rb. I conceded 3 more goals because he wasn’t doing anything but that and I got annoyed and decided to team press, to at least try and get it back. Left me to open in the back obviously. I lost 5-1. He also kept griddying after each goal so that was great.
My second opponent I swear was on crack or something. The speed with which I was swarmed with opposing players was something I was not prepared for. The intensity of the match was dialed all the way to the max and I again struggled to even go forward. This guys dribbling was like prime Neymar, except he had Foden. I mean he even dribbled with Haaland so I knew I was cooked. We kinda kept getting possession from each other consecutively, but obviously he was better at it. I didn’t notice why he kept pausing until half time and I saw his cruyff got a red card for tackling..idk somebody I guess, the match was just so high paced, physical, fast and intense I didn’t even notice. Even still he just completely dominated me. Homie did this thing where he was going for a cutback so he was attacking the wing with Foden and he stopped the ball right on the line. Foden momentarily was off the ball so I went to slide tackle, and somehow he made it back in time to dribble an inch away and concede a penalty. I lose 3-1.
I’m probably not touching champs again today…maybe tomorrow. Or I’ll just stop after being humiliated. I honestly don’t know what tactics they used and how to counter it. Wish I could rewatch those matches to figure out but oh well

So, English is not my first language even though I had studied it for years now, so, any grammatical error, please be excused. I also want to point out a few things up, this story is LONG, as it says on the title, we’ve been together for almost a decade, so there’s a lot of things to patch up, also, I’m not trying to paint him as the bad guy nor myself as the good guy, just trying to let it all out because there’s some details I cannot say to everyone I know, so it’s better for me to just talk about it with internet strangers, also, I don’t know if this place has a limit of characters, so if it has, it’s going to be some parts long.
So, to start this, I (27 F), broke things with my bf (26 M) Alan (Not his real name) after we’ve been together for little less than a decade because I was just so fed up with everything we lived together, not having the strength to even try and give this another go as he wanted us to. A year before meeting him on my last school year I was s*xually Ass*ulted by a man that I met on a park where I used to go dancing, not only that, but he made me believe that I was okay with what happened (I was sixteen and he was 21, here the age of consent is not until the 18th mark), he made me believed that I liked it, and made me believe that no one would ever believe me if I ever decided to report it, so I didn’t, but obviously it got me a pretty bad scar.
I met Alan one year later, his friend group was friends with my friend group, so in school we kinda merged together and he was a good guy, a great guy even, he always had something nice to say about me and he never blamed me for being scared of a group of people so anytime I wanted to buy something on the school market, he did it for me until he tried to make me come across my fear and was just behind me as I was approaching the big group gather on the market trying to make me feel confident enough to buy things by myself, after that we became closer and closer until one day I went with my friend group to recess with his friend group, but he wasn’t there, I asked one of his friends and he told me that he wasn’t feeling right and was still on the classroom, so off I went and looked up for him, we talked for a while and then he thank me for listening to him and not bug him with the “guys don’t cry”, that made us even more close to eachother and we started something, not a relationship, but a situationship from mid July to late November, when I graduated from school (He had one more year to go), on my celebration date, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes, I made him meet my family shortly after and I met his.
He was a part-time gamer, and the first straw was that he believed that I would made him choose between his games or me, but no, I didn’t, even so, I asked him to teach me how to play so we could play together, I was not good, at all, but I was just glad to be on his hobbies, little did I know that would be one of the reasons I broke things off. We had fights and arguments because he was a competitive type of guy on this online games and, because I was bad at them, we usually lost games because of me, it took us a lot of work to find a solution, he had to put down some bars, because it was not healthy, also the first “or else” that he made me aware of, was when I told him that I needed him to express his emotions to me, but he took it as “Show emotions or I’m leaving you” which wasn’t the case, but worked up just fine.
Some years passed and… You remember what I told you about the year before meeting Alan? Well, we couldn’t get intimate in that way and I had to sit him and explained what happened, he was supportive and we didn’t do it after our four year mark, but again, he wasn’t as supportive as I recall, he usually push over it and only stopped moments before I got a flashback of what happened. But that one time that we did it, I remember it well, I started crying out of emotion because I finally overcame my fear, but after we finished, he stood up, we cleaned ourselves and he made me get ready because he didn’t want to be late to a friend’s birthday. Speaking of intimacy, he had a really big drive and I didn’t, but every time I tried to say “no”, he got all frustrated so I started initiating moments after I saw him like that so I could brush that feeling off of him, our intimacy was like that until just months before our breakup.
Now into another thing, I have always work, even when I was still at school, I’ve always worked to get my things, I’m not good at saving money, but I work my butt off, so when he started to gain interest on a particular expensive game, we usually used his mother credit card and the one paying it was me, he said that when he worked he bought things for us, but… This is the thing about it… He only worked 5-6 months in all of our relationship, sure, he went with his father some times to do some work, but he didn’t even saw that money because it went directly to a gaming console for himself, so in years that we’ve been together, he worked 5-6 months and the rest was payed from myself and he still took his time working as a sort of argument against me.
Now, one time, when I was on the university, a random classmate just suddenly kissed me and I was in shock, so in shock that I didn’t kissed him back, nor could I stop him, but when he went for a second one, I backed out and I went to my boyfriend crying because I thought I was cheating on him because someone kissed me and I explained every detail to him, but the guy dropped off from college, so I never saw him again and then, another day, I was in the subway and encounter my ex boyfriend while he was, actually, coming back home after his own studies, I ignored him for the most part, but he actually asked politely to let him talk to me, so we went to a public park and he actually just wanted to say sorry because he cheated on me with his ex girlfriend while he was with me, we didn’t do anything besides me listening to him and giving him the closure he was searching for, we did not stay in contact, I just said to him that it was not something that I keep on mind to this day, but if it made him feel better, I would accept his apology and then we parted ways, everything I did and said I made my boyfriend aware of and he was such in a panic that one of his friends actually went to his house and they talked shit about me because I dared to let my ex ask for my forgiveness. Those are the only two time that I recall I made him feel insecure, two times and that’s it and he wasn’t letting any of those things go any time we got into an argument.
I remember one time we actually parted ways for some days and I kissed a girl, a girl that I have liked for a very long time and only then I figured that she actually liked me back, but I was stupid enough to not go for her, and wait for this guy for us to get back together and I actually told him everything, I know I shouldn’t do it, because it would only made him feel like on the edge, but by that time I felt like it was better to come clean about everything, he knew everything about me, it was only fair that I keep it like that. But then he got jealous everything I said I was talking to her in a friendly way (he never was banned from looking into my phone) and now I understand that his jealousy was not that unfounded, because I kissed this girl while we were separated.
There was numerous times when I wanted to break things with him, but he always managed to made me come back to him, one time we were walking on the sidewalk and I told him how I felt and that I was thinking about breaking up, he got on the ground, took a piece of glass and tried to h*rm himself, but I stopped him and we never talked about it again. Another time I was home, not at work because I was injured and we had a phone fight, not breaking up, but making it subtle, then a couple hours after that I received another phone call from an Unknown number, telling me that he almost threw himself on the subway and, Injured as I was, I went to get him and Uber us to his home.
I had to make two limits for him, I didn’t want him to call me before checking if it was possible for me to talk on the phone, unless it was an emergency, of course. And that I didn’t want him to go to my home unannounced, because he did it too much and he did not respect those boundaries until there was yet another conversation about breaking up and just then, he stopped doing it. He also lied to me one time when he went to the bus stop at freaking 7 am with the excuse of “I just wanted to get some air” and the proceeded to talk to me all the way about his problems and follow me to my workplace, and then he had the audacity to get mad when I told him I couldn’t stay longer because I had to get to work, just when we finally broke off he came clean that he was, obviously, trying to get a hold of me and not “Trying to get some air” as he tried to make me believe. I even started to go to my destinations by other means because I was afraid I would encounter him in every corner that I usually go to.
One of my college friends started a relationship with one of his friends and now that we broke things off, neither of them talk to me, so I am not sure what sort of fairytale he told them in which, he obviously was not in the wrong at all.
I am not asking if I was the AH here, nor asking if I should talk to him again, I am pretty confident That I shouldn’t, I just wanted to vent, thanks for anyone who would read this loooooong story. Cheers.

Me:
115lbs, fair skin, dark hair, avg height, non drinker and smoker although I don't mind either
Interests: history, engineering, anthropology, horror movies, working out, cuddling a cute girl, traveling, whimsically ranting about stuff that probably doesn't matter until 3 o'clock in the morning, mma, and alternative music.
I'm pretty extroverted (ENTP), but love hanging around subby quiet introverts. Racial justice is pretty important to me, so get ready for some rants lol
At the moment I just want to talk to someone and connect. I want to feel like there's someone who understands me even if we don't have the same interests.
I'm a woman and I feel like my profile is a pretty good reflection of that, but just know for the time being I have no interest in sharing pics. I feel like making life about that kind of stuff ruins the vibe, I could just use tinder otherwise
You are:
Preferably, around the same body type, but Im also into smaller or musclar frames. Smart as fuck, witty, funny, or all of the above. A heavy meme enjoyer. Open to long distance (I can travel anywhere within the same continent lol). Hopefully have some goals in life.

Love and light to you all. My deepest embrace, not touching you, or touching if you can tolerate and want. My heartfelt validation, honor, respect, and CARE for you. Thank you for your existence. I wish you stop experiencing this injustice.
Sorry in advance for the blob - I trust you'll skip if needed/wanted.
I used the search bar, yet I really need help from more answers.
I am very grateful to be able to access IVIG, firstly. Secondly, I am very disinformed about it, doctors aren't sharing me details, and all I know is bad rumors about it.
Has it helped your symptoms? If so, which? How long? Were you able to feel an "instant" reaction (within days-2 weeks), as in, you knew it was the IVIG helping - or you couldn't distinguish? How long were you on it / have been / doctors tell you that you have to be on it? Is it always the case that one has to be 1-2, 5 years, lifelong years on it? Or depends on the condition? Does one's body get "dependent" on it? (Not as in addiction, but as in that you stop producing your own IGs? Or that is bullshit rumor?
Before I commit I want to know what's going on, how long I'm looking at, whether I'm fucking it irreversibly for trying, or whether with a few sessions I can still "back out". (Or will I be ruined.. once on 1, 2, 3 sessions.. do I have to "yes or yes" complete the 1-2 years? "Dependent" wise.. that if I get off it by then, I'll get fucked and will be "strapped" to it)..
Any experience with neuroinflammation? Sensation (reality) of being electrocuted? Not transient, quick brain zaps - constant "electrocutation" as if having been thrown on an electric fence, the size of your body, and it being kept on extremely high voltage, forever. Drugged feeling (not "nice effect" from drugs, not effect from sleeping pills drugged.. a drugged that is complete neuroinflammation.. feels "intoxicated"). Fibers burning and sizzling, like you are losing them.
Whirring brain with vertigo effect 24/7, like you are in a centrifuge (even with eyes closed, even worse.. laying down is worse too)
(All effects of "brain fog" but not the "lethargic" type / inability to communicate, etc.. the "drugged" type, dissociated)..
THANK YOU.
Much much, much, infinite love to you.